Frequently Asked Questions

In March 2007, TRLN licensed the Endeca Information Access Platform to support this project. Endeca allows the TRLN Libraries to provide top-notch relevance ranked keyword results and to leverage library metadata to support browsing the collections using Endeca's faceted navigation technologies. The TRLN effort builds on NC State University Libraries' implementation of Endeca in 2006. The NCSU Libraries were the first to implement Endeca's technologies for searching and browsing library collections.

The catalog records of each TRLN Library's integrated library system are harvested and indexed by the TRLN Endeca system. Daily cataloging changes at each of the four institutions are extracted and incorporated into the index on an hourly basis. At present Search TRLN indexes the combined TRLN collections of over 10 million titles and 16 million volumes. Metadata from a wide range of formats and schemese are indexed including MARC, MARC/XML, EAD, Dublin Core, and DDI/XML. Learn more about the metadata we index at Frequently asked questions about the TRLN Endeca Dataset.

The TRLN Libraries have licensed content enrichment services from Syndetic Solutions for use with Search TRLN. Currently tables of contents, book summaries, first chapters and excerpts, book jackets, video summaries, and audio reviews and track listings supplement the display for select titles published or produced since 1984. The TRLN libraries also licensed table of contents data from Syndetic Solutions' Indexed Content Enrichment program (ICE). The ICE data are incorporated into the TRLN Endeca Index every evening.

The TRLN Libraries can provide assistance using Search TRLN. You may access our chat reference service from within the Search TRLN interface, email a librarian, or contact your home library's reference desk for assistance.

We welcome your comments, questions, and suggestions. Please use our online comments form or find us on the web at www.trln.org/.

The Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN) was founded in 1977. TRLN grew out of cooperation dating from 1933 between the academic research libraries of Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which expanded to include North Carolina State University in the 1950s, and North Carolina Central University in 1995. TRLN currently facilitates access to print and electronic scholarly materials for these four university communities, which together comprise one of the premiere research collections in the United States. Through cooperative collection development, member libraries maximize the number of unique holdings in the region, and increase the breadth and depth of their collections in ways that would not be possible individually. More about TRLN.

To create an account, check policies, or inquire about the status of a request, please contact your local Interlibrary Loan Office.
Duke University
NC Central University
NC State University
UNC Chapel Hill

Faculty members, currently enrolled students, and members of the university staffs may request materials through Search TRLN.

Circulating items and photocopies of journal articles can be requested through the TRLN Document Delivery Service. Media materials (DVDs, Audio CDs, sound recordings, VHS), materials in Reference or on Reserve, and most materials held in Rare Book and Special Collections usually do not circulate. If you have questions about a request, please contact your home library's home library Loan Office.

Requests are handled by the Interlibrary Loan offices at each campus. For instance, if you are a faculty member at NC State University, the NCSU Libraries Interlibrary Loan office will handle your request.

Typically, requests filled within TRLN are completed within two business days.

If your request cannot be filled within TRLN, it will be handled as a typical interlibrary loan request. You can track your request through your home library's document delivery management system.

Start your search at Search TRLN and locate an item of interest. View the full record by clicking on the hyperlinked Title.

Click the "Request this Title" button found in the upper right-hand side of the screen. A new browser window will open.

Select your University affiliation and click "Go" to send the request to your local library's document delivery management system.

Login using appropriate credentials, review the details in the request form, and click "Submit this Request."

Yes. Faculty members, currently enrolled students, administration officials, and members of the university staffs may also obtain direct borrowing privileges from any TRLN member library by presenting their valid University identification.