The Commonwealth Catalog extends your search for library items beyond the CLAMS library network. With ComCat, you can search through millions of items at participating libraries throughout Massachusetts. Requests will be delivered to Brooks Free Library for pickup.
Please search the CLAMS catalog first before requesting something via ComCat. If the material you want is not available in CLAMS, then you can request it via the Commonwealth Catalog.
To access the Commonwealth Catalog you will need to login using your CLAMS library barcode and PIN.
ComCat items cannot be renewed but often have a longer loan period than CLAMS items.
If your item cannot be located in the Commonwealth Catalog, our Reference staff can try to obtain it for you through Inter-Library Loan (ILL). This system allows library staff to obtain materials from libraries located all across the country! We will use Worldcat to locate a copy of the item you are looking for and then send a request through our mediated ill system. You must have a Harwich library card (numbers start with 10109) to place an ILL request. Generally speaking, requests for newly published items and Reference materials will not be filled via ILL. After a request is approved, it may take one or two weeks for the item to arrive.
Requests for magazine articles and scholarly journals are also handled by the Reference Department. To submit a request, you can come to the library in person at any time, or call us at 508-430-7562 ext. 3 for the Reference Department. The more information you have about a book or article (such as title, author, edition, publisher, etc) the faster we will be able to locate a suitable copy. If you have detailed information about the item you want and have already searched the Commonwealth Catalog with no success, you can also submit your request by emailing the Reference Department at brooksreference@clamsnet.org. Please include your full name and library card number along with all the information about the item you are seeking.