To get answers to commonly asked questions, click on the question you would like more information about.
To get answers to commonly asked questions, click on the question you would like more information about.
How do I Find Books?
Check out our list of textbooks and how to buy them here.
The library's online catalogue is here.
For an effective search, think about searching by using the Keywords tab.
The words that you select will make a big difference in the results that you get. If you want an exact title versus if you are generally looking, the results will look different.
For example: If you are searching for Women and their role in the bible, searching Women in the Bible, you will get different results than searching Women Bible.
How do I Find ebooks?
The RMC Library has access to over 142,000 electronic books through the following sites. Off-site access is limited to Rocky Mountain College faculty, staff and students. Please contact the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for a list of the needed passwords.
EBSCO E-Books
This is a collection of over 140,000 electronic books, with content across all academic disciplines, including religion, theology, psychology, human services, and leadership.
- For help with downloading EBSCO e-books to your computer, see this handy help guide.
- For help transferring a downloaded book to your portable device (iPad, iPhone, Android, tablet), check out this help guide or this ebook Support Center WEBSITE
eBrary
A small collection of electronic books provided by eBrary, mostly focused on leadership studies.
- For help with downloading ebary e-books to your computer, see this handy help guide.
- Note: Only option one: "Create an image PDF of a specific chapter or page range" is available right now.
Infobase
A small collection of sixteen e-books on psychological disorders.
How do I Find Articles?
To find articles, start by visiting the Electronic Journals page.
Article Databases
For Religion, Leadership, and most other Academic classes, start with the ATLA Database
For Psychology and Human services, start with the Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection.
Remember that if you are accessing the Electronic Resources from home, you will need passwords.
Please drop by the circulation desk or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. the library if you do not know your passwords
Searching for articles
Searching for articles is not the same as searching on Google.
Watch the following video for tips and tricks on searching article Databases.
How do I do Research for an Academic Paper?
Research for an Academic Paper
The research process is cyclical and can be ongoing as you refine your topic.
Look below for an explanation of the steps in the Research Process.
1. The first place to start is to select a topic.
To find a good topic, that isn't too broad or too narrow, it is helpful to do some basic research (get a GENERAL OVERVIEW) to see what is available.
- See what subject interests you
- Look for Introductory information in Encyclopaedia Britannica (Links to an external site.) or other Reference Sources
- See what paper and on-line resources there are in your subject area
- If there aren't enough resources, broaden your topic.
- If there are too many resources, narrow your topic.
2. Once you have a topic,ask a good RESEARCH QUESTION to focus your research paper
- Focus on what you want to know about the topic
- Create a clear question that you can research and answer
Here's a good video by GSU about Developing a Research Question
3. Decide on the type of information you want, and choose your research tool.
You will need to decide if you want books, ebooks, journal articles, magazines, videos, social media, internet resources, statistics, or other types of information.
Some tools to help you find your information are:
- The Library Catalog (here you can find books and ebooks that you can borrow online)
- Journal Databases (you can choose a database to look in, and download electronic articles from it)
- Reference tools (can give you basic information, and lead you to further books, articles, and search terms)
- Internet web pages (some web sources, like Google Scholar or Statistics Canada, can give you good information but you have to be cautious and evaluate the validity (Links to an external site) of the source)
4. Examine Your Search Results
First you Search...
Remember, when searching for a resource:
- - Use Keywords, Boolean Searching or Phrase Searching to expand or narrow results
- - Use Encyclopedias, Reference books, or other expert sources to help find further terms to search
- - Follow the subject headings in the library catalog/databases to find more resources related to your topic
- - Most books and articles will have a list of bibliographical references at the back that can lead you to more resources for your research.
Then you evaluate...
Once you find a resource, you need to decide if it is appropriate to use it.
Here is a video by University of Washington Libraries about evaluating the results you get from your search
5. Refine your search, or write your paper
Once you have decided on a topic, asked a focusing research question, looked through tools to find resources, and evaluated the resources to find the best sources to help you, then it is time to write the research paper.
Collect what you've found, and organize it into a well thought-out paper, where the research supports your NEW thinking. Make sure that your paper is about YOUR thoughts, and isn't just requoting what someone else wrote.
Here's a video that has some tips on writing a paper, by eHow
How do I borrow books from other Colleges/Universities?
If you live in the Calgary area, you can go online and search the library catalogs for:
The Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary's Keith C. Wills Library, Alberta Bible College's Learning Resource Centre, UofC, or Ambrose University, then go to the library and show them your RMC-Pathways Student ID card, and they will give you a free Community Membership.
You will be allowed to check out a limited number of items and have them for a couple of weeks.
If you don't live in the Calgary area, you can use local public and/or university libraries as a community user without borrowing privileges.
If you are in the Kitchener area, you can use the Emmanuel Bible College library as a regular user.
How do I use the library if I'm a Distributed Learning (Pathways) student?
Library Catalogue
We have combined our library with the library at Emmanuel Bible College to increase our physical holdings. In addition to our 142,000+ online books and our online access to periodicals you can search our library catalogue, which lists all the books we have in the physical Rocky Mountain College/Emmanuel Bible College Library, from anywhere in the world at https://emmanuelbiblecollege.
Getting Books By Mail
If you are located in Canada, we will send you books through the mail. To request an item send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and include the following:
- Your name and mailing address.
- The titles and call numbers of the book(s) you would like.
We will mail the books to you and include a postage-paid return mail label for you to send the books back free of charge. The books will be due back to the library four (4) weeks from the time of mailing. We are unable to mail reference material or material that has been placed on reserve for the semester.
Need Research Help?
If you are having any problems finding material, logging onto the databases, or need any other assistance, feel free to contact the library staff:
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Phone: (519) 894-8900 ext.273
Contact the library?
Phone: (519) 894-8900 ext. 253
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Mail: Library Director, Emmanuel Bible College, 100 Fergus Ave., Kitchener, ON N2A 2H2