If you find an item that belongs to another library, you may request to borrow it through InterLibrary loan (ILL).

To find items owned by other libraries, visit WorldCat

To place an InterLibrary loan request, log in to your free Simpson Library ILL Account using your UMW username and password.

Following citations, also known as Citation Chaining, is the process of using one good book or article, and following the citations to find other relevant sources on the same topic.  You can follow a chain of citations backward in time or forward in time.

• Working Backward - Use the citations you find in scholarly books and articles to identify older sources on the same topic.  Then locate the full text of those materials in the library's databases.
  • In library databases, look for a section or link that says "References", "Footnotes", or "Works Cited". 
• Working Forward - In the years after a scholarly book or article is published, other researchers may cite that book or article in their own work.
  • In library databases, look for a section or link that says "Cited By" or "Times Cited." 

Please watch this short video from McMaster University to learn more about using citation chaining to find additional sources for your research papers.