The National Agricultural Library (NAL) is the primary provider of work-related agricultural information to USDA employees. We also lend books and other media and provide photocopies of material in the collection to libraries and other select groups. To learn more about requesting materials, select from the menu below: On this page... Eligibility Register for Patron ID Request Option 1: The AGRICOLA Form Request Option 2: The Blank Form Request Option 3: The DigiTop Form Request Option 4: Other Methods Check Status of Requests Eligibility: Who can send requests directly to NAL? Direct to NAL   The following groups are eligible to send requests for copies or loans directly to NAL. Employees of the USDA Libraries, organizations, or institutions Review fee/billing information If you are in one of the above groups, go to Register for patron ID. Through a library   If you are not in one of the groups listed above, you must send your request through the interlibrary loan service of a library. In the United States, possible sources are: Public libraries State libraries Land-grant university or other large research libraries in your state Outside of the United States, possible sources are: Major university, national, or provincial institutions or AGLINET (Agricultural Libraries Network) libraries From the AGLINET Web site, choose "Partnerships-Networks." Questions?   If you have questions about eligibility, e-mail us or call 301-504-5717. Back to Top Register for Patron ID Why   In order to submit a request directly to NAL, you must have a patron ID. Note that libraries do not need a patron ID if they are submitting a request through OCLC or DOCLINE. Who   Anyone who is eligible to send a request directly to NAL must have a patron ID. (See list of eligible groups above.) When   You can register anytime using the online registration form. Registration forms are processed Monday to Friday (except federal holidays) from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. How   Below are the steps to register for a patron ID. Go to the main patron registration page. Select your affiliation. Click Submit. The registration form will open. Complete the registration form. Click Submit. Your patron ID and login information will be e-mailed to the address you provide on the form. ID lookup   Have you forgotten your ID? E-mail us or call 301-504-5717. Questions?   If you have questions about registration, e-mail us or call 301-504-5717. Back to Top

Request Option 1: The AGRICOLA Form
When to use		Use the AGRICOLA form when you know that NAL owns a particular title or you are searching the NAL Catalog (AGRICOLA) and you find an item you would like to request. The advantage of using the AGRICOLA form is that all of the citation information will automatically transfer to the request form.
Login		Open the NAL Catalog (AGRICOLA). Click on the Login note in the center section of the page. Enter your patron ID and last name. Libraries and institutions will enter an abbreviated form of the institution name. Select "Login." The main search page for the NAL Catalog (AGRICOLA) will display. Check for "Logout" on the top menu bar to confirm that you are currently logged in. You can search only the Catalog, or the Article Citation Database, or a combination of both. Click "Databases" to make your selection.
Search		Enter your search terms. Select "Help" to view online instructions on formulating a search of the NAL Catalog (AGRICOLA). If there's a match for your search, either a single record or a list of titles will display (review the list and select a record). Scroll to the bottom of the record and select the "Request this item" button. NOTE: If you do not see the request button, you have not logged in. Click the Login button on the top or bottom menu bar and enter your patron ID and last name. You will need to repeat your search.
Submit		After you select the "Request this Item" button, a request form will open. Your contact information and the citation information from the AGRICOLA record will automatically transfer to the request form. Review the information on the form and make any necessary additions or corrections. Please add a "need by" date. Agricultural Research Services employees must also add a CRIS Project Code. Select the "Request" button at the bottom of the form. Your request will be submitted and a number assigned to it. (The number will begin with "BOR-" or "REG-".) Note this number so that you can check the status of your request. To return to your search of the NAL Catalog (AGRICOLA), click the history arrow near your browser's back button and select from the drop-down list (e.g., AGRICOLA Titles).
Questions?		If you have questions about using the AGRICOLA form, e-mail us or call 301-504-5717.
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Request Option 2: The Blank Form
When to use		Use the blank request form if you cannot find the item in the NAL Catalog (AGRICOLA). Your contact information will automatically transfer to the blank form. You will have to enter the complete citation information.
Login		Select the appropriate link below to open the login page. It is recommended that you bookmark the link for future use.      Libraries or institutions: open the institution login page      Individuals: open the individual login page Enter your patron ID and last name. Libraries and institutions will enter an abbreviated form of the institution name. This is the same login that you would use for the AGRICOLA request form. Select "Blank Request Form: Loan" (book) or "Blank Request Form: Copy." Select "Submit." A blank request form will display. Your contact information will automatically populate the form.
Complete and submit		Enter the complete citation for the item you want to request. For best results, avoid using abbreviations and provide as complete a citation as possible. Review the information on the form and make any necessary additions or corrections. Please add a "need by" date. Agricultural Research Services employees must also add a CRIS Project Code. Select the "Request" button at the bottom of the form. Your request will be submitted and a number assigned to it. (The number will begin with "REG-" or "BOR-".) Note this number so that you can check on the status of your request. Select "Blank Request Form: Loan" or Blank Request Form: Copy" from the menu on the left to continue with a new request.
Questions?		If you have questions about using the blank request form, e-mail us or call 301-504-5717.
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Request Option 3: The DigiTop Form
When to use		Only USDA employees can access the DigiTop form. The form is available in the following databases: Navigator Proquest EBSCO Scopus If you locate an article in any of the above databases and the full text is not available online, you can select the request form. The article citation information will automatically transfer to the request form.
Search		Go to DigiTop. It is recommended that you bookmark the link for future use. Select a database and enter your search terms. The results list will display a link to either the full text or to the request form. The wording of the link will vary by the database as shown below: Navigator - "Full text available via DigiTop or or NAL's Document Delivery" Scopus - "Article Linker" If the article is available online and NAL has licensed the journal, you will be taken to the publishers Web site to access the article. If the article is not available online, you will be taken to an interim page where you can select the request form.
Submit		From the interim page select the request form link to open a login page. Enter your patron ID and last name and press Enter or select the Submit button at the bottom of the page. It is not necessary to choose either the Request Article or Request Book radio button. The request form will open and your contact information and the citation information from the DigiTop database record will automatically transfer to the request form. Review the information on the form and revise as needed. Be sure to add the "Need-By-Date." ARS employees must also add the "CRIS Project Code." Select the "Request" button at the bottom of the form. A page will display confirming your request has been submitted and showing a request number you can use to track the status of your request. (See check status of requests.) To return to your DigiTop database search close both the request page and the interim page.
Questions?		If you have questions about using the DigiTop form, e-mail us) or call 301-504-5717.
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Request Option 4: Other Methods
Accepted		In addition to the AGRICOLA and blank request forms, NAL accepts requests via: OCLC NAL's symbol is AGL DOCLINE NAL's Libid is MDUNAL
Not accepted		NAL does not accept requests sent via: E-mail Fax Ariel Mail
Questions?		If you have questions about requesting materials, e-mail us or call 301-504-5717.
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Check Status of Requests
Login and view		Select the appropriate link below to open the login page. It is recommended that you bookmark the link for future use.      Libraries or institutions: open the institution login page      Individuals: open the individual login page Enter your patron ID and last name. Libraries and institutions will enter an abbreviated form of the institution name. This is the same login that you would use for the AGRICOLA request form. Select "List Open Requests" to view only uncompleted requests. Select "Submit." Requests will be listed chronologically beginning with the most recent request submitted. If you want to search for a particular request, select Search Requests. Click the Submit button. You can search by: Request number (begins with "REG-" or "BOR-") Author or title keywords NAL call number OCLC number DOCLINE number
Questions?		If you have questions about the status of your requests, e-mail us or call 301-504-5717.
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Last Modified: Dec 7, 2015