Services

The Learning Commons on the 1st floor is equipped with both PCs and Macs, and a large screen display for group presentation practice and collaborative work. More computers can be found in the elevator lobby of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors. The computers are equipped with the following software:

• Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint
• Web browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer
• PCs have statistical software: SAS, SPSS (formerly called PASW), Matlab 7.10
• Macs have :
  • video and audio production software: Final Cut Express , Audacity , VLC, iMovie, Adobe Audition
  • statistical and mathematical software: SPSS 22 and Mathematica 10
  • Adobe Creative Cloud 2014 (Acrobat Pro,Audition, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Premiere Pro)
  • Microsoft Office 2011(Word,Excel, PowerPoint)
  • Safari web browser, Keynote, Numbers, Pages

To use these computers, you must be a Tulane affiliate with a valid login and password (your Tulane email username and password). For more information on using computers at the library, please review the Computer Use Policy.
 

Guest Computers

A number of computers equipped with internet access and the Microsoft office suite available to guests are located on the 1st floor in the lobby and in the 2nd and 3rd floor book stacks areas.

Guests may access the non-login computers for academic research only. Use of library computers by guests for non-academic purposes (i.e. recreation) is expressly prohibited, and guests may be asked to verify that they are using a computer for academic research purposes only. Tulane students, faculty and staff have priority over guests in cases where an insufficient number of computers are available in the library. We reserve the right to limit the amount of time that a guest may occupy a computer; normally this should not exceed two hours per day.

There are three black-and-white printers and a color printer located on the 1st floor in the Learning Commons. There is also one black-and-white printer in the 1st floor stacks area past the PJ's coffee stand, and one located in the elevator lobby on the 3rd floor. 

Print Instructions

• When you are ready to print, select a printer in the print window on your workstation. You have several print destinations in the Howard-Tilton Library to choose from.
• At the Print Station, run your card through the card reader. Use the mouse to retrieve your print job(s) and select "Print" to print. That's it. The system tells you how much each print job will cost and how much value is left on your card.

Cost of Printing

Black & White prints cost 10 cents per page. Color prints cost 70 cents per page.

Who Can Print

Tulane Students, Faculty, and Staff can use the printing system with their Splash cards, adding cash value to their cards at vend stations in the library (in the 1st Floor lobby near the elevators), at the Lavin-Bernick Center, or at Richardson Memorial Hall. Visitors to the library are also encouraged to use the system, purchasing a card at vend stations in the library (in the 1st Floor lobby near the the elevators) or at the Lavin-Bernick Center.

Adding Value to your Card

The card dispensers at the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library (in the 1st Floor lobby near the elevators), the Lavin-Bernick Center, and on the 1st floor of Richardson Memorial Hall allow card holders to add cash value to their purchased cards or to their Splash cards. Just follow the directions at the machine.

Tulane Students, Faculty, and Staff may also use Gibson Online to add value to their Splash cards with a credit card.

Self-service black-and-white copy machines are located on the 1st, 2nd, and 4th floors of the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library. Copies cost 10 cents per page. The copy machines accept coins, cash, Splash cards, and printing/copying cards purchased from the card dispenser in the 1st floor lobby near the elevators. A dime machine is located next to the copy machine on the 1st floor.

The Schiro Reading Room, which serves the Louisiana Research Collection, Rare Books, and University Archives, is located on the 2nd floor of Jones Hall and has a self-service overhead digital scanner with the option of a cradle (for books) or flat surface (for documents). Scans may either be saved to a USB drive or e-mailed directly from the scanner. Emailing works only with a limited number of small files, so researchers should bring their own USB drive.

Adding Value to your Card

The card dispensers at the Howard-Tilton library (in the 1st floor lobby near the elevators), the Lavin-Bernick Center, and on the 1st floor of Richardson Memorial Hall allow card holders to add cash value to their purchased cards or to their Splash cards. Just follow the directions at the machine. 

Tulane Students, Faculty, and Staff may also use Gibson Online to add value to their Splash cards with a credit card.

Responsible Use

All individuals should use the library computers responsibly in pursuit of academic functions. In doing so, they must not infringe on the rights or privacy of others or the integrity of the computer system, and they must abide by Technology Services' university-wide policy on use of computers and networks and other applicable Technology Services' policies. The following list characterizes some, but not all, unacceptable uses of computers in the Library:

• Repeated use for non-academic or non-research purposes by non-Tulane affiliates.

• Downloading or installing software to hard drives.

• Deliberately altering any files or modifying the configuration of any Library workstation or peripheral.

• Violations of the Library computer security or network integrity, including attempts to bypass network security, obtain passwords, share passwords with others, or the unauthorized use of passwords.

• Destruction or damage of computer equipment, or the removal of any part of the Library computer workstations.

• Use of two or more library computers simultaneously

• Connecting personal computers, laptops, or other devices to the Library network.

• Game playing, including interactive games

• Copying any copyright-protected digital content

• Any illegal activity

Any individual found to be using the computers to the distraction of another user or limiting access to the computer for the research purposes of another user, will be required to cease the activity, unless they can demonstrate that they are completing an academic assignment for a Tulane University class. Repeated violations by students, staff or faculty will be referred to the appropriate campus disciplinary body. Violations by non-affiliated users will be referred to the Department of Public Safety and violators may be removed from the campus.

Guests (Non-Tulane Library Users)

Guests may access the non-login computers for academic research only. Use of library computers by guests for non-academic purposes (i.e. recreation) is expressly prohibited, and guests may be asked to verify that they are using a computer for academic research purposes only. Tulane students, faculty, staff, and users of federal depository collections have priority over guests in cases where an insufficient number of computers are available in the library. We reserve the right to limit the amount of time that a guest may occupy a computer; normally this should not exceed two hours per day.

Food and Drink

Although drinks may be consumed in the library in a covered container, users should exercise caution near computer equipment to avoid leaks or spills. Damage resulting from spills will be the responsibility of the user. Food is not permitted in the library, except in the lounge area near the PJ's coffee stand and in the snack lounge in the basement. See the food and drink policy.

Tulane Students, Faculty and Staff Wireless Access

Connect to the wireless network by selecting ‘eduroam’ and entering your Tulane email address and password when prompted. Eduroam authentication allows Tulane students access to wireless networks on other participating college campuses as well. If you are unable to connect your device to eduroam, contact the TSNOC (Technical Support and Network Operations Center) at: 

Uptown: (504) 862-8888 or ext. 28888
Downtown: (504) 988-8888 or ext. 88888
Toll free: (866) 276-1428
help@tulane.edu

The Technology Services Knowledge Base has information on the settings for Tulanians visiting participating Eduroam institutions.

Guest Wireless Access

Guest access to the wireless network is only available to students, faculty, and staff from participating Eduroam institutions.

Visit the Learning Commons to compose a paper, edit a video, produce a presentation, print a document in black & white or in color on high-resolution laser printers, or just surf the web on a choice of PCs and  Macs.

Technology Services student workers are available in the Learning Commons to assist with printing, using the Eduroam wireless network, basic software help, and borrowing equipment such as camcorders, tripods, and headphones.

For assistance when the Technology Services desk in the Learning Commons is unstaffed, check the Technology Services site for information about receiving help via phone, chat, or the knowledge base.

Virtual Private Network (VPN)

If you are logging in to the library web site using a Tulane Virtual Private Network, you will need to log off the VPN to use library resources. 

Logging in to the proxy server

Proxying your research session is done at point of need: when you get to a resource that the library subscribes to, you will be prompted to login. Once you’ve logged in, a cookie will be saved by your browser, so you shouldn’t have to log in again during your session. If you try to access a library subscription and get an error message or otherwise aren’t able to, please report the problem to the Research Help Desk: (504) 865-5606, libref@tulane.edu, or by chat.

Problems logging in to different resources

Once you have logged on to the proxy server, you should not need to login again to use other resources. However, if you do encounter problems accessing additional resources, try re-logging on to the proxy server. There are several reasons you may have to log in again. A few of them are:

1. You may have timed out of the proxy server.

2. You may have timed out of the database you were using.

3. You may have unintentionally logged out of the proxy server by closing the database/window you were originally logged in on. If this happens frequently, please report the problem.

Problems accessing specific resources

If you are logged on, but still having problems finding or accessing the needed resource, some possible scenarios are listed below.

Accessing certain years/issues/volumes of online journals

We do not have complete full text runs for all journals - so double-check to make sure that we really are supposed to have access to a particular journal. You can do this by looking at the years of access in the e-journal title list and also looking in the library catalog. Several vendors will list all of their online journals in their database, even though we don't own access to all of those journals. This understandably leads to confusion, so check both the catalog and the e-journals list to see if we truly should have access to the full text of the journal.

Accessing resources directly

The login page for the proxy server is a Tulane-branded white page with a box for a username and a box for a password, with instructions on what to use for each. If you are getting a login page that is brand specific - for example, "Please enter your ProQuest password." - this indicates that you are not going through the proxy server. Make sure you are going through the library web site and authenticating before you get to the digital resource. We pay (quite a bit of money) for these digital resources, they are not available to everyone with Internet access. You have access to them strictly because you are affiliated with Tulane University. While you can get to a resource directly if you are on campus, this is because you are automatically being authenticated by Tulane University's IP range. If you try to go directly to JSTOR for example, using your own Internet Service Provider, JSTOR will have no way to verify that you are affiliated with Tulane University and will not give you access. If you go through the library web site, and authenticate, this tells the vendor that you belong to the Tulane license agreement.

Resource is full/all seats are taken

A few of our resources have a limited number of simultaneous users - when all of the available "seats" are being used, sometimes you will get an error message and other times the product will forward you to a login screen. If this appears to be the problem, try the resource again in a few minutes for one of the available seats to open.

Report problems

Sometimes our online resources experience a technical problem. There might be a problem with the server, or even scheduled upgrades when a database might be unavailable for a short time. To verify a resource is not functioning, you can contact the Research Help Desk at (504) 865-5606 or by chat to have them test whether the resource is functioning on campus. Since we have so many resources available, we rely on our patrons to let us know when they experience a problem with any of our resources. This helps us get started on restoring access as soon as possible.

To report a problem, please contact the Research Help Desk: (504) 865-5606, libref@tulane.edu, or by chat.