Throughout the other modules in this course, some of OU Libraries' services and resources for students have been touched on -- these include:
One of the resources OU Libraries provides to students, staff, and faculty is RefWorks -- this is a citation management tool where you can collect and organize your research resources. Best of all, it's free to you to use, and if you create an account while you're an OU student, you can continue to use it after you graduate!
RefWorks is accessible through the OU Libraries' home page:
While RefWorks is free to use, you do have to set up an account. Each of the Libraries' databases interacts differently with RefWorks, but in general, you can bring virtually every citation you find into RefWorks, including a Get It link back to the resource itself. If you're trying to figure out how to bring an article citation into RefWorks from a specific database, check out the appropriate RefWorks tutorial available on the OU Libraries website. For detailed information about RefWorks, check out this guide.
Another OU Libraries service that is free to use is ILLiad, an interlibrary loan program that allows you to request full-text PDF copies of articles we don't have either in print or online. Like RefWorks, you need to set up an ILLiad account to use this service, but this resource links to your NetID -- it's very easy to sign up.
If you try to access an article and find OU Libraries doesn't have it online or in print, click the link "Request via Interlibrary Loan." This will direct you to the ILLiad interface, where you can request the article.
Requests are sent to partner libraries, and normally, requests are fulfilled within 24 hours! You'll receive an email notification when your article arrives, and you can log in to ILLiad and download the PDF. You can sign up for ILLiad here.
OU Libraries offers online tutorials and citation guides (available from the main menu on the library web site) to help you as you research, use library resources, and cite your sources. Check these resources out if you need help:
