The SPU Library belongs to a consortium of 38 college and university libraries in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho called the Orbis Cascade Alliance. The name of the catalog for this consortium is Summit.
The Summit Libraries share their books, DVDs, CDs and other materials with each other, serving over 275,000 students.
The default SPU Library Catalog search in Primo will include Summit items. They are identified by the phrase "Check Holdings." Sign in to request items be sent to SPU from other Summit libraries.
When you see an item in the results list that says "Check holdings," click on the title and then on "Place Summit request."
You will get an email message when the item arrives in 3-5 business days and you pick it up at the SPU Library circulation desk. Most books check out for 6 weeks with no renewal.
If you have clicked on the "check for full text" link in an article database and discovered that the SPU Library does not have access to an article that you need, you can request that article through Interlibrary Loan. Clicking on the "Request item" link takes you to the SPU Library Interlibrary Loan system.
When you link through from the database (or catalog for books), the ILL system automatically fills in the information about the item that you need. Look it over and then submit.
When the SPU Library receives an electronic copy of the article, you will get an email message prompting you to log into the ILL system to view and download your article. This usually takes 3-7 business days.
Another option is to visit the libraries of our Summit neighbor, the University of Washington. Sometimes for obtaining the full text of articles, especially very recent ones, this is well worth the trip. Before you go, you can look up the journal titles in the UW library system to find out what their access is. You can also call or chat with a librarian before you head over to make sure you will find what you need.
Everyone is welcome to use the UW Libraries and your status as a student at a Summit institution gives you some extra privileges.
There are two ways to use the UW system:
To use the databases and get access to the full text of journals that the SPU Library does not have access to, go to any one of the UW Libraries. Ask the librarian or other staff member for guest access to the databases. Be aware that these guest computers do not allow you to use .com sites such as gmail.com. However, you can still email articles to yourself from the databases.
To obtain a temporary UW NetID which will allow you to have wireless access, use the databases, and to check out books, you must first set up an account at Library Account Services on the first floor of Suzzallo Library during regular business hours. Once this account is set up, you can use the services at any time that the libraries are open. Once you have books checked out, you can continue to renew them online.