Borrowing
As alumni of UMass Amherst, you are eligible for a borrower's card. You can find more information here about borrowing and you can go here to fill out the online Borrowing Application Form.
Interlibrary Loan
Only students, faculty and staff affiliated with UMass can use UMass interlibrary loan services. Please check with your local public library to see what interlibrary loan services they are able to offer.
Off-Site Access to Databases and Ejournals
Unfortunately, our licenses do not allow alumni access to databases and/or ejournals from off-site.
When the Libraries are open, you are welcome to come to the Libraries and use our databases and other electronic resources on our public computers. Public computers are available in the Learning Commons on the Lower Level in the W.E.B. Du Bois Library and on the main level (2nd floor) in the Science & Engineering Library.
Here are a few suggestions for accessing electronic materials:
- We curate a list of open access electronic resources through our Database A-Z list. Click on the link and change the box from All Database Types to Open Access. This will show you all of the resources that are freely available for you to use.
- If you live in Massachusetts, you can get access to databases through the Boston Public Library. You'll need to apply for a Boston Public Library ecard. The databases you can access remotely are listed here.
- If you live in another state, try your local public library (they often have a lot of online resources) or a local academic library with public computers.
- For online journals, try the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), a community-curated online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals.
- For online books, try the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) or OAPEN.
- You may also try the Internet Archive, a repository of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more.
Public Libraries
Your local public library also has services that are similar to what you had at the UMass Amherst Libraries. Public libraries have access to a variety of databases and will often borrow materials from other libraries for you to use. Please check with your local public library to see what services they offer.
Questions
We can try to help locate resources that might be able to help with your research questions. Please email us at ask@umass.libanswers.com!
