Frequently Asked Questions about the Academy's Document Delivery Services & Interlibrary Loan Services

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Contents
  1. What is ILL?
  2. How is electronic ILL 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. Who do I contact if I have problems with or questions about ILLiad?
  11. Why does my browser say that you're sending a cookie? What's in it?

What is ILL?

Interlibrary Loan, or ILL, can be thought of as an extension of your local library. Whether you are borrowing materials through the Academy's main Lewis B. Flinn Library, through your local hospital library, or your home or office, our ILL system can obtain materials from the collections of thousands of libraries in North America.

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How is electronic ILL (e-ILL) better than traditional ILL systems?

  1. You will find it easier to submit your interlibrary loan requests. With e-ILL, 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 the ILL Department.
  5. Library personnel are able to serve you better because all data about your request and its handling is stored in a searchable database. We are able to respond quickly to your 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 in with 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 make article or book requests?

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. Remember, no one but you will know your password, not even the 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 the Academy at (302) 656-6398, ext.241, or email library@delamed.org. You will be asked for the barcode number on your Academy library card (or other information allowing us to verify your identity). We can then reset your password allowing you access to the system. Please change your password once you log in.

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What Web browser should I use?

Any Web browser that can handle forms, tables, and, preferably, one that can handle frames is sufficient.  We recommend Firefox version 1.0 or later, Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 or later, Mozilla 1.7 or later, or Netscape Navigator 3.0 or later. These browsers are available for the Windows, Macintosh, and Linux operating systems. Netscape Navigator is also 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 to recall a page from the cache, or by finding 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 the ILL system only from your personal computer or an otherwise secure workstation.
  2. Access ILL from a public workstation in the Interlibrary Loan office in the library. These computers are supervised by the library staff.
  3. When using a public access workstation:
    • 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 our system. 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 electronic ILL, 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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Who do I contact if I have problems with or questions about ILLiad?

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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 without any problems.

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