SUMMIT is the combined library catalog of the Orbis Cascade Alliance with more than 30 member colleges and universities in Washington and Oregon. Through Summit you have access to millions of books, DVDs, videotapes, sound recordings, government documents and more.

There are 37 member libraries. See the complete list at Orbis Cascade Alliance Member Institutions.

Only current MHCC employees and students may request items.

Use Summit when the item you need is not available at MHCC. Individual journal articles are not available; instead patrons should request journal articles through Interlibrary Loan.

Search Summit like any other library catalog, including by keyword, title or author.

To place requests:

• Make sure you are browsing the MHCC + Summit Libraries area of our catalog.
• Click "Find/Request" on the desired item
• Sign in to enable request options.
• Enter your MyMHCC credentials when prompted.
• Click "Place Summit request" and choose pickup location.
• Click "Request" button to finalize.

To request materials for pickup at another Orbis Cascade Alliance member library or to pick up materials owned by them you must first go to the library in person and sign up as an adopted patron. You will need to log in to your MHCC Library account online and have a valid picture ID. When making a request, you must select the location you are visiting in place of MHCC and use the ID number specified by that institution.

Most Summit items arrive within 3-5 business days. Summit items are delivered directly to MHCC Library Monday through Friday.

On your My Account page, click "Requests" to view their status.

Patrons will be notified by e-mail. Items not picked up within 7 days must then be returned to the lending library.

Books check out for 6 weeks, with no renewal. Media items check out for 6 days, with no renewal.

Summit items can be returned to any Orbis Cascade Alliance member library. Reminder: Return items with attached labels or straps.

Summit charges are significantly higher than those assessed for MHCC Library items and are not negotiable under consortia policy. Replacement costs and fees total a minimum of $90. When an item on your account has been billed, all library borrowing will be blocked until the item is returned and the fine paid.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) enables MHCC employees and students to obtain materials that are not available in the MHCC or Summit library catalog.

MHCC employees or currently enrolled students are eligible to request interlibrary loans.

You can pick up materials at either the Maywood or Gresham Libraries. Journal articles are emailed directly to the email account you listed on your request form.

Textbooks are not available through ILL. Alternatives for obtaining a textbook include having an instructor place a copy of the textbook on reserve or check the MHCC catalog for an older edition.

We can process 10 requests at one time per patron.

MHCC library only uses free sources for interlibrary loans. Requests that have costs associated with them are declined.

Requests submitted during library business hours are processed the same day if possible.
Delays may occur if we need to request the item from more than one library, or if the request form is incomplete.

For physical items, like books, you will receive an email notice indicating that your item has arrived and will be on the hold shelf for 7 days. You will receive articles directly to your email.

Delivery time depends on the location of the lending library. Materials from the Pacific NW can be expected within two to four days. Items from libraries in other parts of the county will take longer.

ILL items will be checked out to you according to the loan rules of the institution from which your item came from. We can ask for the lending institution to renew items but this is not always an available option and sometimes the lending institution needs items back sooner than we would like.

Before placing an ILL request you must create your account here. Once you have set up your account details, click on the menu options for “New Book Request” to request a physical book item, or use “New Article Request” for requesting digital materials or journal articles. On this site you will also be able to see your request history.

Before placing an ILL request please verify that the item you are looking for is not available locally: look for your item in the Summit catalog of college libraries in the Pacific NW.

Articles that do not have full text results available in our databases can be submitted using the ILL request form. You will see a link “Full Text Finder” under these results that you can click to take you to the ILL article request page.

When using this form to place an ILL request, make sure to provide as much information as you can about the item that you wish to order. This helps speed processing and ensures that we request the correct item for you.

Please note that ILL requests are processed by both MHCC librarians and librarians at institutions we request from: thus we cannot guarantee any turn around time for requests. Requesting materials you need for the next day is almost never possible.