Senior Dylan Thompson knew about the 46 million books and 12,000 electronic journals offered through the online database OhioLINK since her freshman year at the University.
But it wasn’t until her junior year that she finally took advantage of the free services provided by the statewide electronic catalog system.
‘The [University] library has an extensive library, but I needed more sources,’ Thompson said. ‘My women’s studies professor told us to take advantage of OhioLINK, and that’s what I went and did.’
After visiting the OhioLINK Web site and selecting books she needed from other Ohio institutions, Thompson was able to pick up her free materials nearly two days later at the University’s Jerome Library, saving her both time and money.
Like Thompson, the average University student will spend $800 to $1,100 per year on books and supplies, according to the Student Money Management Services Web site.
But thanks to the rental books, videos and online databases provided by OhioLINK, students can cut expensive and extravagant textbook costs down to $0.
‘It’s a great resource that lots of people don’t realize will save you lots of money,’ Thompson said. ‘If you need differing sides and opinions, you’re able to get books from other universities that broaden your knowledge of subjects.’
With over 89 Ohio college and university libraries – as well as the State Library of Ohio – included within the services provided by OhioLINK, nearly 600,000 students, faculty and staff takes advantage of the rental services on a regular basis.
‘Bowling Green was one of the first catalogs to be implemented into the OhioLINK catalog,’ Jerome Library Coordinator of Collections Linda Brown said. ‘Every record in our catalog is in the OhioLINK catalog.’
Along with an extensive collection of books and electronic journals, OhioLINK provides millions of electronic articles, 140 electronic research databases, 25,000 e-books and 13,750 theses and dissertations from Ohio students, OhioLINK Communications Manager Candi Clevenger said.
And while the Jerome Library receives and supplies access to all of the traditional items requested on OhioLINK, the University also provides information concerning items that are not commonly circulated as well.
For example, books, magazines and databases available in the Pop Culture library can be viewed on OhioLINK by students and professors interested in researching the materials.
‘Anyone interested in using materials that cannot be checked out can still travel here to use those resources,’ Brown said. ‘It gives the BGSU community a much larger connection than we can possibly provide.’
And while the benefits of using OhioLINK far surpass the disadvantages, there are a set of rules and restrictions that come with checking out books, videos and other electronic equipment, Clevenger said.
Books borrowed from OhioLINK can be renewed online, but students can only keep them for up to 15 weeks. Also, while a student may plan on utilizing necessary books for the entire 15-week period, if someone else from another Ohio school requests the book through OhioLINK, the book must be returned regardless of how much renewal time remains.
For media-related items, such as videos and DVDs, the loan time is seven days with no renewals available.
However, the regulations set up by OhioLINK in order to ensure that students and faculty have access to all materials have not seemed to hinder the amount of people using the free online library.
From July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008, the University borrowed 32,620 items from other Ohio institutions through OhioLINK, Brown said. In that same time frame, 39,740 items were shipped from the University to patrons at other libraries.
‘It is a highly successful program and I truly encourage everyone at BGSU to at least check it out,’ Brown said. ‘If you can find what you are looking for and it’s [available for checkout], go for it.’
