FAQs - UMA Library Portal

Please visit UMA Card Services to request a new student ID card, which is your library card.

Please visit UMA Card Services to request a student ID card, which is your library card. To activate your library card barcode, visit the library circulation desk, email us, or call the libraries: 207-621-3349 (Augusta) or 207-262-7900 (Bangor).

Absolutely! We can renew books that you have from any of the URSUS or MaineCat libraries. There is a one-time 2-week renewal on materials with the exception of materials on a waiting list.

Call the circulation desk at Katz Library (207-621-3349) or Nottage Library (207-262-7900) or live chat or email us from the links on the left.

"Peer-reviewed" journals contain articles of quality scholarship. An author’s peers evaluate a manuscript and either recommend it for publication or reject it. They are sometimes referred to as “juried,” “academic,” or “scholarly.” They are usually printed on plain paper and are text oriented. Example: Journal of Mental Health
 
Trade journals or publications report trends in a specialized field, industry news, and product information. The audience is researchers or professionals in the field. Articles are reviewed by editors and authors are authorities in the field. They are generally printed on glossy paper and are professional looking. Example: Occupational Outlook Quarterly
 
Popular magazines or journals are non-technical and serve to inform and entertain. The authors are generally non-credentialed. They are written for the general public. They are printed on glossy paper and are meant to be attractive and eye-catching. Example: Time Magazine

"Articles" - scholarly, peer-reviewed, trade, popular, and more - are available through UMA Libraries online in a number of different ways.
 

• OneSearch will search for articles, books, eBooks, and other library materials. Use the left side menu to refine your search by a number of different options.

• Explore library databases through the Find Articles link on the UMA Libraries' Popular Resources section. Here you will see an alphabetical list of all library databases. You can sort databases by subject, then enter databases individually to search for articles relevant to your research topic.

URSUS is the catalog of the University of Maine System libraries, Maine State Library, Maine Law & Legislative Library, and the Bangor Public Library. Use keyword, title, and author searches to look for books.

MaineCat is the catalog of most of Maine's public libraries and Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin colleges.

If you are off campus, you can use your university library card to request books online. These books can be delivered to any UM System campus, center, or site where you are taking your classes, or nationally if you are an out-of-state student.

MaineCat is a statewide catalog that combines and links collections for most of Maine’s public libraries, Colby College, Bates College, and Bowdoin College.

You can request materials outside of the University of Maine system with your University library card from the MaineCat libraries. They will be delivered to the University of Maine campus, center, or site where you are taking your class.

Some of the reasons that materials cannot be renewed are:

1. On hold for another patron
2. Already overdue
3. Has already been renewed once

Please email us or call a circulation desk at Katz Library (207-621-3349) or Nottage Library (207-262-7900) for help.

If you need a University of Maine System courtesy card and are not a student, faculty, or staff, please visit the circulation desk at your nearest campus -Augusta or Bangor - for borrowing privileges.

• Whenever you are searching in a database and the full text is not available in that database, look for the Article Linker icon:

• Click on the icon. If there is full-text available, either the article will load from another database or a link to the full text will be available.
• If this message appears - “Sorry, no full-text online content was found” - you can request the article through the “Request Article” link on the bottom of the page. This will redirect you to the UMA Libraries' interlibrary loan service, Tipasa - OCLC.
• Tipasa - OCLC is the electronic system you use to request an article through Interlibrary Loan. A one-time OCLC account setup is required. Turnaround time is usually 1-3 days but may take up longer. An email will be sent to you when the article is available to you. There is no charge for this service.

If you take classes for consecutive semesters without a break, you do not need to reactive your library barcode number. If you take a semester off, you may need to do so. Please visit UMA Card Services for more information,

Yes. The card that is issued to you as a University of Maine System student, faculty, or staff member is valid at all of the University libraries on any campus.

1. Once you have found materials to request, click on the title of the item to see the complete description.
2. At the top of the page Click “Request” by the red check.
3. You will be prompted for
   • your name
   • library barcode (14 digit number beginning with 250…no spaces)
   • Campus, Center, or Site where you will pick-up the material. (ex. UC Bath/Brunswick, Out of State, Newport) from the drop-down menu
4. Click “Submit.”

 
You will get a confirmation that says “Your request has been successful.”
 
Materials are checked out to you for 28 days and sent to the UMS Campus, University College Center, or University College site that you indicated when requesting. Delivery is usually in 3-5 business days. You are responsible for checking with the pick-up location to see if your materials have arrived.
 
Return materials to your pick-up location where they will be returned to the lending library for you at no charge.

Books are mailed from the lending campus library to the UMA Campuses, Centers, or Sites. Online students may select a University outreach center nearby as their pickup location.

Books should be returned to staff at any UMA Campus, Center, or Site on or before the due date for shipment back to the lending library. Staff there will return the books for you. There is no charge for this service.

Peer-reviewed articles are an indicator of quality scholarship. An author’s peers evaluate a manuscript and recommend rejection or publication. A peer-reviewed journal is sometimes referred to as “juried,” “academic” or “scholarly.”

When you find a citation that has the words ”HTML full-text” or “PDF full-text,” you can print or download the article out by clicking on the link.
 
For the PDF documents, you will need to have Adobe Reader (a free software) on your computer to see and print the article. You can obtain the free download at www.adobe.com.

You can view your library record from the URSUS library catalog. Click on “My Library Account.” Have your library card/barcode number or activated student ID number ready as you will be asked for the number to access your record.

There are many resources available to assist with writing your paper! VAWLT, the online writing center, is a great place to start. Click on the “Citation Guide” button and scroll down to “UMS Off-Campus Library Services: Citation Guide.” Check out the tutorials, links to APA, Chicago/Turabian, CSE, MLA citation style guides, the Perdue OWL, and much more. Most importantly, don’t hesitate to ask VAWLT tutors for assistance. Check out The VAWLT!

URSUS is a shared catalog of University of Maine System campuses, Bangor Public Library, Maine State Library, Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library and Maine State Archives. If materials are not available through the URSUS catalog, you may request from MaineCat, a statewide catalog that combines and links collections for most of Maine’s libraries. A single search in MaineCat scans more than 4.6 million unique titles and nearly 8.9 million items. MaineCat is linked on all URSUS webpages.
 
Through MaineCat, you can directly request books with your Off-Campus Library Services library card or activated student ID card. Materials will be delivered to the University of Maine campus, University College Center, or University College site where you are taking your class, usually within 3-5 business days.

Here are the steps to print from your laptop or other wireless device while on campus:

Instructions