Library Services for WSU Distance Students
What are Distance Services
The Winona State University Library provides library services to WSU students who attend our courses taught at a distance from Winona or Rochester. Specifically, we send requested books and photocopies of articles from the Library's collection, with the exception of articles that patrons can download for themselves from the Library's databases. For books and articles not in the Library's collection, we also provide our distance patrons with delivery of requested interlibrary loan materials.
Who may use Distance Services
Students who are currently enrolled at WSU but who have no classes that the Registrar has officially scheduled to meet at least once a week at Winona or Rochester. Faculty that teach WSU distance classes but who do not come to Winona or Rochester are also eligible for distance services.
What about WSU students in Rochester?
WSU students who take courses in Rochester should use the Goddard Library at the University Center, Rochester (MN).
- Examples of classes that qualify as distant classes: EDUC 690 and 691 sections taught in St. Paul.
- Examples of classes that do not qualify as distant classes:
- Students in the Nurse Practitioner Program in Rochester. (Why? Those students attend class twice a week in Rochester, and are supposed to be served by the Goddard Library at University Center, Rochester.)
- Students taking Winona State courses in Rochester via ITV, who are supposed to be served by the Goddard Library at University Center, Rochester.
Test Proctoring
For those WSU distance students looking for test proctors at other universities, the main list of test proctors can be found at MinnesotaOnline.org. For distance students from other universities looking for a proctor at the Winona State University campus, contact Jillian Quandt in Tutoring Services at JQuandt@winona.edu or 507-457-5680.
How to request that an item be sent to you
General: To request materials, you must have a valid WSU barcode that is linked to the Library's patron database. On the back of your WSU ID, there is a 14-digit number that starts,"20106000...." That is your barcode number. You will be asked for a password. Unless you have changed it, your password is your last name (if you got your ID before Fall 2006, your password is the first eight letters of your last name). Finally, you will be asked for a date needed. The date that you give will be the date that the computer throws away your request. The library staff will work on your request as soon as possible, and putting a shorter date will not speed up your request. However, the date you enter should be at least seven days in the future to keep the computer from deleting your request prematurely.
If the computer will not accept your request, send an email to library@winona.edu with the information on the material that you are trying to obtain.
- Books that are in our collection.
For books in our collection, use MnPALS or MnPALS Plus, find the book, and view the record for the book and use our Distance Services Loan form.
Make sure to mention in the "Notes" box that you are a distance student.
Please expect books in our collection to take up to 5 working days to be delivered to you.
- Books located at other libraries.
For books at other libraries, use our Distance Services Loan form.
Please expect books from other Minnesota libraries to take 5 days to arrive at the Winona State Library, and then to take up to 5 working days to be delivered to you.
- Items (books or articles) NOT not available full-text.
For all items not found in MnLink, first check the WSU Periodicals List from the WSU Library's main web page to see if you can download the article from a WSU database. If the periodical title is not listed in the Periodicals List or the periodical is only available in hard copy in the library, then you will need to generate a Distance Services Request. To do that, click on the button below and fill out the blank form provided using the information about barcode and password as described in the General section above. There is one form for books and another for periodicals. Make sure to mention in the "Notes" field that you are a distance student.
Request a Book:
Request a Journal Article:
If we are able to supply your materials from our library, please expect them in about 5 working days. Materials that we need to borrow from another library that is in-state will take 5 days to arrive at the Winona State Library and then an additional 5 working days to be delivered to you. Occasionally, we will need to obtain materials for you from out-of-state. Materials that we need to borrow from another library that is out-of-state may take up to 3 weeks to arrive at the Winona State Library and then an additional 5 working days to be delivered to you.
How to find materials to request
In order to search the Library's databases, click here. To search these databases from off-campus, one needs to sign on through the proxy server. If one has a WSU email account or access to WSU's D2L server, one can access the databases off-campus. One can also access them if one has a WSU ID with a 14-digit barcode on the back.
If you have any problems accessing the databases, click here for a form to report the problem.
How to track your requests and renew the materials that you have checked out
Check on your request status by clicking on "Your Library Record" on the MnPALS page, and then on "Active ILL Requests." The results will not tell you the status of the item in its postal transit from our library to you, but it will tell you if we have received materials from other libraries, and if they are overdue. You can ask to renew Interlibrary Loan items by emailing library@winona.edu. Renewals will be granted at the discretion of the lending library.
If the computer will not display your requests, contact Susan Byom at sbyom@winona.edu, or (507) 457-5139, with the information on the material that you are trying to renew.
To renew Krueger Library books, click on "Your Library Record" on the MnPALS page, and enter your barcode and password. That will bring up a list of the books you have borrowed. Click on the number next to the item you wish to renew.
What do I do if there are problems?
There are several reasons that you may be having problems with Distance Services. To trouble shoot before contacting us, go to Tracking your requests, and try two things.
- Display the status of your requests. There may be information there on why they have not arrived. If the status is UNFLLD, we may have had to go out-of-state to obtain your materials. Click on the UNFLLD link for more information.
- Check your library record for the MnPALS catalog. It may indicate if your borrowing privileges have been blocked because of overdue items.
Once you have done some preliminary investigations into possible causes for your difficulties, send an email to library@winona.edu. Please include your WSU ID barcode number, so that we may call up your record.
Requirements for instructors
General: In order to make the system work, instructors/departments need to send a list of distance students and their Warrior/Tech ID numbers to library@winona.edu. If the students aren't in the registration system (i.e., your department is currently adding them) then also send their correct mailing addresses, telephone numbers, and official WSU e-mail addresses to library@winona.edu. The library records will be verified to make sure each student's records is correct and a barcode number will be assigned and sent to each student.
For those distance students taking classes through Rochester, the department needs to send a list of all of their distance education students to Goddard Library. For each student who is not able to come to campus, Goddard Library needs the following information: name, address, warrior ID#, phone #. With this information the librarians at Goddard would create a library card AND a proxy card for these students. Goddard Library would then mail the cards to the student along with their "Remote Access to Goddard Library's Electronic Resources" sheet, and a card with the website addresses of Goddard Library and Krueger Library.
Access to Databases: The Proxy server page covers some problems that may be encountered when attempting to access the Library's databases. If one has a WSU email account or access to WSU's D2L server, one can access the databases off-campus. One can also access them if one has a WSU ID with a 14-digit barcode on the back. Rochester students should use their D2L login to access our databases. Contact the Library Email for further help or to arrange an instruction session for your students on any of the databases.
We are willing and eager to provide library services to distance classes. Thank you for helping us help your students.