When students arrive at K-State, there’s one thing we want to make sure they know: We are here to help. We tell them that they don’t need to fumble through the hundreds of databases available, or stress out about how to find the research they need. That’s why we are here.
This message has perhaps never been as relevant as it is this semester. As students get used to taking classes in an online format, we know that they are feeling additional stress. Now, more than ever, we want parents to know that we are here to help your student succeed.
Our librarians and staff are working remotely and are available to answer your student’s research questions or to provide help with using online resources. Chat services are available Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For general questions, they can use our Ask A Librarian service or contact their subject librarian by email.
K-State librarians have also created handy research guides. These guides are divided by subject and can help your student navigate the best ways to find articles and research related to their class.
Our staff are also working to make sure that students have access to our online materials. Several resources are available online for research and can be accessed remotely. Some resources will require students to log in with their K-State E-ID and passwords.
And if we don’t have what they need, they can request it through our Interlibrary Loan service. We will do our best to find what they need and deliver it electronically.
We can also scan chapters from our textbook collection. To place a request for a chapter of a textbook, students can use the Interlibrary Loan request form. We will work to get your student a scanned copy either from our collection or another library. You might also encourage them to check RedShelf. The K-State Campus Store is partnering with RedShelf to provide access to up to 7 e-textbooks.
Additionally, the university has been given temporary emergency access to the HathiTrust digital collection, which provides online access to any book in their digital library that K-State Libraries has a physical copy of. You can find more details about how your student can use this resource on our website.
Our continuation of Libraries services webpage has more information about our resources during the university’s limited operations status. If your student has any questions about any of these remote resources, please have them contact us by chat or email.
Submitted by guest contributor Cailin Riley