Ask A Student: UC Students Talk about Their Library Experiences: Utilizing OhioLINK and ILL

May 1, 2009, is a day that Kathryn Cole Bunthoff will always remember – she defended her dissertation on this date. Along the way, she made extensive use of requesting materials and books both through

(left to right) Karen Cudjoe and Kathryn Cole Bunthoff

OhioLINK and Interlibrary Loan. Bunthoff says that she often gets the two confused because both services are so seamless in providing her with the necessary materials for her research.

When using OhioLINK, if an item is not available in UC’s Library Catalog, users may search the OhioLINK Central Catalog for access to 47 million items from 90 Ohio college and university libraries and the State Library of Ohio. Users may borrow materials by selecting the “Request This Item” link in the catalog and then have that item sent to any OhioLINK library for pickup.

If materials are not available at UC or through OhioLINK, items may be requested through Interlibrary Loan, which borrows items from libraries located throughout the U.S. and beyond. Using Interlibrary Loan is as easy as 1, 2, 3:

1. verify that a book is not held by UC Libraries or OhioLINK, or that a journal
   article is not available either in print or online through UC Libraries.
   Library staff can assist with this.
2. create a user account through ILLiad (http://illiad.uc.edu), the online software
   program for requesting items.
3. request the item through ILLiad. Notification is done via e-mail when the item
   is ready for pick-up or for delivery of an electronic article.

When using both OhioLINK and Interlibrary Loan, the question for Bunthoff is often not “can I get my hands on research materials?” but rather “how deep do I research and do I have the time?” She is pleased with the level of access to materials she receives through UC Libraries and considers herself spoiled, contrasting this with her prior experience obtaining her master’s degree in another state where she would drive a few hours to use books and journals at another library.

Thanks to the convenience and ease of borrowing through OhioLINK and Interlibrary Loan, much of Bunthoff’s recent doctoral work has been completed from her home. She is most appreciative that she can request a journal article from Interlibrary Loan and it arrives as a pdf file via e-mail often within a day or two. She doesn’t have to interrupt her work to come to the library to pick it up.

For more on requesting materials through OhioLINK and Interlibrary Loan, visit
<www.libraries.uc.edu/services/request/index.html>.

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