Library Services for Online Learners

Once you have chosen a topic, you may wish to look at a brief overview of your field of study. This will help with basic understanding of topics, as well as showing you the words that professionals use when discussing a topic. This will make other searches much easier.

Starting Points

• Gale Virtual Reference Library, more than 200 specialized encyclopedias dealing with a wide variety of topics.
• Encyclopedia Britannica Online, a very helpful general source
• IPL2 (formerly the Librarians' Index to the Internet)
• Infomine
• Wikipedia

Getting Help

• Phone us at 951-785-2396 whenever the Library is open (see our hours online). Note that the reference desk is closed during lunch (noon-1 pm) and dinner (5-6 pm), as well as after 10:00 pm.
• Reference assistance is also available by e-mail to library@lasierra.edu. 
• Or use our web form to Ask Us a Question. You should receive a response within 24 hours, although requests made over the weekend or on holidays may take a bit longer.