FDLP eXchange

  • Last Updated: May 28, 2025
  • Published: November 08, 2021

About

FDLP eXchange facilitates disposition processing by allowing libraries to enter information on printed materials they want to discard and to have the process managed by an automated workflow. FDLP eXchange also enables libraries to enter information on materials needed for their collections or digitization efforts.

FDLP eXchange Terminology

  • Offers: Offers are items that a library is seeking to weed from their collection. Offers can be entered as individual items or ranges.
  • Needs: Needs are items that a library is seeking to add to their collection. It is recommended to add Needs individually to increase the odds of a match. Libraries can indicate if the material is being sought specifically for disaster recovery or digitization purposes.
  • Requests: Libraries can request offered materials in eXchange if they appear in their region or if they are offered nationally in Phase 3. These requests will appear in the My Requests tab under My eXchange.
  • Region: Regions, overseen by regional depository libraries, are areas that use FDLP eXchange. Not all areas within the FDLP use eXchange. Furthermore, some regionals split responsibility for reviewing offers in eXchange with other regionals or with selective libraries under their purview. If your library is a selective library seeking to offer materials in eXchange, it is highly recommended to contact your regional before beginning to use eXchange. Regionals can provide guidance on the disposition process for their area and if eXchange is used as part of the process.

FDLP eXchange Features

Features include:

  • A mobile friendly interface.
  • Options to manually enter records or upload spreadsheets of records from the library’s catalog.
  • An automated workflow that moves items through the offering process by sending Offers first to the library’s regional depository, then to other selectives in the same region, and finally to libraries across the nation.
  • A matching function that matches one library’s Offers with another library’s Needs and provides a notification when there is a match.
  • An in-site communication tool that allows messaging between libraries about Offers, Needs, and Requests in eXchange.

FDLP eXchange Site: The Offers Process

The FDLP eXchange allows regions that have adopted the application as part of their disposition process to manage the entire process in a single system. In Phase One: Selective depositories can enter Offers for review by their regional depositories. When the regional has completed their review, unneeded materials move on to Phase Two, for review by other selectives in the region. Materials not claimed by the regional or other selectives in the region move on to Phase Three, where it is offered nationally if the library has chosen to offer materials outside their region. All libraries can post Needs and receive notification when their need matches another library’s offer.

Libraries in regions that have not adopted FDLP eXchange for their disposition process may still use FDLP eXchange to offers materials nationally after they have been offered within their region and remain unclaimed. These libraries may also post Needs to receive notification when their need matches another library’s offer.

Selectives should continue to follow guidance from their regionals. Consult your regional depository library coordinator(s) if you have questions.

FDLP eXchange Training Site

The FDLP eXchange Training Site provides libraries with a sandbox environment where they can test the application and learn to use it. For example, libraries can use the training site to test entering materials manually or by spreadsheet. The site also gives regionals an opportunity to test the application within their region and determine their own procedures, if they choose to use the application as part of the disposition process. The training site has full functionality—with the exception of email notifications.

Users should be aware that records in the training site are test records. Offers of materials that are actually being processed for discard should be offered on the main eXchange site. Likewise, Needs that libraries are actually trying to fill should be entered on the main eXchange site.

Templates & Reference Documents

Training Materials

  • FDLP eXchange Tips
  • FDLP eXchange QuickStart Guides
  • Training Videos
    • Getting Started – Regionals (Video, 5 minutes, recorded in 2019)
    • Getting Started – Selectives (Video, 5 minutes, recorded in 2019)
    • My eXchange (Video, 3 minutes, recorded in 2019)
    • Advanced Search (Video, 2 minutes, recorded in 2019)
    • Need and Offers Repository (Video, 2 minutes, recorded in 2019)
    • Regional Dashboard (Video, 2 minutes, recorded in 2019)
    • Selective Dashboard (Video, 1 minute, recorded in 2019)
    • Entering a Need Using the Form (Video, 3 minutes, recorded in 2019)
    • Creating a Needs Spreadsheet (Video, 9 minutes, recorded in 2019)
    • Uploading a Spreadsheet of Needs with Fewer than 250 Entries in FDLP eXchange (Video, 4 minutes, recorded in 2019)
    • Uploading a Spreadsheet of Needs with More than 250 Entries in FDLP eXchange (Video, 1 minute, recorded in 2019)
    • Entering an Offer Using the Form (Video, 6 minutes, recorded in 2019)
    • Creating an Offers Spreadsheet in FDLP eXchange (Video, 13 minutes, recorded in 2019)
    • Uploading a Spreadsheet of Offers with Fewer than 250 Entries in FDLP eXchange (Video, 3 minutes, recorded in 2019)
    • Uploading a Spreadsheet of Offers with More than 250 Entries in FDLP eXchange (Video, 1 minute, recorded in 2019)
    • Reviewing Offers from Selectives (Video, 4 minutes, recorded in 2019)
    • Approving Items for Submission (Video, 3 minutes, recorded in 2019)
  • Recorded Webinars
  • Guidance on Weeding a Depository Collection (Guidance article, 2024)