Career & Tools
Finding and borrowing materials from libraries across the UC system is about to get easier. On July 27, 2021, the libraries on all 10 University of California campuses will be connected through UC Library Search, a unified discovery and borrowing system that will allow you to borrow and renew materials from any library in the UC system using only your UCSB NetID and password. Read on for the latest update from the UCSB Library!
Read on for an important update from the UCSB Library on UC Search!
Finding and borrowing materials from libraries across the UC system is about to get easier. On July 27, 2021, the libraries on all 10 University of California campuses will be connected through UC Library Search, a unified discovery and borrowing system that will replace Melvyl and UCSB Library Search.
UC Library Search will vastly improve the user experience of faculty, students, and researchers worldwide who need to access collections across the University of California system. With UC Library Search, users will be able to:
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Search UCSB's local library collection and all 10 UC libraries' collections in the same system;
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Locate millions of print and online books, journal articles, and other content; and
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Borrow and renew materials from any library in the UC system using only your UCSB NetID and password.
The interface of UC Library Search will be familiar to those who have used UCSB Library Search, yet with enhanced functions. For example, you will no longer have to navigate to the separate Melvyl system in order to locate materials owned by other UC Libraries. Instead, you will use UC Library Search to search both our local library holdings as well as holdings available across the entire UC Library system.
Melvyl, the discovery platform for the UC libraries, debuted in 1981 and revolutionized the UC Library system by allowing researchers to find books at other UC campuses through computer terminals on their own campuses. Melvyl relied on a complex patchwork system that connected multiple catalogs and databases in order to coordinate the sharing of collection materials across campuses. However, the technical resources of these systems became unsustainable over time, posing a risk to the Melvyl system. UC libraries started working toward a better solution.
Rather than using Melvyl, which links separate catalogs from different institutions, all University of California libraries will now share one unified discovery tool. UC Library Search will maximize the value of the UC collections by making resources much easier to find and borrow thanks to its improved interlibrary resource sharing tools and simplified user interface.
As Melvyl approaches retirement, let's celebrate the 40 years of service it has given to UC Library users and welcome UC Library Search - the discovery tool of our future.
See more information about UC Library Search here and send in your questions or comments about UC Library Search.