Contents
- From Kim Kelley
Electronic Resources- What's New!
Hot Sites
For Your Information...
Faculty Corner
- ILS Hours and Locations
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From Kim Kelley
Vice Provost
and Dean, Academic Resources and Services
Summer 2006 is here
and the library has many new resources and services to share with
you. In addition, we'll tell you more about UMUC's new printable student ID cards which you will use to access
library resources.
ILS has acquired
two new databases, Hoover's and ReferenceUSA. Hoover's and ReferenceUSA let you search
basic company information and select companies fitting multiple criterion
including location and size. In addition to these new databases,
there are also some exciting enhancements to many existing ILS databases, such
as Academic Search Premier and ABI/Inform. Take a look!
ILS is now offering
an exciting citation-management tool, RefWorks. This program allows you to create
and format reference lists, bibliographies, and in-text citations
in APA, MLA, and other popular citation styles automatically.
With Research Port, you can search databases
from multiple vendors through a single, customizable, Web-based
interface. Learn how to use it, and what it can do for you in this
issue of the newsletter.
On
a trial basis ILS is now offering reference service using Instant messaging (IM). You can interact in real time
with a UMUC reference librarian using AIM, Yahoo Messenger and
other instant messaging software.
This issue of the
newsletter also includes articles on "hot" computer technology resources, library tutorials, upcoming Breeze workshops, and a forthcoming CTL eBooks workshop this summer.
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.
Electronic Resources
Database Additions and
Enhancements
New Databases
Looking for information on a company or industry? ILS
now has two new databases that can help you complete your research!
Both are great resources for finding hard-to-find information on medium
or small public and private businesses, too.
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Hoover's
This database includes access to information
on a very large number of US and non-US public and private companies
in an easy-to-use interface. Depending on the company, data is
provided on company histories, key executives, products/operations,
subsidiaries/affiliates, industry information, competitors, news,
financial data and ratios, SEC filings, IPO alerts, and more.
E-mail alerts and a custom report builder that will help you
analyze financial data are also available.
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Need to do a market analysis on a particular
type of business within a targeted area of a city or town?
ReferenceUSA is just the database for you! This database
includes detailed information on a large number of U.S. businesses
and U.S. residents compiled from Yellow Page and White Page
telephone directories, corporate annual reports, SEC 10K
reports, Chamber of Commerce directories, state directories,
and other public information sources.
New features in familiar databases
Note: Before reading
about the following enhancements, see the list of EBSCOHost
and ProQuest databases to find out in which of our databases
you can try out these features.
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EBSCOHost Enhancements
Visual Search is an exciting new feature in our EBSCOHost
databases (Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premier,
or MasterFile Premier, for instance). Click on the Visual Search
tab in blue to enter in search terms. You will soon be presented
with a visual map of the search, which contains circles, or clustering,
of results and squares representing articles. Called "Grokking",
it is a fascinating way to view a search. Tell
us what you think!
-
ProQuest enhancements
Notice something new in our ProQuest databases
(ABI Inform, ProQuest Computing, or ProQuest Newspapers,
for instance)? Now when you do a search, topics will be suggested
for you in the yellow sidebar to the left. Try it - we think
you will find that the topics can help you with your research!
Also, My Research is available to help you save your articles,
searches, and publications in an e-mail or as a Web page
to review later on.
NetLibrary Acquisitions
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Recent NetLibrary eBook Acquisitions
View some our recent NetLibrary eBook acquisitions. We are continuing
to add to our collection of almost 13,000 titles!
Hot Sites... Computer
Technology Resources
Get the latest computer and technology news, help with
software and hardware problems, and definitions of computer terminology
from these computer and technology “hot sites.”
-
CNET
The latest computer and technology news and feature
articles, reviews of new products, tips and troubleshooting ideas
as well as downloads of many types of free software are available
here.
-
Help Site Computer
Manuals
Did you lose the manual for your computer
operating system or new software program? Don't despair;
this site has links to over 17,000 computer manuals
covering everything from Adobe to DOS. If you're
looking for an FAQ, a tutorial, a manual, or an official
or unofficial support site, this is the site for
you.
- PC World
Offers quick access to authoritative reviews of technology
products, the most current product pricing information, continuously
updated news, an extensive library of downloads including carefully
evaluated freeware and shareware, interactive tools, and free e-newsletters.
- TechWeb: TechEncyclopedia
Unsure of what that word means? This online
dictionary contains more than 20,000 definitions of computer terms
and concepts. The home page also lists the top ten terms for which
users searched.
For Your Information...
RefWorks
What if there were a tool to help you electronically
collect and manage your resources, such as articles, books, and Web
pages? What if this tool assembled and organized your citations in
a place where you could easily and quickly find them? And, what if
this tool automatically created bibliographies, footnotes, or in-text
citations in almost any output style and could easily reformat to
a different output style? Such a tool is now available through UMUC's
Information and Library Services…it's called RefWorks!
RefWorks is a Web-based citation management tool that
allows users to quickly create and automatically format reference
lists, bibliographies, and in-text citations in APA, MLA, and other
popular citation styles. After setting up a free personal account,
users can create citations and access their saved list of references
from any computer. Formatted in-text citations and reference
lists or bibliographies can be exported directly to Microsoft Word
or as HTML or RTF documents for inclusion in research papers. Citation
data can be imported from library databases, although certain other
data sources and citation format types will require that citation
elements be manually entered. While citations, especially those
entered manually, must be checked carefully for accuracy, RefWorks
simplifies the citation process greatly.
Additional information is available at the
library's RefWorks page.
We encourage you to register for a RefWorks account and try it out!
Please contact the library if
you have questions or need assistance using RefWorks.
Research Port
Information and Library Services is pleased to announce
the launch of Research Port, an innovative gateway to the library's
collection of subscription databases. Research Port allows users
to search databases from multiple vendors through a single, customizable,
Web-based interface. Up to eight databases can be searched
simultaneously, and results can easily be sorted, e-mailed or (once
a free personal account has been set up) saved indefinitely for
future reference. The collection of databases available through
Research Port can be searched by name, subject area, and vendor
to make targeting your search simple, and UMUC's “find it” link
will appear in your search results to insure that you receive the
full text of an article as quickly as possible. Some databases
in our collection are not currently compatible with Research Port,
but ILS is working with vendors to expand coverage as quickly as
possible. For more information and an online tutorial, please
see the library's Research
Port page.
Instant Message (IM) Reference
Over 310 million people
worldwide now use instant messaging software to stay in touch
with friends and coworkers every day, and now the UMUC community
can contact an ILS reference librarian using AIM, Yahoo Messenger,
and MSN Messenger IM software. Currently available on a
trial basis Monday through Friday from 1-5 pm 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.
Student
ID Cards
Starting in the summer of 2006, students must print
their UMUC student ID card from the MyUMUC student portal at https://my.umuc.edu. Students
will need a 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 summer 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” twice.
Captivate Tutorials
ILS, with the assistance of the Center for Media
and New Technology, has started work on an exciting new project
to offer Flash-based audio-visual tutorials to ILS patrons. These
new tutorials, using Macromedia Captivate, will replace earlier
ILS audio-visual tutorials, and new tutorials on topics such as
RefWorks, Accounting and Finance Resources, and Advanced Catalog
Searching will soon be released. View ILS' Navigating
UMUC's Virtual Library presentation in this new format!
Synchronous Online Workshops
Stay tuned to the library home page for announcements
of upcoming synchronous online workshops using Macromedia Breeze.
Starting this summer ILS plans to offer several hour long presentations
on how to get the most out of your library research. You will learn
searching tips that will make your research more productive. The
workshops will feature audio and you will have the opportunity
to ask questions. Announcements of upcoming workshops will be on
the library home page in the gold sidebar.
Faculty Corner
CTL eBooks Workshop
Read a good eBook lately? To learn more
about eBooks, register for eBooks: Access to Online Book Resources.
The workshop will be co-sponsored by the
Center for Teaching and Learning in mid-July. Learn to use UMUC's collection of almost
13,000 eBooks, locating useful titles and incorporating them
effectively into your course assignments. By the end of the workshop
you will be able to find information quickly within a text, bookmark
or highlight sections, take notes electronically, and more. Also
learn about free eBook resources on the Web. Join in a discussion
of cutting edge eBook trends
and what they may mean for you. There will be a live
Breeze presentation and discussion during the workshop. Enrollment
is limited, so sign up early when the link is available on the
CTL
Online Workshops page.
New Acquisitions
View a list of some of
our recent
acquisitions in distance education, adult education, assessment,
instruction, and instructional design. If you are in Adelphi, visit
ILS in SFSC 2255 and browse through our collection. If you would
like to borrow any of the books from the ILS collection, you can
request them in the library catalog.
Books can be picked up at one of the libraries of the University
System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions, if you live in
Maryland, or delivered by mail if you live outside Maryland within
the continental United States. If you live abroad, send us an e-mail for
information about borrowing these titles.
ILS Hours and Locations  Need
to find us? Please visit Locations and
Hours for more information.
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