Check the “Offer Nationally” box to offer materials outside your region after following regional procedures to offer within the region. The default when FDLP eXchange was launched was to leave the box unchecked, so libraries that want to offer nationally will need to change that setting to enable offering outside their region in FDLP eXchange. To verify that the box is checked, login to FDLP eXchange, then choose “My Library” from the Library Account menu. If the b...

Some users have expressed confusion about how to use the “Postage” field in FDLP eXchange. While we are looking at ways to clarify the wording used in the system, there are a few things to keep in mind. 1. The question “Postage Reimbursement Available?” is asked when entering needs or offers manually. A column named “Postage Reimbursement” is on both the needs and offers templates for bulk upload. This is not a required field in any of these instances and can s...

Matches in FDLP eXchange are made solely on SuDoc number. For this reason, it is recommended that complete SuDoc numbers be used in order to accurately match needs and offers. However, this only applies to common SuDoc patterns. There are some items with unusual patterns that are not accepted by the system when the full SuDoc is entered. This includes Senate and House Journals (XJH:[Congress]-[Session]/PT. [Part #]; XJS:[Congress]-[Session]). Because the patter...

You can set up your FDLP eXchange account to notify you about any number of activities. However, if you have too many notifications, it can cause the system to time out when logging on or otherwise diminish system performance. If your account times out because there are too many notifications, you will see a message like this: Here are some tips for setting and maintaining your notifications. 1. Set your account to only receive those notifications you really...

If your library collects heavily in certain subjects, FDLP eXchange Advanced Search can be used to search for available items by topic or keyword. Moreover, the Saved Search feature can simplify collection development by allowing you to load and run these searches on a regular basis so that you make sure you review everything available in your subject areas. For example, if your library has a strong Aviation collection, you could search for all offers of aviation mate...

Entering offers (or needs) as a range can reduce the amount of data entry required to post to FDLP eXchange. However, there are some nuances in the matching to keep in mind. In general, you will be less able to rely on the automated matching when entering ranges. When entering a range, you should enter as much of the SuDoc classification as possible to apply to the range offered or needed. In most cases, that will be the stem. For example, you could offer the 1981-1985 i...

For many users, uploading spreadsheets is the simplest and most efficient way to enter needs and offers into FDLP eXchange. However, there are things to keep in mind to simplify the process and prevent errors. Making sure that spreadsheets are properly formatted prior to uploading is the first and most important step. When you try to upload a spreadsheet that is not formatted correctly, the system will not accept it. If your spreadsheet contains 250 items or less, thi...

If you have a lot of offers, needs, or requests in My eXchange, it can be cumbersome to scroll through the entire list. This is especially true if you only want to see items from a current date, SuDoc stem, status, etc. Filtering and sorting your offers, needs, or requests can make this task simpler. From the My eXchange page, select Offers, Needs, or Requests. You will see options for filtering by Status and for sorting by Title, Classification #, Posted date, Status...

If you have a lot of offers, needs, or requests in My eXchange, it can be cumbersome to scroll through the entire list. Tip 24 described how to simplify this task by filtering and sorting your offers, needs, or requests. Tip 25 continues by describing how to search My eXchange by keyword or classification number. From the My eXchange page, select Offers, Needs, or Requests. You will see options for searching by keyword or classification number. Here, you can li...

If you have questions about how to perform specific tasks in FDLP eXchange, be sure to check out the series of task-based videos. These short videos provide instruction on how to use various function in FDLP eXchange, including getting started, messaging, and uploading spreadsheets. Please note that there have been some interface changes since these videos were created, so some things may look slightly different compared to what you see on the site. The videos are cur...