by Melody Detar, Divinity Librarian
Nearly all students have experienced the frustration of learning about a book or article that is perfectly suited for their research – only to discover the Library does not own it. On the 2014 Customer Satisfaction Survey, we received several comments from students who have experienced this situation, such as these:
- “As I can only access the e-version, there are many resources which I need that are not available online.”
- “The Library has a great selection of resources; however it doesn’t always have the journal publications or books that I’ve needed for my research.”
- “The databases don’t always pull up the articles needed for research.”
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So when you are conducting research and discover a book that would be perfect for your project or an article with a citation but no full text, what should you do? Here are some tips:
When you can’t find the full-text for an article:
Sometimes, you may come across information about a journal article in one database, but find that it does not have the full text. The Full Text Journal Finder is a tool for determining whether the Regent University Library has the full-text of a particular periodical (journal, magazine, or newspaper) in any of our 170+ databases. Simply type the name of the journal (not the article) in the search bar to see if and where the periodical is available in our online databases or in print.When you need a book or article not in the Regent Library:
If you need a book that is not in our catalog, or an article from a periodical that does not show up in the Full Text Journal Finder, request it through InterLibrary Loan (ILL). In most cases, our ILL team can procure the articles you need and deliver them to you in PDF in 1-2 business days. Most book requests take under a week to fulfill. Distance students can also use ILL to have books shipped from the Regent Library to their home at no charge. The only cost to you is to ship them back if you will not be visiting the Regent campus before the due date. (Keep in mind, we allow up to five renewals as long as they are not needed by another patron.) Distance students may now request that up to two books per term be shipped to them from libraries other than Regent.The librarians are committed to supporting the research and studies of the Regent community, so if there is a book or journal that supports your long-term research projects or teaching, let us know! We understand that borrowing items via ILL is sufficient for many course projects, but major research projects or new courses necessitate that we have the book on hand. We are happy to take requests for book and journal purchases here.
Image Credit: Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest, “Frustrated Irish girl looking at computer,” accessed 11 Mar 2015, http:quest.eb.comsearch154_28935131154_2893513cite