Online Collections & Resources

No matter where you are, you still have access to most of our resources and services. We are here to help you be creative and flexible in finding quality information.

Connect from Off-campus

Almost all of the Libraries’ online resources (described below) are available from off-campus. Many of these resources will allow you to log in with your eID, password, and Duo, the same way you access Canvas. However, some of our resources require another login procedure using SSL VPN. Please review these instructions for connecting from off-campus, or contact us through Ask the Library.

Library Books, Articles, Databases, Movies & More

JMU Libraries’ Library Search

Use Library Search to find our e-books, books, articles, videos, music, and more. While Library Search retrieves results from nearly all of the library’s databases, there are some databases that it does not search. To find items in a database not included in Library Search, you’ll need to search the database directly — start with our databases page.  To learn more about what is and is not included in Library Search results, consult our latest list of collections.

Databases

Find an alphabetical listing of all JMU Libraries databases. Look for the “All Database Types” drop-down menu to filter by type of content (e.g. video, images, statistics, government information, and more) within each database.

Research Guides

Find helpful guides that focus on specific subjects or JMU courses, all created by your librarians. Use these guides to find the best resources for your research.

Articles

To find articles in newspapers, magazines, or academic journals, search in our databases or browse/search our journal subscriptions. You can also access some journal articles without a subscription. To more easily download articles while browsing Wikipedia, publisher websites, etc., consider installing browser plug-ins like LibKey NomadOpen Access Button, and/or Unpaywall. To find articles by digital object identifier (DOI) or PubMed Identifier (PMID), use LibKey.io. To get faster access to articles when using Google Scholar, connect your JMU account to Google Scholar.

E-books

You can read library e-books in many different subject areas. You can also find e-books by using HathiTrust. Learn more about finding and using our ebooks.

Streaming Movies

You can browse online/streaming videos in our collections. Find even more options for streaming videos here. Not sure how streaming works? Learn how streaming works.

Free Media for Creative Use

Find audio, image, and video resources that you can freely use! They are available under Creative Commons, public domain, or JMU license. Find information about Copyright for Distance Education.

LinkedIn Learning

With LinkedIn Learning, you’ll find streaming video tutorials on over 2,000 courses in 3D animation, audio, business, design, development, photography, video creation, web design, and much more.

Open Educational Resources

Find open educational resources (OER), which are teaching and learning materials licensed for free use. Because OER are available without financial, legal, or technical barriers, faculty and students can use them freely! 

JMU Scholarly Commons

Explore selected research and scholarship from the JMU community in the JMU Scholarly Commons. You’ll find peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, Special Collections materials, theses, dissertations, and more.

Special Collections

Peruse the JMU Special Collections’ digital collections online.

Research Help

Research Guides

Find helpful guides that focus on specific subjects or JMU courses, all created by your librarians. Use these guides to find the best resources for your research.

Ask the Library

Have a question about finding our using resources? Please use Ask the Library.

Liaison Librarians

If you have more in-depth or detailed research questions, you can also contact a Liaison Librarian. They are subject experts who can help with discipline-specific research.

Virginia Cooperative Borrowing Program

If you would like to check out books from other universities’ libraries across Virginia, the Cooperative Borrowing Program may be useful. Through this program, you may be able to borrow materials from some academic libraries in Virginia with your JACard. View the list of libraries participating in this program. We recommend contacting any institution you plan to visit before you travel to it, to learn about their hours of operation, parking, and other information about accessing their facilities.