Student Training

Daily Tasks for Student ILL Assistant

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

2. Send any new requests to the potential suppliers.

a. Locate, and then Send, any requests in the New and New - Staff Review categories.

b. Send any requests in the Waiting for Process category.

3. Receive any borrowing requests that have arrived in the mail.

4. Check the library.ill@vcsu.edu email account.

a. If any requested articles have arrived, email them to the individual(s) who requested the article(s).

5. Return any items that have been returned in the ILL Return bin, and package them to be mailed back to the owning library.

Borrow an Item

1.    Make sure you’re working in the Borrowing tab (the first one).

2.    On the left side of the screen, click on New.

3.    Click on Select on the right side of the screen to view the new records.

4.    STOP! Before you move any further, first search to see if the item is in our catalog.  If the students can access the item here, do NOT place the request. Instead e-mail the patron that we have the item in our library, find it, and place it on the hold shelf for the patron.  If we do not have the item here, proceed to the next step. Note: See Searching for more information.

5.    The borrowing request will display on the screen with a New status. Click Locate to determine which libraries own the item.

6.    After the Locate is performed, the request status changes to Waiting for Process and a list of potential suppliers appears in tab 4. Suppliers of the lower pane. Rearrange the list if necessary by clicking Re-arrange (with this you can move suppliers who are closer to us to the top). Once the list is set, click Send to send the request to the first library on the list. 

NOTE: If no suppliers are found, the request status will change to Locate in Process and no suppliers will be seen in tab 4. Suppliers of the lower pane (skip to Step 8).

7.    The request status changes to Sent to Supplier.

8.    If no suppliers are found, the status of the request changes to Locate in Process. 

9.    There may be several reasons a request did not locate successfully:

a. The locate works using the ISBN, ISSN or LCCN number. If the record has none of these numbers, it will not locate successfully.  You can search All ODIN Libraries in Primo to find these numbers on other library’s records. After entering these numbers, try to locate again.

b. If no libraries have an item available for loan, the request will not locate successfully. Items may be out on loan at their institutions, or perhaps the particular type of item (such as some audio visual material) is not available from the library via ILL. Double check by doing an All ODIN Libraries search.

c. If no ODIN lenders have own the item, the request will not locate successfully. If this is the case, skip to #12.

10. If, after conducting a search in ODIN, you find a participating library that has an item available for loan, you can add them to the potential supplier list by selecting Add Supplier in tab 4 of the lower pane. Then, click on the ellipsis (…) beside Partner Code.  Next, search for the supplier by the code or browse through them until you find the right one. NOTE: if a library has not been configured or if the ILL department is shut down, the library will not appear in the drop-down list.

11. After adding a supplier to the request, you can conduct the Send as noted in step 7 above.  If you determine that the request could not be fulfilled, try finding the items in the WorldCat (See OCLC Borrowing) catalog.  If you have absolutely no luck, e-mail the patron informing them of the unfilled request (check out the wordage in the drafts folder of the ILL e-mail account).

12. Additional supplier options:

a. Physical items (books, DVDs, etc.) only: If no ODIN libraries own the item, we may be able to request it from UNIVOFMN_MINITEX, which opens up the potential suppliers to many Minnesota libraries. Following the instructions in steps 10 & 11 (above), manually add UNIVOFMN_MINITEX as a supplier, and send the request.

b. Articles only: If no ODIN suppliers are identified using the Locate function, it doesn't hurt to try manually adding the following suppliers: NWQUT, UNDUT, UNIVOFMN_TC. Following the instructions in step 10 & 11 (above), manually add these suppliers and send the request. Additionally, if ODIN identified NWQUT or UNDUT as a supplier and they were unable to fill the request, try the same thing, but just add UNIVOFMN_TC as a supplier, and send to them.

13. If no local providers (ODIN libraries, Minitex, and Univ of MN Twin Cities), are able to fill the request, move on to OCLC WorldShare and place a request there. OCLC WorldShare is only a last resort. Always attempt a request from MINITEX (for physical items), or UNIVOFMN_TC (for articles) before moving on to WorldShare.

Note: When receiving an item, always check its condition. Is the item damaged? If so, send a message in ALEPH noting the damage. This ensures that we and our patron will not be held responsible for the damage.

Receive an Item

1.    Pull up the request by entering or scanning the "Requester Reference Number" on the item's paperwork (make sure it’s the request number above NDVUT) in the borrowing bar and hit enter. [Note: You can also search for the item in the borrowing search box by Title]

2.    The borrowing request number can be found on the packing slip enclosed with the book.             

3.    With the request displayed on the screen, click Receive.

4.    On the receive box, enter or scan the item's barcode (library supplied) in the Item Barcode field. If the item does not have a barcode, enter the "Requester Reference Number" from step 1. Check to be certain the expected return date is correct, then click OK.  NOTE: For requested copies, you won’t need to enter the Item Barcode, instead just leave the form as is and click OK.

5.    Two arrival letters will display. In a separate tab, open the library.ill@vcsu.edu email account and open a new arrival form letter. Copy and paste the bibliographic information from the first letter into an arrival letter template, and use the patron's first name in the address line.

6. Print the second one that comes up (ILL Arrival Slip).  Highlight the patron’s name and the due date.

7.    The status of the item is updated to Loaned to Patron.  The item is now ready for the patron.

8.    Using the library.ill@vcsu.edu email account, email the patron that their ILL item has arrived and that they can pick it up at the circulation desk at their earliest convenience (see the drafts folder in the e-mail account). If the person is not a VCSU faculty, staff, or student, search their name in ALEPH Circulation to find their phone number or e-mail address. Ask the User Services Librarian for help if you need it.

9.    Place the item on the pick up shelf. 

Receiving an Electronically Delivered Item

For electronic items, once received in ALEPH (see the above instructions), save the file as a pdf on your computer and email the patron the pdf. Make sure to request a read receipt for the email to ensure the patron received it. Keep it for about a week or until the patron returns the read receipt.

Return an Item

1.    Pull up the request by entering or scanning the "requester reference number" in the borrowing bar (as a request number) and hit enter. [Note: You can also search for the item by title in "words from title" or by barcode in "Item Barcode."]

2.    The borrowing request number can be found on the packing slip enclosed with the book or on the check out form.             

3.    With the request displayed on the screen, click Return.

4.    On the return box, click OK. 

5.    The status of the item is updated to Returned by Library.  The item is now ready to be sent back to the lending library.

6. Package the item with all paperwork included.