HOLLIS for Archival Discovery

You can add items to your HOLLIS Special Request account directly from HOLLIS for Archival Discovery. HOLLIS Special Request is a separate system that allows you to manage your requests for archives and special collections material, including submitting requests to use items in a library’s reading room, ordering reproductions, and saving lists of material in which you are interested.

Please note that not all repositories support this feature. If you do not see an option to “Add to my Request List” at the item-level, please follow the directions found when clicking on the Request button at the top of a record.

If you do not already have a HOLLIS Special Request account, you will be prompted to create one upon submitting your requests.

See more about setting up an account at the page Getting Started in HOLLIS Special Request.

There are two ways to request material from within a collection.  Please see the HOLLIS for Archival Discovery Tour for more information about requesting material. 

Option 1 -- Collection Inventory tab

This will take you to a list of items found in the collection. From here you can add items to your "Request List"by clicking the "+Add to My Request List" button found to the right of each item’s title.  

Adding material to your "Request List" does not mean your request has been received through HOLLIS Special Request. 

Option 2 -- Individual item records

Another option is to request material from an item record page.  You can access an item's individual record page by selecting the title's hyperlink within the "Collection Inventory" or "Collection Organization" sections of the finding aid. From this page, you can add items to your list by clicking “+ Add To My Request List”, found in the upper right hand corner of the guide. 

You can view your list of selected items by clicking the “Request” drop down menu, found in the upper right hand corner of the screen, and selecting “My Request List”.  This will take you to a page that lists all the selections you have made.  Requests made from different collections or libraries will all appear in your “My Request List”.

After selecting “My Request List”, you can review and edit your requests.  You can also print or email your list of items. (Please note: requests will only stay in your “Request List” for the duration of your browser session. To save requests in your “Request List”, they must be submitted by selecting the "Saved" option under the "Type of Request" drop down, submitting your request, and logging in to HOLLIS Special Request.)

The "My Request List page" is also where you will indicate the type of request you plan to submit. 

Reading Room Requests

A Reading Room Request indicates that you plan to visit a library to view the material in person. If you plan to visit a repository on more than one day, you can submit separate requests for each day. This will help staff prioritize the materials pulled for you each day.

Requests for materials held off-site require at least one business day to process.

Some libraries require an appointment; please check with individual libraries to confirm their policies.

Copy Requests

A Copy Request will place the selected items in the “Outstanding Requests” queue in your HOLLIS Special Request account. 

For more information about format selections, please see the Ordering Reproductions page from Harvard Library’s Imaging Services.

Saved Requests

A "Saved Request" will save the items you selected and keep them in your “Saved Requests” queue in your HOLLIS Special Request account.  A "Saved Request" will not be submitted to the library for processing.

Once you've added all relevant information, click "Submit".

After clicking Submit on the Request List page, a new window will open where you can either log in to your HOLLIS Special Request Account or create an account if you don’t already have one.  

Note: As soon as the Submit button is clicked, these requests will no longer be available in your Request List. You must create or log in to your HOLLIS Special Request account to save request information.

Once logged in to your HOLLIS Special Request account, you will be able to review and edit the requests you’ve placed from both HOLLIS for Archival Discovery and HOLLIS. 

Reading Room requests will initially have the status of “Request Submitted” or "Offsite Request Submitted" depending on where the item is stored. Once the item has been paged by staff at the repository and is available for you to view, the status will be “Item Available in Reading Room”.

Requests for items housed in the same box will be combined into one request within HOLLIS Special Request.

For more more information about HOLLIS Special Request, please see Getting Started in HOLLIS Special Request.