The Western Technical College Learning Commons provides many resources to support your students on their path to a degree! We offer a full-service academic library with print and electronic resources, as well as free tutoring options.
This guide is designed to help introduce and share information about resources available to Western faculty and staff. It is created and maintained by your Student Learning Librarians, Ellen and Linda.
The guide is divided into different sections and covers the most popular resources, staff questions, and faculty needs. Navigate to the different sections using the tabs on the left.
Links to guide "pages" on the LEFT.
This video introduces the main resources available from Western's library.
Ellen and Linda (profiles on the left) are your librarians at Western. They are always happy to collaborate with and assist Western faculty and staff. After all, they are your librarians too!
Librarians have expertise in research, information resources, and information literacy skills. We provide and maintain materials and resources to help you and your students find relevant, high-quality information. We maintain and develop the library collection, we work directly with students, we collaborate with instructors, we visit classes to provide instruction and support, and we do our best to answer any questions that come our way.
Some of our favorite things to teach:
This guide offers an introduction to a few of the many ways you can collaborate with us (we've also listed some ideas below). If you don't see what you need or still have questions, just ask a librarian!
Here are a few ideas for how you might use the library and collaborate with a librarian:
We invite you to contact your area's liaison librarian with your questions and instruction needs:
Business - Linda VanSistine-Yost
Education - Linda VanSistine-Yost
General Studies - Linda VanSistine-Yost
Health and Public Safety - Ellen Range
Human Services - Ellen Range
Integrated Technologies - Ellen Range
You can also contact our general email at library@westerntc.edu and one of us will reach out to you!
The guides linked below offer a general introduction to using Western Library resources for reading and research. They are a good introduction for new faculty and staff, but can be a refresher course for anyone!
These guides can also help students familiarize themselves with the many resources available to them via the Western Library. Please feel free to include these (or any other) guides in your Blackboard courses, if it is appropriate to your content. If you're hoping for something more specific, we invite you to request a custom research guide or reach out to us to schedule class instruction.
Does your course require students to do research? Remind them that their library is here to help! Feel free to use or adapt the following statement for your syllabus, Blackboard course, or assignment sheets.
Library Resources / Ask a Librarian
Need credible sources but don't know where to start? Searching for a book, video, or article to support your argument? Your Library provides 24/7 access to books, databases, research guides and more at westerntc.edu/library. The Library 101 Guide provides a general introduction to using the library and is a great place to start. Still feeling overwhelmed by research and wish someone could help you navigate? Ask a librarian!
