By: Clementine Arneson
Since I work at the library, it probably comes as no surprise that I’m very interested in the books that Ellis has to offer. I often feel that I should read as many as I can, as they are often unavailable at my local county library. I had thought that once I graduated, I would never have the chance to read some of Ellis’s rarer volumes again. However, using MOBIUS, this is not the case.
MOBIUS is a service that links together different library systems to allow patrons to access books that another library has. Since the MU libraries and the St. Louis County Libraries are linked, I can access new novels at school and research-based texts from home. I can make these requests over winter and summer breaks as well. Even once I graduate, I’ll be able to place long-distance requests for academic texts from St. Louis if I want to. Since MOBIUS links lots of different libraries, this isn’t just true for St. Louis County. The MU libraries are linked to county libraries in Springfield, Tulsa City, Central Arkansas, and more, as well as other university systems. For students at Mizzou, this also means that if the UM library system doesn’t have a book that you need for research, you can check MOBIUS to see if a library we partner with does.
If you want to see if a book is accessible via MOBIUS, run a search on the Library webpage as usual, but click the MOBIUS link on the right side of your screen. This will take you to the MOBIUS page for that same search, and will show you if the book, author, or subject you’re looking for has more resources at another library. From here, you can place a request for the materials you are interested in, and pick them up at your library of choice.
