We advise the LowRes students to borrow from their local libraries as we cannot mail materials to them, nor do we have any reciprocal borrowing with libraries outside of Illinois. Use the advice below to consider finding books at:
- Your Local Public Library
- Get a library card for your local public library, which entitles you to borrow their books and use their interlibrary loan services to get books beyond their collection
- Additionally, public libraries often have similar databases available to their patrons for eBooks, streaming video, audio books, and eJournals
- Local University, College or Community College Libraries
- Public universities and colleges should allow to use their collections on-site and often have scanning options
- Many academic libraries also allow local citizens to buy access for a nominal fee
- Call ahead when visiting these libraries to ask about visiting researcher options
SEARCH FOR TITLES: GOOGLE BOOKS
When doing exhaustive research or research away from SAIC, we highly recommend this tool as your first step. Google Books is a powerful tool for finding books as it is able to:
- show you previews of what's inside (including table of contents)
- offer versions you can read online when the copyright allows
- search inside of most titles
PRO-TIPS
FIND A COPY LOCALLY: WORLDCAT
WorldCat allows you to search over 9,000 libraries in one place! Here are the steps we recommend for Low-Residency students when obtaining books for research outside of Chicago:
- Click the link above to access WorldCat
- On the homepage, update the location using your zip code (this should appear in the upper right)
- Search for a book - ideally using the ISBN number
- FILTER FOR PRINT BOOK under Format on the left (other formats become complicated for access)
- Click on the title to see the item's record
- Worldcat will show all libraries holding the record within a distance you set - look for a public library to borrow a copy locally!
