To start your research, look at our Library Research Guides.
The La Sierra University Library collections include a large number of electronic resources, many of them full-text. All of them may be searched from off-campus via the Off-campus Access link from the Library web page. You will need to log in with your La Sierra e-mail username and password. If you have not activated your La Sierra email account, or have forgotten your password, call the IT Department at (951) 785-2900.
If you are behind a firewall (as you might be if you are working at a school) and cannot access the databases, you will need to contact your system administrator and make sure that port 2048 is open for our proxy server.
To find journal articles, you will need to use a journal index.
La Sierra University Library provides access to two collection of electronic books: ebrary and netLibrary. Both are available through the library catalog (just search for the book you want, and if it is an e-book there will be a link allowing you to read it.) These can be identified by the words "electronic resource" after the title. You can also search the collections individually.
Students currently enrolled in a distance learning class that does not have an on-campus component may request that books from the Library be sent to them through the mail.
Link+ Libraries
La Sierra University is also a member of the Link+ network. This membership allows our students to borrow books from other Link+ member libraries; students may either have the book sent to La Sierra University Library where they can pick up the book in person, or the student may go to the other library and borrow the book directly through the Link+ Visiting Patron program. You can request books from the Link+ by selecting “Get a book from Link +”on the Library webpage, or if you don’t find the book you are looking for in our catalog you can select the Link+ button on the catalog display page. Link+ libraries are scattered throughout the state of California. Currently over 40 libraries participate in the Link Plus program, including UCR and the Riverside Public Library system.
Internet resources are a popular and potentially very useful source of information for students. Caution, however, is strongly advised when using Internet resources. Remember that there is no quality control imposed on the Internet. It is therefore up to you to determine whether a web site meets academic standards for scholarly, reliable information. Following are some suggested resources for help in evaluating materials found on the internet:
Evaluating Internet Research Sources by Robert Harris of Southern California College
Evaluating Sites by the librarians at Lake Forest College
Using sources of web sites selected by librarians, instead of search engines such as Google, can help you find web sites of higher quality. Following are some Librarian reviewed pages: