Library Access for Remote Learning Period
Montgomery College Library regularly updates this page with information about access to library resources and services during remote operations due to coronavirus.
To view the latest information from Montgomery College about MC's operating status and resources, visit the Coronavirus page. To learn more about MC's approach to health and safety, visit the Resilient MC page.
How can we help?
- I need to know when the library is open.
- I need help from a librarian.
- I need to do research (find articles, e-books, streaming videos) from home.
- I need to know if my textbook is available online from the library.
- I need to know what to do with library materials I have checked out and whether I'll be charged fines.
- I need to know if I can borrow items from another institution.
- I'm a faculty member and I need the library to provide remote instruction to my students.
- I'm a faculty member and I want to know how to access library tools through Blackboard.
- I'm a faculty member and I need to help my students access course materials remotely.
- I need help with something else.
Library Hours
MC Library buildings will be closed until the College determines that it is safe for them to open again. To view the latest opening hours, visit our Library Hours, Locations, and Contacts page.
The library buildings are also closed when the College is closed, such as during winter break.
Online Research Help
Research help is still available! MC librarians provide online research help via text, chat, online appointments, and email during designated service hoursnew window. Our subject and course research guides and distance education guide can also connect you with resources and help you learn to do research.
Text, appointments, and email support are not available when the College is closed, such as during winter break. Please use our 24/7 chat service when the College is closed to get research help from a librarian at another institution.
Online Research with Library E-Resources
During the period of remote learning, please use our e-resources to continue your research and learning. Current MC students, faculty, and staff can access our e-resources from any off-campus location. Before accessing from off campus, you will be prompted to enter your M number, including the M and all numbers. Learn more on our Access Library E-Resources page.
Search most of the library's e-resources at once! Find articles, e-books, videos, and more.
Access RaptorSearchSee a list of every database available through the library, with options to filter the list by subject or type.
Access Databases A-ZLocate a curated list of databases relevant to your academic subject for more targeted searching.
Access Databases by SubjectFind specific publications by title.
Access Journals by TitleFind both educational and popular films.
Access Streaming VideosFind online newspapers, including Washington Post and New York Times.
Access NewspapersStudent Access to Textbooks
The library is working closely with faculty to purchase electronic textbooks when possible, but availability is extremely limited. To find out if the library offers your textbook online, you can check in your Blackboard courses. Follow the instructions on our Finding Course Reserves Materials for Students page.
Borrowing, Fines, and Fees
Library materials may be returned to any of the library's exterior book return boxes. No matter which campus library you borrowed your MC Library materials from, you may return them to the library book return box on any campus, at any day and time.
Book return boxes are located on each campus as follows:
- Germantown Campusnew window (click to view map): at the Humanities and Social Sciences (HS) building entrance located on the main quad across from the Student Affairs (SA) building.
- Rockville Campusnew window (click to view map): behind Macklin Tower (MT) and across from Lot 9, directly on the right at the entrance of the short driveway to the MT loading dock.
- Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campusnew window (click to view map): directly outside the Resource Center (RC) building entrance on New York Avenue.
Interlibrary Loan
Until further notice, borrowing and lending of physical Interlibrary Loan (ILL) items is suspended. We will continue to fulfill borrowing and lending requests for electronic items. To learn more about ILL or place a request, please visit our Request an Item page.
All ILL services are suspended when the College is closed, such as during winter break.
Online Instruction
If you are a faculty member who would like to request an instruction session with a librarian for your class during the remote learning period, please submit the request through our Instruction Request Form and a librarian will be in touch with you. We are offering instruction sessions either synchronously through Zoom or Blackboard Collaborate or asynchronously as a recorded lecture through PowerPoint or video.
Instructional services are not available when the College is closed, such as during the winter break.
Blackboard-Library Integration
MC Library has partnered with ELITE to integrate library resources and services into each Blackboard course at MC. Blackboard-library integrated tools are library course reserves, library research help, and for faculty: embed library instructional content. Learn more on our Library-Blackboard Integration page.
Students and faculty can access theses tools by clicking on the three library links in the left course menu in their Blackboard course.
Course Reserves
MC Library course reserves service allows faculty to make course-related materials available to students, either electronically or at one of the campus library service desks. During the period of remote learning, we encourage faculty to use the e-reserves service. More information and instructions are available on our Course Reserves page.
Click around below to learn how we can help you connect your students to different types of course-related materials. If you would like help identifying or locating items for your class, contact a librarian who specializes in your subject area through our Connect with Your Librarian page.
Because the library facilities are closed, our print textbook reserves collection is not currently available and we are unable to place physical books on reserve at the service desk. In addition, our staff does not have access to our buildings, so we also cannot scan book chapters or excerpts of books and provide them as PDFs. Most traditional textbook publishers' business models prevent libraries from purchasing textbooks in electronic format. Therefore, the library is unable to purchase e-book versions of most textbooks.
The good news is the library has launched a new self-service platform to help faculty locate and adopt free e-textbooks and e-books for their courses. Faculty can use our self-service platform, Faculty Select, to locate and adopt high-quality OERs, e-books the library already owns, or e-books the library can purchase. With any of these options, the e-book will be provided to you and your students, completely free of cost, as part of z-course creation.
- Adopt E-Textbooks for Z-Courses: locate high-quality e-books and e-textbooks that you can adopt as the course text for your course. All items on the Faculty Select platform can be provided to you and your students as electronic course materials, completely free of cost.
The library can place articles on reserve for your class by providing either a PDF or a weblink in your Blackboard course. Though we do not have access to our print collections, we have millions of scholarly and popular periodicals available, including newspapers, magazines, and journals.
- RaptorSearchnew window: search for articles by title, author, or subject to view what the library already has in our collection.
- Journals by Title or Subjectnew window: if you are looking for a specific publication, use this list to see if the library has access to it.
- Interlibrary Loan: if the library doesn't have access to an article you'd like to use for your course, you can request that we get it from another institution.
- Placing Items on Course Reserve: once you've found the article(s) you'd like to use, follow the instructions on this page to request that we place it on reserve for your class. Once on reserve, your students can access it directly from your Blackboard course by clicking on Library Course Reserves in the left navigation menu.
Because the library facilities are closed, we cannot provide access to our physical DVDs. In addition, the library cannot convert DVDs in our collection or personal copies provided by faculty to streaming videos due to copyright restrictions. However, the library has access to thousands of streaming videos and we can place our streaming videos on reserve for your class, providing access to them via a weblink in your Blackboard course.
- RaptorSearchnew window: search for streaming videos by title or subject to view what the library already has in our collection.
- Streaming Video Databasesnew window: see the library's databases with streaming videos.
- Request a Purchase: if the library doesn't own a streaming video you'd like to use for your course, you can request a purchase.
- Placing Items on Course Reserve: once you've found the streaming video(s) you'd like to use, follow the instructions on this page to request that we place it on reserve for your class. Once on reserve, your students can access it directly from your Blackboard course by clicking on Library Course Reserves in the left navigation menu.
Library Support
During this period of remote learning, the MC Library is here to support you. If you have questions or concerns about anything related to the library that are not addressed on this page, please be in touch with us via our chat servicenew window. During the hours listed above, a member of the MC Library team will get you the answers you need. Outside of those hours, a librarian at another institution will help you 24/7.