IDST400 Challenges for the 21st Century

• Monitor your email for notifications and questions from the BVU Library staff.
• Return material on or before the date specified.  
• If necessary, renew material BEFORE the due date. Email ill@bvu.edu to request an extension.
• Feel free to get updates on your requests by emailing ill@bvu.edu 
• Take good care of any library material that has been loaned to you!

There are two ways to create requests for material you need.

1.  Manual Request

• Click on Interlibrary Loan link
• Select your status from the two options.  Community guests have to pay $15 to use this service.  Most users can click on "BVU Students/Faculty/Staff" button.
• Click on the "Create Request" button on the right side of the screen.
• Select "Article/Book Chapter," "Book," or "Media" request form, whichever best fits the information you need.
• Fill in as much information as you have about the material needed.  It's OK if you don't have information for every box on the form.  Required fields are indicated with an asterisk.  Please contact a librarian if you don't have all the required information.
• Click on Submit Request at the bottom of the request form.
• We will notify you via email when your material arrives or if we have any problems filling your request.  Please use your BVU email and respond to emails you receive from us.

2. Automatic requests

Links to request books and articles through interlibrary loan are built-in to many library resources.  Use these built-in links to make your requests more efficiently.

2A. Requesting from the Library catalog, WorldCat

• Go to the FULL DESCRIPTION of the item by clicking on the title of the item.  The "Access Options" box will appear on the right side of the screen.  If BVU Library does not have that item available, the "Request an Interlibrary Loan" button will display.
• The request form will prompt you to enter your pick-up location for the item when it arrives.  Online students may prefer to have these items mailed to them at their home.  Students on campus or within driving distance of Storm Lake should select "BVU Library Circulation Desk" for your pick-up location.  Online students: your local public library may offer these same services and can often fill your requests faster. 
• Click on "Submit Request" button at the bottom of the request form.
• Monitor your BVU email so you'll know when your item is available for pick-up.
• Please note:  due to copyright restrictions and licensing agreements, we are unable to obtain textbooks for BVU classes or e-books.

2B. Requesting from a database

• Library databases sometimes offer links to the full-text of an article, but if you need an article that does not have full-text available, follow these steps to place your request.
• The "Access Options" pull-down options will assist you.

The "Search for Full-text" link will take you to a page that checks to see if there is another library resource that contains your article.

• Using this method means the request form will be filled out for your automatically!
  • Fill out the "Date Needed by" field.  If your request is not filled by that date, the request will expire automatically.
  • Click on "Submit Request" button at the bottom of the request form.

Please note: All articles are delivered via email, so pick-up location is not needed.   BVU email addresses are preferred. Articles usually arrive in less than 48 hours.

If you need the material past the date it is due, please contact us so that we can request a renewal on your behalf.

Email ill@bvu.edu with the title and the length of time you'd like to keep the book (up to 30 days).

• Renewals are not automatic.  If the renewal is not granted you may be asked to return the book immediately.  If that happens, you can place another request for the same title and we'll borrow it from another library.

• Interlibrary Loan materials can be recalled by the lending library if it is needed there.  If you are contacted to return material before it is due, please work with us to get another copy of the material.

Interlibrary loan returns can be left in the library book drop or returned to the library circulation desk.

Off-campus students should read the tab "Live outside of Storm Lake?" for special instructions on how to return interlibrary loan items.

• Journal articles do not need to be returned unless you are instructed otherwise.

Interlibrary Loan services are available to ALL BVU students and faculty, regardless of location.  Students who attend online classes in eight-week terms can face a real time crunch when using the interlibrary loan service, so please plan well in advance!  

Service for books and returnable items will take longer for those who live outside of Storm Lake.  Items will first be sent to the BVU Library for processing and then we will mail them to your home address. For this reason, please consider using your local public library, especially to request books, because the requested items can be in your hands more quickly.  Journal requests are sent electronically straight to you via email, so these requests do NOT require any extra shipping time.

When it is fiscally possible, we will provide students with a self-addressed, postage-paid padded mailer to return items to the BVU Library.  Please keep track of this mailer! Simply seal the padded mailing envelope with the items and drop it off at a post office or with your mail carrier.   Our mailing address is:
 

BVU LIbrary

Attn: Interlibrary Loan

Buena Vista University

610 W. Fourth St.

Storm Lake, IA 50588

Community guests who purchase a library card ($15 annually) are eligible to use the BVU Library interlibrary loan service.

Please contact ill@bvu.edu to have an ILL account created.  After the account is created an email will be sent to you with a link to set your password.

Your password can be reset using the “Set/Reset password” button under Profile in My Account.  If you are unable to log in, email ill@bvu.edu and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Logging In to Interlibrary Loan

Sign in to your ILL account by clicking on the Interlibrary Loan link on the BVU Library’s webpage. 

If you are prompted to select a status, choose the "Community Guest" button.  You should then be prompted to login. Your username should be the barcode number on your BVU ID card.  The password is what we sent to you or whatever you changed that password to.  

My Account (upper right) will show your materials checked out from the BVU Library as well as your ILL Requests.  You can check on the status of your ILL request here.

Now that you are logged in, click on the "Place Request" tab for help entering your requests.

There are some items that our interlibrary loan service will be unable to obtain.  

• Textbooks needed for BVU courses
• E-books (although chapters of e-books may be possible to obtain.)
• Streaming video
• Current best sellers or any recently published books
• Special or complete issues of journals or magazines
• Rare, valuable, or fragile items
• Reference materials (dictionaries, encyclopedias, directories, etc)
• Testing instruments and test study guides
• Maps, software, audiovisual materials