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Music 230: African American Song Literature

Requesting Materials from Other Libraries

There are a number of ways you can discover articles that St. Olaf College doesn't have.  Maybe you found one mentioned in the bibliography of another resource.  Maybe you found a record for it in a database or in WorldCat, but the Find It! button didn't locate it in Catalyst.

Regardless of how you learned about the item, you can ask other libraries to share it with you using a Resource Sharing form in Catalyst.


1. Say you found an article in another bibliography, but when you looked for it in Catalyst, nothing came up. This happens because Catalyst defaults to showing you only articles available through St. Olaf. If you also want to see materials from other libraries, click the link offering to expand your search to other libraries.

Screenshot of the Catalyst link for expanding your search. The link text reads, "Click here to expand your search beyond the St. Olaf and Carleton libraries."


2. Now your search includes results for materials we don't have. If we don't have it, you will see the golden "check or request" notice in the record.

If you started outside of Catalyst, like in a research database or WorldCat, and you click the Find It! button for something we don't have, you will see this same notice when you are routed back to Catalyst.

Screenshot of a Catalyst record for an article we do not have. The notice to "check for physical copies or request a copy" is marked in red.


3. Scroll down in the article's record. There is a link to sign in with your St. Olaf ID so that you can request a scan via Resource Sharing.


Screenshot of the "sign in" button.


4. Once you have signed in, the "Get It from Other Libraries" section of the record will offer options for how to request the materials. Click the "Get It" button under the option you want to use and fill out the form that pops up.  You will receive an email when the material is ready.

Screenshot of Catalyst's request icons for resource sharing. On the left is an icon of a mailing carton captioned "Get a physical copy from another library; terms to be supplied." On the right is an icon of an envelope with the caption "Need a chapter? Delivered in 24 hours by email."