Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about DocServ

What information goes in the Max Cost field?

The Maxcost feature allows you to limit what you are willing to pay for an article. Our standard fee is $12.00 for academic/educational institutions and $16.00 for others, but a number of variables can affect the final fee you pay. Some fees, such as the delivery method chosen, are predictable. Others, such as page count (documents up to 50 pages in length are covered by the base fee, but pages over 50 are an additional 0.25 each) and copyright fees, may not be known at the time a request is placed. With the Maxcost feature you may place a cap on what you are willing to pay for these variable fees. For example, if you choose a Maxcost of $24.00 and the document you requested, after copyright, is $27.00, you would be notified that the total fee for this document exceeded your Maxcost. You may always choose to resubmit your request with a new Maxcost if you decide to pay a higher fee for a document. Even if you choose not to fill in a Maxcost you will be contacted before any request with a copyright fee above $50.00 is processed.

What's the difference between LHL, AIAA and Ei? Which service should I choose?

The short answer is that if you are unfamiliar with what the above acronyms stand for you should choose LHL, which stands for Linda Hall Library. Over the years Linda Hall Library has been fortunate enough to form partnerships with many organizations. Among these are the American Institute of Astronautics and Aeronautics and Engineering Index. Linda Hall Library performs document delivery for these organizations through signature services which bear their name. Requests may be placed for materials in all collections housed at Linda Hall through any of these services.

Do I download documents requested for electronic delivery directly from your site?

Yes. Requests placed through ILLiad choosing electronic delivery are posted on a server for download. An email message will be sent to you informing you that your request has been completed. Within fifteen minutes of the receipt of this email your request should be ready for download.

I don’t understand what the copyright choices mean. Which one should I choose?

The section of copyright law which relates to obtaining copies of material from libraries may be found on our Document Delivery Services information page. If you need more help you may wish to visit one of the many copyright information pages on the web or consult someone within your organization. Of course, any material published before 1924 and most materials published by the United States government is in the public domain.

Linda Hall Library requires copyright payment for all requests supplied to academic institutions outside the United States, for-profit entities and individuals.

I want my document request to get into process quickly. Wouldn’t I be better off requesting it by phone?

Although Linda Hall Library Document Services staff will always be happy to take your request over the phone, placing your request on-line is not only faster but offers a number of additional benefits. You can check on your on-line requests while they are in process, simply by accessing your account. And your on-line account allows you to access a history of all requests you have submitted on-line.

I searched your catalog for the item I want but didn’t find it. Does that mean Linda Hall doesn’t hold it?

No, we may have the item. Please contact our Reference Desk and they will be happy to check our holdings for you.

I’ve entered all my account information and now I want to make a request. Is there a waiting period? What should I do next?

Click on the “EXIT TO MAIN MENU” button once you’ve entered your account information. Then choose “Request a Photocopy” or “Request a Book Loan” and the form on which you will make your first request will appear.

Does Linda Hall loan materials?

Linda Hall Library loans some monographs in our collection. We do not loan journals, conferences, standards, microforms, government documents, technical reports, fragile books or reference books.

I work at a for-profit company but I’m also associated with a university. Do I qualify for the academic rate?

To qualify for the Academic Rate a request must either be submitted through an academic institution or from an email address directly associated with the school.

I received an email saying that the item I wanted wasn’t on shelf. What does that mean? Can I resubmit my request?

A "Not on Shelf” message is usually generated when an item is unavailable because it is in use in the library. In such cases the item should return to the shelf within a twenty-four hour period and may be requested again. In some cases the item may have been sent to book repair, the bindery or be out on loan and therefore be unavailable for a longer time. This will usually be noted in the initial message you receive on your request.

I received an email saying the item I want has not yet been received. When will you have it?

Unfortunately, predicting just when a publication will arrive is an uncertain business. The receipt of a given publication can be delayed for a number of reasons. New material received by the library is normally placed in the collection within a single business day.

Could you send my request by email and drop a hard copy in the mail?

Yes, but you will be charged for the second copy, both copyright and service fees. This is true when two copies of any document are requested by different delivery methods.

There’s a problem with the item I just received. How should I contact you?

The fastest, most certain way of contacting the library about a problem with a document you have received is by email at requests@lindahall.org or by phone at 1-800-662-1545 then 3, or 1-816-926-8713. Please do not reply to an email delivery you have received as this will delay processing of your status request.

How can I tell that you have received the request I placed on-line?

Upon hitting the "Submit button" you should be returned to the Request page.

The request I placed no longer appears in my request history. Has something bad happened?

Nothing out of the ordinary has happened. When a request is completed, whether it has been routed to our delivery queue or cancelled, it leaves the request history archive. If the request has been completed successfully and the requested material is being delivered, it will appear in the “Finished Request” archive of your account. If, however, the request has been cancelled, it will have been transferred to the “View/Resubmit Cancelled Requests” portion of your account history. Doing this permits you easy access to both a list of all those requests that have been filled for you through the on-line interface as well as a list of all those requests you have submitted to our library which we were unable to supply.

I’ve forgotten my password. What should I do?

For your security no one on our staff is able to access your current password. HOWEVER, we can reset your password to a default password which will allow you to access your account. Once you have done this you may then choose a new password. If you forget your password please call us at 1-800-662-1545 x713 or email us at requests@lindahall.org and your account will be set to the default, you will be notified, and you can access your account. Please do not start a new account. Doing so both robs your on-line account of much of its utility to you and makes processing and tracking your requests more difficult.

How do I add or update my credit card information?

Just go to the Change Accounts page of your account (it’s at the bottom of the menu on the left side of the page, under TOOLS), select Credit Card from the Account Type dropdown, click the button to Create Account for Credit Card and you will be redirected to a secure site where you will enter your credit card credentials. When you’re done, click Finish and you will be notified of successful account creation. Then Click here to return to ILLiad and you’ll be brought back to the Change Account page of your DocServ account. Your new credit card account will appear in your Current Accounts list. You will be able to identify it by the last four digits of the account number, which will correspond to those of the credit card you have chosen to use. You may then select it, if you choose, to pay for your next request.

 

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