FAQs and Remote Troubleshooting

POLICIES & PROCEDURES

I am trying to obtain a book that I know is in the Library's collection. Can this be delivered to me at my new temporary off-campus address?
The short answer is no, we cannot ship a loan to you at your remote location at this time. However, we can scan a portion of the book, up to one chapter, and deliver it to you electronically. This is done through the fee-based DocExpress service (more info and instructions). (If you don't know the page numbers, please ask us to send you the table of contents using the DocExpress forms. After examining the table of contents, you can then select your pages and send in another request for the actual material. It is extremely important that you fill out the notes field in the online request form. A good note would be "I am residing off-campus until XX, loan delivery not available, please send TOC and I will resend with exact pages".)
(NOTE: Registered Academic Outreach patrons can get books delivered if they are formally enrolled in the classes that the Academic Outreach office covers. More information.)
What about I-Share (formerly ILLINET) requests--can these be picked up at a participating I-Share library that is close to me?
Yes, I-Share requests can be delivered to an I-Share library (not residential address) for pick-up when you are temporarily located somewhere in Illinois other than Champaign-Urbana. This can be done through the online request system (instructions). Or, you can call the Library Telephone Center at (217) 333-8400. They will assist you by placing the request and specifying your temporary pick-up location.
When do I get a copy for free and when do I pay?
Copies of materials located in the UIUC library collection require a fee. Staff at the library must retrieve, scan, and electronically deliver the copy, which is labor-intensive. However, if the article or document you need is not available on campus, then the library will absorb any fees for copying and delivering the needed document.
What are the DocExpress fees?
DocExpress is offered as a convenient alternative to obtaining the material yourself onsite. Faculty and staff use departmental accounts or a credit card and are charged $3 per order. Students must use a credit card and pay $5 per order.
I am not currently enrolled or employed at UIUC--can I use any of the remote services?
You can access our online catalog, but you will not be able to use most of the electronic resources. Most online databases are restricted to the faculty, staff and students at the UIUC. Our license agreements with publishers prohibit access to users unaffiliated with the University. Interlibrary Loan and DocExpress services are also restricted to the faculty, staff, students, and sponsored visiting scholars of the University.
Reference services are available to non-UIUC affiliates when the question concerns government information or resources unique to the University of Illinois. For government-related questions, see the reference options here. For university-related questions, see this page.
How do I know if I qualify for Academic Outreach Library services?
Instructors and students involved with Academic Outreach programs have an additional set of remote library services available to them. To qualify for these services, you need to currently be enrolled in, or serving as an instructor for, a course listed on this page. Additional questions about these services can be directed to the Academic Outreach Library at xlibrary@uiuc.edu.

ACCESS TO RESOURCES

Why do I receive a "timeout" message immediately after I load the UIUC online catalog search page?
The immediate timeout problem been reported by AOL browser users. Recommended browsers for searching the online catalog are the latest versions of Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari. To experience the full functionality of the UIUC online catalog or I-Share, you must have JavaScript enabled in your web broweser.
I am having a problem getting into an online database or e-journal, but it was fine last week--what happened?
Affiliated users can access online resources from on-campus computers or from off-campus via the proxy server. However, if a publisher changes something like a password and forgets to tell us, access to that resource can be cut off. Often we don't know about the problem until someone like you cannot get in. Please let us know of these problems by e-mail (reflib@uiuc.edu) or through the Ask a Librarian service.
What if I'm informed a resource has reached the maximum number of users?
Some resources only allow a limited number of users to connect simultaneously. If your connection is initially unsuccessful, try again at a later time.
Why am I sometimes unable to connect to an online resource?
Besides reasons listed above, there may be net congestion, depending on the time of day you are trying to access the resource. Databases can sometimes go down due to technical problems. Most importantly, make sure you are using the correct NetID and password! You can also check the Library's System and Services Alerts page and the CITES Status of Services page to see what library/campus systems problems have been reported.
Why am I asked to pay for reading a full text article in an electronic database?
Many journal publishers impose delayed access (known as "embargoes") for their online versions to help maintain print subscriptions. Because of this, users are sometimes not able to access full text articles published in the most recent months or years from some journals. Please check the coverage period of individual journals in our Online Research Resources (ORR) page. If the coverage period shown in our ORR record is not accurate, please notify us by e-mail (reflib@uiuc.edu) or through the Ask a Librarian service.
Where did that resource go?
We occasionally withdraw resources for a number of reasons: Some resources are no longer available. Others are no longer free or their premiums are prohibitively high and funding could not be found. Trial subscriptions sometimes expire before funding for the resource could be found. If you would like us to investigate reinstating a resource, please e-mail us at reflib@uiuc.edu or contact us through the Ask A Librarian service.
Why do I need a NetID and password?
The UIUC Library uses a proxy server system that enables remote users to access the Library's restricted electronic resources. If you click on a link that requires access via the proxy server, you will be prompted for your University NetID and password. This is how we verify that you are affiliated with UIUC.
What do I do if I can't remember my NetID or password?
Your NetID is printed on your I-Card. You can also check your entry in the online campus phonebook. (Your 'alias' is your NetID.)
If you've forgotten your password and need to reset it, see this page for instructions.
Why don't my bookmarks to "http://proxy.library.uiuc.edu/..." work?
URLs are automatically generated by the proxy server and they are variable. If you make a bookmark, and later reuse it, you may get an error, or be taken to the wrong server. Don't create bookmarks if the browser shows a URL beginning with "http://proxy.library.uiuc.edu". Rather than using bookmarks, try to get into the habit of accessing online library resources via the Online Research Resources page.
What if my network has its own HTTP proxy server?
Ours should still work with it. Unlike a standard HTTP proxy server, the Library proxy presents web pages that appear to come from normal web server. It does this by searching the content of the pages it retrieves on your behalf, and rewriting the URLs so they refer back to itself instead of the remote servers it proxies. Therefore, you should not change your web browser's proxy settings to use our service.
I'm using the VPN client provided by CITES. Why am I unable to access some library resources?
You may need to download the special library security profile for the VPN client. More info.

DOWNLOADING ARTICLES

When items are delivered electronically through interlibrary loan or DocExpress, what exactly happens?
When your item is ready, we send an email to your UIUC address and post a PDF file to the "View/ download electronically received articles" section of your ILLiad account (accessed through the "Login to my account" button on the Interlibrary Loan homepage). You can view and print PDFs using Acrobat Reader. (Old versions of Reader may not be able to handle recently scanned files. The latest version can be downloaded free here.) We remove the article from the Interlibrary Loan server 21 days after sending you notification.
Why am I having trouble emailing articles to myself?
If an article has many pages, many illustrations, and/or was scanned in to a database at high resolution, the resulting PDF can be quite large. This can be a problem if you're trying to email an article to yours CITES Express Email account, which imposes quotas of 100 MB for students and 150 MB for faculty and staff. One workaround is to email articles to an alternate webmail address with more storage space, like a gmail or Yahoo! mail account. Another option is saving the PDF to the desktop of the computer you're working on, and then transferring it to your CITES NetFiles space.
Why is my document taking so long to download?
Normally, you will only experience a lengthy delay in downloading your document if you're using a dialup connection. With the fastest (56K) modems, a large document could take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to download. Here's a general guide in determining approximately how long it may take to download a document via a modem:
  • Size = 1,000KB / 1MB, approximately 5 minutes
  • Size = 3,000KB / 3MB, approximately 15 minutes
  • Size = 6,000KB / 6MB, approximately 30 minutes
General Rule: It takes approximately 5 minutes to transfer 1 MB (1,000KB) of information using a 56K modem.
If you are doing other things on the web while downloading your documents, this will add to the download time. Anything that shares the modem while you're online (email, Internet games, instant messaging, etc.) can also directly affect download times.
Resist the urge to cancel and restart a download because it appears nothing is happening.
I've finished downloading my document from ILLiad or a database--why is my screen blank?
There are a number of potential causes for this problem. Some of the most common:
  • The first page of your document has a large amount of white space. The beginning of the document you requested may contain a page that is mostly blank or contains a large amount of white space. Simply scroll down or advance to the next page to reach an area of the document that contains text or graphics.
  • Incorrectly installed Acrobat Reader plug-in, or none at all. If your Adobe Reader plug-in or program is not properly installed, this could cause problems when trying to access your document. To verify installation, see if you can locate the Acrobat Reader program on your computer. On PCs, look in the Programs section under in the START menu for Acrobat Reader. If you see it, try to start it manually. If you still have trouble, you may want to re-install Reader. On Macs, use Sherlock or Find File to search for Reader. If you continue to have difficulty, technical support is available from Adobe's website.
  • Your session on the ILLiad was disconnected. For whatever reason, the session you had established on the document delivery server is disconnected. If you're using a dial-up modem, check your modem status and see if you're still connected to the Internet. If you're using a university, public, or office workstation, try logging in again from another computer.
  • Not enough system resources available to display the document. Even the most powerful or newest computers have a finite amount of resources available to perform all of the tasks required of them. Normally you'll see a message similar to "Low on System Resources" appear if you've got too many applications open, though this is not always the case. Try closing some applications, particularly resource hogs such as imaging processing, spreadsheet or database products. Sometimes it is necessary to reboot the computer to reset the system resources.
  • Your download was cancelled for some reason. Be sure you haven't accidentally clicked on the CANCEL button during your download. A cancelled download can also be the result of a lost connection to the Internet, or the document delivery server itself. Running out of drive space may also cause your browser to terminate a download once it finds there is nowhere to store the file.