Thursday, September 25, 2008

This week's topic: Research Databases

I hope everyone feels confident in using the research databases available through Curry Library. If you have not had the opportunity to utilize these resources, I would like to talk about a few basics.

First, a database is a collection of data that is compiled, organized, and is usually searchable. Curry Library subscribes to companies who have collected the data and created a database for research purposes. This data includes full-text citations, magazine articles, journal articles, book excerps, newspaper articles, and abstracts, to name a few. What the company has done is taken a number of these resources and electronically formatted them for viewing online.

For example, if you wanted to look up articles on John Stuart Mill you could search through JSTOR (a literature-oriented database), which is one of the databases we subscribe to. It will return approximately 3500 articles about or referring to John Stuart Mill. If you would like to narrow the field further, you could modify the search to include On Liberty. This narrows the results to around 1350 articles. Then maybe you want to write a paper that specifically examines Mill and minority rights , so you add "minority rights" to the search and it returns around 300 articles. Truly amazing.

Curry Library currently subscribes to 85 databases, the results above were just from one. The articles are peer-reviewed, which means they are considered to be reliable sources. So the next time your instructor informs you that you have to have x number of reliable sources, you can feel confident that you will have no further to look than your library's databases.

As always, if you would like help on the databases or have any questions, you can always come to the library information desk or email libinfo@william.jewell.edu.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

This week I would like to point out the copy services the library has to offer. Copies are 10 cents each, but if you buy a copy card you can get 100 copies for only $5.00. At 5 cents a copy this is a very good deal. Copy services do not have to be used solely for your academic work, you may use the copiers for any of your copying needs. The copy room is located to the right of the circulation desk, and if you have any questions, someone will be happy to help you.

I would also like to encourage everyone to attend the learning sessions that Elise Fisher, our Reference Librarian, is holding in the library. You will learn about the many useful tools that the library has to offer, accessible through the Curry Library website. If you think you know it already, I guarantee you will learn at least one new thing. Please sign up early by coming to the library or send an email to fishere@william.jewell.edu prior to the day of the class, and come learn how to make your academic work shine!

Remaining sessions:
Session 2 – Print or Online materials (Week of Sept 22)
J period Tuesday 9 – 9:50 or Thursday 10 -10:50
or L period Tuesday or Thursday 2-3:00

Session 3 – Efficient Searching Techniques (Week of Oct. 13)
J period Tuesday 9 – 9:50 or Thursday 10 -10:50
or L period Tuesday or Thursday 2-3:00

Session 4 – Ethical use of Information (Week of Oct. 27)
K period Tuesday or Thursday

NOTE: Sessions 2 and 3 will be held in Marston 306, session 4 will be held in Curry Library.

Thursday, September 04, 2008

We hope everyone's classes are going well so far! With almost one week over already, the semester will fly by. We have already had a lot of questions in the library, which makes us very happy.

Did you know that you have a personal library online account for Curry Library?
You can access your personal account by clicking on WJC Catalog from our home page. There is a link called "View Your Library Account." If you click on this link, it will take you to a log-in page, where you will enter your first and last name. Your password is your full social security number followed by "wj".

From your account, you can see what materials you have checked out, and renew them online!
You can also view the materials that you have requested through inter-library loan, and see the status of your request. "Mobius Request" means your request is still being processed, and "In Transit" means that your material will be in soon.

You can also search the catalog after logging into your account, and save the search. This is an excellent tool if you know you will be doing a lot of research on a specific subject, or maybe you have a favorite author or topic that you check out on a regular basis.

We are always happy to help with any questions you may have. Don't hesitate to click on the Ask a Librarian link on our page, or send an email to libinfo@william.jewell.edu.

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