Congratulations on Graduating! How You Can Take the Library with You

At the end of every trimester, we are incredibly proud of our students as they reach the finish line of their academic journey, leaving the university as health researchers, evidence-based practitioners, and healthcare leaders. Even as they go to start their professional lives, the Library is still here to support our expanding alumni community in their professional success. We want to take the time here to feature the several services that are available to all alumni through the Library.

Interlibrary Loan Services

While alumni do not have access to our subscription-based databases and full-text journal collections (i.e., any online resources that requires University-affiliated login credentials), they still have full access to our Interlibrary Loan services. Never heard of Interlibrary Loan? It is a highly popular service in which we can request articles and book chapters from our partner libraries. We maintain a resource exhange network with over 1,500 partner libraries across the United States and internationally. Turnaround time for Interlibrary Loan requests is generally within two business days, although it could be longer depending on the availability of the item requested. Alumni can request articles and book chapters by contacting us via email at library@usa.edu with the complete citations of the items requested. Our library staff will email you the full text, either through our own collections or through Interlibrary Loan. While this service is free for alumni, there are rare situations where alumni may have to pay a fee for articles requested through Interlibrary Loan. This fee ranges from $11-$15. A library staff member will contact the alumni requestor to confirm if an article requires a fee. If alumni submit an Interlibrary Loan request, they must mention their alum status.

Physical Library Spaces

Alumni are welcome to visit and use the physical library spaces on campus. Alumni must register as a visitor on campus, and observe all policies of the library and the campus. They are able to use any of the Library's physical resources (e.g., books, anatomy models, computers). but only within the library space. Alumni are not able to check out the items to take outside of the library. Alumni can find out what physical resources are available at any of the campus libraries by checking the Library Catalog, which is an online inventory of our physical materials. Alumni can also use the library's on-campus printing, photocopying, and scanning services.

Search USA, Research Support, and Events

Alumni still have guest access to Search USA, which is the Library's dedicated search engines. Search USA accesses most of our databases simultaneously, with tthe exception of ProQuest databases. Alumni should note that this access is limited to searching our online collections and databases, as they cannot access the full-text content. However, they can submit a request for any desired articles to us through our Interlibrary Loan services (see above for information).

There is another resource available to alumni: our library staff! Our team of expert, highly dedicated librarians and support staff are here to continue support the USAHS alumni community with their research and evidence-based practice. We can provide research consutlations, reference help, and more! We are available online via email (library@usa.edu), our Ask-A-Librarian chat, and in person.

Perhaps unknown to many of our alumni, but all of the Library's events and workshops are available for alumni to attend. Throughout every trimester, we offer an expansive suite of events and workshops that cover everything from research (e.g., citation manager software, justice and equity in research) to social and relaxation (e.g., mindfulness, fireside reading) to scholarly communications (e.g., predatory journals, building a scholarly profile). All of the Library's upcoming events are listed here: https://library.usa.edu/upcoming-events

Even More Resources for Alumni

Alumni interested in learning more about available resources can find information in the Library's Alumni guide, or viewing our event recording about alumni services (watch below). We share information about free scholarly databases, employer and professional association resources, open-access research, and free evidence-based practice tools.

Have any questions? Alumni can contact us by email at library@usa.edu.

All of us here at the Library wish you the best in your professional endeavors and career success!