Library FAQ for New Students
Welcome to the University of Missouri-Kansas City. The librarians and staff
of the
UMKC University Libraries are here to assist you in any way possible. We know
you are juggling multiple commitments to work, family, and classes. We want
you to find what you need in the Libraries: expert assistance from a librarian,
the latest government statistics, a book or periodical article for your class
assignment, your professor's reserve readings, access to research using the
web or simply a quiet place to study. We want you to be successful during
your course of study at
UMKC.
Following are some Frequently Asked Questions that incorporate tips
on efficient use of library services with links to the
UMKC University Libraries' website (http://library.umkc.edu/).
For questions not listed here, please call the appropriate Reference Desk:
- Miller
Nichols Library: (816) 235-1534
- Music/Media Library: (816) 235-1675
- Health Sciences Library: (816) 235-1880
- Dental Library: (816) 235-2030
- Leon E. Bloch Law Library: (816) 235-1650
Please feel free
to contact me about anything that would improve library services for students.
Elizabeth Henry
Assistant Director for Public Services
(816-235-1530)
The
UMKC University Libraries operate in three sites:
the
Miller Nichols Library, the main library
on the Volker campus; and two locations on the Hospital Hill campus: the
Health Sciences Library and the
Dental
Library. The School of Law maintains the
Leon
E. Bloch Law Library. The Libraries provide information and reference
services, library instruction, checkout of library materials, reserve services
and access to online resources. The nearby
Linda
Hall Library of Science, Engineering & Technology (http://www.lhl.lib.mo.us/) is a private, independently-funded research
library for science, engineering, and technology.
Miller Nichols Library
800 E. 51st Street
(816) 235-1526 |
Health Sciences Library
2411 Holmes
(816) 235-1880 |
Dental Library
650 E. 25th Street
(816) 235-2030 |
Leon E. Bloch Law Library
52nd and Oak Streets
(816) 235-1650 |
Library hours vary during the regular academic year and intersession; please
refer to the current schedule.
Your
UMKC photo
ID is all you need to check out
books, sound recordings, reserve readings and other library materials. A state- or federal-issue photo
ID (e.g. driver's license) is acceptable.
The loan period for students varies. Undergraduate students may borrow most library materials
for 4 weeks. Graduate students may borrow most library materials for the semester.
For further information, consult the section on "Circulation Policies"
for the
Miller Nichols Library,
the
Health Sciences Library, the
Dental Library, and the
Leon
E. Bloch Law Library.
You can check to see what books and materials are checked out under your
name by selecting the
My Library Account tab in MERLIN. You can renew books online through your library account in MERLIN. Books can also be renewed over the phone by calling Access Services at the appropriate Library.
- Miller Nichols: (816) 235-1526
- Health Sciences: (816) 235-1880
- Dental: (816) 235-2030
There are charges for materials that are not returned or are lost or damaged. Please consult the Circulation Policies for the
Miller Nichols Library, the
Health Sciences Library, the
Dental Library, and the
Leon E. Bloch Law Library for the appropriate schedule of fines/charges.
Please report any mishap to the library as quickly as possible.
Any charges can be paid at the Circulation Desk of each Library.
The
MERLIN integrated library system is the online catalog for
UMKC and the other University of Missouri campuses: Columbia, Rolla and St. Louis. MERLIN is accessible from the
Libraries website. There is a MERLIN navigational button on each Library website page. You can use MERLIN:
- to find information on library holdings
- to check on the expected receipt date of periodical issues
- to view your personal checkout record
- to request books from another campus or MOBIUS system library (a paperless interlibrary loan request)
- to view the library reserve list for your courses
- to link to consortially-acquired online resources.
Hint: To save retyping citations for your bibliography, you can email information found in the MERLIN online catalog to your
UMKC account, or download it to a local floppy disk.
For more information about the MERLIN Library Catalog, consult MERLIN Library Catalog
information and guides.
Online information resources include databases with bibliographic and other information (graphics and links); full-text and e-journals, datasets and reference materials such as encyclopedias. A single link from the Libraries' website will access most databases both on- and off-campus. For remote access, after selecting a database,
UMKC students, faculty and staff will be prompted to provide a Single-Sign-On user name and password or a 9-digit
UMKC ID number followed by the letter k (example: 0123456789k) and last name, as needed. A few databases are only available in the Libraries. The Libraries maintain a
comprehensive list of all databases and online resources available.
The
UMKC University Libraries provide online access to a number of library
and union catalogs that may be used to locate materials, either in the
UMKC
University Libraries or elsewhere:
- The MERLIN Library Catalog
provides access to information on the holdings of all libraries in the University
of Missouri system.
- The MOBIUS Union Catalog
provides access to information on the holdings of college and university libraries throughout Missouri, including many in Kansas City. As a UMKC student, you can borrow books directly from other MOBIUS libraries using your UMKC student photo ID.
- The UMKC University Libraries listing of local
library catalogs provides access to information on the holdings of nearby
institutions such as the University of Kansas Libraries and Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering & Technology. Through the UMKC University Libraries' Courtesy Card Program, students can obtain privileges at other academic/research libraries in the Kansas City area, including Linda Hall Library and the KU Libraries. For further information, visit the Courtesy Card webpage, or call Miller Nichols Library Access Services at (816) 235-1526.
Information on the holdings of other libraries worldwide may be found by
using online resources such as
WorldCat and
the
Center
for Research Libraries (
CRL) (http://catalog.crl.edu)
union catalogs.
Materials may be placed on reserve for classes at the four Libraries sites, the Music/Media Library in Miller Nichols Library and electronically at http://kc-eres.kc.umkc.edu.ezproxy.mnl.umkc.edu/. For more information, contact the Miller Nichols Library Access Services Department or the specific UMKC University Library. Your professor's reserve list can be accessed in MERLIN listed by your professor's name or the course title and number. You can also view a list of reserve materials at the Miller Nichols Library Circulation Desk.
Ikon Office Solutions operates a
copy services area on the east side of the 1st floor of the Miller Nichols Library.
The
UMKC University Libraries' home page can be found at http://library.umkc.edu/. Be sure to check out the website for general information about library services, collections and hours,
Forms and Requests (purchase request, interlibrary loan, reference request, request for library instruction session, and a suggestion form), access to local
UMKC and consortial online
databases, access to library
subject guides (including lists of subject-specific print and web-based information resources), a monthly listing of
newly-cataloged books, and updates about new services and major collection resources such as
online exhibitions. Also on the Website: links to
MERLIN,
MOBIUS and other
local library catalogs.
All
UMKC students, faculty and staff are encouraged to gain full benefit
of the privileges and full access to the library resources to which they
are entitled by activating their Single-Sign-On Accounts. An Exchange/Single-Sign-On
Account provides access to library resources in a variety of places, including
the campus computing labs operated by Information Systems and those operated
by the University Libraries. A guest login is available for visitors to the
Miller Nichols Library and Music/Media Library that provides access to a subset
of library resources.
You may activate your account in the Information Services Computer Lab on
the third floor of the Miller Nichols Library or any other
IS Computer Lab on
campus. The Student Assistants in the Lab will assist you with this process.
Information Services operates a student computer lab on the third floor
of the Miller Nichols Library. The lab allows full access to the internet,
as well as software applications for use with email and word processing. Information
Services maintains a
complete list of
student labs on campus.
If needed materials are not held by the University Libraries, the Libraries
will try to borrow or photocopy the material from another library through
interlibrary loan. Requested items may be available in as few as three days
or as many as 21. Every effort is made to ensure the shortest possible receipt
time. Materials may be requested online using the electronic
Interlibrary
Loan Request Form. Faculty and students may also request books at another
MERLIN/MOBIUS library in Missouri by using MERLIN's "patron-initiated-borrowing
system," a paperless
ILL system.
For additional information on interlibrary loan policies, please visit the
Interlibrary Loan page for one of the
University Libraries.
Students, faculty members or members of the community may submit recommendations
for materials to be purchased for the University Libraries'
collections. The recommendations must fall within the scope of the Libraries'
collection policies. Requests may be made online using the electronic
Library
Purchase Form. The online recommendation form is emailed to the appropriate
subject specialist librarian. If you would like to be notified about the Libraries'
actions, please be sure to fill in your name, address, telephone number and
email address so we can contact you. You may also fill out a Library Purchase
Request card at the Reference Desk. For further information about
collection policies, please contact
Brenda Dingley, Assistant Director for Technical Services at (816) 235-2226.
An online new book shelf known as
University
Libraries New Titles is posted on the 15th of each month on the Libraries'
website. The New Titles page includes newly-cataloged videos and sound
recordings in the Music/Media Library in the Miller Nichols Library, and
new materials in the Health Sciences, and Dental Libraries.
Reference services are available at all
University Libraries:
Miller Nichols Library, the
Health
Sciences Library, the
Dental
Library and the
Leon E. Bloch Law Library.
To request reference help outside regular hours, fill out the online
UMKC Libraries Reference Form, which is emailed directly to the Reference Department. A reference
librarian will reply the next day or sooner. For more pressing needs, please
call the appropriate service desk within each Library. See the
University Libraries homepage for phone numbers and addresses. You can also leave a message at the Reference Desk of either the Miller Nichols Library at (816) 235-1534 or the Health Sciences Library at (816) 235-1885.
Reference Desk staff can assist you with general questions and help
get you started. If you would like more time to discuss your research or term
paper project with a reference librarian, please call or email for an appointment.
A
subject specialist librarian is assigned to work with each department/school at
UMKC for intensive research assistance beyond that available at the general Reference Desk. More time can be dedicated to your needs when the librarian is not staffing
the busy Reference Desk.
To get started on your project, you may also consult the Libraries website for
online guides to various
subjects or databases. The list of library guides continues to grow.
A term paper should include an accurate bibliography of resources consulted.
Standardized citation systems exist for general or various subject fields,
including the
Chicago
Manual of Style, Turabian's
A
Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations, the
Modern
Language Association Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
and the
Publication
Manual of the American Psychological Association. Printed copies
of these and other style sheets or citation manuals can be found in the
Libraries by checking
MERLIN for
the appropriate call number (all of the above are available in the Miller
Nichols Library's "Ready Reference" section in the
Information
Commons). To cite online resources, consult the library guides for
MLA
and
APA available
online or in the Information Commons. Some web sources offer hints on
citing materials.
Two Adaptive Workstations equipped for use by patrons with sight impairment are located in the Miller Nichols Library
Information Commons. They may be used for gaining access to MERLIN, online periodical indexes, and web information sources, as well as for scanning printed material. For more information, contact
Diane Hunter, MNL Head of Reference and Instruction, at (816) 235-1537.
The University Libraries are a selective Federal Depository Library, one of
two designated for the 5th U.S. Congressional District in Missouri. The Government Documents collection and workstations are located in the Reference Department of the Miller Nichols Library. In addition, the Miller Nichols Library receives many
State of Missouri publications. The Leon E. Bloch Law Library is a selective depository
for the State of Kansas. For more information, contact
Christine
Angolia, Government Documents Reference Librarian at (816) 235-1877.
UMKC is a full member of the
Inter-university
Consortium for Political and Social Research - an academic partnership
between the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan and
over 200 colleges and universities in the United States and abroad. The
UMKC
coordinator is
Phyllis
Schmidt, Reference Specialist (816-235-1281), who can assist
you and offer training sessions for your students and classes. The
UMKC Information
Services Department works closely with the Libraries in providing computer
support for using the datasets.
MERLIN Catalog