From 1969 to 1986, interlibrary loan was processed through a teletype system (ILITE, aka the wheel). Requests were passed from site to site via teletype. The teletype system was discontinued after replacement parts became unavailable.
In 1986 an electronic interlibrary loan system was implemented briefly, but proved to be extremely costly since it involved 20 sites being connected long distance for eight hours a day. This system was discontinued in 1987. Between 1987 and the implementation of SILO interlibrary loan, a series of vendor supported interlibrary loan systems used Locator searches to generate and process interlibrary loan requests electronically.
The first prototype Locator was created from a limited record set in 1987. It was on a single CD. The vendor was Blue Bear. Shortly after Gerry Rowland started as an automation consultant in 1987, he coordinated the collection of MARC records from automation systems and OCLC, and worked with Blue Bear to develop search screens. The first full version of the Locator was produced at the end of 1987.
The current version of the Locator was created as part of a two-year, $2.5 million HEA Title II-B grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Education in 1995. The web-based Locator was formally unveiled on October 24, 1996.