If you need a book, article, DVD, or other type of material that we don't own at the SMFA Library, here are some options to try...
The SMFA Library shares its catalog with the eleven other members of the Fenway LIbraries Online (FLO) consortium. This catalog offers access to over 1 million print and electronic books.
An SMFA Library account allows you to check out books in person from FLO member libraries (most FLO institutions only circulate DVDs and other AV material to their own students and staff).
You can also make book requests through the FLO Catalog for delivery to the SMFA LIbrary: see Placing Requests for more information.
Please note that while it is part of the FLO consortium, the Museum of Fine Arts main library collection does not circulate and you cannot request their books via the catalog. See the Using Other Libraries page to find out how to access their collection.
SMFA students and staff have access to the Commonwealth Catalog, a network of dozens of libraries throughout Massachusetts. To search for an item in the Comm Cat, log in by clicking the Commonwealth Catalog tab in the FLO Catalog or following this link.
See Using the Commonwealth Catalog for complete, step-by-step instructions.
If you can't find what you need in the FLO catalog or the Commonwealth Catalog, there are several other area libraries to explore.
See the Using Other Libraries page to find out where SMFA students and staff have borrowing privileges beyond the FLO consortium.
If you've exhausted the options above and still can't find what you need, don't despair!
Instead, contact Lauren Kimball-Brown at lkimball-brown@smfa.edu or 617-369-3971.
Please include as much information as possible about what you’d like to request. Articles can usually be obtained in digital form, but keep in mind that any physical materials borrowed outside of FLO or the VC (such as books or DVDs) must be used onsite in the SMFA Library.