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Books are arranged by the Library of Congress Classification System. Call Numbers for books and videos start with one or two letters followed by numbers. Additional lines are used to locate the book more specifically. An outline of the Library of Congress Classication is useful for browsing the library's shelves.

 

To borrow books, or other materials (except articles), from other libraries, request them directly using Prospector. They usually arrive in less than a week through a courier delivery system. If you don't find the title on Prospector, you can request it through CLiO InterLibrary Loan, which usually takes a week to 10 days.

 

To download EBSCO eBooks, see eBook Help. To just view the text on your computer screen look for eBook full-text link to the left in the full screen display for the specific eBook.

First, be sure you have checked for links to the full text in the database. Most databases made available through the Reed Library web site include links to the the full text online if it is available. These links may be to content within the searched database or to content in another database. Look for a link called "Other Resources" which brings up a panel with related resources and locations for full text. If you don't find a link to the full text, the next place to check is through Journal Finder, which also includes the print, hardcopy collection, as well as online content in many databases or available through publishers or in subscribed collections such as JSTOR. Whenever you aren't sure, please ask a reference librarian.

The easiest way to start is to go to Journal Finder under the Find Articles link on the menu above. You can search to see if a specific title is available in full text online or if we have the print journal. If it is online, you can link into the database and use keywords to search for an article. If you don't find the journal, then it may be indexed in the database, but without the full article. If it must be in that specific journal, then you need to search Ulrich's, which is listed in the Database A-Z list. That will tell you what database indexes titles. As well, sometimes the Ingenta database includes citations or tables of contents.

One of the easiest ways to get the best and fastest assistance is by dropping by the Reference Desk in Reed Library. We can give you hands-on help at one of the computers, usually with no or little wait. Librarians staff the desk most hours that the library is open.

As well, librarians also provide help by phone, appointment, and email. For details and links to a form and contacts, see Get Help.

Refworks is THE TOOL to use for formatting citations in all styles. It also helps with managing citations, formatting endnotes and bibliographies, and saving citations. References can be downloaded from databases or entered manually. Click in the link in the right hand panel.

See also links to citation style guides. You can find the in-depth style books in the library: Cite Right : a quick guide to citation styles MLA Handbook for Writers, the APA Manual , Manual for Writers of Term Papers ...(Turabian), Chicago Manual of Style, and Scientific Style and Format (CBE).

Because of the large number of textbooks and the need for new editions and the number of students needing to use them, the library does not usually purchase them, unless a Professor makes the request. Sometimes we get donations of textbooks that may be useful to have for more than a single semester. To find out if we have the text, you need to search the Catalog with the exact title and possibly an author or editor.
Also try searching under the Reserves tab in the Catalog, in case the Professor requested a copy be placed there.

Search by professor or class in Reserves on this Web site. You can also ask for help at the Circulation/ Checkout desk or at the Reference desk.

If you have searched the Reserves section of our catalog/ web site under the correct course number or professor's name, ask at the Check-out Desk/ Circulation. The professor may have brought it late and there is a delay in processing it. You may need to check with your professor that the item has been put on Reserve.

To get to a teacher's shared network drive or your M: drive, go to http://thefort.fortlewis.edu and select My Stuff and follow instructions. Please do not login on the library's public computers. You can access the network through the computer labs by logging into a computer. There is a computer lab on the mian floor of the library, as well as on the lower level of the Reed Library building. If you need more help, ask a lab assistant.

Only Fort Lewis College students, faculty, and staff can access online subscription databases and resources off-campus. FLC VPN access( Home Internet Access and VPN) can provide you with access without logging into the resource. You may experience slowness or an interruption. You can also go directly to the resource without VPN and login through our Proxy server. When accessing through a non FLC internet service provider, such as Frontiernet, MSN, etc., you will be prompted for your name and FLC ID number. If you cannot login, then contact the Library's loan/ circulation desk (247-7270) during regular library hours and they will check your library account. You can check if you are in our system from Check Library Account

To connect to your personal network file storage, see FAQ: Home Internet Access (IT page). You can also access network drives through thefort. This applies to off campus and Library computers - any computers where you do not login to your FLC computer account. When using "thefort" be aware that you need to "change credentials" and re-enter your login and password.

Since the computers in the library are set up so that a login isn't needed, files are deleted frequently so that privacy is maintained and the desktop is not cluttered. You need to save to your m: drive or to a flash/ USB drive to save your files.

To access your FLC email, open a browser (IE) window and go to https://webmail.fortlewis.edu . You can save the file to the desktop temporarily and then attach it to the email. Many of the databases also provide an icon for emailing articles or citations. Follow the online instructions for each database, as they differ in specific steps.

You can print from computers in the Library using a public networked printer located near the Research Help desk of the library. Once you print in the program you are in (IE, Word, a database, etc.), you will be prompted to name the print job. You can name it anything - your initials will usually work, but name each "job" differently by adding numbers. Then you go to one of the print station computers - one is for paying with your Skycash/ print account and the other is for cash payment. Click on the name of your print job and then click. It will show the amount due. If you are paying cash, insert your money. Click print and the cost will be deducted from cash or from your account.