Library Basics

Access articles and electronic books from the Library's subscription databases from off-campus! When you click on a database, you will be prompted for your user name (your student ID) and PIN (the two-digit month and day of your birth in MMDD format). 

Example for student with ID number 88-123-4567 born February 25th:

User name: 881234567
PIN: 0225

If you need help resetting your pin, please visit this page.

Find books, articles, and more.

Advanced Search

ProQuest is one of our most popular databases. It covers a wide range of disciplines with content from academic journals, magazines, newspapers and more. This would be a great place to search for current events information.

You can also use any of our other databases from the complete list on the library's website. 

Below are suggested databases and search tips for your research.

• Use AND to narrow your results by searching for two keywords simultaneously. 
  Example: slavery AND children
• Use OR to broaden your results by searching for either of two or more keywords
  Enclose terms separated by OR in parentheses
  Example: (domestic OR household)
• Use quotation marks ("") to search for terms as a phrase
  Example: "emancipation proclamation"
• Use asterisks to retrieve additional forms of a word
  Example: wom* retrieves women, woman, women's.
• Limit results to academic or scholarly sources for academic sources.
• Limit results to reviews to see just book reviews.

Putting it all together

Use all the above search tip sto refine your search. 
Example: ("domestic slave" OR "house slave") AND wom*

MON, AUG 31 – SAT, DEC 19

Mon - Thurs: 7:30 am - 8 pm

Friday: 9 am – 1 pm

Saturday: 11 am – 3 pm

While West Los Angeles College Library is closed, learning online doesn't mean you have to study alone. Just invite fellow students and set a regular study time!

Create and use a free Zoom video conferencing account to meet with other students in a virtual study room (if you already have a LACCD Zoom account, you can skip this step).

How to Create Your Free Zoom Account:

1. Create a free Zoom account. (Free accounts provide unlimited 1-on-1 meetings and 40 minute meetings for groups.)

2. If you need help with setting up a Zoom account, visit: Getting Started with Zoom or Zoom Tutorials

Sign up for a Virtual Study Room!

While we can't replicate the nice, quiet study space you've used in the HLRC, here's an option for you to try: virtual study rooms. 

To reserve a study room, visit our Appointments page:

https://wlac.libcal.com/appointments/virtualstudyrooms

Select the date and time you want to reserve, then click Continue.