Date Approved March 01, 2022
Number POL-LIB
Purpose
The Pacific University Libraries are committed to providing students, faculty, and staff with equitable and convenient access to the Libraries’ information resources, which are available in both physical and digital formats. These information resources include materials that are wholly owned by the Libraries; materials that are temporarily or continuously licensed by the Libraries for Pacific community access; materials that are temporarily physically borrowed from other libraries via resource sharing agreements; and copies of materials requested from other libraries in digital form for Pacific community members to keep. The Libraries provide access to these resources regardless of Pacific community members’ geographic location, using electronic access of delivery whenever possible, or physical delivery when necessary.
These guidelines and procedures outline the ways in which the Libraries make information resources available to the Pacific community, and establishes expectations for material access and availability.
This document only addresses commercially available materials; availability and access to the Libraries’ unique and local materials (i.e. Archives, Special Collections, institutional repository, and digital archival collections) are not subject to these specific guidelines and procedures.
Suggestions for Faculty
The Libraries are committed to working with faculty to ensure that students are able to access required course readings/materials. Faculty members are encouraged to provide the Libraries with their course syllabi as soon as they are finalized, especially if there are specific materials that the faculty member would like to ensure are available on physical course reserve or available electronically for students. Because of the Libraries’ commitment to resource sharing, some physical materials may not be immediately available (i.e. may be on loan to other libraries) if they are requested less than 3-4 weeks before the actual need. For ebooks and other electronic materials, faculty should check with the Libraries to confirm that access will remain available for the duration of the course and that the licensing will allow for simultaneous use by multiple students. This will help ensure that these materials are available for students to use for the duration of the course. With appropriate advance notice, the Libraries will make all reasonable efforts to purchase/license electronic versions of books and streaming media to provide the broadest possible access for students enrolled in a course.
Guidelines for Physical Materials
The Libraries’ physical collections are divided among multiple campuses (Forest Grove, Hillsboro, Eugene, Woodburn), and these resources are frequently in use by both Pacific and non-Pacific patrons. In consideration of these factors, the following guidelines are offered to ensure that Pacific University students, faculty, and staff are provided with access to the physical materials they require.
Requesting Materials from another Pacific University Campus Library
A Pacific community member may find that the material they need is located at another campus. Depending on the type of material, Pacific patrons have two options for requesting materials for delivery to their home campus:
Books/Media
Patrons whose “home” campus is Forest Grove or Hillsboro may request items through the Libraries’ catalog for delivery to their preferred campus. Items requested in this way will be delivered on the Pacific University intercampus shuttle; the current shuttle schedule will determine when the item is delivered. Patrons will receive an email when their item is scanned in at its final destination and available for pick-up.
Patrons whose “home” campus is Eugene or Woodburn or are in an online/distance program may request items through the Libraries’ Interlibrary Loan system, ILLiad (this does not mean the item will be requested from a non-Pacific library; it alerts Libraries staff to the need to ship the item directly to you). The Libraries’ Interlibrary Loan team will send requested items right to the patron’s mailing address, free of charge. Before the due date, patrons should mail loans back to the Libraries with the free prepaid shipping label in your package.
Journal Articles (Print Journals) or Book Chapters/Sections
For an article from a journal issue that is physically located at another Pacific campus, or a book chapter/section from a book physically located at another Pacific campus, Pacific patrons can request electronic delivery of the article through ILLiad, the Library’s Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery system.
In general, requested scans will take less than 24 hours to arrive; most article requests will be filled the same day. Requests placed on weekends may take slightly longer to arrive (requests are generally only processed Monday-Friday during normal business hours).
- Patrons will receive an email notification when their requested items are posted to their ILLiad account by Library staff.
- To view/print your articles, log on to ILLiad.
- Articles are posted to the web server for 60 days. If you accidentally remove your articles, send an E-mail to ill@pacificu.edu to have them reposted.
If Needed Material is on Loan (or Missing, In Repair, etc.)
If an item urgently needed by a Pacific patron is currently checked out or otherwise unavailable, Libraries staff will work with the patron to determine an alternate means of obtaining that item. This may include: requesting the item through the Summit catalog, requesting the item through Interlibrary Loan, or even (as a last resort) recalling the checked-out item. Libraries staff may also decide to purchase an additional copy of an item to expedite access as needed, especially if an item needs to be place on reserve for a course. Libraries staff will make every effort to ensure that the patron receives the item in a timely manner.
Requesting Materials from Other Libraries
Summit. Pacific’s membership in the Orbis Cascade Alliance extends access to physical information resources far beyond the Libraries’ local collections. Through the Alliance, Pacific University students, staff, and faculty may borrow physical materials directly from Alliance members’ collections (through the “Summit” system) with an average delivery time of two-four days to the Forest Grove, Hillsboro, and Eugene* campuses. Students and faculty also have reciprocal on-site borrowing privileges at other Alliance institutions, which means they are able to use their Pacific University ID card (Boxer Card) to check out materials on-site.
* Pacific students, staff, and faculty located on the Eugene Campus use their Lane Community College ID (L number) to request items through the Summit system as LCC Library patrons, for delivery to the LCC Library.
To request items from Summit Libraries: sign into and search the Libraries’ catalog, locate the item you need, open the item record and click on the Summit request link. Select your home campus library as the pickup location.
Interlibrary Loan. Beyond the Orbis Cascade Alliance, the Libraries’ Interlibrary Services Department (ILS) can borrow physical copies of books and articles that are not available directly through Pacific or Summit. Students and faculty can request materials online and have electronic full-text copies delivered either to their home campus (for Forest Grove and Hillsboro-based patrons) or directly to their home (for Eugene, Woodburn, and distance students/faculty). There are no fees for this service.
To request items from Interlibrary Loan: sign into and search the Libraries’ catalog*, locate the item you need, open the item record, and click on the non-Summit request link. When completing your loan request, make sure that you correctly fill out all required fields (if you are unsure of any, simply write in “N/A”).
* If patrons already know the citation information for the item they want to request, they can go directly to the Interlibrary Loan request form on the Libraries’ website.
Physical loans can take up 10 to 14 days to arrive, depending on where they come from. Loaning libraries set the due dates and renewals so they vary. Fines may apply for lost or damaged items. For physical materials requested by students, faculty, or staff who are not on the Forest Grove or Hillsboro campus, the Libraries will mail materials directly to patrons at no cost, and also include a postage-paid return label as another effort to reduce/eliminate additional student costs and strengthen the equity of our services.
Requesting digital copies of physical materials through Interlibrary Loan
In addition to delivery of physical items, the Libraries’ also provide a document delivery service, scanning articles and book chapters from the Libraries’ physical collection for on-demand digital delivery to students, staff, and faculty—usually with less than 24 hours turn-around time. These requests may also be placed through the Interlibrary Loan request form, using the Request Articles option.
Opportunities to keep some physical materials ordered via Interlibrary Loan
In general, requests for physical materials placed through Interlibrary Loan are filled with items borrowed from other libraries. However, for Interlibrary Loan requests for a physical resource that is less than $50, the Libraries may elect to purchase a copy of the item and send it directly to the patron for them to keep permanently (this is usually done in cases where the borrowing/shipping costs associated with obtaining the item from another library exceed the cost of purchasing/delivering a new copy). This service, provided at no cost to students, staff, and faculty, improves the speed and efficiency of access to materials, especially for students in distance programs or on clinical/teaching rotations across the state or country.
At times, the Libraries may request that books that are individually under $50 be returned to the library, usually in cases where they would be valuable to the library collection and/or the total of requests submitted at any one time exceeds $50.
Requesting Items for Purchase by the Libraries
If there are materials that a patron needs for longer than a temporary loan from another library will allow, or they otherwise believe there are materials that the Libraries should own, any student, faculty, or staff member may use the Libraries’ Request a Purchase program to recommend purchases for the Libraries’ collections. Current students, faculty, and staff may request the purchase of non-subscription resources to be added to the collection for any reason. At times, purchase requests may be referred to Summit or Interlibrary Loan based on constraints on availability, budget, or collections. Physical formats eligible for Request a Purchase include print books, music scores, music CDs, and DVDs not owned by the Libraries. Requests for purchase of other types of resources should be referred to the Collections Librarian. Course materials can be requested through Request a Purchase following the above guidance, and physical course materials will be placed on course reserve according to instructor wishes. The instructor will be consulted regarding acquisition of physical resources required for a class, if the instructor was not the originator of the request.
Guidelines for Digital Materials
The Libraries’ digital collections include online journals, databases, e-books, and streaming media; these materials are usually licensed on a subscription basis, although some are owned perpetually after a one-time purchase. Because digital materials are licensed by a variety of publishers, vendors, and content aggregators, the platforms, formats, user interfaces, accessibility tools/options, and other aspects of both the content itself and the way in which the content is provided to Libraries patrons varies widely. Within this context, the Libraries use the following guidelines to try to ensure that Pacific University students, faculty, and staff are provided with access to the digital materials they require.
Accessing Digital Materials through the Pacific University Libraries
All digital materials licensed or owned by the Libraries are available to Pacific University-affiliated patrons with a current, valid Pacific network account with the appropriate authorizations.
Basic requirements for accessing digital materials
- Internet connection: The Libraries’ digital materials require an internet connection.
- Pacific network login: All current students, staff, and faculty (including clinical preceptors) have authorization to access digital Libraries materials; the Libraries’ current licensing agreements do not permit access to alumni or other Pacific ID holders.
- Links to resources/materials: The Libraries use Pacific-specific links to provide patrons with access; these are listed on the Libraries’ website both in the directory of online databases, and in the records for individual digital items in the Libraries’ catalog. When patrons use these links, they may be asked to log in with their PUNetID; this will always be the case when using these links from off-campus.
Help/troubleshooting access to digital materials.
If patrons experience difficulty accessing digital content that they believe should be available through a Libraries’ license, subscription, or ownership, they should contact Libraries staff for assistance.
The Libraries maintain a brief troubleshooting guide on our website, which includes a link to a form that can be used to report access issues. Patrons are also encouraged to use the Libraries’ chat service, email, or phone to report access issues.
Navigating platform/vendor-specific accounts.
The vendors/publishers with which the Libraries enter into agreements in order to provide access to digital content provide platforms and websites that are outside of the Libraries’ control. These sites may prompt patrons to create individual accounts and/or share personally identifiable information under the premise of additional features or functionality. The Libraries do not condone this, and in such cases, registration for these accounts and/or services and the disclosure of information is made at the discretion of the individual patron. For the majority of resources provided by the Libraries, creating such individual accounts should not be a condition of access. If prompted to create such an account/log-in separate from their Pacific network log-in, patrons are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the service provider policies before engaging with them and report any issues to the Libraries.
Accessibility and availability of digital content platforms and websites.
The Libraries make every effort to ensure uninterrupted access to licensed and owned digital content that is provided by external vendors/publishers, and to advocate for content formats, platforms, and tools that are accessible to all Libraries patrons. However, because these platforms and website are administered outside of the Libraries, there are limitations on the Libraries’ ability to guarantee site availability and accessibility options. Patrons who encounter availability or accessibility issues with Libraries’ digital content are encouraged to report such issues to the Libraries via libraryhelp@pacificu.edu.
Requesting Digital Journal Articles/Book Chapters from another Library
A Pacific community member may find that the material they need is not owned or licensed by Pacific. For online journal articles or ebook chapters (complete ebooks are generally not available to borrow from other libraries), Pacific patrons may request electronic delivery using the Libraries’ Interlibrary Loan system, ILLiad.
In general, requested scans will take less than 24 hours to arrive; most article requests will be filled the same day. Requests placed on weekends may take slightly longer to arrive (requests are generally only processed Monday-Friday during normal business hours).
- Patrons will receive an email notification when their requested items are posted to their ILLiad account by Library staff.
- To view/print your items, log on to ILLiad.
- Items are posted to the web server for 60 days. If you accidentally remove your articles, send an E-mail to ill@pacificu.edu to have them reposted.
Requesting Items for Purchase by the Libraries
If there are digital materials (specifically e-books or streaming media) that a patron needs, or that they otherwise believe there are materials that the Libraries should own, any student, faculty, or staff member may use the Libraries’ Request a Purchase program to recommend purchases for the Libraries’ collections. Current students, faculty, and staff may request the purchase of non-subscription resources to be added to the collection for any reason. At times, purchase requests may be referred to Summit or Interlibrary Loan based on constraints on availability, budget, or collections. Digital formats eligible for Request a Purchase include ebooks and streaming videos for class use, that aren’t held by the Libraries. Requests for purchase of other types of resources should be referred to the Collections Librarian. Course materials can be requested through Request a Purchase following the same guidance, but availability may be limited for electronic formats. The instructor will be notified regarding acquisition of required course materials if they are not the originator of the request, and they may be consulted about class needs prior to purchase of expensive or limited-user ebooks.
Requests for digital materials only available through an ongoing subscription (e.g. online journals, database, some streaming media) will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis due to the availability of ongoing funding and the long-ranging budgetary impact. The requested item will be assessed in regards to the Libraries’ current collection offerings, interdisciplinary value, and long-term use cases. When applicable, trials of the product may be offered to gather patron feedback prior to making a purchasing decision.
Download: Pacific University Library Materials Availability Policy.