Document Delivery

Lewis Library provides Document Delivery services by preparing print or electronic copies from its collections and delivering them through various means to UNTHSC students, faculty, and staff, as well as to external patrons in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and beyond.  When requested, other libraries and document services are used to procure items not held by Lewis Library.  Our Document Delivery service operates on the basis of cost recovery, and within the limits of applicable license agreements and U. S. copyright law.

Service Hours

Document Delivery orders are processed between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.  Document Delivery observes all Lewis Library holidays and weather closings. 

With the exception of clinical emergencies, any requests received outside of the regular hours will be held until Document Delivery re-opens. 

Fees

See the Service Fees page to determine the base price and rush service fee for your patron group.  Additional charges may be incurred for copyright permission fees or lender fees.  Patrons will be contacted to approve these charges in advance.

Requesting a Document

Any of the following methods may be used to submit your document request:

• Through PubMed, once a Loansome Doc account has been established with Lewis Library.  This is the preferred method.

• The online form provided on the Lewis Library website. 

• In person at the Lewis Library Circulation Desk.  If possible, please use the .PDF form provided on the library website.

• By e-mail sent to:  docdelivery@hsc.unt.edu.

• By fax to: 817-735-0281.  If possible, please use the .PDF form provided on the library website.

Delivery Methods

Patrons may pick up completed orders at the Lewis Library Circulation Desk during normal operating hours or request any of the following methods of delivery:

• E-mail delivery with document(s) attached in .pdf (Adobe Acrobat) format; any separate image files will be in either .pdf or .jpg format.

• Fax within the U.S.A.

• USPS standard mail service.

• UPS or FedEx express mail service using the patron’s pre-existing account number.

Turnaround Time

Normal turnaround time is next business day.  Any of the following factors may result in an order taking longer:

• Large orders;

• Inaccurate, incomplete, or illegible citations;

• Interlibrary loan required;

• Copyright holder's permission required.

Requests are processed in the order they are received, except for extremely large orders and those given “rush” status by the requesting patron. 

Requests filled from Lewis Library collections are delivered as soon as they are ready; any items that are still awaiting fulfillment from other sources will be delivered as they are received. 

PLEASE NOTE:  Turnaround time for an interlibrary loan request cannot be accurately predicted, since it is dependent on other libraries for response and processing.  Requests for copies are typically filled within two business days, and often sooner.  Books or media, however, can take up to two weeks to arrive.

Rush Processing

“Rush” processing is defined as same-day fulfillment of the order, except for any items that must be acquired from external sources.  In that case, rush processing is defined as same-day request of the item by Lewis Library staff. 

Rush requests must be submitted no later 4:00 p.m. Central Time, and must clearly indicate “rush.”  Requests marked “ASAP,” for example, will be given standard processing.  Please specify your time deadline when submitting a rush request so that we can arrange the workload accordingly.

Imaging

Only black and white photocopies are available.  Scanned documents normally will be in black and white also, at 200 dpi and saved in .pdf (Adobe Acrobat) format.  Special images may be scanned in color upon request, but this requires additional processing and will be charged as a separate document.     

Copyright Compliance

All requests are subject to the limits of U. S. copyright law.  If in the opinion of the Lewis Library staff a request would exceed the limits of Fair Use and library exemptions, the patron will be given the option to cancel the order or to pay copyright permission fees and proceed.  Permission fees are paid by Lewis Library and passed through to the patron at cost.