MadCat, the online catalog of the UW Madison campus libraries, has helpful features beyond the basic functionality of listing biblographic information. The "Place Requests" link on the top of the MadCat page allows users to recall books which are checked out, to retrieve books located at other campus libraries (including books in storage), and to borrow books from UW System Libraries. Let's assume a student wants to read books written by novelist John Grisham. Running an author search on MadCat produces 49 hits. The first entry, ""Bleachers", is available at College Library. By selecting "Place Requests" and typing in your student identification number and last name, you see an option to retrieve a Madison title and have it sent to the UW Madison library of your choice for pick-up. Typically books are delivered around the campus in 1-2 business days. The retrieve option is also used to request volumes in storage at the Madison Shelving Facility. The next Grisham book listed is "The Broker" and MadCat shows one copy as checked out and another copy as lost. Using "Place Requests" you have the option to recall the charged copy or borrow it from another library in the UW System. Select the "UW System Search" link at the top of the page and you can view John Grisham holdings across the state. UW Eau Claire has an available copy of this title, so enter your student ID and a ibrary choice for pickup; the book will be delivered to your campus library in approximately 2-3 business days. This is much faster than the traditional Inter-Library Loan process. Keep in mind that the "Place Requests" feature only works for obtaining books. Document delivery requests for articles or book chapters must be submitted via Library Express. To keep track of all the books you have checked out, select the "My MadCat Account" link. Books from Madison libraries, other UW System libraries and ILL material will be included in this listing.
Submitted by Cheryl O'Connor on November 20, 2006
This article appears in the categories: Law Library
