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New Library Catalog Coming The library's online catalog will have a new look next semester when a web based version becomes available. The new Voyager library system will feature a web interface making the online catalog similar in appearance and function to other library databases. During fall semester, library staff will be working behind the scenes to assure the conversion of nearly half a million bibliographic records from the NOTIS database to the new Voyager database. Please note. There will be a fairly short overlap period when both systems are operating. The transition from the old circulation system to the new is planned for December to mid- January. All books currently charged out on the KeyNOTIS system must be returned to the library to be checked-in on the KeyNOTIS database. Materials circulating for spring semester must be checked out on the new Voyager system. Further announcements will advise you when materials can be checked out for spring semester. Target Dates
Academic Universe from Lexis-Nexis © Polk Library now offers enhanced access to full-text articles from a wide variety of news, legal and other resources from the library's web pages. Academic Universe is a database that provides access to nearly 5,000 publications in full text, including newspapers, magazines and trade journals, federal and state court opinions and statutes, SEC filings, and wire services. News information is updated daily, and wire services information is updated several times daily. Categories of information available in Academic Universe include: >"News" for articles from newspapers,
wire services, magazines and journals, trade periodicals, and foreign
language news sources; Previously, library users had access only to a small group of newspaper articles online. Academic Universe will provide today's news from such newspapers as the New York Times, Boston Herald, Boston Globe, Dallas Chronicle, Toronto Star, Times (London), Miami Herald, and Los Angeles Times. In addition, finding the full text of court decisions will be much easier with Academic Universe. Researchers who are familiar with the background of a case may go to the appropriate section to look for a state or federal case; those who are less familiar may search by the name alone using the database's "Get a Case" search form. Additional resources uniquely available in Academic Universe include selected articles from campus newspapers, such as UW Oshkosh's Advance-Titan and Madison's Badger Herald; law and litigation letters; and foreign language news. The full text magazines and journals include such titles as Administrative Law Journal, Communications Week, Daily Variety, Crime and Justice, Journal of Business Research, and Modern Healthcare. Academic Universe is available on-campus to UW Oshkosh faculty, staff and students. Off Campus Access to Web Resources Did you know you could access a version of Sociological Abstracts online? Are you aware that you can access full text articles from such smaller newspapers such as The Chicago Citizen, Hispanic Times, and The Jewish Press through a service called Ethnic Newswatch? Did you know that you could access all of these things from your home or office? Don't soldier through a foot of Wisconsin snow this winter coming to the library! If you have access to the web from your home or office, please ask for a list of the library's off campus databases and passwords. We have an updated list available for all UW Oshkosh faculty, staff and students. Please be aware that the password to FirstSearch has changed. Find the new one in our password list. Due to vendor license restrictions, we don't do wide scale distribution of passwords. To request the password list, please email Sarah Neises (neises@uwosh.edu) or call 424-0401. A copy can be sent to you via campus mail or email as a MS Word 97 attachment. Library Budget Update The bad news is that the Legislature and Governor have not yet concluded work on the 1999-2001 Budget for the University of Wisconsin System. The good news is that during all discussions over the past seven months, Governor Thompson's original proposal to provide UW libraries with $7.3 million in new funding over the biennium has not been modified or reduced. So, whenever the budget process is completed, UW libraries will receive their first base budget increase for collections in ten years. When the budget process concludes, Polk Library will receive slightly more than $100,000 in new funding in 1999-2000 to support the library's collections (electronic and print). In addition to the new campus funds, more than $600,000 in additional funds will be centrally managed by UW System and used to purchase System-wide licenses for electronic resources. International Books Build Bridges If you're in the Polk Library lobby during October, take notice of the EMC's United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) display. The USBBY facilitates the international exchange of information about books and reading, and it promotes the reading of these books by young people. USBBY is a section of IBBY-International Board on Books for Young People. What is IBBY? It is an organization which promotes international understanding and world peace through translated children's books. These are children's books that were originally published in a foreign country and have been translated into English. The display contains information to help promote the USBBY's Third Regional Conference, Points of View, held on October 7-9, 1999 in Madison, Wisconsin. The October conference will offer a variety of different points of views on international children's books. In front of the USBBY display will be copies of the EMC bibliography International Children's Literature: Notable Titles for 1995-1999. The bibliography explores some of the many international and translated books held in the EMC's extensive collection. An additional resource on international children's books in Polk Library is the quarterly journal, Bookbird, published by IBBY. We sincerely hope you find the display informative and will consider checking out some fabulous children's and young adult international books. For more information go to the EMC homepage http://www.uwosh.edu/library/emc/ and look under News & Bibliographies. Citing Electronic Sources Karen Dunn Electronic information resources present new challenges for crediting source information. Visit the following web sites for examples of the Modern Language Association's (MLA) and the American Psychological Association's (APA) preferred style for electronic resources: MLA APA Census Mapping Software The Government Documents Division of Polk Library has purchased Census mapping software (CD-ROM) for the 1980 and 1990 census from the Geolytics company. The software allows users to create single layer maps using data from the two censuses. The 1980 CD-ROM has information available down to the Census tract while the 1990 CD-ROM's have it down to block statistics. There are predefined data sets that can be used to create maps and more advanced users can create custom data sets for mapping. Data can also be retrieved in tabular format and the software allows for time series analysis of the data. The 1980 CD-ROM is unique in that it allows electronic access to the 1980 Census information, which was previously only available in paper format. The software uses a windows type interface that is intuitive and user friendly. Reports generated can be used in papers and publications without copyright restriction. Maps and graphical images such as bar graphs and charts are in bitmap format. Polk library has a single user station license for a set of three CD-ROMS. Students or faculty who are interested in using this software can do so at the new computer stations in the government documents division of the library. If anyone is interested in having the software demonstrated to a class or group of students please contact Marisa Finkey, the Library Instruction Coordinator at 424-3436. Scheduled Building Hours September 8 - December 17, 1999
Please note. Specific areas and services may have shorter hours than the general library hours. Also, scheduled hours for holidays and intersessions will be posted separately. For more information on hours, check the schedules posted outside the library, pick up the handouts of hours available at Circulation and Reference, call 424-3320, or go to http://www.uwosh.edu/library/hours/home.html. How Students Use the Web Source: "On Line, Students Find Sex, Drugs, and More Than a Little Education, Survey Says," The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 14, 1999, p. A31.
Staff News Barbara Fahey, Jeanne Foley, Diane Urch and Patrick Wilkinson attended a two-day orientation in Chicago for the new Voyager library system. This orientation is the first official step in implementing the system later this year. Mary Luebke joined the Polk Library staff this month as a Library Services Assistant in Circulation. Mary received her BA in English from UW Oshkosh and has over 10 years of experience working at the circulation desks at Beaver Dam Community Library and Oshkosh Public Library. Nicole Roou joined the Polk Library staff in June as a half-time Educational Media Collection Assistant. Nicole has a BS in Science from UW LaCrosse and several years of professional teaching experience. In addition to her duties in Polk Library, she will be working towards a Masters in Educational Leadership and library/media certification from UW Oshkosh. Susan Wood, half-time reference assistant, is currently also doing fieldwork for the U.S. Census Bureau. As a Field Representative, Susan collects data in the area for numerous Census publications such as its censuses of business, manufacturing and government. In June Susan was also an instructor for the New York State Department of Corrections training seminar on Prison Law Libraries in Albany, NY. Patrick
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