What's the difference between the library catalog, Prospector, and interlibrary loan? Which one should I use?

Answer

Start with the library catalog. This is your first place to search for books, journal articles, government documents, maps, special collections, streaming video, and many other resources owned by the Arthur Lakes Library.
Prospector is a unified catalog of academic, public, and special libraries in Colorado and Wyoming. Through Prospector you have access to over 30 million books, journals, DVDs, CDs, videos, and other materials held in these libraries. With a single search you can identify and borrow materials from the collections and have them delivered to the Arthur Lakes Library for free. Prospector items typically arrive 3-5 days after they've been requested.
If you can't find what you are looking for in the library catalog or in Prospector then use interlibrary loan. Our interlibrary loan team will make every effort to locate your requested item(s) using a network of libraries around the world. Article requests typically 2-3 business days; book requests can take a week or more depending on the mail/courier service.