Merlin is a consortium of all of the libraries on all four campuses of the University of Missouri,
MOBIUS is a consortium of most academic libraries in the state of Missouri, as well as the Missouri State Library, and a few public libraries in Missouri. MOBIUS is designed to allow direct patron-initiated borrowing from the holdings of member libraries. The MOBIUS Central Catalog currently contains records for items held by the four campuses of the University of Missouri (Merlin cluster), the libraries of St. Louis University, Washington University, and the other Missouri colleges, universities and libraries that are a part of MOBIUS .
Start your search in the Merlin Library Catalog. Choose to search ALL Merlin Library Collections. Perform your search. If it is successful, look for an item whose status in Merlin is "NOT CHECKED OUT" If the item is available, and a part of the law library's collection, you may retrieve it yourself. If the item is available elsewhere in Merlin, select "REQUEST THIS ITEM" at the top or bottom of the screen. Fill out the form that appears on the screen, and submit your request. Enter your name and ID number (a "c" needs to be placed at the end of this number). Be sure that you indicate the correct pickup location (ie. MU LAW). The system should indicate that your request was sent successfully. If it does not, or you have problems with your search, ask the Circulation Supervisor for assistance.
If the title that you are needing is not available in any of the Merlin libraries, transfer your search request to the MOBIUS Central Catalog by clicking on the MOBIUS button at the top or bottom of the screen. If you find the item that you want, you will be able to view the libraries that hold the item. You may then request the item.
When you make a request, you will be asked to identify your cluster [Merlin]. Enter your name and your ID number (a "c" needs to be placed at the end of this number). You must also identify the pickup location where you want the item delivered (ie. MU LAW). Submit the request, and it will be forwarded to the appropriate library. Should you have any problems, ask the Circulation Supervisor for assistance.
Delivery time for books requested and able to be filled via Merlin or MOBIUS usually ranges from 2-4 business days.
If the book that you require is not held by, or is unavailable from, any Merlin or MOBIUS library, you may make an ILL loan request for it. Press the link here to fill out the online ILL form or you may instead fill out a yellow ILL Request Form, which can be obtained at the circulation desk. This form will be transmitted to the Interlibrary Loan Specialist who will process the request. Please be certain that the form is filled out completely and accurately. Be sure to indicate the date (if any) you must have the book by, and any charges that you might be willing to incur. We make every attempt to obtain materials from libraries that will not charge us, but that is not always possible. Please see our Interlibrary Loan Specialist or a patron services staff member if you should need assistance. Please do not make your ILL requests from Ellis Library, as they do not handle ILL requests for or from MU law students, faculty or staff. Please be aware that not all books are available for circulation. Rare and valuable books, reference materials, genealogical materials, statutes, best sellers, entire volumes or issues of periodicals, multi-volume sets, recently published books are among the items that may be difficult to obtain. Although we will certainly attempt to obtain them for you, DVDs, videos, sound recordings, microforms, and other nonprint items are generally noncirculating.
Delivery time for requests that can be filled usually ranges from 1-2 weeks. Many libraries do accept rush requests, but will charge more to fill them.