Date: Thu, 30 Nov 1995 11:09:30 -0800 (PST)
From: "DEMPSEY, ROBERT" <rdempsey@LIFE.SPAN.NASA.GOV>
Subject: Re: serhold & docline (Michael Brooks)

Hello, Michael.  You probably could have saved yourself some work by calling
us or the RML about your questions.  SERHOLD is NLM's national file of
serial holdings records.  It is used by DOCLINE when a library requesting
an interlibrary loan wishes the request to be routed automatically, that is,
according to a chart which the library has drawn up and filed with NLM which
specifies up to 180 other libraries from which the requesting library can
borrow.  These libraries are arranged in hierarchical fashion.

UCMP reports serial holdings data for most UCMP participating libraries to
SERHOLD  basically once a year, in August.  DOCLINE then uses the
UCMP-derived  holdings statements in SERHOLD when it routes ILL requests
automatically. Thus, DOCLINE has an indirect relation to UCMP.

If you want more information about SERHOLD and DOCLINE, NLM has fact sheets
available for FTP.  See any recent issue of the NLM Technical Bulletin for
instructions on accessing & retrieving NLM documents electronically.