Q. The book I want says In Transit/On Order/In Processing/In Cataloguing/On Search/Lost. What does that mean?

In Transit means that the book is being delivered to or from another library. You can place a hold on the book to receive notification when the book is available.

On Order means that we have ordered the book from the publisher, but have yet to receive it. We do not place holds on these items, because there is no guaranteed arrival date. We can try to find the book at another library and order it for free through Document Delivery. 

In Processing means that we have received the book from the publisher, but it has not been catalogued for circulation yet. You can email access@smu.ca to move the book to the top of the list. This process does not usually take very long, and you can often get the book in a few hours (if it is during regular business hours).

In Cataloging means the book is currently being processed for circulation. As with the In Processing status, you can email access@smu.ca to move the book to the top of the list. This process does not usually take very long, and you can often get the book in a few hours (if it is during regular business hours).

On Search means the book is not where it should be and someone is looking for it. You can place a hold on the book, but we cannot say if or when it will be available. We can try to find the book at another library and order it for free through Document Delivery.

Lost means that, even after several attempts, a book previously On Search cannot be found. We do go through these items periodically to see if any can be reordered. If you would like to have a book declared Lost reordered, fill out this form. In the meantime, we can try to find the book at another library and order it for free through Document Delivery.