Off-Campus Library Services

The materials and services available and routinely used by students at the main campus are also available to students at off campus sites.  Students at off campus sites may submit reference and other research questions via the Ask a Librarian form.

Access to Online Resources

Students and faculty access the BC3 Library's online library resources through Blackboard.

Directions

  • Go to https://blackboard.bc3.edu and login
  • Within Blackboard, look under your My Courses menu and select BC3 Library on Blackboard
  • Databases will be found under the Databases A-Z button in BC3 Library on Blackboard

BC3 Library Databases Available through Blackboard

  1. Library Catalog. Index to the Library’s books and audiovisual materials. This database is also available on the library’s page of the BC3 website.   

Requesting Library Materials: Students at off-campus sites may request books and other materials using the “Request” button in the BC3 Library Catalog (for a detailed explanation on how to do this, see the Your "My Library" Account handout.  Materials will be delivered to the off-campus site where students can check them out.

  1. E-Books.  Thousands of electronic books are available through the EBSCOhost ebook collection database, and the ebrary database.
  2. Periodicals. (magazine, newspaper, and journals). The library has several databases that index collections of periodicals:  EBSCOhost (indexes journal and magazine articles), America’s News (indexes over 500 newspapers), WestlawNext (indexes legal journals).  Many of the articles indexed can be retrieved full text.  Where not available full-text, students may request them through interlibrary loan.
  3. Online full text journals:  Many of the Library’s paper periodicals are also available electronically via this list of links.
  4. Reference Databases. The library’s collection of online resources includes several reference databases.
    1. ASM, The Materials Information Society:Metals Handbook Desk Edition
    2. CQ Researcher:  full issue-length treatments of contemporary issues, e.g. global warming, gay marriage, or women in the military. 
    3. Credo Reference: collection of online reference books
    4. Encyclopedia Britannica: online version of the 30-volume print encyclopedia.  Also offers Merriam-Webster dictionary and thesaurus.
    5. Facts on File Reference Suite: short, concise articles on contemporary issues, factual information, statistics, and overviews of topics. Includes three databases: World News Digest, Issues and Controversies, and Today’s Science, as well as an online dictionary and encyclopedia.
    6. Global Road Warrior: country studies, maps and profiles
    7. Hoovers: company and industry profiles and history
    8. Salem Press: collection of online reference book sets, large collection of health reference works
    9. WestlawNext: federal and state statues, court decisions, and journal articles
  5. Access Pennsylvania:  This database lists the holdings of libraries across the state of Pennsylvania, including local public libraries such as Cranberry Public Library, New Castle Public Library and many others.  Off-campus students may either visit these libraries or request books or articles from them using the interlibrary loan form on the BC3 Library’s website.

Library Instruction

All ENGL 101 College Writing courses include an online information literacy tutorial that reviews how to select, locate and evaluate resources. Videos and handouts on information literacy topics like selecting resources, searching databases, and evaluating resources are available in the BC3 Library section of Blackboard. Information literacy instruction is available for other courses upon faculty request.