Services: John Wood Community College Library

Bibliographic Instruction

Do you want to learn how to search our catalog for books and other material? Do you need to learn how to access our many electronic databases? We can help you locate information from periodicals and newspapers.

Let our staff provide instruction about the Library's resources. They will demonstrate "how-to" with a one-on-one approach. Off campus needing assistance? Please call our Circulation Desk at 217-641-4537. You may also leave an e-mail message at the Reference Desk. Our friendly, helpful staff will reply as soon as they are able.

Interlibrary Loan

Interlibrary loan is a library service that involves borrowing and/or lending items from one library to another. Any JWCC student, faculty, or staff may request interlibrary loan items. Plan ahead. The transit time could be two weeks or more, but some requests are filled in two or three days.

There are multiple methods to request interlibrary loan material. First, you may search the I-Share catalog for books and videos. The material will be shipped directly to JWCC for your convenience. Students are called when a requested item arrives, and faculty and staff are notified by e-mail.

You may also search our library databases for articles. If you find a record for an article you need that lacks a link to the full text, you can click a link in some databases that says "Check SFX for full text availability." SFX is a service that links you to any full text article for which the library provides access. If the full text is not found by SFX, you can click the Go button next to the words "Request document via the Interlibrary Loan Service at John Wood Community College Library." Fill in your personal information; your borrower ID can be found on the back of your JWCC ID card.

You can also request items with our interlibrary loan request form. We need your personal information such as name, phone number, e-mail, etc. We'll also ask for a "needed by" date. We will require the title of the article, author's name, magazine/journal title, date of publication, volume, issue, and page number.

Reference Service and Virtual Reference

Our Reference Department is always prepared to answer questions.

If you need reference help, please ask for assistance at the Circulation Desk. We will be happy to help you.

There is also a Reference Help form you can fill out online. One of our Reference Staff will complete the research and return information or answers to you.

Have you tried our Ask Away service? For more information, please read below.

Ask Away Our virtual Reference Librarian!

AskAway is an interactive online service that allows you to chat with a Librarian, much like Instant Messaging.

Through e-mail and chat, Librarians can answer questions, assist in conducting online research, and help navigate the Internet.

The service is monitored by Librarians throughout Illinois. They receive backup from Librarians elsewhere in the country, allowing you to access the service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Individualized Instruction

The Library staff will be happy to familiarize you with the many aspects of our electronic resources. Please come to the Circulation Desk for assistance. If you are off campus, contact us at 217-641-4537. We are happy to answer questions about our databases, e-journals, e-books, renewing books, finding resources, using our computers, and more.

Last Updated: Monday, January 04, 2010