Research

Each semester we ask you if there are books or other materials you would like to put on reserve for your students, and send you (if applicable) a list of items previously on reserve for each course.

Place materials on physical Course Reserve or E-Reserve.

For assistance in placing physical course reserve materials or e-reserve items, please contact Jeri Fitzsimons.

To find the list of materials that your Professor has placed on reserve, go to the catalog, click on Course Reserves at the top of the page, log in, and search for your materials by Instructor Name, Course Name, or Course Number.

If you see a call number and location, the item will be available for check out at the circulation desk indicated. You may check out a reserve item for two hours.

If you see a hyperlink, the item is available as an electronic reserve (E-Reserve) online and may be viewed by clicking on the hyperlink in the item details under online content. The material will be available in a .pdf format and may be downloaded or printed.

Interlibrary Loan is a service available to all Penn State faculty, staff and students.

Interlibrary loan requests should be made online through ILLiad.

Requesting Guidelines

Assistance in locating needed research material through interlibrary loan can be obtained from Jeri Fitzsimons. 

Circulating material available from any Penn State campus location may be requested by clicking on the "I Want It" button located at the top of the library catalog citation screen.

What Can Be Requested Through Interlibrary Loan?

• Non-Circulating material held in Penn State University Libraries collections.
• Articles from journals held in Penn State University Libraries collections.
• Material not held in the Penn State University Libraries collections.

What Can Not Be Obtained Through Interlibrary Loan?

• The University Libraries make every effort to supply you with non-circulating material regardless of format. Fragile, rare, or heavily used material do not circulate.
• Reference, Rare, and Special Format materials from libraries outside the Penn State system are circulated on a case by case basis.

How Long Will It Take To Receive My Request?

• Non-Circulating material held in the Penn State University Libraries collection should arrive within ten days.
• Material from a library outside the Penn State University Libraries system takes an average of two weeks to arrive. Most journal articles will arrive in a shorter time frame.
• You can check on the status of your request from the Interlibrary Loan (ILLiad) Patron Menu.

How Will Items Be Delivered?

• Loans will be sent to your Law Library for pickup. You will be notified by email when these items become available.
• Journal articles will be posted to the web. You will be notified by email when the article becomes available. Instructions for accessing the article through the Interlibrary Loan (ILLiad) interface are included in the email.

How Long Do I Have Access To My Article?

• Your article will remain on the web server for 30 days.
• You have the ability to print or download your article.

ILLiad Request Form

Interlibrary loan requests should be made online through ILLiad.

The Library Proxy Service will allow faculty to authorize their research assistants to check out or place holds on library materials held by any Penn State Library directly to the faculty member's library account.

AUTHORIZATION PROCESS

The Proxy form is available online. (Please download and print the form.) Both the faculty member and the designated proxy (the research assistant) must sign the authorization. The proxy should then bring the completed form and their PSU ID to the Law Library Access Services Manager (see Contact Information below) who will create the Proxy Card. This service is available weekdays between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Download Proxy Form

PROXY CHECKOUTS ON BEHALF OF FACULTY

To check out materials from any PSU library in-person on behalf of a faculty member:

• the proxy must present their own PSU ID as well as the Proxy Card at the Circulation Desk of the library owning the item(s);
• items will then be checked out directly to the account of the faculty member.

PROXY HOLDS FOR FACULTY ("I WANT IT")

Upon presentation of the Proxy Card and their PSU ID, a proxy may:

• Pick up materials that faculty members have requested be delivered to the Law Library using the “I Want It” service (anytime the Law Library is staffed);
• Pick up materials requested by the proxy (in his/her own name) via “I Want It” and transfer them to the library account of the faculty member for whom it was ultimately intended (weekdays between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.).

PROXY INTERLIBRARY LOAN (ILL) ACTIVITY

The Proxy Card does not permit student proxies to submit requests for ILLs of materials on behalf of faculty members using Penn State’s automated interlibrary loan system (ILLiad). Once an ILL request has been submitted directly to the proxy/student’s account, it cannot be transferred to the faculty account.

To request ILLs, faculty members must set up their own ILLiad account using the following link: https://psu-illiad-oclc-org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/illiad/upm/illiad.dll

Note: The account creation takes about three days, so we strongly encourage faculty to create that account if they have not yet done so.

Upon presentation of the Proxy Card and their PSU ID, a proxy may:

• Pick up physical items (books, DVDs, etc.) that faculty members have requested via ILL for delivery to them;
• Ask their campus Access Services manager to submit specific ILL requests via ILLiad on behalf of their faculty member.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Access Services Manager, Carlisle — 717-240-5012

The Montague Law Library provides a Research Assistant Liaison Service to all new faculty research assistants. This service provides the guidance of a professional law librarian, who will advise faculty research assistants on the completion of assigned research tasks.

Benefits of the Research Assistant Liaison Service:

• One-on-one research advice
• Advanced research training that builds on prior instruction
• Training tailored to your specific research project(s)
• Professional advice to maximize project efficiency

Initial Training Session

Fall/Spring: Upon request, librarians meet with referred research assistants to introduce them to relevant online databases, library services, and library policies that will facilitate their performance.  Interested faculty should contact one of the Law Librarians.

Summer: Librarians will hold an introductory session to introduce research assistants to a myriad of online databases, library services, and library policies.  Sessions are usually scheduled for early June.

Library Proxy Service for Faculty Research Assistants 

This service allows faculty to authorize their research assistant to check out or place holds on library materials held by any Penn State Library directly to the faculty member’s library account.

The library proxy form is available online.  Both the faculty member and the research assistant must sign the authorization form.

To register for the research assistant liaison service, contact:

Law Library - 717-240-5267