Get the most out of your library! Each week on TLDR, we’ll feature helpful hacks, resources, and other tools offered by the University Libraries that can enhance your studying and research, boost your classroom success, or make your non-academic life easier and more fun.
Find Free Images
Looking for free images to use for your reports and presentations? Check out this LibGuide from the Park Library.
Sounds of Davis Library
Need some study inspiration? Maybe the familiar sounds of Davis Library can help get you in the zone to complete those assignments.
Calling all birders
The e-resource Birds of the World (BOW) is now available to all Carolina students, faculty, and staff. Content for this database comes from ornithologists all over the world.
Make an ORCID iD
Writing a paper? Creating an ORCID iD is a way to distinguish yourself and your scholarly work from other individuals. Learn more about ORCID iD and how to set up an account.
Learn about Jazz
All ten episodes of Ken Burns’ documentary miniseries “Jazz” is available to UNC-Chapel Hill students, staff, and faculty to stream for free. The series explores the history of Jazz music and covers Jazz musicians who helped to shape the genre.
Read a timeless novel
A collection of Toni Morrison’s novels, including “Beloved,” “Sula,” and the “Bluest Eye,” are available to read online for free via University Libraries.
Read Harper’s Bazaar
UNC-Chapel Hill students, faculty, and staff have access to the Harper’s Bazaar archive. This archive offers access to over 500,000 pages of the US and UK editions of the Harper’s Bazaar magazine from 1867 to the present.
For Those About to Rock
Calling all music fans! UNC-CH students, faculty, and staff have access to Rock’s Backpages, an archive of music journalism and popular music writing over the past 60 years.
Start Your Own Archive
Want to start your own personal or community archive, but don’t know where to begin? The Southern Historical Collection in Wilson Special Collections Library has created guides to help you get started.
Publish Open Access Articles
Are you writing an academic paper? Our agreement with Sage Publishing allows Carolina researchers to publish open access articles in SAGE journals at no cost. Learn more about the SAGE publishing agreement.
Read a Comic
Love comics? The SILS Library has an extensive collection of comics, manga, and graphic novels for checkout. Davis Library also has a large collection which focuses on comics in languages other than English.
High School Yearbooks
Want to see photos of family members in their high school heydays? Digitized yearbooks from high schools and colleges across North Carolina are available online through the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center.
Learn a Language
Are you trying to learn a new language? UNC students, faculty, and staff have FREE access to Transparent Language Online, which provides courses for 110 different languages for all levels of learners.
Houseplant Health
Is your houseplant’s health withering in this weather? The libraries provide access to a number of online books related to the upkeep, care, and propagation of houseplants.
SAT and ACT practice materials
Faculty and staff: Do you have a child preparing to take a college entrance exam? Our subscription to LearningExpress includes SAT and ACT practice materials that you can access for free.
Save sources with Zotero
To all the students with 100+ tabs open trying to write their research paper: there is a better way. Zotero is citation manager that helps you save and manage your sources. It even has a browser extension to help you cite your sites! Learn more about Zotero.
Relax and watch a movie
Movies including Moonlight, The Shining, Coffy and other feature films are available for streaming to Carolina students, faculty, and staff through Swank Digital Campus.
Get access through Google Scholar
Students: don’t let that paywall stop you! Configure your Google account to automatically find Google Scholar articles through your University Libraries account. Learn how!
Tap in to our course guides
Do you have a research paper coming up? Our course guides can help your research move in the right direction.
Learn new skills with LinkedIn Learning
Interested in learning a new skill? LinkedIn Learning is a free and on-demand learning solution designed to help you gain new skills and advance your career. Available to UNC students, faculty, and staff online.
Free online access to the New York Times
Keep up with the world through reading the New York Times! Sign up for a FREE New York Times online subscription through the University Libraries. Learn more and sign up here.
Want something new to read?
Check out an e-book online through University Libraries’ OverDrive collection! Librarians have created curated collections of e-books on personal and financial wellness, anti-racism, and more. Browse here: https://carolina.overdrive.com/
Free online access to The Washington Post
The University Libraries has partnered with The Washington Post to provide students, faculty, and staff with paywall-free access to www.washingtonpost.com. Learn more and get access.
Get organized with Microsoft 365
UNC-Chapel Hill Students: did you know that you have FREE access to all Microsoft 365 apps? Use apps like Planner and OneNote to organize your tasks and projects.
Paris is Burning
Looking for something to watch this week? Check out “Paris is Burning.” The movie, which was filmed over seven years, highlights the 1980s New York City’s ball scene. UNC-Chapel Hill students, faculty and staff can stream the movie for free through the libraries.
Art Books, Films, Photos and more!
The Sloane Art Library’s collection of more than 100,000 volumes includes books, exhibition catalogs, art documentaries and films, illuminated manuscript facsimiles, artists’ books, and more. Learn more about the Art Library.
Fantasy books picked by YOU!
Thanks to everyone’s recommendations left on Instagram and on the whiteboards in the UL, we have a brand new e-book and audiobook fantasy collection on our OverDrive!
Check out Vinyl
Music lovers unite! Students, faculty, and staff can check out vinyl records to listen to at home from the Music Library, located on the ground floor of Wilson Special Collections Library. Learn more about the Music Library now!
Cooperative Borrowing
Away from Chapel Hill for the summer? UNC students, faculty, and staff can use their OneCard to borrow books from any TRLN library and any UNC system institution library. Learn more about Cooperative Borrowing!
NC Newspapers on NCDHC
Working on North Carolina research? The North Carolina Digital Heritage Center has digitized hundreds of newspapers from across the state, ranging from the 1700s to the present. Browse the newspapers online now.
Borrowable Items at the MDC
Content creators: need some equipment like a green screen, an audio recorder, or a lighting kit? Reserve these items and more at the Media and Design Center! See the full list of bookable items now.
North Carolina Miscellany
Did you know that the North Carolina Collection has a blog? “North Carolina Miscellany” includes posts discussing books on North Carolina state history, treasures from the archives and general “Tar Heelia.”
Find sheet music in the Classical Scores Library
Looking for some sheet music to play? Carolina students, faculty and staff have access to the Classical Scores Library, which is a collection of over 50,000 musical scores from the Middle Ages to the 21st century. Browse sheet music online.
Access the News and Observer online
UNC students, faculty, and staff: did you know that you can read archival and up-to-date issues of the North Carolina News and Observer through the Library’s Newsbank database subscription? See issues online.
Virtual Computing
Need to run SAS, R or another statistical software that you don’t have installed? You can use the Virtual Computing Lab to access these programs from your personal computers. Learn more about the Virtual Computing Lab.
Start Planting
Trying to start your own garden? The Seed Library in Kenan Science Library offers a variety of seeds and other resources to start planting.
Carolina Keepsakes
The items in North Carolina Collection’s Carolina Keepsakes digital exhibition are everyday objects that demonstrate how Carolina’s student life has evolved in the last two centuries. See the digital exhibition now.
Step into the new year
Did you know that we have treadmill desks on the fifth floor of Davis Library? Get some steps, sunshine, and studying in all at the same time.
Old money
The North Carolina Collection has a collection of North Carolina Moneys dating back to the 1600s. Browse the numismatics collection online now, or visit the North Carolina Collections Gallery in Wilson Special Collections Library.
Stay in touch
Students! Sign up for our monthly newsletter and get just-in-time tools for academic success; staff picks for streaming, reading, and listening; and fun highlights from the archives. Sign up here.
Tell your story
The UNC Story Archive aims to collect lesser-known narratives that tell the full story of the university. The project invites students, past and present, to share short, conversational recordings. Learn more about the Story Archive here.
Start a podcast
Have you ever wanted to make your own podcast? The Media and Design Center in the basement of The Undergraduate Library has its own podcast recording studio! You can reserve time to record here.
Make something amazing
The Makerspace at Kenan Science Library enables UNC students, staff, and faculty to explore emerging technologies. Items like 3D printers and scanners, Cricut makers, and sewing machines are available for use. Learn more.
Keep your passwords safe
UNC students, faculty, and staff have free access to LastPass Premium. Users can securely store passwords and other important digital information across multiple devices using this service. Learn more here.
Organize your digital files
Are your digital files a mess? University Archive’s blog post on digital records management 101 provides helpful answers and tips on how to maintain and when to delete your digital files. Read it here.
Space is the Place
Looking for something out of this world to listen to? We recommend the album “Space is the Place” by jazz composer and experimental artist Sun Ra. UNC students, faculty, and staff can listen to the entire album online.
