Library
Introductory
The University Library is the place to get connected to information resources for a successful college career. Whether you connect to the library using the Internet (http://library.csuohio.edu/), using the phone (216- 687-5300), or in person in Rhodes Tower, the library offers solutions to your information needs. The library's mission is to bring people and information together. We will help you become a proficient information user and fulfill all your academic and research needs.
Collections
The library collections provide the best of contemporary and traditional research tools. The library’s online collection of books and journal articles is far more suitable for academic coursework and research than resources available elsewhere on the Internet. With online access to 30,000 journal titles, more than 230 research databases, and other online resources, you have the materials at your fingertips required to write term papers, complete course assignments, and conduct other research. The on-site collection includes more than one million print volumes and more than one million additional items, such as sound recordings, video recordings, DVDs, and microforms.
Special Collections (http://web.ulib.csuohio.edu/SpecColl/) covers various topics but focus on primary research materials for the study of the economic, cultural, social, and political history of Cleveland, northeastern Ohio, and the Great Lakes region. Many of these special collections are available online (http://www.clevelandmemory.org/) through the Cleveland Memory Project.
Electronic Course Reserve (http://library.csuohio.edu/services/ecr.html) provides thousands of items, in a variety of formats, each semester to supplement course material.
OhioLINK, a consortium of 85 colleges and universities, the State Library of Ohio, and Cuyahoga County Public Library, allows you to place online requests for books from a statewide collection of 46 million volumes. For items not in OhioLINK, InterLibrary Loan allows you to have access to an unlimited number of library books and journals owned by other libraries in Ohio, the country, and the rest of the world.
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Services
The library's Web site (http://library.csuohio.edu/) is your research starting point for access to thousands of online journal articles, e-books, research databases, and the virtual reference page. Bookmark the library’s Web site and use it as your first choice when looking for information pertaining to coursework and research.
For tips with selecting and using information resources, reference librarians can offer one-on-one expert advice. You can contact one of these information professionals by phone (216-687-5300), by e-mail (http://library.csuohio.edu/services/ask/email.html), or in person in the library.
The library also provides group or class instruction. Through collaboration between instructors and library staff, you will learn to use the best information resources rather than relying on random information found through search engines.
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Facilities
The Reference Center is the best place to start a research project because librarians are there to help with coursework and research involving information resources. The area provides 60 workstations for your use.
The Library Connection Lounges provide you with places to relax, read the latest news, browse current popular books, and hang out with your friends. These contemporary and inviting spaces have comfortable lounge chairs, popular reading materials, courtesy of Cleveland Public Library, café-style chairs and tables, electricity and network connections, and a large-screen TV with continuous news coverage. The lounges are located respectively just west of the User Services Center and east of the Adaptive Technology lab on the first floor.
In Multimedia Services, located on the third floor of the library, you can listen to music for a class, watch a video or a webcast, and take media-based tests. The lab features both PCs and Macintosh computers, scanners for use in scanning text or images, as well as a wide range of software that allows you to edit audio and video files, design multimedia Web pages, and create graphics and PowerPoint presentations. Multimedia Services also has specifically configured Tandberg audio recorders to facilitate foreign-language learning. In the Viewing Room, you can watch DVDs, videotapes, and even 16mm films in cinema-like surroundings.
You can rehearse your classroom presentations in the library's Presentation Practice Room in RT 304. The room is equipped with a SmartBoard, PC, overhead projector and lectern. Additional media equipment is available upon request. Call us at 216-687-9337 to reserve RT 304, or to request information on any of the facilities, equipment or materials available at Multimedia Services.
The first-floor Adaptive Technology Lab serves students with special needs. Those with physical impairments find adaptive keyboards, enhancing their ability to complete their coursework. For individuals with visual impairments, the lab is equipped with software that scans text, reads text back, and prints in Braille or enlarged text.
The library provides a quiet place to study on the second floor, which has been designated the Silent Study floor. Since group projects have become more prevalent, the fourth floor has been designed for group study and is furnished with special tables with electrical outlets and network connections placed conveniently on top.
The library also provides network connection areas in the Connection Lounges and behind the LCLC for your individual use. If you have a laptop equipped with a wireless adapter card, you can access the campus network throughout the library.
Technologically advanced electronic instruction rooms are used for library instruction, training in the use of technology, presentations, and hands-on computing exercises. The instruction rooms offer inviting workspaces and flexible seating along with specific equipment such as PCs or laptops, touch-enabled presentation screens, wireless keyboards and mice, and VCR and DVD players. "Smart rooms" enable interactive video distance learning, when classmates are located across town or even in other counties. The rooms are also equipped for video conferencing.
When classes are in session, library hours are typically Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.; Friday, 7:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.; Saturday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.; and Sunday, noon – 6:00 p.m.