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You are here Using the Library > Click & Collect, Recalls & Call Slips

Click and Collect, Recalls and Call Slips

The Click and Collect button in the Library Catalogue can be used by registered Trinity staff and students to:

  • Request an item from the open shelves in the Library reading rooms to be delivered to its nearest Service Desk for collection. Only items that can borrowed by the reader can be ordered from the open shelves
  • Recall an item which is on loan to another reader
  • Order material from storage. This includes some items that are consultation only. In some limited circumstances, a call slip is used for storage requests instead

The Click and Collect button in the Library Catalogue can be used by registered External Readers, including alumni to:

  • Order material from storage. These cannot be borrowed by External Readers. In some limited circumstances, a call slip is used for storage requests instead

Click and Collect

In the Library Catalogue click Click and Collect. The system will then ask the user to log in if necessary and choose the exact edition and copy required and the Service Desk to which the material will be delivered. As noted above, for open shelf materials in Library reading rooms this will be interpreted as the nearest Service Desk to the location.

Up to a total of 10 requests from staff and students may be "live" at any one time; External Readers may have up to five live requests. When the requested item is available in the Library an e-mail is sent to the registered address of the requester. The e-mail may list several items if multiple items were ordered.

Readers have three days from receiving the e-mail to collect an item before it is made available to either the next reader to request it, or sent back to its home location, as appropriate.

Delivery Times using Click and Collect

Delivery times depend on the location the request was made, the location of the material, the time of year, traffic, and the availability of staff.

  • Open shelf items in Library reading rooms
    Material from the open shelves is generally delivered to the closest Library Service Desk within 24 hours of a request (and often much sooner).
  • Campus-based storage items
    Campus-based material is generally delivered to the Eavan Boland Library Service Desk within 24 hours of a request (and often much sooner). Deliveries to the Hamilton or John Stearne Medical Libraries may take longer.
  • Santry and "External Storage" items
    Santry and "external storage" material requested by Click and Collect will be delivered the next weekday, generally by mid-afternoon.

Recalls

If an item is out on loan to a reader, staff and students can recall it in most cases using the Click and Collect button in the Library Catalogue. Recalls shorten the borrowing period of the item, or stop the borrower being able to renew it.

Recalled items must be returned within seven days of the recall notice being sent via e-mail, or the original due date, whichever is sooner; the recall e-mail will state the new due date.

Once a recalled item has been returned, the requester is e-mailed and has three days to collect the item; recalled items are often in high demand and may have been requested by several readers - in that case, a loan will only be issued for three days.

Storage Material - More Details

The size and range of the Library of Trinity College Dublin means that only a small proportion of its stock is on the open shelves in Library reading rooms to be browsed. The bulk of the collection is held in storage areas either on campus, at the Santry Book Depository near Dublin Airport, or in other external locations. In order to view the items a request must be made.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, material from storage locations can be delivered to the Eavan Boland Library, Hamilton, or John Stearne Medical Library Service Desks by using the Click and Collect procedure and selecting the appropriate location during the process. However, some books - mainly older material - cannot be delivered via Click and Collect and must be requested using a call slip - the catalogue will indicate this - or by staff on behalf of readers. Journals must also be requested by call slip.

Whether the material can be borrowed depends on the category of material and the status of the requester. For example, no-one may borrow material from the Early Printed Books or Manuscripts and Archives storage locations. External Readers can only consult our items, not borrow. If the item cannot be borrowed but is still needed, the reader should place a new request after returning the item for the day, or request this if returning directly to a Service Desk.

The catalogue will tell the user if the item is in storage by listing one of the following locations:

  • Early Printed Books Stacks
  • Manuscripts Stacks
  • Ussher Stacks
  • Santry Stacks
  • External Storage

Call Slips

Since the introduction of Click and Collect, call slips may only be used in certain circumstances, when detailed in the Library Catalogue. Call slips for material that can be requested using Click and Collect will be returned unfulfilled.

Up to five requests may be made per reader per day via call slips.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, material from storage locations can be delivered to any Service Desk by using the appropriate call slip. Call slips are available from the Service Desks of all Library buildings.

Delivery Counters by Colour

BLUE = The Eavan Boland Library

PINK = Hamilton Library

ORANGE = John Stearne Medical Library

GREEN = Early Printed Books and Special Collections

Delivery Times Using Call Slips

Delivery times for storage material depends on the reading room requested for delivery, the location of the material, the time of year, traffic, and the availability of staff.

  • Campus-based items
    Campus-based material is generally delivered within 24 hours of a request (and often much sooner). Deliveries to the Hamilton or John Stearne Medical Library may take longer.
  • Santry items
    Santry material requested by call slips will be delivered on Tuesdays and Thursdays (generally by mid-afternoon) with requests to be made by noon on the preceding Monday or Wednesday.
  • "External Storage" items
    Items marked as "external storage" in the Library Catalogue and stated as call slip only will be delivered on a daily basis, Monday to Friday. In general, deliveries arrive by mid-afternoon for requests placed by noon the preceding day.