This guide will give you the opportunity to learn how to use Primo (OCOM library's catalog) to find books and other physical items, eBooks, and different tools for finding articles.
You can search our library catalog (Primo) to find books, DVDs, and other items owned by the OCOM Library.
The default search is set to "OCOM Library," and will retrieve results related to our physical collections and eBooks.
You can expand the search scope to "OCOM + PAHL (NUNM.OHSU.UWS)" or "OCOM + PAHL + Articles."
"OCOM + PAHL (NUNM.OHSU.UWS)" will search the collections at other Portland Area Health Libraries (PAHL) such as NUNM, OHSU, and UWS. You can place holds and request items from our sister schools directly from our catalog! Books requested through Primo from the collection of a PAHL school will be shipped to OCOM's library, saving you time from having to travel there yourself.
"OCOM + PAHL + Articles" will search for OCOM library materials, PAHL materials, and journal articles and electronic materials. It will give you the widest variety of results, but sometimes can be a little overwhelming!
So you've found a book you'd like to check out from the library, how do you tell if it is available?
Click on the title of the book in the catalog and it will take you to the record view. Look for the section labelled "Get It" and you'll see where the item is located, its call number, and if it is available. See instructions below.
To learn more about borrowing privileges, visit our webpage on Checking Out Materials to answer all your burning questions about borrowing from OCOM Library!
The highlighted string of letters and numbers is the items call number. If you've never located an item in the stacks using a call number before, ask the person at the circulation desk to show you around!
The highlight shows how many items are available in each section. This item shows that it is available in three different areas of the library, how many copies are in each area, and how many are available to check out.
If the item is NOT available, you aren't on campus, or it is in archives, you can sign-in to your library account and place a hold on the item and library staff will retrieve it for you or let you know when it is back and available for check out! You will be contacted by email once the item is available for pickup. The item will be held for the borrower for a week and will be returned to the regular circulation if it is not picked up.
WorldCat (or World Catalog) is a fantastic resource for locating books that OCOM and our PAHL partner schools don’t own. Thousands of libraries have put information about their holdings into WorldCat.
The OCOM library has reciprocal borrowing privileges with most college libraries in the Pacific Northwest (and public libraries too!). To request a book from WorldCat, search for the title you are looking for, click the request button, and fill out your contact information.
The OCOM Library specific WorldCat interface will be OCOM green with a simple search bar.
Search for an item and click the title to see more information.
A request button will appear for items not already owned by the OCOM Library.
Fill in the request form, send it off, and library staff will do the rest!
The library highly recommends using Google Books to search for titles of interest for your studies. Google Books are fully scanned, so you can search within a text to see if it has specific keywords! Copyright restrictions will prevent you from being able to see the entire book, but you'll be able to read portions of the text to see if it is applicable to your research.
When you find a book you'd like to borrow, follow up by requesting it via Interlibrary Loan. Either find the book in WorldCat Discovery or fill out the Interlibrary Loan form.
Questions? Comments? Contact us to get the help you need!
Is there a resource you'd like to see added to the guide? Send us an email using our contact form!