Support
Quick Links
Services
for Distance Learning Students
- Distance learning programs
- Reference
- Hours
- Our online resources
- Our print collection
- Books and journals not in our collections
- Drug information for your PDA
- Related links
Distance Learning Programs
Students participating in an off-campus distance learning program may avail themselves of a variety of library resources. These students currently include:
- Transitional Doctor of Physical Therapy (tDPT) students
- Executive and Online MBA students
- Biomedical Writing Program students
In another program? Please contact Cynthia McClellan, Coordinator
of Access Services at 215-596-8961 for additional information.
Top
Reference
Reference services are available from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm Monday through
Wednesday, and to 5:00 pm on Thursday and Friday, when school is in
regular session. We’ll also give you information by phone at 215 596-8967
or online, via Ask-A-Librarian.
Top
Our Online Resources
Our goal is to offer every online resource we can both on and off-campus.
However, some vendors, such as Drug Facts and Comparison,
will not allow off-campus access. For others, there may be technical
reasons that prevent us from providing remote access.
The library receives over 11,000 online journals, which are available
on the campus network. Nearly all of them are available from off-campus.
The USP Journal List. provides
a complete listing of both online and print holdings. You can also
search our hardcopy library collection for books and journals via
the online catalog, or browse
for database titles and descriptions via our Databases
A-Z directory.
Please do not share your USP password with others. To do so jeopardizes
your individual access to library resources, and endangers the library's
ability to provide resources to the USP community.
Top
Our Print Collection
The library receives about 250 print periodicals titles, and houses over 80,000 books. The USP Journal List provides a complete listing of both print and online holdings, while the online catalog provides access to our hardcopy collection of books and journals.
The library will provide a reasonable amount of photocopied articles
available in paper from within our print collection. There is no charge
for this service; however there is a $5 per article charge for faxing.
Need the article today? If we need to drop everything to send it to
you, there's a $10 charge. Articles can also be delivered electronically
to your desktop. You can order the article through ILLiad
(see below) by filling out an online request form. You may also use ILLiad to order books held by the J.W. England Library, which will be mailed to you. Please note your
student ID # plus your academic program and course number in
the “Notes” field when filling out the ILLiad form.
Top
Books and Journals Not in Our Collections
If the library doesn't own an item, we will make an interlibrary loan request to another institution at no charge, just as we would if you were on campus. ILLiad is our online tool used to request journal articles and books, and allows you to monitor the status of your requests. If you are using ILLiad for the first time, you will need to first create a personal account in order to use the system. When registering, make sure to indicate your status as a "Distance Education Graduate Student" in your profile.
Distance learners must make all requests for materials (journals and books) through ILLiad (please note--distance students should not use EZ-Borrow!). For books, please add an extra note that you are a distance education graduate student, and that you will need the item(s) mailed to you (if unavailable electronically over the web). If you would like to use ILLiad, or to learn more about Interlibrary Loan, please refer to the information available on the library's Home Page.
Interlibrary loan requests can take up to two weeks to receive, so please allow time for processing when making your request. Books can be mailed to your home or work address. Most articles are delivered via the web in pdf format, with notification of availability sent to your USP email address. In cases where an article cannot be transmitted electronically, a photocopy will be mailed to you via US Mail. Rush service is available on a limited basis, for a $10 processing fee.
If you would like to use a library in your area, a librarian will
be happy to direct you to a local medical or public library, when
possible. Many such libraries offer free or low-cost access to their
collections. Community hospitals also will frequently open their libraries
to outsiders.
Top
Need Drug Information on Your PDA?
As part of our arrangement with Micromedex, USP faculty and students can download MobileMicromedex to their PDAs. If you're on campus, you can go to Micromedex (from the A-Z List of electronic resources on the library's Home Page). On the Micromedex page, click on the tab labeled "Handheld PDA" and follow the directions.
