Boston Library Consortium, Virtual Catalog & Other Catalogs
Boston University is a member of the Boston Library Consortium (BLC). Boston University is a member of the Boston Library Consortium. The Boston Library Consortium is a cooperative association of 19 academic and research libraries whose purpose is to share information resources so that the collective strengths of the group advance the research and learning of the members' constituents.
BLC Member Libraries and Catalogs
The Consortium Card program extends direct borrowing privileges at Consortium members' libraries to faculty and students from participating academic institutions. Boston University Medical Center faculty, staff, and students can get their BLC Consortium Cards at the Alumni Medical Library Reference Desk, Monday - Friday, 8:30 am - 5:00 pm. (Please be sure to bring your BU ID or BMC ID when applying for the Consortium Card.) Card holders must validate their cards at regular intervals, usually once each semester. Those who are not part of the Boston University Medical Center can request information about the Consortium Card program from the reference staff at their home libraries. Apply for a Boston Library Consortium Card.
The Consortium Card is an identification card, and card holders may be asked to register at each Consortium library visited. Procedures vary among libraries ranging from, to a needs assessment screening interview. Although most BLC members are flexible, the Consortium Card does not automatically confer borrowing privileges throughout the Consortium.
You may return borrowed materials to any Consortium member library, but you will be responsible for any overdue charges at the home institution. Materials borrowed from Consortium libraries can be returned to the Alumni Medical Library.
The Consortium Card is a privilege, and card holders must observe each host library's circulation regulations, including the payment of charges for overdue and lost materials. Failure to do so will result in the loss of borrowing privileges at all Consortium libraries.
The BLC Virtual Catalog provides a single interface from which users can search for books that are owned by any of the participating BLC universities. Boston University students, faculty, and staff may also use the Virtual Catalog to place requests to borrow books from other BLC institutions. This eliminates the need to submit an Interlibrary Loan, and expedites delivery of the book.
WorldCat is the OCLC Union Catalog. It contains more than 43 million records describing items owned by Boston area libraries and libraries around the world. WorldCat contains records for the following types of materials: books*, journals*, musical scores, computer data files, magazines*, newspapers*, computer programs, manuscripts, sound recordings, films and slides, maps, videotapes. (*Does not include individual articles, stories in journals, magazines, newspapers, or book chapters.)
Government Printing Office (GPO) Catalog is a resource for information on United States government publications. It includes books, reports, studies, maps, etc. Database coverage is from 1976 to date.
Harvard University Countway Medical Library holds more than 630,000 volumes, subscribes to 3,500 current journal titles and houses over 10,000 non-current biomedical journal titles. The library also houses one of the world's leading medical history collections, and provides access to many electronic information resources. The Countway Medical Library is not a member of the Boston Library Consortium.
Library of Congress Catalog contains approximately 12 million records representing books, serials, computer files, manuscripts, cartographic materials, music, sound recordings, and visual materials.
National Library of Medicine LocatorPlus contains books, journals and audiovisuals in the National Library of Medicine's collections.