Carl's ILLiad Blog

Entries in the Category "Services"

Some Brief Comments about ILL Turnaround Times

Just wanted to provide some basic information on what you can normally expect as far as the usual time required to receive materials through interlibrary loan. This applies only to transactions submitted through your ILLiad account, and does not refer to OhioLINK or SearchOhio requests.

In the case of articles (from journals or newspapers, but also including book chapters, conference papers, and any other reproduced materials), we almost invariably provide these to you via electronic delivery. Whenever possible, electronic documents come to you as direct deliveries from the selected lender libraries, after ILL staff perform initial processing. We make use preferably of suppliers previously designated by us as 'trusted senders' when we have the opportunity, wherein the document transmissions occur unmediated from them to you the user. Otherwise, direct transmissions from lenders not in this category take place upon initial inspection and further delivery processing by ILL staff. Finally, in cases where printed copies are received by mail of fax, or scans are sent to us by indirect electronic means, the documents require appropriate conversion in order to be properly delivered through your ILLiad account.

This all, of course, affects the overall period required from the moment your article request is submitted up to the final delivery time. In about half the cases, however, turnaround occurs within 48 hours, although many of these arrive to you same-day. In roughly 2 out of 3 cases, they can usually be expected to arrive in under 5 business days. There will always be occasional requests that require a considerable amount of additional attention, and thus take somewhat longer than usual to fill.

In the case of loaned items (i.e., any materials supplied to you on a temporary basis, with a specified due date and possible usage restrictions), we make similar efforts to minimize the time required to borrow them on your behalf. In a similar way as described above, we attempt whenever possible to select potential lenders that have a reputation for lending us materials promptly and at minimal cost. For example, we can often ascertain beforehand which institutions are likely to provide special material types, such as audio-visual or microfilm. For the most part, you can expect loans to arrive in less than 10 or 11 days, but most come within 5 to 7 days (and sometimes even sooner).

As always, extenuating circumstances may arise that affect the total amount of time required to obtain materials through interlibrary loan, for both articles and loans equally. More common materials are easier to get in short order, while rare or esoteric items can be more challenging to locate. The quality of the original citation information provided when you submit your request can lead to delays if inadequate, incomplete or incorrect data has been entered in critical form fields. Keep in mind also that if you submit your requests immediately prior to or during weekends or holidays, it may increase turnaround time as they will not receive attention until the morning of the next business day.

We try to handle interlibrary loan transactions as much as possible through OCLC WorldCat's ILL resource sharing subsystem, which is by far the most expeditious electronic method readily available to us for intermediary processing. However, if circumstances dictate that we use another method, such as e-mail or lenders' individual ILL online request sites, processing may take longer. We try at all costs to avoid having to send out requests through fax or by regular mail. In some cases, additional procedural requirements may come into play, such as special forms to obtain usage clearance for certain materials (such as theses). The occasional physical or electronic delivery mishaps that can come about, and then of course need requisite remedying, can also lead to unfortunate delays.

Considering all these possible factors that can create a protracted length of time involved in acquiring ILL materials, we are still pleased to be able to provide your articles and loans to you in a relatively quick timeframe.

ILL Do's and Don't's - 1st Installment

Just sending out a friendly reminder of some of the most common helpful hints for better use of your ILLiad services--

Do provide complete and accurate information in your request citations, entering each piece of data into its corresponding form field. Omitting vital pieces of data makes locating and obtaining the materials you need all that much more difficult, for both KSL ILL staff and the ILL staff of potential supplier libraries.
Don't abbreviate titles -- books, journals, conference proceedings, etc. Searching for incomplete of ambiguous titles in the databases which we use consumes excess processing time, delaying your request turnaround.

Do return or renew books by their due date. Overdue ILL books cannot normally be renewed, and items 2 weeks or more past their due date can block your ILLiad account and prevent you from using vital interlibrary loan services.
Don't request renewals after the specified due date. Renewal requests on your ILL books (if allowed or available according to lenders' specified policies) must be submitted within 5 days before original due date. It is not possible to request a renewal online through ILLiad on an overdue book. You will need to contact ILL staff about doing so, and it may be difficult or impossible to expect a lender library to accommodate such a loan extension.

Do check our library's online catalog, OhioLINK (and SearchOhio), electronic journal and electronic book collections, before choosing to use ILLiad. You can save yourself much time by locating books, journals, etc., right here in our own locally accessible collections -- and these won't need to be obtained through interlibrary loan, involving unnecessary time and effort.
Don't request materials already available through our local or consortium collections. You can find books and print journals in our own libraries' physical collections, and access electronic resources directly from campus workstations. *Exceptions apply only in the case of document delivery services provided exclusively to special user types (as noted below).

Do provide sources of citations in the appropriate ILLiad form fields (under 'Where did you learn about this item?'), and any special instructions in the 'Notes' field. We can heed this information immediately when we process your request.
Don't send e-mail comments about ILLiad transactions after already submitting requests, if at all possible. Also note that submitted request forms may be edited and re-submitted if ILL staff have not yet processed them, and you shouldn't need to submit duplicate requests either. ILL staff may have already begun processing requests in ILLiad before ever seeing any such e-mail messages, so corrections to be made after-the-fact based on these (as opposed to 'Notes' in the request form) can be more difficult and time-consuming.

Do use appropriate request forms for the specific corresponding material types -- 'Journal Article', 'Book Chapter', 'Conference Paper', 'Patent' or 'Standards Document' for copies; 'Book', 'Report', 'Thesis' or 'Other' for loans.
Don't use the 'Other' request form for articles or other reproduced materials, or for loans that already fit nicely into the other existing loan request forms. The 'Other' form is only intended for special types of materials to be borrowed, and that require more detailed information and instructions than can be accommodated in the other available forms.

*Exceptions to this policy include the following categories of verified special user statuses:
1. Distance Ed Graduates currently enrolled in Weatherhead's DM (Doctor of Management) program -- may request loans and copies from KSL library collections.
2. Faculty (in departments served by KSL for ILL purposes, but not those so served by other campus library systems, i.e., Health Sciences, MSASS, Law) -- may request copies from KSL collections.
3. Alumni Online Library participants -- may only request copies from KSL collections.

I have discussed all of these points in greater detail in previous blog entries, but just wanted to provide a quick digest of some of the most frequent issues that we encounter while processing ILL requests. There'll be more installments of this sort to come in the future, I'm sure...

Courtesy Electronic Delivery Materials for Faculty ILLiad Users at KSL

It may have been a little-known secret up until now, but the ILL staff of the Kelvin Smith Library have been providing reproductions of internally held materials over the past few years, as a courtesy, to eligible faculty ILLiad users via electronic delivery. This service is currently available exclusively to faculty registrants in the Kelvin Smith Library ILLiad site (whose status has also been verified against university records), from the following university divisions served by our library:

*College of Arts and Sciences
*Case School of Engineering
*Weatherhead School of Management

In addition to faculty from the eligible departments served by KSL in these colleges, we will also extend this to heads of university central administrative offices, as long as they register with a status of 'Faculty' in their ILLiad profiles.

As Kelvin Smith Library only serves the interlibrary loan needs for the above-mentioned affiliations, we do not offer this service to faculty (or any other potential user statuses) from the School of Medicine (including their medically-related interdisciplinary programs, e.g., Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Biomedical Ethics, Physiology & Biophysics), the School of Nursing, the School of Dental Medicine, the School of Law, or the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. We recommend that you set up your new ILLiad profile or use your existing account at one of the following sites, as applicable:

CLEVELAND HEALTH SCIENCES LIBRARY
LAW Library
MSASS Harris Library

These campus library service points may dictate their own policies regarding electronically delivered reproductions drawn from internal collections, so we recommend that you contact their staff directly regarding this matter. Of course, Kelvin Smith Library is open to the entire CWRU community as far as other service offerings are concerned.

We do not offer this service to staff, graduates or undergraduates, and cannot accept requests for materials available in university library physical or electronic collections. Any such requests submitted by non-faculty users will be cancelled, and notifications will be sent which will re-direct them to the appropriate on-campus or electronically accessible collections for direct on-site use or remote access (when possible). Unless you are a genuine, eligible faculty member, please do not register an ILLiad account as such or alter your current profile status inappropriately. ILL staff reserve the right to monitor questionable statuses in users' accounts, verify them against the university directory and correct them accordingly, if necessary. Please note that distance-learning graduates enrolled in the Doctor of Management program (subsidized by WSOM) and alumni users at the premium service level (fee-based) are entitled to request on-campus materials for electronic reproduction and delivery, as special exceptions.

Faculty who wish to take advantage of this must also have opted to accept electronic delivery in their ILLiad profile settings -- this does not appear as an option in your personal information data fields when you register as a new user or change your current user information, since 'Yes' has been the default value for all new registrants as of the Fall of 2007. If your account pre-dates this and you are unsure, please contact the ILL staff by phone at (216) 368-3517 or (216) 368-3463 (M-F, 9:00 AM-4:30 PM), or by e-mail at: smithill@case.edu. Of course if you have routinely been able to download electronically received articles previously through your ILLiad account, then your profile is already set to 'Yes' for this option. Also, whenever you are logged into your account, an alert should appear in the right-hand column in your main page regarding the availability of this special service.

Eligible faculty users may request journal or newspaper articles, book chapters, conference papers, and the like, from KSL collections through their ILLiad accounts. We suggest that you first check availability of journal articles and other electronically-available documents by searching our Electronic Journals collections before you choose to submit an ILLiad request transaction. You can also search our library's Online Catalog in advance, as the title listing there may also include a direct link to an available electronic version. We suggest that you please avoid using ILLiad to request articles already available from our electronic journal collections, to save yourself time and prevent possible processing delays for ILL staff. When you do decide to submit an ILLiad copying request for local materials, you can also use information extracted from the catalog by entering it into the appropriate form, to assist ILL staff with locating the items more quickly.

This courtesy service does not include retrieval or delivery of physical loans of books (circulating or non-circulating) or journals from our internal collections. Faculty may use the following forms, as applicable: Non-Circulating Book Request, Non-Circulating Bound Journal Request. This service should also not be used for requesting titles from electronic book collections, or for anything constituting a copyright violation -- please consult here for further assistance: Copyright@Case.

Of course anything that is not available within the Kelvin Smith Library or in its local satellite branches (i.e., R.R.C.C. Storage, Music, Astronomy) will be requested through regular interlibrary loan channels. Articles and other reproducible documents will then be supplied by potential lender library partners, through electronic delivery.

We hope that our faculty can make their best use of this service, and we are happy to assist with their research needs through this special offering.

E-Books through Interlibrary Loan?

In this age of technological advances, we realize that some users find it cumbersome to make use of books and other monographs in print format. However, present circumstances are not well-disposed to the obtaining and delivery of such items in electronic or digital format through the usual interlibrary loan channels. This is due primarily to copyright restrictions and other availability permissions (e.g., passworded use, paid subscriptions). Also, even though there is already a lot out there that has been digitized or exists only in electronic format, there still remains a great deal that is not. Consequentially, we cannot normally scan and reproduce an entire item, and often are not allowed to copy in excess of 15% of the page length of a book (even with the publisher's permission secured to reproduce portions). As such, when we borrow a printed book for you through interlibrary loan, we cannot also be expected to scan the complete item and deliver it electronically. This practice is not only prohibited, but in most cases would be highly impractical. You will simply have to pick up the item at the library's main desk, sign it out and use it as is.

Various alternatives exist by which you may obtain access to books in electronic format. First, it is suggested that you consult the CASE Online Catalog to search for the specific item you need in our own local holdings. In some cases you will find that we own both the print and electronic versions of a specific title, or possibly only the electronic version. The title entry line in your search results will indicate '[electronic resource]' in those instances where this format is available, and a direct link to the e-book would also appear within the bibliographic record. The library's Electronic Books page also lists various resources from which you may search available e-books, including those accessible through OhioLINK.

You might possibly want to search for electronic books in OCLC WorldCat, which you can access from our library's Research Databases page. (Select 'W' from the alpha list, then on the next page scroll down and select 'WorldCat'.) You can limit your searches by type, such as 'Computer Files' or 'Internet Resources'. Some of the bibliographic records for 'Internet Resource' type materials will include the URL for the resource, but do not guarantee open access in every instance.

If you need access to theses and dissertations in electronic format, we suggest you consult the Digital Case Electronic Theses page for our own titles, and the OhioLINK Electronic Theses page for those available from our consortium institutions. Occasionally some other university libraries from which we borrow through regular interlibrary loan (i.e., outside Ohio or the U.S.) will provide us with electronic copies exclusively, or direct us to the resource at which they may be accessed online. In such cases we may either provide the file to you through the usual ILLiad download method (if this is practicable), or direct you to the source from which you may obtain it yourself (in a request cancellation notice). Frequently we are simply referred to the University Microfilms International site, at which you may purchase a great many titles in downloadable PDF format, as well as in print. In the case of many British thesis titles, you may wish to consult the British Library EThOS - Beta site, where you can register an account and be able to download electronic copies at no charge, or purchase print versions in various formats for a fee. It is also possible to request the digitization of titles from UK institutions that are not already available in that format. Please remember that restrictions on the use of British theses obtained from this source will be clearly defined.

Another obvious resource from which you might possibly access useful popular and scholarly materials in digitized format is Google Books. Of course, you may also consider purchasing Kindle e-books from Amazon.com as a reasonable alternative option. Keep in mind that we will try to do our best to get you the books you need through regular interlibrary loan services, but we suggest you also be open to the many other convenient sources available for obtaining innovative formats more directly and in less time.

Blocked from Using ILLiad - Revisited

Occasionally, it is possible when using the ILLiad system you may encounter the error message 'Blocked due to user not found.' You might receive this indication either when you attempt to log into the account you have already created, or when you are attempting to set up a new ILLiad account. Unfortunately, this entails serious consequences as it prevents your use of interlibrary loan services, and is due to a discrepancy in your library circulation account when ILLiad tries to authenticate against your current record to allow access.

In such a case, ILLiad is failing to locate or recognize your CASE Account Number (the number which the university has assigned you to replace your Social Security Number for ID purposes) according to one of at least three possible scenarios:

*The CASE Account Number field in your ILLiad account is either empty or contains a number different from that in your library circulation record.
*Your circulation record does not contain your CASE Account Number or there are duplicate records for your name that both contain the same CASE Account Number.
*The number you are using as your CASE Account Number (i.e., when you are setting up a new ILLiad account) is either incorrect or otherwise does not exist anywhere in the library patron database.

These may be the result of anomalies in regular database management processes, or are possibly just due to human error. In any case, you will need to contact the appropriate library staff immediately to have these issues investigated and corrected. A first step towards resolving this issue would be to look up your CASE Account Number -- click on this link. You will need to enter your CASE initials and password to access this information. If you are setting up a new ILLiad account, make sure that this is the number you are entering into the 'CASE Account Number' field in the registration form, and your problem may be solved right away.

If you continue to experience difficulties, please contact circulation staff by phone at 216-368-3506 to verify that the number you have just searched is what actually appears in your circulation records. They will either make the necessary corrections in your record, or refer you to an authorized staff member who can properly update your patron information. You may also need to contact ILL staff at 216-368-3517 or 216-368-3463 to confirm that your CASE Account Number appears correctly in your ILLiad account. We recommend, for security reasons, that you contact library staff by phone only, and do not convey your confidential information by e-mail.

For complete information to assist you with setting up an ILLiad account, please click on this link: First Time Users. If you experience the problem described above, or any other possible reasons for which you might be unable to access your ILLiad account, further information is available at: Can't Logon?. Please know that we are always concerned about avoiding the presence of any such circumstances that might possibly prevent you from making the best use of our interlibary loan services.

Requesting Specific Editions & New Books on ILL

Whenever you submit an interlibrary loan request you may notice in the request forms for Books, Book Chapters, and Reports that you have the option of indicating the specific edition that is relevant or appropriate to your original citation. In the case of Books and Reports, you will also note the selection marked 'Will you accept an alternate edition of this item?' with the options 'No' and 'Yes' (default). The 'No' vs. 'Yes' option is not included in the Book Chapter request form because an edition other than that originally cited may or may not include the chapter referenced, or the chapter may not be found at the same pages cited due to revision. Indicating a specific edition is also not included for Thesis requests, as it is essentially irrelevant to that loan type and is synonymous with the year. In the case of Other (Misc. Loan) form, edition (if even applicable) can be noted in the body of the Citation text field.

When you have the option to indicate an edition, it should normally be indicated as '1st', '2nd', '3rd', etc., or 'rev.' (revised), 'instructor', 'student', etc. The year of publication should be indicated in its own appropriate field on the request form and not in the 'Edition' field. If you do indicate a specific edition, and you leave the alternate edition option at 'Yes', we will first attempt to borrow the specified edition and only request an alternate once those available appear to be exhausted. If you instead indicate 'No', we will terminate the request once we exhaust the possible available copies of the specified edition and send you an appropriate cancellation notice; you will always have the option to re-submit the request with a change of the setting to 'Yes' instead. If you have not indicated a specific edition, we will assume that we can request the most recent edition of which there appear to be the most copies available for borrowing. Please remember that if you do not specify a particular edition, you cannot indicate 'No' as an option for accepting alternate editions. Also, if you omit an entry in the 'Edition' field, but do specify an ISBN, we will assume that the specific edition you require is already implied.

In the case of requesting newly published books or the newest editions of books (when not indicating that you will accept an alternate edition), we will try our best to borrow the one you specifically need, but there is always the possibility that no copies may be available for borrowing through interlibrary loan. You may have checked holdings listed in OCLC WorldCat records, but often these refer only to copies that are currently on order at their respective locations or copies specially ordered that have already been charged out to their local requestor immediately after cataloguing. Where very new titles or editions are concerned, it can be expected that your ILL request may become cancelled due to the current lack of available copies in the collective library holdings pool. The cancellation notice you receive will normally contain a message suggesting that you re-submit your request in 2-3 months (which is a reasonable period under such circumstances, as it allows more locations to order and obtain additional copies) or that you submit a 'Suggest a Purchase' request to our library's Acquistions Department. This option (as budgetary resources allow) will result in the future permanent availability of such a title within the KSL collections, allowing more flexible loan and renewal policies than for one borrowed through ILL. Suggesting a purchase often is a preferable initial option to requesting an interlibrary loan, as it helps build our own collection, and contributes to our holdings better reflecting the research needs of our university community.

ILLiad System Alerts

You may have noticed whenever you log into your ILLiad account that a sidebar in the upper right corner of your main menu page appears, which may or may not contain any of various types of announcements. We provide these as a courtesy, so that you may be made aware of various factors that might in one way or another have an effect on interlibrary loan services.

One way in which we use these 'System Alerts', as they are called, is to make you aware of times when ILL staff may not be available for consultation. For example, library closings for university holidays and early department closing times will normally be announced here. We also indicate when either of our staff are taking vacation time or any other scheduled time off, in case for some reason you need to contact one of us in particular and want to know our availability specifically. (You can expect this to come into play more frequently as the Spring Semester comes to a close and Summer approaches.) We also may anounce departmental meetings or library staff training retreats, should any of these possibly last an entire morning or afternoon, or all day.

Another reason we might post a system alert would be to forwarn you in advance of any pre-scheduled downtime for the ILLiad system by our hosting service provider, so that you may anticipate those times when it would be better to avoid logging in. Depending on the circumstances, this may or may not affect the availability of the public web pages during periods of expected downtime. More often it affects the accessibility of the staff mode of the operation, and in turn may still result briefly in some slowing of our ability to process ILL requests.

Finally, we can arrange for some of these messages to be visible only to particular user types (e.g., Faculty, Distance Education Students, Alumni) to make them aware of special services available to them, or to provide any special instructions regarding details of account maintenance or request form submissions relevant to them.

We hope that by providing these alerts, we can make your use of ILLiad more effective. Please be aware that you may view them as an RSS feed as well. As always, if you have questions regarding ILLiad or interlibrary loan services, feel free to contact the KSL ILL staff by phone at 216-368-3517 or 216-368-3463, Mon.-Fri. 9:00 AM-4:30 PM (or leave voicemail after hours), or via e-mail at smithill@case.edu.

Converted ILL Requests

When providing ILL materials to our patrons, it occasionally becomes necessary for us to change the original request type submitted, i.e., from a loan into a copy or vice versa. We usually do so when it proves to be a more practical solution for supplying materials to you than in the format in which you first cited them. Below is an explanation of those circumstances where we would be likely to convert the ILL request type from one to the other.

1. Loans into Copies:
a. Theses and Dissertations - Occasionally a lender library will supply these in an electronic version, as this may be the only format they have available, or because it is simply easier for them to provide it in this manner than loaning the physical copy (which, for that matter, may be non-cirulating in their collection).
b. Reports - Again, these may be non-circulating and cannot be loaned to us. The lender may provide us with either a digitized copy, or a paper photocopy of the entire document. In the latter case, we will also scan the item and provide it to you by electronic delivery if this is practical. Otherwise (i.e., when the document consists of an excessive number of pages), we are more likely to leave it at the KSL Main Service Desk for you to pick up in person instead.
c. Rare Documents - Similarly, these are frequently classed as non-circulating at libraries holding them, and are often too fragile for them to allow to be lent out. Suppliers may choose to provide a reproduction if this does not cause damage to the item, and they may provide us with either an electronic reproduction or a paper photocopy at their discretion. We will then supply it to you through ILLiad as a downloadable PDF (or as a paper copy in those rare occasions when this might be more appropriate).

2. Copies into Loans:
a. Newspaper Articles - In cases of older newspaper articles, lenders may opt to loan the actual publication volume or issue if it is not convenient for them to search the citation fully. They are more likely to supply microfilm reels rather than print volumes, in such circumstances. We will then provide the materials to you in the form of a loan, and you may use the viewing and reproduction equipment available here in the Kelvin Smith Library.
b. Journal or Magazine Articles - When an individual article of excessive length (or an article series making up essentially an entire special journal issue) is needed, lenders may prefer to loan an entire volume or issue. Often this will comprise a complete bound volume, but occasionally involves a microfilm reel or microfiche set, depending on what format is available from their holdings.
c. Book Chapters - When long book chapters, more than one book chapter, or an indexed section including several chapters is required, it is not unusual for a lender library simply to supply the loan of the entire book. Since these items normally circulate anyway, they usually will not hesitate to take this option.
d. Conference Papers - Similarly, when you need to obtain a conference paper, a supply will instead supply the entire conference proceedings, though this is less common than with ordinary books. The common exception to this is when a question arises concerning the exact citation of the paper. Also in such cases, a proceedings may be lent in CD-ROM format rather than in hard copy, though this occurs only occasionally.
NB: As with any other loaned materials, the lender library may choose to impose either Library-Use-Only or No Renewal restrictions, or both. Of course, we would ask that you please respect any such stipulations associated with these loans.

We hope this explanation will clarify any questions you might have when you receive requested ILL materials in an unexpected format. Often there are unanticipated benefits when this occurs. For example, when you receive a reproduction of an entire item rather than a loan, you will not have to be concerned about ever having to return it to the library or receiving overdue notices. Conversely, if you are provided with a loaned piece when you expected a single article, chapter or paper, you may also gain access to other similar or related materials that also appear within that item. By occasional converting your ILL request, we are trying to work in the best interests of your research needs.

Copyright Issues & ILL

One very important issue to always keep in mind when doing scholarly research, particularly as it relates to interlibrary loan, is that of copyright. You must always be careful regarding the types and volume of materials that you choose to request through ILL, as they impact upon copyright laws and restrictions. These rules are imposed primarily to protect the rights of the authors and publishers who produce these materials, and more recently we as users are expected by the relevant authorities to adhere to them more strictly now than in the past.

Where articles from copyright-protected journals or serials are involved, libraries generally follow the so-called 'Rule of 5'. This implies a limit of 5 articles within same journal title, published within the most recent 5 years, that may be requested within a single calendar year without penalty. Once this number is exceeded, the library must begin paying copyright fees per each individual additional article, usually through the Copyright Clearance Center. Often these amounts may be quite exorbitant, based on the particular publication. (Of course, articles older than 5 years are not so accounted according to this method.) We can, at our discretion, refuse to accept interlibrary loan requests for articles that are excessive in number and require us to pay unduly large fee totals, and will usually recommend a more practical alternative. This would hold true in the case of a request for the reproduction of an entire recent journal issue, as well. This is a relatively rare situation, however, and we prefer to avoid cancellations for this reason.

As far as books and other monographs are concerned, many of us are familiar with the following warning that usually appears on the imprint page: 'All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced ... without the prior written permission of the publisher.' Of course researchers will frequently be in need of copies of book chapters or conference papers for scholarly use, almost as much as for journal articles. The general rule we often encounter specifies that a maximum of 15% of a book's total page length may be legally reproduced for scholarly research purposes, whether or not this involves the imposition of copyright fees and possibly even regardless of the age of the book. Complete reproductions of theses and dissertations are usually not difficult to obtain (when the items cannot otherwise be borrowed), but occasionally may require the author's written permission to authorize such a reproduction by the holding library or archive.

The rules pertaining to music scores can become very complicated, and it is best not to expect reproductions of them to supplied without considerable efforts and formalities. Audio-visual materials, such as sound recordings and videos, for the most part cannot be legally reproduced without special permission from the rightsholder. Although we accept requests for such materials that are not available to you through other sources, we discourage any implication that we obtain reproductions of these items rather than loans, and can refuse such requests at our discretion.

Whenever we have been able to supply you with a copy of an article, book chapter, conference paper, patent, thesis, etc., we recommend that it is not advisable for you to freely reproduce the electronic files. Many suppliers will specifically stipulate that only one copy may be distributed to our user, and that only a single copy may be retained in electronic storage or printed to a hardcopy format. We greatly appreciate your respect for and adherence to this restriction, and the statement of such by the provider will usually appear clearly on a page at the beginning or end of the scanned file to make you aware when this applies.

If you want to avoid copyright issues altogether (almost), we always recommend that you submit a request for the loan of an entire piece, as an alternative. In the case of books and conference proceedings, it is usually quite easy to obtain a loan of the entire item that contains the portion you may require. It is usually more difficult to borrow a complete issue or volume of a journal or newspaper, whether in hard copy or on microfilm, though not entirely impossible. Such loans will usually have a brief loan period, and may also bear 'NO RENEWAL' and 'LIBRARY USE ONLY' restrictions as well. If this is the route you prefer to take, submit your request using one of our 'loan-type' forms, i.e., 'Book', 'Report', 'Thesis' or 'Other', rather that any of the remaining 'article-type' forms. As always, we strongly urge that you check for availability of a loanable item in OhioLINK first, before you choose to use ILLiad. Remember that as far as to what extent you make personal reproductions of sections of loaned items, it will be incumbent upon you to bear the responsibility of how doing so impacts copyright.

Another effective alternative would be to request the acquisition of an item for addition to KSL collections, using the Suggest a Purchase form. You may suggest that our library obtain a book, conference proceedings, or even a single issue of a particular journal, which contains those sections you need for your research, and once it has been catalogued it will be available for your immediate use and for additional future use as well.

Keeping the implications of copyright in mind when doing your scholarly research can help you avoid serious legal problems which can arise in future academic situations. If you wish to read more detailed information about copyright issues, please see our library's site at the following link: Copyright@Case.

Continue reading "Copyright Issues & ILL"

Alternative Request Forms & Resources

This is not meant to dissuade anybody from making use of our ILLiad interlibrary loan services, but just another friendly reminder to make sure to use the many other resources available through the university's libraries first...

Of course you will want to check the CASE Online Catalog to find out if anything you need is already available in the collections of Kelvin Smith Library or any of the other library systems here on campus. If you can't locate what you require locally, then be sure to check the holdings in OhioLINK next. When copies of books are available there, you can submit requests there to borrow them directly. (If you experience difficulty using the OhioLINK system, you may instead submit a loan request through ILLiad, as long as you indicate this in your notes.) If you need to have a journal article supplied from OhioLINK holdings, of course you will still need to submit your request in ILLiad, and a comment about such availability in the 'Notes' field is always helpful. Another resource you may wish to consult for your research needs is CPL Books at KSL, especially if you are seeking more popular or leisure-type materials.

Always remember to check into our Electronic Journals and Electronic Books for quick access to online materials. You can print out or save copies many journal articles, and view a large collection of online books, without ever having to go to the shelves. Also, be aware that much of our collections are held off-campus at our R.R.C.C. Storage (local) and Iron Mountain (remote) facilities, and you may request items for same-day or next-day retrieval. Catalog entries for electronic items will usually contain links to access and download these materials, and those for items in storage will normally include links to the appriopriate retrieval request forms.

If you need access to CASE theses or dissertations, you may be able to locate these in the Kelvin Smith collections, including Iron Mountain and University Archives (non-circulating), or in the other campus library systems. You may also be able to access a large number of electronic versions of these by searching in Digital Case Electronic Theses. Case electronic theses, as well as many from OhioLINK member universities, can also be searched at OhioLINK Electronic Theses.

When you have exhausted all these resources, then it's time to submit your interlibrary loan requests through your ILLiad account. If the item you need is particularly new or rare, you may concurrently choose to suggest a purchase for addition to the KSL collections, as well as attempting an ILL request. However, we ask that you do NOT submit this information in the 'Notes' field of your ILLiad request form--instead, use the Suggest a Purchase request form.

By following these few recommendations, you can make better, more efficient use of the libraries' convenient services, and avoid unnecessary delays in obtaining the materials you require.

Cancelling ILLiad Requests Already Submitted

If you ever decide that you no longer need materials that you have requested through interlibrary loan, you have the ability to cancel any of your ILLiad transactions before items are supplied. You usually can do this for yourself if you catch the request shortly after submitting it, and before ILL staff have had the opportunity to begin processing. For example, if your request still is at the status of 'Awaiting Request Processing', you may cancel it yourself. You can click on the corresponding transaction number link from your table of 'Outstanding Requests' (from your Main Menu page or by selecting from the Main Menu 'View' section), then select 'Cancel Request'. You will then receive a confirmation message at the top of the page.

On the other hand, if you wait until you request has reached a status of 'Request Sent', you can no longer cancel it yourself as ILL staff have already processed it to where this is not possible. In this case you will need to contact us at (216) 368-3517 or (216) 368-3463, or at smithill@case.edu. We can usually make arrangements to discontinue processing a request at an advanced stage, unless a lender has already sent out the material. In such a case (especially where a loaned book is concerned) we ordinarily will leave the request live and make you aware of the situation. Once such material arrives, we will notify you to pick it up (or download in the case of an electronically delivered article), just in case you decide you still may have a use for it after all--and of course you have the option to tell us just to return it at that point. In cases where we actually can terminate a processed request, we will send you the routine e-mail cancellation notification, confirming the reason being that you specifically asked to have it cancelled.

Do NOT try to notify us to cancel a previous ILLiad request (or of any other ILL issue or concern) by submitting a new request with a message in the 'Notes' field. Use the ILLiad request forms ONLY for their intended purpose of borrowing materials through interlibrary loan. When you cannot cancel a transaction yourself, ALWAYS contact us by phone or e-mail. Please note that an e-mail link is available in the ILLiad Main Menu when you are logged in, conveniently located in the 'Help' section as 'Contact ILL'. For further details about cancelling ILLiad requests, please check the Customer Help page in the Cancelling a Request section.

Keep in mind that you also have the option of re-submitting any of your previously cancelled ILLiad requests. You can view any of your old cancelled transactions by selecting 'Cancelled Requests' from the 'View' section of your Main Menu, and clicking on the corresponding transaction number link. Click the 'Resubmit Request' option at the top of the window, and you may then edit and submit the request once again. You can also choose simply to submit an entirely new interlibrary loan request for the original materials, if you prefer. For further details, check the View Cancelled Requests and Re-submit a Request sections of our ILLiad Customer Help page.

We greatly appreciate your co-operation in making your use of interlibrary loan services more efficient, and thereby assisting ILL staff in our efforts to better serve your research needs.

Theses & Dissertations -- Availability through Interlibrary Loan

A few words about borrowing theses or dissertations for your scholarly research needs...

First of all, if you need to access any titles that have been done at any of the colleges of Case Western Reserve University (or any of its predecessor institutions), you should ordinarily not have to request them through interlibrary loan. Be sure you have searched them in the CASE Online Catalog for current availability. The most recent 5 years of masters' theses (and the newest Ph.D. dissertations) from the College of Arts and Sciences, Case School of Engineering, and the Weatherhead School of Management should be available in the Kelvin Smith Library. Any titles done at the School of Medicine, Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, or the School of Law should be held at their respective library locations. All others should be available for request by using the Iron Mountain form.

Theses originally submitted in electronic format will often have a link displayed in their online catalog entries, for immediate download. You may also search the availability of many electronic CASE thesis titles that have been digitized at either Digital Case Electronic Theses or OhioLINK Electronic Theses.

If you cannot find a CASE thesis title in our catalog, or if one that you do find is not currently available (e.g., checked out, in processing, or at bindery), we suggest you contact the University Archives for further assistance. The phone number for their reference desk is 216-368-3320, and they may also be contacted at Archives@case.edu.

If you need to borrow a thesis or dissertation that was done at any of the OhioLINK Member Universities, you should first search for it in the OhioLINK Catalog, where you can submit your request directly. Digitized OhioLINK theses are also available for download through the OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center.

In all other cases, you should use ILLiad to request the thesis titles you require. Remember to use the 'Thesis' form under the 'New Request' section of the Main Menu, when you log into your account. The data fields provided in this page are appropriate to this particular loan type. You should use this form for titles done at Ohio universities not part of OhioLINK, U.S. universities outside Ohio, and any universities outside the United States.

Keep in mind that the loans of theses or dissertations borrowed through ILLiad will be subject to different loan rules than any that you borrow directly from the CASE or OhioLINK collections. As each lending institution operates along its own set of policies, it is possible that various restrictions may be imposed. For example, loan periods may vary (in contrast to the uniform due dates of direct check-outs), renewals may or may not be allowed, and in some cases a 'library-use-only' restriction may be required. When you receive a notification of receipt, the message text will indicate if any of these apply.

Some additional issues and caveats to remember about borrowing theses through ILLiad...

Most often a thesis or dissertation is held only at the library of the institution where it was done. Sometimes there are copies available held at more than one library location, with the possibility of two or more libraries at the same university. Occasionally some theses are widely held through several locations besides the originating institution, as a reflection of how influential the author's research has proven to be. Usually, however, you can expect only a single copy to be all that will be available for borrowing through interlibrary loan.

Occasionally a thesis is on loan at the institution's library at the time you place a request for it, and they will often reply by informing us to try again at a future date. Under these circumstances, we will send you a cancellation notice and suggest that you re-submit your request at a time when it may again be available for loan.

If you have already requested a particular thesis title that we have been able to borrow for you and have recently returned it, you should expect not to be able to borrow it again immediately. Please put off re-requesting it for at least two to three weeks (or longer if a foreign thesis) if you need it again, to allow for return shipping, check-in and re-shelving for future availability at the lender library.

Some theses will only be available for circulation in microfilm (reel or fiche) formats from the lender libraries. We usually try to request hard copies of theses when we can, but sometimes only microfilms are loaned to us by the lender libraries even when we do not expect them. Many Canadian theses, for example, can only be borrowed from the National Library of Canada, which loans them almost exclusively in microfiche format. Please remember that the Kelvin Smith Library does offer the appropriate equipment and reference assistance for viewing microfilm format, as well as for reproducing into the print or electronic forms which you may find more useful. Consider this before returning any unused theses borrowed for you on microfilm through ILL.

Some lenders will actually provide us with a complete reproduction of a thesis or dissertation. When this is in electronic format, we usually can provide it to you through electronic delivery (after converting your ILLiad transaction into an article-type request format). Due to copyright restrictions, you will be expected to save or print only a single copy of the thesis, which you may retain for personal research use but not freely disseminate. Keep in mind that it will usually be a fairly large file, so please allow adequate time for it to download. When we actually receive a print reproduction, we will provide it to you as a loan, with indefinite renewals if needed. As this material is library property, we will expect you to return it when you are finished so we may submit it to our Acquisitions Department to be considered for binding and addition to the Kelvin Smith Library collections, for future availability.

Expect that some theses will take us longer to obtain than the usual loans you may request. Those done at Canadian, British, European, Japanese and other foreign universities will often require more time for us to borrow, and in some cases we will only be able to obtain them by purchasing a reproduction directly from the holding library, which often becomes a time-consuming process (more about that below). You can also expect many European and other non-English universities' theses to be available only in the original language, and not in English translation. Some of these may be referenced (i.e., title & abstract only) in translation, but not be available in full-text translation. Occasionally, though, some actually are written originally in English by their authors.

Once in a while, a holding library will not allow a thesis title to circulate at all. We can sometimes purchase a reproduction from them, but unfortunately this is not always the case. Some libraries will require us to obtain permission directly from the author before proceeding with processing a reproduction. Some lenders will instead refer us to University Microfilms International to purchase a copy ourselves, while others will simply not offer any option at all. In many such cases, we will have to cancel your ILLiad request and inform you of the specific circumstances. When a title is available from University Microfilms International, we will also suggest that you may wish to purchase a personal copy, or advise you to contact our Acquisitions Department using the Suggest a Purchase form to have a copy added to our own collections.

Hopefully this has shed some light regarding theses and dissertations, and how best to use interlibrary loan services and other available resources in accessing them.

Continue reading "Theses & Dissertations -- Availability through Interlibrary Loan"

Variation in Electronic Delivery Quality

"Why don't all my electronic delivery scans from ILLiad look the same?"

We always strive to provide you with good-quality, clear, legible reproductions of articles, book chapters, conference papers, etc., for use in your scholarly research. Most of the time we obtain high-quality reproductions from our suppliers, but we admit there can often be variation in the quality of the scans received. A little explanation of this may be in order.

All articles are delivered to you through your ILLiad patron account, downloadable when you log in, rather than as attachments to e-mail notifications. As electronic delivery is already a built-in feature of the ILLiad package, and for the sake of procedural uniformity, we use this method exclusively as it is a more manageable and streamlined process than the alternative. Ideally, an article is presented with one single page of text (or plates, if any) per frame, and these all should appear right-side-up, with numbered pages in ascending order. Usually a paging slip, cover sheet or request form (possibly with a copyright declaration) is included at the very beginning, prior to the text pages.

One of the most efficient and direct methods of transmitting articles electronically from one library to another--and the one which we use most frequently whenever possible--is through a system integrated within ILLiad known as 'Odyssey'. We consciously select potential suppliers that we know to use this system before any others, provided they have the required resources among their holdings. Occasionally, some lender libraries will instead send us articles as PDF or TIF documents via e-mail, as attachments or postings. Due to contractual agreements regarding confidentiality and fair use, and for the sake of uniform implementation of ILLiad functions, we cannot simply forward these communications on to our patrons. Finally, other lenders still send us paper copies through regular mail or courier, or by fax.

When we receive an article through Odyssey, we ordinarily have an opportunity to view and make modifications to the scanned pages. We frequently will upright any upside-down pages, crop out any unwanted black or white space in the margins, and re-order incorrectly ordered pages, when this is practical. Many suppliers already take care to have done this for us ahead of time. If a particular lender that uses Odyssey on a regular basis has proven to our satisfaction that they can provide quality scans, we will designate them with a 'Trusted Sender' status. Once this is set, all subsequent electronic deliveries from such a provider will be sent through directly from the lender library to you, unmediated by ILL staff at Kelvin Smith Library. This means that you may receive an article being supplied by one of these lenders at any time, night or day, or even on weekends. As this process will then be on a 'good-faith' basis, it also can allow for the possibility of an occasional scan of lesser quality.

When we receive a TIF via e-mail, we can import it into ILLiad's scanning function, and have the opportunity to modify the file (i.e., cropping, rotating, correcting page order, etc., when practical) before we send it on to you. When a PDF is supplied to us by the lender, we are more likely to leave it in its unmodified original form before providing it to you, since the regular use of Adobe Acrobat can be a little too cumbersome and time-consuming to be feasible, especially when larger files are involved. Since it is essentially 'ready-made', we can copy it directly into our online FTP folder and then send off the corresponding delivery notification to its recipient. When we are provided with a paper copy, we simply run it through an ADF scanner (with pages already properly oriented and in correct order) and import the images into ILLiad. Again, in this case we have the opportunity to perform some cropping when practical, before sending it on for delivery.

Variation in quality often is related to the original source of the article. For example, some lenders will supply an article, usually in PDF format, directly from their own electronic journal edition (when copyright or publisher contract allows), and you would ordinarily expect a high-quality reproduction (sometimes even with color print or images). This will usually not have a cover sheet, but almost always includes a copyright declaration. At the other end of the spectrum, articles reproduced from microfilm, microfiche or microopaque sources are often of inferior quality. Further scanning at errantly selected, inadequate resolution levels can diminish this even further. Unfortunately, some materials (such as old newspapers) are only available in these formats, as original print versions may not have been well-preserved over the years. Older, yellowed or darkened paper sources are also difficult to reproduce with acceptable degrees of clarity or contrast between background and print, and you may occasionally see a notation such as 'BEST COPY AVAILABLE' indicated by the supplier.

Original page size of print editions can also be a factor in appearance. Although most books and journals approximate the standard 8-1/2" x 11" dimensions, many are much larger or considerably smaller. Some lenders may choose to scan the pages to scale, and this would be carried over into the electronic file copy. (This usually will not affect your ability to print the file, as page size is ordinarily re-adjusted to fit into the available paper size, according to printer preference settings.) Others may choose to reduce or enlarge to fit the standard page size, although this is more common when photocopied paper copies are provided. Suppliers outside the U.S. routinely apply metric dimensions (i.e., 'A4', 'B4') when reproducing articles, which would normally be re-sized to fit standard letter-size proportions. Extreme reduction can lead to text that cannot be easily readable (even with magnification), while excessive enlargement can produce text that appears faded.

Another factor that affects quality is the type of equipment used, and how it is put to use by its operator. Overhead scanners are designed not to place pressure on opened volumes, and thus lessen the chance of damage to spines and brittle pages. However, this can ofter result in the appearance of fingers in margins and large dark areas in-between facing pages, both of which may obscure some of the text. On the other hand, there are some high-end flatbed scanners that, when properly programmed and operated, can split paired pages (thus avoiding alternate inverted exposures), crop margins uniformly, and delete unwanted pages, and are ideal for automated high-volume use. Of course, many lenders still rely on the good old-fashioned photocopy machine, which can result in a great deal of variation, such as the aforementioned fingers in the margin, dark gutters, black and white space, and alternating inversions, as well as the paper-conserving practice of reduction to fit two pages into a single exposure. Of course, additional human error can lead to missing or incomplete pages, incorrectly ordered pages, skewed text, and improperly selected density or resolution.

We do try our best to compensate for such anomalies, whenever this is possible. For example, in cases where we are able to intercept the delivery of an article to a patron, we can catch any egregious errors, such as missing, truncated, illegible or excessively skewed pages. In such cases, we would be likely to contact the lender library to request a corrected re-send of the article before making any attempt at delivering it electronically. We also realize that with the quicker turnaround time and less need for staff involvement as a result of implementing ILLiad's 'Trusted Sender' feature comes the caveat of the occasional less-than-perfect article. In the long run, we believe that the benefits of this application more often outweigh the risks.

Keep in mind that if you are ever dissatisfied with the quality of an electronically delivered document through Kelvin Smith Library's ILLiad services, you may feel free to contact our department by phone at 216-368-3517 or 216-368-3463 or by e-mail at smithill@case.edu, to request a replacement.

Additional information about electronic delivery with ILLiad is available in the following Customer Help pages:
View Electronically Received Articles & Electronic Delivery Information

Which ILLiad Site or ILL Service Point to Use?

Another school year is about to begin, and no doubt you may need to sign up for interlibrary loan services to support your scholarly research needs. In case you aren't aware, there are actually four different service points on campus for interlibrary loan services, depending on which part of the university with which you are connected. There are also three additional affiliated locations which provide library services to their respective clientele.

If you are a faculty or staff member, or a student, at the College of Arts and Sciences, the Case School of Engineering, or the Weatherhead School of Management, or a staff member in any of the university central administrative offices, or have enrolled in the Kelvin Smith Library Alumni Membership Program at the Alumni Choice Membership Service level, please sign up using the KELVIN SMITH LIBRARY ILLiad website.

If you are a faculty or staff member, or a student, in the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, set up your account in the MSASS Harris Library ILLiad website. If you are a faculty or staff member, or a student, at the School of Law, use the LAW Library ILLiad site for your ILL services.

Faculty and staff members, and students, at the School of Medicine, the School of Dental Medicine, or the School of Nursing should set up for interlibrary loan services through the CLEVELAND HEALTH SCIENCES LIBRARY ILLiad site. If you are enrolled in or affiliated with any health sciences-related interdisciplinary programs, such as Biochemistry, Environmental Health Sciences, Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Molecular Biology & Microbiology, Neurosciences, Nutrition, and Physiology & Biophysics, you should also use this site to set up your account.

Finally, if you are connected with any of our affiliated institutions, please get in touch with their respective libraries directly for service, at the contacts below:
*Cleveland Institute of Music Library: (216) 707-4508 (link to their ILL services page provided here)
*Cleveland Institute of Art Library: (216) 421-7440
*Siegal College of Judaic Studies Library: (216) 464-4050 or info@siegalcollege.edu

Please be mindful that all the libraries mentioned above are more selectively specialized for the particular subject areas of the department or program with which you may be associated. (Of course, the Kelvin Smith Library, our main system, embraces greater breadth in this respect.) Their staff and collection resources will be better suited to assist you with research in your own specific discipline, especially by providing the reference services that guide in making your interlibrary loan usage more effective.

If you are not directly associated with Case Western Reserve University or any of its affiliates as indicated above (or are alumni not enrolled in the Choice Membership), we recommend that you instead consult your local public library branch, the academic library of your own college or university, or your employer's corporate or medical library, for help with interlibrary loan services.

Retrieving Electronic Delivery Articles

Just a general overview on retrieval of electronically delivered articles through your ILLiad account...

Whenever you wish to view the articles that have been provided to you through ILLiad, you first need to log into your account at the ILLiad Logon Page, then from your Main Menu select 'Electronically Received Articles' under the 'View' section. A table will be displayed with the column headings: 'Transaction', 'View', 'Size', 'Title', 'Author', 'Expires', and 'Delete'. (Please note that if nothing appears below these headings, you do not currently have any articles available for viewing.)

The numbers under 'Transaction' are actual links to the request information tables for that particular cited article, including any 'Notes' and tracking information. You can click on the number and then either view or delete the PDF containing your article from this screen. Under 'View' (back at the table display), you can click on the PDF icon next to the corresponding transaction number, and you will be taken directly to the display of your article file. In either case you may print or save a copy of your article -- remember to use the 'Back' button of your browser to return to the previous screen.

Next you will see the 'Size' of your file indicated. This is relevant as it can affect the time it may require to download your article. As a rule of thumb, anything in excess of 10 MB may take longer than 60 seconds to open. The table also displays the 'Title' of your article, that is, the journal (or book) title followed by the actual article (or chapter) title. The 'Author' of the article appears under the next column.

The expiration date , which is 30 days from the date your electronic article was originally posted (at which time you were sent an e-mail notification), is shown in the next column (under 'Expires'). After this date, your article transaction will be automatically removed from the table and the file will no longer be accessible. Under 'Delete' you may choose to delete an article file from your ILLiad account for the transaction indicated at the beginning of the corresponding row. Of course, you will want to be sure to have viewed, printed, or saved your article first, before it expires or you delete it.

If you accidentally delete an article before you have finished using it, you still have an opportunity to 'undelete' it if you do so before the next electronic cleanup session in our server's PDF folder -- usually within 24 hours. Once you delete an article, and decide you need to undelete it, click on the word 'undelete' in the text above the revised table. A new table appears where you can 'Undelete' the previously deleted article, and the transaction will be restored to your 'Electronically Received Articles' table. More details on this feature can be found at Undeleting a PDF. Just remember not to wait too long before you decide to undelete an article. If your article does not appear in the table any longer, you may need to request it all over again. For further assistance, contact ILL staff at (216) 368-3517 or (216) 368-3463, or at smithill@case.edu.

More detailed information can be found in our Customer Help page, at the View Electronically Received Articles section. Policy information about ILLiad electronic delivery is also available at the Electronic Delivery Information page. We strongly encourage you to take advantage of this valuable function of the ILLiad system, for efficient and convenient access to the articles you need.

Continue reading "Retrieving Electronic Delivery Articles"

'Other' Request Form (Miscellaneous Loans)

You may have noticed one of the options in your ILLiad Main Menu for request forms, labeled as 'Other (Misc. Loan)' and appearing at the bottom of the 'New Request' section. This specific form was added a few years ago as part of our latest major upgrade to the ILLiad system, and was intended solely for requesting items that do not fit into any of the existing 'loan-type' categories already included -- i.e., 'Book', 'Report', 'Thesis'.

Please use this form to submit requests for special LOANS only, such as audio/visual items (videos, CD's, etc.), serial microfilm reels (journals, newspapers), entire journal volumes or issues in print, maps, and any other rare or archival items. Do NOT use this form for loans of ordinary books (including music scores and complete conference proceedings), theses/dissertations or reports/government documents, or for reproductions of journal or newspaper articles, book chapters, conference papers or patents -- use the appropriate request forms that already exist for these types instead, and add your comments to the 'Notes' field if necessary.

The unique feature of this form is the 'Citation' field, which can accommodate up to 1500 characters, where you can enter free text describing the material you require. Please keep in mind that you should still only cite one individual item per transaction (unless it is a multi-part set, all bearing the same title). You may need to submit separate requests when you require more than one distinct piece, even if these happen to be in a closely related subject area.

In the 'Item Producer' field, you may indicate the individual or organization that created or sponsored the material, if this is known. Also, if you already have searched this item in WorldCat, you can enter the OCLC Number as this will vastly minimize processing time. Finally, you can enter any additional information that may be helpful to us in tracking down this material, in the 'Notes' and 'source-of-citation' fields at the bottom of the form.

Remember that when you request any special material types, such as those suggested above, the libraries that offer to lend them may choose to impose restrictions, such as 'No Renewals', 'No Photocopying' or 'Library Use Only', and expect that we will observe these as a condition of the agreement to loan. In some cases of rare or fragile documents, the lenders may instead decide to provide them as a reproduction, and in those instances ILL staff will convert such a request to an article format and supply the material to you by electronic delivery.

Please bear in mind that when you use the 'Other' request form, it almost invariably will require extended processing time from ILL staff, as searching for special materials is more involved than for most ordinary items. Also, remember that even when rare or esoteric materials have been catalogued in OCLC, or are cited in other databases, there is no guarantee that they are necessarily obtainable through interlibrary loan. We will, in any case, make our best effort in trying to supply you with those hard-to-find items you need for your research.

ILLiad Loans vs. OhioLINK Loans & Local Checkouts

Just another reminder that your loans obtained through ILLiad are managed separately from those items you have borrowed directly from the Kelvin Smith Library, from other CASE campus library locations, and from OhioLINK collections.

In order to view your current ILLiad loan transactions, you must log into your account at ILLiad. A list of your outstanding requests will appear on your Main Page, which will include those for any loans (and articles) still in process by ILL Staff, as well as any loans still awaiting pick-up. You may refresh this page by clicking on 'Your Name's ILLiad Page' at the top of the menu at the left, or you may check outstanding requests by clicking on 'Outstanding Requests' under the 'View' section. If you require further details regarding the current status of any outstanding requests still 'In Process', you will need to contact ILL Staff at 216-368-3517 or 216-368-3463 (M-F, 9AM-4:30PM), or at smithill@case.edu. For currently checked out loans, click on 'Checked Out Items' under the 'View' section also -- this is where you may request renewals, where eligible (see my previous entry on 'Requesting Renewals in ILLiad', or read about Renewals in our 'Customer Help' page).

To view any current loans from KSL collections, from any other CASE campus or CASE-affiliated libraries, or through OhioLINK, see the CASE Library Catalog and select 'My Library Account'. Here you will be able to renew these items, if they are eligible. For information regarding loans from the Cleveland Public Library, read further at CPL@Case-KSL.

Please note that any fines or replacement fees for KSL or OhioLINK books must be negotiated through our Circulation Department, which you may contact at 216-368-3506 or at smithcirc@case.edu. We recommend that you contact other CASE library locations (Cleveland Health Sciences, MSASS, LAW, Siegal, etc.) directly regarding fines on items from their collections.

We do not pass on overdue fines to patrons for books borrowed through ILLiad, as a matter of policy, but we do ask that you try to return these items as soon as possible. In the unfortunate instance of the loss of materials loaned through ILLiad, notify ILL Staff immediately, at 216-368-3517 or 216-368-3463, or at smithill@case.edu -- ILL staff will then need to contact the lending institution(s) on policies regarding replacement fees, and you will most likely be held accountable for compensation of any such losses. Your borrowing privileges may also become curtailed as a result, until any billings have been reconciled.

Sorry to end on such a depressing note... Hope this will clear up any confusion about the differences among the various sources of loans which you may obtain through our library services.

Blocked ILLiad Accounts

The end of the Fall 2008 Semester is nearing, and it's probably a time when many books borrowed though interlibrary loan are about to become overdue. If you have loans currently checked out through your ILLiad account, you may already have begun receiving e-mail notifications reminding you that they are soon to be returned, or are already overdue. You would have already been afforded the opportunity to request a renewal by now (under the right circumstances -- see my previous entry on 'Requesting Renewals in ILLiad'), but it's possible you've let this slip by due to a busy schedule.

The worst-case scenario might be receiving a message with the subject heading 'Overdue ILL Item - Blocked on ILLiad'. At this point, you are still able to log into your ILLiad account, but when you attempt to submit a new interlibrary loan request, you will receive the following message at the top of your page: 'You have been blocked and may not submit new requests...' This indicates that your KSL ILLiad account has lapsed to a 'blocked' status and your ILL privileges are now limited, as a result of having one or more current loan transactions at least 14 days overdue. To find out more details about what this implies, check the excerpt in our 'Customer Help' page regarding your Blocked ILLiad Account.

In order to remedy this situation, we would ask that you return any overdue ILLiad loans this far in arrears (or longer) directly to the Kelvin Smith Library Main Service Desk -- as soon as possible. (Returning items in the outdoor book drop or to other Case campus library locations will only slow the process.) Circulation staff can set your loan transaction(s) to a 'transit' status promptly, and this will prevent you from receiving further e-mail notifications on the loan(s) in question. ILL staff will clear the transaction(s) shortly thereafter, and once your account is free of any such excessively overdue items, you should receive a courtesy notice confirming that your ILLiad account has become unblocked, restoring you to full ILL privileges.

We appreciate your cooperation in getting all your ILLiad loans returned on time. This helps to keep our library in good standing with all the generous lenders with whom we do business, and in turn allows us to better serve our own customers.

Continue reading "Blocked ILLiad Accounts"

Checking Local & OhioLINK Holdings First

Just a friendly reminder to check availability of book and serial holdings in Case local libraries' and OhioLINK's collections, before you decide to submit a request using your ILLiad account...

For the availability of any books, journals or serials, in either print or electronic format, first check in the CASE Online Catalog, where you may search the holdings of Kelvin Smith Library and other Case campus library locations (i.e, Music, Astronomy, R.R.C.C., Iron Mountain, Allen, Health Center, MSASS & Law). Direct links to electronic format materials are often provided right in their catalog record.

Access to materials not physically held in the Kelvin Smith Library or other on-campus locations can be obtained or requested by the following means: Search and access our electronic collections at Electronic Journals & Electronic Books. Submit your requests for retrieval from our storage facilities using the R.R.C.C. or Iron Mountain forms.

If you need to borrow books that are not available in Case libraries' local collections, you may search at OhioLINK, where you can request circulating items directly. Please remember that items in our local collections currently checked out (or otherwise unavailable for loan) may be requested through OhioLINK, when copies of them are also available in other member libraries' holdings. OhioLINK does not presently offer a mechanism for providing delivery of articles from journals, however.

Once you have determined that you cannot obtain loans from any of our Case local collections or through OhioLINK, or articles from any of our Case local print or electronic collections, then it is time to submit requests through your ILLiad account. Please also keep in mind that we generally will not fill any requests through interlibrary loan for materials you can obtain directly from our local print or electronic collections or from OhioLINK libraries.

Checking our local collections and resources first can save you much time in obtaining the materials needed for your research. By making use of locally accessible resources (including OhioLINK) for loans, you have the added advantage of more flexible loan periods and renewal policies, unlike those borrowed using ILLiad.

Requesting Renewals in ILLiad

If you have any books borrowed through ILLiad, you may begin receiving e-mails with the heading 'ILL Item Due Soon'. This means that your item must be returned to the Kelvin Smith Library within the next five days. If you need the loan period extended, now is the time to submit a renewal request, provided there isn't a 'NO RENEWALS' restriction imposed by the lending library. This should be clearly marked on the label affixed to the front cover of the book (as well as indicated in the text of your original pick-up notification and any ensuing 'due soon' notices).

Log into your KSL ILLiad account and select 'Checked Out Items' from the 'View' section of your main menu. A table will appear listing all the items you currently have loaned to you through ILLiad. Click on the transaction number -- it's a link! -- corresponding to the loan in question, from the first column. When the individual record is displayed, click on the 'Request Renewal' option at the top. You will then receive a confirmation message that your request has been accepted. If you received a message indicating that you cannot renew your item, it is for one of the following reasons:

1. It is too soon to request a renewal (i.e., more than 5 days before the original due date).
2. There is a 'NO RENEWALS' restriction on your loan.
3. Your item is already overdue.
4. You have already requested one renewal on the item. (This may also occur if you click 'Request Renewal' more than once in the same session.)

If your transaction was eligible for a renewal, and you successfully submitted your request, you should expect to receive a reply by e-mail in approximately 24 hours. This may vary because it depends on how quickly the lending library responds to our contact. You will be informed of the new date (the default 2 weeks automatically requested -- or more or less according to the lender's renewal policy), if the extension was granted. Otherwise, the lender has denied the renewal request and you will be asked to return the item by its original due date. In the latter case, we suggest that you submit a new loan request for another copy of the same title, although this may not always be the best solution for loans of theses, dissertations, rare books and other items not likely to be widely held. You will continue to receive overdue notices until you return the item, and if you keep it two weeks or longer past the due date, you risk having your ILLiad account blocked.

If your account does become blocked, you will still be able to log into ILLiad, but your privileges will be limited. Once you return any and all items that are 14 days or longer overdue, ILL staff will clear your record and restore your full ILL services.

Please remember that ILLiad loan transactions operate independently of your direct check-outs from the Case campus library collections and in OhioLINK. (For example, due dates are 'fixed', not 'floating' relative to when you charge them out, and renewals are not always automatically available and may vary in length.) You will need to request your Case & OhioLINK loan renewals directly in your CASE Libraries circulation account.

If you experience any trouble submitting your request for an ILLiad loan renewal, please contact the KSL ILL staff at 216-368-3517 or 216-368-3463, Mon.-Fri., 9 AM-4:30 PM, (or leave voice-mail), or contact via e-mail at smithill@case.edu.

Continue reading "Requesting Renewals in ILLiad"

Archives of American Art Holdings

If you ever need to borrow microfilm reel collections from the Archives of American Art, we recommend you use the 'Other (Misc. Loan)' through your ILLiad account. Remember first to check their holdings by searching the SIRIS Online Catalog, so that you can specify the exact reel numbers by which they are catalogued when you submit your request. Please keep in mind that you may request no more than 8 reels at any given time--this policy is per-patron, per-institution, directly from AAA's Lending Division.

If you prefer not to work with microfilm format, please be aware that many of their collections have already been digitized, and are available free of charge to the general public. Visit their website and click on Collections Online to search these materials.

Textbooks on Interlibrary Loan

It's the beginning of the new school year, and time for scrambling to get your textbooks. The bookstore may be out of copies, or the ones your professor ordered have not yet come in. Although we don't generally recommend requesting them through ILL, we can occasionally obtain a copy for short-term loan until you are able to purchase one for yourself. When we are able to provide such loans, we guarantee neither speedy deliveries nor extended renewals. This is because most potential lender libraries do not often add textbooks to their collections, and when they do these become quickly unavailable to external users.

Before using ILLiad, we suggest you first check availability of titles in OhioLINK, where you may also request 4 3-week renewal periods online in addition to the initial 3-week loan period. This option may even carry you through the entire semester!