Circulation

To check out books, faculty must use a USA library card which is obtained at the Circulation Desk upon presentation of a current faculty ID and a picture ID. It must be signed on the back to be valid. Books are due in three months, but may possibly be renewed two times on-line. The library has the right to recall books if needed by another borrower. A research assistant can check out material for an instructor with the faculty member’s library card. Immediate family members are eligible for a Courtesy Card which has some borrowing limitations.

Online Renewal

  1. Access Southcat Plus at http://library.southalabama.edu
  2. Click on Your Library Account.
  3. Enter your borrower's card barcode or J Number
  4. Enter your last name. NOTE: Your name must be entered exactly as it appears in USA's official records. If you get a message that the patron name is not a valid one and your name contains a suffix, such as Jr. or III, enter your last name, a space and the suffix. If this still does not work, call Circulation at (251) 460-7028.
  5. Click on Login.
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The next screen should be your patron record showing your name, address, etc., and the items currently charged out to you. If they qualify for renewal, there should be a column offering that option. Check the items you want to renew and choose Renew Checked Items; you can also renew all items at one time by choosing Renew all items from University of South Alabama Libraries. Be sure that you Logoff, especially if you are on a public access computer.

Can't Renew?

  • Maximum number of renewals exceeded?
  • Title already overdue?
  • Title has a hold or recall on it?

Blocked?

  • Too many fines?
  • Too many overdues?
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Problems?

Call the Circulation Desk at (251) 460-7028.

Holds and Recalls

Holds and Recalls may only be placed on books that are already checked out. To place a hold on or to recall a book, use the following procedure:

  1. Access Southcat Plus at http://library.southalabama.edu
  2. Click on SOUTHcat Catalog.
  3. Do a search to bring up the particular title you want, then click on the title.
  4. Choose the Hold/Recall button from the top of the SOUTHcat screen.
  5. Enter your library card number or J Number and your last name.
  6. From the drop-down menu, choose either Hold or Recall. Do NOT choose Recall for an item that is due in less than 14 days.
  7. Enter your library card number or J Number again. If you don't enter the number this second time, you will get a pop-up box that reads, "Please enter required fields.""
  8. From the drop-down menu, choose the place where you want to pick up your requested book.
  9. Click on Submit Request.
  10. You should get a message that "Your patron-initiated request was successful."
  11. Remember to Logoff when you are done, especially if you are on a public workstation.
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Periodicals

Information on the USA Libraries' journal holdings, formats and locations is available on the USA catalog. The library also subscribes to many, many on-line full-text journal sources which may or may not be cataloged. Check Our Journal List at http://www.tdnet.com/usouthal or check with the Reference desk( 460-7025). Specialized databases, to which the Library does not subscribe, may be available through commercial vendors like Dialog. You or your department account will be charged only for the cost of the search. To check about the availability of any database or to make an appointment for these librarian-mediated searches email or call Amy Prendergast at 460(6)-7025.

Photocopying and Printing

All copying and printing requires the use of a TRACcard. These cards may be purchased at the Circulation desk. The Circulation staff will accept a requisition as payment for a copy card if it is signed by the department chair and includes the department account number. Letter size pages will cost 10¢ per page.
Note: The Biomedical Library has its own accounts and its own copy cards which are not compatible with the University Library cards.

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Reference

For detailed or complex research questions faculty members are encouraged to come to the library and consult with a reference librarian/subject specialist. Reference librarians are always willing to confer about possible research tools and newly available sources for faculty or student research needs. Brief factual information is available by phone (6-7025) or e-mail webref@jaguar1.usouthal.edu. Librarians are also happy to assist with developing class library assignments appropriate to subject, level and resources available.

LIBRARY EVENTS CALENDAR
http://www.southalabama.edu/univlib/training/schedule.html

SOUTHcat Catalog

Information about USA Libraries’ books, audiovisual, new books, government documents, course reserve, and journal holdings and their formats and locations can be found on the USA catalog, as can their order, processing and checkout status. The USA catalog can be accessed from the library’s homepage. For help with access call the Electronic Services Librarian, Kathy Wheeler, at 460-7938 or e-mail her at kwheeler@jaguar1.usouthal.edu.

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University Library Homepage

http://library.southalabama.edu/
The library homepage, serves as a gateway to the catalog, electronic indexes and e-journals, library information, remote services, as well as an access point to the public Internet search engines. About 100 electronic library-subscribed databases are available through the Internet with verification of your University affiliation. Several of the databases to which the Libraries subscribe provide access to the full-text of articles from magazines and journals, and a few of the journal publishers allow us electronic access to articles if we also subscribe to the print version of the journal. Check Our Journal List at http://www.tdnet.com/usouthal or call the Reference Desk (6-7025) about full-text electronic availability.

Fee-based Databases

Specialized databases to which the Library does not subscribe may be available through commercial vendors like Dialog. You or your department account will be charged only for the cost of the search. To check about the availability of any database or to make an appointment for these librarian-assisted searches call Amy Prendergast at 460-7025 or e-mail her at aprender@ jaguar1.usouthal.edu. You can also fill out the form at http://www.southalabama.edu/univlib/forms/database.html.

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Distance Education

Instructors teaching on-line classes should talk to a librarian about library-subscribed on-line information and other library services available to their distant students.

Government Documents

USA is a 65% selective depository for U.S. government publications. Most of the documents received are listed on the USA Catalog. The Internet is also a rich source for government information. Check http://www.southalabama.edu/univlib/govdocs/. For questions about finding state or federal information call Paula Webb, Documents/Electronic Reference Librarian, or Vicki Tate, Depository Librarian and Head, Documents/Serials, at 460-7024. Please check with Vicki Tate about putting specific documents on reserve for class use. The Information Desk on Second Floor, South offers assistance with both Alabama and federal documents as well as periodicals.

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InterLibrary Loan

ILL takes an average of 14 working days, but titles available in Alabama libraries may arrive faster via FAX, web or UPS and there is no charge passed on to the borrower for these in-state items. Charges incurred from out-of-state borrowing will be billed to the patron's account or to a department or grant account. The ILLiad system we use requires registration before your first loan request. Once registered, the request process is easy. ILL requests can also be made directly from several FirstSearch databases. Call the ILL office at 6-7034 for more information. The link to InterLibrary Loan is on the homepage under "Information and Services" or directly at http://www.southalabama.edu/univlib/illforms.htm.

The Biomedical Library handles all ILL requests for the faculties and students of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health. USA faculty members with a faculty ID have library borrowing privileges at both Spring Hill College and the University of Mobile. to top of page

Copy Service

Journal articles available in the University Library will be copied and delivered to researchers for the fees listed below. Article requests are limited to 3 per day and citations should be complete. Requests will be accepted on the library's web form or on a print form available at the Reference Desk at (251) 460-7025. Charges will be billed to library card accounts. Journal articles at the Biomedical Library (Campus site and USAMC) should be requested from their copy service. Journal articles NOT OWNED by the USA Libraries should be requested through Interlibrary Loan.

Fees

USA Faculty/ Staff/Students COPY ($3.00 up to 20 pages) + 10¢ /p for additional pages + FAX ($2.00 in-state and $5.00 out of state).

The form for the copy service is available at the Reference Desk or on the web at http://www.southalabama.edu/univlib/forms/copyfrm.htm.

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Reserve

Course Reserve requests may be made on forms available at the Circulation Desk (251) 460-7028 or at http://www.southalabama.edu/univlib/forms/reserve.html. Both print and electronic reserve requests will be processed as they are received. Please allow at least 5 working days for the items to be available. For more information about electronic or traditional Reserve call 460-7028 or see the University Library Guidelines for Course Reserve at http://www.southalabama.edu/univlib/info/ereserveguidelines.htm

Library Instruction

Instruction is available for all levels from introductory research and use of the catalog to instruction in specialized online databases and even smart Internet searching. We now have an auditorium and several classrooms, one with 13 computers for hands-on practice. We can also come to your classroom if it is Ethernet connected and has a projector. From a quick 20 minute drop-in class demonstrating the efficient use of one particular database to a full class session guiding students’ hands-on use of the disciplinary databases, we will design a library session geared to your specific objectives. For upper-division courses we will create webpages annotating the most important information sources for your students to consult.

Jan Sauer(jsauer@jaguar1)............Instructional Services 6-6045
Ellen Wilson (ewilson@jaguar1).......Instructional Technology/Reference 6-2826

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Purchase Requests

Each department has a faculty member and a librarian appointed as liaison to discuss needs and facilitate orders. Typically, book funds are available from December through May. Faculty may call Paul Haschak (6-7033), Coodinator of Collection Management, regarding materials needed outside of the faculty member’s department or field. Coordinate orders for media titles with Kathy Jones (6-2829). For course reserve rush orders and reference materials, phone or e-mail your library liaison:

Mary Engebretson (mengebre@jaguar1).....................Continuing Ed., Interdisciplinary. 6-2825
Kathy Jones (kjones@jaguar1).................................Communications. & Social Science. 6-2829
Amy Prendergast (aprender@jaguar1)........................Science. & Technology. 6-2827
Jerry Wright (jwright@jaguar1).................................Humanities & Education 6-7025
Kathy Wheeler (kwheeler@jaguar1)...........................Math/Statistics 6-7938
Deborah Harrington (dlharrington@usouthal.edu) ........ Business, 6-7998

Instructional Media Center

The IMC collection includes audio, videotapes, cd’s, dvd’s, and the corresponding equipment.

PETAL

The Program for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (PETAL) offers faculty seminars and roundtable discussions about pedagogical issues and technology workshops for all faculty. A technology lab for multi-media development is available for faculty use. For further information and schedules of events, visit the website at http://www.southalabama.edu/petal/ or contact Rob Gray at 461-1563.

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