Library Services for Students

Electronic Resources

Public access to the Internet, to Microsoft Office software, and to the electronic resources reviewed below is provided in the library by means of twenty computer terminals in the lobby.  Printouts may be made for a fee.

Use of Library Computers
Anyone wishing to use a library computer can do so by entering the appropriate code from the label posted on the bottom corner of each monitor.  The Guidelines for Use of Library Computers and the college's Computer Resources, Internet, and Network Use Policy (http://www.isothermal.edu/library/guidelines.htm) appear on the succeeding screen, and users must click "I Agree" to proceed.  A timer with a 60-minute limit then starts; however, at the end of the time limit, the computer is renewed automatically unless a large percentage of the computers are in use at that time, or if you have already been on the same computer for three hours.  In that case, the computer will log you out automatically to give computer access to other patrons.  Computers also automatically turn themselves off five minutes before the library’s closing times.

To print, follow the usual print procedure, then the special instructions displayed on the screen.  Print jobs are sent to one of the circulation computers, to be released to the printers at your request.  To retrieve a print job, come to the circulation desk and tell the library staff how you identified the print job, and they will print it out for you in return for a fee.  The charge for each black and white page is $.05; color pages are $.25. 
 
Please keep in mind that the library staff will be glad to instruct and assist you in performing research on the Internet and using electronic resources.   

Microsoft Office Software

The library provides Microsoft Office software (Word, Excel, Access, Power Point and Front Page) for use by the public on library computers.  Users of these programs are expected to have some experience in their operation, as the library staff can offer only minimal assistance. Those who intend to use Microsoft Office programs are advised to bring a storage device (floppy disk, flash drive, etc.) on which to save their work.  (See "IMPORTANT" note above.)

Library Website and Links to Electronic Resources

In addition to our online catalog, the college library website (http://www.isothermal.edu/library/) contains excellent resources for research and assistance for students performing research, evaluating information sources, writing papers, and documenting resources.  The library webpage can be accessed from the Isothermal home page, which is set as the browser home page on many campus terminals, by adding "/library" to the end of the college website's URL (Internet address) or by clicking on "Quick Links" at the top of the screen, scrolling down, and clicking on "Library."  When using computers in the library lobby, various electronic resources can be accessed by clicking the appropriate link on the menu, or by using the URLs listed here. 

NC LIVE   (http://www.nclive.org)

The collection of databases included in NC LIVE (North Carolina LIbraries for Virtual Education) is made available to North Carolina public and academic libraries by the state of North Carolina via the Internet.  These databases index encyclopedias, directories, proceedings, almanacs, worldwide library catalogs, and many academically oriented magazines and journals useful for research.  EBSCOhost is a major vendor among those that provide access to complete articles from over 16,000 newspapers, journals, magazines, and encyclopedias, and indexing for over 25,000 periodical titles. NetLibrary provides access to over 25,000 online print and audio books.

NC LIVE is available from library computers, from any campus Internet-connected computer, and off campus via remote access password. (See password information below.)  On the NC LIVE home page, EZ Search will identify which of the multiple databases contains information on your search term; then you must search each of the databases one at a time.  Or, click Browse Resources and select from databases organized by:

• Subject  (databases listed by very broad subjects, such as Business, History, Literary, etc.)

• Type  (databases sorted by format: newspapers, magazines, encyclopedias, etc.)
  

• Alphabetic  (an alphabetical list of all databases with short descriptions)

• Vendor  (databases accessed by vendor name, such as EBSCOhost)

• Not EZ-Searchable  (any databases not searchable using the EZ Search function)

Note: The first three choices and the last choice will allow you to choose a specific database, but you will still be sent through the vendor's "gateway" to the product, and you will need to follow onscreen instructions to get to a search screen.  Going to a vendor site like EBSCOhost's allows searching multiple databases at once.