ILLiad FAQ

Questions:

1. What is ILLiad?
2. How is ILLiad better than traditional ILL systems?
3. Are there any disadvantages to the electronic system?
4. Why do I need a username and password to use ILLiad?
5. What if I forget my password?
6. What Web browser should I use?
7. Is security a problem if I use a public workstation?
8. Why don't I see all my older requests when I look at my request history?
9. What is Electronic Delivery?
10. What is the delivery cost?
11. Who do I contact if I have problems with or questions about ILLiad?
12. Why does my browser say that you're sending a cookie? What's in it?

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."

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How is ILLiad better than traditional ILL systems?

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.
2. Your request will be handled more rapidly and accurately as problems relating to misinterpretation of hand-written requests are eliminated.
3. You can get many of your photocopies more quickly through Electronic Delivery.
4. You can get information about the status of your request through the Web at any time from any location without having to call Interlibrary Loan.
5. Library personnel are able to serve you better because all data about your request and to respond quickly to inquiries about your request. We are also able to gather statistical information about the performance of the libraries that lend to us, enabling us to make better decisions when choosing a lender to supply an item.

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Are there any disadvantages to the electronic system?

Some people might find it troublesome to have to log into ILLiad using a username and password. We believe this is less trouble than traditional paper and electronic systems which require you to enter your personal information with each new request.

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

Your username and password allows us to give you secure access to information about your interlibrary loan requests. We can also enable you to edit your personal information such as your address or phone number.

Your username can be anything you like, such as your name, abbreviations, or an alphanumeric code. Your password also can be anything you like. We recommend that you follow good security practice and choose a password that is different from those you use to access other systems. However, no one but you will know your password, not even Library staff. The password you set is stored in an encrypted file.

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What if I forget my password?

In the event that you forget your password, please contact Interlibrary Loan at 214-648-2002. We can then reset your password allowing you access to ILLiad. Please change your password once you logon to ILLiad.

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What Web browser should I use?

You need a Web browser that can handle forms and tables and preferably one that can handle frames.  We recommend either Netscape Navigator version 3.0 or greater or Microsoft Internet Explorer version 3.0 or greater. Both browsers are available for the Windows 3.x, Windows 95 or NT, and Macintosh O/S operating systems. Netscape Navigator is available for UNIX.

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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, recall a page from the cache, or find 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:

1. Access ILLiad only from your personal computer or an otherwise secure workstation.
2. Access ILLiad from a public workstation in the Interlibrary Loan office in the library. These computers are supervised by the library staff.
3. Using a public access workstation and:
   • Delete from the history file those pages that contain your personal information.
   • Exit from the Web browser before you leave the workstation. (This prevents the "Back" button from accessing the pages you were using.)

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Why don't I see all my older requests when I look at my request history?

From time to time we purge older records from ILLiad. Our policy is to keep requests online for several years order to comply with record-keeping requirements of the copyright law.

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What is electronic delivery?

Many libraries ship photocopies of articles to us in electronic format. In the past we printed these articles before delivering them to you. Now, through ILLiad, we are able to offer you the option of electronic delivery of these articles in PDF format (Adobe's Portable Document Format). You can read more about electronic delivery on the Electronic Delivery Information page.

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What is the delivery cost?

* Affiliated clients include:

• Faculty, staff, and students of UT Southwestern Medical Center
  • Southwestern Medical School
  • Southwestern School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences
  • Southwestern School of Allied Health Sciences
• Staff and residents of the affiliated hospitals:
  • Parkland Health & Hospital System
  • Children's Medical Center
  • UT Southwestern University Hospital - Zale Lipshy
  • UT Southwestern University Hospital - St. Paul

** Not affiliated clients:

• If you are a health professional, you are able to use the Loansome Doc, a service provided by the National Library of Medicine
• If you are a student from another university, you must use your home institution's document delivery service
• While the Medical Library can provide document delivery services for other individuals, particularly in the healthcare community, we do charge a higher fee than those who are affiliated with the campus. You may want to consider other options for obtaining these items, including:
  • you local public library
  • your corporate/departmental library
  • a co-worker or peer who owns the item
  • a commercial document supplier

If you have further questions, please contact the Interlibrary Loan staff at 214-648-2002.

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

• System Problems or InterLibrary Loan Questions:
  Interlibrary Loan office: 214-648-2002
  Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m-5 p.m
  Email: Send message here
• Technical Support Questions:
  Email: Send message here

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Why does my browser say that you're 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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