Graduate Student Resources: Borrowing Materials

It is a consortium of 89 Ohio universities, colleges, community colleges, and the State Library of Ohio. The central catalog allows users access to the holdings of all member libraries.

Anyone affiliated with those libraries, including faculty, staff and students, can request materials from another participating library, free of charge.

OhioLINK is primarily designed to lend books. Some libraries, however, may loan other formats such as videos.

Currently, <patrons cannot request journals or journal articles through OhioLINK. Most libraries will also not lend microfiche or microfilm items. Materials that are available at Miami and are not checked-out cannot be ordered through OhioLINK, and some materials may be labeled For Use in Library Only and can also not be ordered through OhioLINK.

Journal articles that Miami does not own may be requested through Miami's Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Office. An online form for requesting these materials is available from the library's homepage or via our ILL app ILLiad.

OhioLINK materials generally arrive within 4-5 working days.

First look up the item in the online catalog on the library's homepage. If the item does not appear in our catalog, or our copy is checked out, click on the link for OhioLINK. Once you find your item in OhioLINK, click on the green Request button. If all the copies are checked out or none are available for borrowing (i.e. Library Use Only), the system will tell you so immediately. If the item is available, you will be asked which university you are affiliated with. You will then be asked to enter your username (uniqueID) and password. Lastly, it will ask you at which library branch you'd like to receive the item. You can also have materials sent to any other OhioLINK library, if one is more convenient for you than Miami. The item should arrive at the location you chose in about 4 working days. If there is a problem and the library is unable to fulfill your request, you will be notified via e-mail.

You will receive an e-mail notification when your item arrives. It will be sent to the primary e-mail address that is registered for you in Miami's Electronic Directory (i.e. uniqueid@miamioh.edu). To check on the status of your OhioLINK requests before your notification arrives or if you do not use your Miami e-mail account, you will need to access your circulation record. The link to your circulation record is on the library's homepage (where it says My Checkouts (on the right side of the black header bar), or go directly to your information here. You will need to enter your unique ID and password and click on the link which indicates the items you have on Hold. (Requesting an item from OhioLINK is the same as putting a hold on an item.) The status indicates the progress of your OhioLINK request. The status will change from Requested, to In Transit, to Ready. When the status says Ready, it is available for you to pick it up at the main desk of whichever library it was sent to. It will be held for one week before it is returned to the lending library. If you have difficulties with this process, you can check on the progress of your request by calling the library where you requested the item be sent (numbers listed below).

The standard OhioLINK loan period is 3 weeks from the date you check it out, and students may renew items up to 3 times. For non-book items, however, the loan period is 7 days, with no renewals.

You can renew items using the My Checkouts link, just as you check on the status of OhioLINK requests. Select My Checkouts from the library's homepage and click on the link to display Checked Out items. You can check the box to the left of each item you wish to renew or click on a link to renew all your items at once.

You can return OhioLINK materials at the main desk in any of Miami's libraries or put them into one of our book drops across campus.

OhioLINK charges everyone, regardless of rank, a $.50 late fee for each day the item is late.

If you wish to see if an item has arrived, call the main desk at the library where you requested it be sent:

• King Library: 513-529-2433
• Art & Architecture Library: 513-529-6638
• Amos Music Library: 513-529-2299
• Hamilton Campus Library: 513-785-3235
• Middletown Campus Library: 513-727-3222

If you have questions about using the system or requesting an item, come into any of the campus libraries. You can also contact us through telephone, email, or chat services: http://www.lib.miamioh.edu/askus. You can also contact your department's subject librarian directly. A list of the librarians and their departments is found at http://www.lib.miamioh.edu/people.