In our continuing series of news items and videos designed to introduce and inform our members and library patrons about the features of the new David Straight Memorial Philatelic Union Catalog, today we explain the procedure for creating and submitting a library request to the APRL from the online catalog. Whether submitting a request to borrow materials from the APRL collection, a request to purchase items from our surplus inventory of duplicate material, or submitting a research request to the library, the process is simple and easy in the new online catalog.
First, when submitting a request to borrow materials from the APRL you will begin with your search. Follow the instructions in the previous news item and video titled Begin Searching the New Online Catalog Monday February 1 in order to find materials for borrowing using either a Basic or Advanced Search. Once you find the materials you are interested in borrowing, from the search results list that appears following your search move your cursor beside the item in the list you wish to borrow and click on the box beside the title to put a check mark in the box.

Once the box is checked, click on the Save to Bookbag link just below the alphabetical row of letters and above your list of search results. Repeat this search and selection process for all of the items you wish to borrow remembering to add each requested item to your Bookbag. Once you are finished selecting and adding items click on the Submit Request link to the right of the Save to Bookbag link just below the alphabetically row of letters. This will take you to the Library Request page.
On this page you will notice the items you selected and added to your Bookbag will appear in the Request Details section of the page on the right side. Next, fill in all the necessary fields in the Your Information section on the left side of the page keeping in mind that the more contact information you can provide, the better able the library staff will be in fulfilling your request. The fields of Name and Email are mandatory as indicated by asterisks.

On the right side of the page fill out any further details about the request you wish to add to the Request Details section of the page. There is a text box below your list of requested items that you can add further information reagarding the request as well as a Priority pull down list with a Date/Time Needed option. Finally, in there is a Reason for Request text box at the bottom of the page. This field is entirely optional and was added by the APRL staff in order to compile information about why the request was made (i.e. personal research, needed for judging, for exhibit preparation, etc.) that we can better serve the resource and research needs of our library patrons.
Once all of the information on the Library Request page is completed, review it and then click on the Save & Exit link in the upper right corner of the page in order to send the request to the APRL.
The second type of library request is a request to purchase items from our surplus inventory of duplicate material. In order to locate and select the items you wish to purchase, from any page in the online catalog, move you cursor over the tab titled USED BOOKS FOR SALE at the top of the page. Click on the highlighted tab and you will then be taken to the USED BOOKS FOR SALE page where a list of all of the items currently for sale will appear in the search results section of the page. You can scroll through the list item by item, keeping in mind that you can advance to the next page via links at the top and bottom of the list. As well, instead of simply scrolling through the list, you can search the APRL’s duplicate inventory.
Near the top of the page above the Save to Bookbag and Submit Request links there is a text box for searching the APRL’s used items for sale. In that text box, type in your search terms, keeping in mind that the catalog will look for all of those terms in each record it retrieves from the database. The search terms you use must appear in the Author, Title, Notes or Subject fields of the original record. After clicking the Search link the search results for your selected terms will appear.
When you find all the items you wish to purchase, either from scrolling through the complete list of sale items or conducting a search, click on the box next to the title of each item to place a check in that box in order to select that item for purchase. Once you have all the items selected you wish to purchase, then click on the Save to Bookbag link. This will save these items to your Bookbag for your request.
Finally, click on the Submit Request link beside the Save to Bookbag link and follow the same procedure for completing the information on the Library Request page as detailed above. Once the necessary fields are filled out on the Library Request page remember to click on the Save & Exit link in the upper right corner of the page to send the request to the APRL.

The third type of request you can send to the APRL via the new online catalog is probably the easiest and most common, that being a research request. From any page in the new online catalog, including the home page, there is a Submit a Request link at the top of the page to the left of the catalog’s title David Straight Memorial Philatelic Union Catalog. At anytime and from any page you can click on this link to submit a research request. After clicking on the Submit a Request link, fill out both the Your Information and Request Details sections of the page being sure to provide as much information about your research request as possible in order that the APRL can research your request fully. After filling out all the sections, click on the Save & Exit link in the upper right corner of the page in order to send the request to the staff of the APRL.
For more details about the three different types of requests you can make from the new online catalog, here's a video with further information.
To further introduce our members and library patrons to the new online catalog, the APRL will continue to present videos and news items, available here on the APS website, about further features. As we grow the services of the APRL we hope you explore and enjoy the new platform for the online catalog on Monday February 1 and beyond. For any comments or questions about the new online catalog feel free to contact the library at library@stamps.org or stiffney@stamps.org.