Frequently Asked Questions

Librarians are available to help student with their research - that’s a big part of why we’re here! If you have a question, you can email our shared inbox at library@alverno.edu or reach out to your subject liaison librarian directly.

Visit the library’s How to Cite in APA 7 guide to view examples of how to cite dozens of types of sources including class notes, journal articles, books, and more! If you have any questions this guide can’t answer, please feel free to reach out to a librarian at library@alverno.edu, but please be aware that librarians will not create or carefully review citations for you. We will give you some direction and point you to helpful resources, but your work must be your own.

TOPCAT

• TOPCAT is our online library catalog and can be used to search for articles if the search scope is set to Everything. If an article's full text is available through our databases, TOPCAT will indicate that the item is "Available Online" and show the databases where it can be found.
• If an article's full text is not available through our databases but can be requested from another library, TOPCAT will allow you to "Check for available full text," sign in with your Alverno account, and request it from another library. Requests for articles are typically filled within a few business days.
  

Google Scholar

• Enter the title you’re searching for in any Google Scholar search bar on the library’s website (direct link here.)
• When you access Google Scholar through the library, it will automatically sync with our databases and notify you if we have full-text access to an article.
• Most of the time, if we have full-text access, a link will appear to the right of the search result that says something like [PDF] or [HTML]. If you click this link, you should be taken to the full text of the article.
• If the link on the right side of the result doesn’t work for whatever reason, try clicking the “All X versions” link below the search result. This will bring up other places where that article is hosted and we may have access through one of those instead.
  
• Sometimes authors choose to publish their articles for free on sites like ResearchGate and Academia.edu. If Google Scholar fails to find an article, try using Google to search for the article's title before giving up.
  

InterLibrary Loan

• If none of the above options work for you, please place an ILL request for the article you’re looking for.

The Alverno College Library Digital Commons includes master's program theses, doctoral dissertations, graduate capstone projects, student/faculty research projects, faculty-created Open Educational Resources (OER), and published faculty and staff research. Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to submit their research projects to the Commons.

For more information on Interlibrary Loan, see this page.

Alverno students are able to print from either the library’s desktop computers or from their personal devices connected to the student wifi network. 

From a campus desktop computer:

1. Log in with your Alverno username and password.
2. Pull up your document and choose either the black and white or color campus print server. The default printer is usually not either of these and if you do not specify the correct printer, your job will not print. You must choose either: Alverno_Campus_BW on PRINTSRV1 or Alverno_Campus_Color on PRINTSRV1.
3. Once you have sent your document to the server, you must release the print job at the appropriate printer. Scan your Alverno ID or enter your username and password to log in to the computers at the printers and select Print Job to print your document.

From a personal device:

• Follow the Mobility Print instructions from Tech Services. This requires registering your device to the network and installing an app, but it will allow you to print from your personal device without logging in to a campus computer.

• Printing is available from the time the library opens until 15 minutes prior to close. This is to ensure that student workers are able to leave work on time, as the printers take a substantial amount of time to power on or off.
• Patrons who need to print outside of these times may print either at the Computer Center, if they are open, or from the public access printer in FO-G60, the mail room in the basement of Founder's Hall. The mail room printer is available 24/7 and uses the same print server as other campus computers.

Any library worker is able to help you add more pages to your account. Each printer page added to your account costs 10 cents - black and white printing uses 1 page per single- or double-sided page and color printing uses 10 pages per single-sided page. We can only accept cash and we must add a minimum of 50 pages ($5) to student accounts.

Community members should be prepared to pay with cash, for exactly the number of pages they need to print, at the main help desk.

If your print job doesn’t turn out right, go to http://printsrv1:9191/user and request a refund from Tech Services. Click on “Recent Print Jobs” on the left, find the appropriate job in the list, and request a full or partial refund as necessary. The library is not able to issue refunds.

Students are able to create and view reservations for all four Library study rooms using the EMS website. To use the EMS reservation system, see these instructions. For more information about study rooms, please visit our Policies page.

The library maintains a Textbooks Collection that contains copies of books being used in current course offerings. We aren’t able to buy every book being used in every course, but we do buy as many textbooks as we can. To check if we have the textbooks for your course, search for your course number or your instructor's name in a Textbooks search in TOPCAT.

The Southeastern Wisconsin Information Technology Exchange is a non-profit organization of college libraries in the Milwaukee area. Members of SWITCH freely share physical and digital resources quickly and easily, with daily deliveries between member institutions. The members of SWITCH are Alverno College, Concordia University Wisconsin, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, Mount Mary University, Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology, St. Francis de Sales Seminary, and Wisconsin Lutheran College.

TOPCAT is the name for the SWITCH Libraries’ tool that allows users to search all 7 SWITCH Libraries’ catalogs at once for materials and place holds on any eligible items. The SWITCH Libraries also partner with other institutions including UW-Madison and our patrons are able to search their catalogs in TOPCAT as well by changing the search scope to UW System. Every Alverno patron has a TOPCAT account where they can view their loans and due dates, renew eligible items, and see if they have any fines or fees.

The Library is an active workspace for students and is not intended to be a silent study space. Parts of the library that are usually quieter include behind the glass wall in the Reading Room and at the north end of each floor of the stacks, but we do not guarantee that these spaces will be quiet.

Most materials in the Alverno College Library do not have overdue fines. Notable exceptions are the Textbooks Collection (as we want those items to be available for as many students in the class as possible) and our equipment. We do also charge replacement fees for lost/damaged items. For more information about fines and fees, please visit our Policies page.

Use your Alverno network login. This is the same username and password you use for your email and Moodle. If you can't remember your password, you can set it by trying to log in to office.com, clicking the link for resetting a password, and following the instructions on screen.

Log into your TOPCAT account and go to My Loans. All items eligible for renewal will have a red renew link to the right of the item information. Items that are eligible for renewal can typically be renewed twice. Take note of the Maximum Renewal Date listed when selecting which items to renew as it is possible to use up a renewal on an item you’ve just checked out. 

Items that are ineligible for renewal include Textbooks Collections items and equipment. Some ILL books are also not eligible for renewal, but this varies based on the lending institution’s policies. If you have questions about your loans, please contact the librarians at library@alverno.edu.

For off-campus use of many databases and journal articles, authentication is required to prove that you are currently an Alverno student, staff, or faculty member.

Log in with your Alverno username and password. If you have trouble logging in, you can reset your password by trying to log in to office.com, clicking the link for resetting a password, and following the instructions on screen. The library is not able to reset your password for you.

For further assistance, email the librarians at library@alverno.edu.

If you have trouble logging in, you can reset your password by trying to log in to office.com, clicking the link for resetting a password, and following the instructions on screen. The library is not able to reset your password for you.

At the library, you can borrow charging cords (Lightning, Micro USB, and USB-C,) headphones, mice, and a SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) lamp. These items are available for 4-hour or 3-day checkout and are subject to overdue fines as detailed in our policies. 

Additional equipment, including laptops and cameras, is available for checkout from the Media Hub. The Media Hub uses the same checkout system we use, but the library will be unable to answer any questions about or accept returns of Media Hub equipment. Please direct all Media Hub equipment questions to the Media Hub.

The library does not have a fax machine. The only publicly accessible fax machine on campus is located right outside the Computer Center.

Typically yes, but we do need advance notice and would like to know what your filming project is before you come in. Anyone wishing to film or photograph any part of the library should fill out this form at least one business day prior to the requested filming date. This will allow the library to prepare for your visit and determine if any special requests can be accommodated.

Textbooks from BNC are shipped directly to the address you supplied at checkout. The library is not affiliated with BNC and we cannot give you any information about your textbook order.

The library does not buy books from or sell books to patrons.

We accept donations on a case-by-case basis and materials are added to the collection based on curricular relevancy and need. We reserve the right to refuse donations and to process, donate, or resell donated items that are not suitable for the collection.

The library does not typically give away free books. Books in usable condition that are removed from our collections are given to Better World Books, a reseller who shares a portion of their profits with us. The college does have shelves of free books by the mail room in the basement of Founders Hall, where some of our deselected items may end up if Better World Books will not accept them.