Welcome
Who Qualifies
Welcome to the Distance Education research guide. In this guide you will find helpful links and some information to get you started on your library research if you are off-campus. Whether you need help with research, accessing library resources, or ordering books, the University Library is the place for you!
Who qualifies as a Distance Learner?
Distance learners are those students who are enrolled in the university, but take all of their classes either online or away from the main campus. These students may be enrolled in courses offered at the Temecula campus. They may be part of a cohort program where instruction is held at off-site locations. Also, students who only take online courses that have no on-campus meetings fall into this category.
You qualify as a distance learner if:
- You are enrolled in classes that meet in Temecula or off-campus
- You are enrolled in online classes that do not meet on campus
What services are provided to Distance Learners?
- Off Campus Access to the Library’s numerous databases for journals, reference sources, and more.
- Access to the OneSearch catalog to search for and request books and other library materials.
- Interlibrary Loan to order materials not available locally and to have books mailed directly to your home.
- Ask a Librarian to request help via Live Chat in person, by phone, e-mail, etc.
How can I place a request for Library books to be mailed to my home?
Eligible users may choose to have books mailed to them. Only users with addresses outside of North County and those who do not come to campus are eligible for this service. You may email dised@csusm.edu for more information about eligibility. If you would like books mailed, please email dised@csusm.edu with the details of the item(s) you would like mailed and your mailing address. For books not owned by the CSUSM library, please first submit a request for the item(s) in Onesearch and then email dised@csusm.edu with the details of your request and mailing address.
We will place a prepaid UPS return shipping label with the item(s) that are shipped to you. When you are ready to return your item(s), you can either return them on-campus anytime through the Library Return bins (located in Craven Circle outside of the Library building) or re-package the item and use the prepaid label and drop off at any UPS location or request that UPS pickup from you.
Please note that we cannot guarantee that we can ship items internationally and we cannot ship items to P.O. Boxes.
More Services
In addition to services offered by the library, the campus offers these services for Distance Learners:
- The Writing Center offers online tutoring services.
Starting Your Research
Starting Your Research
Here are some helpful links and some information to get you started on your research.
Research Guides
Search our Research Guides to find appropriate databases and other resources for your discipline, and identify and/or contact your subject librarian.
Course Guides
Search our Course Guides to find appropriate databases and other resources specific to your course.
Ask a Librarian
Need help interpreting your assignment requirements? Not sure where to go to find resources on your research topic? Been searching for 15 minutes and haven’t gotten anywhere yet? It’s time to get help from a librarian! You can get help from a librarian in the following ways:
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Chat - best for relatively quick questions that you need answered quickly.
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Email - for more complex questions, or when you don’t need an answer ASAP.
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Phone - when you can’t come to campus and need to talk out your question with a librarian.
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By appointment - when your question is complex and you need more than 5 minutes with a librarian who is an expert in your subject.
Getting Articles
Getting Articles
How Do I Get Articles?
Databases
Your CSUSM student login allows you to access full-text databases from off-campus. This is the same login used to access your student email. Locate databases by title from the A-Z Research Databases page.
If the full-text for an article is not available, select "Get It! at CSUSM" to request it through Interlibrary Loan.
Library Catalog
Use OneSearch to find books, articles, and more. To find articles only, search Articles+.
If the full-text for an article is not available, request it through Interlibrary Loan.
If the article is only available in print, request it through Interlibrary Loan.
Getting Books
Getting Books
How do I Get Books?
Print Materials
Distance Learners can use Interlibrary Loan to get books, articles (print and electronic), and media sent to them from the CSUSM Library collection and libraries worldwide.
Requesting items from Interlibrary Loan
First time users need to set up an Interlibrary Loan account. Eligible users may choose to have books mailed to them. Only users with addresses outside of North County and those who do not come to campus are eligible for this service. You may email dised@csusm.edu for more information about eligibility. If you would like books mailed, please email dised@csusm.edu with the details of the item(s) you would like mailed and your mailing address. For books not owned by the CSUSM library, please first submit a request for the item(s) in Onesearch and then email dised@csusm.edu with the details of your request and mailing address.
We will place a prepaid UPS return shipping label with the item(s) that are shipped to you. When you are ready to return your item(s), you can either return them on-campus anytime through the Library Return bins (located in Craven Circle outside of the Library building) or re-package the item and use the prepaid label and drop off at any UPS location or request that UPS pickup from you.
Please note that we cannot guarantee that we can ship items internationally and we cannot ship items to P.O. Boxes.
Articles can be requested through OneSearch, the "Get It" link in the databases, or directly through your Interlibrary Loan account.
Returning items from Interlibrary Loan
Items can be returned to:
ILL - Library
California State University San Marcos
333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Road
San Marcos, CA 92096-0001
eBooks
Use OneSearch to find eBooks. After conducting a search on your topic, limit your search to eBooks by refining your results to include only books and full-text online.
Library Reserves
Library Reserves
Reserves are course-related materials made available by your instructor, either electronically or physically, through the Library. Items that may be on reserve for a class include books, journal articles, videos, book chapters, e-books, etc.
Accessing e-reserves
Electronic reserves can be found in your course reading list, which can be accessed through the Library Reserves website or Cougar Courses. On the Library Reserves webpage, locate your reading list by entering your course name or instructor name. After you locate your reading list you will be asked to log in using your campus username and password.
Accessing hardcopy reserves
Although hardcopy reserves are only available at the University Library, as a distance student you may request a chapter to be scanned for you. Submit a request through Interlibrary Loan to have a book chapter delivered to you electronically as a PDF.
Services for Faculty
Services for Faculty
- Interlibrary Loan: Faculty teaching Distance Education courses and Faculty on sabbatical or an official leave may register for distance education services to get research materials mailed directly to their homes.
- e-Reserves: We will provide digtial access to media materials, journal articles and book chapters for your courses. For more information see the Physical & Electronic Reserves FAQ.
- Media Streaming: Faculty may have films added to Cougar Courses. For more information see the Media Reserves FAQ.