Requesting Materials Beyond SMC
Need an article?
You’ll want to check our catalog first! To do this, start out at the library’s homepage: http://library.stmarys-ca.edu.
Click on the tab that says “Periodicals” and type in the name of the journal or periodical you’re looking for, like this:
***We’ll be using the following example throughout this tutorial. Here’s how to tell where the journal or periodical title is in a citation:
Cutter, Barbara. “The Female Indian Killer Memorialized Hannah Duston and the Nineteenth–Century Feminization of American Violence.“ Journal of Women’s History. 20:2 (2008): 10-33.
The journal or periodical title is the underlined title. The title in quotes is the article title.
When you click the “Submit” button, a new window will pop up with information on whether or not the library holds the journal/periodical.
It looks as though the library has this journal. If you’d rather see the print holdings, click on the link that says “Saint Mary’s College Library Holdings.” Another window pops up with the periodical’s holding information:
As you can see, the library has volumes 3-18 in print. Volumes 11-present are online.
If you’re a faculty member or a graduate student, or an undergraduate who lives more than 25 miles away from campus, you qualify for Document Delivery! If your article is in print and you can’t make it to the library, feel free to submit a request through ILLiad. Your article will then be pulled from our stacks, scanned and delivered electronically to your ILLiad account. If you’re a staff member or student who lives on or close to campus, come to the library to get your article.
However, you should always check to see if the article you need is in a database. If you submit a request for an article that is available in a database, your request will be cancelled.
Let’s look at our example from earlier and pretend we need this article:
Cutter, Barbara. “The Female Indian Killer Memorialized Hannah Duston and the Nineteenth–Century Feminization of American Violence.“ Journal of Women’s History. 20:2 (2008): 10-33.
Let’s take a look at the holdings again for this journal to see if the library has it electronically:
As you can see, any of the databases that say xxxx to present should have this article electronically. That means that have the most current issue. We’ll choose Project Muse as our example database and search by the article title. Most databases have a search box directly on their main page. If you can’t find it, look for a link that says “Search.”
Here’s our result:
To access the full article, look for links that say things like “PDF” or “HTML” or “full-text html” or “full-text pdf.” This should bring up the entire article.
If you can’t find the link to the full-text, look for a link that says “Check SMC Holdings.” Most databases have a link to import your request into ILLiad.
Clicking the link will take you to the sign-in page for ILLiad. Type in your first and last name as your username, and your 14-digit barcode number for your password.
If you don’t have an ILLIad account, sign up for one by clicking on “First time ILLIad users, click here.”
Once you sign in, the request should be automatically added as a new request. Review the information and click “Submit.”
It takes about 3-5 days for an article to arrive. Once the article is posted to your account, you’ll receive an email with instructions on how to access it.
Need a book?
Check Albert, the Library’s catalog first!
If we have the book you’re looking for, you’ll see the location information and a call number:
If you’re a faculty member or a graduate student, or an undergraduate who lives more than 25 miles away from campus, you qualify for Document Delivery! That means the library can mail this book to you via UPS. To request, you can sign into ILLiad and put in a book request.
If you do not see any results, check Link +.
Here’s an example. Let’s say I want a copy of Norman Partridge’s Man with the barbed wire fists. This book is not available through our library. When I type that title in Albert, I receive the following screen result:
At this point, click the green “Link+” icon located in the upper-right hand corner of the screen. You can search by keyword, title author or subject. Just make sure it isn’t available through the library first.
Hit submit and click on the result that best matches what you’re looking for. Now you’re ready to put in a request:
Click on the link at the bottom that says “Request this item.” The system will want to know which institution you’re affiliated with. Select Saint Mary’s College and click “Submit above information.” Next, you’ll enter your first and last name along with your 14-digit barcode number on the back of your SMC ID card. If you want to pick up the book at Saint Mary’s College Library, choose Saint Mary’s College and then Saint Mary’s College Library. If you’re closer to another institution, feel free to choose a pickup location closest to you.
Click the Submit button and you’re done! You’ll receive a notification on the next screen informing you where the book will be coming from. You’ll receive an email notification in your SMC email account when the book arrives.
If you cannot find a book through Link +, feel free to submit a book request through ILLiad.
Book request through ILLiad can take much longer, generally about two weeks, so planning ahead is always a good idea.
