All Aboard the LearningExpress!

If you haven't already done so, now is a great time to familiarize yourself with the excellent, information-packed LearningExpress Library. This extraordinary resource contains access to loads of terrific information designed to help you increase your knowledge and skills as well as reach (and even exceed!) your goals.

Divided into ten targeted learning centers, LearningExpress Library provides tutorials, eBooks, tools, and resources for success in many areas including:

• Academic skills improvement
• Adult Learning
• Career advancement
• College readiness and placement
• Computer and software basics
• Internships
• Job and workplace skills enhancement
• Spanish-language information including preparation for the American Citizenship and GED exams (these resources are also available in English)
• Test preparation (and even practice tests) for exams such the ACT, GED, GMAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, & TOEFL
• Vocational skill-building and exams covering disciplines such as Culinary Arts, Nursing, Real Estate, and more

LearningExpress Library is available via any device (desktop, laptop, iPad, Chromebook, smartphone, etc.). Best of all, there’s no need to download or install any software in order to access or use it.

The first time you access content in LearningExpress Library you’ll be required to register for the service and set-up your free, secure account. After you complete this step, you can then download and save the materials (such as eBooks, practice exams, tutorials, etc.) you’ve selected. In addition, LearningExpress will keep track of your work in each of the learning areas so that you can see your measurable progress. In fact, you can even download your progress as a .csv (i.e. spreadsheet) file to save to your device.

The best way to discover what’s available in LearningExpress Library is to explore the various learning centers that appear on the home page. For example, clicking on the College Center Plus button, opens a menu to all of the choices available in that particular center (Math Skills Review, Reading Skills Review, Grammar and Writing Skills Review, Science Skills Review, Prepare for Graduate School Admissions Exams, Prepare for College Placement Exams, Prepare for State Placement Tests, Prepare for CLEP® and DSST® Exams, and Search for Schools and Scholarships).

One of the tools located in College Center Plus that’s particularly valuable for those planning to transfer to a 4-year school or program is the School Finder Tool, Here’s how to access and use it:

• On the Home page, click the College Center Plus image
• In the drop-down menu, choose Search for Schools and Scholarships
• On the next screen, click School Finder Tool
• On the following screen, click the Open School Finder button
• Once you’ve connected to the School Finder screen, select the 2- or 4-Year Schools or Programs option, then scroll down and click the Advanced School Search button
• You may now search for colleges by state and region, admissions selectivity, majors offered, cost, number of students enrolled, community type, religious affiliation, athletic programs, and disability support services. Choose some or all of these options
• Clicking the Display Results button will provide you with a list of all the colleges that meet your search criteria. You can the print, download, or save these results to your secure LearningExpress Library account

As you can see from the example above, LearningExpress Library contains lots of powerful tools and great information. For more information or assistance utilizing this great resource, don’t hesitate to consult the LearningExpress Library Research Guide, which includes highlights of examples of some of the hundreds of high-quality resources available in each of the LearningExpress Library centers. Of course, ACC Librarians are also available and happy to assist you with your journey into this excellent resource. You might also consider exploring the Help section that’s located at the top of each screen in LearningExpress Library. Help contains extensive FAQs, video guides to assist you in navigating the various screens and tools contained in the database, and a long list of keyboards shortcuts as well as links to available productivity tools.

Now, more than ever, is a great time to check out LearningExpress Library.

Impress Your Professor More With JSTOR!

"Dr. Beak," a plague doctor wearing "Personal Protective
Equipment" (Paul Fürst, copper engraving, 1656)

Want to impress your professor by using scholarly sources for your paper or project? Including articles from the JSTOR database in your research could do just that!

JSTOR indexes thousands of scholarly publications, especially in the humanities, social sciences, and life sciences. JSTOR also provides millions of pages of full-text, including primary source documents and books as well as journal articles, some written well over a century ago.*

Are you still trying to decide the specific topic for your paper or report? By searching a general topic in JSTOR, you are likely to discover all sorts of more specific topics that you can pursue.

For example, suppose you wish to find articles related to the Covid-19 pandemic. You could research in JSTOR on the miasma theory of the spread of plagues and diseases, John Donne's poem "The Flea" (infected fleas spread the plague), Boccaccio's The Decameron, a collection of stories ostensibly told by plague refugees, or Ingmar Bergman's film The Seventh Seal, in which a medieval knight plays a game of chess with "Death" during the plague. JSTOR has information about the spillover of zoonotic diseases through bats spreading coronaviruses, the devastating flu pandemic of 1918, and even the depiction of "zombies" as creatures driven by pathogens.

Suppose you have an assignment to write a book review. JSTOR has thousands of book reviews to serve as models for writing one. In fact, JSTOR has a box that you can check to limit search results just to reviews (illustrated in the example below)!

This search filter can come in handy for other types of reviews as well. For example, perhaps for a paper on a play the information sources required by your professor include a review of an actual performance of that play. JSTOR is very likely to have reviews of several different productions of the play (as long as it debuted more than five years ago).*

Searching JSTOR:

From the library home page at library.austincc.edu, click on the A-Z List of Databases link just below the long search box.

1.  At the alphabetical sequence near the top of the page, click on the J.
2.  Click on the JSTOR link. (If off campus, you will then need to log in.)
3.  Below the search box that appears, click on the Advanced Search link.

4.  Enter search terms in the search boxes that appear.
5.  From the drop down menu to the right of each search box, select the field in which each search term will be searched.
6.  To add search boxes, click on the Add a search box button below the last search box.
7.  Narrow by item types, such as articles, by clicking on the appropriate check boxes.
8.  Narrowing the search further by date, language, etc. is usually unnecessary.  When you are ready to execute your search, click on the Search button.

For more information on searching JSTOR, please feel free to consult with an ACC librarian. JSTOR also offers excellent guidance. JSTOR's tutorials include basic and advanced searching techniques, sorting and reviewing search results, and using JSTOR on a mobile device. Have fun exploring the wealth of scholarly resources JSTOR offers!


Note:

* Full-text coverage in JSTOR varies from publication to publication.  For most periodicals, an embargo on the most recent five years of articles is in effect. That is, JSTOR often indexes a periodical up to the present without providing full-text to the periodical’s most recent five years of articles. For more recent articles, you may wish to search some of the other great databases that ACC's libraries provide.