An interlibrary loan article is sent from the lending library to the d’Alzon Library, and then mailed to your address after it is processed. You should allow at least 3 weeks between the initiation of the request and the expected arrival of the article at your address. For various reasons, articles may arrive sooner than the above time frame, but it is best to be safe.
An article may be requested as follows:
- Request via the online interlibrary loan form
- From the library home page http://www.assumption.edu/dept/library/libraryindex.html , click on “form” under “Interlibrary Loan” in the lower right corner of the screen
- On the next screen, enter your last name.
- Enter your bar code
- If you have a student ID, enter the ten digits that appear under the bar code in the lower right corner. If you get an error message after you have entered the bar code and your last name, call 508-767-7271 or 508-767-7273 so that a librarian can check your information in our patron database. If the library is closed, email library@assumption.edu so that a librarian can get back to you.
- If you do not have a student ID and you are taking courses from an off campus location, ask your professor for your authorization code or contact the library for further information. (If you are taking any courses on campus, stop by the Department of Public Safety to get an ID and then contact the library.)
- Choose “article request” under type of request
- Fill out the form as indicated, noting that some lines will be filled in automatically
- Something must be entered on every line indicated in bold type.
- Additional information increases the chances of the request being filled by a potential lender. Don’t hesitate to call 508-767-7273 or email library@assumption.edu for assistance.
- If you are willing to pay a fee for this item, indicate the maximum cost in the comments section. We will get the item from a library that does not charge if at all possible.
- Indicate “Distance learner” in the comments section
- Reenter the bar code where indicated, using the authorization code that enabled you to access the form
- After clicking on “submit”, check to ensure that a message indicates that the request was submitted successfully. If an error message appears that you are unable to solve, call 508-767-7273 or email library@assumption.edu for assistance.
- Use the “back” button if you wish to make another request.
- If the article is available from our collection, we will mail a photocopy of the article to you.
- If the article is available in full text from one of our databases, we will email a notice stating that fact. Upon request, we will print out and mail the article to you, but you may prefer to save time by downloading and printing the article from your computer. TIP: If you check first to see if a desired article is available in full text, you may receive your requested item more quickly. You may check availability by entering the name of the desired journal under “print and online journal locator”, found on the library home page http://www.assumption.edu/dept/library/libraryindex.html.
- Request via a database
- Some databases indicate that an interlibrary loan (ILL) request may be made for the item indicated by the search result.
- If this option is available, information related to the item will transfer automatically to the request form provided by the database.
- Specific instructions vary by database. First Search databases use the method for WorldCat that is explained in the section for requesting books. Call 508-767-7273 or email library@assumption.edu for any needed assistance.
2. How can I get books that I need from other libraries?
An interlibrary loan item is sent from the lending library to the d’Alzon Library, and then mailed to your address after it is processed. You should allow at least 3 weeks between the initiation of the request and the expected arrival of the book at your address.
A book may be requested through either of the following methods:
- Request via the WorldCat worldwide catalog
- From the library home page http://www.assumption.edu/dept/library/libraryindex.html , click on the pull down menu under “Frequently Accessed Databases”
- Click on “WorldCat”
- Use WorldCat to search for the desired book. (Don’t hesitate to call 508-767-7273 or email library@assumption.edu for any needed assistance concerning the search procedure.)
- Click where indicated to retrieve additional information on the desired book.
- Click on the ILL icon.
- Fill out the form that appears, including:
- Email address so that we can contact you if needed concerning the request
- Maximum cost if you are willing to pay for the item. Even if you indicate a willingness to pay, we will get the item from a lender that does not charge if at all feasible.
- Indicate “Distance learner” in the comments section
- Enter something on every line indicated by *
- After clicking on “submit”, check to ensure that a message indicates that the request was submitted successfully. If an error message appears that you are unable to solve, call 508-767-7273 or email library@assumption.edu for assistance.
- If WorldCat indicates that Assumption College has the desired book, you may use this method to submit your request. If the book is available in our collection, we will mail it to you on a 30 day loan to allow time for mailing.
- Request via the online Interlibrary Loan form
- From the library home page http://www.assumption.edu/dept/library/libraryindex.html , click on “form” under “Interlibrary Loan” in the lower right corner of the screen
- Enter your bar code
- If you have a student ID, enter the ten digits that appear under the bar code in the lower right corner. If you get an error message after you have entered the bar code and your last name, call 508-767-7271 or 508-767-7273 so that a librarian can check your information in our patron database. If the library is closed, email library@assumption.edu so that a librarian can get back to you.
- If you do not have a student ID and you are taking courses from an off campus location, ask your professor for your authorization code or contact the library for further information. (If you are taking any courses on campus, stop by the Department of Public Safety to get an ID and then contact the library.)
- Use the pull down menu under type of request to choose “blank book request”.
- Fill out the form as indicated, noting that some lines will be filled in automatically
- Something must be entered on every line indicated in bold type.
- Additional information increases the chances of the request being filled by a potential lender. Don’t hesitate to call 508-767-7273 or email library@assumption.edu for assistance.
- If you are willing to pay a fee for this item, indicate the maximum cost in the comments section. We will get the item from a library that does not charge if at all possible.
- Indicate “Distance learner” in the comments section
- Reenter the bar code where indicated, using the authorization code that enabled you to access the form
- After clicking on “submit”, check to ensure that a message indicates that the request was submitted successfully. If an error message appears that you are unable to solve, call 508-767-7273 or email library@assumption.edu for assistance.
- Use the “back” button if you wish to make another request.
If the book is available in our collection, we will mail it to you.
3. When I try to access your form to make a request, a screen asks me for a bar code. What do I do next?
If you have a student ID, enter the ten digits that appear under the bar code in the lower right corner. If you get an error message after you have entered the bar code and your last name, call 508-767-7271 or 508-767-7273 so that a librarian can check your information in our patron database. If the library is closed, email library@assumption.edu so that a librarian can get back to you.
If you do not have a student ID and you are taking courses from an off campus location, ask your professor for your authorization code or contact the library for further information. (If you are taking any courses on campus, stop by the Department of Public Safety to get an ID and then contact the library.)
4. Do I have to wait for material to be mailed to your library and then mailed from there to my home?
No. According to your preference,
- You may request that materials be held at the library for you to pick up if you believe that doing so would be quicker than waiting for the mail to deliver them to you. To request this option, call 508-767-7273 or email library@assumption.edu so that we will know to hold items for you.
- You may also arrange for interlibrary loan services through your local public library. Under this option, you may continue to use your name and authorization code to search our databases to locate needed materials. You may also call 508-767-7273 or email library@assumption.edu for guidance concerning citation information that your local library would need to input your request.
5. I received a notice that an item is available at the front desk of the library. Do I have to come in to pick it up?
No. As long as we are aware that you are a distance learner, we will mail items to you unless you have notified us that you prefer to pick them up. (The notice to pick up items is generated automatically by our system, but you may safely ignore it as long as we are aware that you are a distance learner.)
6. Do I have to return photocopies that were supplied by other libraries?
In most cases, you do not have to return a photocopy. The copy of the article or book section is yours to keep, make notes on or discard when finished as you prefer.
A photocopy will occasionally include generic return instructions from the lending library. You may ignore those instructions unless we include a specific notice to the contrary.
7. I sent a book back to your library, but I still received an overdue notice. Why?
While the book is en route to the d’Alzon Library, you may receive an automatic overdue notice. You may safely ignore that notice if you have mailed the item within the past week. If you receive a second notice, however, please contact us at library@assumption.edu or call 508-767-7271 to alert us that the book has been mailed back to us so that we can investigate the situation. It is best to mail an item back to us at least one week before the due date.
A library that agrees to loan an item to us does so on a voluntary basis. Thus, it is very important to comply with the lender’s due date so that we may continue to borrow books from that institution in the future. In order to protect the rights of all of our patrons, we may need to suspend the record of a patron that has overdue materials borrowed from other libraries via interlibrary loan. While a record is under suspension, the patron will be unable to generate new requests, receive items in process that are not already en route or access our databases from off campus.
8. How do I return books that I borrowed through interlibrary loan?
About a week or so before the due date on the book, package the book in the box or padded envelope that was used to send the item. Be sure to tape nothing to the book itself. Attach the enclosed return address label securely to the package before bringing the item to an appropriate facility.
9. Can I renew a book that I received through interlibrary loan?
The decision concerning the request is made by the lending library. Contact us at library@assumption.edu or call 508-767-7273 to ask us to make a renewal request for the book. You may continue to use the book unless we notify you that the renewal request has been denied by the lending library. If the request is denied, please return the book as soon as possible so that other libraries will continue to be willing to loan materials to us.
