This guide is designed to help you find resources and learn more about the services of Austin Community College Libraries. College and university libraries in the United States encourage independent use of library materials. Librarians teach students to use library resources through one-on-one instruction, library tutorials, guides, and library instruction sessions requested by professors for their courses. Books are arranged by Library of Congress Classification. You can view a Library Guide that describes this system or ask a librarian to explain it to you. |
There are eleven Austin Community College libraries. Some libraries have special collections--like health sciences materials--that are not available at all campus libraries. What the libraries have in common are the different types of resources described below:
Reference materials--dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, manuals, almanacs, atlases, and more--are works that you would consult for definitions, formulas, or an overview of a topic. Many reference works are online and can be accessed through databases.
Books: on the shelves, arranged by Library of Congress Classification number, or online as eBooks that you can read on the computer or download to a device such as a computer, tablet, smartphone, etc.
Newspaper, magazines, and journals: Campus libraries may have a small collection of publications in print, but thousands of articles from newspapers, magazines, and journals are available online through subscription databases.
Media: Films, Videos, DVDs, CDs, music and streaming media from these Library Databases - Films On Demand, Kanopy, and Naxos Music Library.
Since many of the library's resources are online, you will be searching the library's subscription databases to find the material and information you need.
Some of the databases for finding newspaper, magazine, and journal articles can be searched in several different languages. The search interface, with instructions and links will be in the language you have chosen. Search results will be in English.
Below is a list of some of the databases that allow you to search in the language of your choice. Depending on the database, you will choose English or Languages to open the menu of language choices.
HTML (text) articles in EBSCOhost and a few other databases can be listened to and translated.
Ask a librarian whenever you need help with research, need information, or want to learn how to use library resources. Librarians are available at the Reference Desk during the hours the library is open. The Get Help tab above is available on all library guides and will take you to the page that lists all the ways you can get help from librarians, in person, online, and by phone.
A Multilingual Glossary developed by the American Library Association defines common library terms. The Language Table presents a list of library terms in six languages: English, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, French, Spanish, and Arabic. This list of terms provides definitions in English.