| Scholarly E-Journals
Added
Polk Library has recently added
two electronic databases that provide access to important materials J-Stor: Journals On-Line In April, the University of Wisconsin System campuses gained access to a new online journal database called J-Stor. J-Stor is a non-profit effort to provide a "core" group of journals in the primary subject areas of Anthropology, Mathematics, Ecology, Economics, Philosophy, History, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science, with some coverage in Literature, African-American Studies, Higher Education, and Asian Studies. Our other online databases offer articles from the most recent years, none beginning before 1990. J-stor, however, offers full-image articles from older journals; its coverage will begin with Volume 1 of each journal, and include up to the most recent five years, in most cases. This is referred to as a "moving wall;" issues will be added to this coverage, but it is not planned to extend to current issues. Since these are "core journals," there is some duplication with Polk Library's print holdings. In addition, a few titles are also available from other online sources such as EBSCO and the Wilson databases, but for current articles only. A list of journals included is available online within J-Stor. Access to J-Stor is based on IP address, and therefore is currently available on-campus only. A link will be placed on Polk Library's reference Web page in the near future; in the meantime, you may connect directly to J-stor at: http://www.jstor.org Among the journals included in the database are: African American Review The database is searchable by article author, title or by words within the abstract or full-text. In addition, users may select a journal or group of journals within which to search. Beware when searching words in the abstract. Only ten percent of the articles have an abstract! Printing from J-Stor is more complicated than from most of the library's online databases. One must either download the appropriate software for the "J-stor printing" option, or use Adobe Acrobat software (also available at the J-Stor site). Funding for J-Stor was provided partly by the University of Wisconsin System, and partly by each campus library. The product was selected based on its carefully chosen list of core journals, and because of the non-profit nature of the project. Physics Journals On-Line A group of journals from the Institute of Physics is now available online, through a link from Polk Library's Web page, or directly at: http://www.iop.org/EJ/welcome This 3-year subscription was arranged by the University of Wisconsin System libraries to assist with access to journal articles in a discipline that has been hard-hit in recent years by periodical reductions in all UW libraries. The articles may be retrieved in full-text using specific software-"Adobe Acrobat," or "Gzipped PostScript." Among the 32 journals included in the subscription are: Journal of Optics (Parts A and
B) Library Hub Consortium Established Polk Library, along with three other University of Wisconsin libraries, has formed a consortium to centralize the operations of the new, Endeavor Voyager integrated library system. The member libraries are UW Green Bay, UW Oshkosh, UW Platteville and UW Superior. With the support and oversight of the UW System, the consortium members have contracted with the Division of Information Technology at UW Madison (DoIT) to serve as the centralized hub. Mutual member benefits include shared costs for hardware purchase, licensing and maintenance and DoIT expertise for monitoring and troubleshooting hardware and operational software. The costs for managing the hardware and operating system centrally are expected to reduce the overall costs of maintaining and operating four separate installations. By making the joint hardware purchase, the system will be more robust. This translates into less down time and faster processing. Placing our equipment at DoIT also assures continuous operation (24 x 7 x 365). Software and hardware performance will be continually monitored, and routine back-ups and maintenance can be scheduled when the system is least likely to be used. Each member library will maintain its separate bibliographic and patron databases and will continue to maintain its own calendar and circulation policies. With the increased functionality afforded by the client server model and increased telecommunications speeds, there should be no difference in speed or functionality from what would occur if the system were housed on campus. Polk Library's implementation process will begin in August. Current plans are to bring the new system into production December 1, 1999 so that an orderly transition from the KeyNOTIS system to the new Endeavor Voyager system can occur between the fall and spring semesters. Library Research From Home Ask yourself these questions: Do you have Web access from your home? Do you have a hankering in the middle of the night to retrieve an article from the Journal of Insurance Regulation? Do you need a full text article from last week's Washington Post? Would you love to do your CINAHL nursing research from home? Have you always wondered which library resources you can access from your off-campus computer? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you're a perfect candidate for requesting a list of our off-campus databases and passwords. Polk Library offers UW Oshkosh faculty, staff and students access to many databases from off campus. Many of these databases offer full text access to a wide variety of articles in a number of subject areas. Due to various licensing agreements, we're not doing a mass distribution of passwords. Instead, we have prepared a handout for you with a list of databases and passwords. To request this list, please email Sarah Neises (neises@uwosh.edu) or call 424-0401. A copy can be sent to you through campus mail or through email as a Microsoft Word attachment. One Lump or Two... Karen Dunn Call it a vice...or an attempt at consciousness raising...but I thoroughly enjoy the stimulation of a good cup of morning java--virtual and otherwise. With a latte in one hand, prepared kindly by the folks at the Toucan Cafe (shameless plug, my own), and keyboard at available fingertips, I proffer these sites for your morning contemplation. Arts and Letters Daily provides a healthy shot of book reviews, opinion pieces, research, and gossip on all themes near and dear to humanities scholars. Refreshed six days a week, this site can be uncovered and book-marked at: http://Cybereditions.com/aldaily/ In a similar vein, SciTech Daily, refreshed four days a week, serves the science core with an e-newsletter. Bookmark this site at: http://www.scitechdaily.com Meaty information regarding new publications in education can be sampled from Education Review: A Journal of Book Reviews at: http://tikkun.ed.asu.edu/edrev/ For a thoughtful accompaniment to your early editions, consider Newswatch: A Consumer's Guide to the News at: http://www.newswatch.org And, lest we forget the genesis of this web-sampling, skip on down to the Koffee Korner for 'everything you ever desired to know about coffee' and its lighter fare at: http://www.koffeekorner.com Library Budget Update Legislative hearings continue on Governor Thompson's proposed new funding for UW libraries. In his budget message, the Governor proposed a total of $7.3 million in new library funding for the 1999-2001 Biennium. These funds would be allocated to support print collections (books and journals), to acquire additional System-wide licenses for electronic databases and tools, and to provide a state-wide delivery system connecting all UW libraries and many additional public and private libraries. At hearings conducted by the Senate Higher Education Committee and the Joint Finance Committee, users have described the crucial role UW libraries play in the State's economic development and public life. Support for the new library funding appears strong. While the budget process can take unexpected turns, UW System at this time anticipates that the legislature will complete its budget review in June or July. Busy Year for Library Instruction As the spring semester winds down, most of the library instruction at Polk Library has come to an end. While the final numbers are not in, librarians taught over 200 class sessions this year. The classes ranged from a basic introduction to the library for English 101 students to specialized instruction on electronic resources for students in various departments such as education or nursing. Library instruction experienced a major improvement this year with the addition of the Hands-on Lab. If you haven't heard of our lab yet, the room consists of nineteen student computers and an instructor's workstation with controlling software. This software allows the instructor to send the presentation directly to the students' computers. The student computers can then be freed, letting the students immediately use what they have learned in the class. As students start their research in the lab, they are able to ask questions and get immediate help with particular resources. If you have any questions on library instruction, please contact Marisa Finkey, acting library instruction coordinator at 425-3436 Dictionary of Occupational Titles Replaced by Database The Dictionary of Occupational Titles is being replaced by a database called O*NET. The Dictionary of Occupational Titles or DOT, a publication created by the Department of Labor, is a well known reference source for occupational information that was used by personnel departments, vocational and career counselors and human resource managers since 1938. The new database, O*NET, which has been under development since 1990, was created by the Department of Labor to meet the challenges and new occupations of the information age. The DOT was created for a blue-collar society and included 12,741 occupations while O*NET includes information on 1,122 occupations. O*NET does not provide information on obscure occupations. However, it provides more detailed information on significant occupations that can be updated on a regular basis. Additionally, since it is in database format it allows the user to manipulate the information. For instance, one feature allows the user to type in academic areas that he/she excels in and matches that individual's potential strengths to specific occupations. The database should be a very useful and powerful tool for vocational and career counseling. The Government Documents Division of Polk Library has recently received a copy of the O*NET 98 CD-ROM along with a guidebook and data dictionary. The O*NET 98 database, its viewer software, the user guide and the data dictionary may also be downloaded free via the Internet. Visit the O*NET home page at: http://www.doleta.gov/programs/onet/ PEOPLE Karen Dunn reference librarian, created a web directory of library staff at UW System libraries. You can find it at http://www.uwosh.edu/library/directory. Karen also recently compiled a resource guide for the sexual harassment access group on campus. Paulette Feld, technical services/reference assistant, was the Awards Banquet Speaker at the 32nd annual Council of Library and Media Technicians conference, held in Detroit, April 8-9. She spoke on the conference theme, "Standing at the Crossroads". Paulette also chairs the Wisconsin Library Association's Membership Committee. William Knudson started as a temporary circulation assistant in August 1998. In January 1999, Bill was hired as library services assistant - senior. On April 21, Sarah Neises, reference librarian, gave two presentations on Internet resources to high school students and their faculty advisors at the NEWSPA (Northeast Wisconsin Scholastic Press Association) conference held on campus. Sarah has recently created a web page for UW Oshkosh's Diversity 2008 Committee and is serving on the Web Self Serve Work Group for the PeopleSoft project. Joshua Ranger, University Archives and Area Research Center librarian, is currently serving on an ad hoc university records management committee and the Advisory Committee to the Library of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin on Collection Development. Karen Reiter, technical services assistant, is serving as Chair-elect of the Wisconsin Library Association Support Staff Section. Karen is planning the group's programs for the 1999 WLA Annual Conference and will chair the section in 2000. Michael Watkins, head of government documents, gave a presentation at the 1999 Wisconsin Association of Academic Librarians conference in Madison on April 15. His topic was "Making Sense of the U.S. Census." Patrick Wilkinson, assistant library director for public services, co-presented with Thomas Kessler (University of Northern Iowa) at the 1999 Wisconsin Association of Academic Librarians on April 15. Their paper was entitled "Responsible Communication: Beyond Communication Techniques to Principled Managing of Library Organizations." Patrick was also recently elected to the Senate of the Academic Staff. Patrick
Wilkinson, Editor |