Library Information

Welcome to the IHCC Library!  The library has materials to support your curriculum, but hope you will use our library for recreational use as well!  We have a large DVD collection of feature, documentary, and foreign films (1 week checkout) and over 40,000 volumes including fiction, non-fiction, and graphic novels (4+ month checkout).

We welcome and encourage purchase recommendations.  Please feel free to contact us if you would like to suggest a purchase! 

For Hours, Location, and Contact Info, please see our About the Library page.

Below you'll find additional information on library services for Faculty and Staff.`

Library cards are available for all IHCC faculty and staff.  An Inver Hills ID card is available from the Enrollment Center (2nd floor of the College Center), which can be activated in the library for use as a library card.  

Faculty and staff may check out books for one semester; periodicals and media for one week.  Materials may be renewed online in OneSearch by signing in to "My Library Account" (use the Sign In link in the top right corner of OneSearch) or in-person at the IHCC Library Circulation Desk.

Instructors may place books, articles, and media on reserve in the library.  Instructors should specify their preferred loan period: 2-hour in-library use or 24-hour to 48-hour outside library use.

Reserve forms are available in the library. Please allow 24 hours for processing.  Items must comply with copyright guidelines.  Please read our copyright guidelines below.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is a service offered through the cooperative state-wide consortium MINITEX to obtain books, articles, and other materials that are not available from the Inver Hills Library collection. ILL is free to IHCC students, faculty, and staff, but is limited to fifteen requests at a time and only one copy of a book may be requested at a time (no multiple copies).

Items can be requested through OneSearch, directly from one of the article databases, or by completing one of the blank ILL forms linked below.  You will be prompted to login with your Star ID and password to start the request.

Blank ILL form.  For questions or assistance placing an ILL request, please contact the library.

Request a Book or Journal Article - Blank ILL form 

*Login with your StarID and password when prompted. Choose Book or Article at the top of the form and fill in as much information as possible.

After your item request is submitted, you can check the status of your ILL request by logging into the Sign In link in the top right corner of OneSearch. 

Articles will be sent directly to your email and may take 1-3 business days to arrive.  Physical items are shipped to the library and can take up to 1 week to arrive.  When your ILL material arrives, you will be notified by email; and you may pick up your item from the library Circulation Desk. 

The loan period and renewal decisions for ILL items are determined by the lending library of the item, not the IHCC Library. To request a renewal for an ILL item, you may use your My Library Account, stop in the library, or call 651-450-3625. 

You are responsible for the on-time return and condition of ILL materials and will be billed for lost, damaged or overdue items.  ILL items should be returned to the Circulation Desk or the library dropbox outside the southeast entrance of the Library Building.  Abuse of Interlibrary Loan policies will result in the blocking of your Interlibrary Loan account.

IHCC Librarians are available to instruct classes on library research and information literacy concepts, including (but not limited to):  

• Developing and focusing a research topic
• Creating effective search strategies
• Using library research tools and subscription databases
• Evaluating sources 

We have a classroom located in the library or we can come in to your classroom.  Please contact us at library@inverhills.edu to schedule dates and times for sessions.  Signing up early in the semester is recommended as our calendar fills up quickly.  Instructors must be present during the library session.

We also work with instructors for individual instruction on using library resources or Internet searching techniques. 

If you would like a custom Research Guide created for your class, please contact us.  Research Guides can be found on the library website or at: https://inverhills.libguides.com/

We can provide research assistance to your students in a variety of modes.  Go to the Library website and click the Ask Us tab to see our phone number, email, and 24/7 chat widget.

Most library databases have permalinks (permanent, unchanging links) which make linking to specific articles easy.  Permalinks can be posted in D2L, on a website, sent in an email, etc.  Each database has a slightly different way to get the permalink.  Please contact a librarian for assistance.

For a complete list of IHCC database offerings, visit the Library website and click on the Databases tab.  From there you can select to view Databases A-Z or Databases by Subject.

Please see our Database Tutorials guide for vendor-provided video tutorials of IHCC Library databases.

For information on Open Educational Resources (OER), as well as links to several state and national OER repositories, please see our Open Educational Resources guide.

These are the official Copyright Guidelines for Minnesota State employees:   https://www.minnstate.edu/system/asa/academicaffairs/policy/copyright/guidelines.html 

The Copyright Guidelines site includes information on: 

• Copying books and periodicals
• Use of music materials
• Performance of copyrighted works
• Use of computer software and other electronic works
• Use of trademarks
• Determining Fair Use
• The TEACH Act
• Obtaining Permissions

If you need to seek permission from the Copyright Clearance Center to use an article or book chapter in D2L or in a class, please see the Inver Hills bookstore.  They have the Copyright Clearance account on campus.

For additional information regarding copyright for specific materials, please see the Minnesota State IP/Copyright Tools and Forms page: https://www.minnstate.edu/system/asa/academicaffairs/policy/copyright/forms.html

General guidelines for seeking permission to convert VHS to DVD or DVD to Digital File

* This information is for library-owned titles, but can be followed by the instructor/IT for personal copies.

1. For library-owned VHS or DVD titles, an IHCC Librarian will determine if the title is available for purchase in DVD or streaming format, or already available online via a free or subscription streaming service. If the title in question is the instructor's personal copy, the instructor and/or IT will try to determine availability of other formats.
2. If a library-owned title is available on DVD or via a streaming service, the library will determine if funds allow for its purchase. If available via one of the library's streaming services, the librarian will notify the instructor.
3. If the title is not available for purchase in DVD format or via a streaming service, the librarian will assist the instructor in locating the contact information of the copyright holder. The faculty member will contact the copyright holder and request permission to convert the VHS to DVD or DVD to digital format for educational use.
4. The response of the copyright holder needs to be documented in writing via email, letters, fax, etc.

One of these outcomes will result from the query: 

• The copyright holder gives permission. Deliver the copyright permission in writing to the IHCC IT Department and request that the VHS be converted to DVD or the DVD to digital file. Make sure to retain a copy of the copyright permission to keep in your files. IT will retain a copy of the copyright permission with your request to convert the media. IT will return the original media and the converted media to the faculty member.
• The VHS is not available on DVD or the DVD is not available digitally, and the copyright holder will not give authorization to make the conversion. The conversion of the VHS or DVD is not possible.
• It is impossible to discern who the copyright holder is (ex: the company is defunct). In this case, it may be sufficient to have made a good faith effort to locate a copyright holder and have on file sufficient evidence (copies of letters / emails, return postal receipts, etc.) that a "reasonable effort" has been made to locate the copyright holder in a reasonable period of time. The final decision to authorize IT to cover the VHS or DVD will be made by the IT Department.