Accessing Your Account
When your appointment request is approved, you will receive credentials to sign in to the catalog by email. Sign in in the upper right corner and your name should appear in the corner of the screen. You are now ready to place requests!
How to Request Library Materials
- Search for the item you would like to request.
- Select the item from the search results and click to open the record.
- Materials that you have permission to request will have a request link. If an item is available to be scanned, you will also see a scan request link. Click on the preferred request option:
What Happens Next?
- Staff will pull the item(s).
- If we have questions about your request, we will be in touch by email. Otherwise, we will deliver the item(s) to the reading room.
- Unless you receive an email indicating otherwise, requested materials will be waiting on a study table on the date and time of your appointment. Please check in with staff upon arrival to locate your table.
- Materials will be checked out to your account for six weeks from the original appointment date. If you would like to return to work with the materials again, please let the staff at the reference desk know that you are not finished with the items when you are leaving. You will need to make a follow-up appointment to return.
Turnaround Times
We do our best to deliver materials as quickly as possible, but we ask that you place your requests in the online catalog a minimum of two business days prior to your appointment so that we can make sure the items will be available. Some items are stored in locations that require additional processing time. Placing the requests farther in advance will help ensure the items are ready by your appointment time.
Some examples:
- Materials from Offsite-NU (approximately ten percent of the library collection) will take at least five days from the point the item was requested.
- Materials from the Backlog will take at least three days from the point the item was requested.
There is one opportunity in each appointment block for visitors to request additional materials. Items marked as available in the online catalog can be provided during this time; we are not able to provide same-day access to items that are stored Offsite or in the Backlog.
Requesting Archival materials
Requests for archival materials are made via the AIC Archives Public Appointment Request Form.
Requesting serials, and multi-volume sets
These items have a button that appears on the right side of the screen for each part.
