TCTC Library: Distance Learning Resources: Home

Use the Library

Hours, locations, and staff directory
Coming to campus? Make sure we're open! Also, always feel free to contact any of the library staff for additional help.
Check your Library account
Log in to your library account to renew books, see what you have checked out, and more!
Order books from other libraries
Students can request books and other materials, through and have them delivered to the Tri-County Technical College Library.
Purchase Suggestion Form
Know a title you would like us to buy? Send us the details and we'll have a look and see if we can get it.

Quick links to library research and study resources

Library Research Databases
Search for article databases, electronic journals, image collections, statistical sources, and more. If you know where you want to go or would like to browse by subject are, go to the full list of library databases. You can sort by subject area, type of material, and database name.(You can always locate this under the "Find" tab at the top of every page. If you're not sure which database you want, use the search boxes at the top.)
Library Catalog
Search the Library catalog for print and selected online resources.
Library Subject Research Guides
Not sure which database is best for your subject area? Visit the research guide for your department for recommendations about the best resources relevant to your topic area.
Ask a librarian
Need help? Ask a librarian! We're available via online chat, email, and phone. Or check out our FAQs to see if someone has already asked your question.
Library Instruction and Online Tutorials
Videos and handouts providing effective and efficient methods to find articles and books.
Research Process: A Step-By-Step Guide
This guide consists of five steps that are the key concepts and skills you should learn to be an ace researcher, including finding a topic, finding information, evaluating sources, writing tips, and citation/plagiarism basics.
Writing Skills and Resources
This guide will help users find information on how to improve both their general writing skills, including links to manuals on writing style and grammar, reference materials on writing and publishing, and more.
Citation Help
This is a one-stop guide to citations and style manuals, showing the basics of MLA, APA, and other styles, as well as introduce some citation management tools.

Connecting to the Library from home

Tri-County Technical College Library subscribes to a variety of online databases, magazines, and newspapers, giving members of the TCTC community online access to hundreds of thousands of online books and articles for free. Because of the terms of our subscriptions, we must limit access to these online resources to our community. In order to confirm that a user is part of the TCTC network, we use something called a "proxy server" that verifies that only members of our authorized community (e.g. faculty, staff, and current students) are given access to our resources.

On-campus access

If you are on-campus and connected to the campus WiFi, you will be automatically verified.

Off-campus access

However, if you are off-campus, you can use our proxy server for off-campus access to the online resources databases to which the TCTC Library subscribes. To gain access from off-campus, there are a few details you need to know.

First, you will need to click through the Library website to access all resources.
- We configure each link so that the proxy server will pop-up and you will be able to login.
- If you go directly to a particular source, you will not be connecting through the library subscription and will likely be asked to pay to view the content.
Once you click on the link, you will be prompted to enter your TCTC student ID number (your "T" number.) Be sure to include the "T" and any zeroes that proceed your number.
The proxy server will then authenticate you and pass you through to your requested database.