Kirtland Community College LIBRARY!

THE LIBRARY

Library Services for Distance Learning Students

IS KIRTLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE YOUR HOME SCHOOL?

This means that you live in the Kirtland region and have designated the Kirtland Library for all of your information needs, no matter who is providing the class. If Kirtland is you home school, go to the Home site.

IS KIRTLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE YOUR PROVIDER SCHOOL?

This means that Kirtland is the source of the class that you are taking. Kirtland may also be your home school, in which case you should still go the the home site. If you have another home school, go to the Provider site.

Home Students

REFERENCE

Do you need to find information about used cars? Maybe you have to do a report about endangered species in Michigan. Are you looking for some articles about the Jordanian government? Perhaps you need to know at what temperature to cook your freshly canned beans to kill botulism bacteria. Have you bet your friend that the Sears Tower is taller than the Empire State Building and now you have to prove it? Did the doctor just tell you that you have high cholesterol and you want to know what you can still eat? All these needs and more can be met by contacting our reference librarians. You may come in or call and they will be glad to help you get the information you need. For extended research, you may want to make an appointment. Call 989-275-5000, 246 to talk to a reference librarian. You may e-mail library@kirtland.edu to set up an appointment or to ask a quick answer question.

RESEARCH HELP NOW

This is the new real-time, online, live chat virtual reference service for all of your research needs. We know that as an online student, being able to work and research at convenient times and places is particularly important to you. Now, in addition to our service offerings of in-person, phone, and email research assistance, we offer Research Help Now!, a digital reference service that connects you to a live Michigan Community College Librarian – not just an email link or a search engine, but a real librarian, with whom you can chat and view web pages. It is like having your own personal information expert right on your desktop. Just click on the logo to visit Research Now.

TERM PAPER COUNSELING

Have you just been assigned your first term paper, at least in some years, and you are not sure what to do or how to start? Are you having trouble deciding what to write about? Do you know what you want to write about, but have no idea where to go to get the information? Help is available. You can make an appointment with a reference librarian who will get you over that first step, help you find a researchable topic, help you find materials. While phone assistance is available, most students find it better to come in for a face-to-face talk. Hours available for appointments are flexible, so call 989-275-5000, 246 for an appointment or e-mail library@kirtland.edu for an appointment. Term paper counseling cannot be done via e-mail. Most appointments last from 30 minutes to an hour.

CATALOG

To find books, visit our online catalog, WebCat. It can be found on the Library home page. For instructions on using the catalog, visit the guide page found under Library Tools.

DATABASES

Kirtland Library subscribes to a variety of online databases, including periodical indexes, business, health, international information, and test practice databases, and an e-book collection. These databases offer articles in magazines, journals, newspapers, and professional literature, as well as direct information. While you can go directly into the databases from the library home page on campus, students coming in from home or work will have to login through EZ-Proxy, using their Kirtland e-mail name and password. Directions on using many of the databases can be found in the Library Tools section of the Library home page.

INTER LIBRARY LOAN

If you need a book or article that is not available in the Library, we are able to borrow items from other libraries throughout the world. Book loans are occasionally shipped fourth class mail, so it may be up to three weeks before your item arrives, though the usual time is one to two weeks. Magazine article requests will be photocopied by the lending library and the photocopy will be yours to keep. Because these are usually sent first class mail, they usually arrive within a week. The length of a loan is determined by the lending library. If you want to renew an interlibrary loan item, we need at least a week's notice. Kirtland cannot renew interlibrary loan items on the day they are due or after they are due. To the extent possible, we try to find reciprocal (no charge) lenders, but if it is not possible, you are responsible for paying any charges imposed by the lending library, if you chose to continue. Overdue interlibrary loan materials have an automatic $5 late fee. To use interlibrary loan, you must have a Kirtland Community College Library card.

INFORMATION LITERACY INSTRUCTION

From the Library home page you can go to instruction modules on research and techniques of using a college library. You may be assigned a special class through MY Classroom, by your instructor. That will show up when you login to My Classroom.

Provider Students

BOOKS AND REFERENCE ASSISTANCE

For these services you should use your home school. We strongly urge you to visit the home school library and make yourself known to the reference librarians as a VLC distance learning student. If you are beginning research for a term paper, plan on spending a minimum of an hour in the library. Some colleges are busy, so it is often wise to call and ask if a reference librarian will be available to assist you. When you visit the home library, ask about their interlibrary loan procedures and lending policies. For the duration of the class, the home library will give you the same privileges as their own students. Also available to distance learning students is a 20,000 volume e-book collection through NetLibrary. To use this collection, you must have a Kirtland e-mail to login through EZ Proxy. To request directions on using EZ Proxy, please email library@kirtland.edu. You will receive login instructions. You may go directly to NetLibrary from the Databases section of the Library Home Page.

RESEARCH HELP NOW

DATABASES

INFORMATION LITERACY INSTRUCTION

From the Library home page you can go to instruction modules on research and techniques of using a college library. You may be assigned a special class through myClassroom, by your instructor. That will show up when you login to myClassroom.