• Introduction
• User Guides
  • Researchers
  • ILL/DD Librarians
• ILL/DD Options
  • OCLC Member Libraries
  • NDL Int. Services
• GIF Project
  • Project Background
  • Registration Form
  • GIF Tutorial
• Committee
  • Japanese and East Asian Librarians in North America
  • Interlibrary Loan Librarians in North America
  • Japan Liaison Librarian
• Links

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GIF Project Background:

The Global ILL Framework an initiative of the AAU/ARL/NCC Japan Project

In 2004 the NCC created the ILL/DD Committee. The committee is co-chaired by the team of Chiaki Sakai, Japanese Studies librarian and Amy Paulus, ILL Librarian both at the University of Iowa and the committee itself is made up equally of Japanese and East Asian studies librarians and ILL librarians representing the broad range of institutions participating in GIF. Current GIF users with questions or problems should contact Chiaki Sakai at chiaki-sakai@uiowa.edu. An electronic discussion group for GIF participants is available to get the GIF related information: NCC GIF (Global ILL Framework) Discussion Group.

GIF PROJECT QUICK LINKS:

To join the Global ILL Framework

GIF Homepage in Japan http://wwwsoc.nii.ac.jp/gif/index.html contains English and Japanese versions, the full list of Japanese participants, the list of North American participants, and other helpful links and data about the project.

(Reading the Japanese Pages you may need to switch your encoding to Japanese (Auto Select).)

A helpful Introduction to GIF http://www.library.umass.edu/subject/easian/askeasl/GIFindex.html by Sharon Domier is the best place to get started and contains all the links needed to do so. It includes a guide for ILL practitioners participating in GIF which is available at: http://www.library.umass.edu/subject/easian/askeasl/JpnILLpract.pdf

GIF Project FAQ: Get It Fast FAQs

Background on the GIF Initiative

The Global ILL Framework was launched at the beginning of May 2002 by the AAU/ARL/NCC Japan Project. GIF is the Japan Project's third major Interlibrary Loan (ILL) and Document Delivery (DD) initiative with Japanese libraries. Breaking new ground the Global ILL Framework (GIF) is the first project between North America and Japan to use the ISO ILL Protocol (International Organization for Standardization) for communication of ILL requests between the NACSIS ILL and OCLC ILL systems. The great benefit of using the ISO ILL Protocol is that ILL staff may continue using the messaging system used for the majority of their other ILL requests, and thus need not learn another messaging system or proprietary email requesting format.

This linkage between NACSIS ILL and OCLC ILL is also of great benefit to the large number of scholars at institutions without Japanese Studies librarians because ILL librarians can OCLC for their ILL messaging and fee payment with Japanese libraries.

As of August 2003 the GIF initiative expanded to Phase II, the lending of books. Now all GIF participants can both request photocopies (non-returnables) from an unlimited range of materials held by participating libraries and borrow books from participating Japanese institutions.

North American participants use the NACSIS Webcat (http://webcat.nii.ac.jp/webcat_eng.html) to search for holdings. Copy requests are sent via the OCLC ILL system and lending requests are received via OCLC ILL. OCLC's IFM (ILL Fee Management) is used to pay applicable copy fees. Documents are sent and received via Ariel, an Internet-based document transmission system developed by the Research Libraries Group (RLG) and now owned by Infotrieve.

Japanese participants send and receive requests using the NACSIS ILL system and transmit documents via EPICWIN, a system developed by Minolta in Japan. Kinokuniya, OCLC's representative in Japan, coordinates charges and payments from the OCLC IFM system for Japanese participants.

The GIF project vastly opens the range of materials available internationally through interlibrary loan and offers enormous potential for research and collaboration among North American and Japanese scholars. Japanese Studies faculty and students who have need for materials held in Japan should alert their institution's ILL staff to this new program.

The Japan Project encourages all libraries with demand for materials held in Japanese libraries but not held by North American libraries, to join the Japan Project and participate in GIF. To participate in GIF institutions are asked to join the Japan Project. There is no fee to join the Japan Project.

To register for GIF and the Japan Project please complete the linked form and email it to GIF Registrar, Yoko Okunishi at gif@nccjapan.org. Questions about GIF may be directed to Yoko at the same email address.

Last updated February 2007