Knox College Library Policies and Procedures
Knox College Library Policies and Procedures
View all borrowing requests in the left menu under Borrowing Requests.
New requests come to the "New for Review" queue. (Note that requests can live in more than one queue in Tipasa. For example, a new request can live in the "New for Review" queue, the "Copyright" queue and also in the "Reviewed" queue.
Check the citation and make sure it is properly filled in. For example, if it is missing pages numbers or an article title, find the missing information and add it (click SAVE each time you alter a record).
If OCLC indicates the item is owned by Knox verify that the item is on the shelf and retrieve it from the shelf. Cancel the request in Tipasa using the appropriate template. Then, place a hold request on the item in Alma. See these instructions for placing a hold request for a patron in Alma.
If the item is not on the shelf, process the request in Tipasa.
If the item is one that seems to be readily available via I-Share (i.e., there are several libraries that own it and the item is available for loan) cancel the request using the "Loan request canceled-Item available via I-Share" template.
If the request has the "Non-English" tag
AND the notes field in the Patron section of the request (scroll to the end of the request) indicates they will accept non-English,
then process the request as normal.
If the request has the "Non-English" tag AND the patron did not indicate in the NOTES field that non-English is acceptable, then the patron should be contacted by the librarian liaison associated with the department on the request. (If the request is for non-English language material AND the patron indicated in the notes field that non-English is okay, process the request as usual.)
Add the librarian's name (Becca, Laurie, Mike) as a request tag, then email the librarian about the request (either within Tipasa using the email button in the top-right or via Gmail) telling them the item is a request for non-English material.
Interlibrary loan agreements prevent us from using Tipasa to acquire required course texts for students. Send the patron the appropriate request canceled email and cancel the request.
Requests for dissertations will most often be in the form of copy (article) requests with the journal title Dissertation Abstracts.
Librarians: Contact the student and determine if it is requested for a course below the 300 level. If it is, cancel the request in Tipasa using the request cancellation template for dissertation request.
If the request is for a 300-level course or Honors, McNair, or other special research, contact the patron and determine their level of need for the dissertation. If the dissertation is highly desirable, then:
1) try to find it freely available in an institutional repository
2) see if it is available for loan via I-Share
3) notify the ILL supervisor that the dissertation should be purchased, and provide the Tipasa request ID
Some article requests are for abstracts of papers. You can usually tell if the article request is for an abstract by looking at the journal title, for example, Geophysical Research Abstracts. (The full abstract is also usually available in a database.)
Students typically do not know they are submitting a request for an abstract, and are thinking they are going to get a larger formal paper or article.
Determine which librarian liaison corresponds to the department in the request. Then, add the librarian's name (Becca, Laurie, Mike) as a request tag, then email the librarian with the request number telling them the item is a request for an abstract. The librarian will contact the patron to work with them on getting other suitable materials.
These requests nearly always come from the PsycTests database. They will come into Tipasa as LOAN requests. Put the name of the librarian liaison for psychology in a request tag, then email that librarian about the request including the Tipasa request number so that he/she can work with the patron on getting the item.
If the OCLC record indicates the material is archival material, put a request tag on the request for the librarian liaison's name that corresponds to the department listed in the request. Then, email the librarian about the request, saying that it is for archival material, and include the Tipasa request number.
Many U.S. and state government documents are freely available online. If the item appears to be a government document (look for links to government sites in the OCLC record, or authorship that indicates it is produced by a government agency) search Google by title and/or agency to find the free full text.