Library Resources For Faculty

FAQ’s

Contact Us

OTC Library is here to support your teaching and professional development. Please reach out to us and let us know how we can help!

Springfield & Online: libraryref@otc.edu
Richwood Valley: rvclibstaff@otc.edu
Table Rock: dixonani@otc.edu

Open Educational Resources (OER)

Support services for OER adoption are available to you on campus! Learn more about OER here. Find and evaluate for OER options for your classes here. If you have any questions, please contact the Hamra Library or the Center for Academic Innovation.

Inter-Library Loan

If we don’t have it, we’ll get it for you! OTC Library belongs to the MOBIUS and Prospector library consortia, and our faculty and students can request items from libraries across the region. If it’s not in OTC’s collection, search the MOBIUS libraries and request it. If it’s not available through MOBIUS, you can search Prospector Libraries. And if it’s not there, place an Inter-Library Loan request and we’ll find it for you!

Suggest a Library Purchase

We welcome your suggestions for items to add to our library! Please refer to our Collection Development Policy for information about what we collect. Start your Library Material Request now!

Library Databases for Your Program

We have research guides with lists of recommended databases by discipline for students and faculty. Check out these resources, and use starred resources to identify best bets for each subject area. See our Database By Subject guides.

How We Support Your Students

We provide online and in-person help to students, on the Springfield Campus in the Hamra Library, on Richwood Valley Campus in the Academic Learning Center, at the Table Rock Campus at the Library Center, and online for all OTC students. Your students can reach out to us on our Get Research Help page and select their preferred method. We also provide support via text at 833-244-6822. Text and chat are available nearly 24/7, and our current in-person hours are available here.

Teaching Library Research

The library has how-to videos on a wide variety of library resources including EBSCO databases, starting your research, and MLA or APA citation. Check out the videos, guides, and handouts we have and use them in your classroom, post them on Canvas, or share them with students.

Professional Development

Check out our Professional Development Collection! The library regularly purchases books about reflective teaching, educational technologies, and broader issues in higher education. As an OTC instructor, you also have access to millions of books via the MOBIUS consortium. Finally, we welcome your suggestions if there are titles you’d like us to consider purchasing.

Lime Green Book Cover, Title: 99 Tips Creating Simple and Sustainable Educational Videos
Book Cover: owerful teaching : unleash the science of learning by Pooja K. Agarwal and Patrice M. Bain
Book Cover: Small teaching online : applying learning science in online classes by Flower Darby, James M. Lang

Don’t see a journal specific to your discipline? Try searching Education Source, ask a librarian for a recommendation, or submit a recommendation for library purchase.

  • Chronicle of Higher Education – published online every weekday, The Chronicle is a leading source of news, information, and job postings for college and university faculty members and administrators. (User Guide for Chronicle Access)
  • Community College Journal of Research and Practice – a multidisciplinary forum for researchers and practitioners in higher education and the behavioral and social sciences. It promotes an increased awareness of community college issues by providing an exchange of ideas, research, and empirically tested educational innovations.
  • Currents in Teaching and Learning (open access) – published twice a year, Currents seeks to improve teaching and learning in higher education with short reports on classroom practices as well as longer research articles and explorations of issues and challenges facing teachers today.
  • Department Chair (1 year embargo)- written for academic administrators at every level, this newsletter features in-depth articles that deliver sound insight and proven strategies essential for successfully leading an academic department, division or other unit.
  • Journal of Career and Technical Education (open access) – a peer-reviewed electronic journal whose scope includes research conducted in the context of academic and career/technical education integration, agricultural education, business education, technology education, family and consumer sciences, and other related disciplines.
  • Journal of Chemical Education – the official journal of the Division of Chemical Education of the American Chemical Society, JCE typically addresses chemical content, activities, laboratory experiments, instructional methods, and pedagogies.
  • Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence (open access) –  intended audience includes faculty and professionals at all institutions who teach, develop instruction, and conduct research related to teaching in higher education.
  • Journal of Faculty Development – an independent, peer-reviewed journal for the exchange of information regarding faculty development in post-secondary educational institutions.
  • Journal of Technical Writing and Communication – serves as a major professional and scholarly journal for practitioners and teachers of most functional forms of communication.
  • New York Times – site registration required before first use: select OTC & follow instructions for on- or off-campus account activation. Must use OTC email address & set individual password; then login on website or NYT app on a mobile device.
  • New York Times in Education – teaching resources; site registration required.
  • Teaching Professor – Formerly Online Classroom & Teaching Professor, this website offers practical advice and emerging research and evidence-based strategies for effective teaching in higher education. Aimed at busy faculty who seek practices they can implement right away in their teaching. Useful for anyone teaching in a face to face, online, or hybrid format.
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