Circulation Services News

Remote Book Drop Replaced!

A new drive-up book drop has been installed on the edge of the parking lot just north of Locy Hall to replace the one that was damaged when a truck backed into it this summer.

University Mail Services will pick up books from this drop once a day, Monday through Friday, and deliver them directly to the Main Library.

Please return all time sensitive materials (items from multimedia, reserve, etc.), as well as fragile items (cds, books in need of repair) directly to the Main Library.

Drive-Up Book Drop Destroyed

The drive-up book drop that was installed on the Evanston campus in the Fisk Hall parking lot at the beginning of the summer was destroyed by a large truck. Plans are in motion to replace the drop and to protect it from future mishaps. We will announce when a replacement has been installed.

OCLC Faculty Reciprocal Borrowing Program

Northwestern University is one of nearly 200 participants in the OCLC Reciprocal Faculty Borrowing Program. Full-time NU faculty may gain access to and/or check out materials from the libraries of other North American OCLC participant institutions by obtaining an OCLC Reciprocal Faculty Borrowing Program card at the NU Library Privileges Office.

The faculty member must present their OCLC card along with their WildCARD to staff in the participating institution, who will determine whether the card will be accepted for on-site use and/or borrowing.

For more information, see the OCLC Faculty Reciprocal Borrowing Program page on the Circulation website.

Evanston Faculty Book Delivery Upgrade

Main Circulation has made several changes to the Book Retrieval & Delivery service for Evanston Faculty based on feedback from a survey completed in mid-August by faculty participants in the service.

The delivery service now includes books from the Chicago campus libraries (Schaffner, Galter Health Sciences, and Pritzker Legal Research Center).

We have increased the number of requests filled per day, Monday through Friday, from four items to six.

Circulating DVDs and VHS tapes from the Marjorie I. Mitchell Multimedia Center are now available for faculty office delivery.

Additionally, thanks to feedback from this survey, all the Circulation online request forms are now easier to use. Patrons no longer have to re-enter all their personal information for each request. After submitting a request, patrons wanting to place multiple requests of the same type may simply click the "Back" arrow key in the browser to return to the previous page. Personal information is retained, and patrons may replace the item information, then submit the form to send a new, separate request.

The improved Book & Multimedia Delivery for Evanston Faculty request form can still be accessed online at the original URL:
http://www.library.northwestern.edu/circulation/services/bookretrieval.html

Research Tower Hours to Match Building Hours

Beginning Fall Quarter 2008, the research towers will remain open until 3 a.m., Sundays through Thursdays. Library building hours were expanded to this schedule last year, but the towers had been closed at 11:45 p.m. The library closes at 11:45 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Reciprocal Borrowing with Loyola

Beginning Monday, June 2nd, 2008, a reciprocal borrowing agreement between Northwestern University Library and Loyola University of Chicago Library will allow currently employed, full-time faculty and staff, as well as currently registered students from both institutions to have access and borrowing privileges at both Loyola and Northwestern libraries. For more information on the agreement and how it will work, please see our Reciprocal Borrowing Agreements page, and follow the appropriate link.

Book Location Assistance

The layout of the NU Main Library stacks can be confusing to patrons who are unfamiliar with it, due to the unique architectural features of the building and the necessity of rearranging our growing collections over the years.

The Book Location Assistance Service is a new offering from Main Library Circulation staff. While we have helped patrons learn how to physically locate books in our stacks by call number on an ad hoc basis over the years, we are now officially on call to go with patrons into the stacks Monday through Friday between the hours of 9 am and 5 pm. If you are having problems locating an item that NUcat says should be on the shelf, please come to the Circulation desk and we will do our best to help you find it.*

For more information on all the services and resources we offer related to locating our books, as well as tips on how to best look for them on your own, see our Book Location Assistance Service page.

*NOTE: This service is for patrons who have already determined what books they want from NUcat, our online catalog. If you need help learning to use NUcat, please contact the InfoCommons desk; or for help with more in-depth research, please contact the Reference desk instead.