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Library FAQs: services during COVID-19

NOTICE:  The Library has reopened beginning August 10. As the situation surrounding COVID-19 develops, building hours and services are subject to change.

Will the library be open and what access do I have to library resources?

  • Starting on Saturday, March 28, the library building will be closed. Certain services may be available to Concordia faculty and staff by appointment. Email cegan@cord.edu or call (218) 299-4640 to schedule an appointment. Check the library website for updates. 

  • Librarians and library staff will be available to assist with putting library resources on course Moodle pages, providing reference, and checking out books and media.  

  • The librarians will be able to provide online instruction sessions for individual courses as needed.   

  • Students and faculty working remotely will be able to contact the library via email, chat, and Zoom.   

  • As much as possible, the library will continue to provide interlibrary loan and other essential services.   

  • Please contact your liaison librarian if you have questions or need assistance in connecting your students with library and research resources. 

Can my students get help from a librarian?

Yes, librarians will be available to provide online assistance to students.  We have a Moodle block of library resources that you could include on your course page. Contact Allie Thome, athome@cord.edu, to request this addition to your Moodle page(s).  You might also share your library liaison’s contact information with your students, or even better, add your librarian to join your Moodle course. 

The library also has a set of tutorials and videos in the DIY Library that might be useful resources for helping your students use some of the library databases, cite sources, or write a research question.  All of these materials are available to link on your Moodle pages. 

How can I find video and audio materials for my class?

The library licenses several databases for using film and audio in courses. Search these databases for film and audio:  

Is library instruction available?

Yes, contact your library liaison via our list of librarians to discuss how to structure an online session to best help your students. Librarians will be happy to provide support for your online class.  It may use different resources than a face-to-face instruction session, but librarians can do that.  Please contact your library liaison so that you can plan together how to best help your students.

My students (or I) can't login to the database; what should I do?

First, double-check that you are using your Concordia username and password to log in. 

Next, follow these instructions to clear your browser's cache: Google Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer. Clearing your web browser's cache will help protect your personal information but also clear out old forms and help applications run more effectively. 

After that, make sure you are accessing the databases through the library's webpage. There are multiple ways to access the databases from the library's webpage. To get to these resources...

  1. Start at the library website.   
  2. Scroll down and click on the All Databases link or select your subject (Psychology, History, Chemisty, etc.) from the Databases by Subject box. 
  3. On the next screen, click on the database you want to use. 

If you want to browse all our databases...

  1. Start at the library website
  2. Select the Quick Links tab
  3. Select the A-Z Database link
  4. This will open a new webpage and allow you to search through an A-Z list of databases available to you. 

If you try to go directly to the database website from your web browser you will get a message that you don’t have access or that you need to pay for access. 

If none of these options are working for you, please contact the reference librarians via email (askccref@cord.edu), chat, or phone (218-299-4640).  On the library website, look for the Ask a Librarian link in the bottom right corner of your screen to web chat with a reference librarian.

 

What is the best way to post library resources on my Moodle course page?

Library resources are automatically authenticated on-campus. To post licensed library resources in your pages for off-campus access, you will need to make some adjustments. 

METHOD 1: Link from the Library Catalog  

  1. The cleanest method of posting individual library resources into a course page is to copy a link from the library catalog item. Search the Library Catalog here: https://cord.on.worldcat.org/discovery 
  2. Find your item. Click on the Link button at the top of the record. Copy and paste link into your course page. 

​​​Example The online teaching survival guide https://cord.on.worldcat.org/oclc/950969275 

NOTE: The library catalog includes multiple access points to some resources. If the top link does not work, try another link.   

METHOD 2: Link to an article or other resource that you find in a library database    

Off-campus Instructions 

  1. Login to a library database look for a permalink in the item. 
  2. Copy the permalink into your course page. 

Example: Academic Search Premier Article: Understanding the environment of online teaching. Open article, look for the permalink on the right side of the article, click on the link which opens at the top of the page. Notice that the cordproxy.mnpals.net is imbedded in the URL.  

  1. Copy and paste the link into your course page. 

Example: http://search.ebscohost.com.cordproxy.mnpals.net/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=24601698&site=ehost-live&scope=site  

On-campus Instructions

  1. If you are in your office or on VPN at home, you will need to create the links yourself. 
  2. Go to the database, find item permalink. Save this link. Add the following chunk at the beginning of the article URL.  

http://cordproxy.mnpals.net/login?url= 

Example: Understanding the environment of online teaching  

Chunk to add in front of Permalink: http://cordproxy.mnpals.net/login?url= 

Permalink: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=24601698&site=ehost-live&scope=site 

New URL that will work off-campus: http://cordproxy.mnpals.net/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=24601698&site=ehost-live&scope=site 

EXECEPTIONS: Films on Demand and Ebook Central create proxy links on or off-campus. There are no additional steps needed to use Films on Demand and Ebook Central when you are using an on-campus computer or VPN. 

There are also many OpenAccess items in the library which do not require extra authentication.  

Example: Assessment strategies for online learning   
Library link https://cord.on.worldcat.org/oclc/1046065853  
Direct link to the item: https://www.aupress.ca/books/120279-assessment-strategies-for-online-learning/ 

If you have problems creating an off-campus link contact Leah Anderson, landerso@cord.edu or Theresa Borchert, borchert@cord.edu.