Services for Graduate Students
A network of libraries serves Washington University. These are the John M. Olin Library with collections in social sciences, humanities, and engineering, and 13 specialized departmental and school libraries including the Bernard Becker Medical Library located on the Medical Campus.
- Reference and Research Assistance
- Access to Information Resources
- Circulation
- Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery
- Arc: Library Technology Center
- Thesis Preparation Guidelines
- Graduate Study Rooms and Lockable Bookshelves
- EndNote information
Reference and Research Assistance
A subject librarian has been assigned to your department to ensure that your information needs are met and to answer your questions about library services, collections, and policies. To learn the name, email address, and phone number of your subject librarian, consult this list of Subject Librarians or ask at any campus library.
Access to Information Resources
The Libraries' website offers an organized approach to a wide variety of resources. Most notable are the catalogs of the Washington University Libraries and the Mobius consortium that includes St. Louis University, the four campuses of the University of Missouri, and most of the other academic libraries in Missouri, in addition to WU. Through the WU and Mobius catalogs, you may submit requests for books from any of these libraries except the WU Medical Library. The requested items will be delivered to the campus library you designate.
Circulation
Graduate students with current WU identification cards may check out library materials from any WU library. Loan policies may vary from library to library. In Olin Library graduate students may borrow books for 60 days, videos for 3 days, bound periodicals for 3 days, and unbound periodicals for 24 hours. Through the My Catalog function of the online catalog, you can see when your library books are due, renew items, and cancel holds.
Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery
When you need library materials that are not available at WU or any of the other Mobius libraries, one option is to turn to the Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery Service (ILL). ILL obtains books, copies of journal articles, and other materials from libraries and commercial document suppliers. You may submit ILL requests by filling out ILLiad online forms or by using the ILLiad request function in many of the journal article databases available via the Libraries' website (ILLiad request is one of the options in the window that opens when you click on 'WU Full Text Options'). For more information, see the ILL homepage, or call (314) 935-5442.
You might want to take advantage of the IngentaConnect Alerting Services, which delivers the tables-of-contents for new issues of journals to your email address. For details contact the Subject Librarian for your department. You might also want to ask him or her if there are other specialized document delivery services in your discipline. (There is no charge to students for interlibrary loan and document delivery services.)
Arc: Library Technology Center
Located on Level A, the Arc houses many computers with word processing and spreadsheet software, and many other specialized applications. Please click on 'About the Arc' on the Arc homepage to view lists of hardware and software available in each area. A Washington University ID is required to enter the Arc.
Thesis Preparation Guidelines
Olin Library catalogs and processes all theses written by Washington University graduate students. Please see this page for an FAQ on preparing your thesis for cataloging.
Graduate Study Rooms and Lockable Bookshelves in Olin Library
Graduate study rooms are located on Levels B, A, 2, and 3; please see these floor maps for the locations. All have a combination lock on the door. You can obtain the combination from the subject librarian for your department, or the Olin Library Help Desk. Please note that A30 has been designated a 'keyboard-free' room - no laptop or other keyboard devices are allowed, to enhance quiet study.
Lockable bookshelves are also available on Levels B, A, and 2, along the south wall. They are assigned to faculty and graduate students on a first-come first-served basis. Obtain a lockable bookshelf at the Circulation Unit (Level 1).