What is LINK+?

LINK+ is a service which allows students, faculty, and staff to borrow materials from member libraries at several other colleges and public libraries, provided that those materials are not available at the SCU libraries. There are more than 5.7 million titles in LINK+. Of these, more than 60% are owned by only one member library.

Member Libraries of LINK+
Library Allows Visiting Patron? Pickup Anywhere Location? Lends Media Materials?
Alameda County Library Yes No No
Alliant International University Yes Yes Yes
Azusa Pacific University Yes Yes Yes
Berkeley Public Library Yes No No
Biola University Yes Yes No
Cal Poly Pomona Yes No Yes
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Yes Yes Yes
Claremont Colleges Yes No Yes
Contra Costa County Library No No Yes
CSU, East Bay (Hayward) Yes Yes No
CSU, Fresno Yes Yes Yes
CSU, Long Beach Yes Yes Yes
CSU, Stanislaus Yes No No
Hayward Public Library Yes No Yes
La Sierra University Yes Yes Yes
Livermore Public Library Yes No No
Loma Linda University Yes Yes No
Loyola Marymount No Yes No
Mission College Yes Yes Yes
Mt. Saint Mary's College Yes Yes No
Mountain View Public Library No No Yes
Occidental College No No Yes
Pacific Union College Yes Yes No
Palo Alto City Library No No No
Pleasanton Public Library Yes No Yes
Point Loma Nazarene University Yes Yes No
Richmond Public Library No No Yes
Riverside Public Library Yes No Yes
Sacramento Public Library No No Yes
Saint Mary's College of California Yes Yes Yes
San Diego State University Yes Yes No
San Francisco Public Library No No No
San Francisco State University Yes Yes No
San José Public Library Yes Yes No
San José State University Yes Yes No
Santa Clara City Library Yes No No
Sonoma State University Yes Yes No
Sunnyvale Public Library No No No
University of La Verne Yes Yes Yes
University of Nevada, Las Vegas Yes No No
University of Nevada, Reno Yes Yes No
University of San Francisco No Yes No
West Valley College Yes Yes Yes
Whittier College Yes Yes No
Who can use LINK+?
Santa Clara University faculty, students and staff are eligible to use LINK+ as long as they have a current valid SCU ACCESS card and are in good standing with the libraries (e.g., have no outstanding fines, overdue or lost materials).
How do I use LINK+?
LINK+ is accessible in one of three ways:
  1. You may directly search the large central LINK+ database for all of the college libraries listed above, including SCU, at any time, by clicking on LINK+ from OSCAR's homepage. From there, you may search by author, title, keyword or subject just as you do in OSCAR.
  2. After any search in OSCAR (e.g., author, title, keyword, etc.), you may re-do your search in LINK+ by clicking on the SEARCH LINK+button wherever it appears.
  3. You may go to one of the participating libraries to check out materials directly as a Visiting Patron.

After searching in LINK+, you will have the option of requesting materials from another library. Simply follow on-screen prompts. You will be asked for your name and barcode number (the number beginning with "25098..." on your ACCESS card).

Can I go to the other LINK+ libraries to check out items?
Yes! Visiting Patron is a wonderful service that allows SCU patrons to check out materials directly from other LINK+ libraries. This means that you can visit almost any other LINK+ library, browse their shelves, present your ACCESS card to the circulation staff and go home with the materials you have chosen. Materials circulate for the same number of days as normally delivered LINK+ items. You can return the the materials to the SCU Library or directly to the lending library. You can borrow any item that you could borrow through traditional LINK+.

You can go to any of the participating LINK+ libraries in the list above that allow visiting patrons. The libraries in the list that do not allow visiting patron are either closed to the general public or require a card issued by that library. You can continue to borrow items from these libraries through traditional LINK+.

How will I receive LINK+ items?
LINK+ materials will be delivered to the Library and will usually be available within 3 days for you to pick up at the Circulation Desk. If there is an e-mail address in your OSCAR record, your pickup notices will be e-mailed to you. Otherwise, they will be delivered to your SCU mailbox or sent to your home address. To verify or change your address options please visit the Circulation Desk during regular business hours, or, use Edit My Account in My Library Account to update your notification options.

You may monitor the status of your LINK+ request using My Library Account on OSCAR. You will be able to see when your material has been Requested, or when it is In Transit or Ready for Pickup. When an item is listed as Ready for Pickup, it will be held for you at the Circulation Desk.

What are the LINK+ checkout policies?
  • CIRCULATION: 21 days for books and select media. 7 days for most media.
  • RENEWAL: One 14 day RENEWAL may be allowed by the lending library for 21-day materials. There are no renewals for 7-day media items.
  • FINES: $1.00/day to maximum of $15.00
    1. Fines are enforced for all users (including faculty and staff) per the cooperative rules of the LINK+ libraries.
    2. Fines are due and payable upon return of overdue material.
    3. If not paid immediately, fines will be kept online and/or billed to the Bursar's office.
    4. Checkout privileges for materials will be blocked if fines reach a certain amount.
  • REPLACEMENT: $100.00 + $15.00 processing fees, Total: $115.00
Can I renew LINK+ items?

Yes! You can request one renewal for 21-day LINK+ items for an extra 14 days. There are no renewals for 7-day LINK+ media items. You must wait until 3 days prior to the due date before you can request a renewal. To request a renewal:

  1. view your list of checked-out items in My Library Account
  2. select the items you would like to renew
  3. click on the "Renew selected items" button

The system will not automatically renew the item for you, but will instead request the renewal from the lending library. You need to check back later to see if the renewal has been approved. The status field for those items should have one of three values:

  1. If the renewal request is still being processed, the status field will display RENEW PENDING. Please check back again a little later.
  2. If the renewal is approved, the new due date will display in the status fields. Please return the items on these new due dates. You cannot renew the items a second time.
  3. If the renewal has been denied, the status will be Denied plus the original due dates. Please return the items by the original due dates.
What can be checked out via LINK+?
Most books are available through LINK+. Many of the LINK+ libraries are participating in a trial for lending media materials such as DVDs, videocassettes and audio CDs. Materials such as journals, journal articles, and reference materials are generally not available. Items owned by any SCU libraries cannot be borrowed from other LINK+ libraries unless all SCU copies are currently checked out or unavailable.