NILDE reloaded: a new system open to international interlibrary loan

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present new concepts and features introduced in NILDE 4.0, an online ILL and document supply request system designed for and used by more than 700 Italian libraries and research institutions. Design/methodology/approach - The authors use a case study approach based on their professional experience at the NILDE Administrator library, the CNR Research Area Library of Bologna. Findings - New concepts and features include, among others, a multilingual user interface, a Z39.50 link to national catalogues and union catalogues, a ranking algorithm to assist libraries in balancing their ILL borrowing and lending volumes with partner libraries, a single sign-on user authentication and authorisation system, and a bibliographic citation management system. Future development plans include the ability to create library groups; although this functionality is already built into the new system architecture, it has not yet been implemented by the community. Originality/value - The authors have published previously on earlier versions of the NILDE software; this paper presents an overview of the recently released version 4.0.