Resources for Distance Learners & Instructors

Other helpful information

• Getting the Books and Articles You Need Quickly
• Distance Learning Library Services Handbook
• Making the most of Library Resources
• Distance Learning Library Services
• Library Services & Resources for Adjunct Teaching Faculty
• How to Locate Dissertations and Theses
• Is It a Scholarly Journal or Isn't It?
• Plagiarism
• How to Search Electronic Resources

For graduate students, we also have online versions of workshops in doing a literature review (all subjects), which are available on Blackboard. We encourage you to request access to these by emailing Nancy Schafer, Head of Reference & Research Services, at nschafer@odu.edu.

Need Help?

Contact the Library

By email: Ask-A-Librarian online form

By telephone: Toll-free 1-800-968-2638 on weekdays (ask to be transferred to the library); or call the library directly on days, evenings, weekends:

• Reference Desk: 757-683-4178
• Interlibrary Loan & Document Delivery: 757-683-4170

Welcome

The Old Dominion University Libraries--YOUR libraries--invite you to use their many resources. If you are a registered student with Old Dominion University but take classes away from the main campus in Norfolk, you may still use the libraries' resources and services. Although you'll find libraries close to where you live and work convenient, they may not have all the resources you'll need.

The staff is ready to help you. Remember that with rapidly changing technologies, new electronic journals and databases may become available, easier modes of access may become available, and changes are inevitable.

What Services Are Available?

Full off-campus access to electronic databases with a current ODU email address and UIN (University Identification Number). From the library's home page, click "Find Databases A - Z".

1. You may search or browse for a database title or you may browse databases by subject.
2. For each database, a description is given as well as the dates of coverage.
3. You may also click on the icon labeled "Subject Guides" to help determine which database(s) may be best for your topic.
4. Once you've selected a database, you will be asked to enter your full ODU email address and your UIN.
5. Some freely available databases NOT requiring you to enter your UIN include
   • Google Scholar
   • Findarticles.com
   • ERIC (education)
   • PubMed (medicine)
6. Some databases provide free full-text articles online. If the article you want is NOT free online, request it through our free and fast Interlibrary Loan & Document Delivery service instead.

Delivery of books in hard copy format or of journal articles in electronic format is available through our Interlibrary Loan & Document Delivery service. Set up your profile now for free delivery of books and articles.

Ask-A-Librarian and chat services offered by the Reference and Research Services department.

Library Distance Services in a Nutshell

Accessing electronic resources from off campus

Our Library Web page - Links to resources, assistance, services information

Select "Find Books & More" - Lists books, journals, videos, etc.

Select "Find Journals" - Lists journals the library subscribes to located both in the library and online.

Select WorldCat from "Find Books & More" - Find other libraries that own books, videos, etc., you want. Has built in Interlibrary Loan feature.

Select "Find Databases A-Z" - Lists over 200 library research databases covering various disciplines, some with abstracts, some with full-text, etc. Features vary by database.

Find journals, magazines, or newspapers: Click on "Find Journals"

• Search for articles for which you know the date, title, etc. This will list availability in the library and online.

Reference Services

Reference assistance with research questions (topics, databases, online access, etc.)

• Call reference desk at 757-683-4178 (transfer from Office of Distance Learning at 1-800-968-2638 is possible on weekdays).
• From the library's web page, under the heading Research Assistance, available help includes:
  • Ask-A-Librarian through live chat or email
  • Links to Subject Guides and contact information for Subject Librarians

Delivery of Materials

• Articles through research databases
  • Obtain some full-text articles through Academic Search Complete, ABI/Inform, Gender Studies, ScienceDirect, Jstor, and approximately 250 other databases
• Articles in journals available online
  • From library Web page, click on "Find Articles & More "
• Articles in Perry Library printed journals
  • ILL (Interlibrary Loan) staff will send (usually electronically) on request; use form on library Web page under the heading Library Services.
• Articles not owned by ODU
  • ILL staff will obtain from another library and send (usually electronically) on request; use form on library Web page under the heading Library Services.
• Books owned by ODU Libraries
  • ILL staff will send on request; use form on library Web page under Library Services.
• Books not owned by ODU Libraries
  • ILL staff will obtain from another library and send on request; use form on library Web page under Library Services. The Library does NOT supply copies of textbooks required for current ODU courses.

Librarians

Faculty, please note: Librarians are available to teach class sessions and help you and your students by email or telephone. Feel free to put their names and contact information on your course Web pages. The librarians welcome the opportunity to work with faculty in integrating library instruction and information literacy into courses.

• For contact information for each of our Subject Specialists, click here.
• For information about our Information Literacy program, click here.