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The University of Massachusetts Amherst

Dance

Find Your Item

Find Books and More In Our Discovery Search

Discovery Search contains the physical materials in the Five Colleges and some articles from a small selection of databases. The first step is to find and item is using the link below for Discovery Search. Please use the Advanced Search:

  1. Put the title in the first line of the search and change the box to TI Title.
  2. Put the last name of the author in the second line of the search and change the box to AU Author.
  3. Click Search.

Image showing an example search for Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower

Review the results to find the book and format you'd like to use. Books are available electronically and in print. Depending on the format and availability of the item, how you will get access to it is different.

Finding Articles

We subscribe to hundreds of databases on a variety of topics. Visit the Databases A-Z list and filter by subject to find databases relevant for your research.

Is it Available Electronically?

If we have the book available electronically, the record will have UMass: Link to resource above the Location field.

Example:

Umass Link to resource example

Once you have clicked on the link, you may be prompted for your NetID and password. We purchase ebooks from many vendors and the interfaces work differently.

Please note that if the Status field is Internet and the UMass: Link to resource is not showing, it means that we do not have electronic access to the book. There are ebooks in the catalog that are only available to members of Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke or Smith. This is due to vendor licensing restrictions.

If we do not have an electronic version of the book, please submit an interlibrary loan request for the book using the link below and indicate if you'd like an electronic or print version of the book.

Delivery to Your Home Address

If the Due Date is Available, and you'd like to have the item mailed to you, please use the Library Express service. To do this, please:

  1. Log into your ILL account. If this is your first time placing a request, you will be prompted to fill out some information, including the address where materials should be mailed
  2. Make sure your mailing address is up to date by clicking "My Account" (under Tools on the menu)
  3. Place your request by clicking "Book, Film, Etc." under New Request on the left menu. Fill out title, author, and ISBN fields and indicate that you are requesting Library Express in the Notes field. The more information you fill out about the book, the quicker that ILL can process your request.

I requested materials. Where do I go to pick them up?

Depending on what service you used to request the items, you will pick them up in different locations in the Libraries.

  • If you requested the item through our catalog Discovery Search (UMass-owned and 5 College items), you will pick them up at the Information Desk on the entrance level of the Du Bois Library. 
  • If you requested the item through Interlibrary Loan or it is an item that is on Reserves at UMass, you will pick them up at the Learning Commons Desk on the Lower Level of the Du Bois Library.