History 301: Historical Methods and Writing

If the book is in our collection: 

Check the record to be sure the item is marked AVAILABLE. if it is checked out, you can borrow another copy through Interlibrary Loan.

In the building: 

The library is open on all floors. You must properly wear a mask while in the building. See here for open hours. 

• Have the call number (a mix of letters and numbers) of the book you need with you.
• Be sure to note the location as we have some special sections of the library. Ask for help to save time. 
  • STACKS means the general open stacks on 4th and 5th floors. 
  • OVERSIZE is a special section on the 5th floor
  • MEDIA is the Media Library on 2nd floor. 
  • GOVDOCS is a special collection on the 3rd floor.
  • JUV and CSBS are children's books you likely won't need on 5th floor. 
  • REF are reference (cannot be checked out) on the 3rd floor. 
  • MICROFORMS need special assistance. Please ask at the Checkout Desk on the 3rd floor. 
• Take the item to the Check Out Desk with your campus ID to complete the pick up. 

Contactless pick up:

• Click on the "Sign In to Request Pickup" button on the book's record. 
• You will get an email when it is ready which includes instructions on accessing the locker. 
• The pick up lockers are located outside the Library's second floor entrance at Craven Circle. You can access them 24 hours a day. 

To access an ebook in our collection: 

• Do a search by subject, keyword or title.
• Click on the desired book title in the results list to open the record.
• Look for "Full Text Availability" and click on the blue link under that line. This will be a database that holds the book, so might say ProQuest, EbscoHost, Free Fulltext, or a number of other phrases. 
• Log in using your campus ID and password.

Depending on the licensing with the ebook vendor, you may be able to check the book out, download chapters, or print sections that you need. 

If you have trouble accessing the text, use the Report a Problem button on the book record's page and contact me. 

If you use the CSU+ search on the library home page, you are searching the entire California State University library system. This means you will find books and more that CSUSM does not have access to. 

You can request these materials using the REQUEST ACCESS button to place an interlibrary loan request. You will need to log in to complete the request. 

The materials can be sent to the library for in-library or contactless pickup or directly to your home. Return the materials to us via mail or drop off.

Allow 5-10 working days for delivery. 

Articles in our databases are mostly full text, but if not readily discoverable:

• Look for a PDF or HTML link in the screen. It may be in any number of places as we get articles from a variety of vendors who all use different layouts.
  • it is recommended to download the article to your computer or cloud storage. That saves you having to look for it again (and sometimes the databases break for a while--never at a good time!)
  • Note that while HTML won't take up much space if you download to your computer, you may miss images, charts and graphs that are essential to the text. 
• What if you click on the full text link and you can't get the article without paying money? 
  • Did you access the article using the options on the Library home page?
    • This means a search using any of these options: One Search, Articles+ or through a database.
    • Did you log into the library collections? 
    • Please contact the Reference Desk chat line or email me with the citation information so we can troubleshoot. 
  • Did you find the article on the internet (using a Google search for instance)?
    • If you use Google Scholar, you must set up your Scholar Preferences first. 
    • It may not be an article, but a book or book chapter. Be sure to look at the citation. Most books are under copyright and full text is not available through the open internet. 
    • If you are just searching around and find something interesting that you cannot open, it is likely behind a paywall. 
      • Try searching with the article title using the Articles+ search on the Library home page. 
      • If a title search doesn't offer a link to a database with full text, we may not have access to it but can get it for you.
      • Click the "Get it through Interlibrary Loan" as this will autoload the request form with the information needed. 
      • You may need to log into your campus account to activate the form. 
      • Click submit and you will likely have what you need in a few days.