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UC Library Search Help

The UC Library Search help guide.

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Check my VPN connection

To access UC Irvine Libraries' resources from off campus, you must connect to the UCIFull Group of the software VPN. Learn more at the Connect from Off-Campus page and use this Test My VPN Connection button to see if you are connected properly. 

Interlibrary loan

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) enables UC Irvine students, faculty, and staff to borrow materials from other libraries. For material found in UC Library Search, but not available at UC Irvine, sign in to your library account and request it from another UC Library.

For material found in WorldCat but not UC Library Search, submit a request using the Blank ILL Request Form, available on the:

Welcome to UC Library Search

What is UC Library Search?

UC Library Search is a tool that lets you search for print and electronic resources from UC Irvine Libraries, all UC Libraries, and beyond. With UC Library Search, you can:

  • limit your search to the UC Irvine campus library collection;
  • search the collections of all 10 UC libraries in the same system;
  • locate the full text of millions of print and online books, journal articles, and other content; and
  • borrow and renew materials from any library in the UC system.

Learn more about specific features of UC Library Search on the Using UC Library Search page.

Need to search a specific database instead? Explore the Libraries' Databases A-Z list or research guides for help.

 

 

Troubleshooting

I am using the VPN, but I cannot access a library resource.

Make sure your VPN is configured to access library resources:

  • Group [dropdown menu] should be set to: UCIFull
  • Ready to Connect box address should be: vpn.uci.edu. The address vpn.hs.uci.edu will not work for library resources.

I am using the VPN, but I cannot access a known database from a Google search.

Find a database, if the name is known, by searching for the name in UC Library Search. You may also use a relevant research guide to idenify and access databases, or the consult the Databases A-Z list. Many subscription databases will not be directly accessible in a web search even if you are on the VPN. 

  • Some databases have a special URL that is specific to UC Irvine, i.e. not the URL from Google.
  • Databases may promote content via Google that is not part of our academic subscription.

I logged onto the VPN to access a resource, but still cannot access the resource.

Log into the VPN before opening a browser, or log into the VPN and restart a browser. A website on an already-open browser might not recognize that you just joined a VPN. If you tried to access a resource before you configured the VPN correctly, your browser might have cached (i.e. stored) the webpage that prompts you to log in. If you can access other library resources but not that one resource, try the following:

  • Clear your browser's cache.
  • Visit the resource from a browser set to incognito/private mode. 
  • Visit the resource from a different browser. 

If it has been a while since you logged into the VPN, close and restart the application.

I am searching for a journal article but cannot find it in UC Library Search.

If you have the full citation, you can try searching the journal title in UC Library Search instead of the article title. When you find the journal record, it will include for what years and in which databases we have e-access (or list print volumes). While we do have access to millions of journal articles, journals may embargo (not make available immediately) newer issues, may not have digitized a specific year, or we may just not have access to a specific journal and the article will need to be requested through Interlibrary Loan.

For additional troubleshooting questions or for immediate search support, please use our Ask A Librarian chat service. Additional ways to access help can be found in the boxes to the left.