ODIN

Signing in and Managing Your Account:

Several functions of the ODIN catalog can only be performed if you are signed in. This is because they are activities that relate directly to your personal account, such as placing holds, renewing items, requesting items, checking your due dates, etc. To Sign in, first click on the words Sign In in the Menu bar near the top of your screen. This will take you to the following screen:

In the “User ID/Barcode:” field, simply type in the 14-digit number on your ODIN library card. Your password should be your last name (up to 8 characters). If this does not work as your password, contact the library that issued your card and they can help you. Once you have entered your information, press Enter or click the Logon button.

You will remain signed in to the catalog until you either Sign Out or close all of your open browser windows. If you are using a public computer, make sure you do this before leaving!

If you see this screen and you wish to search through the ODIN catalog without signing in, simply click on the Guest button at the top of your screen. This allows you to search the catalog, but you will not be able to request any items unless you first Sign in to your account.

If at any time you click on My Account in the Menu bar, you will be brought to the following screen. Note that if you are not already signed in, you will first be asked to do so:

This screen summarizes your patron record, listing the number of items currently on loan to you, the number of active hold requests you’ve placed, your fines or credit, your ILL requests, messages from your home library, any blocks currently on your account, and the date your card expires.

If you want to check on or cancel a hold request, click on the Hold Requests link .

To see what items are checked out to you, find out their due dates, or request renewals, click on Loans/Renew.

Renewing items:

When you click on the Loans/Renew link from your patron record, you will be brought to the Items on Loan screen. Here you will find information about all of the items currently checked out to you (including Interlibrary Loans), arranged in due date order.

You have the option of renewing all of the items currently checked out to you all at one time. To do this, simply click Renew All at the top of the Loans/Renew screen. If some of the items on your account can’t be renewed, a message will display informing you of this. To renew a single item, click on the number to the left of the item’s title. This will bring up the following screen:

From here, renewing is as simple as clicking on the Renew link. When you renew an item owned by your library, the due date for that item should change almost immediately if that item can be renewed. Interlibrary Loans work a little differently, however, and it can take some time for ILL renewal requests to be processed. This is because the library that owns the item will have to be contacted by a librarian at your library in order to find out if the item can be renewed.

Note: You cannot renew overdue items online. If an item is overdue, instead of a link, the text “Renew date is earlier than today. An overdue letter has been sent for this loan” will be displayed. You will need to contact the lending library directly about overdue items.

Hold requests screen:

By clicking the index number on the far left of this list, that particular hold will appear on screen. Here you can see how many other people have requested the item and where you stand in the queue. This is also where you would go to cancel a hold request. To do this, simply click the DELETE button at the bottom and the hold request will be purged from the system.

Searching the Online Catalog

Navigating the online catalog becomes much easier when you understand the different links in this Menu and start using them.

Sign In: Click here to sign in to the catalog. You have to sign in to do things like renew items, place hold requests, and check due dates—anything directly related to your account

Sign Out: Click here to sign out of your personal account. You can search the catalog even if you aren’t signed in. Note that once you click on sign out, you will be asked to verify that you really want to do this before you are signed out completely.

My Account: Click here to access information about your account, such as what materials are on loan to you and what materials you have hold requests for.

Preferences: Clicking here will allow you to change how your search results will be displayed

Libraries: Click here to select the library you wish to search.

Browse: Click here to browse alphabetical lists of titles, authors, call numbers, etc.

Search: Click here to start searching

Previous Searches: You can click here to review or combine searches you’ve done earlier. Note that this only lasts as long as your current session— if you sign out or close your browser window, your previous searches will be cleared

Results List: Click here to see the results of your most recent search

Once you’ve submitted a search, you will be taken to a list of the results that match that search. The list contains information like the author, format, title, year of publication, what libraries own it, how many copies they own, and how many are currently checked out. You can sort your results by clicking on the headings Author, Format, Title, or Year. When you first get your results, they will be sorted alphabetically by title.

In order to view the full details or bibliographic record of an item, you can click on the #-view link on the left side of the list. To jump directly to the holdings screen you can click on the Library (Owned/Out) link on the right side of the list.

Note: The availability information (Owned/Out) will not be displayed on this screen if you are searching the ODIN Union Library Catalog (all ODIN libraries at the same time). In the Union Catalog, availability information will only be displayed on the Holdings screen.

Viewing records: There are two important screens containing information about each item. The first is the Full View, which looks like this:

Note: Call numbers will not be displayed on this screen if you are searching the ODIN Union Library Catalog (all ODIN libraries at the same time). In the Union Catalog, call numbers will only be displayed on the Holdings screen.

In the lower part of this screen you can see the Library, Collection, Call Number, Item status (oftentimes this will tell you how long an item can be checked out), the Due date (if the item is currently checked out), the issues or volumes held for periodicals and multi-part publications, and other information. If the item is checked out and one or more holds have been placed on it, the Due date/hour field will also indicate that the item has been Requested.

If you are signed in to the catalog (you can do this by clicking on Sign In in the Menu bar at the top of your screen), you will be able to place hold requests by clicking on the Request links.

If you are connected as a guest, there won’t be any links in the Request column.

Requesting Items

There are two different ways that you can request items through the ODIN catalog: Hold requests and Interlibrary Loan (ILL) requests. You use Hold requests for items that are owned by a library that has issued you a card. You use ILL requests for items that aren’t owned by a library that has issued you a card.

Hold Requests

If you’re signed in to the catalog, you can place a Hold request for an item by clicking on the Request link for it in the Holdings screen This will take you to the Hold Request screen. Once you’re here, most of the time all you have to do next is click on the Submit button at the bottom of your screen and the Hold request will be placed.

The optional information is only necessary if you are requesting an article from a journal or if you wish to provide a clarifying note for the library staff.

To cancel a Hold request, you will need to click on My Account in the Menu bar at the top of the screen. Set the date Optional.

Once you’re here, most of the time all you have to do next is click on the button at the bottom of your screen and the Hold request will be placed. The optional information is only necessary if you are requesting an article from a journal or if you wish to provide a clarifying note for the library staff. To cancel a Hold request, you will need to click on My Account in the Menu bar at the top of the screen.

Interlibrary Loans:

If there’s an item you’re looking for that isn’t owned by a library you have a card for, you may still be able to get the item through a process called Interlibrary Loan. There are two different ways to place an ILL request: directly from the record of an item you found in the ODIN catalog or by using a blank form. If you find an item you’re looking for in the ODIN catalog that isn’t at your library, you can request it in the following manner:

Click on Interlibrary Loan Request to begin the ILL process. You may wish to check the availability of the item at the library or libraries that own it before placing your ILL request. If the item is checked out at all available libraries, your library won’t be able to complete your request. Keep in mind that you still may not be able to get the item, even if one or more copies are currently available.

Note: You must be signed in to place an ILL request. If you are not signed in, you will be asked to sign in when you click on Interlibrary Loan Request.

Once you’ve clicked on Interlibrary Loan Request, you will see a pop-up window, like the following one:

Information about you and the item you’re requesting will be filled in automatically, but there is still some information that you have to add manually. When you scroll to the bottom of the popup window you will see a blank field by the question “Until what date are you interested in the material?” You can fill this date in using the format MM/DD/YYYY or by clicking once on the calendar to select a date from it. Next you have to click the checkbox stating that you agree to abide by the copyright law. From here, it’s just a matter of clicking GO .

Remember that it will take some time for you to actually receive the item through ILL, so it’s best to make your requests ahead of time. The process above illustrates how to place an ILL request for a book, video, sound recording, kit, and most other media.

If you are unable to find the item on our catalog – you can contact your interlibrary loan librarian at your home library to search elsewhere.

If you need a more in-depth user guide – you can go the North Dakota State Library webpage:

http://ndsl.lib.state.nd.us/Publications/OLRMan.pdf

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