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Keyword	Title

 

Locating Books

First Step: Items available at Boston University

• Catalog: Search the Boston University library catalog for the book or other item you are seeking. Search options include: Author, Title and Keyword, which allows you to search for terms appearing anywhere in a catalog record.

For example:

Author	sunstein cass r
	massachusetts law reform institute
Title	smolla and nimmer on freedom of speech
	annual report of the director of the administrative office of the united states courts
Keywords	federal sentencing guidelines
	nutshell and international trade

• For the most flexible and powerful search option, use Advanced Search. This allows you to search for certain keywords in specific fields (such as author, title or subject) and to limit your results by library, item type, publication date, etc.
  
  
• Searches and Recalls: If a book or other item is listed in the library catalog, but not available on the shelves, you can use the Material Request Form for Law Library materials. See the library's Finding Books guide for more information.

If the BU Libraries do not have what you need, consider:

Second Step: Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

• The library’s ILL service allows journals to submit requests to borrow books and other items and to obtain photocopies of articles and other documents. Please consult with your editor about your journal's process for coordinating and submitting ILL requests. ILL requests can be submitted online.
  
  
• If a book is not available in the BU library catalog, it is usually helpful to search the WorldCat database, which includes records on items owned at hundreds of libraries. You can copy information about a book (such as author, title and ISBN number) from a WorldCat record and paste it in the online ILL request form.
  

• Please note: If you cannot wait at least 7-10 days, ILL may not meet your needs. It is impossible to guarantee the processing time for an ILL transaction. (Additional information on how the interlibrary loan service works and some types of items that may be difficult or impossible to obtain via ILL are available in this guide.)
  

• If you have questions about likely turnaround time using this service, please contact the circulation department, send your question by e-mail, or call 617-353-8412.

Alternative Second Step: Trip to Other Libraries

• If time is of the essence and you are able to travel, you may want to consider visiting other libraries and consulting the material there. (Please speak with your editor before making a trip off campus.)
  
  
  • Note: To borrow an item from another library, it is necessary to submit an ILL request, unless you have personal borrowing privileges at that library.


• As a Boston University law student, you may obtain a Boston Library Consortium (BLC) card, which enables you to visit member libraries and borrow circulating materials in person at member libraries.
  
  
  • Please note: Applications for a BLC card must be submitted to the Mugar Library. There is a three-day processing period before cards may be picked up at the Mugar Library Circulation Desk.
    
    
• Other library catalogs can be searched via Internet, including:

  Boston Public Library (BPL cards are available to anyone who resides in Massachusetts)
  Minuteman Library Network (includes many area public libraries, including Brookline and Cambridge, but not Boston Public Library)

• The Library Consortia and Catalogs section of the Law Library’s web site includes links to a number of other library catalogs, including the virtual catalogs of regional law library organizations.
  

• Please contact the reference desk if you would like to visit another law school library in the area. If that library is not open to the public, our librarians may be able to provide a letter of introduction, so that you can access materials that are not otherwise available.

Page maintained by David Bachman
Last updated: July 2009