Library Self-Service: Home

You can change dollar bills into change at a machine located on Coe level 2 next to the computer lab

The Central Student Technology Committee has placed a number of free-standing and table-top machines designed to re-charge cell phones and other mobile devices throughout the Libraries.

Coe Library has four "c-pods," tables with a large-screen monitor and connections for laptops or mobile devices that can be used for group projects.  Divided between level 1 east and level 2 east, these are available on a first-come-first-served basis.  For more information on their use see Collaboration Pods.

UW Information Technology (UWIT), in cooperation with the Libraries, provides computer labs in most campus libraries for UW students, faculty, and staff using their WyoOne username and password.  Descriptions of hardware (including printers and scanners) and software are available.  A limited number of computers are available to the public in Coe Library, the Library Annex, and Geology Library.  

After Coe Library closes, those with WyoOne cards may use the card-swipe near the entrance to get into those computer labs.

If you need assistance, ask the lab assistant at the computer lab where you are located.

Though the Libraries continue to acquire print books, the number of electronic books is rapidly growing.  You can search for eBooks at the eBooks page or in the Libraries' Catalog.  Access to eBook titles is available free on-campus.  Off-campus access is restricted to UW students, faculty, and staff that have their Wyo-One username and password.

Because eBooks are provided by a wide range of publishers, how to use specific titles, their restrictions, loan periods, etc. vary widely--see the eBooks and eAudiobooks guide for more details.

The Libraries license over 600 general, disciplinary, and special-purpose databases, which can be freely used within any campus library and UW students, faculty, and staff may access them from off-campus.  Many of these databases provide full-text articles and other documents that be read online or downloaded for later use.

More than 95% of the Libraries' journal and magazine collections are electronic, either as online subscriptions or articles in databases that contain full-text content. 

• If you want to find specific electronic journals, search them on eJournals page or in the Libraries' Catalog.
• If you want to find specific journal articles that are online, the Libraries' have also enabled connection in most of our databases to eJournal articles through the links or the separate Citation Finder form.

Access to eJournal content titles is available free on-campus (such as at any campus library).  Off-campus access is restricted to UW students, faculty, and staff that have their Wyo-One username and password.

Some faculty members have the Libraries make course readings available, either for check-out or online.  Electronic Reserves can be accessed 24/7 with your WyoOne username and password; they can be searched by instructors name or course name/number. 

Your Library Account allows you to

• monitor what you have checked out and when it is due,
• monitor your Prospector (see above) requests,
• suggest a library purchase,
• renew materials (if not overdue, you still have renewals available, and no one has placed a hold)
• check on course reserves, and
• save catalog searches.

Microform scanners for reading microform or making copies from microform are available near the Microform Collection (Coe level 1 east) and in Chissum Special Collections (Coe level 3 east).  Both machines can work with microfilm, microfiche, and opaque microcards; image files can be stored to a USB flashdrive.

Additional information on how to use the microform reader and scanner.

One of the Libraries' major self-service efforts is so commonplace that few think of it as self-service:  the Libraries' open bookstacks.  With a call number from the Libraries' Catalog, you can go the the appropriate library location and retrieve materials for yourself.  All library collection have open stacks, except for the Chisum Special Collections or the Rocky Mountain Herbarium Library.

There are a number of skills involved in using open bookstacks detailed in another library publication, Using the Call Number System.

UW students, faculty, and staff  may borrow books and media that the UW Libraries don't own through the Prospector system without charge.  This covers over 40 Colorado libraries and generally provides delivery within days; you can track requests through your Library Account (see below).  Participating libraries have agreed upon checkout periods and number of possible renewals.  When received you will be notified to pick up items at your specified Help or Circulation Desk.

You may renew your checked out books through your Library Account (see below) if:

• they are not overdue,
• you not used up all their renewals available, or
• no one else has placed a hold on them. 

Otherwise you may call (see Contacts list) a library Help or Circulation Desk or bring it to a campus library.

UW students, faculty, and staff may request UW material to be pulled for pickup at any campus library and borrow materials the Libraries' don't own from libraries across the country and around the world.  To request materials and track their progress use your Request It account, which is different from your library account. Loan periods and renewals vary depending on the lending library.  There is no charge for this service.  When received you will be notified to pick up items at your specified Help or Circulation Desk.

Coe Library and the Library Annex have study rooms available to be reserved for up to four hours at a time.  While reservations can be made in person at either' libraries' help desk or by phone, we provide a self-serve reservation system called Reserve-a-Room.

This online service indicates what rooms are available to be reserved over the next seven days, provides photos and descriptions of the rooms, and requires use of your WyoOne username and password (to restrict access to UW affiliates only).

Reservations may also be made in person at the Coe Library Help Desk or the Library Annex Circulation Desk.

The Libraries provide a machine located near the Coe Library Help Desk where you can check-out most library materials with your WyoOne or public patron cards.  Among the materials you can't check-out yourself are videos, course reserves, materials we've borrowed from other libraries (Prospector or Request It), or other non-circulating materials.

The Libraries' staff have prepared a wide range of disciplinary, library skill, and specialized guides as well as video tutorials to help users make the best use of library facilities, collections, and services.

Computer Lab Scanners

There are numerous flatbed scanners provided by the UWIT labs in various library locations (for assistance see the computer lab assistants).

Self-Service Scanner

The Libraries also provide a self-service scanner that is operated through a touch screen and provides multiple ways to save the image files:

• Email to yourself
• Save to the cloud and download later
• Save to a USB flashdrive
• Save as an audio file
• Save as a searchable file

Because the self-service scanner is free to all library users, it has really reduced use of the nearby self-service photocopier.

Campus libraries offer a variety of types of study spaces, including study rooms (see Reserve-a-Room above), quiet study areas, and group study spaces, as described in this separate, Study Spaces guide.

Located on Coe's level 1 central, set into the orange pillar, is a machine that allows you to add money to your WyoOne card or to purchase a temporary copy card (for $.75 plus whatever you want to deposit).  You can also do either of these tasks at the WyoOne office (Knight Hall room 28) or online.

The primary library use of the WyoOne or temporary cards is to pay for photocopying (see above).  This is done by using the card-swipe devices attached to library photocopiers.