EMPA Orientation to Library Resources: Books
Books at PSU
For a more detailed primer on finding books at PSU, see the Public Administration how-do page.
Portland State University Library holds nearly 1.5 million books and ebooks, all of which can be accessed through the PSU Library catalog.
In addition to our own books, the Catalog also allows you to service the catalogs of 30 partner universities, which whom we have a sharing agreement. If Washington State University has a book you need, they will ship it to PSU Library Free of charge and allow you to borrow the work.
The catalog is not just a listing of the books we hold - it is also a powerful search engine that allows you to search based on author, title, publication data, document type, language, etc. You can also use the catalog to look up book reviews and commentaries about assigned readings.
Example Search
Books at other libraries
You'll notice that some books in the library catalog are not held at PSU. These are items held by partner universities. PSU is a member of the Orbis Cascade Alliance, a group of 30 research universities that search resources. Books and articles from other libraries are send to members of the PSU community free of charge, typically within a few days. To request a book or article from a partner library, just click on the "Find & Request" link under the catalog listing.