Textbooks on Reserve Request forms

The semester begins next week and you'll want to know about the Library's Textbooks on Reserve program. The library has a number of textbooks available for limited loan (usually for 3 hrs. but you can use them for as long as you want while in the library). During the first week and a half of the semester, if we don't have a textbook that you need, you can request that the library purchase it. We place the books in Reserves, located by the Circulation Desk. Here's the dates you'll need to know: January 28 to February 6: Come to the Reference Desk and fill out a "Textbooks on Reserve Request" form. February 7: Requests are reviewed and purchases determined (we buy as many as we have funds for). February 7, 8 and 11: We process the textbooks. February 12: Books are available on Reserve shelving.

Finals Week

The library is warm, cozy and quiet--the perfect place to study for your finals. If you need a group study room, there's some you can check out from the Circulation Desk on a first-come-first-served basis. If you want to reserve a room for a particular day & time, ask at the Media Desk. The library staff wants to wish you the best of luck on all of your finals, and we hope you have a wonderful holiday season.

Term Paper Clinics for Fall 2012

Have you been putting off writing that essay or research paper because you haven't been able to locate books and articles on your topic? Are you unclear on exactly how to cite your sources? Then the up-coming Term Paper Clinics offered by the library are for you! Plan to attend one of the clinics--see the schedule below. There's no need to enroll, just drop by the library's instruction lab during any of the hours listed below--stay for an entire session or a portion of a session--whatever works with your schedule. Your friendly Grossmont librarians will be waiting to help you. Fall 2012 Term Paper Clinics Where: Library Instruction Lab (70-267) When: Wed., Nov. 28, 11:00 am-1:00 pm Thurs., Nov. 29, 1:30-3:30 pm Mon., Dec. 3, 3:30-5:30pm Tues., Dec. 4, 12 pm-2:00pm

Don't Miss Out on Free Courses from Ivy League Schools

A student I know is currently taking a fantastic online class from Stanford called "Writing for the Sciences"--and it's free! If you haven't looked into MOOCs, you may be missing out. MOOC stands for "Massive Open Online Courses." Leading universities like Princeton, Standford, MIT, Harvard and others are offering them for free. Check out Coursera, Udacity, and edX, or take a look at this special report from The Chronicle

View Library Resources from the Comfort of Your Own Mobile Device

A student recently asked us, "Can I use my smartphone or tablet to search library stuff?" Absolutely! The "Grossmont Gateway to Research" will auto detect mobile devices when it displays search results. That means you can search for articles and ebooks for that research paper you're working on and read them on your mobile device. You can also view our Research Guides and our videos on demand from the comfort of your own mobile device.

Need Help Choosing a Topic for Your Research Paper?

Do you need some help picking a topic for your research paper? How about affirmative action--that topic is on the Supreme Court docket currently. Or what about a paper about the death penalty? California voters will be voting next month on Prop. 34, the End of Death Penalty Initiative. Need more ideas? Watch this video about using library databases "Opposing Viewpoints" or "CQ Researcher" to help you select a topic.

The Invisible Web

Most people think they can find everything through Google. But did you know that Google only indexes 8% of all available webpages? There are 300 billion database-driven pages that are completely invisible to Google. These pages can contain full-text journal articles and eBooks--perfect resources for your research papers. If Google can't get you to these pages, how can you find them? By logging into Grossmont Library databases, of course!