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Interlibrary Loan & Copy Requests: Students

Welcome Students

Tips for getting what you need:

  • In PubMed, do not limit your search to free journal articles (FreePMC), because your search results will omit many journals which the library subscribes to and can be found using Full Text Finder.
  • Allow time for research so that you can request all best articles, in addition to those conveniently available today at Life West.  This is so important when your research informs patient care management.
  • Library covers up to $50.00 in interlibrary loan expenses for assignments per affliated patron (students, faculty, staff) each quarter. 
  • If you need research assistance please consult with the Circulation Supervisor or Library Director.
  • Please remember to check in Full text finder, the Online Library Catalog, FreePMC and Google Scholar to see if the article is available for free.
  • Library staff does not provide copy service for these materials unless accommodation is necessary due to exceptional circumstances.

Looking for Books and More?

Find Books and Audiovisuals

Logo OCLC WorldCat

Which is the best option?


Each database has unique means for submitting a request

Review the tabs for easiest methods to use within each database. 
Submit accurate citations copied from research databases whenever possible, using the most concise but complete format. 


Emailing citations

Send complete citations via email to ill@lifewest.edu. 

 

For citations discovered in reference lists and bibliographies

Send citation exactly as they appear.  We will attempt to verify any incorrect or incomplete citations.  

Send an email to ill@lifewest.edu

Most research databases and journal sites enable exporting a citation.  Copy & paste the complete citation into your email message.

Important things to include when requesting journal articles:

  • Your full name
  • Article Title
  • Article Author
  • Journal Name or ISSN if available
  • Date of Publication
  • PubMed ID, if available
  • DOI, if available

Important things to include when requesting book or media resources:

  • Your full name
  • Book or Media Title
  • Author
  • Edition
  • Date of Publication
  • ISBN or OCLC Number, if available

 

The more information you have access to and provide to us, the easier it is for us to find what you are looking for!

 

Recommended method 

Scroll down to the tutorials, or request a demonstration at the reference desk to clarify these instructions.  

  1. a)  Search PubMed@LifeWest in order to easily identify which articles are already available at Life West Library.  Change Format to Abstract view in order to see Life West icons.  OR 
    b)  Login at MyNCBI and set up Filter preferences to show LIfe West subscriptions.  See a librarian for assistance.
  2. Identify citations that require interlibrary loan.  You might want to store them Clipboard while you search for more citations.
  3. Open Clipboard, and use the feature Send to: Email, choosing Summary format.  Summary is a concise and complete citation format.
  • Send to your own email address, and then forward to library@lifewest.edu

OR

  • From PubMed, enter your name and email address in the Subject and Notes boxes; then Send to library@lifewest.edu 
    You MUST include your contact information in the Notes box.  Without this, library staff has NO IDEA who sent the request.

Screenprint of form for emailing citations from PubMed

TIP:  Even if you prefer to send your request directly from PubMed to library@lifewest.edu, you can still save a list of which requests you already submitted for interlibrary loan by saving the selected citations to a custom MyNCBI Collection named ILL requests.  A free personal MyNCBI account is needed to use Collections feature.  

Tutorials

Request a demonstration at the reference desk to clarify these instructions.

  1. Search any EbscoHost database and select articles of interest.
  2. Add articles that require interlibrary loan to the storage folder.  
  3. Open the Folder, and checkmark the articles.  
  4. Click Email and fill out the form, choosing Vancouver format.   
  • Send to your own email address, and then forward to library@lifewest.edu

OR

  • From within EbscoHost, enter E-mail to library@lifewest.edu;
    Enter your name and email address in the Subject and Comments boxes.
    You MUST include your contact information in the Comments box.  Without this, library staff has NO IDEA who sent the request.
  • Click Send button

Screenprint of EbscoHost articles displayed in storage Folder

Screenprint EbscoHost form for emailing citations

 

Life West library owns 99% of journal articles in the Index to Chiropractic Literature.
It is rare that you will need to request an interlibrary loan.

But...just in case the link to an online article fails, or you cannot find an older issue on the shelf...

  1. Checkmark the article that you cannot find 
  2. Scroll down, and fill out only the Email portion  
  • Send to your own email address, and then forward to library@lifewest.edu

OR

  • Enter your name in Subject box
    Enter your email address in Message box
    Then Email to library@lifewest.edu 
    You MUST include your contact information in the Message box.  Without this, library staff has NO IDEA where to send the article.

Screenprint of ICL form for emailing a citation

Reminder:  Only faculty, students and staff can request a book from another library. 

  • Verify the item in question and find a complete citation if possible.
  • Send citation in message to library@lifewest.edu.
Sources of citations:

Online booksellers and publisher websites will have accurate title, author, edition and ISBN number.  All of these elements help identify the book you need.

Email feature at OCLC WorldCat database will generate and send a citation

  1. Click on the title of interest to display its details
  2. Click on Email
  3. Complete the form
  • Send to your own email address, and then forward to library@lifewest.edu

OR

  • Enter Recipient: library@lifewest.edu  

    You MUST include your contact information in the Notes box.  Without this, library staff has NO IDEA who sent the request.

Screenprint of OCLC WorldCat form for emailing a citation

Policies

Scope of Service

We primarily accept requests that relate to the mission of the college.  For strictly personal needs, please contact your local public library or talk to us about fee for service.

  • For current students, faculty and staff:  The library covers the expense of interlibrary loan charges until the individual's quarterly cost cap is reached.  The cost of each article is determined by the lending library.
  • For all other users: Library staff provides both interlibrary loan and document delivery service (copies of journal articles or a book chapter from Life West's collections) on a fee for service basis. 
 

Copies and Copyright Compliance

All journal articles. book chapters or other material under copyright duplicated at Life West Library, or received through interlibrary loan, are for your personal study and use only.  Copies can not be redistributed without permission of the copyright holder.

  • Instructors should refer to copyright law regarding "Fair Use" or talk to a librarian if portions of borrowed materials are useful in the classroom.  
  • Library staff fills requests that are within the guidelines for the number of articles from the journal or the extent of content from a book permitted by Title 17 copyright law for private study, academic, or research use only.
  • Notice: The copyright law of the United States (17 U.S.C. § 108) governs the making of copies or other reproductions of copyrighted material.

Turnaround time for copies is typically 2-5 days.

We deliver copies as .pdf documents via email; by OCLC Article Exchange when publisher's license requires secure transmission; and by mail when license explicitly prohibits file sharing.
 

 

Learning Commons/Library
25001 Industrial Blvd.
Hayward, CA 94545
Circulation (Main Number)
510-780-4507

 

Please Email Us

The staff acknowledges your request within 24 hours.

Circulation Department: circulation@lifewest.edu

Interlibrary loan requests: ill@lifewest.edu

Reference Assistance, Off-Campus Access and Questions:  jcox@lifewest.edu

 

Not everything is online...

Life West Library is committed to preserving the history and evolution of chiropractic represented in print journals many of which are unavailable as electronic documents. We will scan and send articles in .pdf format upon request to the Life West Community and affliated patrons only.

Students in the shelves,looking for a print journal