How To Check Your Library Account and Renew Materials

Welcome back to the Spring Semester! You might have checked out some books for the Winter Break and need to renew them. The SPARK Team is here to explain how to check your library account and renew books with this step-by-step guide.

To Check Your Library Account:

1. Pull up the library website. Select “My Accounts” and choose “My Library Account” from the dropdown menu. Log in with your NetID/password when prompted.

2. And this is your library account! Here you can see items that you have checked out and any late fees associated with your account. To see what books you have checked out from another I-Share libraries, select a library from the left side of the screen under “All Institutions” to see loans from that particular library.

To Renew Library Materials:

3. Now to renew your library materials, click on “Renew All,” and this will renew all your items from that particular library if items are renewable.

4. And finally, you will get a popup saying that your books have been successfully renewed.

Now you know how to access your library account and renew your checked out books! To learn more about how to search the library catalog, check out our online tutorials.

Stay tuned next week for another SPARK Team How To Tuesday!

How To Browse the Shelves Virtually

Most people enjoy browsing shelves in a library, letting their eyes wander from title to title and author to author until a book compels them to pick it up. What propels us to choose one book over another? The eye-catching cover? The intriguing title? Our familiarity with the author?

Shelf browsing has a certain appeal, but because the pandemic, it’s become more challenging to incorporate this type of discovery into your research process.

The new library catalog has a Virtual Browse Feature that can help you capture that feeling of serendipity again. This feature lets you “browse” our print books as if they were on the shelf, allowing you to locate nearby books with similar topics in the library’s collection.

How To Browse the Shelves Virtually

1. Search for a book or topic in the library catalog search bar on the library homepage.

2. Click on the title of a book to be taken to its record page. Note: The Virtual Browse feature is only available for print books; electronic books cannot be browsed in this way. Make sure to choose a book that says it is “Available at Brookens Library.”

3. Scroll to the bottom of the page to the “Virtual Browse” section. Scroll left or right with the arrows to see the books that are on the shelf nearby. Click on a book to be taken to its record page to request that book for easy pick up with our Grab-and-Go service.

Open Office Hours via Zoom in August

Brookens Library is holding open office hours via Zoom for faculty and staff to drop-in with any questions regarding the changes to the new catalog, I-Share, course reserves, or finding OER materials. Open office hours take place Mondays – Fridays from 11:00 AM – noon from August 3 – August 28. 

Join Zoom Meeting: https://uis.zoom.us/j/96766987717?pwd=WitXK3QvUWJrbVJSWVFYWFd6MnA5UT09
Meeting ID: 967 6698 7717
Password: 710281

You can also reach out to your liaison librarian for assistance and support as you normally would: https://libguides.uis.edu/librarians

If interested in learning more about our new catalog on your own time, check some of our online tutorials below:

Searching for Books in the Library Catalog

Requesting Books from Brookens Library

Renewing Checked Out Items at Brookens Library

Intro to the New Catalog

The library has a new catalog for searching UIS resources, requesting materials from I-Share, and accessing your library account. Here is a quick video to give you a small overview of the new system.

Starting in July, the library will be offering workshops and open office hours if you are interested in learning more about the new search interface. Follow this link for dates/times.

Library Support
If you find yourself with questions about the new search interface or the new catalog, Librarians will be available to assist you. 

• You can reach out to your liaison librarian for assistance and support as you normally would: https://libguides.uis.edu/librarians

• The Librarians will also be maintaining a chat reference service, accessed via the Library homepage, and can answer your questions there as well.

• If you need more in-depth assistance, you can schedule a consultation with a Librarian who will assist you with whatever you may need.

• We will be generating a collection of frequently asked questions on the new tools that will be available after the June 25 implementation date.

New Catalog Update Postponed Until 6/25

The update to the new catalog and I-Share search interface is postponed and will happen on Thursday, June 25th.

Once the update has occurred, the search box on the Brookens Library homepage will have a new search interface for finding UIS resources in the catalog, requesting I-Share materials, and accessing your account.

Library Support
If you find yourself with questions about the new search interface or the new catalog, Librarians will be available to assist you. 

• You can reach out to your liaison librarian for assistance and support as you normally would: https://libguides.uis.edu/librarians

• The Librarians will also be maintaining a chat reference service, accessed via the Library homepage, and can answer your questions there as well.

• If you need more in-depth assistance, you can schedule a consultation with a Librarian who will assist you with whatever you may need.

• We will be generating a collection of frequently asked questions on the new tools that will be available after the June 25 implementation date.

Library Catalog & I-Share Search Interface Changing 6/24

Starting Wednesday, June 24, the search box on the Library homepage will have a new search interface for finding UIS resources, requesting I-Share materials, and accessing your library account.

Important Changes to Linking to Items in the Library Catalog
Because the main components of the Library’s systems are changing, none of your existing links to items in the library catalog will work past June 24. For example: if you link to a reserve item for your course in Blackboard or Canvas, this link will need to be replaced with a new link for the same item in the new catalog interface. Unfortunately, there is no automatic solution and all links will have to be replaced in your materials.

Library Support
The Library is committed to supporting UIS faculty, students and staff as we manage this transition together. If you find yourself with questions about the new search interface or the new catalog, Librarians will be available to assist you. 

• You can reach out to your liaison librarian for assistance and support as you normally would: https://libguides.uis.edu/librarians
• The Librarians will also be maintaining a chat reference service, accessed via the Library homepage, and can answer your questions there as well.
• If you need more in-depth assistance, you can schedule a consultation with a Librarian who will assist you with whatever you may need.
• We will be generating a collection of frequently asked questions on the new tools that will be available after the June 24 implementation date.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. Librarians are happy to share all the information we have, and to provide services that assist in student success and faculty research.

New I-Share Catalog – View the Tutorial

You now need to create a free account to place requests for materials through I-Share. Creating an account is easy and should only take you a few minutes to complete.  Once you have created an account you will never again need to enter your Library ID number and contact information when requesting materials. You will simply login with a username and password.

Our tutorial will walk you through this process.

We apologize for the inconvenience.  Please contact us at the Information Desk if you have any questions: 217-206-6633.

You may also find this information helpful: http://bit.ly/a0WHGh