THE ASSIGNMENT waits for you, playing with your mind, poised to eat you alive like Hannibal Lector: a ten-page paper, eight sources, only one web site allowed. Luckily, you remember that long-ago library session from your COMP 100 class, and dutifully go to the library web page where you jump into Academic Search Premier and begin fishing for some of those “peer reviewed” articles your teacher has required you to use. You even remember the part about breaking your topic into its different concepts and putting one concept per line in the search boxes: global warming AND treaties. A page with 706 results pops up. Bingo! As you find some terrific articles in Time and Forbes, you realize you forgot to check the box for “Scholarly (peer reviewed) articles.” So you click on link for Academic Journals on the left and your results shrink to 74. As you start to scan for the best articles, you quickly discover that for some reason every really good article doesn’t have one of those links to HTML full text or PDF full text! You briefly consider settling for the less relevant articles that have the full text, but realize this is definitely not a good academic decision. The better choice is to click on the 360 Link to Full Text or the Find It! Button (they are the same thing).
The Find It! Link will guide you to a copy of the article, one way or another. If the article is available in another of the 100+ databases the library subscribes to, you will be taken to the new database. If the article is not available online, a window pops up with the citation and below this a message will appear “Sorry, no holdings were found for this journal.” The next line will indicate if the library has any print or microform copies of the journal. If we subscribe, you will most likely find the journal in the Periodicals Room on floor P of the library alphabetical by title of the journal. Feel free to ask for help with locating these at the Reference & Information Desk.
If there is no indication that there is a print copy of the journal at Milne, the next line says “If your above search was not successful, try interlibrary loan.” Request item on Interlibrary Loan. Do not abandon your search at this point! Most articles are delivered to you online within 48 hours. And it’s free. So, go ahead, click on the Request item on Interlibrary Loan button. A window will pop up in which you must type your OSC username and password. If you’ve never used interlibrary loan you will need to fill out (only once) a form with address, phone number, Oneonta email address, etc. Once you submit that page, you will be taken to a page on which all the information about the article is already plugged in to the form. It doesn’t hurt to double check the information, but at this point all you need to do is scroll to the bottom of the page and hit “Submit.” It takes longer to describe this process than it does to do it.
What happens next? You will receive an email from the library (usually within 2 or 3 days) with instructions for how to retrieve a copy of your article, which has been delivered electronically. No need to come to the library. Your instructions will send you to the ILLiad page where you will enter your user name and password. Once logged in look for the link on the left “View/Download Electronically Received Articles.” Print it or read it online. Articles are saved here for 30 days.
If you need help call 436-2726 for the ILL office, or stop by in person. The Interlibrary Loan office is Room 102A. As you come in from the Jazzman’s Café, you’ll see a brand new door on the wall to your right. The CADE satellite office is right next to this door.
So keep your eye open for that Find It! link and then go ahead, pat yourself on the back, because, well… you’re a genius. You were determined to write a great paper, you persisted, and dagnabbit, you got the best sources whether they seemed available or not!