Student Training

Daily Tasks for Student ILL Assistant

1. Open ALEPH ILL and click on the Lending tab (the second one) to do Lending operations.

2. Lend any new requests in the New, New - Staff Review, or Waiting for Process categories.

3. Check in any returned items that have arrived in the mail.

Lend an Item

Before lending any items, keep in mind that we don’t lend: Reference items, Reserve items, any items over $200, and rare items (such as genealogical items, those in the archives, or those in the closed stacks)!

1.    To see the items being requested from your library, go to the Lending tab and click on the Review status.   A summary of the requests in the review status is displayed.  To see a list of the specific items being requested, highlight the All line, and click Select.

2.    If the status of the request is Located, skip to #4.  If the status of the request is New, click Locate to find the item in your library.

3.    If the Locate is successful (i.e. the request status changes to Located), print a copy of the request from tab4 in the LOWER pane.  Using the print from the lower pane ensures that the call number and other item information will appear on the slip.  If the locate is not successful (Mediated), or no information appears in tab4 of the lower pane, the request can be printed using the option from the upper pane, and then item information can be looked up in the catalog to check for location and availability.  NOTE: Status will sometimes change to Located and Printed after the request has been printed. (See next page for a visual)

4.    After retrieving the item from the shelves, pull up the request by entering the Lending request number in the lending bar and hit enter. Check to ensure that the item is indeed the item requested. At this point, it would be wise to stamp the request documentation if it has not already been stamped, to place a de-tuner on the item, and to place a return label inside the item.

Note:  The Lending request number can be found on the top portion of the request slip printed in step 4.  Often this can be scanned in like a bar code.

5.    With the request displayed, click Ship.  NOTE:  If you cannot lend the item for any reason, skip to step 10.

6.    The system will ask if you are shipping a returnable or non-returnable (photocopy) item.  Returnable Shipment is the default (if it isn’t returnable, change it) - click OK.

7.    On the ship screen, scan the item barcode and enter expected return date (it will usually be filled in for about a month).  Click OK.  Stamp the request sheet and write in the due date.

8.    Mail the item (see packing and mailing instructions), with a copy of the request slip, to the borrowing library.  No further processing is required until the item has been returned to your library.

Close/Check In an Item

1.    Pull up the request by entering the Lending request number in the lending bar and hit enter.

2.    The lending request number can be found on the packing slip enclosed with the item. Usually you can scan it in, like you would with a bar code.  If there’s no packing slip enclosed, select bar code from the drop down menu and scan the item’s bar code.

3.    With the request displayed on the screen, click Check-in.

4.    On the check-in box, click OK. 

5.    The status of the item is updated to Closed.  The item is now ready to be returned to your shelves.