Did you know that there’s a copy of each print textbook and coursepack for every undergraduate course at Concordia on reserve at the library? Well, there is!
Thanks to funding from undergraduate students through the Library Services Fund (LSF), the library is able to buy copies and place them on reserve, says Pat Riva, associate university librarian, Collection Services.
“The reserve rooms at both the Webster and Vanier libraries are self-serve and available 24 hours a day.”
Reserved textbooks and coursepacks are just two of the library essentials that should be on the radar of new students, along with the library’s targeted course and subject guides. Each subject guide recommends specific resources, databases, how-to guides, background sources, websites and more.
Since 2010, undergraduates have contributed $1 per credit to the LSF. Continued funding enables students to benefit from these offerings every academic term.
Also made possible thanks to the LSF: “There are 300 laptops and 125 iPads to borrow, for free,” says Rajiv Johal, finance and economics librarian at the John Molson School of Business. “Just present your student ID at the loans desk.”
Another fantastic library essential is the growing collection of online films hosted on its streaming media server, says Susie Brier, librarian for Women's Studies, Sociology, and Anthropology.
“You’ll find everything from dance videos to creative shorts. But most of the films are feature documentaries on a wide range of topics. Included in the collection are new films such as our selections from Cinema Politica Concordia, as well as digitized classics and even selected local Concordia productions.”
To search or browse the library’s streaming videos, including those provided by distributors like NFB Campus and Alexander Street Video, use the library catalogue Video Search, take a look at the How to Find Videos guide, or try the library Discovery Search.
And, if you need help with any library related questions, don't forget about the Ask a Librarian online chat service.
“This is an essential service for student success,” says Luigina Vileno, Vanier’s head librarian. “If you have questions, ask us. We are here to help.”
The library also offers students a series of workshops to help them succeed in their studies.
Here are some other key resources for you to check out, organized by faculty:
Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science
“The library weds two of the essential needs that engineering students have: access to the information required to work on complex problems and the space to do this work as a collaborative team,” says Chloe Lei, one of the engineering librarian.
Engineering students in particular appreciate the collaborative study spaces on the fifth floor of the Webster Library because of their proximity to engineering resources.
“Rooms can be reserved in advance and they’re equipped with big screens, whiteboards and more. They’re extremely nice spaces for teamwork,” says Lei. “Just outside of these reserved areas there are also open, group work areas.”
Along with the targeted Gina Cody School course and subject guides, Lei and her library colleagues point to three other invaluable resources for Gina Cody School students:
- Engineering Village gives students access to three key engineering-oriented databases. It allows users to track down scholarly articles, conference proceedings and more. It is updated weekly with new information and goes back as far as the 1800s.
- RS Means (print books and online resources) provides construction cost data, as well as city cost indexes, productivity rates, crew composition and contractor’s overhead and profit rates.
- Students also have access to engineering and computer science ebook collections, including ebooks on CRCnetBASE, EBSCOhost, ENGnetBASE, the IEEE Xplore Digital Library and others.