Introduction
FCC's Virtual Library Orientation

Welcome to Our Virtual Library Orientation...

Our orientation is designed to familiarize you with the facilities, services, and resources of FCC's Library, which is located on the second floor of "L" building on campus. We hope that you'll become a frequent visitor!

What you will learn here:

• Why the Library is still the best place to start research on a paper or project
• Where our resources and equipment are located and what services are available
• How to select and focus a topic
• How to use the Library Catalog to find print books, electronic books, and videos/DVDs
• How to use the Library's Research Databases to find magazine, journal, newspaper articles, and other documents for your research
• Methods for evaluating information on the "open Web" (information found by using search engines, like Google or Ask.com)
• The importance of documenting and citing the information sources you use for a paper or project

A Few Words About Our Orientation

• Our orientation is best viewed by using Internet Exlorer (I.E.) as your Web browser. If you don't have I.E., you can get it for free at the Microsoft Download Center.
• When you link out to the Web from our orientation, simply close the window to the Web page to get back here.
• We've included some activities to mix things up a bit. You can see your score for the activities in each lessonby clicking on the word "score" in the upper right corner of a page. You can alo see your cumulative score as you go through the orientation.

Hours of Operation

First of all, here are the hours that the Library is physically open during regular semesters:

Fall and Spring Semesters

• Monday-Thursday, 7:45 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
• Friday, 7:45 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.
• Saturday, 11 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.

Summer Semesters

• Monday-Thursday, 7:45 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
• Friday, 7:45 a.m.- 1:00 p.m.
• Saturday, 11 a.m.- 3:00 p.m.

Please call 301.846.2444 to confirm our hours over holidays and when classes are not in session. 

What Do You Know About Libraries and Research Methods?

Let's take a few moments to see how familiar you are with libraries and with doing research...Be sure to click on Check Answers at the end of the quiz to see how you scored!

Start@ the Library or the Web?

Many students mistakenly believe that "everything" is available on the Web.  Here are some differences between doing research on the Web versus using the Library:

THE WEB

• Anyone can publish material on the Web; there is no assurance that the information on publicly available Web sites is correct, current, or authoritative.
• There is no system to index and organize all resources on the Web; the most comprehensive search engine, Google, indexes only a fraction of Web sites.
• There is no one responsible for helping you find what you need.
• A lot of the information on the Web is not free.

THE LIBRARY

• The resources have all been reviewed and selected by professional librarians or faculty.
• All of the information is organized and indexed so that you can find what you need easily.
• There is always Library staff on hand to help you find information, navigate research databases, and interpret difficult concepts.
• The Library provides free access to print and electronic magazines, journals, and books that may not be publicly available on the Web.

This being said, the Web does offer some advantages to many Library resources.

• Web sites can be constantly updated to provide breaking news and timely information.
• The Web provides opportunities for communication and collaboration through e-mail, blogs,wikis, social networking sites (e.g.,Facebook) and newsgroups.
• The Web can offer a complete multimedia experience, with text, video, interactive features, audio, hyperlinks, and graphics all in one place.

Use information from the Web to complement your library research. There's a place for both in your work!

Library Map

Let's take a look at the library map. so that you know where to go to get things done. Click on the map and then increase its size to see it clearly.. Be sure to close the window to the map to get back to the orientation.

So, What Have You Learned About FCC's Library?