Talking in the Library

Document delivery now offered to all students, faculty, and staff

Yippee.  Say it as loudly or quietly as you want, but before you reach the end of the post, I'm sure you'll say "Yippee!"  Here's why I'm so confident:

Using the Interlibrary Loan request form, students can now join faculty and staff in asking for (and receiving) scanned copies of articles and chapters from journals and books on the shelf in K-State Libraries.  Wait.  What? 

OK, you know how if K-State Libraries doesn't own a book or subscribe to a journal with an article you need we'll borrow it for you from another library?  And you know that if we do own that book or journal, you come to the library, find it on the shelf, and either check it out or photocopy/scan what you need?  Now, even if we do own the book or journal, you can request a copy of a chapter or article through Interlibrary Loan.  Since we don't have to borrow it from another library, we're calling this courtesy service document delivery.

Here's an overview of document delivery:

We will scan:

• Articles and chapters from journals and books in K-State Libraries up to 50 pages in length
• Articles and short documents from microfiche/microfilm up to 30 pages in length

 How to request and access your articles/chapters:

• Place your request using ILLiad (that's the online program we use for interlibrary loan)
• Interlibrary Services staff will scan and post the PDF files on ILLiad
• You'll receive an email telling you when you can retrieve the article from ILLiad

Be patient:

• Depending on staffing, expect 1-4 days (excluding weekends) to receive your article or chapter
• For a quicker turnaround, the best days to place a request are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday

Caveat (or, we're delighted to offer this courtesy service, but . . .):

• Sometimes, due to holidays or if we're short-staffed, we may have to suspend document delivery (not interlibrary loan, we will still borrow materials we don't own from other libraries for you)
• We will let you know if/when we have to suspend document delivery 

That's it:

• I have no more bullet points
• If you haven't already, please say, "Yippee!"
• You can stop reading now and start researching

Holiday Hours Round Up

Staying in town for the holidays?  Thinking of getting a head start on Spring semester, or just looking for a warm place to hang out with a good book and an internet connection?   Here are holiday hours for K-State Libraries.   

Hale Library

• Sat 12/20 & Sun 12/21: 1pm-5pm
• Mon 12/22 & Tues 12/23: 8am-6pm
• Wed 12/24: 8am-2pm
• Thurs 12/25 - Sun 12/28: Closed
• Mon 12/29 - Wed 12/31: 8am-6pm
• Thurs 1/1: Closed
• Fri 1/2: 8am-6pm
• Sat 1/3 & Sun 1/4: 1pm-5pm

While Hale is open, some services have limited hours during the break.

• The Morse Department of Special Collections will be closed 12/29 - 1/4.
• Love Science Library reference service will be closed 12/24 - 1/4.
• Interlibrary Services will be closed 12/25 - 1/4. Interlibrary loan requests submitted from 12/23 - 1/4 will be processed on 1/5. Loans with due dates falling while the office is closed don't need to be returned until 1/5.

All branch libraries (Fielder, Math/Physics, Veterinary Medical, and Weigel) will close at 2pm on Wednesday 12/24 and remain closed until 8am Monday 1/5.

Wondering about January hours?  See the hours page.

Image credit: Calendar by Ollie-G on flickr.

Better than a recall: when the book you need is checked out

Is the book you need checked out?  Can't wait for whoever has it to return it?
Are you in the middle of your research and suddenly receive a notice from the library that someone else has requested a book you have checked out and you need to return it early?

We have good news all around! 

Instead of recalling checked out materials, a hassle for everyone involved, we've decided to borrow the book from another library via interlibrary loan.  With the speed of our interlibrary loan system, you can have the book quicker than if you were waiting for someone else to bring it back.  And, if you have a book checked out, you won't be asked to bring it back early.  (Wow, I can almost hear your blood pressure dropping.)

How will this work?  Well, when you're searching in the catalog and come across an item with a status that is missing, or lost, or checked out, or at the bindery,  you can click on a handy link that reads:  If item is missing, at the bindery, or checked out, click to request. 

• Clicking will open the interlibrary loan login page in a new, little window 
• Login to your interlibrary loan account
• Under Submit Request on the left, click on the Book link and fill out the form that appears with the information from the catalog (still conveniently open on your screen) 
• Be sure to click the Submit Request link at the bottom of the form

Didn't follow that? Watch this short video. (It opens in a new window.)

Here's the caveat, some materials we won't be able to get through interlibrary loan and we'll still have to do recalls for them.  Also, only materials that can be checked out for more than 14 days are subject to recalls.  So, for things like books from the leisure reading collection, a hold is your best option.

Who can you thank?  Well, as much as we appreciate flowers and chocolate (or a good box of wine), the kudos go to someone at a recent Upgrade K-State focus group.  This clearly intelligent person offered the idea, "Library system that suggests students use interlibrary loan instead of recalling books from other patrons. If no interlibrary loan could be found then the desired book could be recalled" (page 39 of the report).  So, unnamed person, we thank you!

Do you have a brilliant idea that would solve the world's problems if only someone asked?  Well, you've just been asked.  Feel free to comment on this post or to contact us.

Update on Math/Physics Library

According to a press release from the university, Cardwell Hall, where the Math/Physics Library is housed, was closed today to check the air quality in the building.  We expect the building to be closed at least through tomorrow (Wednesday).

If you need materials located in the Math/Physics, please place a request through Interlibrary Loan.

If you have any questions about finding math or physics information, you may still contact Barbara Steward.

Tuesday June 3 Interlibrary Loan upgrading

And, as with many upgrades, this means that there will be some downtime.  We're expecting that ILLiad will not be available from 7:30am-11:00am on Tuesday, June 3rd.  In case you forget, there is handy reminder notice on the ILLiad login page (see cool picture below!)