Alma AFN & Email Requests

AFN Requests (books, articles and boxes)

AFN requests come through at 12 am & 12 pm and will be automatically printed.

Sign into SCF IZ of Alma

Select WRLC - Shared Collections Facility - DEFAULT_CIRC_DESK as the current desk/department.

Click on "Other Requests" then "Pickup from shelf" to view the material requests.

Separate box requests from book and article requests.

Box requests:

GA Archives (Gallaudet Archives)
GW Special Collections (George Washington Special Collections)
GW Global Resources Center (George Washington Global Resources Center)
GT Booth (Georgetown Special Collections)

Organize slips in order of row and shelf location so they are easier to pull.

AFN Book Requests

If a slip has an IN3 (Internal Note 3) of “SCF Hold Shelf”, grab the book off the hold shelf in the processing area and delete the note. Then scan the item in and place it on the table (steps are described later below).

It is optional to write the tray location on the book slips at the top right if it helps.

When pulling items check that the barcode and title match what is printed on the slip. If there is a discrepancy, give the item to Tammy.

For books going out via courier, fold the slip and place it in the book with the school code sticking out of the book.

Place a WRLC sticker on the book near the barcode.

Exception:

Georgetown owned books
George Mason owned books
George Washington Special Collections owned books.

In the SCF IZ of Alma, the books will need to be scanned in to place them in transit to the borrowing libraries.

Scan item barcode in the "Scan item barcode" field:

In the “Requester” field it should say Deliver to: (school code). If it doesn’t, click the three little dots then “attach request”. If “attach request” doesn’t show up, then manually place item in transit: Fulfillment > Manage Patron Services > Put in the school code and click on the school or library it is going to then scan the item barcode.

The only exception is for OUP (Oxford University Press) books owned by WRLC. These books do not have an X at the end of the barcode and when scanning them in, you have to remove the X at the end. After scanning in item barcode the “Requester” field will have the person’s name who requested the item.

If there is a request for a Gallaudet owned DVD you need to remove the case and place a print out of the item record that has the barcode and title information on it in the case. The device that is used to remove the case is by the computer used for ILL requests. Place the DVD in a bubble mailer and tape the slip request to the front of the bubble mailer.

If the item is media (CD, VHS, DVD, Cassette, Microfilm, Vinyl), place it in a bubble mailer and tape the slip request to the front of the bubble mailer.

Place books on table under the school they are going to and separate them out if they books are going to different libraries within the same school. For example, GT (Georgetown Lauinger) vs GT-L (Georgetown Law).

AFN Article Requests

For article/digitization requests write the tray location in the upper right or left corner of the slip (just not the middle of the paper), then pull requested items.

When pulling items check that the barcode, title, volume and year match what is printed on the slip. If there is a discrepancy, give the item to Tammy.

If an article request is over 50 pages, send it to the school by attaching a digitization slip to the front of the book. It is located next to the printer. Make a note in the Internal note 3 field:

SCF in transit to AU, today's date
SCF in transit to CU, today's date
SCF in transit to GM, today's date
SCF in transit to GW, today's date
SCF in transit to GT, today's date

Common issues with AFN requests (books & articles)

1) No barcode or location printed on slip.

Either look up the Request ID and then do a “View Title in Search” and get the barcode and location this way
Or go to the Pick From Shelf, locate the request and do a “View Title in Search”

2) Physical Item Request that has article information in the description and no barcode or location printed on the slip.

Cancel request and let the patron know they need to resubmit the request as an article/digitization request.

3) Item not in tray

Double check, ask another SCF Specialist to double check
If item still can’t be located, let Tammy know.

AFN Box Requests

Box requests:

GA Archives (Gallaudet Archives)
GW Special Collections (George Washington Special Collections)
GW Global Resources Center (George Washington Global Resources Center)
GT Booth (Georgetown Special Collections)

Organize slips in order of row and shelf location so they are easier to pull. You can also organize the slips by schools.

Put boxes on large gray cart(s) and put boxes belonging to the same university together.

After the boxes are pulled, another SCF Specialist will need to double check them to ensure that correct ones are pulled.

Put routing slips on top of the boxes.

In the SCF IZ of Alma, the boxes will need to be scanned in to place them in transit to the owning libraries.

Scan item barcode in the "Scan item barcode" field:

Place slips (either paper clipped or stapled) on the pile next to the printer.

Fill out Runners delivery orders online:

Move the large gray cart(s) over to the exit in front of the microfilm cabinets so the special delivery driver from Runners can pick them up in the morning. Place Gallaudet boxes on the table with the books for the regular courier to pick up.

Email Requests

Email: requests@wrlc.org
Password: 901*Commerce

Types of requests that come through email

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) requests
Article requests
Box requests

Interlibrary Loan and Article Requests

Search in Alma for the location (if no location is given) and make sure the volume and year match what is on the request. If it doesn't, check the volume and year listed.

Search using whatever information the request provides:

Barcode, Journal or Book tile, ISSN, or ISBN

Write the tray location in the upper right or left corner of the page.

Organize slips in order of row and shelf location so they are easier to pull.

Once article requests have been pulled, place them on the table next to the scanner.

If an article request is over 50 pages, send it to the school by attaching the printed slip to the front of the book. Make a note in the Internal note 3 field:

SCF in transit to AU, today's date
SCF in transit to CU, today's date
SCF in transit to GM, today's date
SCF in transit to GW, today's date
SCF in transit to GT, today's date

If an article can not be located, reply to the original email letting them know that the article could not be found and if they could get a different citation.

If an article is in a foreign language and you are unsure about which article is correct, check with Tammy first before sending it to the requesting school and let them know you are sending it to them because you are unsure what is correct.

ILL Requests ONLY

Check the shipping address on the printed forms. WRLC does not ship outside the US. If a book is going to be delivered outside the US, send the item to the school and reply to the original email letting them know you are sending the item to them.

To check out a book being mail go to Fulfillment > Manage Patron Services

Put in the school code and click on the school or library it is going to then scan the item barcode.

Catholic - ILL, CUA
American - LENDING, AU
George Washington - General, Libraries - gw ill
For Georgetown, use GT IZ: Fulfillment > Manage Patron Services > Interlibrary Loan Books #1, Interlibrary Loan Books #1 - ILL-2 - OCLC ILL

Once items are ready to be mailed, make a draft reply to the original emails that says “Mailed” and go over to the ILL station and use Stamps.com to prepare the shipping labels.

Common issues with ILL and article requests

1) Item is too large to mail out - we may need to use two bubble mailer and combine them together. If it is still too large, send it to the school and let them know we are unable to mail it out due to its size.

2) Mailing anything to the University of Maryland. Use the website version of stamps (the app version doesn’t like UMD’s address).

3) Media items (CD, VHS, DVD, Cassette) check with the owning library first to make sure it’s okay to send out. Some schools don’t want their media mailed out.

4) If you are having a difficult time locating anything ask a SCF Specialist before going to Tammy.

Email Box Requests

Email box requests will come from:

American Archives
Catholic Archives
NSA (National Security Archive-located at GW)
Gallaudet Archives

George Mason
George Washington Special Collections (occasionally)
George Washington Global Resources Center (occasionally)

Georgetown Special Collections (occasionally)

Marymount Archives

Washington College of Law

Print out the email (use the stamp next to the printer on the print out) and get the locations for the boxes. Usually this means looking up the collection title and then finding the box in the list of items.

Put boxes on large gray cart(s) and put boxes belonging to the same university together.

After the boxes are pulled, another SCF Specialist will need to double check them to ensure that correct ones are pulled.

Put routing slips on top of the boxes.

Make a notepad of the barcodes and save it in the common drive: Common (S:) > SCF Boxes for outgoing materials> open the folder of the appropriate department > type the file name: today's date

Print the notepad and staple it to the printed request.

Add a note in the Internal note 3 field:

SCF in transit to AU Archives, today's date
SCF in transit to CU Archives, today's date
SCF in transit to NSA, today's date
SCF in transit to GM Special Collections, today's date
SCF in transit to GT Special Collections, today's date
SCF in transit to GW Special Collections, today's date
SCF in transit to GW-GRC, today's date
SCF in transit to Marymount Archives, today's date
SCF in transit to WCL, today's date

Email Runners and let them know that the driver will need to make a special stop for Catholic University Archives with the box break down and place boxes on the table with the books.