#LibraryNews

Did you know that if there’s a book or article that you’d like to access, but Loras College Library doesn’t have it, you can request it from another library? That is what Interlibrary Loan is all about. 

How does it work? To place a request, valid Loras College Library borrowers fill out a form available from the Library’s homepage. Our Interlibrary Loan Coordinator receives a copy of the form and uses the information in it to locate a library that owns the desired material. The Interlibrary Loan Coordinator then sends the request to the library that owns the material. If the material can be loaned, the library sends it to us and we check it out to the borrower. The length of the loan period and other conditions are determined by the lending library.

Worried about costs? Don't. Interlibrary loan is free to the Library's users.

Get more information at our Interlibrary Loan page.

Tuesday, February 25th, 2020

8:00am - 5:00pm

Get Caught at the Library! The Library staff and student employees will be canvassing the building and (with your permission) will take a picture of you that we'll post on Facebook, and email to the person of your choice.

Be sure to study in the Library on Tuesday!

The Dubuque newspaper, the Telegraph Herald, is asking for you to let them know your favorite books. Take the survey here: https://www.telegraphherald.com/favbooks.

Results will be featured in a newspaper article in the near future.

Are you into podcasts and podcasting? Miller Academic Resource Center room 136 is a self-service podcast recording studio for student, staff, and faculty use during normal Library hours.

The studio is equipped with:

• 2 boom mounted microphones
• 2 headphones
• Audio mixer
• Computer with Audacity

The Podcast room is a distraction-free setting perfect to record group discussions, audio presentations, and podcasts. Use of this room by individuals or groups is by reservation for audio recording purposes only. Reserving the studio is easy by going to https://library.loras.edu/reserveroom/podcast. Choose an available time slot and confirm. The room is locked so stop by the Library Services Desk to check out the room key. You will need your Loras ID.

Doing research on a company or a business entity? Check out this step-by-step process!

STEP 1: Search for a company overview, such as at Yahoo! Finance - is the company public, private, a subsidiary, or a non-profit?

• Public companies sell shares of the company (stocks) to the general public, and are required to submit financial information and annual reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  This makes them easier to research.
• Private companies do not sell publicly traded stocks and as a result, are not required to release as much information to the government or the general public  They are often a challenge to research.
• Subsidiaries of public companies can be difficult to research because the parent company is not required to report on each of them individually.  When researching a subsidiary, you may have to read carefully through reports about the parent and look for references to the subsidiary.
• Non-Profit organizations are businesses granted tax-exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), existing to generate a public benefit through religious, scientific, charitable, educational, literary, public safety or cruelty prevention causes. While non profits and charitable organizations have tax exempt status, they are required  to file a Form 990 with the IRS.

STEP 2: Find the company website, and look especially for the parts aimed at investors and the media.

STEP 3: If the company is public, find annual reports to shareholders and SEC filings. If the organization is non-profit, search for their IRS filings.

STEP 4: Search next for news, magazine, and scholarly articles about your company.

STEP 5: If the company is public, find financial analyses and investment reports.

STEP 6: Research the industry in which your company operates, and identify it's competitors.

STEP 7: Have a question? Ask a Librarian!

Linked definitions by Investopedia.

Now that the semester has kicked off, are the research projects piling up? We have a research process that might help! And because we like a good acronym, we are calling it the 5 A’s.

So what are the 5 A’s?

Ask

• Write down a list of questions you have about your topic. You can use those questions to help you…

Acquire

• Start looking for information! Check Credo for answers to easy questions and Academic Search Complete or a subject specific database for the more complex questions. Your research may cause you to have more questions, which is great, use them to help narrow or broaden your topic.

Analyze

• Take a look at the sources you’ve found. Are they reliable? Do they meet the needs of the assignment? Acquire more sources if you need to. Ask a Librarian for help if you get stuck.

Apply

• Write your paper! Visit the Writing Center if you get stuck.

Attribute

• Don’t forget to cite your sources and include a bibliography. Zotero may help with this step.

You can count on the Library for support and assistance in the Spring semester. We can offer:

• a variety of study spaces, including group study areas and quiet carrels;
• the podcast room;
• Thursdays at the Library (free coffee and treats on Thursday AM);
• Research help when you need it;
• Books, articles, DVDs + Interlibrary loan;
• Course reserves assigned by your professors;
• the Learning Commons; 

and much, much more! Get started at the Library's web page.