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Research Skills Workshop Coming This Fall

New workshop series starts September 29

We’re offering a new Research Skills Workshop this fall to help students navigate the evolving world of academic research. Whether you’re struggling with database searches or trying to keep your sources organized, this workshop covers the practical skills you’ll use throughout your time at OTC.

What We’ll Cover

The workshop uses modules from our Library Orientation Canvas Course in a hands-on format where you can practice and ask questions. We’ll work through real examples and focus on skills you can immediately apply to your current assignments.

Topics include:

  • Database navigation and search techniques
  • Research organization strategies
  • Source evaluation methods
  • Effective search strategies for different types of assignments

Schedule Options

In-Person Sessions:

  • Dates: September 29 – October 3, plus October 8-10
  • Time: Monday-Friday, 12:00-1:00 PM
  • Location: Hamra Library, Springfield campus

Online Sessions:

  • Same dates: September 29 – October 3, plus October 8-10
  • Time: Monday-Friday, 6:00-7:00 PM via Microsoft Teams
  • Good for: Students at other locations or those with evening availability
    • Email us at libraryref@otc.edu for to receive the link for Teams

About the Workshop

This isn’t a lecture-style session. We know research can be frustrating when you’re not sure where to start or how to make sense of what you find. The workshop is designed to give you concrete tools and strategies you can use right away. You’ll leave each session with something you can immediately put to work on your assignments.

The workshop is open for all OTC students and any faculty or staff who also wants to improve their research skills, whether you’re new to college-level research or looking to refine techniques you already use.

More Information

If you have questions about the workshop or want to know more, contact the Coordinator of Library Access Services.

Contact: Danie Alexander, Coordinator of Library Access Services, OTC Hamra Library
Email: alexandd@otc.edu | Phone: 417-447-2623

Posted: September 12, 2025 | Categories: Student Resources, Academic Support, Library Services

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📰 Did You Know? FREE New York Times Access is Yours!

Hey OTC community! Here’s some exciting news that might just make your day (and your research projects way easier) – you already have FREE access to The New York Times digital subscription through our library!

That’s right – as a registered OTC student, faculty member, or staff member at any of our locations, you’ve got a golden ticket to one of the world’s most trusted news sources. We’re talking about unlimited access to breaking news, in-depth investigations, and decades of archived articles, all throughout your entire time at OTC!

What’s the Big Deal? 🎉

This isn’t just any freebie – you’re getting a premium subscription that normally costs over $200 per year! Whether you’re:

  • Cramming for that political science paper at 2 AM
  • Staying up-to-date on industry trends for your program
  • Just curious about what’s happening in the world
  • Looking for expert analysis on current events

The Times has you covered with award-winning journalism across politics, science, business, arts, sports, and so much more.

The Best Parts:

  • Breaking news as it happens
  • Searchable archives going back decades (perfect for research!)
  • Expert analysis from leading voices
  • Podcasts, videos, and interactive content
  • Mobile app access – read anywhere, anytime
  • No renewals needed – your access lasts until graduation!

Ready to Get the Scoop?

Setting up your account is super simple! Check out our step-by-step guide or swing by the library – we’re here to help you get connected to this amazing resource.

Don’t let this incredible benefit sit unused! Your future self (and your professors) will thank you. Questions? Find us at the library or email us at libraryref@otc.edu or call us at 417-447-8185.

Happy reading!

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Did you know that September is National Sewing Month? Whether you are a complete beginner or an experienced crafter looking to sharpen your skills, we’ve got you covered!

Check out these free video tutorials on Kanopy.

Clickable image with link that goes to Kanopy video streaming.

Sewing Essentials

Whether you want to hand-sew a button on a shirt or design and construct original projects, this class has all of the essentials you need to get started sewing with confidence. You’ll learn about sewing machine basics, types of needles and thread, fabric choices and pattern prep. Then try out the skills you have learned by constructing an easy sewing tool pouch.

Clickable image with link that goes to Kanopy video streaming.

Sewing With Texture

Add texture to your next sewing project with wave tucks, ruffles, shirring and smocking, whether you’re making home decor or garments. Instructor Ashley Hough walks you through everything you need for sewing these textures by machine and by hand.

Clickable image with link that goes to Kanopy video streaming.

Knits 101

Don’t shy away from knit fabrics! These stretchy textiles will flatter your form and stitch up easily. Explore a wide variety of knit fabrics and learn what types of patterns work best with knits. Pick up tips on how to cut knit fabrics and prep them for sewing, then learn a variety of seam finishes to use on a sewing machine. Then check out a serger and learn how to use one to sew knits quickly and easily. Lastly, learn to sew your first knit project, a self-drafted skirt.

Clickable image with link that goes to Kanopy video streaming.

Working With Pre-Quilted Fabric

Pre-quilted fabrics come in a variety of designs and colors and offer sewing possibilities limited only by your imagination. In this class, ZJ Humbach will introduce you to this fun fabric, provide tips and tricks for success, and get you started with some fun and easy projects, including placemats, dog jacket and tote bag.

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Back to School on Kanopy 🎥

Netflix? Hulu? HBO Max? In this economy?? As if!

Access these movies and TV shows for free with your OTC log-in! Click the image above the description to open the movie or show in a new screen.

Picture of BBC Big School Series 1 DVD cover.

Big School: Series 1

Chemistry teacher Mr. Church is in his 40s, unsuccessful both in love and in engaging 30 teenage kids in his madcap experiments. Everything changes when enthusiastic French teacher Miss Postern joins the school, desperate to bring the romance and poetry of French culture to her pupils, despite having never actually been to France. Mr. Church soon falls hopelessly in love, but between his own cringe-worthy attempts at romance and the chaos of school life, winning Miss Postern’s heart proves more volatile than any chemistry experiment. As science meets literature in the most awkward way possible, will these two mismatched educators find love, or will their efforts blow up spectacularly?

Image for Adventures in Public School movie DVD cover.

Adventures in Public School

Sixteen years old and home-schooled his entire life, Liam (Daniel Doheny) is a sheltered, socially awkward genius whose universe revolves around his single mom, Claire (Judy Greer). When college collides with love at first sight, Liam deliberately bombs his final exams and forces his way into public school so he can let loose for the first time.

Under the borrowed identity of a sick student, Liam sets his sights on Anastasia, a confident and popular one-legged girl – and the only person who notices him.

Image for the film Class of 1984 DVD cover.

Class of 1984

Andrew Norris is a new teacher in an inner city high school that is like nothing he has ever seen before. This school is so dangerous that the students have to go through a metal detector at the front door and almost everything is run by a punk posse lead by a delinquent named Peter Stegman. Soon, Norris and Stegman clash and Stegman will stop at nothing to protect his turf and drug dealing business.

✨📚Welcome to Library 101📚✨

New semester, new you! Get started on the right foot this year by upping your library research game.

We have a brand new guide to all things OTC Library to help you on your academic journey. The Ozarks Tech Library Guide for Students Canvas Course is a free, non-credit, self-paced online course for OTC students. Once enrolled, students have 24/7 access to modules that cover OTC library resources and how to use the library, the basics of library research, finding and evaluating sources, avoiding plagiarism, help with citations, and more!

This course is designed to be an interactive tutorial to library resources, and therefore, will not appear on transcripts and will not affect a student’s GPA. Click the link below to self-enroll in the course:

Browse tutorials on topics such as:

  • OTC Library Resources
  • Organizing Your Research
  • Getting Started on Library Research
  • Searching the OTC Library Catalog
  • Borrowing from Other Libraries (MOBIUS and Interlibrary Loan)
  • Using JSTOR and EBSCOhost Like a Pro
  • The Information Cycle
  • Types of Sources and How to Evaluate Them
  • Plagiarism and Citations
  • Introduction to Generative AI

And much more!

Accessing the guide is super simple! Click this link to join now, or go to https://academics.otc.edu/library/lib101/ for more information.

Library Resources Spotlight: Health Services 🥼🩺

Posted: July 25, 2025

Are you in a Health Services program? The OTC Library has specialized resources for you!

Tools for Studying:

Visible Body Suite

The Visible Body Suite is the study-buddy you didn’t know you needed! Visible Body gives you a 360° view of the human body and all its systems. Explore human anatomy, muscles & kinesiology, anatomy & physiology, and physiology & pathology. Browse over 100 premade decks of flashcards, or create your own. Put your skills to the test with lab activities, and test your knowledge with quizzes across multiple subjects! Access is totally free with your OTC log-in. Click the link above to view instructions in our research guide.

LearningExpress Library

EBSCOhost’s LearningExpress Library offers tons of study and test prep materials for health services programs. Check out our breakdown of some of the most popular test prep and programs here on the library’s Practice Exams and Job Resources page, or go straight to LearningExpress Library and browse for more!

Tools for Researching

If you’re working on writing a research paper, we have that covered too! For a broad overview of library databases for health sciences, see our Research by Subject Guide for Bioclinical and Health Sciences. We have your “Best bet” databases marked with a gold star ⭐ so that you can jump right into research!

We also have lots of great materials on the Springfield and Richwood Valley campuses. From the library homepage, select the “Books” tab on the main search box—and regardless of where you take classes, you can pick up materials in Springfield, Nixa, and Table Rock!

Take a Study Break!

We all need to take a brain break once in a while! Stop by the Hamra Library on the Springfield campus to check out some board and card games to play in the library! We also recommend taking a scroll through one of our streaming platforms—Kanopy and Feature Films for Education both have TV shows and movies you actually want to watch (not just boring stuff!).

Schedule research help at the OTC Library!

Need help getting that research project going? Don’t stress, we’ve got you! Click this link to request an appointment with one of our friendly and knowledgeable library staff.

Instant Video Streaming — For Free! 🎬🍿

Posted: July 18, 2025

Did you know that the OTC Library provides you with free access to thousands of movies and TV shows through three different streaming platforms? All you need is your OTC log-in!

This month on the Kanopy streaming service, you can browse their curated collection of Disability Pride Month titles, as well as their collection of PBS films, shows, and documentaries.

You can also check out the latest additions to Feature Films for Education, with new titles such as Deadpool & Wolverine, Poor Things, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, and many more!

Click the images below to go directly to the video. If you need any help accessing OTC Library resources, email us at libraryref@otc.edu or call us at 417-447-8185.

Disability Pride Month Movies & Shows

Film poster for Code of the Freaks: The story of Hollywood's Exploitation of Disability.
Movie poster for film Kills on Wheels.
Movie poster for the film Wizard Mode.
Movie poster for documentary Deaf Out Loud.
Movie poster for Listen to the Universe NASA documentary
Movie poster for Yomeddine film.

Code of the Freaks

Instant access video

Kills on Wheels

Instant access video

Wizard Mode

Instant access video

Deaf Out Loud

Instant access video

Listen to the Universe

Instant access video

Yomeddine

Instant access video

PBS Movies & Shows

Movie poster for PBS's The Poisoner's Handbook.
Movie poster for PBS's The Child in Time.
Movie poster for PBS's Three Sovereigns for Sarah.
Movie poster for PBS's Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes
Movie poster for PBS's A Squirrel's Guide to Success.
Poster for PBS's show Jekyll and Hyde.

The Poisoner’s Handbook

Instant access video

The Child in Time

Instant access video

Three Sovereigns for Sarah

Instant access video

Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes

Instant access video

A Squirrel’s Guide to Success

Instant access video

Jekyll and Hyde

Instant access video

New From Feature Films for Education

Movie poster for Deadpool and Wolverine.
Movie poster for Poor Things.
Movie poster for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
Movie poster for Empire of Light.
Movie poster for Theater Camp.
Movie poster for Alien Romulus.

Deadpool and Wolverine

Instant access video

Poor Things

Instant access video

The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Instant access video

Empire of Light

Instant access video

Theater Camp

Instant access video

Alien: Romulus

Instant access video

Disability Pride Flag

Monthly Display in the Library: Disability Pride Month

Posted: July 11, 2025

Join the OTC Library and Disability Support Services in celebrating Disability Pride Month! The large, glass display case facing Information Commons East is filled with a wide variety of voices and stories to bring pride and awareness to living with disabilities. Click the images of the book/film covers to find them in the OTC catalog. Items with multiple access options have additional links below the written title (“Instant access eBook,” etc.).

For even more titles and greater access options, check out our Overdrive database for audiobooks and eBooks, and for instant video streaming try our Kanopy Video Streaming Database and Feature Films for Education.

To learn more about support available at the library, email us at libraryref@otc.edu and for more information about Disability Support Services at OTC, please click this link to visit the DSS website, or stop by IC100K in the Library on the Springfield campus. We are here to support you on your academic journey!

See Me Rolling

On-campus

True Biz

On-campus

Instant access eBook

Instant access audiobook 

Laughing at My Nightmare

On-campus

Feminist, Queer, Crip

On-campus

You Don’t Need Feet to Dance

Instant access video

Disability Visibility

On-campus

Instant access eBook

Displays in the Library

Posted: July 11, 2025

This week in the library we have two new displays with lots of interesting books! Stop by the library to check out our books for National Grilling Month and National Hemp Month. You can borrow even more for free through MOBIUS by searching our “Books at Other Libraries” search box. We also recommend checking out our Kanopy Video Streaming database, where you can find  great films, TV shows, and documentaries about foods and the cannabis industry.

For more information about library resources, or help with access, email us at libraryref@otc.edu.

Click the images of the book/film covers to find them in the OTC catalog. Items with multiple access options have additional links below the written title (“Instant access eBook,” etc.).

National Grilling Month

Clickable image of the book cover for "Smokelore [electronic resource] : A short history of barbecue in America," by Jim Auchmutey. Click the image to be taken to the OTC Library catalog entry for this item.
Clickable image of the book cover for "How to grill vegetables : the new bible for barbecuing vegetables over live fire," by Steven Raichlen. Click the image to be taken to the OTC Library catalog entry for this item.
Clickable image of the book cover for "The essential New York Times grilling cookbook : more than 100 years of sizzling food writing and recipes," edited by Peter Kaminsky. Click the image to be taken to the OTC Library catalog entry for this item.
Clickable image of the book cover for "The thrill of the grill : techniques, recipes & down-home barbecue," by Chris Schlesinger. Click the image to be taken to the OTC Library catalog entry for this item.
Clickable image of the book cover for "The MeatEater outdoor cookbook : wild game recipes for the grill, smoker, campstove, and campfire," by Steven Rinella with Krista Ruane. Click the image to be taken to the OTC Library catalog entry for this item.
Clickable image of the film title for "Central Texas Barbecue," by Matthew Salleh. Click the image to be taken to the Kanopy video streaming service provided by the OTC library.

Smokelore

Instant access eBook

How to Grill Vegetables

On-campus

The Essential NYT Grilling Cookbook

On-campus

The Thrill of the Grill

On-campus

The MeatEater Outdoor Cookbook

On-campus

Central Texas Barbecue

Instant access video

National Hemp Month

Clickable image of the book cover for "Hemp Bound: Dispatches from the front lines of the next agricultural revolution," by Doug Fine. Click the image to be taken to the OTC Library catalog entry for this item.
Clickable image of the book cover for "The Reign of Law: A tale of the Kentucky hemp fields," by James Lane Allen. Click the image to be taken to the OTC Library catalog entry for this item.
Clickable image of the book cover for "Friendship bracelets all grown up," by Suzanne McNeill. Click the image to be taken to the OTC Library catalog entry for this item.
Clickable image of the book cover for "Hemp : a short history of a most misunderstood plant and its uses and abuses," by Mark Bourrie. Click the image to be taken to the OTC Library catalog entry for this item.
Clickable image of the book cover for "Willie & Annie Nelson's cannabis cookbook : mouthwatering recipes & the high-flying stories behind them," by Willie and Annie Nelson. Click the image to be taken to the OTC Library catalog entry for this item.
Clickable image of the book cover for "Super-charged : how outlaws, hippies, and scientists reinvented today's super-charged cannabis," by Jim Rendon. Click the image to be taken to the OTC Library catalog entry for this item.

Hemp Bound

On-campus

The Reign of the Law

Instant access eBook

Friendship Bracelets All Grown Up

On-campus

Hemp: A Short History…

On-campus

Willie and Annie Nelson’s Cannabis Cookbook

On-campus

Super-Charged: How Outlaws, Hippies, and Scientists…

On-campus

Nursing Reference Center Plus: Upcoming Changes

Posted: May 30, 2025

From EBSCO (the library vendor that provides this resource):

A new product, Nursing and Allied Health Reference Source, will soon be available. On July 1, 2025, subscribers of Nursing Reference Center Plus, Rehabilitation Reference Center, Social Work Reference Center and Nutrition Reference Center will be transitioned to this new product, unless another product has been discussed with the EBSCO account team. This product aims to update the user experience, while maintaining the guided navigation experience and providing one comprehensive resource for customers in the academic market. It was built to prepare students for their future as a member of a patient care team in various disciplines.

Read the full press release on EBSCO Connect