Special Resources

Click on any of the following links for information:

• Advanced Technology Studies
• Distance Learning
• Graduate Student Association
• Indiana University School of Medicine, Terre Haute
• Office of Information Technology and Center for Instruction, Research, and Technology
• Library Services
• Research Support Services
• Student Internships

SPECIAL RESOURCES

Indiana State University has many resources which, as an integral part of the institution, facilitate learning, contribute to the total education and success of its students, and also serve faculty and administrators in performance of their duties and the enhancement of their continuing professional development. What follows are selections of examples of special resources available at Indiana State University.

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) provides technology support and resources for students, faculty and staff at Indiana State University. As a student there are many resources available to assist you with technology at ISU.  

The Cunningham Memorial Library (CML) collection includes more than 1.4 million items and is a part of the Library Consortium of Vigo County. Through a search interface called Fusion, students may access the collective library holdings of CML, the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, and the Vigo County Public Library. More than 130 full-time service computers are available throughout the Library. New furniture, computer hardware, and software enable groups of students to collaborate electronically. Printers, document scanners and photocopiers are also available. Collaborative, group, and individual study areas are offered as well as group study rooms. The Library also hosts Wabash Valley Visions & Voices Digital Memory Project, a collaborative effort on the part of the region’s libraries, archives, museums, historical societies, community groups and area residents to document and presser the history and cultural heritage of west central Indiana. The Math and Writing Center and the Faculty Center for Teaching Excellence are also located in the Library.

Hours of Operation: During the Spring and Fall semesters the Library maintains a 24/5 operating schedule with reduced hours on Fridays and Saturdays. For a complete schedule of hours and events see: http://library.indstate.edu/about/calendar.html

Library Services

Research Assistance

Reference. Reference assistance may be obtained in a variety of ways during regular Reference Desk hours: in person at the Reference Desk on the first floor of the Library; by phone at 237-2580; via e-mail at

http://library.indstate.edu/tools/questions/ ; or on-line chat at http://library.indstate.edu/tools/reflive.html Contact information for the reference librarian who is a subject specialist in your area is available at: http://library.indstate.edu/about/staff/subjects.asp. In addition to Library Reference Services, the Office of Information Technology maintains a student technology support desk in the Library for answers to your IT questions related to campus computing.

Special Collections. Special Collections staff provide a variety of support services for ISU faculty and students such as assistance with research and study of rare and unique items examined in the third floor Reading Room. Please contact 237-2610 for further information or to schedule a visit.

Instruction

Reference. The Library maintains a computer classroom for librarian-conducted instruction. This instruction facility provides 30 individual networked computers, an instructor’s podium workstation, and overhead projection screens to facilitate group training. To receive more information or to make a Library instruction appointment, call 812-237-2604 or visit the instruction Web site at http://library.indstate.edu/about/units/instruction/liohome.html Individuals may request specific, one-on-one instruction and research assistance by appointment with a reference librarian. Library staff members have compiled more than 80 detailed guides to information on topics of interest to ISU patrons using LibGuides:

http://libguides.indstate.edu/ Online tutorials are also available that address practical concerns of conducting library research, including library and online research strategies at http://library.indstate.edu/tools/tutorials/

Special Collections

The Special Collections department, located on the third floor of the Library, offers experiential learning opportunities in the form of class presentations, hands-on curriculum related course assignments, internships, and exhibit curation. The department is particularly interested in engaging students with primary source materials to develop research and critical thinking skills. Please contact 237-2610 for further information or to schedule a visit.

Support for Distance Education Courses

Reference, instructional, and document delivery services are available fhttp://libguides.indstate.edu/distancelearning or Distance Ed students and instructors. Access the Library’s services for distance students through the following link: http://libguides.indstate.edu/distancelearning A reference librarian has been designated to assist the distance learning programs. For reference assistance, call 812-237-2580 or 1-800-851-4279.

Support for Students with Disabilities

The Library provides a number of ADA-assistive devices to support students with disabilities. The Library maintains a study area dedicated to adaptive technology, which includes a Braille display, a reading machine, a special individual monitor for people with retinal degenerative diseases, a head tracker, a multi-colored QWERTY layout with keys four times larger than normal, a voice-to-text program, and software to help people who struggle with reading.  To check out the room with this equipment please ask for the Kurzweil room at the desk

Interlibrary Loan

Use the Interlibrary Loan service to obtain materials that are not a part of the ISU Library collections. All requests are handled using ILLiad software. To use the service you must create an ILLiad account and place your requests on this system, which is available from the Library’s home page at http://library.indstate.edu.

Many items may be requested such as books, dissertations, documents, media, journal articles, and book chapters. You will be notified by email when your item is ready. Physical items are picked up at the first floor front desk; items in electronic format are delivered to you via email. For questions, Interlibrary Loan personnel can be reached Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm at 812-237-2566 or via email at ISU-libill@mail.indstate.edu

Library Collections

Circulating Collections. With a valid ISU student ID card, undergraduate students may check out Library circulating material for three week loan periods with 3 renewals. Graduate students have a 16 week loan period with 3 renewals. Digital media, such as CDs, DVDs, and computer games circulate for one week for everyone with no renewals. The Library is also part of the Library Consortium of Vigo County. Through the online catalog called Fusion, students may see what is available at ISU, the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, and the Vigo County Public Library.

Electronic Resources: Journals, subject indexes, e-books and full text databases are available to the ISU community via the Library’s Web page menu at http://library.indstate.edu/ For more information on how to use these resources, or suggestions on effective searching of databases, contact the Library’s Reference Desk at 237-2580.

Class Reserve Material and Electronic Reserves. Material that supplements classroom instruction may be placed on reserve by faculty or graduate instructors. These can include books, material scanned and available electronically, videos, slides, audiotapes, and CDs. Students may request reserved items at the circulation desk by the call number, faculty member’s name, or course number. An ISU student ID must be shown. Loan periods for reserves vary from two hours to one week. Those materials checked out for two or four hours may not leave the Library. Electronic reserves are photocopies of materials such as journal articles, practice examinations, homework assignments, etc. Electronic reserves are on-line materials and cannot be checked out. Students can access electronic reserves anywhere with a computer and Internet access. To access electronic reserves students must have their student ID and a password from the instructor.

iPads. iPads are available for students at the first floor front desk for a 7 day check out period. These items can be checked out from the desk. For more information, call 812-237-2541.

Special Collections. Located on the third floor of the Library, the Special Collections Department includes Rare Books & Manuscripts, University Archives, and Digital Initiatives. Materials are available for use in the Reading Room Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Major collections include the Cordell Collection of Dictionaries; the Eugene V. Debs Collection; Indiana literature and history; the Indiana Federal Writers Project Papers; the historical Sheet Music Collections; and ISU records, publications, and materials of historical value to the University. The department provides online open access to its digital collections through:

Sycamore Scholars. A repository of the scholarly writings of ISU faculty and students, electronic theses and dissertations and ISU publications available at http://scholars.indstate.edu/

Wabash Valley Visions & Voices Digital Memory Project (WV3). A collaborative effort of libraries, archives, museums, historical societies, community groups, and area residents across the Wabash Valley, which documents the history and culture of west central Indiana available at http://visions.indstate.edu/

Archon. A web interface that furnishes access to University Archives finding aids and to uncataloged rare book databases not available through the Library’s online catalog available at http://archon.indstate.edu

Library Partners

Math and Writing Center. The Math and Writing Center, located on the second floor of the Library, is available seven days a week to help ISU students with any type of math or writing for any class. Workshops, in-class presentations, study groups, and distance tutoring is available. For more information call 812-237-2989 or visit library.indstate.edu/mathandwritingcenter.  

Faculty Center for Teaching Excellence.The Faculty Center for Teaching Excellence (FCTE) functions as the centralized body that elevates, informs, and celebrates teaching excellence on the campus of ISU. Faculty members at all career stages are essential to student success and are served through the varied programming of the FCTE. The Center provides faculty support that fosters ongoing communication and collaboration centered on effective teaching/learning practices. For more information call 812-237- 2688 or visit http://www.indstate.edu/fcte/

The Office of Sponsored Programs is the pre-award grant and contract office. The primary mission of the office is to assist ISU faculty, staff, and students in obtaining external funds to support their research, creative, service, and other activities. The office also provides University review and record keeping functions for all proposals submitted and funded, and a variety of other administrative tasks. Support to the Institutional Review Board for review of human subject research is also provided. The office offers both source-finding and proposal development assistance. To assist proposal writers in their search for grant funding, the office maintains electronic databases and other sources of information, which describe governmental (public) and foundation/endowment (private) grant programs and organizations. Once a potential grant program is identified, the professional staff in the office can assist with the various phases of proposal preparation and budget and assurance issues, and other topics involved with externally sponsored activities. Persons interested in these services can find this information and more on the Office of Sponsored Programs home page www.indstate.edu/osp

The Consortium for Advanced Technological Studies was organized to offer the doctor of philosophy in technology management. This is an unique organization of five universities having studies in technology including Bowling Green State University; University of Central Missouri; East Carolina University; Indiana State University; and North Carolina A&T State University. The Consortium brings together leading schools/colleges of technology in the United States to capitalize on existing resources and faculty expertise in specialized areas of technology. The Consortium universities have been recognized for providing continued leadership to the technology, management, and applied engineering profession.

Indiana State University offers several courses and degree programs online. Online programs are designed for working professionals who cannot commute to campus and for the growing number of individuals who prefer courses delivered via the Internet. Many courses and programs can be completed entirely online. Other programs require minimal visits to the ISU campus. For more information about online programs, visit the website at http://www.indstate.edu/online/ or contact the office’s services via email at indianastateonline@indstate.edu or by phone at 812-237-2345.

Internship programs off campus and special clinical facilities on campus are integral parts of many degree programs at Indiana State University. They offer the kind of practical on-the-job experience and cooperative links with industry and community agencies which foster the advancement of knowledge. Graduate training and work experience are available in such areas as college student affairs administration, communication disorders, counseling, criminology, economics, education, geography and geology, history, political science, psychology, school administration, and sociology. Among the clinical facilities on campus which are used in the development of specialized skills are the Counseling Clinic, the Porter School Psychology Center, the Psychology Clinic, and the Rowe Center for Communicative Disorders. For more detailed descriptions of these programs and facilities, see individual departmental listings.

The Graduate Student Association is the official representational body for ISU graduate students. This organization works strategically to facilitate and enhance communication between graduate students, ISU administrative offices, and other campus organizations. The association’s functions and operations are currently funded by the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs through the College of Graduate and Professional Studies.  The Graduate Student Association participates annually in the research symposium and graduate student orientation. Representatives of the GSA serve on committees which promote and advance the academic interests and experiences of graduate students including assisting ISU with recruitment, retention of graduate students, diversity, and university award selection. Also, the GSA strives to facilitate the professional development of its members by providing scholarship opportunities for attending and presenting at conferences as well as researching.  Additional information about the Graduate Student Association is available at http://www.indstate.edu/gsa/.

Students accepted into the Indiana University School of Medicine may take the first two years of their regular four-year medical program at a statewide campus including the Terre Haute site located on the campus of Indiana State University. The basic sciences are taught during the first two years. The first year program includes courses in biochemistry, concepts in health and disease, gross anatomy, histology, immunology, introduction to medicine, microbiology, neuroscience, and physiology. Clinical exposure is provided to medical students in cooperation with Union Hospital, the Hamilton Center, Terre Haute Regional Hospital, and community physicians. After successful completion of the first year of medical school, students take the second year of courses, which include biostatistics, introduction to medicine, medical genetics, general and systemic pathology, and pharmacology. Medical students then transfer to the Indianapolis campus for their third and fourth years. Several of the third year clerkship rotations and fourth year clinical electives have also been established in community hospitals throughout Indiana, including Terre Haute, as part of the Indiana University statewide system for medical education. This system is presently expanding in the number of students accepted and the number of four-year sites.

In fall 2008, the Indiana University School of Medicine, Terre Haute inaugurated the Medical School Rural Program in which selected incoming students attend all four years at the Terre Haute campus. This program emphasizes early and rapid acquisition of clinical skills, the study of medicine from the perspectives of the rural physician and rural patients, and an understanding of the community context of rural medicine. It is believed that this novel program provides needed physicians to rural communities as well as provides educational opportunities for students from rural areas of Indiana.

Since 1997, Indiana State University and Indiana University School of Medicine, Terre Haute have conducted a joint Bachelors/Medical Degree Program. Interested and qualified high school students from rural counties apply and are admitted simultaneously to college and medical school. Provided that the students maintain a qualifying grade point average and obtain a competitive MCAT score during their four years of college at Indiana State University, they are directly admitted to the Indiana University School of Medicine to complete their four years of medical school. To date, 12 physicians have graduated from this program.  Requests for further information about the Medical Education Program should be directed to Dr. Taihung Duong, director. Information is also available at http://web.indstate.edu/thcme