Do you ever need a book in less than a week that is not available at Brown? If so, we¹ve got good news for you!

Students and faculty at Brown can now search for and borrow virtually any circulating book from the combined collections of six Ivy League universities, eleven New England research libraries, and eight R.I. academic libraries, by using one of three cooperative "direct borrowing" services. Requests are permitted if Brown does not have an available, circulating copy. You can, for example, borrow a book that is in special collections at Brown or has checkout restrictions, as well as items that Brown does not own. So this is an excellent alternative to recalling a book that is checked out.

InRhode, a project of a local consortium, includes Bryant College, Community College of Rhode Island, Johnson & Wales University, Providence College, Rhode Island College, Roger Williams University, Salve Regina University, and the University of Rhode Island.

Virtual Catalog is a product of Brown¹s participation in the Boston Library Consortium, which currently includes Boston University, Marine Biological Lab/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Northeastern University, Tufts University, all campuses of the University of Massachusetts, Wellesley College and Williams College.

Borrow Direct is a cooperative project of seven Ivy League institutions: Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University.

To access the service you want to use, enter the barcode number from your ID, and submit request(s) for books. (None of the services include journals or article requests at this time.) If a copy is available on the service, and you have no outstanding overdues or fines at Brown, your request will be accepted and transmitted directly to one of the owning libraries. In most cases, the book will be shipped by courier or expedited delivery the following work day, and you will be notified to pick up the book at the Brown Library in less than a week. If unavailable, the request will be forwarded to other holding libraries; you will be notified if no one can supply the book.

There are several ways to access the services, but it is always best to begin with a search on JOSIAH. Here¹s one easy, recommended way:

1. Start in Josiah ( http://library.brown.edu)
   
   
2. Search by author, title or subject.
   
   
3. On the results screen (see the sample screen below), click on the "Check InRhode" button to repeat the search in InRhode. Place request if material is found. To return to Josiah, click on the "Return to Home."
   
   
4. If not found in InRhode, click on the "Borrow From Other Libraries" button in Josiah. This will direct you to a web page with links to all three direct borrowing services, as well as other interlibrary loan and article requesting options.
   

--Bonnie Buzzell

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