How Do I... Log in to library resources?
For all library resources - databases, ebooks, streaming videos, dissertations, etc. - you log in with your LAST NAME as username and your STUDENT ID as barcode/ID. This is DIFFERENT than the login for most other Alliant resources, like email and the portal.
How Do I... Search for books?
Go to the library home page (http://library.alliant.edu) and click inside the purple search box at the center of the screen. Make sure that either the Encore or Classic Catalog options is selected - these are two different interfaces to the same collection. Encore and Classic Catalog search all of the books, DVDs, ebooks and Alliant dissertations held at Alliant's six campuses in California.
Simply type in search terms (author names, book titles, keywords) and press enter, and you'll see a list of results showing what Alliant owns on that topic.
Didn't find what you're looking for?
That just means Alliant doesn't own it, but in most cases you can still get it by asking us to borrow it from another library. At the home page, run the search in the purple box again, but this time choose the Link+ option. This will search for the material at all Link+ libraries (Link+ is a library consortium of 50 institutions with combined holdings of over 30 million items.
This is nice, but what I want isn't at my campus!
No problem, you can request it and it will be sent to the Alliant campus you specify. Requested items with available copies usually arrive in two to three business days. To request something, just click on the "Request" link either in Encore, Classic Catalog, or Link+. You'll be asked to log in with your last name and student ID.
How Do I... Search for articles?
For articles, do NOT use the purple search box. Instead, go to Databases (the link is in the upper left of the home page). You'll see a list of the 50 or so databases Alliant subscribes to; most have a subject focus, so you'll only need to search the ones pertinent to your area of focus. Some suggestions are:
Business: Business Source Complete; Emerald Management Xtra
Education: ERIC; Education Resource Complete
Psychology: PsycINFO; PsychiatryOnline
Forensics: Criminal Justice Periodicals Index; PsycINFO
Law: LexisNexis
In each database you can search by author, subject, keyword, and many other fields. Some results will include a link to the full text, while others will not - this means that Alliant does not subscribe to the journal that the article appeared in. In these cases you can request a copy of the article through ArticleReach. Articles that have to be ordered this way will have a "Find Full Text" button next to them instead of a link to the PDF. Click Find Full Text and either the article will pop up or you'll see a link to submit a request through ArticleReach. Once you submit the ArticleReach request, a link to the full text will be emailed to you, usually within a day or so.