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Hi, everyone, I'm Jennifer Stidham, a librarian
with Houston Community College Northeast. I'm usually at the Northline Campus Library.
Our screencast today is about requesting library items and having them sent from one HCC library
to another.
This is a great feature and will save you
from having to travel from one HCC library to another.
I'm going to search for an item and show you
how to request it. First, though, you will need to know your HCC library barcode number
in order to request items.
Your HCC library barcode is on your HCC photo
ID. It starts with "275..." If you don't already have an ID card, you should! It is free to
get the first one and there is more information at the HCC website under "Current Students"
and then "Student ID Card."
You can also get your library barcode number
by logging into your HCC Student Account and looking under "Demographic Data." You will
see it listed as "Library Barcode#" there.
You can get more help with this on our library
website- http://library.hccs.edu under "Services" and "Get My Barcode."
Now, we're back on the library website and
can search for an item to request. We'll go to "Books and Videos From Our Catalog" in
order to search for library items.
Let's go ahead and do a basic keyword search
for the topic that you are researching. For example, let's try "political campaigns" since
this is a timely topic right now. We get over 330 results! Remember that this results list
represents all the HCC libraries.
Here's a recent book on the topic. Let's look
at the complete item record. The title is, "The Persuasive Power of Campaign Advertising"
and there is one copy at the Central library. It is in the circulating collection, meaning
that it can be checked out for a two week period. If you are a Central College student,
you are in luck! But, what if you take classes at say, Northline, and really do not want
to make the drive to Central? Are you just out of luck?
Thankfully, no! You can use the "Request"
feature and have the HCC library system delivery service go to Central for you and bring the
book to the Northline Campus library where you can pick it up. The process usually takes
2-3 working days if the item is checked in and found at the owning location, so you do
need to leave yourself enough time.
To start the process, look for the "Request"
button. You see it here and there is also a link back on the first results list that
says "Place Request." You can use either one.
Once you click on a Request link, a screen
appears where you will need to enter your name and library barcode#. Let's do that and
then choose the library where we want the item to be sent- Northline. Then, "Submit"
your request. First though, note the red text here that says that sometimes a book is checked
out before library staff has time to pull your request. If this happens, your request
will be filled as soon as the book is returned. If another copy is available, we will use
that one to fill your request.
Then, click on "Submit." If there is more
than one copy of the book, you will be asked to choose the copy you want. Choose one with
a status of "Check Shelf" if possible. That status means that the item should be checked
in currently. If there aren't any, choose the one with the due date coming up first.
Once the item is returned, it will be sent to you or to the next person who has requested
it.
Then, just click "Request Selected Item."
You can check on the status of your requests by logging in here- to your personal library
account and choosing "Requests." This is where you'll see the status of the request- whether
the item is in transit or if it has arrived at the pick-up location and is waiting there
for you. If you ever have any questions about the status of your request, please call the
library where you intend to pick the item up. All library locations and phone numbers
are listed back on the library website here- at our "Locations and Hours" link.
When you are ready to return the item, you
can drop it off at any HCC library and our delivery staff will get it back home again!
And that is all there is to the request process!
I hope that this has been helpful and that it may save some of you a trip across town!
Again, my name is Jennifer Stidham, and if you have any questions, feel free to call
me at 713-718-8299 or let us know what you think through the link, "Did We Help?" on
our homepage. Thank you.