What is ILLiad?

ILLiad is the electronic system you use to request an item through Interlibrary Loan. The name ILLiad can be thought of as an acronym for InterLibrary Loan internet accessible database.

How can ILLiad help me?

1. You will find it easier to submit your Interlibrary Loan requests. With ILLiad, you enter your name, address, and other personal information into the system only once, at the time of your first request. From there, you can submit requests from WorldCat or other online journal databases with just a few keystrokes.
2. You will get most of your photocopies quickly through Electronic Delivery.
3. You can get information about the status of your request through e-mail, RSS feeds, or an account search at any time, from anywhere, without having to call the ILL Department.
4. All necessary data about your requests is stored in a searchable database, so you can check on their current status at any time. We are also able to gather statistical information about the performance of our lending libraries, enabling us to make better decisions when choosing lenders to supply an item.

Are there any disadvantages to the electronic system?

We hope not. We believe this process is less trouble than traditional paper or electronic systems that require you to enter your personal information with each new request.

ILLiad relies extensively on automatic e-mail notifications, so you must take the general steps necessary to ensure they are accepted into your e-mail account. Many people set up an "ILLiad" folder and filter the notices into one place, making them easier to find.

How can e-mail filters help me?

Not only can mail filters screen out e-mails that you do not want, they are great for filtering specific e-mails that you do want into one place, where they are easy to find.

To ensure our Interlibrary Loan messages reach you:

• Create and "ILLiad" or "Interlibrary Loan" folder in your mail account.
• Filter e-mails with ILLiad in the Subject line.
• Add these addresses to your address book, and filter incomming mail on the addresses:
  • ill@library.pittstate.edu - the main ILL address.
  • ill_borrowing@library.pittstate.edu - our specific borrowing address.
  • ill_dds@library.pittstate.edu - our Document Delivery e-mail address.

REMINDER: You do not need to receive an e-mail to learn about the status of a request. You may log into your account at any time and:

• Find a particular request using the Search box in the upper right corner of the screen.
• Take the "Notifications" link in the left hand sidebar.
• Subscribe to a Notifications RSS feed. A link is at the top of the Notifications page.

GUS username and passwords and ILLiad

Your username (PSU ID) and password (GUSPIN/Password) makes it simple to remember, and allows us to give you secure access to information about your Interlibrary Loan requests. Maintaining your account is easy, and you should modify any personal information in your ILLiad account if it changes.

The Library staff will not know your password - it is stored in an encrypted file.

PLEASE NOTE: ILLiad handles your ID and password in a slightly different way than GUS. You must use a seven digit ID, and the password cannot contain a space. If it does, you must change your GusPIN/password before you can log into ILLiad.

Is ILLiad available to the community?

Absolutely! You will need to obtain a PSU Library card and GUS PIN, and then you may create your ILLiad account. Please come to the Axe Circulation Department, bring a photo ID and proof of residence, and in a few days, you will receive a card and PIN in the mail.

More information may be found on our FAQ for Community Borrowers page.

What if I forget my password?

This should not be a problem, since the PSU ID and GUSPIN are used for many other PSU campus services. Go to the GUS FAQ for more information on the GUS system.

If you lose your PSU Library Card, please contact Marsha Blalock at mblalock@pittstate.edu. A new card will be issued to you. There is a replacement fee for a new card.

What is electronic delivery?

Many libraries provide photocopies of articles to us in PDF format (Adobe's Portable Document Format). Once these are received, they are quickly moved into your account for viewing, using Adobe Reader. Click on "Electronically Received Articles" located under the "View" heading in the sidebar of your account.

You can read more about electronic delivery on our Electronic Delivery FAQ page.

Is security a problem if I use a public workstation?

Yes. Web browsers cache information and create a history file on the local workstation. This allows a subsequent user of the workstation to access the system under your name 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:

• Access ILLiad only from your personal computer or an otherwise secure workstation.
• When using a public access workstation:
  1. Delete the history file. In Firefox, select "Tools > Clear Private Data". In Internet Explorer, you may choose "Tools > Internet Options > General [tab] > Clear History".
  2. Exit from the Web browser before you leave the workstation. This prevents the Back button from displaying the pages you were using.

What Web browser should I use?

You need a Web browser that can handle forms, tables, and preferrably Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). We recommend the current versions of either Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Internet Explorer.

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

The technology that we use sends a Session ID to be stored on your machine. You can refuse this cookie and still be able to use ILLiad without any problems.

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

If you have problems or questions of any kind, please contact the Axe Library InterLibrary Loan office at 620-235-4890, or e-mail ill_borrowing@library.pittstate.edu