Check to see if you can log on to our databases off campus.
Related:
Databases
Did you know that COM Library you has over 40 online databases? Did
you know you can access them from your office? COM Library has arranged
them into 14 different subject categories: Databases.
eBooks
Read eBooks, electronic versions of printed books. This page combines free
eBooks to those that COM Library subscribes to. We have access to thousands
of books through NetLibrary: eBooks.
Guides
COM library publishes a number of guides that may help your students, including
one for Distance Ed students. If you don't see one
that suits your class we can make you
one!: Guides.
Create
Library Friendly Research Assignments
COM Library has created these tips in the spirit of helping
COM students have a positive research experience and to raise
awareness
of issues encountered by students in the research process.
1. Test the Assignment
Before giving an assignment, test it by doing it yourself. This can
help you determine if COM Library has the appropriate resources; if there
are enough resources for the class/es; and what the degree of difficulty
of the assignment might be. You can check for books in the Library
Catalog and NetLibrary (if
you have already registered as a user from any computer on campus) from
your office or at home, and you can check our databases for
articles from your office.
Tip: Books,
journals and databases do change in COM Library, so what was available
one semester may not be during another.
2. Put it in Writing
Give assignments in writing for clarity--on a sheet they can take with them.
No matter how clear they were on the assignment in class, by the time they
get to the library many students have forgotten key information. This generally
consists of very specific information such as a title/author of a book they
were to use, the URL (Uniform Resource Locator or Web address) of a Web site
they were to look up, or what exactly they were supposed to find out about
their topic.
3. Be Specific
When referring a student to a particular resource, be specific: referrals to
books should include complete title and author; referrals to Web sites should
include Web site name and URL (Uniform Resource Locator or Web address).
After all, you'd expect the same from your students. If restricting an assignment
to the journals in a specific field, such as nursing or social work, provide
a list of acceptable journals.
Example: A student referred to the "chemical
handbook," did not know if they were to consult Chemical Engineers'
Handbook, Chemical Technology Handbook, Lange's Handbook of Chemistry,
or the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics.
4. Know Library Jargon
The use of different terms by instructor and librarian for the same
resources is confusing to students. When you are suggesting or restricting
the use of resources, make sure students understand the terms. For instance,
students tend to get confused between online databases and the Internet,
and which they are permitted to use.
5. Use Library Instruction
If your assignment involves in-depth research, consider arranging
a library workshop, guide or Web site for your class.
Tip: See
what types of instruction are
offered by COM Library.
6. Don't Assume
Don't assume students already know how to do effective research. We see a wide
range of experience here in the library:
Many students know they need to get books, articles and sometimes
Internet resources but don't know how to form a research strategy.
Very few students are experts on the Internet. Some students even
have to be given crash courses in using a computer before they can
start research.
Many students don't know the difference between our online databases
and the Internet.
Some students have not had the library's introduction to library resources
taught in conjunction with English 1301, or had it so long ago that
what they learned did not include our current resources.
Tip: Books,
journals and databases do change in COM Library, so what was available
one semester may not be during another.
Add
Library @ COM Blog: