Q. How do I find an item in Olin Library?

Reserve Items:

Physical Newspapers:

College Catalogs:

Using Call numbers:

Textbooks:

Missing Items:

Journals and Magazines:

Finding Reserve Items:

For electronic reserves, use Ares. For books and other materials in print, use the Course Reserves by Course Name or Course Reserves by Instructor functions in the Classic Catalog. You can also start from the homepage for the Reserve unit in Olin Library.

Physical Newspapers:

Olin Library has recent print issues of local, national and some international newspapers on Level A.

Please see our Newspapers Guide for more guidance, though this page does focus on online access options.

College Catalogs:

The Libraries have a collection of Law and Medical School catalogs which are shelved in the Southwest corner of Level 3, Olin Library. You might want to search the College Blue Book to find information about colleges and universities, though it does not have the actual catalogs.

Using Call numbers:

In addition to the call number, you need to note the location indicated on the catalog record for the item: after all, it does no good to look in Olin Library for a book that's in Art & Architecture!

So the first step is to go to the correct library. For Olin Library, we have an online Collections Location Guide which shows the locations of the call numbers. In other campus libraries, ask at the circulation or reference desks for assistance.

You may also request to have a book delivered from one campus library to another for you to pick up. See Can I have books delivered from one library to another, so I can pick them up? for instructions.

Textbooks:

You may be able to find some of the books that are required for your class. Start your search in the Textbook Resource Guide to find printed books, eBooks and materials that have been placed on Course Reserves by faculty. 

Required readings for a course may be textbooks, other types of books, articles, or a combination of all of these.

Other Textbook Information:

Textbooks often have very generic names, Principles of Microeconomics, for example. So you generally need to know author or editor to identify the correct book. In addition, textbooks are revised periodically, so there are often many editions of the same textbook title.

• NOTE: The Libraries typically do not purchase textbooks for our own collection or borrow textbooks from other libraries (using MOBIUS or Interlibrary Loan)
• Sometimes professors will put a copy of a course textbook on Course Reserves, so all students may have access to it throughout the semester.
• You may also find a copy of an older textbook edition in the general circulating collection.

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Other Course Books (non-textbook)

For your other course books that are not textbooks you can check for available copies in the WU Libraries Catalog, MOBIUS catalog, or WorldCat.

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If an Item is Missing/Misplaced:

Unfortunately, books and other library materials occasionally go missing or turn up in the wrong place. This can happen for a number of reasons, not all of them preventable. When an item is missing, you can report it with one quick step.

Request it: If the item you want is not checked out, but you can't find it in the stacks, request a search for the item by clicking the "Request" button in the online catalog record.

Please feel free to ask for assistance from Libraries staff as well. Sometimes they are able to find the item even when you can't.

This will notify the Circulation staff, who will conduct a search for the item within 24 hours. If the book or item is not found, but it is available through the MOBIUS catalog, the Circulation staff will request a copy for you through MOBIUS and notify you when it arrives.

If the item you want is listed as MISSING, LOST, or SEARCHING in the catalog, you may also order it yourself through MOBIUS or Interlibrary Loan.

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Of course, you can also ask someone at the Help Desk in Olin Library (Level 1) for help in locating the item. For other libraries on campus, ask at the main checkout desk for assistance and someone will help you.

Journals and Magazines:

All campus libraries have journals and magazines - so first you need to know which campus library has the item you need. You can find this information in the Classic Catalog. You can search for both print and eJournals here.

Each library on the Danforth Campus has some recent print journals available. Olin's current journals/periodicals are housed on Level A. Most libraries have some older journals in bound form on the shelves, and other bound journals are held at the West Campus library.