Ask a Librarian

Yes and no.

The library's catalog is available from on and off campus.

Other library databases, such as those linking to articles and ebooks, are available in the library building only, per our licenses with the database vendors. You may visit the Loras College Library and access the databases by using our public desktop computer stations near the check-out desk.

For a description of other library services for alumni, go the the Alumni Services guide.

Primary Sources are materials directly related to the past by time or participation—things created in the past by people living at the time. Primary sources include photographs, prints, paintings, documents, advertisements, music and film, letters, newspaper articles, and objects. You can learn more about primary sources at the Library's topic guide.

The PreK-12 Collection is a collection of young adult and children's literature, mostly collected for use by the Education department, but available to be checked out by all Loras College library users.

The PreK-12 Collection is located on the 1st floor of the Miller Academic Resource Center, on the south, or the Loras Boulevard side of the building.

Bibles (in various translations), and books about the Bible, can be found in the 220s, on the first floor of the library.

To add a printer in Windows 10:

 1. click on the window-pane key + the R key on the keyboard to bring up the Run command dialog box;

 2. type in \\prnt01 and hit OK, then scroll to the desired printer;

 3. right-click on the name of the desired printer and select Connect

 4. the newly added printer should now display in your list of available printers. if not, you may need to restart your computer.

Most of Loras Library's EBSCO eBooks can be downloaded to your computer. Note that many will only allow you to download a chapter or section at a time. Here's how:

1. Click the Download (Offline) link for the eBook you would like to download.

2. Select a Checkout period from the drop-down menu and click the Checkout & Download button.

3. The eBook is added to the Checkout area of the folder, accessible from the upper-right corner of the EBSCOhost interface. If you are not logged into your My EBSCOhost folder, you are prompted to do so.

4. Select Open with or Save File from the resulting dialog box.

If you select Open with, your eBook is opened with Adobe® Digital Editions. See this guide for information about downloading Adobe Digital Editions. If you select Save file, the eBook is saved to your computer and can be opened with Adobe® Digital Editions at a later time.

5. When a downloaded eBook is opened, it is displayed in Adobe® Digital Editions.

The My List feature in the book catalog allows you to save and/or email a list of books you want to remember, find on the shelf, or share with someone else. You can use the feature without logging into your library account, but any books saved to the list will be lost when you close the browser window.

To use the My List feature:

•    Search for books that you would like to save.

•    Look for the Save button which is generally located on the right hand side of the screen and click it. The star will fill in if the item was added.

•    Once you have populated your list, look in the upper right hand corner of the screen for a link that says My Items followed by a number (the number is the number of items in your list and will change as items are added and deleted) and click on it, this will take you to your list.

•    To email, select the items you want to email, click on the Email link, enter an email address, and click Send Email.

When you are signed in you can create lists. To create a new list:

• Click on Create List
• Name your new list and include a description (optional)
• Select the items you want to put on your list and click save

To review your list:

• Click on your name in the upper right hand corner of the screen
• Select My Personal Lists

To add more items to your list:

• Save additional titles
• Click on My Items
• Select the items you want to add to an existing list
• Click Move
• Select the list you want to add the titles to
• Click Select List

Keep in mind that it is not necessary to go through the steps to checkout and download an eBook in order to cite, print, make notes, or use it in any way. You can do all this by "viewing" the eBook online--any notes taken will be saved in your "My EBSCOhost" account.

But, if you think you'll want access to the eBook while offline, then take steps to checkout and download the eBook to your computer!

In order to checkout and download an eBook, you will need a "My EBSCOhost" account. For more information, go to the "My EBSCOhost" tab in our eBooks guide. More information about eBooks and how to download them is also available in our How to Use EBooks guide.

Log into eLearn by navigating to http://elearn.loras.edu. Once there, you can log in using the same username and password that you use for other campus activities.

 

If your searching is returning too many or too few items for your research, you may need to narrow or broaden your topic. Try this resource to help you think about broadening and narrowing.

Broadening and narrowing research guide from the University of Michigan library.

Simple! Start on this page to find information about reserving meeting rooms in the library.

The Center for Dubuque History is located in the Miller Academic Resource Center/Library, on the lowest level. Check out the web page for more information.

Most professors at Loras use a "classroom management" platform called eLearn to house documents and assignments for their classes.

Look for a permanent link or permalink, which is a unique link that will take you to exactly the page/document you were on. In many databases the address in the address bar is a session link that includes extraneous information about your recent activity. These session links are necessary to help you navigate the database, but they are only good for the time that you are searching. Permalinks are typically shorter and easier to read. To make it possible to get back to document that you wish to read you will need to find and save the permalink. The link will often be referred to as the permalink, the stable link or bookmark link. If those links do not exist emailing the record to yourself will generally give you a permalink to the record. If you aren’t sure if you have a permalink, try pasting the link into a different browser window, if it opens to the document you were looking for you probably have a permalink.

Go to the Loras College Online Bookstore if you need to buy textbooks for your class.

The Center for Learning & Teaching is located in the library, on the 1st floor (one floor down from entrance level). Follow the signage or email Bob Adams for more information.

A permanent link or permalink is a unique link that will take you to exactly the page/document you were on. In many databases the address in the address bar is a session link that includes extraneous information about your recent activity. These session links are necessary to help you navigate the database, but they are only good for the time that you are searching. Permalinks are typically shorter and easier to read. To make it possible to get back to document that you wish to read you will need to find and save the permalink. The link will often be referred to as the permalink, the stable link or bookmark link. If those links do not exist emailing the record to yourself will generally give you a permalink to the record. If you aren’t sure if you have a permalink, try pasting the link into a different browser window, if it opens to the document you were looking for you probably have a permalink.

View Microsoft's instructions on formatting a "hanging indent" in a Microsoft Word document.

The library has the newspaper on microfilm, located on the library's 1st floor. Microfilm reading and printing machines are also available near the microfilm cabinets.

By the way, the Telegraph-Herald, and its antecedent newspapers, go back to the mid-nineteenth century on microfilm.

We also have access to the Telegraph Herald via a newspaper database, but coverage only extends back to the mid-1990s.

The Telegraph Herald Digital Archive is a work-in-progress from the TH and Carnegie-Stout Public Library.

The Writing Center is located on the 2nd floor of the Library in the Learning Commons. For more information, or to make an appointment, visit the Writing Center’s homepage.