FYS MUS01: How to Write One Song; Lyrics, Lives, & Listening: Musician Memoirs in the Library

The SU Libraries are part of a library consortium known as USMAI or the University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions. SU students, faculty, and staff have access to books from all of the USMAI libraries through the library catalog; you can place a direct request online to borrow the book, and it will be sent to the Guerrieri Academic Commons for you to pick up. You also can borrow in person from other USMAI libraries.

Below is a step-by-step guide to requesting a book from another USMAI library. Please take into account that this will need to be communicated to the library and then delivered, so it could take some days for the item to arrive. Plan ahead when deciding what you want memoir to use in class!

Be sure you have SIGNED IN to your library account to request items.

1. Be sure you are searching for the title in ALL USMAI LIBRARIES. You can set or change this filter a few ways.

When searching from the home screen, be sure you are selecting the radio button for "Include results from: UM System Libraries".

If you are already in SURF due to other searches, you can set this filter by clicking on the dropdown menu next to the green icon along the search bar.

When you type the title you are looking for, you can also set this parameter by selecting the option for "UM System Libraries" to kick off your search.

2. There are likely multiple editions or available copies for the book you're looking for; either click on the title of the correct book from your results screen, or select "See All Versions" to determine which version you are looking for. If it doesn't appear in this search, it may not be available at other USMAI libraries. 

3. After selecting the correct book and version you're looking for, find the "How To Get It" section of the book's entry. You can scroll down the page until you see it or simply select the "How To Get It" button on the left side of the listing. 

4. Under this section, you can see what other universities have this book available. If you want this book delivered to the GAC where you can pick it up, select the "Request from UM System Library" button.

5. Be sure you confirm the information you are requesting and click the "Send Request" button to send your request through. If you don't click the Send button, it will not be submitted.   

Some titles that have been identified as memoirs for your assignment are not available from our library but can be borrowed from another USMAI library. There are even more, though! The column on the left has directions on searching for any other titles not included below.