The library offers a great pool of knowledge; however, without quality learning opportunities and diversity, it lacks the fundamentals of a library. The Ashford University Library offers accessible, diverse and quality learning materials for students and researchers.
There are many benefits associated with using the Ashford University Library; it offers online research materials, which can be accessed by registered members globally. As long as one is a registered member, there is no need to physically visit the library to access learning or research material. Many students, lecturers and alumni students, get to easy access to online materials. There are interlibrary loan services that members are able to enjoy; one can get access to a book, which is not in the University Library. Those registered to use the library can contact the Librarian via email, phone or live chat through the library website. Students are able to access the library online facilities available in the student portal, by logging in by their s and passwords. The library is spacious for those students and other members to study inside, students can be loaned books and access them online. The resources in the library cover different academic areas and are arranged in sections depending on the academic field a resource offers. There are book, journals, research papers, peer reviewed articles and many other academic resources, which are available for library users.
There are many databases that a user can use, however, the most users are ProQuest, which is a collection of databases offering resources in different fields, . The user can restrict his/her search in specific areas such as journals ; this makes it easy to navigate through the database.EBSCOHost is also another multidisciplinary database that users can also access academically.JSTOR is a useful research database for full –text resources. The database does not have journals or magazines; only books can be accessed through this database. One can also access book reviews in the database, which are not available in the other databases. Project MUSE is another useful database accessible in the library, the resources found are mainly related to social sciences and humanities disciplines.The library offers EBSCO Discovery Services(EDS) which make it easier for users to access academic resources without necessarily having to search in every database. It is easy to find books and other resources by searching using the book title or the author; there is also the Findlt@AU option that allows users to search a specific database. Students and other library users who know how to navigate through the library website can easily access any resources available .Understanding the resources provided in different databases makes it easier to access any resources .It is also easier to search for any academic resources once one types the title or author on the search area. In case one does not understand how to search for books and other resources online, one can view tutorial videos or ask for assistance from any library staff.
When one is searching for a book or any other resources, it is important to understand whether it is a scholar or popular publication, scholarly publications have research publications that have been done by academic experts and scholar in that field while popular publications are written by journalists and other writers.Scholary publications provide information related to a specific academic fields while popular publications have general information on different fields.
The Ashford University Library has been able to integrate technology in offering quality and diverse academic resources. Many users have shown their satisfaction to the services and resources offered, and it continues to improve its service delivery.
References
Ashford University. (n.d.). .. Retrieved April 5, 2014, from http://askforeducation.com/ashford-university.html
