Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about ILLiad

Contents

1. What is ILLiad? Who can use it?
2. How is ILLiad better than traditional ILL systems?
3. Is it more difficult to use an electronic system?
4. Why do I need a username and password to use ILLiad?
5. What if I forget my password?
6. Can I see all my older requests when I look at my request history?
7. Do you still accept the paper request cards?
8. What Web browser should I use?
9. Can I use the system if I don't have a personal computer?
10. Is security a problem if I use a public workstation?
11. What is Electronic Delivery?
12. Who do I contact if I have problems with or questions about ILLiad?
13. Why does my browser say that it's sending a cookie? What's in it?
14. Why does e-mail from ILLiad look like gibberish on my computer?

What is ILLiad? Who Can Use It?

InterLibrary Loan internet accessible database.

ILLiad is an electronic system used to process Interlibrary Loan requests. It offers real-time tracking and information for users, and highly automated, streamlined processes for ILL staff.

ILLiad is a service of University Library, supporting faculty, staff, and students of the College of Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Weatherhead School of Management, and all CWRU staff.

All CWRU libraries support select schools and departments on campus, and all have Interlibrary Loan departments with specialized expertise to serve their users. 

How is ILLiad better than traditional ILL systems?

1. Logon once. Tired of filling out your name, department, campus address, email for each request you make?
   
   • Logon as a First Time User, choosing a username/password of your choice.
   • Enter your personal data only once. ILLiad stores your user profile so the next time you logon, all you need to enter is your item request information. Easier. Faster.
2. Online tracking. Need to track the progress of your requests?
   
   • Logon to ILLiad any day, any time, and view the activity on your account. No need to call the Interlibrary Loan Office during daytime business hours.
   • Use any web browser from any computer anywhere and get detailed information about any of your requests (pending or completed), or even modify/cancel requests.
   • Solve mysteries. If you can't remember whether or not you ordered something...or ordered it but forgot to pick it up, logging on to ILLiad may prove your hunch that perhaps your document is in that pile of papers on your desk, after all! More information. Better information, at your fingertips.
3. Increased accuracy. Dislike trying to fit all your citation information neatly on a paper form?
   • Electronic submission takes the mystery out of handwriting, and reduces submission and processing errors.
   • If we have further questions about a problem request, we can return it to you for modification, and you can easily and quickly resubmit it again.
   • Electronic submission of data allows the automated features of ILLiad to work quickly. Faster processing means faster service for you.
4. Data and Reports... ILLiad stores information in a searchable database.
   • Search your account for older requests and review your research strategy. Search current requests in a real-time, live system, for better planning and use of your time. You can see which requests are on their way, which are still being looked at by lending libraries, or which have been cancelled by lending libraries...and why.
   • Statistical reports pinpoint the most requested journal titles, cancelled items, comparative data on resource-sharing activity from year to year, and enable us to make better decisions about our collections, budget resources, and services.
   • Monitor the Interlibrary Loan Office performance! Anyone can produce an up-to-the-minute report on the number of requests received and finished on any day (or any hour!), types of materials we borrow, the turnaround time, and request volume by department. Only University Library's Interlibrary Loan Department makes its performance indicators available for all to view.

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Is it more difficult to use an electronic system?

Use ILLiad from anywhere you have access to a web browser.

• ILLiad requires you to set up a password to logon to the service. While we all have many passwords today, we believe ILLiad is less trouble than traditional paper and other electronic systems which require you to enter all of your personal information with each new transaction.
• Simplify things by choosing a favorite username and password. You only have to do it once. Use good password protocol, and remember that since only ILL staff can reset your password, choose something easily remembered. Your account information will not be widely available to all staff.

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Why do I need a username and password to use ILLiad?

Secure access to information.

• If others have access to your computer, your username/password protects information about your interlibrary loan requests.
• ILLiad stores your personal data but requires your password to access it. You control your data about your latest office move, new phone number, new email address. Your password allows you to edit your own personal information from any computer, anywhere.

• Choose your own username, although we strongly suggest using your CWRU ID (e.g., abc4).
• Choose your own password. No one but you will know your password, not even the library staff. The password you set is stored in an encrypted file. NOTE: Only ILL staff can reset your password, it does not operate on other CWRU systems. Please choose a password you can easily remember!

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What if I forget my password?

If you forget your password, contact the Interlibrary Loan Office at (216) 368-3517 or smithill@catalog.cwru.edu.

1. We will clear your current password, allowing you access to your ILLiad account.
2. Use "ill" as your temporary password. Logon to ILLiad. Reset your password.

NOTE: Only ILL staff can clear ILLiad accounts.

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Will I see all my older requests when I look at my request history?

You will see your entire request history for the current and prior fiscal year.

• Your account history will include pending, in-process, and completed requests of photocopies and loaned items. Your history also includes requests cancelled by you or ILL staff, and these requests can be modified and resubmitted at any time.

• Your ILLiad account is for Interlibrary Loan items only. Your regular CWRU account on EuclidPLUS has current and ordered OhioLINK items and CWRU items.

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Do you still accept the paper request cards?

All interlibrary loan requests are now processed through ILLiad. The system is highly automated and relies on electronic information to be most efficient for you and library staff.

If you need assistance using a Web browser in general, or ILLiad in particular, please contact the Interlibrary Loan office at (216) 368-3517 or smithill@catalog.cwru.edu. ILL or Main Service Desk at (216)368-3506 will be pleased to assist you.

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What Web browser should I use?

Use the browser of your choice, but update it so that it can handle forms, tables, and frames, the minimal current configuration for browsing the Web.

• Netscape Navigator 3.0 or greater
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 or greater

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Can I use the system if I don't have a personal computer?

You don't need a personal computer to enter ILL requests on ILLiad.

• If you previously came to the Kelvin Smith Library, Kulas Music Library, or the Astronomy Library to submit paper ILL forms, logon to any CWRU library workstation to enter an electronic request. Interlibrary Loan staff, and other public service staff throughout University Library can assist you in logging on to public workstations to enter your requests.
• While ILLiad currently is a service of University Library (Kelvin Smith Library, Kulas Music Library, Astronomy Library), there are computers with Web clients available for your use in many locations on the CWRU campus, including all the CWRU libraries, CWRU computer labs, and offices. Wherever you work from a computer, you can enter an ILLiad ILL request.
• You can access ILLiad from off-campus, as long as the computer has a web browser.

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Is security a problem if I use a public workstation?

Web browsers cache information and create a history file on the local workstation. Therefore, a subsequent user of the workstation can access ILLiad under your name by using the browser's Back button to recall a page from the cache, or by finding a page with your personal information in the browser's history file. If you are concerned about the security of your interlibrary loan requests, you can take the following steps:

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What is electronic delivery?

If libraries ship photocopies of articles to us in electronic format, we will offer you the option of electronic delivery of these articles in PDF format (Adobe's Portable Document Format), instead of printing these articles and delivering them to you. At present, this is not a frequent occurrence, but we expect it to increase. You can read more about electronic delivery on the Electronic Delivery Information page.

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Who do I contact if I have problems with or questions about ILLiad?

• System Problems or specific Interlibrary Loan Questions: Interlibrary Loan office at (216) 368-3517 or e-mail to smithill@catalog.cwru.edu
  NOTE: I LL Office staff is generally available Monday-Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• General questions about the service, the ILLiad product and license, or library policies concerning Interlibrary Loan may be addressed to Karen Oye, Head of Customer Services for University Library. (216)368-5309 or kao3@po.cwru.edu
  We welcome your comments and suggestions for continued improvement of this service!

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Why does my browser say that it's sending a cookie? What's in it?

The Active Server Pages technology that we use to provide live reporting for the web sends a Session ID to be stored on your machine. You can refuse this cookie and still be able to use the ILL web pages and ILLiad without any problems.

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Why does e-mail from ILLiad look like gibberish on my computer?

You may be reading your e-mail on VTVM1 or on a UNIX computer, with a mail reader that is not MIME-compliant. We do not know of a solution to this problem on VTVM1. On a UNIX computer, either you or your system administrator should be able to upgrade your mail system to be MIME-compliant.  One solution is to use a program named metamail, which you can read about at http://sckb.ucssc.indiana.edu/kb/data/aclk.html

Technical background

The ILLiad mailer uses the Internet standard quoted-printable encoding when it sends you an automated message. This encoding is part of the MIME standard. MIME stands for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions.

MIME has two purposes. First, it allows mail applications to tell one another what sort of data is in mail. Second, it provides standard ways for mail applications to encode data so it can be sent through the Internet mail system. MIME encoding overcomes the limitations of the SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) that is used to move mail over the Internet. SMTP is limited to the US-ASCII character set.

Metamail is a Unix program that can decode MIME-encoded mail. Some UNIX mailers, for example ELM, will automatically call metamail, resulting in an error message if metamail is not found on the system. Other UNIX mailers, for instance PINE, have the native ability to handle MIME messages.

You can find a link to a source for metamail on the UNIX Bag of Tricks page

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