Library Information>>Services
for Professional Studies Learners
Professional Studies
Introduction to the Library
- PS Version (PDF)
Ask Questions, Get Help
Librarians are available to help you with your research
and questions. The library tries to respond to all emails within 1
business day. Please email or call:
Robert Perret
620.229.6127 or
Veronica McAsey 620.229.6271. You may also use the library's
toll-free number 1.866.734.1275.
Find Articles from Journals, Magazines,
Newspapers & Books
Databases index articles and books on various topics. Some have
only citations and abstracts while others provide the full text
article. Although the information is accessed on the Internet, they
are not web pages but actual journal, magazine, and/or newspaper
articles. There are also databases of reference books and e-books,
an entire print book converted into an electronic format.
Online Full Text Articles
If the database provides full-text articles, you simply need to
click on the hyperlink to retrieve it. If the database does not have
full text, you may need to use the LinkSource hyperlinks to access
it through another database.
Another method to retrieve full-text articles is to search
SC Online Periodical Holdings -
Complete A to Z Title List under Periodical Holdings. Search by the
title of the periodical to find if full text is carried in a
database. This is a great way to find an article when you only have
the citation.
Finally, you can search the Internet to see if the article has been
archived and is available for free.
Google and
Find Articles at
BNET.com
are two of the best search engines for this. If the above methods
fail, contact a librarian for assistance or request the article
through Interlibrary Loan.
more information
E-books
E-Books are entire books that have been converted into electronic
format. They can be found in the library's
catalog or under
e-books.
Accessing Online Services
All the online services such as e-books and databases can be
accessed off-campus 24/7.
Because the library pays for most of the online services, they are
password protected. When prompted, you will need to enter your
Southwestern learner ID number and last 5 digits of your social
security number (or last 5 digits of your SC learner ID number) as
your password. To find out your SC learner ID, use the
SC ID Number Finder.
Please note that learners logging on from the Kansas National Guard
base have reported that they are unable to log into our online
services, probably due to military firewalls. They have reported
that they can log in from off-base locations, such as at home or at
one of the Professional Studies centers.
SC ID numbers and passwords are updated every weekday. Therefore,
there may be a lag time over weekends before your ID number will
work to open the databases. If you have problems logging in, please
contact
Alex Thomas.
Interlibrary Loan
You may use
interlibrary loan to request an item that the library owns or
does not own.
Items that the library owns will be shipped to you free. However,
you are responsible for its return. You may return it to a
Professional Studies Center or the Library in Winfield, or you may
mail it. If you mail it, you must pay for the return postage (media
rate may be cheaper than standard). Complete the
Request SC Material form to have an item checked out and mailed
to you.
Items that the library does not own will take a while for you to
receive. This is because the item will be mailed to the SC library
from the lending library before it will be mailed to you.
Contact
Cheryl Barnett 620.229.6312 if you have questions.
Search Strategy Tips
Use the right database(s).
- If you need a book, use the catalog or the e-book options.
- If you need an article, use a general database or a subject
specific database relevant to your topic.
- If you need current information, use the Internet such as
CNN.com.
Use and, or, not to focus your searches.
- And narrows a search. A search for "Bill Gates"
and Microsoft
will retrieve only information about Bill Gates and his company, not
his charitable foundation.
- Or
broadens a search. A search for college or university will
retrieve information with both terms. Or is best used with
synonyms and different spellings (e.g. woman or women).
- Not
limits a search. This may be not or and not depending
on the database. Use to remove possible terms from results. College
not university will retrieve only information about colleges.
Use quotation marks ("") to string terms together into a
phrase. This is very helpful when searching the Internet.
Select the option limit to full text if you need the
information immediately. This will remove items that don't have full
text; however, it may also remove articles that may provide the best
information but don't have full text in that database. To prevent
that, try to start your research a few days or weeks before you need
the information.
Stick to the SC Library databases and e-books. Anyone can
publish on the Internet and the sources out there may be incorrect,
propaganda, or hoaxes. Books no longer under copyright, which are
100 years old or more, may be available on the Internet in the
public domain. Depending on your topic, information 100 years old
may not be current enough.
For more information, go to the
Help category.
Database Terms
Full Text = the entire article
Citation = only the publication information is provided such
as author, title, page numbers, publication title, etc. Check under
Periodical Holdings to see if the library has the article in another
database. If not, the article can be borrowed via Interlibrary Loan.
Abstract = an overview of the article's information is
provided. Reading an abstract allows you to figure out if the
article is relevant to your topic before you read the article or go
through the process of finding the full text article.
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