Introduction to Library Orientation

Students tell us that using the library resources has been a time-saver, and has been key in the quality of their submitted assignments. With feedback from students like yourself, we have made this activity as practical and to-the-point as possible. You may learn to find information for yourself through these "invisible web resources," but we want you to feel comfortable asking questions of the Librarian and staff by phone or email, too.

To complete this self-paced, library orientation, please remember that the time it takes to finish is based on the degree of your computer literacy. Some students have finished the activity in thirty minutes; others require a little more than an hour.

The Catalog

What word pops into your mind when you hear the word library? Like most people you probably think of BOOKS. The Library has over 45,000 books on a variety of subjects, and are shelved by subject according to the Dewey Decimal call numbers.

You can determine what materials the Library has by searching the electronic catalog. The catalog is a listing or database of all the titles of books, DVDs, audio CDs, and other materials that the Library has in its collection.
You can access the catalog via the Internet. From the library's homepage, select "Book Search" and type in your search terms. You can search by Keywords, Title, Author, or Subject. Select LCCC if needed, and press Search to view a list of different titles with their call number. If you need more information about that title, then select the title for the Title Page. If you want to know if the title is checked out or on the shelf, you will need to select "Lake City Community College" at the bottom of the title page.

The Databases

You can access the databases by going to the Library's homepage and selecting the link "Article Search and Net Library." You must logon to access the databases, which means that first you must get a library barcode number from the library.

Here is how you can logon from your home computer:
Select your college.
Type in the 14-digit barcode assigned to you by the Library. It should be on the back of your student ID or key tag and it is the same barcode you normally use to check out books. If you do not have a barcode on the back of your student ID, call or email a library staff member.
Type in your PIN # (last four digits of your social security number)
Logon. You will find yourself at the database menu.

Selecting a Database

This $4 Million database has information for just about every academic subject. Ask a librarian which database will best suit your topic, or find a description by selecting the information link beside the name of each database.
Each database is different, but the Research Skills activity will give you some experience for doing simple searches.

Now you are ready to complete the Research Skills Activity!
Your instructor will send you the attachment of the Activity in Word Format.

1. You may fill in the answers and submit the entire document as an attachment in an email to the Librarian,
2. or you may list the answers in the email message.
3. The Librarian will email you and your instructor with the results.
4. Keep this email!! If another instructor asks you to complete the "General Research Skills Activity," you can confirm this was completed by forwarding this email.