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J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library

Library & Research 101: Accessing Materials

This guide has been created to provide you with some tips and tricks for finding research and materials and to help you navigate the library's resources and services.

Accessing Materials

The library provides access to a lot of great materials. For more information on accessing physical items, online items, or requesting items choose from the options below: 

Librarians are available to answer your questions. Click on the Ask Us bubble for FAQs and contact options (chat, email, text, phone).

Top 5 Library FAQ's:

Access Available Online Materials

Materials that are available electronically through our collection will say "Available Online" under them. Click on this to open the record page. 

On the window that pops up, navigate to the section titled "View Online." Below this will be one or more links to different databases (ie. platforms) that host this article. Select any one of them, and you will be taken to the full text. You hit an ISO login screen just after clicking the database title; sign is as normal.

Accessing Physical Items

To access items held in the library note the location and the call number of the item. All physical items in the library have a call number and are organized using the Library of Congress classification system, which groups materials by subject. This allows you to easily browse related materials. 

 

 In the example below the location is the archives in the garden level and the call number is: F552.N9. 

 

 

Watch this YouTube video on reading Library of Congress Call Numbers for more information.

Requesting Items via ILL

Some items you wish to access may not be immediately available, but can be obtained via Interlibrary Loan (ILL). If you found the item via the library's catalog, click the "Request through interlibrary loan" link in the item's record to request it. If it is an article, you will get access within 24 hours (usually much faster!). It can take up to 10 days to receive physical items. 

You will log in with your Michigan Tech username and ISO password, verify that the information for the item you are requesting is correct, and then place the request. You will get an email notifying you when the article or other item is available.