Faculty “Toolkit”
Insignia: Library Catalog
The library catalog provides access to our collection of resources – both physical and electronic:
- Books
- eBooks
- Reserve textbooks
- DVDs
- Printed and online journals
- OERs
The catalog can be searched by author, title, subject or keyword. Basic and advanced searching is available, and results can be filtered in many ways.
- For more information on the catalog, try our Library Catalog guide.
- To search the Insignia library catalog, click on the image
Class Assignment Guides
Instructors are encouraged to send a copy of their assignments that involve using library resources. The Subject Librarian will design a guide for your students. This guide will help the students navigate the library’s website and help them get to the information they need to complete the assignment.
If you have any questions, please contact the Subject Librarian for your department.
Copyright Help
Copyright can cause all kinds of confusion when it comes to researching, writing, and publishing.
The Trocaire College Libraries have a number of tools and resources that can help answer some of these questions.
- Copyright for Faculty
For details on copyright and fair use, please review the Copyright for Faculty PDF. - Circular 21: Reproduction of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians
For guides and best practices from the US Copyright Office, please review Circular 21. - Fair Use Checklist
For help determine Fair Use, please review the Fair Use Checklist. - Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education
A useful guide on fair use from the Center for Media & Social Impact can be found here.
Course Reserves
The Trocaire College Libraries’ Course Reserves allows your students access to essential materials in the library.
Find out if an item is on Course Reserve check our Spring 2021 Reserve Collection Guide.
Guidelines for Materials on Reserve
- Textbooks, books, and DVDs may be held on reserve for your students.
- Faculty may suggest materials for purchase for the Course Reserve collection for student and faculty use.
- Textbooks can be purchased by the library only when there is a high demand. Most textbooks are donated by faculty or the department.
- Materials on Course Reserve may be borrowed by faculty for use within the classroom or personal research. If the item is a high-demand item, a loan may not be possible. Please see a librarian. Students may only use Course Reserve materials in the library.
- Faculty may return Course Reserve materials directly to either library or place in the library box in the mailroom at the main campus.
- Faculty must return Course Reserve materials within one week so other faculty and students can use these materials.
Reserve Requests
If the item you would like on Course Reserve is not currently held by the Trocaire College Libraries, speak to your Subject Librarian or consider submitting a Resource Request.
Databases
Use Trocaire College Libraries’ various library databases to find needed information. Databases provide access to information in journals, newspapers, magazines, books reviews, images, videos and more.
To access the databases visit the Database A-Z List.
Distance Learning
Click here to access the libraries’ Distance Learning page that lists services and resources for you and your students.
If you need help with:
- Moodle
- Zoom
- VMWare
- Webmail
- Panopto
- Vericite
Contact the Office of Information Technology (OIT) .
Good Reads
Some popular reads that may interest you (require authentication from off-campus):
Guides
The library has published several guides on:
- Research & Research Related: How to use databases in general, search the Internet, understand the research
process and writing a paper. - Subject-specific guides are now being listed on our new LibGuides platform. UPDATE-AUGUST 2022: We are continuing to migrate older guides to the new platform. Thanks for your patience as we do this!
To see a comprehensive list (of our older guides), visit our Ultimate Library Guide Page.
Interlibrary Loan & AcademicSHARE
Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is a system that allows faculty, students and staff to request materials not available at the Trocaire College Libraries from other sharing libraries.
If the item is a book, the lending library determines the loan period for materials borrowed through ILL. If you wish to renew an ILL item, contact the Trocaire College Libraries before it is due. Renewing items is dependent upon the lending library’s policies. Borrowers will be responsible for the cost of a lost or damaged item. This service may take up to 7-10 days for the item to be delivered to Trocaire College.
If the item requested is a journal article, either a PDF or a web link will be sent to your Trocaire email. Links do expire. Please check the date of expiration.
AcademicSHARE is another avenue to borrowing materials from other libraries. Use this service when you need an item quickly and you are willing to visit the lending library. Contact Trocaire College Libraries to determine which participating library owns the materials. As a faculty member, simply present your valid Trocaire College ID at the circulation desk of the participating library. That library may choose to call the Trocaire College Libraries to confirm that you are a current faculty member in good standing. Renewing items is dependent upon the lending library’s policies. Borrowers will be responsible for the cost of a lost or damaged item.
A list of participating libraries and further explanation of guidelines can be found through WNYLRC
Library Research & Instruction: LRI
The Trocaire College Libraries offer you the opportunity to have a Subject Librarian come to your classroom (via Zoom) to teach your students library skills and information literacy. Librarians usually cover 2-3 topics per 50 minute session. You may wish to schedule a longer session, or add a follow-up LRI session, if you feel your students need more instruction.
Each session is tailored to your coursework. You may select a topic from the list below. If you don’t see what you need, contact us. We will create a LRI sessions based on your student’s needs.
We also offer “Library skills in a flash!” these are short visits to your classroom via Zoom to demonstrate quick skills to help students.
Your Subject Librarian can collaborate with you on developing or redefining a research paper or project.
Popular topics for LRI:
- Library Orientation
- Understanding the Research Process
- Selecting and Developing Research Topics
- Understanding the Life Cycle of Information
- Searching Databases
- Searching the Library Catalog
- Web Search Tips
- Media Bias and Literacy
- Evaluating Information Critically
- Identifying Scholarly vs. Popular Resources
- Identifying Primary and Secondary Resources
- Avoiding Plagiarism
- Citations and Formatting
- Intellectual Property and Copyright Basics
- Netiquette
To set up an LRI session, click here and fill out the form. Your subject librarian will respond shortly.
Moodle Library Course
The library has a Moodle course in addition to all of our other digital resources. This course is located under “Student Resources” on the main Moodle landing page as Library Orientation & Mini-Lessons.
To register for this course, please use the following case-sensitive enrollment key: LibraryOrientation
This course includes a comprehensive Library Orientation that students may complete to learn about the physical offerings of the library space, an overview of our website, and basic library research skills. We want you to have a solid foundation of how you can best use the library and its resources for your academic career. This orientation is self-paced.
Also included are mini-lessons are designed to be a quick, comprehensive dive into a research or information literacy topic. They are self-paced and should take anywhere from 15-30 minutes. Listed under each topic are its learning outcomes. Click here to be taken to a list of available mini-lessons and learn about their learning outcomes.
Open Access & Open Educational Resources: OER & OA
Open Access (OA) resources are digital materials of all types that are freely available to use, distribute, and modify. OA resources are either released into the public domain or under a license that permits their free use, such as a Creative Commons License (CCL). Open Educational Resources (OER) are open resources that are designed for educational purposes.
Find out more information on OA and OER visit our guide.
Creative Commons Licenses (CCL)
Creative Commons Licenses (CCL) are sets of licenses that allow you to share your work for free while still maintaining control over how the work is shared. Although not required, most OA resources are released under a Creative Commons License.
Find out more information on CCL visit our guide.
Places to find open resources
Click here for a list of places to find OERs.
Unpaywall
Unpaywall is a browser extension for chrome that checks for full-text open versions of journal articles that can normally only be accessed through a paywall.
Subject Librarians
Each of our librarians specializes in certain subject areas. Click here to find the Subject Librarian for your area. Your Subject Librarian is here to help ensure the library has materials for student and faculty research needs. We offer:
- library research instruction
- library materials for teaching, including Course Reserves, and research
- research consultations
- creation of research guides for subjects, databases or specific classes/assignments
- provide library orientation for new faculty members
- aid in your own professional research
- accreditation support
Contact us:
- In Person – Visit us in person at the Library during Library hours
- By Phone – Need help finding information? Call 827-2434.
- By Email – Email your questions to: [email protected] or contact your Subject Librarians.
- By Appointment – To book an appointment, call us at 827-2434, email us at [email protected], or fill in a request form.
Subject Pages
Each department or subject at Trocaire College has a dedicated Subject Page.
Here you will find all the resources that the library offers for a particular department or subject. Listed are databases for journal articles, eBooks, reference sources, and videos. Also available are subject-specific guides and a link to the Subject Librarian.