Search Engine Here: Find Any Book in the Public Libraries Located Closest to Your Zip Code. (Save This Page!)

Gary North

Most universities have their library catalogues on-line. The people at the Online Computer Library Center decided to create a portal site to these catalogues.

Search for an item in libraries near you: Enter title, subject or person

Type in the title of any book. Click WorldCat or hit the Enter key.

This will produce a list of books. Click the title of the book you want.

This will take you to a page with your book's title in large letters. You will see what looks like a row of index card tabs. The first one is Libraries.

Beneath this is a box:

Enter Location Information:

Type in your zip code. Click Go.

The page will instantly display the names of the libraries closest to you that have the book. If a library is nearby, the number of miles away will be posted.

Click the name of the library. Up pops the card catalogue entry for this book at the library you just clicked. It will tell you if the book is available.

This is great for interlibrary loans. Print out the page and take it to your local library. The librarian will see where the book is located. This will speed up the inter-library loan ordering process.

Some of America's greatest research libraries are located at private universities. These libraries are closed to the general public. But you can gain access if you know the "open sesame" words. I reveal them here:

open sesame