DISCUS is available at no cost to South Carolina residents.

Although DISCUS is available statewide, the resources are presented and accessed differently depending on your institutional affiliation. Basic instructions are below. If you're accessing from...

• K-12 Schools: Direct your Web browser to: scdiscus.org. Ask your school library media specialist for information and assistance.
• Colleges/Universities: Use the database links and instructions on your college library's Web site. Ask your college librarian for information and assistance.
• Public Libraries: As a public library patron, use the database links and instructions on your public library's Web site. Ask your public librarian for information and assistance.
• Home/Office: You can access DISCUS by first obtaining a username and password or special instructions from your librarian. South Carolina State Library patrons (state agency employees and members of the General Assembly) can access DISCUS using links on the South Carolina State Library's Online Resources page. You must first obtain a South Carolina State Library card. Apply for a card here.

You can obtain the current DISCUS username and password from the library that you are most often affiliated with, as outlined below.

• If you are a K-12 student, ask your school library media specialist for assistance.
• If you are a student at a college or university, check with your academic library for assistance.
• If you are a public library patron, ask the staff at your public library for assistance.

To access the DISCUS databases, you must have an Internet-connected computer with:

• a (minimum) Pentium II processor with 128 MB of RAM and Windows 2000 or Windows XP operating system and a recommended screen resolution of 800 x 600 or 1024 X 768 for a 15” monitor; and
• a Web browser (frames-capable, graphical Web browser) with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher; (Note: Do NOT enable the "Content Advisor" feature.); Netscape 7.0 or higher; or Firefox 1.0 or higher; and
• cookies and JavaScript enabled.

First, make sure that your equipment meets the minimum technical requirements. Here are some further troubleshooting tips:

• Are you using the current username and password obtained from the librarian or media specialist at your school, college or public library? (The username and password are changed every July/August and are valid for a full year. Type them in lower case, when prompted, with the “Caps Lock” key turned OFF.)
• Are you using the correct URL (scdiscus.org) to connect to the DISCUS resources?
• Have you tried closing and reopening the browser to gain access?
• Have you tried accessing the databases on another computer (if available)?
• If you are unsuccessful at gaining access to one resource (database), can you connect to other DISCUS resources and Web sites? If so, contact your library to find out whether the resource is temporarily unavailable. Be prepared to explain the specific error message or problem that is occurring.
• If you’re trying to log in from an institution and are still unsuccessful after trying these tips, check with your technical contact person/department.

DISCUS provides the same core resources to every participating institution, but colleges and public libraries are allowed to customize their links and options in order to blend these resources with their other services.