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Research Tutorials

Set up a Primo Account

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Library Tutorials
Troubleshooting Guide

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What is Primo?

Primo is a single search discovery tool that allows you to search through our resources to find books, ebooks, articles, & more. When searching in Primo (through that handy search bar on our homepage), you are searching both our physical and digital collections and can narrow the results with a number of useful limiters. Put simply, Primo is what connects you to our vast collection of resources that will help you in your research.

Why do I need a Primo Account?

In addition to making it easy to search through our resources, Primo offers a number of tools that Fairfield students, faculty, & staff can use to maximize their experience using the library. When you register your account, you can easily place holds on physical items, "favorite" records to access later, and renew books you've checked out, among other useful tools. Learn more by continuing below.

Getting Started

After you've used the all search on our homepage, you will be directed to the results in Primo. You are welcome to start going through the results, be we recommend to sign in in order to maximize your research. To do so, click on the Sign in at the top right, or through the banner that appears at the top of your results.

Select NetID to authenticate using your Fairfield NetID & password.

Enter your NetID & password

Once you've signed in, you may be directed back to your search results. Before you continue though, we recommend that you fill out your profile by clicking on your name in the top right and selecting Library Account.

Here is where you can view information about the books you have checked out, requests that you've made, and edit your personal details. Entering your personal details is highly recommended if you are a distance learner! We offer a shipping service for those students and this is where we will look for your mailing address.

Pinning Items to Your Favorites

Now that you've created your Primo account, you can make use of some additional features. Notably, Primo offers a handy way to keep track of resources found in our catalog by pinning them to your favorites. Here's what that looks like.


Look for the pushpin/thumbtack icon and click on that. Some flashy animation will show that it was added to your favorites.

The icon of the title you just added will now have a slash through it. Clicking it again will remove it from your favorites. Titles you have added to your favorites will be highlighted in yellow. Click on the other pushpin/thumbtack icon in the top right to view your favorites.

In your My Favorites page, you can add labels to each record to help keep your sources organized. Records that you've added to your favorites will stay there until you un-pin them. If you don't see anything in your favorites, double check to see if you're logged in.

Requesting Items

Now that you've signed in, you can also place holds on physical books and other items in our collections. Here's how to do it:


First, in the record for a physical item in our collection (i.e. books & dvds), look for the Request link

Once you've clicked that link, you'll see the following pop-up.

  • For pick-up at the Library Services & Information Desk, select DiMenna-Nyselius Library
  • Faculty can select Work Address to have items delivered to their offices
  • To accommodate those students, faculty, & staff who have elected to learn or work from home for the Fall 2020 semester, we now offer home delivery. Please note that this is only available to those who are completely remote at this time. If you are learning or working from home this semester, you may select Home Address to take advantage of this opportunity. For more questions about this service, please ask-a-librarian.

If you selected the delivery option, you will be asked to confirm your address.

Once you have successfully requested the item, you can check the status of the item, or cancel the request, by going to the Requests tab in your Library Account dashboard.