Online Resources: Finding Books, Articles & More

Note: Except for the UIUC Online Library Catalog, these resources are only available to users currently affiliated with UIUC.

FINDING AND ACQUIRING BOOKS AND OTHER ITEMS IN UIUC'S COLLECTION

Use the Online Library Catalog to search materials owned by the University Library at UIUC. These materials include books, journals, magazines, newspapers, video recordings, maps, government documents, CDs, and DVDs.

Please note: Most remote users cannot request that books or other materials from UIUC's collection be sent to them off-campus. However:

  • Registered Academic Outreach patrons who are currently teaching or enrolled in courses offered through the Division of Academic Outreach can have books and other items sent to them. More information.
  • Any UIUC student or staff member can use the I-Share Catalog to request that materials from UIUC (or any of the other 64 I-Share Libraries) be sent for pickup at any other I-Share library. More information.
  • Other users who currently reside outside the Champaign-Urbana area and don't have access to an I-Share Library can request book chapters or journal articles delivered electronically through the fee-based DocExpress service. Instructions on placing DocExpress requests.

Managing Your Account

Use the My Account feature of the catalog to view checked out items, renew items, view fines and fees, and check the status of items requested from other libraries.

Catalog Assistance

If you have questions about finding materials in the Library Catalog, you can:

FINDING ARTICLES AND E-JOURNALS ONLINE

The Online Research Resources (ORR) page is a searchable listing of all of UIUC's e-journal and database subscriptions and other online research tools. The ORR groups resources by type -- Article Indexes & Abstracts, Journals & Newspapers, and Reference Tools. Each of these resource groupings can be selected by clicking on the appropriate tab at the top of the ORR page.

There are 3 ways to find things in the ORR

  • Title - Use this if there is a specific resource that you are looking for and you know all or part of the title or an abbreviation of the title. (See Searching by Title in the ORR Help.)
  • Browse - Select the letter or number that the resource title begins with. This will give you an alphabetical listing of resource names that start with that letter.
  • Subject - Use this option if you have a subject area in mind, but not a specific resource. Select the best match from the subject headings and click it. You should now see an alphabetical list of electronic resources in that subject area.

For tips on finding specific resources, please see:

FINDING COURSE RESERVES

Access online course reserves through the library's Electronic Course Reserves page. To find all items--electronic and print--on reserve for a particular course or instructor, see this page.