This site has been created to assist you in exploring library resources related to your distance learning experience. Our library is one of the largest in the United States and it can be a bit overwhelming at first. We will try to make things a little easier for you, but don't hesitate to ask questions.
Feel free to Ask-A-Librarian or visit the Education and Social Science Library if you are on campus. Or type in the box below to instant message us.
If you want to set up an individual consultation about your research strategy or project, please fill out the Research Consultation form and indicate if you plan to visit in person or phone in.
For individual help with research, don't hesitate to contact me directly.
Nancy O'Brien
Office: Education and Social Science Library, 100 Main Library
Phone: 217/333-2408
Email:
npobrien@uiuc.edu
IMPORTANT! For off-campus access to UIUC Library resources, you will go through the proxy server. An explanation of the proxy server is at Proxy Server For E-Resources. When you try to use a resource from off campus, you will be prompted for your University NetID and password. Once that's verified, you'll get a link to begin using the database through the proxy server.
Journal articles are one of the primary means of communicating research ideas. They are an important component of academic research and give you some insight into ongoing debates and scholarly conversations about your topic.
Finding articles is a two-step process:
If you have questions about the Research Process, click on this step-by-step guide to research that takes you through the entire process, from choosing your topic to citing sources.
RefWorks is a tool that collects, stores and organizes citations from books, articles, web sites, and other sources. It can automatically format those citations into a bibliography in a multitude of different citation styles. Refworks is provided by the Library and CITES without charge to UIUC students, staff and faculty. See the Refworks Tutorial for more information. Try it out and discover how much easier it is to manage your research projects and papers!
Library catalogs are used for two purposes:
First, if you know exactly what you are looking for - an exact title or author - you can use the catalog to locate your material. This works for book titles and journal titles.
Second, you can use library catalogs to discover material that might be helpful to you by doing subject and keyword searching.
Many of the records for journal titles in our catalog can link you to the electronic versions of these publications. If you do not see a link to an electronic version of a journal you need in the Online Catalog, go to Online Research Resources and search there for the journal title.
Look here to find books, DVDs, magazines or journals, and many other resources. In addition to the 10 million volumes we have on this campus, you can connect to 65 other libraries in Illinois and request that books be sent to you at one of these Illinois libraries. If you are located outside of Illinois, you will want to check in your local libraries. You can find books in the nearest library through WorldCat but not all libraries will allow you to visit or use their collections, so call first. Keep in mind that you can also request UIUC owned material through the Academic Outreach Library as a distance education student.
When you find something you want in the catalog, write down the following:
You can then use this information when requesting that the item be sent to you or when you visit that library.
The Web service to verify citations for books that you cannot find elsewhere. Please note that even if you find that a nearby library has a book you need, you will still need to check to see if you are allowed to visit that library and borrow books. You should be able to request books from other libraries through your local public library's interlibrary loan service.
The place to request journal articles that you cannot find at UIUC or electronically. Ordering journal articles via interlibrary loan is free and generally fairly quick. If you want to expedite getting a copy of a UIUC journal article you can also pay to have a copy sent to you electronically using the UIUC DocExpress Service.
University LibraryFor comments on this page contact: Education and Social Science Library
Last modified by: Jennifer Hodges on 9/11/08