Los Medanos College has moved all face-to-face lab and lecture courses online and closed campus and services to students in response to the novel Coronavirus as of March 18. 

Student services, such as the Library, are no longer physically open for students, but they have moved things online to help students as much as possible during this challenging and uncertain time.

“We are doing everything we can to make sure students are connected to the appropriate and academic information they need to be successful with the projects they are working on, at no cost to them,” said librarian Christina Goff.

Many different companies and mainstream publishers have allowed access to e-versions of their textbooks for free on their websites, and now more are following that movement due to the COVID-19 virus. 

“Some online database companies are either making their collections accessible to the public and some are just turning on access to additional collections to current subscribers,” said Goff. “We are also working closely with faculty to help get them and their students connected to resources they normally access in print or through physical media like DVDs if possible.”

A few new resources that are completely complimentary for student use can be found on VitalSource, RedShelf, and Cengage. Most of these companies are allowing their e-textbooks to be free to students until LMC’s semester ends. 

“To ensure that all students have access to their course materials amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, we’re partnering with the publishing community to provide you with up to 7 free eBooks from participating publishers available through May 26,” according to RedShelf’s website. 

Though students cannot access materials at the library in person right now, librarians are on standby to answer any questions students may have through online platforms. 

“We are offering chat reference services, email consultations, and Zoom consultations by appointment,” said Goff. “We hope our students know they can ask as many questions as they need to in order to get the information they need.”

Appointments can be scheduled at http://losmedanos.libguides.com/contactalibrarian.

The library has many materials online for students to take advantage of during the shelter in place, from the contact a librarian page, to direct access to all online books and even to a whole section about helpful tools and how to navigate classes. 

“The library team is here to answer questions and offer guidance on research, source evaluation, and citation information and we are trying our best to get student and faculty needs met in a timely manner,” said Goff. “We want our students to know we understand this is an incredibly stressful time, especially to those who are new to online learning. We are here to help.”