Ask a Librarian

The Library has a handout with detailed instructions and helpful screen shots.  Stop by the Research Help Desk for a copy.  The librarians are happy to help you with the process!

Works with: personal computers, laptops, iPads, smartphones, Chromebooks

All electronic reserves, such as articles and book chapters, are posted to the Brightspace course page.  To access the readings, click on e-Reserves under Content when logged in to your course page in Brightspace.

Print books, textbooks, and movies on reserve are kept at the Front Desk of the Library.  They can be used for 3 hours within the Library building.  To view a list of reserves for your course, please see our Course Reserves search page.

The Library does not accept book donations. 

If you wish to donate books, the following libraries and organizations accept used books:

• Reader to Reader (Amherst MA): 413.256.8595
• Books for Africa
• Prison Book Program (Quincy MA)
• Bridge to Asia
• Worcester Public Library: 508.799.1655 ext.3

Email the d'Alzon Library InterLibrary Loan (ILL) Department at ill@assumption.edu or call 508-767-7135.

Yes! 

There is a television with a region-free Blu-ray player in Group Study Room #125 on the first floor of the library.  We recommend that you reserve the appropriate study room in advance if you need to watch a DVD or Blu-ray.  Our loaner laptops also come with a DVD drive.  Students can check out a laptop from our front desk to use in the building, and we even have headphones if you need them!

Anyone may use a group study room without a reservation, but group study reservations are encouraged and will be considered to be a priority for use of the room. 

Rooms may be reserved for groups of two or more, for up to 3 hours per day, and may be made up to 2 weeks in advance.  To reserve a group study room, please view our Group Study Rooms page.

Use your AC email address and password to log in. The first time you log in, you will need to complete a User Registration form.

If you have found the article through a database and used the "Article Linker" button to determine that you will need to request it from another library, click on the "Request Item through InterLibrary Loan" link on the "Article Linker" results page.

When prompted, log into your ILL account. The request form should have been filled out automatically by the system. If some spaces have been left empty - that's okay! Scroll down and click on "Submit Request."

You will receive an email when your article arrives, usually within 1-3 business days. You will be able to download and save the file from your ILLiad account page.

If you are searching for a book through the main search bar on the Library's homepage, you will see a call number included for each print book in your search results.

Here is an example of a call number: PR6062 .I89 H69 2012

On the spine of the book, it will look like this:

PR
6062
.N89
H69
2012

All of the books are arranged on the shelves alphabetically.  So this book is shelved after the A's, B's, etc. and after the PA's, PB's, etc, until you get to PR.

Then start the PR 1's, 2's, etc. until you get to number 6062.  If there are a lot of PR 6062's, then we look at the third line down (.N89) and start again.  It's easy to get confused, so please visit the Front Desk for help.

 

 

 

Select the "Journal Titles" tab above the main search bar on the Library homepage. Enter the title of the specific magazine, newspaper, or journal that you need. 

After you click "Search", locate the correct journal title from your list of results.  Click on the journal title to find out which issues (or which publication dates) we own in our collections.  Follow the "Access Journal"  link next to the database that includes the journal issue you need.

Additionally, "d'Alzon Library Journals - 1st floor" or "d'Alzon Library Journals - 2nd floor" may be listed beneath the databases, which informs you that the Library has copies of your title available in print on our shelves.  If you have any difficulty locating the journal that you need, ask a librarian for help!

Enter the title within quotation marks in the main search box from the Library's homepage after you have selected the appropriate tab (Articles, Books, Videos, etc.)  If we have it, follow the "View eBook," "View full text," or "View Now" button to access any available electronic sources. 

If the item you have found is a print book, record the Call Number and location information to find it on our shelves.

As you search in our databases, you may find that an "Article Linker" button brings you to a page that states your article is "Available from Assumption College Print Journals."  If you click this link, you will see a description of how many issues (and what publication dates) we own underneath a grey colored box titled "Holding Summary."  For example, "v.22-v.43; 1996-2017" indicates that the library has volume 22 through volume 43 (dates 1996 through 2017) on the shelf.

Most of these print issues will be shelved on "d'Alzon Library Journals - 2nd floor".  The collections of journal issues will be arranged alphabetically by title, so that journals beginning with the letter A appear on the shelves closest to the stairs on the second floor of the library building.  Multiple issues of the same journal publication are bound together and resemble a large hardcover book.  They will be organized by volume number and issue number, which you will have from the citation found in the database.

 

If you are off campus and having difficulty playing a video in Brightspace, open a new tab in your browser and follow this link.  You should be prompted to login with your Assumption email address and password.  After you have successfully logged in, you may close that tab and refresh your Brightspace page.  Your video should play correctly now.

If this does not solve the problem, or you are having difficulty on campus, please contact the library for help.

You can view a complete list of our available databases by clicking the grey Article Databases button on the Library homepage. Use the drop-down menu option to filter the list according to a specific subject.

Another method would be to use a Research Guide. Select a Research Guide that applies to your course or your subject area. Within the Guide, you should find a brief list of recommended databases.

If you are still unsure, try searching a generalized database like Academic Search Premier, or ask a librarian for help!

Yes!

Head phones can be borrowed for up to 3 hours and must be used within the Library.  They can be borrowed at the Front Desk with a current Assumption College ID card.

Use our free scanner to send files directly to HoundPrint.

We have an easy to use, touch-screen scanner located on the first floor of the Library.  You can send files directly to HoundPrint, or email them to any email address.  You can also save your scans as audio files or PDFs to your USB device.

It depends.

If you have received an electronic item, such as a .PDF copy of an article, there is no need to return the item. 

If you have requested and received a print book, which was checked out to you from our Library Front Desk, you will need to return the book to our Front Desk or to any other library in the state of Massachusetts.  If you live outside of the state, you must use your local post office or FED-EX service to return the item to our address:

Assumption College
Emmanuel d'Alzon Library
500 Salisbury Street
Worcester, MA 01609

Assumption students and faculty may borrow directly from libraries in the Academic and Research Collaborative (ARC).  Please obtain an ARC direct borrowing card at the d'Alzon Library Front Desk in order to borrow directly from an ARC member library.

To schedule a research appointment, follow the Meet with a Librarian link found on the left side of the Library's homepage.

Appointments are typically 30 minutes long and can be tailored to address any specific questions or problems you are facing in your research.  

Generally, the library does not collect textbooks.  

However, we would be happy to check our collections for you.  Additionally, it's possible that your instructor placed a copy of your textbook on reserve, which means that it can be borrowed for short periods of time for in-library use.  Check with the Front Desk to find out if an item has been placed on reserve for your course.

There are a couple different ways to find peer reviewed articles. You can use the main search bar on the Library's homepage. Use the filters on the left side of the search result screen to limit your results to Peer Reviewed under Content, and Article/Chapter under Format.

Additionally, you could use the Article Databases button on the Library's homepage and start your search in one of our specific databases. Most of the databases include filters to limit your results. Look carefully for a check box option for Peer Reviewed. Can't seem to find it? Ask a librarian for help!