Information for Alumni

GW Libraries and Academic Innovation appreciates the continuing support of the GW alumni community. Whether you are located in the D.C. area or across the world, the Libraries are here to answer your questions and direct you to relevant resources for your needs.

• Entrance Policies
• Borrowing Materials
• Library Computers, Printing & Wireless
• Workshops & Events
• E-resources for Alumni

Library Buildings

Entrance Policies

Entrance to GW Libraries is available to GW students, faculty, staff, and alumni who have a physical GWorld card enabled for campus access.

Alumni can apply for an Alumni GWorld card through the GWorld Card Office. 

All other alumni and visitor access to the library buildings is only available for:

• Users of specialized collections with an appointment (including the Special Collections Research Center and Global Resources Center),
• Senior students/staff of the School Without Walls, and
• Attendees of scheduled events

Learn more about our current entrance policies for alumni.

Library Resources

Alumni have extensive access to GW books, journals, databases, and media, as well as library computers, while inside a library building.

Borrowing Materials

Alumni can obtain borrowing privileges for most circulating items by:

• Paying a $50 annual library borrowing fee, payable at the Check Out Desk
• Presenting their Alumni GWorld card

Alumni with borrowing privileges may request books or physical materials for contactless pickup in the entrance lobby of Gelman Library or at the VSTC Library. 

Learn more about alumni borrowing privileges.

Library Computers, Printing & Wireless

Learn how to access computers, print inside the libraries, and connect to GW's guest wireless network on our Visitor Access to Technology page.

Workshops & Events

Although current access to library buildings is only available for alumni with a GWorld card enabled for tap access, all alumni are invited to attend our virtual workshop series. 

E-Resources for Alumni

Selected premium online resources have been made available to you through the generous support of the GW Alumni Association and GW Libraries and Academic Innovation.

Accessing e-resources

Most e-resources require login with a GW UserID. Visit the alumni website to learn how to determine if you have a UserID and claim your UserID if you do not yet have one. 

If you have problems, contact the Alumni Online Community at alumolc@gwu.edu or 202-994-6435 / 1-800-ALUMNI-7, or contact GW Libraries at askus@gwu.edu.

Two-step authentication (2SA) needed for accessing e-resources

GW Information Technology (GWIT) requires the use of Two-Step Authentication (2SA) to access most of the e-resources below. 2SA is a second layer of security beyond your password. It means you have to confirm your identity in two ways – with something you know (your password) and something you have (a code sent to your phone). You may be familiar with 2SA as it is commonly used in online banking and shopping. If you have not previously used 2SA with another GW account, such as email, you will be directed to set up a new 2SA account. 

Students, staff, faculty, and affiliates of the university are already required to use 2SA to access e-mail and other services. If you already use 2SA with your email, you will use this same process for signing into e-resources. No additional setup is needed.

For information or assistance with Two-Step Authentication, visit GW IT or email ithelp@gwu.edu.

Subscribed Resources

ABI/Inform Complete:  Access to nearly 4,000 business-related titles, with most in full-text.

JSTOR Archive: Access to 1000+ scholarly journals. Free content if published before 1923 in the U.S. and 1870 outside of the U.S. To access, click this link, the select "Find my institution" and search for George Washington University Alumni Access.

Company of Biologists: Provides access to five peer-reviewed biology journals: Development, Journal of Cell Science, Journal of Experimental Biology, Biology Open, and Disease Models & Mechanisms.

Project Muse: Full-text articles from over 300 scholarly humanities, arts, and social sciences journals.

Proquest Research Library: Covers a wide range of subject matter in both popular and scholarly periodicals.

Dissertations & Theses @ GW: Information about dissertations and theses published by GW students.

RefWorks: An online research management tool that assists in creating citations and bibliographies. For more information, see our Citation Tools Guide.

SAGE Research Methods (Core): Comprehensive online resource for material to guide users through every step of the research process, including datasets, cases, books, articles, and videos. For more information, see our Research Methods guide.

SAGE Research Methods (Data): Collection of teaching datasets for learning quantitative and qualitative analytical methods used in the social sciences. Each dataset is accompanied by a short, clear narrative description of the data and easy-to-follow instructions on how to apply the research method.

SAGE Journals: Academic journals in a variety of fields including health and life sciences, engineering, social sciences, and the humanities.

SAGE Reference: Online encyclopedias from a variety of disciplines, primarily in the social sciences.

Free Resources

ERIC: Access to 1+ million citations in education going back to 1966, with 110,000+ full-text materials.

PubMed: Access to citations from biomedical literature.

GPO Access: A service of the U.S. Government Printing Office providing free electronic access to important information resources produced by the Federal Government.

Using Local Resources in Your Area

Lib-Web-Cats: Find local public libraries and state colleges or universities using this directory of worldwide libraries. They may allow remote access to their online databases once you are registered as a user.

WorldCat: Access to over 1.5 billion items from libraries worldwide with an emphasis on U.S. titles. The search also provides access to article citations. 

Google Books: Access to books and tables of contents, at times providing access to previews or full text for titles out of copyright. Check out the Google list of magazines to browse available digital issues by title.

Google Scholar: Google Scholar focuses on scholarly literature and may link to full text.

Questions About E-Resources?

For questions about your GWorld card or UserID, contact the Alumni Online Community at alumni@gwu.edu or 202-994-6435 / 1-800-ALUMNI-7.

For help with a database, Ask Us.