Library FAQ

The Kathryn A. Martin Library uses the Library of Congress Classification System to organize our collections. The books are found on the third floor (A-L) and fourth floor (M-Z). Let's look at an example. Take the book Colorblind Injustice: minority voting rights and the undoing of the Second Reconstruction, by J. Morgan Kousser.  The call number will look like this in the Library Catalog:  JK1924 ... read more

Open the Library Catalog. Enter your term(s) in the search box and click search.  Once the search has completed, your results appear. Next to your search term, you can select from the dropdown menu to limit by: ​Campus location: Duluth, UM TC Campus, All Campus, American Indian Learning Resource Center, Center for Economic Development, Tweed Museum, etc. Material type: Books, CDs, Microfilm and ... read more

We have a selection of scanners that serve as photocopiers for digitization of magazines, images, notes, and articles. Once you have scanned your items, you can save or send scans to a black & white or color printer in the library. 

If you are a UMD student or a UMD staff or faculty member, you can connect to library databases using our EZproxy server or with VPN access. Find more instructions for off-campus access. Community members and guests do not have access to most library resources from off campus. Learn more about open-access resources that are available to the public.

The library has an extensive collection of over 200 databases. These databases can serve as indexes for citations and abstracts, as well as a repository for ebooks, full-text articles, data sets, photos, and other information. Generally you can use the Articles & Books tab on the library's home page search box to find articles and citations. Using this feature will search UMD’s extensive collectio ... read more

SCHOLARLY JOURNALS POPULAR MAGAZINES Journal articles will always have bibliographies and end/footnotes. Articles may lack bibliographies or references. Authors are always named, and their institutional affiliation is given. Authors may be anonymous. Articles are often peer-reviewed or refereed. Articles are not peer-reviewed. Journal title may include terms such as "journal of," "r ... read more

Community users who live within one hundred miles of UMD can apply for a courtesy card at the Circulation desk. Please bring a government-issued photo ID showing your current address. You can find details about this program on our page about Borrowing Materials for Library Guests.

If Martin Library is assessed fees for late or damaged interlibrary loan items, those fees will be passed on to the borrower. Interlibrary loans are due by the date indicated on the wrapper that is attached to the material. Books that are not returned or renewed by the date due may jeopardize our library's borrowing relationship with other libraries. Overdue material will block your ability to ini ... read more

You can find a book by searching the Library Catalog. The search box for the library is located on the Library home page. Click on the Library Catalog tab to search for just books, or use the Articles & Books tab to search for articles, reviews, media, and books. For a general subject or keyword search, just select Search. You can quickly change your search criteria with the drop-down menu to sea ... read more

The Best Seller Collection is located on the first floor of the library. This collection contains popular and noteworthy fiction and nonfiction titles. The Reference Collection of almanacs, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other works is located on the second floor. The books in this collection are for research and reference purposes and cannot be checked out. The main Book Collection is located ... read more

A citation is a crucial part of finding articles in databases and requesting them through interlibrary loan. Here is a citation written in APA Style:  Konuspayeva, G., Konuspayeva, G., Faye, B., Camier, B., Gaucheron, F., Faye, B., . . . Gaucheron, F. (2014). Some parameters to process camel milk into cheese. Emirates Journal of Food and Agriculture, 26(4), 354-358. doi:10.9755/ejfa.v26i4.17277 As ... read more

You will be notified by email when articles you have requested have been posted. Articles that we are unable to post to the server are mailed to the address provided in your ILLiad account. You will also be notified by email when physical items are ready for pickup at the Circulation desk. Faculty and staff may choose to have interlibrary loan items delivered to their campus address. This is an op ... read more

The Kathryn A. Martin Library provides both Get It and Interlibrary Loan online services to obtain books and articles for UMD students, staff, and faculty. Library guest users can request items from other U of M libraries with the assistance of staff at the Circulation desk. Use the Get It service to request materials from the Kathryn A. Martin Library or from any library within the University of ... read more

Types of materials available through interlibrary loan include books, dissertations, government publications, and journal articles. Current periodicals or newspapers, rare books, material in special collections, new books, videos, conference proceedings, and recordings may be difficult to obtain or unavailable for loan. We make our best effort to obtain materials you request, but we cannot guarant ... read more

When an instructor requires students to find journal articles, he or she will usually expect articles from peer-reviewed journals. Peer review is the process by which an author's peers read a paper submitted for publication. A number of recognized researchers in the field will evaluate the manuscript and recommend its publication, revision, or rejection. Articles accepted for publication through a ... read more

Lost something in the library? Visit or call the Circulation desk on the first floor, 218-726-6120. Lost items not claimed at the library are sent to the following locations.: General - Kirby Information Desk, 134 Kirby Student Center, 218-726-7163 Jump drives - ITSS Tech Center, 165 Kirby Plaza, 218-726-8847 U Cards - U Card Office, 127 Kirby Plaza, 218-726-8814 UMD keys - UMD Police, 287 Darlan ... read more

When you read an article/book/website and use the author's words or ideas in your paper, you must give the author credit in the form of a citation. You should consult your instructor or syllabus to determine which citation style is required. With that information in hand, take a look at our Citation Styles guide. You can also find citation style guides in the second-floor Reference collection.

Every UMD student, faculty member, and department has a personal subject librarian who is dedicated to answering questions and providing research assistance! These reference librarians are able to find information for you and assist in developing research methods. Find a list of specialist librarians on our Personal Librarian page. Or search for your personal librarian by subject.  contact

Physical copies of magazines and periodicals are stored in the Library Annex. (See maps.) Issues are organized alphabetically and by date. The library also maintains an expansive collection of digital materials, including journals and periodicals. 

Most materials are available without charge to the patron. The library pays up to $35 in addition to shipping and copyright fees to obtain requested materials. If fees exceed that amount, you will be asked if you are willing to pay the difference before we place the order. Find more information on the Interlibrary Loan Services page.