Can I access an article or database if I am not affiliated with Georgetown?
Answer
Unfortunately, the vast majority of our online journals and databases are unavailable to off-campus users, unless you are a current GU student, faculty, or staff.*
If you are unaffiliated with Georgetown (i.e., not a GU faculty, student, staff, or alumni), here's how to get access to our collections:
- Come to Lauinger Library in person. We have several "guest" computers for access to online materials, and Lauinger's physical collections are open for browsing and reading.** You will need to bring valid ID and come during open hours.
- Ask your local library about interlibrary loan. Do you have a public or university library in your area? Georgetown participates in several resource sharing agreements. We may be able to supply what you need to a partner library that is convenient for you. (Note this is inter-library loan, not inter-person loan -- we are unable to honor requests from individuals.)
- Ask your local librarian about alternatives. Unless you're asking about something in our Special Collections department, there are generally several other libraries that subscribe to the same journals, books, and databases found at Georgetown. If you have an ARL Library nearby, we would strongly recommend posing your research inquiry to their reference librarians before you start booking flights to DC!
*Alumni have off-campus access to a small basket of alumni databases.
**Not all our books are housed in Lauinger, and you won't be able to take the book out of the library, sorry. If there's a specific title you're interested in, we encourage you to ask us prior to coming.