Students have a number of options for finding books for their projects. Sometimes it’s as easy as finding a book on the shelf at Musselman Library, while other times it means requesting from another library. Here is a simple breakdown of what the process might look like to find the books you need. The boxes to the right go into a little more detail. Librarians would be happy to help you with any part of this process.
o Step One: Search the Bluffton Library Catalog - to find materials here at our library
o Step Two: Search the OhioLINK Catalog - to find materials at other academic libraries in Ohio
o Step Three: Search the SearchOhio Catalog - to find materials at public libraries in Ohio
o Step Four: WorldCat / Interlibrary Loan - usually the first three steps will enable you to find what you need. But if not, you can search WorldCat to see if something might be available there. WorldCat includes materials from libraries around the world. You can then request items using our Interlibrary Loan form.
Searching the Bluffton Library Catalog is the best way to find materials that we have here in Musselman Library. It is the place to begin your search for books.
From within the catalog, you can also expand your search to OhioLINK by clicking on the Search OhioLINK button at the top of the screen.
To expand your search beyond what is available at Bluffton, you want to search the OhioLINK Catalog. This includes the holdings of around 120 academic libraries in Ohio, as well as the State Library of Ohio. You can search OhioLINK by clicking on the Search OhioLINK button in the Bluffton Catalog, OR . . . by going directly to the OhioLINK Catalog using the link on the library’s homepage.
SearchOhio is a group of public libraries across the state of Ohio that operates much like OhioLINK. Bluffton users can find the link to SearchOhio at the top of the screen when they’re viewing results in the OhioLINK catalog. There is also a direct link to SearchOhio on the library’s homepage. Users can find and request materials in SearchOhio just as they do in OhioLINK.
WorldCat includes materials from libraries around the world. WorldCat is listed on the library’s Research Databases page. Bluffton patrons can search the WorldCat catalog and if materials are found, patrons can fill out an Interlibrary Loan request form. The library staff will then try to borrow the book from a library that owns the item.
To access the Interlibrary Loan page, click on the More Research Tools category on the library's homepage.