New to the Graduate Center? Not new to the Graduate Center but new to research? Not new to research but in need of some refreshing? Whatever your situation, here are five things we really want you to know about the Graduate Center Library and its offerings:
- Access E-Journals and E-Books Anywhere: The library’s website can connect you to a wide array of library catalogs and databases, including many thousands of e-journals and e-books. All e-resources are accessible both on and off site — when off site, simply log in with your GC network username and password when prompted. (Note: On the very rare occasions that the library’s website is down, you can still access many library resources and services through our back-up site: http://gclibraryisdown.org/.)
- Get One-on-One Help from a Librarian: Need help with your research? If you’re at the GC, stop by the reference desk on the second floor of the library. If you’re somewhere else, go to the library website and start a chat session — you won’t always get a GC librarian, but you’ll always get an academic librarian with lots of research experience, 24/7! And if you have a more in-depth or difficult research need, schedule an appointment with a librarian or contact your subject librarian.
- A World of Materials, from All Over the World: GC students are not limited to the collections at the GC! You can request books from other CUNY libraries using the CUNY catalog and get materials from beyond CUNY by placing interlibrary loan requests. Also, you can use the New York Public Library in ways few others can: Thanks to the Manhattan Research Library Initiative (MaRLI), you can borrow books from NYPL’s research libraries! You can even apply through MaRLI for borrowing privileges at NYU and Columbia.
- Discover Dissertations: Not sure what dissertations in your field look like? Want to go beyond books and articles in your research? Check out Digital Dissertations, a database that includes thousands of full-text CUNY dissertations and over a million full-text dissertations from other universities. Access Digital Dissertations under the “Databases” tab of the GC library website.
- Find More with “Find It!” When you’re using library databases, you’ll sometimes see an article citation accompanied by a “Find it!” button. Click the “Find It!” button to see if the GC library has the item in another database. If the full text of the item isn’t available in any GC database, “Find it!” will direct you to interlibrary loan and will auto-fill the article request form for you. Learn more about “Find it!”
