This page describes how UTulsa faculty and staff with an Aeon account can request Special Collections rare books and archival materials for a class visit or group tour that has been scheduled with Special Collections staff.
First, review our Guidelines for Productive Collaboration, then submit a Request a Class Visit or Tour form.
Once the tour request is approved and the date is scheduled, Special Collections staff will send an email letting you know you can submit material requests for the tour.
We empower faculty and staff to choose materials for visits; if you'd like some inspiration, please visit our Tour Guides to see materials we typically select for tours based on subject matter areas. Please submit all material requests at least two days before the class visit or tour.
For further questions, Ask Special Collections.
Book requests for a tour in Special Collections are very similar to book requests for a research appointment. The biggest difference is that Special Collections staff create the appointment for you, and it will appear in the appointments drop-down menu at the bottom of the New Request form.
1. Visit aeon.utulsa.edu and login to your Aeon account. Click on New Requests at the top of the page, which will take you to the Request Materials portal. Select the Book Request Form.
2. Next, in a separate tab or window, visit McFarlin Library's book catalog and search for the published material you'd like to request. Alternatively, if the materials you're interested in are listed in one of our Tour Guides, you can open the link to each item by clicking on it.
In the book catalog, always helpful to check the box for Special Collections and University Archives so the search results are narrowed to only show books located in the department.
3. Locate the book you're interested in, and click on the title to open the full catalog record and see more details about that book.
4. Scroll down the page until you see the Availability section, which has the book's shelving location and call number.
5. Go back to the Aeon Book Request Form and begin copying and pasting information from the book catalog page into the request form page.
Make sure to include the full call number, which may have a name or other information at the end, to distinguish this particular copy from others in the collection.
Notice also that the URL for the book catalog page is a required field in the request form. On the book catalog page, if you click on the Share button, the book catalog will create a clean link and a button to copy it to your clipboard.
6. After copying and pasting information about the book into the New Request form, scroll to the bottom to find the Request Information section. Open the drop-down menu that says "Request for". Your class visit or tour should already be listed there as an Activity—you won't be able to create a class visit or tour appointment on your own. That's something Special Collections staff must do for you.
Select the class visit or tour that you'd like this book to be pulled for.
7. Finally, click on the "Submit Request" button at the bottom of the page.
8. You can find a summary of all the items that have been requested for your tour in your Aeon account by clicking "Activities" in the navigation bar at the top of the page, then clicking on the name of the class visit or tour session.
Archival requests for a tour in Special Collections are very similar to archival requests for a research appointment. The biggest difference is that Special Collections staff create the appointment for you, and it will appear in the appointments drop-down menu at the bottom of the New Request form.
1. Visit the McFarlin Special Collections Archival Catalog and search for the collection name, collection identifier number, item name, or topic you're interested in. Alternatively, if the materials you're interested in are listed in one of our Tour Guides, you can open the finding aid record for each item by clicking on it.
2. When you've identified the specific item or folder of items you'd like visitors to see during the tour, click the black and white Aeon Request button in the top right corner of the page.
3. You'll immediately be taken to your Aeon account, where your request has been added to your Saved Requests. Open the drop-down menu that says "Request for". Your class visit or tour should already be listed there as an Activity—you won't be able to create a class visit or tour appointment on your own. That's something Special Collections staff must do for you.
Select the class visit or tour that you'd like this archival material to be pulled for.
4. Click the "Submit Information" button at the bottom of the page.
5. You can find a summary of all the items that have been requested for your tour in your Aeon account by clicking "Activities" in the navigation bar at the top of the page, then clicking on the name of the class visit or tour session.
