McDermott Library switches to Virtual Services

In response to the COVID-19 situation but in the effort to support curriculum needs, the McDermott Library has been able to work with many of our resource providers to make the online USAFA library resources available for you and your cadets from alternative worksite locations off-base. It will not be necessary to be onsite and on the USAFA network to access our full-text materials available online. There will be two alternative ways to access these resources depending upon your preference:

·         If you log into Blackboard directly and authenticate with your USAFA username/password:

o   Click on the Library Resources tab at the top of the BlackBoard homepage;

o   Use the “CLICK HERE” in the “Remote Access” box to link to the library guide with a list of usernames and passwords needed to access the associated specific source (e.g., JSTOR, Proquest e-books and databases) you want to search;

o   After clicking on the appropriate icon for that hyperlinked resource within that guide, enter the appropriate username and password. That should pass you through to the search page.

o   Again, this does not require being on the USAFA network

·         By Friday afternoon, if you are accustomed to going first to the McDermott library homepage, you will see similar instructions along with links to our remote services we are making available. These include:

o   Chat Reference to get assistance from a librarian during our adjusted hours (M-Th 0700 to 2100; Fri 0700-1700, and Sun 1400-2100). In addition to library Chat Reference, we will continue to monitor our LibInfo email for questions during our adjusted hours.

o   Text Reference, which will also be monitored by a librarian during the hours above.

·         As with many other evolving situations, please be aware we may be adding additional resources and fine tuning our efforts over the near term to fully support needs for the duration of remote teaching this semester.

Due to the uncertainty of our library lending partners, we are currently exploring alternative measures to obtain and send to you ILL (interlibrary loan) materials electronically (e.g. journal articles or book chapters) but we will not be able to obtain physical materials until further notice.

Finally, in an abundance of caution, the library building will be closing on Friday, 20 March, at 1700 and the entire library staff will be teleworking beginning Monday, 23 March, until further notice.