Library Cards Your Saint Mary's University ID library card is required for all materials check out. This card also provides library privileges at Winona State Library, although the loan periods and policies may differ. For your protection, students you send to the library to check out materials in your name should present your card. 

Library Catalog All of our library materials are cataloged online in the MnPALS database. You may access the catalog on all library and lab computers, in your office, and off campus as well. For off campus access to your borrowing record you will need to supply all fourteen digits of the bar code at the bottom of your St. Mary's ID card. Your last name is your password (or up to eight letters of your last name if you were hired before June 20th 2005).

Loan Periods You may borrow most library materials for a semester and most items are renewable. See Circulation Policies.

Placing Materials on Reserve Faculty may place library materials or personal items on reserve. Stop at the Circulation Desk to set this up and please allow 24 hours for materials to be processed for use. If you are putting a journal article on reserve it is recommended that no more than 3 copies are made available.

Reserve Lending Procedures Please let your students know that reserve items are organized by faculty name not by class. Students must present their Saint Mary's ID card to sign them out. Materials ordinarily are used in the building for two hours and may go out overnight one hour before closing only if you so specify. Faculty may determine the loan limitations as needed.

Photocopying Copiers are located near the Circulation Desk. Jobs may be billed to your department.

Interlibrary Loan Books or periodicals needed but  not in the Fitzgerald Library collection may be obtained through interlibrary loan. Carol Daul-Elhindi is your Interlibrary Loan Librarian (1489). For procedural information go to Borrowing from Other Libraries.

Ordering Materials for the Library Collection Your recommendations are essential for developing a sound collection that supports the University curriculum. Each department has a budget for library items. Please check with your department chair for more information about ordering materials. Order forms are available at the library or can be sent to you if requested. To ensure expenditure for the fiscal year, please submit orders by February 1. Lucille Smith (1567) processes all orders and maintains records on their status, as well as the status of your department's financial allocation. Lauren Leighton(1564) accepts and evaluates requests for periodical additions. Call Ruth Torstenson LeMasters (6664) to recommend purchase of online indexes.

Audiovisual Materials Fitzgerald Library audiovisual software, including videotapes, CDs, DVDs, etc., is cataloged in MnPALS. Materials can be viewed or listened to in the library or may be checked out. For classroom AV equipment call the Help Desk (7800). The library does have some equipment that may be checked out for use only in the library. See the equipment and facilities page.

Reserving Special Session Rooms Faculty may reserve a study room in the library for a special session. Contact the Circulation Desk (1561). All rooms in the McEnery Center must be reserved online. Go to Inside Pages: Offices and Departments and choose "Offices" and then “Facilities Scheduling Direct.”

Archives The University archives, housed in the library, includes yearbooks, undergraduate honors papers and theses from previous years, some back files of university publications, photographs, and other materials pertaining to the history of Saint Mary's. Dr. William Crozier (1563) oversees the archives and can locate materials for you.

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Reference Assistance--call the Reference Desk (507-457-1562) or send an e-mail ( library staff ) or go to Ask a Librarian.

Database Help Many online subscription databases have been acquired for the research needs of the Saint Mary's community. Each has its own unique search protocols. If you would like help using these resources call to schedule an individual tutoring session (1562).

Bibliographies/ Research Assistance  Reference librarians are available to develop bibliographies or path finders for your students.  They also provide assistance in locating resources for your own research projects.

Library Instruction/Information Literacy As Google increasingly becomes the information resource of choice for many students, it has become more important than ever that students have access to instruction in how to locate and use high quality informational resources. Freshmen do receive some mandatory library orientation, but this is really only a first step toward developing productive research habits. Working with reference librarians, you can build on this first step in several ways:

1. Develop assignments and activities that require the use of the library and/or its online resources. If students are required to use a variety of specific informational resources, they will become adept at both recognizing and using high quality sources. Reference librarians will collaborate with you to assign library resources that meet your instructional goals. They are available weekdays, evenings, and over the weekends to help your students find and use the resources they need.

2. Schedule library instruction for a particular subject or class. Our Education Librarian  will work with any faculty member who would like to arrange a special session in which specific resources and research methods pertinent to a particular subject or assignment could be introduced. She will also provide instruction in web site evaluation, Internet search skills, and navigating within specific databases. Contact Carol Daul-Elhindi at cdaulelh@smumn.edu. to set up an appointment. 

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Issues of Plagiarism: Selected Resources

Guide to Plagiarism and Cyber-Plagiarism--this site from the University of Alberta examines "the issues of plagiarism and cyber-plagiarism and what faculty can do to prevent, detect, and report plagiarism."

Avoiding Plagiarism --from the University of WI LaCrosse Murphy Library, links to a variety of university websites for use with students.


Thinking and Talking About Plagiarism--"how to talk about plagiarism in the classroom, how to talk to students you suspect might have plagiarized , how to search the WWW and databases for possibly plagiarized e-text, how to tell if the plagiarism is intentional cheating or poor source handling, and how to proceed with plagiarism cases even when you can't find an originating text."


Plagiarism--An annotated directory of articles, case studies, examples of paper mills, plagiarism detection tools, essays on ethics and copyright, and related links. Includes resources directed specifically at instructors and students. Created by librarian Sharon Stoerger for the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

Copyright Issues: Selected Resources 


Copyright Information and Education--from the University of Minnesota, a comprehensive site for copyright issues affecting teaching, research, and library use. Also includes latest legislation and news, faqs, and the Copyright Decision Map to help guide the decision-making process involving the use of copyright-protected materials.


Copyright--from the United States Copyright Office, Library of Congress . Key information.


Distance Education and the TEACH Act--Explanation of the newest legislation from the American Library Association


PBS Teacher Source--This section is a reference guide for educators who videotape programming from PBS television

Questions and Answers on Copyright for the Campus Community--7th edition, provides answers to 31 common copyright questions to help colleges understand how copyright law applies to them,  focus here is on the use of electronic course material and software.

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