Skip to Main Content

Shepard Library Orientation: Getting Started

A guide to using Shepard Library and its resources, aimed at first year and transfer students.

Welcome!

Shepard Library offers many resources for your research. Click on the tabs above for information on locating books, journal articles and other items.  Remember that Shepard Library's home page is your portal to information resources.

Welcome to Shepard Library!

Where do I ...

...check out books?

  • At the Circulation Desk, in the center of the second floor main area.

...check out DVDs?

  • At the Reserve Desk, in the center of the second floor main area, the same service desk on the second floor, where you check out books.

...go to use a computer?

  • You can either go to the TechnoLounge on the first floor, the Reference Department on the second floor or the Serials Department on the second floor. Use your NCCU username and password to sign into any campus computer.
  • Printers are located on the first floor in the TechnoLounge; and second floor Reference Department
  • One color printer is located in the Reference Department, in the center of the desktop computers. 
  • If you are a visitor to campus, you can come to the second floor and ask a staff member to sign you into a computer, limited to 2 hours per day. 

...get help with a school project?

  • The Reference Desk, on the second floor, is the place to go for help with research and projects.

...get a scholarly journal article?

  • You can look for journal articles online (see the Find Journals section of this introduction), although there are still quite a few journals that we get just in print.
  • For help with looking for journal articles or to find a particular article, visit the Serials Department or Reference Department on the second floor.
  • If it's after 5 PM, you can also get help with journal articles at the Reference Desk.

...make copies?

  • You can make copies at the three library copy machines for 10 cents/page. Copy machines are located in the following areas:
  • First floor, across from the TechnoLounge
  • Second floor across from the book self check-out machine
  • Reference Department area next to the ITS Desk on the Second Floor
  • Copy machines can also scan materials

...go to study?

  • There are tables and study carrels positioned all around Shepard Library, particularly on the second floor. The second floor also has a small Group Study Room (available on a first-come, first-served basis).
  • If you are working with a particularly large group or need to make more noise than a normal conversation would entail (practicing a skit, running a large meeting, filming a video), the third floor area where bound journals are shelved is frequently empty and can accommodate more noise without disrupting other patrons.
  • You can make a reservation for a group (2-5 people) study room for up to 2 hours at the Information Desk on the first floor. 

...find my class?

  • If your class is meeting in Shepard Library on a regular basis, it is likely in Room 140, on the first floor.
  • If your class is in the library for a one-time library instruction session, it will be in Room 212, the library's electronic classroom, which is on the second floor, directly across from Circulation and Reserve Desks.
  • If you are a SLIS student, your class will most likely be on the third floor in the SLIS offices and classrooms. 

Subject Guide