Orientation Document
Accelerated Degree Completion Program (ADCP)


Dear ADCP Students and Faculty:

Welcome to Huntingdon College and Huntingdon's Houghton Memorial Library. The following information is intended to assist you in using our main campus library and the variety of print and electronic resources in our collections.

Getting a Library Card

To obtain a Huntingdon library card, ADCP students and faculty need to complete the online application form that can be found on the Library's web site (look under the "ADCP Services" heading). Once the completed online form is submitted to the Library, a user account will be established for the ADCP student or faculty member. The new library account number will be e-mailed to the student or faculty member, and the tangible library "card" (i.e. key fob) will be mailed along with this orientation document on resources and services of the Huntingdon College library. It is very important to establish a library account as this will then allow ADCP students and faculty to have access to the Library's electronic databases, and of course physically check materials out of the Library, if applicable. (Please note that only those who have established a library account with the Huntingdon library will have remote access to our subscription electronic resources.)

Web site

The Library's web site can be located by going to http://library.huntingdon.edu. From the College's main web site, you can find the Library by clicking on "Academics" in the upper bar menu, then from the pull-down menu click on "Library."
Once you are at the Library's web site, you will see a number of buttons, several of which are further explained below.

Electronic Databases

To locate the list of electronic databases provided by the Huntingdon library, click on the "Databases" link on the Library's web site. Here you will find an alphabetical listing of all the databases to which we currently subscribe. For those studying in the area of business administration, the most frequently used databases will include Business Source Premier (click on "EbscoHost" in the alphabetical listing), which is also available through the AVL (see below for further information on the AVL); Business and Company Resource Center and Business Index ASAP (click on "Gale Databases"), again found in the AVL; and Business - Hoover's Company Records (click on "ProQuest"). It is also worth keeping in mind that databases in other disciplines, such as psychology, political science, and communications and mass media studies (e.g. PsycInfo, the CQ - Congressional Quarterly - databases, Europa World, Communication & Mass Media Complete); as well as interdisciplinary databases (such as Academic Search Elite in EbscoHost and even Ethnic Newswatch in the AVL) can provide useful information for students of business administration and its allied fields.

Another electronic resource of value is Serials Solutions (listed under "Databases"). This resource allows you to search for electronic journals - journals that appear online in mostly full-text in our databases (this resource is also available for use in the AVL). You can search within Serials Solutions for full-text e-journal coverage in a variety of ways: alphabetically by journal title, by subject (such as "Business and Economics"), and by database (such as Business and Company Resource Center).

As previously mentioned, to access most of our electronic resources, you will need to have an account with our library. Once you have established an account, you will be given a bar code number that acts as your library card number (this number will be listed on the back of the key fob that serves as your library card, which we will send to you). When trying to access a database or your library account, you will be asked for your last name and library card number (enter this number from your card without any spaces). If you encounter problems contact Ms. Brenda Kerwin, Systems Librarian, at bkerwin@huntingdon.edu. (Please note that the Library's web site is best navigated using either the latest version of Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator.)

Most electronic databases also provide very useful "Help" options to assist you in learning the effective use of a particular database. Vendors have worked closely with librarians in developing these help menus. You will also notice that many databases can assist you in properly citing sources. For example, in EbscoHost databases, once you have found an article you wish to use and cite, scroll over the icons on the page; one will be "cite this article." Clicking on this icon will take you to a screen that list how to cite the article using various citation styles.

Alabama Virtual Library

Many of you may be familiar with the Alabama Virtual Library (AVL). If you are accustomed to having your own AVL card to access this collection of databases, we want to mention that as long as you are a student or faculty member at Huntingdon, you no longer need this personal access information - IF you access the AVL through our web site. When doing so, instead of clicking on "Home Access" you will click on the "Campus & Library" button. There are a number of business-related databases in the AVL. Among these are the highly recommended Business Source Premier produced by Ebsco and Gale's Business and Company Resource Center. Some of the AVL databases may be cross-listed on our library's database page.

Using Google

Google can be a legitimate tool for accessing information for academic work; however, we encourage students to focus on using Google Scholar and Google Book Search. One of the important features is that you will be linked to the nearest library that owns the resource you need and can direct you to additional resources related to your topic. You can find the links to Google Scholar and Google Book Search by going to Google (www.google.com) and clicking on the "More" button at the top of the screen. This will give you a menu, and you will see "Scholar" and "Books" among your choices.

Countess

The Library's online catalogue can be found as the first item listed under "Find Books & More" on the library web site. Named in recognition of the College's namesake - Selina, the Countess of Huntingdon - Countess provides access to not only the Library's print collection, but also e-books (electronic books) and films. If you come across an e-book in Countess you will know this by lack of a call number and the statement "Web Access." You will be provided a link that will take you to the electronic version of the book that is housed in the netLibrary database.

A word on netLibrary: If you use e-books in this database, we encourage you to establish a personal user account with netLibrary, which you can do by clicking on the link you will see in the upper right of the screen. Establishing an account is free and will allow you to have access to several searching features not available without an account.

Interlibrary Loan

As a student or faculty member of Huntingdon College you are able to use our interlibrary loan service. Since you are participating in an accelerated degree completion program, some aspects of the interlibrary loan service may not be suited to your needs, as it can take time to acquire a resource, particularly a physical item such as a book, from another library (for example, a request for a book from another academic library in Alabama can take a week to arrive; then we must have time to ship the book to the ADCP student or faculty member). Mrs. Nordis Smith, the library faculty member who oversees our interlibrary loan service, will be happy to assist you and answer your questions regarding interlibrary loan. nosmith@huntingdon.edu, (334) 833-4537.

Tutorial

On our library's web site you will find a tutorial that can assist you in learning how to effectively use library resources. On our web site look under the "ADCP Services" heading and click on "Tutorial." There are seven (7) modules in the tutorial to help you develop your research skills: research strategies, effective database searching, finding books, finding periodical articles, accessing government documents, evaluating information critically, and using the internet for research.

Plagiarism

The issue of plagiarism is very important in the academic community, perhaps even more so today with the heavy use of online resources. To assist faculty - and students - the Library subscribes to the Turnitin.com database, which can be found on the Library's web site. Turnitin.com provides a clear definition of what constitutes plagiarism. We encourage all our students to review it. Any faculty who wish to establish an account with Turnitin should contact Ms. Brenda Kerwin, Systems Librarian, at bkerwin@huntingdon.edu, (334) 833-4529.

What's New???

Our library uses a variety of means to communicate with its users from traditional mail (USPS and e-mail), to columns in the college newspaper, to the College's official "Monday Messages" from the administrative office for college communications, to the Library's Facebook page.

The Library contributes two columns to the Gargoyle, the college student newspaper: "Dreams & Swords" and "New @ Your Library." These columns are archived on the Library's web site.

The Library's Facebook page can be found by searching for "Huntingdon College Library." We encourage students, faculty and staff to become fans of the Library's page. Here you will find news of changes in library policy and procedure, new library resources, notices of library events and observances, photographs related to the Library, interesting items and articles found on the Internet, etc.

Asking for "HELP!"

One of the first rules - if not the first rule - of using any library, whether you are physically in the facility or using it virtually, is that you should ask for help whenever you need it. We encourage you to do so. On the Library's web site ("Library Information") there is a link to a listing of the library faculty and staff that includes areas of responsibility and contact information (telephone and e-mail).

Students away from the main campus in Montgomery may most often need technical assistance accessing the web site or gaining entry into one of the many databases offered. Ms. Brenda Kerwin, Systems Librarian, is the main contact for this type of help. She provides students and faculty with the added service of contacting her during the evenings (until approximately 10:00) and on weekends. During these times and as able she frequently checks her e-mail from home and most often can correct in timely fashion whatever problem a user has encountered. Her e-mail address can also be found at the bottom of the first page of the web site and at the top of the page listing our databases (bkerwin@huntingdon.edu). She encourages students and faculty who e-mail her to include a telephone number where they can be reached. If necessary, she will call to help talk through the problem, or simply to confirm that the problem has been resolved.

Students away from the main campus in Montgomery may most often need technical assistance accessing the web site or gaining entry into one of the many databases offered. Ms. Brenda Kerwin, Systems Librarian, is the main contact for this type of help. She provides students and faculty with the added service of contacting her during the evenings (until approximately 10:00) and on weekends. During these times and as able she frequently checks her e-mail from home and most often can correct in timely fashion whatever problem a user has encountered. Her e-mail address can also be found at the bottom of the first page of the web site and at the top of the page listing our databases (bkerwin@huntingdon.edu). She encourages students and faculty who e-mail her to include a telephone number where they can be reached. If necessary, she will call to help talk through the problem, or simply to confirm that the problem has been resolved.

Welcome to Huntingdon College -

Eric A. Kidwell
Director of the Library