Frequently Asked Questions

Use the discovery service to quickly search the library’s complete collection of resources. You can also use the library catalog to find print or electronic books, or the Journals link to locate print and electronic journals and electronic books

You can reserve books online by going to the library’s online catalog, selecting the item, and clicking on Request hold. Holds are generally allowed for 48 hours.

Most circulating books and materials can be checked out for two weeks, and reserve items for 24 hours. Reference books and print journals may not be removed from the library. Books may be renewed one time per checkout, provided they have not been requested by another patron. You are responsible for keeping track of due dates and renewing or returning items in a timely manner. Overdue materials carry fines of 50¢ per item per day for circulating items, and $10 per item per day for reserve items.

Please see Paying Library Fines and Fees.

Yes, within reason. Please do not bring any food with strong odors (fish, garlic, etc.), and please make sure that all drinks are covered with lids and straws. 

Please check the discovery service first to make sure we don't already have the item in our collection, then use the library purchase request form.

See the library donations policy for details. In general, we accept textbooks if they are no more than five years old, and print journals no older than ten years. We also accept some nonmedical books for resale through Better World Books (betterworldbooks.com). If you would like to know more about this program, please contact library staff during regular business hours, Monday–Friday.

If you are searching for journal articles for research, PubMed@PNWU is a good place to start, as it allows you to link out to full text when available. DynaMed and UpToDate are both clinical tools, and ClinicalKey and AccessMedicine offers textbooks, videos, and drug information. For tips on how to use our library electronic resources, please see our databases handout or review our tutorials on Moodle.

Single Citation Matcher is a good choice for locating a single known article. For help in researching a topic, see our PubMed tutorial on Moodle, or view the "Using PubMed" resources on the PubMed landing page.

Some articles are provided free by the publishers, some are available as part of PNWU subscriptions, and others must be ordered. There is no charge to PNWU students, faculty, and staff for ordered articles.

See Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery. PNWU Library offers document delivery and interlibrary loan to our students, faculty, and staff free of charge. If you are a resident, adjunct clinical faculty, or unaffiliated medical professional in Central Washington, please contact the library to find out if you qualify.

Research your topic and choose dates that make sense, such as the year of a major breakthrough in the field, or the year your search term was added to MeSH. Applying random date filters such as "Last five years" might cause you to inadvertently miss important articles.

Please see our handout on literature reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses.

Contact the Library by filling out our Report a Problem form or emailing us at library@pnwu.edu. 

Applications are only accepted when a position is actively posted. This usually occurs in late summer or early fall. Positions are posted on the bulletin boards in the library, and are open to current PNWU students only.

Due to site license restrictions, your PNWU Library privileges will expire when you graduate. The library is open to the public during business hours, Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and you may access our databases in person from our guest computers during that time. Remote access to some resources may also be available to residents/interns in PNWU-affiliated programs. See Services for Residents and Interns for more information.

Check to see if the journal or book is covered by our academic license with the Copyright Clearance Center. If it is not covered by our license or considered fair use under US Copyright Law, you should contact the publisher or copyright owner to request permission. See the Copyright Resources section of our website for more information, or contact the library staff.

Licensed resources require users to log in through the proxy server when they are off campus. You can use our EZ Proxy URL Generator to make your link "proxy ready." For more information on creating durable URLs, refer to our handout on our tutorials page on Moodle.