Worldcat.org is the comprehensive catalog of North American (and many other) library catalogs. Cornell University Library has a Cornell-user-based interface with Worldcat (cornell.on.worldcat.org) that allows you to easily request materials held by other institutions. Use this direct link, or click on the Request from Libraries Worldwide link on the top left of any CUL results page to see what books and articles are available beyond Cornell. You can request any of the items you see with the button on the right reading:
Request from Libraries Worldwide
| For BOOKS already checked out, or that we don't have: |
Borrow Direct: Click on the link, connect to Borrow Direct, search for the book and if it's available from another Ivy League university, we will have it shipped to Cornell. Borrowing period is eight weeks and renewable once. Books arrive in 3-4 business days. (This service is for BOOKS only). Example: Nakayama, Shigeru et al. ed., The Social History of Science and Technology in Contemporary Japan. Tokyo: Gakuyo shobo, 1995. |
| For items (books, articles, microfilm) we don't have: | Interlibrary Loan Services: If Cornell Library does not have an item you need, Use ILLiad (InterLibrary Loan Internet Accessible Database) to request that we borrow materials from other libraries. Loan period is usually one month. Items can arrive in as little as a few days to a couple of weeks. |
| For items at another campus library or the Library Annex: | Use the "Request" button inside the Library Catalog and choose Library to Library Delivery.
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Problem: The book is checked out to someone else.
Solution: Search BorrowDirect. If one of our partner libraries owns the item, it will be shipped to you within about 4 days. If it's not available via BorrowDirect, you can Recall the item from the current user. (Note: This takes time. The first borrower gets at least 2 weeks with the item, and another week following the Recall notice).
Problem: Cornell library doesn't own the book.
Solution: Search BorrowDirect. If one of our partner libraries owns the item, it will be shipped to you within about 4 days. If it's not available via BorrowDirect, try the Interlibrary Loan option.
Problem: The material is at the Annex.
Solution: The Annex is an off-campus storage facility. Choose the Requests or Request Item button to have it sent to a campus library. Turnaround time is approximately 1 day, longer over the weekend.
Problem: Cornell doesn't own the journal.
Solution: Request a scanned copy of the article you need via Interlibrary Loan. It may take several days, occasionally longer, to received the scanned article.
Problem: Someone else has taken out the journal issue you need.
Solution: If it is due back within a few days, place a hold on the item. If it's not due back for some time, request the article through Interlibrary Loan.
For more information, see Borrowing and Delivery.
Problem: You can't find anything good on your topic!
Solution: It happens. Don't struggle for hour upon hour. Ask a Librarian!