Welcome! Here are a few important things to know:

• Your Panther Card (your Pitt photo ID) is your library card. You need this to check out physical items. 
• If you're an international student, make sure you have a local address listed so you can check out materials. Please see the FAQ to find out how to change your address. 

Please note that any of the services on this page are subject to change based on the COVID-19 situation. Please check this page on the Library Response Resources for any updates. You can also email the business librarian at chd84@pitt.edu if you need assistance with borrowing. 

PittCat is the main searching tool for all of the materials owned by the University Library System (ULS), including articles, books, ebooks, journal articles, ejournals, audio and video, digital images, government documents, microfilm and movies.

Signing into PittCat gives you access to the most results. The sign in option is in the upper right hand corner of your screen. 

To begin a search, enter a term in the “search anything” box. You can select Books, Articles, and More to search for items across the entire library system including journal articles, images, ebooks, and more. Use the Library Catalog option to search for items available both electronically and physically in our libraries such as books, videos, music scores and more. The Course Reserves option will help you find materials put on reserve by instructors for a specific course.

The Results Screen shows you a list of items with basic information--click on a title to get a more detailed overview of the item you’ve selected. This detailed view gives you much more information about the item. You can see where the item is located and ways to email or print the record as well as how to cite. You may also see an abstract for the item or a table of contents if available.

You can Refine Your Results by using the menu on the left. If you only want a physical copy of the book pick “library holdings” or if you want an electronic copy of a book, choose e-book.

If Full-Text Content is available, you can get the full-text by clicking on the item title or the "available online" link.

You can add Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT) into the Simple Search (the default search box) by adding them in all caps.

You can request material through PittCat using Get It, even for material that we do not own. You must be signed in and then click on the item you need. Options within the item:

If you have any questions about this, please contact us so we can work with you to try and get the material you need.

Search for e-journals and other serials (i.e., magazines, and newspapers) by title, ISSN, or browsing. Use the PittCat Journal Finder that is in the top navigation of PittCat, or run a regular PittCat search.