The Network Zone architecture is that of a shared bibliographic utility, not a deduplicated union catalog. The main purposes are to share bibliographic metadata and improve the management of that data, which includes routine maintenance of authorized headings and corrections of problematic data.[2] Additionally, the NZ enables Alma users to see when other I-Share institutions have holdings on the same bib record, provided the library has linked or shared their bibs with the NZ. This can be a benefit to collection developers and acquisitions staff in determining whether a particular title has reached CARLI’s collection guideline for five-circulating copies.[3]
The presence of a record in the NZ does not govern whether the resource is discoverable in Primo VE. Bibliographic and holding records may be suppressed at the institution level. An institution may link to or share a bib to the NZ, then suppress it locally if it should not be discoverable. Any IZ record that is unsuppressed will appear in that institution's Primo VE instance, and appear in search results from the “All I-Share Libraries” search scope. The “All I-Share Libraries scope searches all records in an IZ; and all physical/print records in the CARLI NZ; and all physical/print records in any other I-Share institution’s IZ, whether or not records are linked to the CARLI NZ.
The presence of a record in the NZ does not govern whether the resource may be requested or borrowed by other libraries' patrons. The ability to request and borrow items is controlled by the fulfillment rules, policies, and terms of use for the location where the item is stored. These TOUs will determine whether a I-Share patron may place a request in Primo VE after discovering the item, or whether the patron may walk in to your library and borrow an item from the shelf.
