Primo: Essential Info

What is Primo?

Primo is the library search tool used to find items in Hamersly Library and our partner Summit libraries, as well to access articles and other electronic resources.

Primo scopes allow you to define how broadly your search is performed. You can select a scope in the drop-down menu right of the search box, or by selecting your desired scope under the search box on the main library home page.

What is included in each scope?

WOU: Books, e-books, audio-visual recordings, maps, scores, microforms, government documents, special collections, and the journals, magazines, and newspapers available from Hamersly Library.

WOU and Summit: Everything in the WOU list above, plus the holdings of academic libraries in the Pacific Northwest.

WOU, Summit, and Articles, etc.: Everything in the WOU and Summit list above, as well as articles published by journals, magazines, and newspapers, broadcast transcripts, book reviews, and much more.

Primo is one part of your complete search

Primo includes records from the various research databases to which WOU subscribes. However, searching appropriate databases directly can provide more thorough and accurate results than relying solely on Primo. Select from Hamersly Library’s Databases by name, subject/discipline, type/content, or description keyword.

Use WorldCat to search beyond the holdings of Summit libraries. You can request materials from libraries around the world through Interlibrary Loan (ILL).

Signing into Primo improves your experience in multiple ways:

• Access licensed resources. The library has ebooks and subscribes to databases of full-text articles that are available only for WOU students, faculty, & staff. When you sign in, you can search within and easily retrieve items from these resources.
• Use library services. You can request an item from a Summit library be sent to Hamersly LIbrary, request a locally-owned item be held for you, or reserve a video for a specific future time.
• Use Primo features. You can permanently save items or searches, be alerted when new material meeting your interests is added, and tag items with your own terminology.  
• Manage your library account and set preferences. You can review & renew your current loans, personalize your search results, and sign up for text notifications related to your account.