What is the typical sequence of NCIP transactions?

Description

What is the typical sequence of NCIP messages (transactions)?

Resolution

Here's the sequence of messages one Aleph NCIP customer user uses....
Our user authenticates and then finds something they want to get from another school.  Before the request form is
presented to them, LookUpUser is sent to Aleph to verify their eligibility to use the service.
The request goes into the system, and some school is able to fulfill it.  They send us the book.
(NCIP is used on their end to CheckOutItem to MIT - they do not know our individual patron)
When we go into the NCIP system and confirm receipt, AcceptItem is sent to Aleph.  The bib record, item record, and
a hold for our patron are created.
We circulate the item to our patron in the Aleph GUI like any other transaction.  I think we return the item in
Aleph GUI as well.  But we don't have to.  
When we ship the item back to the other school, NCIP sends CheckInItem to Aleph, as a double-check to ensure the
item is removed from our patron.
When the other school confirms they have received our returned items, NCIP sends CheckInItem to their ILS.
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When a request comes to us, we get the book and send a NCIP RequestItem (requested for the other school) to mark the
item as unavailable for other users, as it may take a day or two to be shipped out.
When we mark it as shipped in the NCIP service, and CheckOutItem is sent to our Aleph.  It is checked out to the
other school, not to their individual patron.
When they ship the book back to us, we mark it as received, and NCIP sends CheckInItem to our Aleph.  We return the
book to the shelf.

Thanks to Christine Moulen of MIT for supplying the above information.

Note that the LookupItem message is used to *retrieve* bibliographic information (author, title, OCLC#, ISBN) for a
particular item (using the barcode for the lookup).  It is *not* used to *search*  for item information using the
OCLC#, ISBN, etc., for the lookup. 

• Article last edited: 15-Nov-2016