There's a lot you can do through the library website without  stepping foot in the libraries.

This video is a short tour of the library's homepage. We'll cover how to:

1. use the search boxes on the library's homepage

2. access your library account online and,

3. Use specialized library services helpful for your work.

Let's get started.

You can use this search box to look for books, articles and other resources for your course work and research. 

From here you can do three types of searches: You can search for Articles, look for books and media, and find information about the libraries. 

Let's take a look at each option, starting with the website tab. 

This option helps you find out information about the library and its resources. It can answer questions like, what are the library's hours, what happens if my items are overdue?', 'how do I renew materials?', and more. 

This next tab is books and media. It lets you search through the library's collection of materials--whether in print, digital, or other formats. It's also called the library catalog.S

If a book or journal is available online, simply click on the link that is provided with the item information. 

If something is available in print format, like this book, you can find out which library has the item, where it is in that library, and if it is currently available--before you head over to get it. 

You can also request to have the book sent from one library branch to another, where it's more convenient to pick up. Distance Education students can request materials to be shipped to their home at no charge. 

Note that you can search just NCSU's holdings, or expand your search to other Triangle area libraries, including UNC Chapel Hill, Duke, and North Carolina Central. You can get books sent over from these other libraries for free!

Let's go back to the library home page and look at the third search option: the articles tab. 
This is a good place to start your search if you're writing a paper and need to find sources from scholarly journals, magazines, and newspapers.

This article search box is powered by a tool called Summon, a huge database for finding articles available online through the NCSU Libraries. Most, if not all of the articles you find in Summon will be available in full text online.

However, the library also buys access to some highly specialized databases that are out of scope for Summon. So you may want to see what else is available through this Databases link, located under the search box.  The databases are organized by subject discipline -- such as biology or education -- to help you find databases relevant to your research. 

You can also use the Journal Titles link to check to see if the library has a subscription to a specific journal or magazine.

When you use the 'All' option on the search box, you will get a preview of the results in each of the separate tabs we just looked at. From here you can continue your search within any of the three sections.

If you need to renew books or check when they're due, you can do that through your library account online.  Just log in with your Unity ID and password.

From here you can also use the Tripsaver tab to request materials from other libraries in the Triangle area, and beyond. Distance learners also use Tripsaver to request home delivery of books and web delivery of articles. 

From the homepage you can link over to the course reserves. Many instructors put class readings online in the reserves system. Just log in to access your course materials.

Library Course Tools pages are sets of library links and tools to help you get started with research for class projects. Just click the Course Tools link and search for your course by course code and number, instructor name, or title. 

Other things you might want to do is reserve a group study room at the D.H. Hill Library, or reserve an audio/visual workstation in the Digital Media Lab.

If you ever have questions, don't hesitate to get in touch with us by clicking this Ask Us option--you can reach us through our online chat box or a number of other ways that work for you.