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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Finally, you can search the Internet to see if the article has been archived and is available for free.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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