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The UMUC Information and Library Services Newsletter
Spring 2008 • Volume 8, Issue 1
Previous Issues
Contents:
- From Stephen Miller
- Electronic Resources - What's New!
- Hot Sites
- For Your Information...
- Faculty Corner
- ILS Hours and Locations
From Stephen Miller
Interim Associate Provost, Information and Library Services
On behalf of Information and Library Services (ILS), I would like to extend warm wishes to new and returning UMUC faculty, students, and staff. All the best in the New Year and the new semester! In 2008 ILS will continue to strive to provide our users with the best possible resources and services to help you fulfill all your educational and professional goals.
The electronic resources we offer continually undergo evaluation and improvement. Several of our databases now contain more full text and access to an increased number of journals. In addition, Research Port, which allows users to search up to eight databases simultaneously, has been upgraded to allow for easier navigation. Please read more about these and other new developments in electronic resources.
ILS recognizes the importance of connecting with our students in new and innovative ways. Our presence in a variety of student clubs has helped to us achieve this goal by allowing ILS librarians to interact with students in previously unexpected places. ILS librarians also continue to add to scholarly literature beyond simply working with it. Reference and Instruction librarian Robert Miller recently published an article in College & Research Libraries News describing his innovative work in UMUC online clubs. Congratulations to Mr. Miller on his achievement!
Reference and Instruction librarian Ed O'Donnell has been elected as the library representative on the Faculty Advisory Committee. Congratulations to Mr. O'Donnell on this accomplishment.
ILS continues to offer assistance to faculty via the library liaison program. Faculty are encouraged to contact their liaisons to assist in their course needs and to provide course-related library instruction.
As always, UMUC faculty, students, and staff are encouraged to take advantage of the library's wide array of valuable resources and services. Research assistance is available 24/7 via chat and email. In-person assistance is available during regularly-scheduled business hours at both our Adelphi and Dorsey Station locations. Telephone assistance is also available during regular business hours. We also offer both walk-in and telephone research assistance on Saturday and Sunday at our office at McKeldin Library on the University of Maryland College Park campus.
Meeting the information needs of our user community remains the primary focus of ILS. Suggestions for improvements are always encouraged, so please contact us with any ideas or comments you may have.
Again, best wishes for the New Year and the spring semester!
Electronic Resources - What's New!
New Web of Knowledge interface
The New Year brings a new Web of Knowledge interface. To access the new version, log into one of our Web of Knowledge databases — Biosis Previews, Science Citation Index Expanded, or Social Sciences Citation Index — and click on the button "Access the new version!" near the top of the page.
The new interface is easier to navigate and you will be able to set up a Web of Knowledge account to more readily keep track of your research. For more information, see The Face of New Research.
New resources - Upgrades!
- Academic OneFile
Expanded Academic ASAP was upgraded to Academic OneFile, which offers more than double the number of journals.
- Biosis Previews
BasicBIOSIS was upgraded to Biosis Previews, which offers more full text and many more journal articles.
Browse a newspaper online...
Here is a quick tip: Try Factiva to browse articles in the Wall Street Journal or Washington Post. Click on the News Pages tab and you will see both newspapers listed in the right-hand column. You can also link to both the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post — via the ProQuest Newspapers database — directly from the Articles & More page.
EDGAR (SEC) Reports... in our Electronic Resources
EDGAR reports are available on the SEC Web site or in library databases Mergent Online or LexisNexis Academic. Most reports can be downloaded into Excel in Mergent and LexisNexis Academic, so you may prefer accessing EDGAR through library databases rather than the SEC Web site. EDGAR reports in Mergent are only available for the past two or three years; if you need historical reports then use the SEC Web site or LexisNexis Academic.
EDGAR Online, a proprietary SEC reporting service, is included with our LexisNexis Academic subscription (see news story LexisNexis® and EDGAR® Online Expand Alliance). To search the Edgar Online reports in LexisNexis Academic, click on Business from the main search tab . Then over to the right, click on SEC filings, located under the heading Business Searches. The listings are sections of various reports, so you may have to click and scroll through to find the report(s) that are of interest and piece together the sections.
New Version of Research Port is Simpler to Use!
A new version of Research Port is now ready and simpler to navigate. Here is a summary of the most important changes. For more details, when in Research Port, click on the "Changes in Research Port" link.
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Hot Sites... E-Book/Audio Book Collections
The next time you are conducting research for your classes, try delving into the world of the electronic/audio book. Whether you wish to download a copy of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or are interested in societal mores prevalent in Victorian England, these Web sites offer a wide variety of electronic volumes for your perusal.
- Audio Books for Free
This site features MP3, iPOD and DVD audio books (adventure, detective, horror, classics, children, non-fiction, philosophy, etc.) for downloading. Hundreds of titles are included, such as Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Joseph Conrad’s The Secret Agent, and Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.
- Digital Book Index
The Digital Book index provides links to over 140,000 full-text digital books from more than 1,800 commercial and non-commercial publishers, as well as numerous universities and various private sites. More than 100,000 of these books, texts, and documents are available at no cost; others are available for a fee. Topics covered include medicine, health, business, literature and languages, the arts, philosophy, and religion.
- E-Scholarship Editions
A project of the University of California, this collection contains over 500 free e-books on a range of topics, including art, science, history, music, and religion. Fiction e-books are also available.
- The Victorian Web
The Victorian Web is a free and searchable e-books database covering the Victorian era. Areas covered include politics, society, gender, religion, philosophy, and technology. In addition to e-books, the site also contains books reviews, essays, and bibliographies related to Victoriana.
Also be sure to look at Project Gutenberg, Bartleby.com, and the Electronic Text Center at the University of Virginia Library. Links to these sites can be found on the library's E-Books on the Web page.
For Your Information...
Information and Library Services "Joins the Club!"
One of the challenges facing a distance-education university is creating forums in which geographically-dispersed students can interact. UMUC’s online student clubs, administered by the Department of Academic Success, help to meet this challenge. These clubs offer an opportunity for students to network with one another, with faculty, and with visiting experts to explore recent developments, career opportunities, and graduate school options in students’ chosen field of study.
Information and Library Services is always looking for new ways to reach students and assist them in finding research materials for their classes. To this end, ILS also actively participates in students clubs. Business liaison Ed O’Donnell is available in the Accounting Club to provide library instruction and answer research related questions. Ryan Shepard, liaison to Professional Practice and Computer Science, supports several clubs in a variety of capacities, such as offering advice to History Club students on publishing their research.
Robert Miller, library liaison to the undergraduate social sciences and sciences departments, has been especially active within three student clubs: Environmental Management, Psychology, and Social Sciences/Gerontology. Mr. Miller documented his experiences in these clubs in his article, “Join the Club: Promoting Information Literacy in Online Student Academic Organizations,” which appears in the December 2007 issue of College & Research Libraries News. Included in this article is a description of his popular online presentation, “Publishing Opportunities for Undergraduates.”
Information and Library Services is pleased to support UMUC students, faculty, and staff using innovative methods—such as working with student clubs—that extend beyond the traditional library setting. Our librarians are available to assist all members of the UMUC community—whether they are across campus or across the globe.
Faculty Corner
New FAC Representative for ILS
Reference and Instruction Librarian Ed O'Donnell has been elected to represent the library on the Faculty Advisory Committee. The role of FAC is to facilitate and enhance communication between the faculty of UMUC and the administration of the university. FAC advocates for faculty interests and endeavors to clarify faculty responsibilities within the university.
Information and Library Services provides library liaison services to UMUC faculty. We welcome the opportunity to work closely with faculty to provide tailored library services to individual classes, whether it be visiting your online or face-to-face class, assisting in adding information literacy components to specific course assignments or projects, or providing 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.
GSMT
Julie Arnold
Liaison to the Graduate School of Management and TechnologyCynthia Thomes
Liaison to the Graduate School of Management and TechnologySUS
Robert Miller
Liaison to Social, Behavioral, Natural, and Mathematical Sciences (SCIP)Ed O'Donnell
Liaison to Business and Management Studies (BUSN)Ryan Shepard
Liaison to Computer Information Systems and Technology (CITE)In addition, Elizabeth Mulherrin, SUS Academic Director, LIBS150, is liaison to SUS Communication, Arts, and Humanities.
As the Spring 2008 semester begins, Information and Library Services librarians look forward to working with you and your classes, either face-to-face or via Web WebTycho, in the provision of library resources instruction. The transferable skill building and concept understanding that librarians offer in these sessions provide 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, Assistant Director for Public Services, or Information and Library Services.
We look forward to working with you!
ILS Hours and Locations
Need to find us? Please visit Locations and Hours for more information.
McKeldin Library Office Hours
Research continues to be available to UMUC students, faculty, and staff in the ILS office in McKeldin Library, Room 6259 during the following hours:Saturday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday: Noon to 8 p.m.Appointments
An appointment may be made to meet with an ILS librarian in the ILS library at the Student Faculty Services Center, at McKeldin library, or at the Dorsey Station library at other times using our Request an Appointment form.