Ways to Request Books

Requesting Local Books

Requesting MOBIUS items

Requesting through ILLiad

Campus Delivery

Request Times

Requesting Books - Overview:

In brief, there are a few ways to request books.

• You may request items in the WashU Libraries, at which point they will be put on hold.
• You may also request to borrow a book from MOBIUS, our area library consortium. 
• You can also submit a borrow request through InterLibrary Loan (ILLiad), which searches for material at libraries world-wide.
• Note: Before requesting a book through MOBIUS or ILLiad, please make sure it is not available in a campus library by searching the WU Libraries Catalog.

• If you would like to request that the WashU Libraries purchase an item, you may submit a purchase recommendation form. For more information, see this FAQ on purchase recommendations.

Additional Information on Requesting Materials:

• Campus Delivery for Faculty and Staff
• Request Turn-around time

Requesting Local Books:

To request an item from one of WashU's Libraries, you may:

• Click the 'Request' button on an item's page in the Classic Catalog
• Navigate to the item's Classic Catalog record by searching for it in Primo, and click the 'Get It!' button on the item's record.

For more information, please contact Olin Circulation at 314-935-5420 or circ@wumail.wustl.edu with any questions or concerns.

Requesting through MOBIUS:

There are three main methods by which to request books from MOBIUS, our borrowing/lending consortium:

1. Search the Classic Catalog. If the title you want is not available at Washington University, transfer your search request to the MOBIUS consortium catalog by clicking on the "Search MOBIUS" box at the top of the page. Once you have found the book, click the "Request It" button to the right of the book title. Choose "WashU" from the drop down cluster option menu. Input your WUSTLKey and choose a "Pickup Location" from the drop down menu. Select "Submit". 
2. Search the MOBIUS catalog for the book (The MOBIUS catalog contains all of the WU holdings plus the holdings of the libraries of most Missouri colleges and universities). Once you have found the book, click the "Request It" button to the right of the book title. Choose "WashU" from the drop down cluster option menu. Input your WUSTLKey and choose a "Pickup Location" from the drop down menu. Select "Submit".
3. The MOBIUS Catalog is also a dropdown option on the Library homepage search box.

Note: If you are affiliated with the WashU Medical School, you may not request through the MOBIUS system. You will need to place requests through  Becker Medical Library's Interlibrary Loan Service.

Additional information about MOBIUS can be found here.

Requesting through Interlibrary Loan (aka ILL or ILLiad):

•  If the book you want is not available from MOBIUS, please submit a book request through Interlibrary Loan (ILLiad).
• Books are available for pickup usually within 1-2 weeks at the Olin Library checkout desk.
• You will be notified by e-mail when the book arrives. For additional information on ILLiad, please see our InterLibrary Loan page.

Note: The Law Library and Becker Medical Library process Interlibrary Loan materials separately, so if affiliated with Law or Medical School, place ILL requests through your home school.

Requesting Articles or Book Chapter Scans through ILL:

• Washington University faculty, staff, and students can request print articles or book chapters from our collection to be scanned via our Interlibrary Loan platform. 
• If it's in the stacks we'll scan it, and if it happens to be checked out we can request it from another library instead. Keep in mind that we have to adhere to copyright fair use guidelines and cannot scan entire books and journals.
• If you are faculty interested in having an article or book chapter scanned and placed on electronic course reserves, you can find information on how to place a request on our Course Reserves page. 

Campus Delivery:

Materials from WashU Libraries, MOBIUS libraries, or Interlibrary Loan (ILL) can be delivered through Campus Delivery.

Faculty and staff may select Campus Delivery as the pickup location. (Campus Delivery is included as a pickup location in the Libraries’ catalog, MOBIUS, and ILL.)

Materials will be delivered to the primary mail stop code that is listed in Workday. More information here

Request Times:

MOBIUS Requests:

• MOBIUS items generally take 3-5 business days--sometimes more-- to arrive on the hold shelf. On weekends, we do not receive MOBIUS shipments.
• You will receive email notification when your book arrives. You can also use My Catalog to check on the status of your MOBIUS requests.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Requests:

• Arrival times for physical items requested through Interlibrary Loan will vary depending on where the item is coming from and the response time of the lending library. You can monitor the progress of the request through your ILLiad account.
• Requests for articles will arrive as scans and will appear in your ILLiad account within a day or two.
• You can monitor the progress of the request through your ILLiad account.

For more information, contact Olin Circulation at 314-935-5420 or circ@wumail.wustl.edu.