Library Services > Books > How to Find

Using the ALADIN Catalog to Find a Book

Introduction and Scope

The ALADIN Catalog contains the holdings of the nine libraries in the Washington Research Libraries Consortium (WRLC): not only George Washington University (Gelman Library, Eckles Library, and the Virginia Campus Library), but also American, Catholic, Gallaudet, George Mason, Georgetown, Marymount, Trinity University, and UDC. GW students, faculty, and staff may borrow materials from all of these libraries through the Consortium Loan Service or in person using their GWorld card.

Access the ALADIN Catalog

Go to http://catalog.wrlc.org

Enter Your Search

Type the title of the book you are looking for, omitting initial articles such as "the," "a," and "an," into the white search box. You may limit your search to items in the George Washington University's collection by using the Limit by Location drop down menu. Highlight the type of search you are doing -- e.g. Title. Click on the Search button to perform the search.

Interpret the Search Results

Your results will display the library that has the item, the call number, the edition/year, the availability, and location in the library. If you cannot find this information on the search results page, please click on the number or title from the list of results to see more information.

Get the Books from the Stacks

Write down the call number of the book and go into the stacks to retrieve the book on the shelf. For example, if you wanted #1 A brief history of time by S. Hawking, the call number would be QB 981 .H377. Based on the call numbers, go to the appropriate floor -- e.g. for QB 981 .H377, go to the 6th floor of Gelman Library.

Gelman Call No. Locations A - HD      4th Floor HE - PM   5th Floor PN - Z      6th Floor Eckles Call No. Locations All Books are on the 2nd floor.

Hint: A call number is a combination of letters and numbers used to place a book or bound periodical in its proper place on the shelf. When you go to the 6th floor, first find the Q section. Scan the shelves Q - QA-QB. Find the QB section. It should go from QB 1 all the way up to QB 1000. Remember, you are reading the number before the decimal point as a whole number -- e.g. 981 (nine hundred and eighty one). For more information on how to read a call number, please see below:

How to Get a Book If Your Library Does Not Have It

You can get a book sent to your GW library (Gelman, Eckles, or Virginia Campus) from any library in the consortium that has an available copy. This process usually takes 3-5 business days. If you need it sooner, you may wish to visit the library in the consortium that has an available copy for check out.

To find items at the other WRLC Consortium Libraries, do not limit your search to GW in the beginnig. To request an item to be sent to Gelman, first click on the book title to open the "record". On the next page click on the button labeled 'Request through Consortium Loan Services (CLS)'. Log in and follow the directions. Please refer to the Consortium Loan Request guide at http://www.gwu.edu/gelman/service/circulation/cls/ for more information.

If no one in the WRLC Consortium has a copy of the book you need, you may ask the Interlibrary Loan Office to get a copy for you. Go to http://www.gwu.edu/gelman/service/interlibrary/index.html and fill out the electronic request form. You will be notified when the book arrives at your library.

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Last modified: Tuesday, 04-Sep-2007 13:23:46 EDT