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The UMUC Information and Library Services Newsletter

Fall 2006 • Volume 6, Issue 3
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Contents:


From Kim Kelley 
Vice Provost and Dean, Academic Resources and Services

Dr. Kim KelleyOn behalf of the librarians and staff of Information and Library Services (ILS), I would like to welcome all of the new students, faculty and staff to UMUC and welcome back all of the returning students, faculty and staff to the fall 2006 semester.

On August 24th the new UMUC classroom facility for both undergraduate and graduate classes at Dorsey Station will open, along with a new Information and Library Services branch library. Read more about the new UMUC Dorsey Station Library in this issue of the newsletter.

This fall ILS is offering a series of synchronous online workshops using Breeze software for students and, with the cooperation of the Center for Teaching and Learning, for faculty. These real-time workshops will focus on library resources and services, such as library databases and helpful citation tools. Mark your calendar!

Due to the success of the Instant Messaging (IM) Reference pilot that ILS began in spring 2006, there will be expanded IM reference hours this fall. Read more about the expanded IM reference hours, and the IM reference service in general, in this newsletter.

Liaison librarians stand ready to offer customized library assistance to various GSMT and SUS departments. Learn who your liaison librarian is, and what they can do for you, in this issue of the newsletter.

This issue of the newsletter also includes articles on database additions and enhancements, "hot" economics resources, student ID cards, new hours at McKeldin Library, the newly redesigned VLIB 101, library tutorials, new ILS staff members, and information for faculty on library instruction.

We remain dedicated to providing the best services possible, and we value your comments about any of our services and resources. If you find something you would like to see improved, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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Electronic Resources - What's New?

Upgrades to Standard & Poor's Databases!

We have some exciting new upgrades to our Standard & Poor's database subscriptions! In addition to Industry Surveys and the Register of Companies and Executives, you can now access Bonds Reports, Company Profiles, and Stock Reports. In the past few years, many of you asked about Standard & Poor's Stock Reports, and we now have them! To find these, log into "Stock Reports (Standard & Poor's)" from the Articles & More page on the library Web site, then in the "Publication Search" section click on the drop down menu and select the desired report, survey, or profile you which to search.  In the "Search by" drop down menu, you can either search by Ticker or Company Name and in the search box you can enter in your search terms, based on the parameters you chose.

Current Electronic Resources, New Interfaces!

Several of our electronic resources have come out with new interfaces, including IngentaConnect, NetLibrary, Periodicals Index and Archive Online, and ScienceDirect. Note: the ScienceDirect interface is scheduled to be available sometime in August 2006. Take a look at each and let us know what you think!

More Good E-Books to Read...

In the late spring this year, we added approximately 600 new titles to our primary e-book database, NetLibrary, expanding our growing e-book collection. There are also e-books available in databases that you might not have thought about! Below is a list of databases that include e-books. For some of the databases, you will see the e-books titles in the search results. For others, the search results will include text within the e-books titles that have been excerpted for you.

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Hot Sites... Economics Resources

Find the latest interest rates, labor and business statistics, the consumer price index, currency exchange rates, country specific economic indicators and other economic information from these “hot sites.”

  • Economagic
    A comprehensive site of free, easily available economic time series data useful for economic research, in particular economic forecasting. It includes charts such as the consumer price index, the prime rate, and gross domestic product.

  • Census Bureau Economic Programs
    Includes the Economic Census, which profiles American business every 5 years from the national to the local level. Other data includes the Survey of Business Owners and the Annual Survey of Manufacturers.

  • National Bureau of Economic Research
    This private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to promoting a greater understanding of how the economy works provides access to its research papers on economics and data sets on various economic indicators.

  • Institute for International Economics
    Contains links to papers and research on international trade, finance and economics. Special sections focus on various countries and regions of the world.

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For Your Information...

Student ID Cards

Students must print a new UMUC student ID card each semester from the MyUMUC student portal (https://my.umuc.edu). Students will need a current UMUC ID card to access library services, computer labs, and campus transportation. The UMUC library barcode number that appears on the student ID card is needed to log into UMUC's library databases, online services, and the University System of Maryland and affiliated institutions (USMAI) library catalog. If students visit a USMAI library in person, they must present their printed UMUC student ID card along with a driver's license or other photo ID to borrow library materials.

ID cards for the fall 2006 semester will be available for students to print seven days prior to the start of their classes. To print a student ID card, students can login to MyUMUC, choose "Student Portal," select "MyInfo," and click on "My UMUC ID Card".

Dorsey Station Library

UMUC will be opening a new classroom facility for both undergraduate and graduate classes in Elkridge, Maryland this fall. This new location, Dorsey Station, is located along the MARC Camden line and will be equipped with a computer lab. The facility includes a new Information and Library Services branch, the UMUC Dorsey Station Library, which will provide computer access to UMUC's online full-text article and e-book collection, a small book collection, and a comfortable seating area for reading. UMUC students, faculty, and staff will be able to request USMAI library books for pickup and return at Dorsey Station, a service formerly available at the now closed Annapolis Center. The new library, located in Room 2113, will be open for self-service with library staff available noon to 9 pm Mondays through Thursdays, noon to 5 pm on Fridays, and 9 am to 1 pm on Saturdays. 

Synchronous Online Workshops for Students and Staff

Information and Library Services is offering a series of online, real-time workshops to teach students, faculty, and staff about useful databases, helpful citation tools, and other important library resources. In a Breeze workshop, you’ll hear a librarian speaking to you live while you view a database demonstration, a Power Point slide, and other instructional material. You’ll use chat to ask questions and to communicate with the librarian and your fellow workshop participants. All you need is an Internet browser and computer speakers. Register soon, because the workshops fill up fast!

To register, watch for links in your MyUMUC student portal and on the Information and Library Services homepage in the coming weeks.

Upcoming workshops for students and staff are listed below. For information on faculty workshops, please see the Faculty Corner in this newsletter.

  • RefWorks Online Citation Manager
    Thursday, September 21, 2006, 12:00-1:00 PM, U.S. Eastern Time

    The workshop will introduce you to RefWorks, an exciting new online citation management tool available to UMUC students and faculty through Information and Library Services. Topics covered will include creating a free RefWorks account, importing citations from online databases, editing and managing saved citations, and using RefWorks to create automatically formatted lists of cited works in APA, MLA and other citation formats.

  • ReferenceUSA and Hoover’s Company Information Databases Wednesday, November 1, 2006, 1:00-2:00 PM, U.S. Eastern Time

    This workshop will provide an introduction to searching for business information using Hoover's and ReferenceUSA, two significant new additions to Information and Library Services' suite of subscription databases. Hoover's gives users easy access to information on over 250,000 public and private companies, including data on company history, key executives, products/operations, subsidiaries/affiliates, industry information, competitors, news, financial data and ratios, IPO alerts, and more. ReferenceUSA provides quick access to financial data on 13 million U.S. businesses including address, phone number, credit rating, Fortune 1000 listings, and estimate sales figures.

    Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to locate company histories, financial data, and other information using Hoover's, search for industry overviews and news using Hoover’s, use Hoover’s to build custom financial reports and set up e-mail news alerts on specific companies and industries, find contact, estimated sales, credit rating, and other information for companies using ReferenceUSA, and utilize ReferenceUSA’s custom search forms to search for companies by location, size, sales volume, and other criteria.

New Hours at McKeldin Library

ILS is expanding the Sunday hours that UMUC students and faculty can receive reference assistance at the UMUC Reference Office in McKeldin Library on the University of College Park campus.

Beginning September 5th, the UMUC Reference Office will assist users Monday-Thursday 5pm-10pm, Saturday 11am-5pm, and Sunday 12pm-7pm.

For more information about the UMUC Reference Office in McKeldin Library, please Locations and Hours.

Expanded Instant Messaging (IM) Reference Hours

ILS is expanding IM reference hours to include evening and weekend hours. Beginning this fall, IM reference will be available on a trial basis Monday through Thursday from 1-9 pm ET, Friday 1-5pm ET, and Saturday and Sunday 1-5pm ET.

This service can be accessed by sending an instant message to one of the library's screen names (umuclibrary in AIM and Yahoo Messenger, library@umuc.edu in MSN Messenger).  IM software downloads, links to Web-based IM applications, and additional information about this exciting new service are available at the library's Instant Message a Librarian page.

VLIB 101

VLIB 101, Information and Library Services’ popular WebTycho-based library orientation classroom, has been redesigned for the Fall semester.  The classroom now includes information on new library resources and services such as Instant-Message-A-Librarian, and improved navigation.  Students also have more opportunities than ever to interact with a UMUC librarian through VLIB 101, and to effectively orient themselves to using the library’s resources to complete their research assignments.  For more information on VLIB 101, please see: Peck Virtual Library Classroom.

Captivate Tutorials

ILS, with the assistance of the Center for Media and New Technology, is continuing to develop Flash-based audio-visual tutorials for ILS patrons. These new tutorials, using Macromedia Captivate, will replace earlier ILS audio-visual tutorials, and new tutorials on topics such as Journal Finder, FindIt, Advanced Database Searching, RefWorks, Accounting and Finance Resources, Get It Delivered, e-Reserves, Reading Database Citations, and Sorting, Saving, and E-Mailing Your Search Results in catalogUSMAI will soon be released. View ILS' Navigating UMUC's Virtual Library presentation in this new format, as well as An Introduction to catalogUSMAI and Using Turnitin.com.

New ILS Staff

ILS would like to introduce you to some new staff members:

Barbara Mann joins ILS from the University of Southern Maine as the Instruction and Information Literacy Librarian.

Megan Davis will join ILS from Minot State University (Minot, North Dakota) at the end of August as the Regional Services Librarian based out of the new UMUC Dorsey Station Library.

Jeffrey DiScala and Shannon Simmons join ILS as Graduate Assistants based out of the UMUC Reference Office in McKeldin LIbrary on the UMCP campus.

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Faculty Corner

Breeze Mini-Workshops for Faculty

Together with the Center for Teaching and Learning, Information and Library Services brings you Breeze Mini-Workshops: online, real-time training for faculty on a variety of important library resources. Breeze software allows synchronous meetings in which you’ll hear a live audio presentation by your facilitator while you view database demonstrations, Power Point slides, and other instructional content. All you need is an internet browser and computer speakers. You’ll use chat to communicate with the facilitator and other participants as you ask questions and actively collaborate in the instruction.

Upcoming workshops are listed below. For more information and to register, please go to the Mini-Workshops and Events on Breeze located on the Center for Teaching and Learning’s Web site.

  • RefWorks Online Citation Manager
    Thursday, September 28, 2006, 12:00-1:00 PM, U.S. Eastern Time

    This workshop will introduce you to RefWorks, an exciting new online citation management tool available to UMUC students and faculty through Information and Library Services. Topics covered will include creating a free RefWorks account, importing citations from online databases, editing and managing saved citations, and using RefWorks to create automatically formatted lists of cited works in APA, MLA and other citation formats.

  • ReferenceUSA and Hoover's Company Information Databases
    Wednesday, November 1, 2006, 7:00-8:00 PM, U.S. Eastern Time

    This workshop will provide an introduction to searching for business information using Hoover 's and ReferenceUSA, two significant new additions to Information and Library Services' suite of subscription databases. Hoover's gives users easy access to information on over 250,000 public and private companies, including data on company history, key executives, industry information, competitors, news, financial data and ratios, IPO alerts, and more. ReferenceUSA provides quick access to financial data on 13 million U.S. businesses including address, phone number, credit rating, Fortune 1000 listings, and estimated sales figures.

    Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to locate company histories, financial data, and, other information using Hoover's, search for industry overviews and news using Hoover’s, use Hoover’s to build custom financial reports, and set up e-mail news alerts on specific companies and industries, find contact, estimated sales, credit rating, and other information for companies using ReferenceUSA, and utilize ReferenceUSA’s custom search forms to search for companies by location, size, sales volume, and other criteria.

  • eReserves Overview
    Thursday, November 2, 2006, 1:00-2:00 PM, U.S. Eastern Time

    Need to distribute articles or book chapters to students through WebTycho, but worry about copyright in the online environment? Information and Library Services' Electronic Reserves services locates and posts the materials you require and clears copyright for you! This live online workshop will provide an introduction to using Electronic Reserves to add reserved readings to your WebTycho classrooms. The instructor will discuss ways in which you can use e-reserves to support your teaching, what the Electronic Reserves Service can do for you, and how to request readings for your classes. Online chat will be available to allow participants to ask questions during the workshop. Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to identify opportunities to use e-reserves to enhance UMUC classes taught via WebTycho, understand the necessity of using the Electronic Reserves Service to reserve readings (due to copyright clearance requirements and other factors), and understand how to request articles to be placed on reserve in a classroom.

Library Liaisons

Information and Library Services provides library liaison services to UMUC faculty—let us assist in integrating information literacy assignments into your classroom. We welcome the opportunity to work closely with faculty to provide tailored library services to individual classes. For example, in addition to visiting your online or face-to-face class, we can assist in adding information literacy components to specific course assignments or projects. We can provide handouts or online resources customized to your discipline or current course topic.

Keep the liaison librarians in mind when you have library related questions, need extra help with research, or need instruction on how to use our resources.

Julie Arnold - Liaison to the Graduate School of Management and Technology

Barb Mann - Liaison to SUS Business and Management Studies (BUSN)

Ryan Shepard - Liaison to SUS Computer Information Systems and Technology (CITE) and Professional Practice (PROP)

Robert Miller - Liaison to SUS Social, Behavioral, Natural, and Mathematical Sciences (SCIP)

In addition, Elizabeth Mulherrin, SUS Academic Director, LIBS150, is liaison to SUS Communication, Arts, and Humanities.

Instruction

As we begin the new semester the Information and Library Services librarians look forward once again to working with you and your classes, either face-to-face or via WebTycho, in the provision of library resources instruction. The transferable skill building and concept understanding we offer in these sessions provides both a deeper comprehension and comfort level for your students in locating, evaluating, and using information relevant to their studies.

This preparation and reinforcement will hold your students in good stead as they deal with the vast amount of available information during their academic careers and as productive employees and citizens. Please complete the Faculty Request for Library Instruction form to schedule one or more sessions for your classes.

Questions? Comments? Need more information? Please contact Barb Mann, Instruction and Information Literacy Librarian (bmann@umuc.edu) or the UMUC Library (library@umuc.edu).

We look forward to working with you and your classes!

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ILS Hours and Locations

Need to find us? Please visit Locations and Hours for more information.

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