What if the library does not have the software I need to use?

Many software companies offer free trials to try out their products. For class assignments, a particular software may only be used for a short period of time. A trial version can often offer full usage of the software for your assignments.

There are also many open source software downloads becoming available which can offer cheaper and no-cost alternatives to more expensive software. These programs are often also referred to as freeware. Open Office is an open source software offering users an alternative to purchasing Microsoft Word and Excel. Click here if you are interested in finding out more about open source software.

Here is a list of software trials and downloads that may be useful. Click on each software name to go to their homepage to find out more details about the trial length of time, hardware requirements, and other information.

This software cannot be downloaded onto library computers and is instead for use on your own personal computer.


For other useful downloads here at Raynor Memorial Libraries; such as PrintWise, click here.




Alphabetical Software and Trials and Downloads List

Software, Hardware or, Accessory Type Description
Adobe Products
Trial
Free trials of Adobe products such as Dreamweaver, Illustrator and Photoshop.
Audacity
Freeware
Audacity® is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. It is available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems.
EndNote
Trial
Software tools for publishing and managing bibliographies on the Windows and Macintosh desktop.
GIMP
Freeware
GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed piece of software for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring.
Inspiration
Trial
Inspiration® is the essential visual thinking and learning tool students rely on to plan, research and complete projects successfully. With the integrated Diagram and Outline Views, learners create graphic organizers and expand topics into writing.
iWork
Trial
iWork is a suite of applications for apple which contains Pages, a word processing and desktop publishing application; Keynote, a presentation package; and Numbers, a spreadsheet application.
Microsoft Office
Trial
Microsoft Office is a suite of applications for PC which contains Accounting Express 2008, Excel 2007, Outlook, 2007, Powerpoint 2007, Publisher 2007, and Word 2007. Free trial offered by Microsoft for 60 days.
Microsoft Office Visio
Trial
Microsoft Office Visio 2007 makes it easy for IT and business professionals to visualize, explore, and communicate complex information
Moodle
Freeware
These "learning management systems" provide calendar, assignment, grading, and quiz functionality and are often implemented just for these practical benefits. They can also enable discussion forums, chat, instant messaging, and wiki capability.
Open Office
Freeware
OpenOffice.org 3 is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose.
ProCite
Trial
Software tools for publishing and managing bibliographies on the Windows and Macintosh desktop.
Reference Manager
Trial
Software tools for publishing and managing bibliographies on the Windows and Macintosh desktop.
Refworks Grab-it
Freeware
RefGrab-It works with your browser to capture bibliographic information from web pages giving you the option to import that data into your RefWorks account.
Refworks Write and Cite
Freeware
Write-N-Cite is a utility that allows users to run an abbreviated version of RefWorks in their word processor.
SAS Curriculum Pathways
Trial
An online resource for students and teachers, SAS Curriculum Pathways provides standards-based content in all the core disciplines, grades 8-14.
VLC Media Player
Freeware
VLC media player is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, ...) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. Can be used on Windows or Mac computers.