Books are another valuable resource in any research paper or project. Books (as opposed to articles) generally have the following characteristics:

• Longer in length
• Good sources of background and historical information
• Often contain footnotes and lengthy bibliographies

The Library Catalog provides access to the millions of books the university owns.  You can also search for books in other university libraries in Illinois through I-Share.

The default search is "Any field," which provides the most comprehensive search, but can result in a large number of items appearing in your search results. Focus your search by clicking on "Advanced Search" and then using one of the following filters:

• Title search
  • Enter a known title in search box. 
  • Select "Title" from the drop-down menu. 
• Author search
  • Enter author name in search box..
  • Select "Author/Creator" from the drop-down menu. 
• Subject search
  • Enter subject words in search box. 
  • Select "Subject" from the drop-down menu.

Logging into your library account allows you to request books and other loanable items from the University of Illinois catalog and I-Share, view and renew the items you have checked out, save materials to your favorites, run saved searches, view fines/blocks, and more. As of June 24, 2020, when the U of I Library switched to a new catalog, there is no need to create a separate library account! Current U of I students, faculty, and staff log in with your NetID and password while courtesy card borrowers log in with your assigned login and password.

1. Go to the Library homepage.
2. Look for the "My Account" button in the upper right corner of the screen. Click on it.
 

3. You will see a box with two choices: for U of I affiliates and for courtesy card borrowers. Click on the appropriate choice for your status.

6a. Courtesy card borrowers and Fulfillment Proxies will see a place to enter your User ID and password. Your User ID will be the 14-digit number on your Courtesy Card, without any spaces. Please contact the Circulation Department to get your password for the new catalog system..

6b. U of I users will be prompted to log in with a current NetID and will be sent to the 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) screen, or, if you have already logged into a U of I service that requires 2FA, it will automatically log you in. If you are unable to log in (the message "login process has failed" will show), please consult our FAQ: Why can't I log into my Library account?

Once you are logged in, you should see your name in the upper right corner of the screen:

Click on your name and you will see a drop-down menu with several options, detailed in the next section.

If you have any questions about logging into your account, Ask a Librarian.

If you would like to watch a brief video on logging into your account, please click on this link for U of I affiliates and on this link for courtesy card holders.