HIST 422: Advanced Research & Writing Colloquium (Hooper)

CHECKING FOR EBOOKS

If Holy Cross doesn't own the book you are interested in, there are a few additional options for obtaining immediate ebook access: 

• Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/inlibrary. The Internet Archive has over 4 million ebooks that you can 'borrow' and read online with just a free account (and don't worry, it's a reputable site). The older the book, the better odds that it's available in the Archive, but there are books published as recently as the 2010s available in their collection. 
   
• Boston Public Library, https://www.bpl.org/ebooks/. The Boston Public Library has an extensive collection of ebooks and audio books (as well as useful research databases), and anyone living, working or studying in Massachusetts is eligible for access. Register for an eCard (note that it may take a day or two to be approved) to begin borrowing. 

BOOKS

Note that turnaround times for ILL may vary depending on how far the book has to travel, and how speedily the U.S. Mail is traveling at any given time.  We recommend planning 1-2 weeks for the book to arrive, but it may take more or less time depending on factors like other libraries’ response time, the other library’s location, and mailing delays. We usually can’t tell in advance when an item will be here. Don't have enough time? Consider requesting a Book Chapter instead. 

To request a book on Interlibrary Loan: 

1. Sign into the Interlibrary Loan system, ILLiad, using your Holy Cross Google login. 

2. Once you have logged in, choose "Book" under the ILL menu: 
   
   
            
3. Fill out the request form. A good rule of thumb is to include at least the information you would need to cite the book, if possible (author(s), book title, date of publication, publisher). The more information you include, the more easily and quickly our staff will be able to place your request. 
    
4. Under Choose a pick up Location, choose Pick-up in Dinand. 
    
5. You will receive an e-mail notification when your book is ready for pick-up.  

BOOK CHAPTERS

If you're crunched for time, requesting a book chapter can be a good alternative to waiting for an ILL book to come in the mail. Book chapters are delivered in the form of digital scans, so they tend to arrive more quickly. Turnaround times may still vary, but you can expect most book chapter requests to arrive in less than 1 week.  

How do I know what chapter to request? 

If you originally planned to read the whole book, you might not know where to start with choosing the right sections. Here are some tips for identifying chapters for your request: 

• CrossSearch. Some, but not all, of our books include a table of contents in CrossSearch. If there is one, you can usually find it in the full catalog page for the book -- or, look for a button that says Table of Contents only and/or Publisher Description.

• Google Books. While Google rarely provides unrestricted previews, you can often see enough to read the Table of Contents, and maybe even to skim a chapter or two.

• Amazon. Again, Amazon does not provide unrestricted previews, but will often let you view a Table of Contents using the Look Inside feature. 

• WorldCat. A “world catalog” of books from libraries all over the world. Many WorldCat records include a list of chapters for books. *Note: While WorldCat includes a direct link for ILL requests, this link is designed for Book requests only and usually does not work for Book Chapters.

• Publisher’s Website. Try Googling the title of the book (in quotations) along with the name of the publisher listed in CrossSearch.  If it is a relatively-recent book, or at least still in-print, you may be able to find a list of contents on their website.

To request a book chapter on Interlibrary Loan:

1. Sign into the Interlibrary Loan system, ILLiad, using your Holy Cross Google login. 

2. Once you have logged in, choose "Book" under the ILL menu: 
   
   
    
3. Fill out the request form. A good rule of thumb is to include at least the information you would need to cite the chapter, if possible (chapter and book author, chapter and book title, date of publication, publisher, and, ideally, page numbers). The more information you include, the more easily and quickly our staff will be able to place your request. 
    
4. Once your request has been fulfilled, you will receive a notification and link to download your PDF in your Holy Cross email. PDFs usually only remain in the online system for a few weeks, so make sure to download it right away. 

ARTICLES

Articles are delivered in the form of digital scans, so they tend to arrive more quickly. Turnaround times may still vary, but you can expect most article requests to arrive in less than 1 week.  

Request an Article via Database:

If you have found an article you would like to request in the article databases and no electronic access is available, you can use the  button to request an article on Interlibrary Loan or Document Delivery.

1. Click the  button. When the pop-up box opens, choose  
   
   
    
2. Sign in using your Holy Cross Google login. 
    
3. You should be brought automatically to the Article Request form. The database will fill out most information for you. Check to make sure the information entered is accurate (to help us find your article sooner!).  A good rule of thumb is to include at least the information you would need to cite the chapter, if possible (author, article and journal title, volume, issue, and page numbers). The more information you include, the more easily and quickly our staff will be able to place your request. 
    
4. Once your request has been fulfilled, you will receive a notification and link to download your PDF in your Holy Cross email. PDFs usually only remain in the online system for a few weeks, so make sure to download it right away. 

Request an Article by Citation: 

1. Sign into the Interlibrary Loan system, ILLiad, using your Holy Cross Google login. 

2. Once you have logged in, choose "Article" under the ILL menu: 
   
   
   
    
3. Fill out the request form. A good rule of thumb is to include at least the information you would need to cite the article (author, article and journal title, volume, issue, and page numbers). The more information you include, the more easily and quickly our staff will be able to place your request. 
    
4. Once your request has been fulfilled, you will receive a notification and link to download your PDF in your Holy Cross email. PDFs usually only remain in the online system for a few weeks, so make sure to download it right away. 

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 Log-in? 

When accessing items from off-campus, the only log-in screen that you should ever see is the Google login screen, which uses your Holy Cross Google username/password (i.e., what you use for your email). 

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 (Gale and 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. 

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.

VPN

You may also wish to connect to the College’s VPN (virtual private network). Using the VPN lets you establish a secure connection; access on-campus resources such as software and network drives; and use library resources without a log-in, as you would on-campus. 

See the ITS documentation for the PaloVPN portal for more information and instructions on setting up VPN access. For questions about the VPN or troubleshooting, visit the ITS guide to Student Technology or contact ITS at  Helpdesk-request@holycross.edu