These questions and responses focus on access to the NAL collection and include information on user eligibility, copy or loan requests, registration, delivery of materials, and fees/billing.
Eligibility to Request
Q: Who is eligible to request materials from the NAL collection?
A: The following groups are eligible to directly request
materials from NAL:
USDA Employees
Libraries, organizations, and associations
All others must submit their requests through the interlibrary loan service of a library.
See the Eligibility section of the Request Library Materials page for additional information.
Q: How do I submit a request
for a loan or copy of materials from the NAL
collection?
A: Eligible customers may request materials via
an NAL Catalog (AGRICOLA) request form or a blank web request form. Libraries may also request materials through the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) or
DOCLINE. See How to Request Materials from NAL for detailed instructions.
Q: Do I need to know the
NAL
Call Number to submit a request?
A: Including the NAL
call number will expedite request processing. If you
submit a request from an NAL Catalog (AGRICOLA) book or article record,
the NAL
call number will automatically transfer to the request
form. For detailed instructions on how to submit a request through
the NAL Catalog, see How
to Request Materials from NAL.
Q: What if I want to request something and I can't find it in the NAL Catalog (AGRICOLA)?
A: There is a blank request form available online. You will need your Patron ID to login to the form. We recommend that you bookmark the login page for future reference.
Q: What is my document delivery
Patron Identification (ID)? How do I obtain an ID?
A: Eligible customers can register for a Patron
ID on the
Offsite
Registration page. This page also provides information
on how to contact us if you forget your Patron ID.
Q: Can I submit a rush request?
A: NAL
does not accept rush requests. However, turnaround time
on most requests averages two business days from receipt
of request.
Q: Can I hand-carry my interlibrary
loan request to NAL
and ask that it be filled that day?
A: Individuals affiliated with any of the following
groups may request to borrow materials while visiting
NAL:
See the Borrowing Materials section on the Request Libraries Materials page for additional information.
All other visitors may use materials onsite only. To
borrow materials you must submit requests through the
interlibrary loan service of your local library, such
as a public library or a university library. Your library
will send a request to NAL.
NAL
fills most requests within two business days of receipt.
Q: How can
I reserve audiovisual materials for a future show date?
A: NAL
does not offer advance booking services. We loan most
audiovisual materials for 28 days (loans are limited
to North America). NAL's
turnaround time for processing loan requests is two business
days of receipt, and all loans are delivered by Federal
Express next (business) day delivery service. NAL
recommends submitting requests one to two weeks ahead of time
if you want to obtain audiovisual materials for a specific
show date.
Q:
Does NAL
provide translations?
A: NAL
does not provide translation services; however, we provide
a list of
commercial vendors. This list is for information
only--it is not meant to be comprehensive and should
not be interpreted as an endorsement by USDA
or NAL.
Q: Are there electronic
journals that I can access through NAL?
A: USDA
employees have desktop access to several thousand electronic
full-text journals and newspapers via the the Digital Desktop Library for USDA (DigiTop).
Articles from these journals may be saved or printed
by you for your personal use (see DigiTop
Terms of Use for more details). Prior to submitting
photocopy requests to NAL
for journal articles please try to locate the journal
issue you need in DigiTop.
If the journal article you need is not available in
electronic form then submit your photocopy request using the web request form (see How to Request Materials from NAL).
Q: Does
NAL
loan materials outside the United States?
A: NAL
does not loan collection materials outside of North
America; however, copies of materials may be provided
in lieu of loan. There is a limit of 50 pages per item
(30 pages if sent electronically).
Q: How does NAL
deliver materials to requestors?
A: NAL
will send materials by e-mail post to Web, e-mail attachment,
Ariel, Fax, and mail to eligible customers. See the Delivery Options section on the Request Library Materials page for more details.
Q: How do I indicate which
method of delivery I want?
A: The default delivery method is e-mail post
to web. When you register for a Patron ID,
you can indicate on the registration form your preferred
delivery method (open
Offsite Registration page). In addition, when you submit
a request for documents using the NAL Catalog (AGRICOLA) form, you
can indicate in the notes field of the form the delivery
method you would prefer.
Q: I would like to receive
my documents in PDF--will
they be in color?
A: No, currently the documents are scanned in
black and white and then converted to PDF.
If you need the copy be in color,
please E-mail Access with your requirements.
Q: What does
the e-mail notification look like for documents sent
as PDFs?
A: If you select "E-mail Post to the Web" as
your delivery method, you will receive an e-mail message
that contains a uniform resource locator (URL or Web address) for the requested
document (the message could contain several URLs if
you are sent more than one document in the message).
If you select "E-mail Attachment" as your delivery method,
you will receive an e-mail message that contains a PDF
attachment.
Q: Why is "Relais" in the sender address of the e-mail notification?
A: NAL is using the Relais Enterprise system from Relais
International, Inc. to process requests and deliver
materials.
Q:
If I request that my document be sent as a PDF
posting or e-mail attachment, will my colleagues in
other agencies also be able to access these documents?
A: Documents sent as PDF
e-mail attachments or postings to the web fall under
the same 'fair use' copyright
guidelines as those sent via fax, Ariel, or regular
mail. They are intended for the research purposes of
the person who requested them. All USDA
employees can request materials from NAL.
Researchers in other non-USDA
agencies should submit requests for materials through
their agency libraries or information centers.
Q: Since the PDF
posting expires in two weeks, what happens to documents
that are sent while I'm on extended leave or on a detail
with no e-mail access?
A: If you anticipate being away for an extended
period, indicate on your document request that you want
to temporarily change the delivery method to fax, regular
mail, or e-mail attachment (Note: PDF
attachments can be very large and your alloted mailbox
space could fill up). If you're away unexpectedly and
the two-week period has passed to access the PDF
documents posted to the Web, you'll have to resubmit
your requests.
Q: When I click on the URL
to open the PDF
document, why do I get a message saying the document is no
longer there?
A: You can access the PDF
document on the web a total of five times or for two weeks,
whichever comes first. If you have exceeded these limitations,
you will have to resubmit your request for the document.
If you have not exceeded the limitations on access,
your e-mail system may be filtering out part(s) of the
URL provided in the e-mail message. Instead of clicking
on the link, highlight it, and copy and paste it into
the address window of your browser,
as you would paste any URL that you wanted to open in
the browser. After pasting the address, hit enter to
open the document. If you're still unable to access
the document, E-mail Access providing the "BOR-"
or "REG-" number of the document (the BOR- or REG- number
will be provided in the e-mail notification) and we'll
repost it or send it to you by another method. You should
also check with your e-mail or systems administrator
to see if the e-mail settings allow HTML
e-mail.
Q: When I
click on the URL to open the PDF
document, why does my browser open and freeze
before the PDF
can open?
A: If Acrobat Reader is configured to open up
within the browser's window, using an older version
of the browser could interfere with the PDF
document opening. Check the version of the browser and update it. Also make sure you're using
the latest version of Acrobat Reader.
Q: When I click on the PDF
attachment, why doesn't it open?
A: Some e-mail programs, such as Groupwise, will
not automatically open the PDF
attachment file contained in an e-mail message. Right
click on the attachment file and select Open with...,
then select the program Acrobat Reader from the program
list (it may be abbreviated). If you're still unable
to access the document, E-mail Access providing the "BOR-"
or "REG-" number of the document (the BOR- or REG- number
will be provided in the e-mail notifications) and we'll
resend it as an attachment or send it to you by another
delivery method.
Q:
How can I save the PDF?
A: To save a PDF
attachment:
Right-click on the attachment file and choose Save
Target As from the pop-up menu.
In the Save As dialog box, select a location
for the file, and then click Save.
Open Acrobat Reader, select File, Open
and open the saved PDF
file.
To save a PDF
that was posted to the Web:
Click on the URL in the e-mail notification to open
the document.
Select File, Save a Copy (make sure you select the
save function in Acrobat Reader, NOT the Save as function
under File in the browser window).
Select the location where you want to save the file
and enter the file name.
To view the saved PDF,
open Acrobat Reader, Select File, Open and select
the saved PDF
file.
Q: Why can I view the PDF
document, but not print it?
A: Check your version of Adobe Acrobat Reader--it
should be the highest version available. To download
the highest version, see information on Adobe on the
right side of this page.
Also check that you are selecting the Print function
in Acrobat Reader, and not the Print function
under File in the Netscape or Internet Explorer
window.
A: No, you will be invoiced (note: libraries
submitting requests through OCLC may choose to pay fees through
OCLC's
Interlibrary Loan Fee Management Service (IFM) rather
than being billed). See User Fee Policy for additional Information.
A: NAL
has closed stacks. Special exceptions may be made
on a case-by-case basis. Contact the Access Services
Librarian at 301-504-6041 or E-mail Access prior to your visit to inquire
about obtaining stack access privileges.
Q: Can I request material
from the stacks?
A: You can submit requests for materials to be
pulled from the stacks using the NAL Catalog (AGRICOLA)
on any of the computers in the Reading Room. Up to 35
items may be requested per day.
Q: Can
I borrow material when I visit NAL?
A: Individuals affiliated with any of the following
groups may request to borrow materials while visiting
NAL:
See the Borrowing Materials section on the Request Libraries Materials page for additional information.
All other visitors may use materials onsite only. To
borrow materials you must submit requests through the
interlibrary loan service of your local library, such
as a public library or a university library. Your library
will send a request to NAL.
NAL
fills requests within two business days of receipt.
Q: Is there a fee for photocopies
onsite?
A: Visitors should inquire at the Service Desk
(301-504-5755) for the latest information on photocopy
fees.
Q: Can I use a personal scanner onsite?
A: Requests to use personal copying/scanning equipment will be reviewed on a case by case basis. Contact the Access Services librarian at 301-504-6041 or e-mail us prior to your visit to inquire about using personal copying/scanning equipment onsite at NAL.
Q: How can I locate a particular
USDA
publication?
A: There is no single place to obtain publications
produced by USDA.
Many publications produced in recent years are available
for free on the Web, some are available
in microfiche or on CD-ROM, and many are only available
in print. See I Want to Find USDA
Publications which provides additional information on
locating USDA
publications.
Q: Where can I find information
on a rare book that might be in the NAL
Collection?
A: Check with Special
Collections for information on rare books and manuscript
collections.
Q: How can I find out if
a particular state extension publication is available
on microfilm?