Tip of the Week - #046 (What the "Heck" is PCIRC and Other Terms?)

Keywords: PCIRC, OhioLINK Online Borrowing, Inn-Reach, history

PCIRC is a slang term that grew out of an early name, Patron Initiated Circulation. Today, the official name of 'pcirc' is OhioLINK Online Borrowing. PCIRC is used fondly by library staff when referring to Online Borrowing. But keep in mind that other folks outside of OhioLINK (like other INN-Reach sites) have never heard this term and may respond to you with puzzled looks.

It is okay to use PCIRC when talking to your fellow OhioLINK library staff, but when talking with our users or other folks, it is best to use OhioLINK Online Borrowing or just Online Borrowing. I hear that many of our patrons now refer to this service as "OhioLINK" sometimes used as a noun and sometimes used as a verb (as in "I am going to OhioLINK that.").

INN-Reach is the name that Innovative has given to the set of products that they sell that include Online Borrowing and the Central Catalog. So, outside of Ohio, you may hear it referred to as Inn-Reach.

Hope that clears it up for everyone!