For detailed, current information about library hours, refer to the Library Hours page.

View the Ask a Librarian page for contact options such as live chat, text message, email, telephone, and more.

Get a map and driving directions

You can use our online form to report a database or e-journal problem. Advanced users may prefer to read the information below and attempt to diagnose and correct their own problem.

1. Are you a member of the SHSU student body, staff, or faculty?
   If not, you are not authorized to access our databases remotely.
   
   
2. Are you on campus or off campus?
   If off campus, are you at work at a state or government entity (including schools) which utilizes a proxy server to manage internet traffic? Some businesses do this, too, as well as some apartment complexes which provide internet service.
   If this is the problem, you will be unable to access the databases from your workplace because of conflicts between the proxy servers at the Library and your workplace. You may request an un-proxied connection from your employer's IT department, but the Library has no control over this.
   
   
3. Are you clicking a link in Blackboard to watch a video online, but receiving a Films on Demand log-in page?
   a. Right-click on the video link and select "Open in New Tab" or "Open in New Window."
   b. Exit Blackboard, go to the Library's list of databases, click Films on Demand, and search for the title of the video you need to watch.
   c. If you are using Internet Explorer, try a different internet browser instead.
   d. If your problems persist, you may want to report the problem.
   
   
4. Are you receiving the SHSU Remote Login page (vs. an error message)?
   If not, check the link on our pages to make sure it includes the proxy prefix. Proper database URLs should look like this:
   https://ezproxy.shsu.edu/login?url=
   http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=ehost&defaultdb=ofm
   ...where everything after login?url= is the database URL. If a URL is placed on our website incorrectly, you will have to add the proxy string to the front of the database url. It is easiest if you copy another database link into notepad, delete everything after "url=" and paste the database URL you want after the proxy string, then paste the whole thing into the browser address window. Then report the problem so it can be fixed; in the report, be specific about which page you were on and which link you clicked.
   
   
5. Is the SHSU login screen NOT accepting your password?
   You need to check with Computing Services to check on your password.
   
   
6. Are you getting an error message from EZ Proxy, saying something is missing or the server administrator needs to add something?
   This means the proxy settings for the database are incorrect. When vendors update their servers or rename them, or even when products are purchased and their URLs change, we need to update the settings and we usually don't know something has changed until it stops working. Please report the problem; be specific about which database you tried to access.
   
   
7. Do you have some form of internet blocking software running?
   For whatever reason, some of these types of software block some of our database urls and content. Try disabling the software.
   
   
8. Is there a conflict with your ISP?
   Although most ISPs are pretty good nowadays, occasionally someone has an ISP that doesn't allow proxying because they use their own proxy for Internet traffic.

In order to use Ask a Librarian and many other tools provided by the Newton Gresham Library, your Internet browser needs to be configured to accept pop-ups. Here is a list of sites that explain how to turn OFF built-in pop-up blockers :

Source of pop-up blocker:

• Apple Safari - open the preferences and un-check the 'Block pop-up windows' check box under the 'Advanced' menu.
• Google Toolbar
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 7
• Microsoft Windows XP
• Mozilla Firefox - To change Mozilla's Pop-up Blocker preferences,
  select Tools > Popup Manager > Allow popups from this site.
• Netscape Browser
• Norton Personal Firewall
• Opera Browser Pop-Up Blocker
• SBC Yahoo Browser Pop-Up Blocker
• StopZilla
• Yahoo! Toolbar
• Zone Labs

Find out how to create an EndNote Web account (even from off-campus) and how to use it.

• The EBSCO eBook Collection is a new product currently replacing NetLibrary. Be aware that some features may change during this transition period.
• Some books may be downloaded for offline reading on a computer or a compatible device. Click Download (Offline) to download a book.
• Not all e-books in the EBSCO collection may allow downloads.
• Downloaded books require the free software Adobe Digital Editions.
• At this time, Adobe Digital Editions is not installed on campus computers and users cannot install it themselves (we will let you know if this changes). You may install it for use on your own personal computers and laptops.

Your Bearkat One Card serves as your library card to check out books and materials. You must present your Card at checkout. If you do not have a Bearkat One Card, go to Academic Building 3, Room 217, or call (936) 294-CARD.

If you are not SHSU faculty, staff, or a student, you can use all library resources on-site. You can borrow some materials through the use of an NGL Courtesy Card or a TexShare card. Get more details about these cards on our Circulation Policies page.

SamCat is the Newton Gresham Library online catalog. You can use it to search for items like books and journals.

View our Circulation Policies for answers to all these questions.

Online Renewal: Use the online renewal form.

Onsite Renewal: Present the item for renewal at the Circulation/Reserves Desk inside the library.

Materials will be renewed if they are not on recall. Loan periods and checkout limits as described in Circulation Policies apply to renewed materials.

ILL Renewal Policy:
Since the lending library sets the due date, books received through Interlibrary Loan cannot be renewed without the consent of the lending library. If you need an extension, use your ILLiad account to request a renewal at least 48 hours before the due date. Generally, the longest renewal time granted is for 2 weeks.

Please note the new due date for your materials.

For any other questions regarding renewals, contact the Circulation/Reserves Desk (936) 294-1618.

Unfortunately, no; we cannot. Library personnel would have time to do little else if we agreed to provide such a service to all the students, faculty, and staff affiliated with SHSU.

--> Exceptions: Faculty and Distance Learning students.

SHSU faculty members benefit from the Faculty>Direct Service. Students who qualify may apply for Distance Learning Services.
In both cases, use the ILLiad online system to request copies of print articles and book pages. (This is the same system used to request articles and books from other libraries on Interlibrary Loan.)

SHSU-affiliated users may access library databases, including electronic journals and e-books, from off-campus. When accessing a database from off-campus, you will be prompted for your SHSU computer account username and password.

There are a very few exceptions, such as Research Insight, which cannot be accessed off-campus. These exceptions are noted in the database list.

Reserve items are materials that have been placed on reserve by a faculty member. Reserve materials are housed in Reserves behind the Circulation Desk. Reserve materials may include books, book chapters, journal articles, class notes, tests, etc. There are two general types of reserves: print and electronic.

Print reserves includes books, CDs, and files containing book chapters, class notes, articles, tests, etc. These materials have checkout times that are specified by the faculty member who has placed them on reserve. Most reserve items are in-building use only for 2 hours. Only 3 reserve items may be checked out at one time. Reserve materials cannot be renewed. An SHSU I.D. is required in order to check out reserve materials.

Electronic reserves includes book chapters, articles, class notes, tests, etc. Although some are also located in print reserves, most are not. Electronic reserves are accessed via the Library's Web page. You must be an enrolled student, faculty or staff to access this material.

You can borrow many materials from other libraries by either or both of these methods:

Interlibrary Loan
If Newton Gresham Library does not own or have access to a book or journal article that you need, you may request a copy through Interlibrary Loan, a service offered by the Interlibrary Services department. Newton Gresham Library will borrow a copy from another library. Learn more about Interlibrary Loan.

TexShare
TexShare is a cooperative program designed to improve library service to students, faculty, and staff of Texas institutions of higher education. This program allows SHSU students, faculty and staff to have direct, personal access to library materials that are not available in the Newton Gresham Library. Learn more on our TexShare page.

Turnitin.com is a web-based resource for detecting plagarism. The library subscribes to this resource and provides information about how to use it.

EndNote Web is a citation management program that can help you save and organize citations and create bibliographies in MLA, APA, Chicago, or many other styles. Find out how to create an EndNote Web account and how to use it.

One to One is a program designed to provide individual assistance to doctoral students (and master’s students engaged in thesis research) in utilizing library resources at Sam Houston State University. Learn more.

A refereed journal, also known as academic, scholarly, or peer-reviewed, is a periodical publication written by specialists in a given field of study. The articles in the journal are reviewed or "refereed", before publication by other specialists in the same field to ensure that the articles are correct in their methodology and justified in their conclusions.

As a result of this peer-review process, scholarly journals are considered far more reliable than popular periodicals such as Time or Newsweek or The New York Times wherein the articles are reviewed only by an editor who may not be a specialist in the area the article is discussing.

A Boolean operator is a word that is used to define the relationship between terms used in constructing a search in a database. There are three common Boolean operators, AND, OR, and NOT.

AND tells the database to return results that include both (or all) terms connected by the AND. And example would be "government AND politics AND voters". This search will return only those items that include all three terms; government, politics, and voters.

AND is used to narrow or reduce your search results. The more terms you AND into your search, the fewer results you will get because you will be putting more restrictions on what the database is to look for.

OR will return any items that include either (or any) term you use in your search. OR is used to increase, or expand, your search results.

NOT will exclude any search results that include the term or terms entered after the NOT. This can eliminate search results that you might have wanted to see, so be careful about using NOT.

1. Check out our Online Instruction videos and tutorials to see research methods in action.
2. Consult our Research Guides to discover where to start researching on a variety of topics.
3. Ask a Librarian for help by chat, text, email, telephone, or in person.