Library FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Are the Libraries open?
A. All libraries are open during the posted hours. Librarians are also available to answer questions by email, chat, text and phone through our Ask a Librarian service.
Q. Will my due dates be extended if you close unexpectedly, such as when there is severe weather?
A. Generally, if any or all of the libraries close unexpectedly because of severe weather, power outage, or any other reason, due dates during the closure for all library items from the affected libraries will be automatically extended until those libraries reopen. No additional library fines will occur on items from the affected libraries while the affected libraries are closed. Previous fines will remain in place.
Q. Where can I find more information about specific campus libraries?
A. The libraries each have campus-specific guides for students.
- Celina Campus: Brenda Willard Goodell Library
- Farmersville Campus Library
- Frisco Campus (Preston Ridge) Library
- McKinney Campus (Central Park) Library
- Plano Campus (Spring Creek) Library
- Technical Campus Library
- Wylie Campus Library
Q. What if I need to do research for my classes?
A. The libraries have extensive online resources available to current students, faculty, and staff of Collin College during all hours of the day. These include ebooks, full text journal, magazine and newspaper articles, and videos. Log in to CougarWeb, choose the Library tab. Choose Find Articles in Databases or the other more specific links in the middle column. Physical items, such as books and DVDs, can be viewed or checked out during our in-person hours. Various print journals, magazines and newspapers can also be used inside the libraries.
Q. How can I get help?
A. Librarians are available to answer questions and provide instruction on using library resources during these in person hours and for various hours online. You can email, chat or text with us using our Ask a Librarian service. To meet with a librarian for in-depth research assistance in-person or via Zoom, sign up for a Book a Librarian session. Faculty can also contact subject liaison librarians directly for more in-depth consultations to support teaching and learning.
Q. How can I schedule library instruction for my entire class?
A. There are many options available for faculty to schedule library instruction. Faculty can contact their liaison librarian, schedule online, call the libraries, or visit us at the Reference desk..
Q. How do I log in?
A. For help logging in to CougarWeb and other Collin resources, see
OneLogin Resources. For help with Library databases specifically, see Library Database FAQ.
To log in to the Library Catalog to renew items or place requests, the username for students, faculty and staff is
their college-wide ID number (CWID). The PIN is typically set to the last 4 digits
of their phone number. Faculty and staff, please note, it could be a home/cell phone
instead of an on campus office phone nunber. Community members should use the library
card number printed on their library card and the last 4 digits of their phone number.
Q. Are there online graphing calculators?
A. Desmos offers an online graphing calculator, mobile apps, and other math tools. Texas Instruments (TI) offers a free 90-day trial to their TI-SmartView Emulator software for the TI-84 Plus Graphing Family. Common Sense recommends these digital graphing tools.
Q. How do I return the textbooks I rented from the Collin College Bookstores?
A. Do not return textbooks rented from the Collin College Bookstores to the Library's dropboxes.
Textbook rentals will not be properly processed as returns to the Bookstores if you return them to the Library.
Textbook rentals should be returned to the Bookstore from which they were rented.
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