Within the Indiana University Northwest library, community patron is defined as a person who is not enrolled or working at Indiana University, but is an Indiana resident OR an Ivy Tech student.
Compared to people enrolled or employed at IUN, community patrons have limits on library materials they can access through our library. We outline this access below.
Our Researching Articles LibGuide offers a basic explanation on how to conduct searches for articles using our library databases. The main databases suggested in the LibGuide require that the person be enrolled or employed at IU Northwest, or else using one of the desktop computers provided within the library for community patrons.
Our databases can be reached on the library homepage using the "Databases A-Z" and "Databases by Subject" buttons.
Our IUCAT LibGuide explains the basics of how to use IUCAT, our online catalog for the library. The link to IUCAT provided here searches only content available at IU Northwest by default.
Not all features mentioned in the IUCAT LibGuide are available to community patrons. For example, "Request This" and the ability to log into IUCAT to renew a book are only available to people enrolled or employed at IU.
The video below explains how to find books using our Library of Congress call number system, which differs from how most public libraries use Dewey Decimal system. However, someone at our public service desk can help with finding specific books by their call numbers if you need assistance.