Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership

The OSU Libraries' Catalog contains records for all the items owned or licensed by the Libraries that are available for checkout or online use from the University Libraries. The catalog:

• Shows the location and current availability of materials owned by the University Libraries;
• Provides links to full-text electronic journals, databases, and books;
• Allows you to Request Materials from any OSU Library, including those located on the Columbus and regional campuses;
• Allows you to transfer your search to the OhioLINK Catalog if OSU Libraries does not own an item or an item is checked-out, or  to Interlibrary Services if no OSU Library or OhioLINK Libraries owns  an item you need.

To access the catalog from the library website, choose the Books and More tab. From there, perform a search or click on More Options to get access to other search options, including the advanced search. The catalog allows searching by author, title, journal title, subject, and keyword as well as specialty numbers such as the Library of Congress call number and ISBN (International Standard Book Number).

Tips for searching the catalog:

• Keyword searches are the broadest search, as they span all information in an item record.
• Subjects are a very specific set of terms that are helpful for precision searches. Often, the easiest way to find subject terms is to do a keyword search and look at the subject terms for those that are good matches for your topic.
• The Advanced Search screen allows a few additional search capabilities, such as multiple search fields to narrow the scope of a search term. You can also limit by year range, language, location, or format. See additional search tips for searching the catalog.

Look for the blue OhioLINK Library Catalog button when you are searching for a book in the OSU Library Catalog. If the book is not in the OSU collection or if it's checked out, simply click on the button to see if anyone else in Ohio has the book.  

If an OhioLINK library has the book, you can request it and have it delivered to your office, dorm, or for pick-up at an OSU Library location.

In addition to OhioLINK, OSU users have access to books and other materials from public libraries throughout the state through SearchOhio, a network of public libraries, including the Columbus Metropolitan Library.

Request books and other materials not available at OSU or OhioLINK through our ILLiad request system.

Need a book, an educational video, or a teaching resource on a topic? Use the Recommend a Purchase form. You can always email me if you are unsure or have a question about a book or resource you would like to recommend.

The Ohio Library and Information Network, OhioLINK, is a consortium of Ohio academic libraries, and the State Library of Ohio, that work together to provide Ohio students, faculty and researchers with the information they need for teaching, learning, and research. OhioLINK provides OSU users with free access to books, research databases, journals, multimedia, and theses and dissertations. 

Note that OhioLINK e-books do not always appear in an OSU catalog search (even if using the OhioLINK catalog button).  When searching for an e‑book, it is recommended to search both the OSU Library Catalog and the OhioLINK E-book Catalog.

When you request an item from OhioLINK, you choose the pickup location. Delivery typically takes 3-5 days. You can monitor the process through Your OSU Library Account information. 

OhioLINK FAQs