Library Updates & News

Help! I can't afford my books!

You are NOT alone!

There are a lot of CIA students who cannot afford to purchase required or recommended reading materials for their classes. The library wants to help you find the materials you need to be successful in your classes at CIA.

Here are a few things you should definitely do:

1. Check the library

• See if the library already has a copy of your textbook. The easiest way to see if we have a copy is to use Quick Search (aka EBSCO Discovery) to look for the book. 
• It's possible that your faculty member put the book on course reserves in the library. That means we have a copy of the book in our library that you can use for three hours at a time in the library. If your textbook is not on course reserves, let us know! We will put it on reserve so that it's available for you and your classmates. Log on to Canvas and check the library's page in Canvas for links to our course reserves. Tip: if the page is blank, then you need to log into Canvas.
• Need help? No problem. Stop by the library, start a chat, email us or call us on the phone. We want to help you find the materials you need. Contact us!

2. Ask your professor...

• if an older, less expensive edition is similar enough for you to use.
• to check with the CIA Library about putting a copy on course reserves OR to ask the library to purchase a copy for course reserves
• to check with the library director about free and/or affordable course material alternatives

3. Get creative! 

• Stop by the library, start a chat, email us or call us on the phone. We want to help you find the materials you need without spending a lot of money! Contact us!
• Check Ohiolink to see if you can get a copy from another library. Remember to ask us for help if you don't know how to do this!
• Look for used copies or rentals online.
• Borrow or share with a friend.

4. Advocate for yourself and for other students!

Tell anyone and everyone about the issue. They need to know about the problem before they can help fix it. There are alternatives and we all need to work together to make learning materials more affordable!

Credit: This is a derivative of Help! I can't afford my books! (rb.gy/3imwp) by JMU Libraries, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY). Thank you to Liz Thompson at JMU Libraries.

The World at Your Fingertips

Diverse communities and major global events have expanded each of our personal world views and increased our need for understanding a wide array of cultures.

CultureGrams Online includes 4 separate editions in one engaging, responsively-designed interface that can be accessed anywhere, anytime from the CIA Library. 

• World Edition contains primary-source reports on 209 countries and territories—including every United Nations-member state—focusing on 25 cultural categories, including language, personal appearance, greetings, visiting, family, life cycle, and more.
• States and Provinces Editions feature colorful, easy-to-read reports that describe the culture and history of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, and all 13 provinces of Canada. Each report includes maps, flags, and symbols, as well as sections on history, economy, geography, population, indigenous peoples, and recipes. Perfect for state or provincial reports or rubrics.
• Kids Edition teaches upper-elementary- and middle school-age children more about the world around them. Each report contains images, historical timelines, and fun facts, along with sections on history, population, “life as a kid,” games and sports, education, and more.

We are glad to announce that we now have access to Science News and New Scientist on Flipster. These two magazines were in our top ten list of magazines used last year, so we know that you will all enjoy having direct access to every issue as they come out. 

The Library will close for Convocation today at 10:45am to welcome the Class of 2027. We will reopen at 1:00pm. 

See you at Convocation! 

The library's first artists' books display of the 2023-2024 school year is up and ready for you to explore!

This display, featuring highlights from CIA's Artists' Books collection, will challenge your preconception of what a book is. The display will run for two weeks and will include a variety of artists' books - old and new.  To see the list of the items included, please visit libguides.cia.edu/whatisabook.

For more information about future displays, events, and workshops be sure to bookmark our calendar! 

Remember when you'd get new shoes and a new outfit for the school year? Well, our Quick Search (a.k.a. EBSCO Discovery Service) and our EBSCOhost Databases have a fresh new look for the start of the school year!

We will be sharing more information about the changes and new features soon! For now, you can continue to search like you always have. It just looks a little different and it has some neat new features that you will enjoy. 

Stay tuned for more information! 

Missing Pants?!

This amusing story about a robbery at the Cleveland School of Art (CIA's former name) ran on the front page (!) of the Plain Dealer on June 20, 1893.