Details about the Document Delivery Service
The document delivery system at Radford University is designed to look and act just like the Interlibrary Loan (ILL) system. If you want an article that is in print at McConnell Library and you would like an electronic copy of it, you only have to fill out the "Article Owned by McConnell Library" form and the ILL staff will provide it for you electronically. If it's something we can fill as a document delivery item, we go to the shelf and pull the item, scan it and create a .pdf file with Adobe Acrobat and save the file on our server. You then receive an email telling you what the file is and where to obtain it. At that time you are free to save the file or print it. These .pdf files are kept on our server for one month and then deleted.
Can I get books through document delivery?
At the present time, only copies of articles (and sometimes book chapters) can be obtained through document delivery.
I got an email from you saying my article is in but it's not at the circulation desk.
The emails we send out tell you that the article you requested has been delivered electronically to your ILLiad account, and there are instructions in the email about how to access the article. There are no paper copies of document delivery items, only electronic copies.
I'm having trouble opening the article you sent me.
If you cannot open the file we direct you to, one of the first things to check on is whether or not you have the Adobe Acrobat reader installed on your computer. Without the free reader, you cannot open the file. If you find that you do have the reader and still cannot open the file, another common problem is the limitations of phone modems. Those using phone modems will have to be very patient while the file downloads as the .pdf is a large file. If you just cannot open the file, call or email the ILL office and we will try to assist you.
The last time I logged into my account there were several articles in there, but now they're gone!
In general, we check our .pdf drive and delete items that have been there for more than one month. For this reason you should print or save items we deliver to you at some point relatively soon after you get them. If we happen to clean out the drive before you have formally deleted the .pdf yourself, you will have what is basically a dead link in your account. If you find you have these and if they bother you, please feel free to contact us with a list of the transaction numbers of these dead links and we will clean up your account on our end.
I hit the delete button instead of the button that opens the .pdf. Can I get another copy?
Sometimes we can restore an article for you and fix the link when this happens. If you happen to accidentally delete an article contact us and we will either restore the link or re-process the request.
What if an item is available electronically - can I still order it through document delivery?
If McConnell Library owns something and it is available already as a full text or PDF, there is no need to order it through document delivery - just click the PDF or Full Text button and you will immediately have it on your screen.
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