"Mother" LibGuide

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials.

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or reproduction. One specified condition is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement.

Kirkwood Community College Libraries reserve the right to refuse to accept a copying order, if in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

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Are you a distance student who can't make it to a Kirkwood campus or county center?  No problem! Kirkwood Library Services is here to help, regardless of your location!

You can access most information online through our Library WorldCat search, and through our online databases. Just have your k number and password ready to enter:

We also deliver print books and interlibrary loan books to all of Kirkwood’s seven-county centers (Benton, Linn, Jones, Iowa, Johnson, Cedar or Washington counties). Follow the directions below to hold a book that's checked out, or deliver a book to a different location:

See our Center Delivery guide for even more information on services and resources for our off-campus students. 

Welcome to your online library! We are here to help you find the information you need and use it in your work. If you have any questions or need some help, just ask!

Cedar Rapids

• Cedar Rapids Public Library

• Coe College Library

• Cornell College Cole Library(Mt. Vernon)

• Hiawatha Public Library

• Marion Public Library

• Mount Mercy University Busse Library

Iowa City

• Coralville Public Libary

• Iowa City Public Library

• University of Iowa Libaries

Marion

• Cedar Rapids Public Library

• Hiawatha Public Library

• Marion Public Library

Belle Plaine

• Belle Plaine Community Library

• Blairstown Public Library

• Elberon Public Library

• Marengo Public Library

• Schroeder Public Library (Keystone)

• Van Horne Public Library

Monticello

• Anamosa Public Library

Tipton

• Tipton Public Library

Vinton

• Shellsburg Public Library

• Vinton Public Library

Washington

• Kalona Public Library

• Wellman-Scofield Public Library

• Washington Free Public Library

Williamsburg

• Grinnell College Library

• Iowa State University Library

• Marengo Public Library

• Williamsburg Public Library

• Kirkwood Writing Center 
• The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)
• Tips on Procrastination and Writing from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Writing Center (You can see other helpful writing handouts from UNC here)
• How to successfully revise your prose from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Did you know that there is one-on-one, personalized help available to you from a librarian? You'll not only walk away with a LOT of information for your research paper, but you'll learn something about the research process. All of Kirkwood's reference librarians have Master's degrees in Library and Information Science and are here to help you!

The library can offer you:

• Books! Search the library catalog

• Interlibrary loan (ILL): If Kirkwood doesn't own a book, we can help you find it at another local library (Iowa City or Cedar Rapids public libraries) or request the book via ILL. Just search our WorldCat Discovery catalog to locate the item, and click the Request button. Complete directions are on the ILL guide.

• Research databases: Kirkwood subscribes to many research databases that collect information from scholarly journals, newspapers, magazines, and many other print and electronic resources. 

• Consultation with a professional librarian: never hesitate to ask a reference librarian for help. It's our job to make sure you're successful in research and school!

We offer other services such as computers, laptop check-out, meeting rooms, and more. See our Virtual Library Tour for more information! 

The easiest way to search Kirkwood Library's extensive catalog is to enter what you are looking for into our search box on the library homepage reproduced here:

If you are not finding what you need after using the basic search box above, try the advanced search tips below.

Advanced Search Screen

First, try using the Advanced Search screen, found by clicking the "Advanced Search" link just above the search bar:

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This will open the Advanced Search screen that will give you several options for refining your search. First, you will see drop down menus to the left of search bars, these drop down menus allow you to select specific bibliographic data to search. For example, you can search for the author and title of a specific book that you want:

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As you can see from the example above, you can also add rows to our search. Using this example, if you had an ISBN number for a specific copy you want, you could add a row, select ISBN from third dropdown menu and enter the ISBN number. Note, that when searching this way, the system automatically uses the "AND" boolean operator which makes sure both of your search terms appear in the results list. If you want, you can change this boolean operator to OR or NOT.

Scrolling down on the page a bit you will see different ways to limit your search. For example, you can limit the search to include peer-reviewed articles only, resource format or year. Pay special attention to the "Library" options at the bottom of the page as the default settings have changed. Now, a search will only look for items held by Kirkwood Libraries. You can expand this search from Corridor Libraries to Libraries Worldwide:

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Select Database Searching

Finally on the advanced search screen is the option to search specific databases. By default, the catalog searches our holdings and most of are electronic content automatically, however, by selecting specific databases, you can perform a search for content within the selected databases. This can be useful if you are searching for highly specified content within a single discipline. This can be useful if you want to search multiple databases on the same subject at once rather than opening and searching within each database individually.

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Before using this database searching feature, we strongly recommend trying the standard catalog search first.

Change Search Parameters After Searching

You can use all of the search limiters mentioned above by selecting options from the left-hand side of the screen after conducting a search. So, if you use the standard search box and are not seeing what you need try using the limiters to see if you can narrow down your results. Note that if you click the box labeled, "Keep selections for next search," the system will remember the limiters you selected so you can reuse them for subsequent searching.

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Search Scope

Kirkwood Libraries have a great number of resources available, but we don't have everything. Our default catalog search will display works related to your search criteria held by Kirkwood. If there is a specific work that you are looking for and you don't see it appear in an initial search, simply select the "Libraries Worldwide" checkbox in the top left-hand side of the screen. If you need to run multiple searches, remember to check the "Keep selections for next search" box. See below for an example:

Default Scope

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Worldwide Scope

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• Reference: 319-398-5697
• Circulation: 319-398-5696
• Text Reference: 319-774-6491
• Make a research help appointment
• Email: library@kirkwood.edu (research help)

Writing your bibliography page and citing your sources correctly is essential when doing research of any kind. Always consult your instructor if you don't know which style to use, or if you're unsure of how to cite something.

Chicago Style: from chicagomanualofstyle.org

Circulation records and other records identifying the names of library users are confidential. By law the library is prohibited from revealing the name of any person who has checked out, requested, or used library materials, except to the person themselves.

Guide to research

MLA & APA citations

Online students

Browse all help guides

Library covid-19 updates

Library virtual tour

Library borrowing information

Reserve a room, Cedar Rapids

Print from your own device

Interlibrary loan

Faculty services

• Use the "Ask a Librarian" tab along the side of the page
• Call 319-398-5697
• Email library@kirkwood.edu
• Text 319-774-6491
• Make an online research help appointment

• Apply for all available scholarships with just one application. See the Kirkwood Scholarship website to get started.
• Deadline for application is March 15th, 2021. 

The Cedar Rapids Campus Library will be open an extra hour in the evenings during the last week of classes! 

We will be open later on:

Monday, May 3rd thru Thursday, May 6th, from 7:30 am to 10:00 pm.