From Other Libraries
Interlibrary Loan:
You can request books, chapters, journal articles and more from other libraries using the Interlibrary Loan service. Holy Cross uses the ILLiad system for Interlibrary Loan. Physical items obtained on Interlibrary Loan are picked up at the library you have identified in your ILLiad profile.
Instructions for using Document Delivery & Interlibrary Loan
Instructions for renewing Interlibrary Loan items
Worcester ARC:
Holy Cross students, faculty and staff have access privileges at other institutions in Worcester through ARC (Academic Research Collaborative). ARC is a cross-borrowing agreement between Holy Cross and other universities in Worcester and in the general Worcester area. In addition to Interlibrary Loan services, you may also check out circulating items from ARC libraries directly.
To see if an item is available at an ARC library, use the WorldCat database to search for the item you are interested in, then click to view the full list of libraries where the item is available. To use an ARC library, visit the Circulation Desk in Dinand to request an ARC Borrower's Card. Then bring both the ARC card and your Holy Cross ID with you to visit the other library (exception: you will need proof of MA address to borrow from the Worcester Public Library).
Note: It is always a good idea to check the library's catalog before making a trip to check out a specific item, to make sure it is available. There is a complete list of participating libraries on the Worcester ARC website.
Boston Public Library:
The Boston Public Library issues both library cards and e-cards to anyone resident, working or studying in the state of Massachusetts. In addition to borrowing from BPL's extensive print collections, a card allows access to their online database subscriptions. An e-card can be obtained online, without visiting BPL in person. Note that to check out physical materials, museum passes, etc., you will need to visit the library and upgrade your e-card to a full library card. More information about the eCard program is available in the BPL eCard FAQ.
Finding Full Text - Following Citations
Being able to follow a citation is crucial for research! If you have a citation, you can use those skills to track down the full-text of the article directly using the E- Journals Search.
All of the information that you need to track down an article is located in its citation -- like this one below! Note that the | is not part of the citation -- these symbols mark where each component of the citation begins and ends.
| Marsili, Luca, Lucia Ricciardi and Matteo Bologna.|"Unraveling the Asymmetry of Mona Lisa Smile."| |
|
Author Title of Article |
|
Cortex | 120 | (Nov. 2019): |607-610.| doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2019.03.020. |
| Journal Volume Issue Date Pages DOI or stable URL |
Instructions for using the E-Journals search to find articles
Finding Full Text - Advanced Web Strategies
Browser Extensions & Add-Ons
There are browser add-ons that you can install to help you find access to articles while you are browsing the web. Here are a few we suggest:
- LibKey Nomad
Part of our LibKey subscription, LibKey Nomad will help you access articles that you find in many places outside of the library, including Wikipedia. Look for the button with the green flame next to a citation. || Available for Chrome and may be compatible with some Microsoft Edge versions.
Please note that the following plugins are developed and maintained by third-party groups and your use of them is governed by their terms of service. The Libraries have no control over and limited ability to troubleshoot these resources:
- Unpaywall
When you’re viewing an article page, the Unpaywall padlock icon appears on the right-hand side of your screen, green if freely available, grey if not. Click on the padlock to download a PDF of the article. Works in Chrome and Firefox. - Google Scholar Button
When you’re viewing an article page, click on the Google Scholar button in your toolbar. If you can download the article for free, there will be a link to the PDF in a pop-up dialog box. Works in Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. - Open Access Button
When you’re viewing an article page, click on the Open Access Button icon in your toolbar to download a PDF of the article. If unavailable, the OA Button helps you send a request for access to the author. Works in Chrome and Firefox.
Google Scholar Settings:
While on campus, Google Scholar will recognize that you are at Holy Cross and connect you to articles accordingly. To make this happen while using Google Scholar at home, you need to update your Scholar Settings. See the document linked below for detailed instructions with screenshots.
Instructions for customizing your Google Scholar settings
In brief:
1. Go to Settings > Library links
2. Type College of the Holy Cross into the search box
3. Check College of the Holy Cross - Full Text Finder Results.
This will trigger HC links to display on the right side of your results page.
General Tips & Troubleshooting
General Tips:
We know that accessing online resources when you are not on campus can be confusing. But we want to make sure you know: anything that you could access at Holy Cross, you can access from home! Here are some things you should know about how this works:
- When accessing JOURNALS OR DATABASES (like JSTOR), it is important that you go through the links on the library’s website. If you go to www.jstor.com while working from home, JSTOR will not recognize you as a Holy Cross subscriber. Using the links on the library’s website will ensure that you are properly recognized and logged in.
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When working off-campus, any link to a library resource should begin with the PROXY PREFIX: https://holycross.idm.oclc.org/login?auth=cas&url=. This is what prompts the database to show you the CAS login screen and verify that you are a Holy Cross user. If you have a link that does not begin with this prefix, you can often fix the link yourself by copy-pasting this prefix on the front of the link. Note that the links auto-generated by many databases do not include this prefix by default; you will have to add it manually.
- When SAVING LINKS for later access, make sure that you are using a permalink generated by the database or search tool. We would caution you against simply leaving tabs open, bookmarking, or copying the link from your address bar. These links often have code in them related to whatever search you have been doing and/or when you were searching, which will expire, causing the link to break.
Instructions for finding and using permalinks
Troubleshooting:
Here are some of the most common problems that you may encounter when accessing links from off-campus, and what they mean.
In general, many technical problems can be solved by clearing your browser cache.
Are You Hitting A Strange Login?
When accessing items from off-campus, the only log-in screen that you should ever see is the CAS login screen, which uses your Holy Cross network username/password (i.e., what you use for STAR).
Some users are encountering an EBSCO or OCLC login. If these appear, it usually means that there is something wrong with the link that you are using. Check that the link has the proxy prefix (more information below) and does not have any extra punctuation (i.e., a period at the end of some links will prevent them from working). If you are still hitting the OCLC or EBSCO login, please get in touch! You will not be able to login to the OCLC or EBSCO login screens.
Is Your Proxy Prefix Missing?
When working off-campus, any link to a library resource should begin with:
https://holycross.idm.oclc.org/login?auth=cas&url=.
This is what prompts the database to show you the CAS login screen and verify that you are a Holy Cross user. If you have a link that does not begin with this prefix, you can often fix the link yourself by copy-pasting this prefix on the front of the link.
If that doesn't work, please get in touch with us (chat or libref@holycross.edu) and we'll be happy to get you the correct link.
Note that the links auto-generated by many databases (ProQuest among them) do not include this prefix by default; you will have to add it manually.
Are You Still Logged In?
In library databases or journal pages, if you are properly logged-in, you should see a message with wording similar to “Access provided by College of the Holy Cross,” usually near the top of the page. If you see a message prompting you to log-in to your library’s subscription, are asked to pay for access to articles -- or, in CrossSearch, if you see a yellow bar at the top welcoming you as a Guest -- you may need to log-in again. You can do this by starting a new CrossSearch search, or by opening a database from the library website. Then, refresh the tabs you have open and your log-in and access should be renewed.
If you are experiencing technical problems, please reach out to us! Not only do we want to fix your access as soon as possible, but you may have encountered a problem that will affect others, too!
The best way to contact us for tech problems is to e-mail Helpdesk-request@holycross.edu, and mention that it is a library related issue. If you can, CC libref@holycross.edu, which will help us respond to you more quickly! You can also use the library chat if you need a more immediate response.