Research librarians can assist you with finding and citing sources, topic development, and other search strategies. Here is a link for all the ways to Ask a Librarian.

Borrow Books

Borrow materials and access your course reserves.

The Information & Library Services Desk is on the Main Floor of the Library on the left as you enter.

Desktop Computers

Computers are located in the following spaces within the Library:

Innovation Lab (Main Level Entrance Lobby):

Library Main Level: 8 Computers (including 4 iMacs), two WEPA printing kiosks with both B&W and color printing and a Scannx Book Scan station and automatic document feeder

Library Cafe (Main Level Entrance Lobby)

Laptop & iPad Loaner Services

The library has HP Windows laptops, Apple MacBook laptop, and iPads available for use in the library by students, faculty and staff.

Laptops may be borrowed at the Library Services & Information Desk using your StagCard on a first-come, first-served basis for up to 4 hours. The iPads are available on a first-come, first-served basis for up to 3 hours.

For group work, laptops and iPads may be used with large screens available in the Library Collaboratories and Group Study Rooms. An adapter for an exterior monitor is also available at the Library Services & Information desk.

Wireless Connectivity

• For Faculty, Staff, and Students (FACSTAFF-S and STUDENT-S)
• For Guest (use Wi-Fi name "Fairfield Guest")

Full wireless instructions

For any questions or assistance, please Visit the ITS Help Desk located in the Library Room 230 (Main Level) or Call 203-254-4069 during business hours.

Printing

To print you must have your StagCard.

• Full-time undergraduates receive $25.00 in free prints per semester, other students receive $5.00 per registered course
• Fairfield University uses WEPA, Wireless Everywhere, Print Anywhere, which allows users to send print jobs to the cloud, then release them from kiosks around campus. There are 4 WEPA kiosks in the library for both black & white and color printing.

There are 4 WEPA kiosks located in the library with the capability of both B&W and color printing.

More about using StagPrint.

Price per page

For guest printing, see WEPA Guest Printing

Poster Printing

You can submit requests to print posters at the library for a fee.

Scanning

One self-service flatbed scanner station and one automatic document feed are available on the main floor. 

Scanning in the library is FREE!

Photocopying

Two self-service copiers are located on the main floor, both accepting StagBucks on the StagCard ($0.10 per page).

The Library Services & Information Desk staff can assist you if there are any questions about the copy machines in the library.

Helpful Research Terms

Abstract - A brief summary or description of an article or book. Articles in academic journals usually have an abstract. Some databases and indexes provide an abstract along with the citation for a work. You can use an abstract to help decide if you want to use an article or book for a research assignment.

Bibliography - A list of the resources used for research, usually located at the end of a book, article, or research paper. You must include a bibliography of the resources you used when completing a research assignment. This list of resources is also sometimes called “Works Cited” (for MLA citation style) or “References” (for APA citation style).

Call Number - A group of letters and/or numbers located on the spine of a book or item that identifies it in a library and provides a way for organizing library materials. An example of what a call number may look like is: LB1025.2 .N456 1998. You need to know an item’s call number in order to locate it in the library.

Catalog – A database of the materials accessible via the library. The catalog can be used to search for an item by its author, title, subject or keywords to see if it is available and where it is located.

Citation - A reference to a book, magazine,journal article, or other work, containing all the information necessary to identify and locate that work. There are many different citation format styles; examples include MLA style, Chicago style, and APA style. Ask your professor to find out which style is used in your discipline. You will have to include citations for any research assignment.

Interlibrary Loan – A service offered to students, faculty and staff by the Fairfield University Library to borrow materials held by other libraries. You can use InterLibrary Loan if you need materials that the Fairfield University Library doesn’t have, but other libraries do.

Keyword search - Using a specific term to conduct a search in a database. keywords can be used to search more precisely for the information you are looking for.

Paraphrase - To write information found in a source in your own words. You will often paraphrase information from other sources in your research assignments. Do not forget to cite the sources in your bibliography!

Peer-Review – A step in the publishing process where research articles are evaluated for quality by experts in the discipline prior to publication in a journal. You will often be asked to find peer-reviewed articles to include in research assignments.

Common Types of Sources

Database - A collection of information stored in an electronic format that can be searched by a computer.

Dissertation –Original research written as a prerequisite for a doctoral degree.

Ebook or Electronic Book - An electronic version of a book that can be read on a computer.

Journal - A publication distributed on a regular basis that contains research articles or studies in a particular discipline.

Magazine - A publication with articles often intended for recreational reading intended for a more general audience than journals.

Periodical – A publication that is distributed at regular intervals (weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.).

Credits for terms and definitions:

New York University
University of Denver -  http://libguides.du.edu/internationalstudentguide
UC Davis