Library Information Literacy and Research Tutorials

Welcome to the CSB and SJU Libraries' Info Lit 1 tutorials! These tutorials are specifically designed by our librarians for students in INTG 100: Learning Foundations, HONR 110: Honors Learning Foundations, and INTG 205: Transfer Seminar to help you meet the Integrations Curriculum's Info Lit 1 goal for these courses:

• Information Literacy 1 (Beginner): Students access appropriate information through common search strategies. They cite sources appropriately and articulate the value of accurate citations. Their papers are free of plagiarism.

These tutorials can also be helpful references for other students taking any course at CSB and SJU; they will help you develop the foundational skills and understanding to plan effective search strategies (both on the open web and using library collections); to evaluate the quality of the sources you find; and to use information legally and ethically. These skills will help you in your classes - you'll be able to complete your assignments more easily and effectively - but also outside of class and after college!

Tutorial Quizzes

Each tutorial includes a short quiz at the end. Check with your instructor to see if you'll need to upload a Certificate of Completion PDF for each quiz in Canvas. 

Your Librarian

If you have general questions about the library, Ask Us! 

A friendly and knowledgeable librarian will also be visiting your class later this semester. It's our job to help you succeed, and we encourage you to visit our Research Appointment page for librarian contact information, lists of the departments and majors we work with, or to schedule a one-on-one or small group consultation with a librarian outside of class. If you have a quick question, feel free to email us or stop by a librarian's office!

Librarian Research Consultations

Here are some things to know about research consultations. We look forward to meeting with you!

• We can meet with you at any stage of your assignment.
• Most meetings are scheduled for 30 minutes, but we can always wrap things up early or schedule follow-up meetings.
• We usually help with things like topic selection and refining your research question, finding trusted college-level sources, planning next steps to fill in any information gaps, and citing sources. 
• Any librarian can get you started on an assignment, but some librarians will be more familiar with a given academic discipline, your course or instructor, or the details of your assignment. We'll refer you on or loop in another librarian as needed. 

The CSB and SJU Libraries include two main library buildings:

• SJU's Alcuin Library and Reinhart Learning Commons (map)
• CSB's Clemens Library (map)

The separate ​​​​​BAC Music Library is located at CSB in Benedicta Arts Center A147.

Building Partners

The library buildings also house other campus support offices that offer useful services, including:

• The Study (Alcuin) provides resources, including in-person peer coaching, to help you develop skills for academic success - skills like goal setting, time management, effective studying, and communication and presentation skills.
• The Writing Center (Alcuin 349 and CSB HAB 103) exists to help students with all aspects of the writing process. Their one-on-one peer tutoring sessions support students in the specific areas where they need it most. 
• XPD (Experience and Professional Development) (Clemens) provides support at each stage of the academic journey, from choosing a major, to experience-based opportunities and community-engaged learning, to graduate school and career prep.
• OURS (Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship) (Clemens) supports undergraduate research and creative opportunities through funding, administration of research fellowships, advising and mentorship, showcasing completed projects, and providing resources for students and faculty mentors.
• IT Help Desk (Information Technology Services) (Clemens) provides support for any of your tech questions.

The CSB and SJU Libraries homepage (https://www.csbsju.edu/libraries/) has everything you need to access our resources and learn more about our services.

Here are a couple of things on the homepage that we want to highlight right away:

• Using library databases: You can get access to millions of full-text sources published in scholarly journals, popular journals, magazines, and newspapers through the CSB and SJU Libraries' 200+ research databases. We'll go over using these databases in more detail in Tutorial 4: Searching a Database. 

  • Use the Research Guides button to look through librarian-curated guides for every academic major and minor offered at CSB and SJU. These guides provide lists of recommended databases, along with other helpful resources and tips related to that discipline.

  • Use the Databases A-Z button for an alphabetical list of all of our databases. Databases A-Z includes filtering options that let you sort by Subject or Type to find the best collections for your particular assignment or research topic.

• Scheduling a consultation: Use the Research Appointment button to schedule a meeting with a librarian outside of class.

• Accessing your library account: In the "Use the Library" section, click the My Account link to log in to your account to see your borrowing record and due dates, to renew items, or to check the status of requested items.

The library catalog is the main search box on the CSB and SJU Libraries homepage. Use the catalog to search for materials like books and eBooks, DVDs, streaming videos, music, and scholarly and popular articles. (In Tutorial 4: Searching a Database, we will go over why you might want to search in some of our research databases for additional scholarly articles.) You can select an option from the catalog's Search All drop-down menu to limit search results to a particular format or type of item, like only music or only articles:

Example Catalog Search

Entering the search term "sustainability" into the catalog and keeping the Search All setting (to search all formats) will return many results that include books, eBooks, journals, DVDs, and streaming videos. Results can be for items held by the CSB and SJU Libraries or for items held at other libraries worldwide that can be borrowed using Interlibrary Loan. Each result lists the item's format, call number, and location. In this case, the first item on the results page is a print book located at CSB Clemens Library. The second item is an eBook and the record includes a link to the full text. For more information about the library catalog, check out our Search Tips page. 

Finding eBooks and Print Books

• eBooks: Most of our eBooks can be found by searching directly in the library catalog. On the catalog's search results page, narrow your results to eBooks by using the filters on the left side of the screen. Limit results by Format to Book and then further to eBook. Watch our "Finding and Using eBooks" video for step-by-step instructions. 
• Print books: We use Library of Congress (LC) call numbers to organize our physical collections of books. This is a different call number system than Dewey Decimal, which is how most public or K12 school libraries organize things, so feel free to ask at the library Help Desk if you'd like help finding something on our shelves! Each book gets an LC call number (a combination of letters and numbers) on its spine that indicates its "address" on our shelves. Watch the following video to learn how to use Library of Congress call numbers to find a book: 

Source: Laurentian Library. "Reading LC call numbers." Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 6 August 2014. 19 August 2024.

Placing a Hold on a Print Book

You can place a hold if you would like to pick up a print book from our CSB Clemens or SJU Alcuin help desk (instead of going to find it on the shelves yourself or going to the other campus to track it down). From the library catalog's search results page, click the title link of a book to view its full record. Then click on the blue "Place Hold" button on the right side of the page. The Place Hold Request Form lets you choose either CSB Clemens or SJU Alcuin as the pickup location. Watch our "How to Place a Hold" video for step-by-step instructions. 

What if the CSB and SJU Libraries Don't Have Something I Need?

Even if we don't have the book or article you need in our own collections, we can often help you get what you're looking for, quickly and for free, from another library through Interlibrary Loan. As a CSB and SJU student you should never have to pay for an online journal article that's behind a paywall. (A paywall is when a site offers to provide full access to an article or other resource, but only if you have a subscription or pay an access fee.) If you are having trouble tracking down or accessing a book, article, or other source you need, talk to your librarian! 

• If you need to request an article or a scanned chapter from a book: Most of these requests are filled quickly - sometimes that same day but typically within a couple of days. Once your request is filled, you'll get an email that includes a link for accessing the full text of the article online. This link expires, so download or print the article if you'll need it later.   
• If you need to request a book or another item that need to be physically shipped: Please plan ahead to allow, if possible, at least two weeks for processing and shipping. Some items ship quickly, especially if they're coming from another library in Minnesota, but turnaround times vary greatly depending on how soon the lending library processes our request and how far the book is being shipped. You'll get an email notification once your book has arrived and can be picked up from the library.  

Ways to Place an Interlibrary Loan Request

• Requesting a book or article (NOT an eBook) from the library catalog: From your catalog search, select the item you want by clicking on the title and then click the blue "Request Item through Interlibrary Loan" button located to the right of the full record. Watch our "Interlibrary Loan for a Book" video or our "Interlibrary Loan for an Article" video for step-by-step instructions. 
  • A note on eBooks: You usually can't request eBooks through interlibrary loan, so make sure the item in the catalog is labeled "Print Book" before creating your request. If the item you want is labeled "eBook," scroll to the bottom of its full record to see if a print version is listed under the "Explore Editions and Formats" header, and click on the print version's title link before placing your request. You can request individual chapters or sections from eBooks, which is explained later in this tutorial.
• Requesting a chapter (from a book or eBook) from the library catalog: If you only need one or two chapters or essays from a print book or eBook, you can request scanned copies of these sections through Interlibrary Loan. Watch our "Requesting a Scanned Copy of a Book Chapter" video for step-by-step instructions. 

• Requesting an article from a library database: We will go over this more in Tutorial 4: Searching a Database, but note that some research databases don't always provide the full text of articles listed in their search results. If no full-text option is provided, look for a "Find It" button in the database's record for that article. The "Find It"  button will indicate if the full text of an article is available in a different CSB and SJU Libraries database or if you'll need to place an Interlibrary Loan request. To request an article listed in a database: 1) Locate and click on the article's Find It button; 2) Check for links to View Full Text, or the journal title under Full text availability for this item; and 3) If the full text isn't available, click the Request Item through Interlibrary Loan button. 

1. Borrowing Books and Other Things

Your Student ID is your library card! Bring it with you to borrow (or "check out") items from the Libraries. Please remember that these items belong to the community so take good care of them and return them on time.

• Whether you're a Bennie or a Johnnie, you can check out books from any of our locations (Alcuin, Clemens, or the BAC Music Library). You get to keep the books you borrow until the end of the semester.
• We have more than just books! Our equipment for loan includes digital tools like laptops, microphones, cameras, and storage drives, along with DVDs, tabletop games, and video game consoles and games. 

2. Newspaper Subscriptions

CSB and SJU students have free access to a number of newspaper apps and online subscriptions, including for major newspapers like the Minnesota Star Tribune, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.

3. Off-Campus Access

If you are off campus, you can still access the Libraries' ebooks and electronic journal articles. Just remember to go to the library website and then access our catalog or databases from there. You'll be prompted to log in using your CSB and SJU username and password (the same one you use to log in to your student email and Canvas) in order to access the CSB and SJU Libraries' online resources.