INWOOD, WV, May 06 , 2003- The Library Corporation (TLC) will offer its NCIP Toolkit to ILS vendors and library organizations to benefit libraries worldwide.

NCIP (National Circulation Interchange Protocol) defines the various transactions needed to support circulation activities among individual library systems. NCIP is based on the SIP and SIP2 (Standard Interchange Protocol) communications scheme originally developed by 3M. In March 2002, TLC and epixtech, inc. (now Dynix) successfully implemented the industry's first NCIP communication exchange between two different library systems.

TLC's NCIP Toolkit will promote an "open systems" standard in the library industry. It's a middleware solution that will power Circulation management functions and activities.

The NCIP protocol defines three major applications areas: Direct Consortia Borrowing, Circulation/Interlibrary Loan Interaction, and Self-Service Circulation. These areas enhance the library user's ability to efficiently access materials outside his home library, and work more efficiently within his home library.

NCIP's success depends on structured messages being seamlessly exchanged between library partners. By making its application toolkit available to the industry, TLC shows its strong support for the use of industry-developed national standards that benefit all companies in the library industry. Rapid implementation of the NCIP standard improves service for library users everywhere. Vendors and organizations interested in licensing the NCIP toolkit should contact Ted Koppel at tedk@TLCdelivers.com.

This is not the first time TLC has made its technological advances available to vendors and library organizations to benefit libraries. They began offering their ISO 10160 compliant Interlibrary Loan (ILL) toolkit in 2001. The ILL toolkit--which enables the fast and efficient development and deployment of ILL management, document delivery and resource sharing applications-is used by ExLibris, RLG, The National Library of Medicine, The National Library of Canada, CISTI and Mankato State University (MNSUC-PALS). Also, TLC has been offering Z39.50 capability to Library.Solution users for many years.