ILL Transitional Request Process - Early Fall '22

   Process for requesting items that Bush Library doesn't have

New Process

BEST OPTION: search for the item in HamCAT to try to find what you need. Some items discovered in HamCAT may be at our university, or they may be at one of our partner schools in our consortium, MnPALS. If your item is owned at a MnPALS partner library, you'll be presented with options to request it be delivered for you. 

If your item isn't found from that default search, then click on the words, "Click here to Search Beyond Partner Libraries" to search beyond the MnPALS partner environment. 

If you locate an item in this search process and the options say "No online access" or "Check Partner Libraries," then

     Sign in to HamCAT (if you haven't already done so)

     and Click on the words, Get it For Me from Other Libraries.

Select from among the options it could provide. These could include

Online Availability OR Get a Physical Copy OR Need a Chapter?

Click on the Get It Button, fill out the form, and submit.

Second Option: If you can't find the item you are seeking by searching in HamCAT, use the Interlibrary Loan request button on the top of HamCAT to fill out a form with the information you have on your item. 

For faster access make sure that you have already searched HamCAT before filling out the blank
Interlibrary Loan Request online form.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) requests submissions in HamCAT are part of a series of changes to Interlibrary Loan and Scan on Demand (faculty) services that will improve how users submit and manage their requests. 

Streamlined Interlibrary Loans will be available within the near future. Read more details here.

* If you request an ebook through ILL, realize that you will probably be offered a print / physical copy of the book. Most libraries don't inter-lend ebooks due to licensing restrictions.

* You can still use WorldCat to look up citations, but you will now have to fill out a blank ILL form in HamCAT for your requests. The linking to ILLiad  pre-populated forms from WorldCat will no longer be operational. We recommend you use HamCAT first,  search by expanding beyond our partner libraries, and only use WorldCat if HamCAT provides zero results.

Difficult items to borrow through Interlibrary Loan:

• eBooks
• textbooks
• conference proceedings
• entire journals (request instead specific articles)
• recently published books
• rare books
• video games or computer software 

Streamlined Interlibrary Loans:

• No need for another sign in for ILLiad. A single sign on in HamCAT (Hamline Google) will allow users to see, request, and track Interlibrary Loans.

• Estimated time for delivery of physical items such as books will be available soon. 
• Our new HamCAT Interlibrary Loan functionality will be cloud based. So it should reduce ITS time for setting up and maintaining ILLiad in VDI and on library staff computers.
•  Reduced need for users to fill out forms --  saving time and effort.

What's not changing:

• our courier service will continue Monday through Friday (weekends and holidays excepted) 
• the library will continue to get your  requests  as quickly and efficiently as possible
• we are continuing to be part of the MnPALS Consortium which works with Minitex

ILL offers all current Hamline faculty, staff, and students access to materials needed for coursework and scholarly research which are not currently available at Bush Library but are available at other libraries.