Never Fear The Librarians Are Here!
Welcome to the Mesa Virtual Library!
This Guide has been created to help support our San Diego Mesa College students navigate our online library spaces. Even though our physical space is only open for limited services we are still here to support all of your research needs.
If you would like to chat with a librarian personally we are just a click away in the Ask A Librarian box to the left or through our Ask a Librarian page on the library website.
At the top of this box, click on the tabs to the right, For information about online library access, videos that will help you navigate your Canvas classes and information about accessing Zoom meeting sessions.
Who Can Access Mesa College Library Content?
How Do I Gain Access?
Below Are Video Tutorials that Can Help You With Your Canvas Questions (click on the blue words to go to the video)
Below Are Tutorials that Can Help You With Your Zoom Questions (click on the blue words to go to the video)
Your Librarians Are Here to Help!
Everything listed below (and more) can be found on our library home page
24/7 Research Chat
While the library is closed research assistance is just a click away 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Click Here
ZOOM Reference Appointments
We have re-configuring our 45 minute private reference appointments to be done via Zoom
for faculty and students Click Here
Need Streaming Videos?
The Mesa College Online Library houses our databases of streaming videos. You will need your CSID number and last name as it appears on Mesa documents to access the content. The databases are:
SWANK: Which houses feature films from major Hollywood studios
Films on Demand: Which houses a database of thousands of education videos on a wide variety of topics
Kanopy: Which houses a limited number of specially requested documentaries and films
Need to Use Articles and/or Books for Your Research?
Use One Search to find all of your Mesa College research articles, books and much more.
Want more information about how to search for an article using One Search click on the image below for a helpful video
Want more information about how to search for ebooks and paper books using One Search click on the image below for a helpful video
Want to know how to refine your OneSearch results to get better results watch this video
Looking for a Guide to Help You With Your Research?
We have a number of guides created for various subjects and courses. These guides were made with your specific research needs in mind. Check them out here!
Do You Need to Borrow a Textbook?
We have a limited number of textbooks that are on loan to us from professors, this special collection is "Course Reserves". You can search for them in One Search by clicking here
If you need a portion of any book we have in our physical library copied and sent to you, that's no problem. We can copy up to 20% of any book in the building and send it to you electronically via email. Just click here for the form.
Is There a Specific Librarian You are Interested in Contacting?
No problem, Below are Email Addresses for Your Contract Faculty Librarians
Research Can Be Hard, We Got You!
In this area we will help you get started with your research. Each tab above represents a different aspect of the research process. Each area has tips, websites and videos that will help you understand how to identify, find, evaluate and use information, particularly in the scholarly arena.
Do you see the "Help Is On The Way" tab at the top of this box? There are additional tabs to the right and each tab has a different aspect of the research process with information that we feel you might find helpful.
Please check back regularly, we are adding more content to this area all the time!
Sometimes Choosing the Right Topic For Your Research
Can Be One of the Hardest Parts of the Entire Process
Below are some videos to help you choose the best topic for your paper:
This Video is about the very first steps of choosing your topic, It is called Picking Your Topic IS Research and it comes to us from North Carolina State University Libraries
The video below is called How to Develop a Good Research Topic and it comes to us from Kansas State University Libraries
Once you have chosen a topic you need to create a "search string". This is a group of words that will bring the best results when you search for them in our databases or on the web. You might think you got this however really good scholarly searches can take quite a bit of thought to create.
Using good keywords in your search box will give you the most effective search for retrieving your scholarly sources. The video below is called From Question to Keyword. (brought to us by the Lloyd Sealy Library at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice) and gives a short overview of how to find the best words to put in to your search box.
It can take time to find the best keywords and then it will take even longer to search for just the right articles on your topic. In the next video from Winona State University called Selecting and Using Keywords you will learn some additional techniques for finding keywords and how to use those words in a search box most effectively.
If you really want to step up your search game it is best to get used to using "boolean operators" these are words in combination that will give you a more productive search by adding and taking away certain articles from your results. Interested? Take a look at the video below called How To: Use Boolean Search Operators brought to us by the newspaper database NewsBank
It's finally time to find those articles but where to start?
We know that you are already familiar with search engines like Google that bring you free websites, some good for a research paper and others...not so much. Let's take a look at your options for scholarly work that will be accepted by your professors.
Below you will find a video from our friends at the Monroe Community College with some valuable thoughts on Google vs. the Library for your college level research.
Next, you will find a video called What Is A Library Database and Why Should I Use One brought to us by the University of Minnesota. It will help you understand why Mesa College spends so much time and money making sure you have articles that don't come for free off of the internet.
Want to give searching a multiple Subject Database a Try? Click on the blue link below called Academic OneFile, you will need to log in with your CSID and last name. Then, put your keyword search string into the search box and see what the database comes up with (if this one doesn't give you what you want we have 99 others to choose from!
Perhaps you just want to use Google? Okay, here is a quick video to help you get a little more out of your Google searching for scholarly sources. Click here to see a short video.
On our Mesa College Library website we have a page called Cite Sources that has citation software as well as websites that will help you get those citations in perfect order! It Includes:
- Below is a video about MLA Citation Basics
APA Citation Websites
- Below is a video on APA Citation Basics
Below is our "One Search" tool. Use the search box to find articles, books and more from the Mesa College library. Just put in your search term and give it a try!