These services are available to current students, and current and retired faculty and staff.
Find the Book In Our Discovery Search
The first step is to find the book in our Discovery Search. Please use the Advanced Search:
- Put the title in the first line of the search and change the box to TI Title.
- Put the last name of the author in the second line of the search and change the box to AU Author.
- Click Search.
Example:
Review the results to find the book and format you'd like to use.
Books are available electronically and in print. Depending on the format and availability of the item, how you will get access to it is different.
Ebooks
If we have the book available electronically, the record will have UMass: Link to resource above the Location field.
Example:
Once you have clicked on the link, you may be prompted for your NetID and password. We purchase ebooks from many vendors and the interfaces work differently.
Please note that if the Status field is Internet and the UMass: Link to resource is not showing, it means that we do not have electronic access to the book. There are ebooks in the catalog that are only available to members of Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke or Smith. This is due to vendor licensing restrictions.
If we do not have an electronic version of the book, please submit an interlibrary loan request for the book and indicate if you'd like an electronic or print version of the book.
If you have any questions or problems accessing an ebook, please use our chat box or question form to the right to get help.
Print Materials
Check the Due Date field.
Example:
| Due Date Field Says | What's Available To Me? |
|---|---|
| Available | Contactless pickup or home delivery; see below for instructions |
| Requested | Recalls are not available; submit a request via Interlibrary Loan |
| There's a date in the field | Recalls are not available; submit a request via Interlibrary Loan |
| Missing or something else that is not Available or Hathi Trust | Recalls are not available; submit a request via Interlibrary Loan |
| Hathi Trust | Print book cannot be borrowed; see below for instructions on how to access the electronic version available through Hathi Trust's Emergency Temporary Access Service (ETAS). |
Contactless Pickup
If the Due Date is Available, you can use the Request Item link to request the item for contactless pickup. Once it arrives, you will receive an email with a link to schedule an appointment for pickup.
Example:
Delivery to Your Home Address (Library Express)
If the Due Date is Available, and you'd like to have the item mailed to you, please use the Library Express service. To do this, please:
- Log into your ILL account. If this is your first time placing a request, you will be prompted to fill out some information, including the address where materials should be mailed
- Make sure your mailing address is up to date by clicking "My Account" (under Tools on the left menu)
- Place your request by clicking "Book, Film, Etc." under New Request on the left menu. Fill out title, author, and ISBN fields and indicate that you are requesting Library Express in the Notes field.
HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Acesss Service (ETAS)
If a print book is in the UMass Amherst Libraries collection (the Location in the catalog record starts with UM Du Bois Library or UM Science and Engineering), there may be online access to it through the HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access Service (ETAS). When books are available through HathiTrust ETAS, we cannot share our physical copy without losing digital access to all ETAS materials for all users. For this reason, we ask that patrons use HathiTrust directly when possible. Please go to this research guide, and scroll down to HathiTrust for detailed instructions on how to access the book online. Books in ETAS are available for one hour at a time and are not available for download.
If the location in the catalog record for the book does not begin with UM (for example, it starts with Amherst, Smith, etc.), please submit an interlibrary loan request for the book.
Questions?
If you have any questions, you can do any of the following:
- Contact the librarian for the subject using Find Your Librarian, and they will help you find materials.
- Send your request directly to us using the question form to the right of this answer on the page.
- Email us directly at ask@umass.libanswers.com.