Non-Book Related Services

Most of the time people come to the library to check out some books, use our reference materials, or search our databases; however, that is not all we can do for you!

Need a printer?
We have four (one in the lab, one upstairs and two in the print room), including a color printer!

Need a copier?
We have a black and white copier ($0.05/copy) and a color copier ($0.10/copy) - both print double-sided and both can copy a range of sizes.

Need a scanner?
We have two - both of our copiers scan to PDF documents that are automatically sent to your email for free.

Need a place for group study?
Reserve one of our two study rooms for group projects, tutoring, etc - just click here to sign-up.

Need to write a paper?
We have over 25 computers in the library with Word, Excel and PowerPoint. In addition, you can use our attached computer lab which is open until 1:30am every night!

Need a movie to kill some free time?
Here is a list of all our DVDs and VHSs that you can check out and enjoy.

So, as you can see, the library has a great collection of books, reference materials, and journal articles, but we can also help you with the nuts-and-bolts of college life too!

Need Sheet Music?

Northwest University is known for its excellent choirs and music program, so Hurst Library has and is continuing to acquire musical scores that you can check out.

We have everything from choral and vocal music, to operas and symphonies. The recent update to our website has made it easier than ever to locate these materials.

Here is how:
1) Log on to our website.
2) In the box near the bottom of the page, select "Browse by Format." There you will find a link to all of our music, called "Print Music."

That is all it takes to find great items like...


Music in the Romantic Period

American Song Treasury

Mozart's Piano Concertos






If you still have any questions, please contact one of our helpful librarians - Christa, the Cataloging Supervisor for example, is a musician and would love to talk with you more about the collection.

Have an old score? Donate it! We accept donations and are very interested in expanding our Music collection!

Your Library Director is Famous

Yesterday the library staff received quite a shock when the newest volume of The Christian Librarian arrived in the mail...


That gentleman, circled in red in the center, is your Library Director, Charles Diede.

Every year we try to attend as many conferences, lectures, and seminars we can to stay on top of the changing world of library science. This way we can continue to bring you the most up-to-date information.

That is our promise to you.

Sometimes along the way we get famous, but most of the time we are just here to help!

Please stop by and congratulate Charles, and maybe ask us a few questions about your homework.

New Website, part 3: Advanced Search

Welcome to the third installment of Website Navigation Help!

Previously we discussed how to use the Search Bar and explored the tools of our homepage.

Today, we are going to discuss the Advanced search options...

When to use Advanced Search?

Sometimes doing a keyword search does not pull up the records that you need to complete your work - either there are too many results, or the results don't have anything to do with what you want.

Let us begin by selecting the Advanced Search from the navigation bar at the top of our website.


This will take you to our entire advanced search screen.


As you will see, there are three different sections to this page - all three will be used for different reasons.

1) Finding Items Containing... This is where you go to limit or expand your search.


Between every word you type there is an imagined "and," "or," or "not" (depending on whether you are searching for all the words or none of the words). When you need to find a resource with more than one general topic, this is the place to go.

2) Exact Search...

If you want the computer to search only for the exact author, title, genera, etc, use the next set of search bars as demonstrated below.But be careful: even the slightest spelling mistake or misremembered pronoun will render the search null.

3) Limiting

Off to the right of the page is one of the most handy tools in your library arsenal!

You can choose which format you want your search results to be in - need a video? a journal? some music?
Or, do you want to search our Children's, Young Adult, or Reference sections only?

Take the time to explore all of these tools to limit your searching.
It is an easy, quick way to search like a librarian!

Updates to Citation Guides

It is that time of year again when all of the major citation references publish updated versions of their style guides.

This year there were many changes! For example, MLA no longer assumes that the type of source is print - you must now label each citation as either "print" or "web." These changes might be a pain to learn, but they reflect the changing scope and method of research.

All of the new guides are available in the Reference section, in the general collection, and on the Reference Desk. Come and take a look.

MLA

Turabian (no new publication this year)

APA

Need something a little quicker and simpler? You are in luck!

Your trusty Reference Librarian, Tru, and dedicated User Services Librarian, David, have updated the Quick Guides for all three (MLA, Turabian, and APA - click on the title for a direct link to the .pdf files).

Still cannot find the type of citation you are looking for? Come ask us or send us an email (library@northwestu.edu).

Remember, check out our Citation Help box on our Hurst Library Homepage if you have any questions!

New Website, part 2: Exploring the Library Homepage

Welcome to the second installment of Website Navigation help!

Previously we explored how to do a basic search using our Quick Search Bar.

Today we are going to take a look at the new (and old) features of the Library Homepage.

Helpful Links:


At the very top of the page, notice the links.

The first three links, Northwest University, Discovery, and Eagle connect to their respective websites.

The first group on the second line, My Account/Renew Books, will direct you to your personal account. Here you can renew books, check due dates, and put books on hold.

The second link on that line, My Lists, direct you to your personal list builder. Here you can create lists of books, like "Books for Theo 2503" or "Read Me," that allow you to organize by title, author or call number - making them easy to find when you are next in the library. These last two links will require you to log in using your email and password.

Ask A Librarian Feature:

Ever need to ask a librarian a quick (or long) reference question, but you can't get to the library while the Reference Desk is open?

Using this box on our website, circled below in red, will automatically send us an email! We will respond as soon as we can - and you didn't even have to leave your room.

Please note that we must have your email - after all, librarians are smart but we don't know everything, like who you are without an email address.

Citation Help:

Circled above is our citation center. Here you will find a link to RefWorks, something we will discuss in a future post. Basically, it is a great way to keep track of your bibliographies for all of your papers.

Just below that link, you will find links to our own citation quick-reference sheets. These are continuously updated by Tru, our Reference Librarian.

Searching Tabs:

Quickly find what you need by using the Searching Tabs.

1. Books, Videos, Music, Etc: Type keywords, author, or title into the search bar to search the catalog, or click on the links provided to search for E-books, Commentaries, Dictionaries, etc.
2. Articles: Click here to search by journal title, or use the links to connect to one of our many databases. Don't know which database to use? Use the drop-down menu to go to subject specific databases.
3. Other Libraries: Use this to find materials that our library doesn't own, specifically searching on WorldCat.org or requesting an ILL.

Browsing Tabs:
This last section of the website provides four additional ways of searching. These are less specific and great to use when you don't know exactly what you need.

______________________

Next time we will be discussing the wonderful world of Advanced Search options!

Anything Different about Printing?

Why, yes! Let us count the ways...

1) Printing Quota:

In years past, each term you would get a certain amount of pages added automatically to your account - that is no longer the case. Now you must add pages to your account before you can print.

Why?
Well, most people did not use all of their pages or wasted them with unnecessary printing. As it is our responsibility to be diligent stewards of the Earth, and in an effort to remember this Northwest University decided to instigate a debt balance system (meaning you pay as you go).

How do you add pages?
Go to this site (Student Printing Balance) and it will tell you all about your options!

2) Costs:

• Black and White: $0.04

• Color: $0.08

3) Which Printer?

When you have added money to your account and are ready to print, make sure that you select the printer!

If you are in the library, the main printer is called "Psalms-Libary-Copier." However, if you want to print in color, select the printer called "Psalms-Library-Color-Copier."

Hopefully that clears up any confusion that you might have about printing.

Do not forget that we are here to help you so do not hesitate to ask!

New Website, part I: Quick Search Bar

While you were enjoying the summer weather, our resourceful Systems Librarian, Adam, was hard at work crafting a new website.

So, all of you returning students and regular library users will notice that there are some important changes to the system and may not know how to use them.

Well, just sit back and over the course of the next few days Dorothy and I will show you how to get the most out of the library website!

Quickly Searching Our Catalog:

Using the Quick Search Bar, highlighted in yellow below, is the easiest way to search our resources.

Remember, this is a keyword search. All that means is that you can type in the title, subject, or author - all within the same search bar.

For example: If you are searching for books written by Jane Austen, then you start by typing Jane Austen into the search bar. This will reveal suggested searches, like so...


By selecting the suggestion "Austen, Jane," you are taken to the list of results which will look like this...

To further limit your search because the results are too numerous and don't completely satisfy your needs, a series of "Do you want..." questions will appear, just under the search bar. In this case, finding books by Jane Austen, selecting the "Do you want items by this author?"(highlighted above) link gives us exactly what we want.

You will now be taken to a list of books that we have in the library, all written by Jane Austen herself.

And there you go! You can now search the catalog quickly and effectively!

Next time, we will explore the features of the homepage itself including subject searches, helpful links, and Ask a Librarian.

Welcome to Hurst Library

Over the past few months we at Hurst Library have been asking you about how you use our resources and listening to how we can improve your experience.

That is why we are proud to announce the What's New in Hurst Library blog where I will publish information on how to use our resources, advertise special events, let you know about new books and databases, and keep you informed about new advances in information services. All of this in the hopes to enrich your library experience.

If you have a question or an idea that would make a great blog post, feel free to let us know by e-mailing me at heather.vanmouwerik@northwestu.edu.

I look forward to getting you the content, help and information you need about Hurst Library.