Library Proxy Service for Faculty

The Library Proxy Service will allow faculty to authorize their research assistants to check out or place holds on library materials held by any Penn State Library directly to the faculty member’s library account.

Authorization Process

The Proxy form is available online. (Please download and print the form.) Both the faculty member and the designated proxy (the research assistant) must sign the authorization. The proxy should then bring the completed form and their PSU ID to their campus Law Library Circulation Supervisor (see Contact Information) who will create the Proxy Card. This service is available weekdays between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Download Proxy form

Proxy Checkouts on Behalf of Faculty

To check out materials from any PSU library in-person on behalf of a faculty member:

• the proxy must present their own PSU ID as well as the Proxy Card at the Circulation Desk of the library owning the item(s);
• items will then be checked out directly to the account of the faculty member.

Proxy Holds For Faculty ("I Want It")

Upon presentation of the Proxy Card and their PSU ID, a proxy may:

• Pick up materials that faculty members have requested be delivered to one of the Law Library locations using the “I Want It” service (anytime the Law Library is staffed);
• Pick up materials requested by the proxy (in his/her own name) via “I Want It” and transfer them to the library account of the faculty member for whom it was ultimately intended (weekdays between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.).

Proxy Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Activity

The Proxy Card does not permit student proxies to submit requests for ILLs of materials on behalf of faculty members using Penn State’s automated interlibrary loan system (ILLiad). Once an ILL request has been submitted directly to the proxy/student’s account, it cannot be transferred to the faculty account.

To request ILLs, faculty members must set up their own ILLiad account using the following link: https://ill.libraries.psu.edu/UPM/.

Note: The account creation takes about three days, so we strongly encourage faculty to create that account if they have not yet done so.

Upon presentation of the Proxy Card and their PSU ID, a proxy may:

• Pick up physical items (books, DVDs, etc.) that faculty members have requested via ILL for delivery to them;
• Ask their campus Circulation Supervisor to submit specific ILL requests via ILLiad on behalf of their faculty member.

Contact Information

Rebecca Mattson, Scholarly Communications and Faculty Services Librarian – (814) 867-2239

Alison Ruckert, Access Services Supervisor, University Park — (814) 865-8863