2.13 Getting access to materials

Once you’ve found a good source for your research, you may be provided with a few options for getting access to it. From the item’s record, you can decide to skim the article’s abstract, read it right away, or save it to read later. For example, in the business database ABI/INFORM, buttons provided in the top right corner show your access options: download pdf, cite, email, print, and more.

If you are trying to find a specific item from a citation and the full text is not immediately available, the library provides other options for getting access.

Logging in

Make sure you log in so you can access materials online! The steps for logging in when you’re off NKU’s campus may be found in this FAQ.

Don’t forget to log off if you’re using one of the university’s shared, public computers. If you do forget, anyone passing by has access to your email, printing allowance, and any social media you logged into.

If you find someone else’s private information running or stored on a shared computer, the ethical thing to do is to sign out of their account before you proceed.

Full Text Finder

Many indexes and databases include the full text of articles, but some subject-focused indexes do not. In these cases, there will typically be a Full Text Finder link nearby. Click on the button and the library’s system will check our subscriptions to access the full text of your article.

If the library has online access to the full text of your article, the Full Text Finder link will give you one or more links to it, similar to the online access options in the item record. Clicking any of them should bring you to your article. If a link you try is broken, use one of the other links available (if possible) and report the broken link.

If the library doesn’t have what you need, then it’s time to request the full text through Interlibrary Loan.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) can help you get access to items that Steely Library does not own. This service lets the NKU library borrow materials from other libraries for free. Below are three simple ways to use Steely Library’s ILL service:

Common ILL requests

If you aren’t sure how to get started with ILL, the simplest way might be to look for the “Request From Interlibrary Loan” link. Using this link should auto-fill the ILL request form with details about your item, such as the title, journal, volume and issue number, and pages.

You can also submit an ILL request directly by filling out a request form on the ILL webpage. Just log in with your NKU username and password and fill out the form with the citation information you have for the item you want. This FAQ provides additional information to help you fill out the request form. Because this process takes time, be sure to plan ahead and start searching for sources at least a week before your paper’s deadline, just in case you might need to request something through ILL.

WorldCat

Another way to locate books and library materials anywhere is to use WorldCat, a database that searches the catalogs of thousands of libraries across the world, including Steely Library. When you find a book you’d like in your search results, click on the title to open its full item record. To check if NKU owns a copy of the book, use the Find a copy in the library section and type in your zip code in the Enter your location box (the zip code for NKU is 41099). This will help you determine whether a nearby library owns a copy. Then you can decide if you want to go to that library to check it out right away, or request that the item be sent to you through Interlibrary Loan.

If NKU doesn’t have a copy of the book you want, you can select the “View Access Options” button. When you click on that button, you’ll have the option of requesting the item through Interlibrary Loan.