10 Things to Know About the Chamberlain Library

At Chamberlain College of Nursing, our library aims to provide the resources and services that ensure our healthcare professionals base practice on the best evidence available. As the Chamberlain Library Director, I want to share 10 things every student at Chamberlain should know about our library:

1. The Library is Available Wherever You Are
   The library webpage is available to anyone with access to the Internet – anywhere in the world! If you are a Chamberlain student, faculty or staff member you can get into any of the resources (even if the rest of the world can’t). When you are prompted, enter your DSI# and your Date of Birth (in this format: YYYYMM) as your password. Once you login, you will stay logged in until you close your browser window completely.
   
    
2. Our Librarians Know Their Stuff
   The librarians at Chamberlain hold master’s degrees in Library and Information Science. In addition, Chamberlain librarians are specialists in the literature of health sciences, with an emphasis on nursing. Our librarians have worked in hospitals, academic research institutions, nurse residency programs and schools of medicine and allied health. Helping nurses and nursing students navigate the world of information is our passion!
   
    
3. And They’re Online Too!
   The most important Chamberlain library resources (including our librarians!) are available online. You can access them where you are, when you want to, and on whatever device you choose. Librarians are happy to help in the way that is most convenient for you – phone, email, chat or in person.
   
    
4. Librarians + Faculty = Development of Online Course Guides
   Chamberlain librarians work closely with faculty to build and constantly update an online Course Guide for each course in all Chamberlain’s program offerings. Each Course Guide links library resources to class assignments.
   
    
5. If It Takes You Longer Than Five Minutes to Find, Contact Us!
   The Chamberlain librarians provide access to hundreds of scholarly journals offering the full text of articles online. There are so many places to look for these journals that it can be overwhelming and frustrating, especially when you need that assigned reading NOW! That’s why we ask you to contact one of our librarians if you haven’t found that online article you were told to read within five minutes of hunting. If it’s urgent - please call us! If it’s the middle of the night – please leave a voice message or send an email! If it’s break time and you have a minute - click that Chat link on the library webpage!
   
    
6. If the Article You Need Isn’t Online, Request It
   Speaking of scholarly articles, it’s sad but true, that not everything you might want is actually available online. The good news is that it’s easy for you to place a request to get those articles. Use the “Request an Article” link found on each library webpage. Please do not use this to get your required course readings -- you can contact us instead for help finding them. We will try to get anything else you might request as quickly as possible.
   
    
7. We love to help you build your clinical question in PICO (Patient – Intervention - Comparison – Outcomes) format
   Ask one of our librarians for help putting your clinical question into a PICO format – we love the chance to help! Our librarians understand that a well-constructed question can make the difference between a successful literature search and a search with no results.
   
    
8. “Incredibly Easy!” Books Are at Your Fingertips
   Do you love the “Incredibly Easy!” books? They are all available online and can be accessed through the library website! You can login and browse any (or all) of them anytime – you never need to see which titles might be available to borrow. The most recent title, “Dosage Calculations Made Incredibly Easy!” (2016), is ready for you now on our virtual bookshelf.
   
    
9. We are 137+ Research Databases Strong
   Fun Fact: The Chamberlain library has linked 137+ (and growing) research databases to the A-Z list on the library webpage. Use these databases to find credible, authoritative, trustworthy, peer-reviewed information on a wide range of nursing topics. Remember, Chamberlain librarians would love to help you learn how to use appropriate databases for your research.
   
    
10. We Are All Here to Ensure Your Success
    The Chamberlain Library, the Center for Academic Success, and the Chamberlain Care Student Academic Success teams are partners. We support one another with our resources, hours and helping users get what they need. We believe if we take extraordinary care of each other and our students, we will graduate extraordinary nurses who can have a significant and positive impact on healthcare around the world.

By Molly Mattison