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Library FAQ’s

How do I search for a specific title, author, journal, article, etc? Open Close

Go to the search box on the library home page, or by going to se.edu/library.

First you will need to choose the icon for the type of material you would like to use, then type in the title or subject of that material. To search for a specific book, for example:

    1. On the library home page click on the ‘books’ icon.
    2. Type the title, author, or subject of your book in the search bar. Titles should be put in quotation marks.
    3. Click ‘Search’.

For more assistance with searching, the Distance Education Librarian has created tutorials that instruct students on finding materials in several different formats. Have a look at these short tutorials on the library’s How-To page by following this link https://www.se.edu/library/online-tutorials-and-how-to-guides/

My instructor only wants peer-reviewed sources, how do I find those? Open Close

Peer-reviewed materials, also called “refereed articles,” are only published after passing a review by professionals in a field of study. Search results can be limited to peer-reviewed materials in a couple of ways:

I. Do an advanced search

  1. Click on “Advanced Search” on the library home page, it can be found just above the “Go” button in the OCLC search bar.
  2. In the text boxes on the advanced search screen, type in keywords related to your topic, then scroll down to check mark the box labeled “only return peer-reviewed articles.”
  3. Put in a date range if your instructor requested sources of a certain age.
  4. Click “Search.”

II. If you have already conducted a search and have results, there is a check box on the left-hand menu labeled “Peer Reviewed.” Check that box and wait while the results load. A date range can also be entered on the same menu.

All of the results will be labeled as peer-reviewed materials; however, you should still read through the material and make sure it meets certain guidelines. Does it have the authors’ affiliations, an abstract, citations? Does the abstract mention what methods are used in the study? Is the source an academic journal? If you doubt it is peer-reviewed, look up the website for that journal and see if they name who their review board is. You can also contact a librarian for more help.

How do I log in to library databases? Open Close

You log in with your Single Sign On. Here’s an example:

[FIRST INITIAL][LAST NAME][LAST 2 DIGITS OF STUDENTID NUMBER]@student.se.edu

Default passwords will be set to the following pattern.
[CAPITAL FIRST INITIALS OF YOUR FIRST AND LAST NAME][6-DIGIT BIRTHDATE][EXCLAMATION POINT]

As an example, if a student named John A. Doe was born on January 2nd of 2003 and had a student ID of 123456789, his email would be

jdoe89@student.se.edu and his password would be JD010203! by default.

What do I do if I get a privacy error/insecure network connection message? Open Close

Sometimes students or faculty get a privacy error message or an insecure network connection message after they have clicked on a full text link in their search results. There are currently two fixes for this:

  1. You will need to clear your browsing history and cookies, then go back to the library search page and try again.

To clear your history in Chrome:

    • Click on the three vertical dashes on the upper right corner of browser window.
    • The drop down menu offers a history option with a side menu.
    • In the side menu choose History Ctrl+.
    • When the new window opens, choose to delete browser history and make sure the cookies option is check-marked.

You should be able to access full text articles in a new search results page.

2. Look up in the address bar when you get this message and change the periods BEFORE .ezproxy to dashes –

Here’s an example     https://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.se.edu/   should be change to  https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.se.edu/

That should take you to the article. If you continue to have problems, please send us an email to askalibrarian@se.edu

I clicked on the link to an article and it took me to the wrong article, now what? Open Close

Sometimes the Boolean search terms in the OCLC search tool don’t quite cooperate with the search method in EBSCO databases. This can result in following a bad link to an article. You can report a broken link on the OCLC item description, but to find the actual article there are a couple of steps you can do.

I. Follow the link and search again in EBSCO

  1. In the article description on OCLC, get the title, author, date, and ISBN or DOI if it is available.
  2. Follow the link to the EBSCO database, then click on “advanced search” on the upper left corner in EBSCO.
  3. Put in the information for the article in the text boxes and click “search.”

II. Take the search to Journals A-Z

  1. Find the name of the journal, the date, the volume, and issue number in the OCLC results.
  2. Go to the library home page and click on the Journals A-Z icon.
  3. Choose the “search” tab on the upper left corner, then put the name of the journal in the text box.
  4. Follow the link to the journal that is given in the search results. There you can choose the year, volume, issue, and find the article.

Visit the library How-To page to find a tutorial on Journals A-Z.

What if the library doesn’t have what I need? Open Close

As a member of the OCLC Interlibrary Loan (ILL) network, we have access to more than 100 million books and journal articles from libraries around the world. This service is provided with no extra fee. Gather the information that would be needed to find the item, such as the title, author, publication date and ISBN (if available), then contact us. There are several ways to submit an ILL request:

  1. Drop by the library and submit a written request.
  2. Contact Darryl Rainbolt, ILL Specialist, at (580) 745-2931 or drainbolt@se.edu.
  3. Complete the request form online at ILL Book Request Form for books or ILL Article Request Form for articles.
  4. If the item is on the OCLC search results list, click on the title of the item for more information. Scroll down to click on the yellow button labeled “request item through interlibrary loan” and fill out the short contact form. Please fill in your SE email address. When the material is ready, you will be sent an email notification.

If you are a distance student and need access to an item in the library’s print collection, you can access books by requesting them at your local public library.

How do I view my user record (checkouts, holds, etc.)? Open Close

On the library website click on ‘Advanced Search’.

    1. In the upper right corner click a link labeled ‘Sign in’.
    2. In the pop-up window, click on the button labeled for students, staff or faculty of Southeastern.
    3. Sign in with your Single Sign On information.
    4.  Once signed in, the button on the upper right corner of the screen will show your first name. Click on the drop down arrow next to your name.
    5. Choose ‘account’. This should show the checkouts you have along with any holds or charges that are on your library account.
How do I renew SE library materials or discuss notices and holds? Open Close

To renew library materials or discuss overdue notices, contact the circulation desk at (580) 7454-2932. For holds placed on accounts for non-return of library materials or notices received for library materials not returned, contact Brandi Pate at (580) 745-2107 during library hours or email bpate@se.edu.

How to I contact the library? Open Close

The library phone number is (580) 745-2932. To ask a question when the library is closed, you can email us at askalibrarian@se.edu and a reference librarian will contact you.

How do I create folders in Ebscohost? Open Close

To create a folder follow the directions in this tutorial from EBSCO:

I don't see the library search tool on the home page, where did it go? Open Close

Some mobile devices do not show the library’s search tool on the library home page. If this happens to you on a cell phone, tablet, or other mobile device, simple click on the button labeled “Go To Search” on the home page.

Clicking on that button will open a new page with a simple search bar where you can type in a search term

How do I cite an article I found in the library's online catalog (OCLCs Discovery) Open Close

• When you click on the Cite button, it will open a pop up box
• Below the article information there is a drop down menu that says “Select a citation style”
• Select the citation type that you need and it will show you how to cite the article using that citation style:

How to cite

What is the Textbook Reserve Program? Open Close

The Textbook Reserve Program (TRP) cannot provide textbooks for every course offered; however, the program wishes to serve as many students as possible.

Which Textbooks are included? All general education courses, all remediation courses and the College Success courses will be available.

Is my textbook available? Click Here to search for textbooks!

Who can participate? Students who are enrolled for the current semester.

Where will the reserve textbooks be located? The circulation desk in the Henry G. Bennett Memorial Library and will be free of charge to students.

What are the circulation procedures?

  • Students must have a valid SE ID.
  • Textbooks may be checked out for room use only.
  • Textbooks may be checked out for a two hour period.
  • Students may not make any marks in the textbooks.
  • Students may not remove textbooks from the library.
  • Students may not checkout books overnight.

Distance students can request one scanned chapter of each textbook they need per day. There is a digital form available on the library home page for student textbook scan requests. Students seeking a chapter from a textbook should make sure the textbook is available, then use the link on the library home page to create a request, filling out all of the information necessary for the library staff to contact them and send the correct materials.

How can I find my textbook?

  • Under OCLC Discovery Service click on the Course Reserves button
  • Search by instructor’s name, course number or title to locate a specific textbook
    • Ludrick
    • Biology 1404 or Biol 1404
    • Principles of Biology