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Research Guides

How to find physical items available at the UW Libraries

Use UW Libraries Search to find physical materials such as print books at UW Libraries and Summit.

Locating physical items in the UW Libraries collection involves three steps: searching for material using relevant words and phrases, refining the search results to display only the desired Resource Types in the results, and limiting the search to UW and Summit Libraries.

1. Enter the title or search terms you are looking for in the search box on the UW Libraries homepage. Click Search.

 

2. To specify the types of materials you are looking for, such as print books, go to the Refine My Results side bar. Under the "Resource Type" section, select the desired type(s) of materials, such as Print Books, then click on Apply Filters at the bottom of the screen.

   

 

Tip: If you don't see the Resource Type you need, you may need to expand the box by clicking the down arrow next to the Resource Type header, or by clicking the Show More button.

 

3. To limit the number of search results to material available at the UW or any of the Summit Libraries, use the drop-down at the top of the results list to select either "UW Libraries" or "UW Libraries + Summit".  Click on the magnifying glass icon to run the search again.

  • Click on the item's title in the search result to see its Get It section which tells you where the book is located. if it is in the UW Libraries system, click on the "Request UW Item" button to have the item sent to a pickup location convenient to you.
  • If the item is not available at the UW but available from another Summit Library, click on the "Request via Summit" button to have the item sent to a pickup location convenient to you.
  • Additionally, if the physical item you are looking for shows up in the initial search but not when limiting to UW or Summit Libraries, you may request it through InterLibrary Loan (ILL).

a. You will see the option below:

b. Click on your resource and scroll down to the "Get It" section

c. Click on this button to open your InterLibrary Loan account. Resource information should automatically appear in form.