February 2004, Issue 24
In This Issue:
Tell Us What You Think!
Coming Soon: New Search Technologies
Historical New York Times Online
Wireless Internet Access at Polk Library
Science Research Online at Science.gov
New and Improved EMC Website
Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database
Cuddle Up with a Book from the Browsing Room
Articles Online in ILLiad
Spotlight on Reference
Staff Highlights
Tell Us What You Think!
Patrick Wilkinson
wilkinso@uwosh.edu
Later this spring, Polk Library and 208 libraries around the world will be asking their patrons for assessments about the quality of library services on their campuses. These libraries will collect user opinion data in order to:
- "Foster a culture of excellence in providing library service”
- “ . . .Better understand user perceptions of library service quality”
- “Collect and interpret library user feedback systematically over time”
- “Provide. . .comparable assessment information from peer institutions”
- “Identify best practices in library service”
- “Enhance library staff. . .skills for interpreting and acting on data”
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) created a rigorously tested research instrument. It will be available for UW Oshkosh students, faculty, and staff to use in April. The survey is web-based and asks questions about core library services, user satisfaction, library use, and demographic data. The web form will send responses directly to ARL to ensure confidentiality. ARL will then provide Polk Library with a detailed analysis of data collected and how it compares to all libraries and peer libraries in the research group. UW libraries will get the proper Institutional Review Board clearances before conducting the survey.
Most UW libraries are participating in this year’s survey. Thus, the survey should provide information for UW libraries as a whole. There is an interesting mix of libraries represented in the 209 libraries that are taking part in the spring survey. There are major research libraries, such as University of Chicago, University of Texas at Austin, and UW Madison. There are libraries at comprehensive institutions, such as most of the libraries in the UW System, University of Minnesota at Mankato, and Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. Finally, there are international libraries, such as McGill University Libraries, Trinity College Library Dublin, and American University in Cairo.
In a world where information is growing yearly at a rate “ . . . equivalent in size to the information contained in half a million new libraries the size of the Library of Congress print collections” (http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/research/projects/how-much-info-2003/), it is important for academic libraries to make increasing efforts to discover what information students and faculty need and what services most effectively deliver that information.
When the survey is ready, you will be informed. Please participate! Your participation will help Polk Library improve its services.
Coming Soon: New Search Technologies
Sarah Neises
neises@uwosh.edu
On February 10th, several UW Oshkosh librarians went to Madison to attend a kick-off event for an exciting new set of research tools. The UW System has entered an agreement with the Ex Libris company to use two of their products, SFX and Metalib. These are designed to allow users to more easily navigate the complicated world of multiple databases and electronic article delivery.
One of the more complicated aspects of modern academic library research is the proliferation of article databases and the confusion about what resources Polk Library owns in which format. This is where SFX comes in. SFX is an acronym for “special effects”. The special effect, in the case of the new Ex Libris product, is the ability of the user to gain information about how an article is available. For example, if you are searching a database such as Ebsco Academic Search Elite and find that only an abstract is available, typically you would have to exit Academic Search to check Polk’s print holdings or to see if the full text is contained in another database. Since Polk Library has access to the full text of over 15,000 journals from over 40 different vendors, this can be time consuming and confusing. SFX aims to simplify this process. When SFX is implemented, you will see a customized button in, for example, the Ebsco interface. When you click the SFX button, a window will pop up that will allow you to see more options for the article you desire. Available options are likely to include:
- A link to the full text in another Polk Library database
- A link to check the Polk Library catalog for the journal
- A link to submit an Interlibrary Loan request for the item
- Eventually, a link to a document delivery service
More options are likely to be available when we roll this product out. The goal with SFX is to streamline the route you need to take to a specific article.
The Metalib part of the Ex Libris product provides one interface to search our online databases and library catalog at the same time. The goal with Metalib is to provide users a simple search box that will allow users to search across a multitude of databases. For example, we will be able to configure a list of databases in a subject area such as Psychology, and we will likely be able to set up databases such as PsycInfo, Academic Search Elite, and Social Science Full Text to be searched simultaneously. Users will also be able to customize a list of their favorite databases in an area called “My Resource List”, and you will be able to search within your chosen set of databases. The ability for databases to be searched in Metalib depends on the database vendor’s design, so some resources may be ineligible to be “meta-searched”.
Polk Library staff will be receiving training in the implementation of the Ex Libris products in February and March. We expect this to be a labor-intensive implementation that will involve many different Polk Library staff in both technical services and public services. We will be re-designing the library web pages this summer to better accommodate this new set of tools. We hope this innovation will help our faculty and students more easily navigate the complicated world of electronic article databases and article delivery.
Historical New York Times Online
Cynthia Huebschen
huebschc@uwosh.edu
Polk Library has recently subscribed to an exciting and valuable new database: ProQuest Historical Newspapers: New York Times. This online product offers full-image articles for the New York Times from its first issue in 1851 to 2001.
The entire newspaper was digitized, so users can view articles, photos, editorials, obituaries, letters to the editor, birth and marriage announcements, stock tables, and even advertisements. It is possible to view an article by itself or to see it in its original placement on the full page of the newspaper. The database is searchable by keyword or phrase, date, author, or type of article (front page only, review, display ad, editorial article or cartoon, stock quote, letter, obituary, weather, etc.). Users may quickly browse pages of the newspaper using “page map,” then read the page or article using the higher-quality “page image.” In many cases the image quality is enhanced to display more clearly than the original microfilm copy.
To print articles, it is necessary to use the Adobe Acrobat print options (ProQuest recommends using Adobe Acrobat Reader 5 or higher). Within Adobe Acrobat, it is possible to increase or decrease the size of the article to fit the page, such as “Expand small pages to paper size,” or “Shrink oversized pages to paper size,” or “Snapshot Tool” if the document is significantly larger than your paper size. The following Web site gives some instructions on using Adobe Acrobat to print from Historical Newspapers: http://training.proquest.com/trc/faq/hnp.htm . As with other ProQuest databases, such as ABI Inform or CINAHL, you will need to have “cookies” enabled on your computer for the database to work properly.
Polk Library will offer links to the Historical New York Times under “History” and other subjects on our “Find Articles by Subject” page (http://www.uwosh.edu/library/web.html) . Please check out this new product and discover for yourself its possibilities for use in your classes!
Wireless Internet Access at Polk Library
Renee Sengele
sengele@uwosh.edu
Laptop users: wireless Internet access is now available in Polk Library! The wireless signal is strongest near the access points on 1st and 3rd floors north and south, but the signal should be available to laptop users on all three floors of the building. You will need a UW Oshkosh wireless account to log in with your laptop.
To set up a wireless account, please stop by the Academic Computing Help Desk, Dempsey 307, to fill out a request form. For wireless card specifications or other questions, you may call the Academic Computing Help Desk at 424-3020 or email them at acshelp@uwosh.edu.
Science Research Online at Science.gov
Mike Watkins
watkins@uwosh.edu
A database which allows users to search for scientific information released by government agencies has been made available for public access. The site, Science.gov, is available at http://www.science.gov/. The producers of the information on Science.gov include seventeen scientific and technical information providers (such as the National Agricultural Library and the National Institutes of Health) from twelve government agencies (including the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration). Much of the information found through this resource is freely available full-text via the Web. Be aware, however, that some of the information is provided by the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), which provides abstracts of reports but charges a fee for obtaining the full text of the report indexed.
The search engine provided on the Science.gov home page can search across a number of databases of scientific information, which include selected, authoritative web sites and databases of technical reports, journal articles, conference proceedings, and other published information. The web sites are also broken down and indexed under topical headings, such as Energy & Energy Conservation and Health & Medicine. At the bottom of the main page, there is a section of "featured web sites" which includes links to individual topics of current interest, such as mad cow disease, as well as a "hot topics" section, including links on subjects such as the current Mars probes and the Wright Brothers' first flight centennial.
New and Improved EMC Website
Stephen Katz
katz@uwosh.edu
The Educational Media Collection’s (EMC) website has new content and a new look. It is geared toward helping education students with course assignments and projects. It will also prove to be helpful to students as they enter into the student teaching phase of their education. Website features include:
- quality lesson plan sites specific to subject area
- resources for finding reviews of children’s and young adult literature
- bibliographies of children’s and young adult literature
- databases which will generate customized reading lists
- standards for all subject areas in Wisconsin and throughout the country
- sites which offer in-depth statistical information about education in the U.S. and abroad
- list of major children’s and young adult book awards
- teacher certification requirements for each state
- best places to go for clip-art for educators
- links to education databases, such as ERIC and Education Full Text
- a link to the library catalog
Check out the new EMC website at http://www.uwosh.edu/library/emc/.
Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database
Cynthia Huebschen
huebschc@uwosh.edu
Polk Library is trying out a new subscription which we hope will be helpful to the many classes in which students have assignments to research children’s literature. The database is Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database, which began in 1993 as a newsletter of book reviews intended to “guide adults in choosing quality books for children of all ages”. The database contains more than 900,000 records of books and some a/v material published since the early 1900s, and some records, images and artwork from the 1800s or earlier. Some of these records will include full-text book reviews from periodicals like Booklist, The ALAN Review, Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, Children’s Literature Association Quarterly, CCBC Choices, Media and Methods, and Science Books and Films.
Users may create lists of titles to browse or construct a search using any of 20 or more criteria, including category (fiction or non-fiction), genre (atlas, dictionary, biography, fantasy, horror, sports, folklore, etc.), age of the reader, language, publisher, publishing date, subject headings, title, author or illustrator, and others. The database includes lists of award-winning books (Newbery, Caldecott Medal, Laura Ingalls Wilder award, Coretta Scott King Awards, Carnegie Medal, etc.) and also lists of “best children’s books” published by the National Conference of Teachers of English, National Science Teachers Association, International Reading Association, School Library Journal, and others.
Each book record will include author, title, publisher, illustrator, date of publication, subject terms, annotations, and “Reading Measurement Programs” such as Accelerated Reader points, Interest Level, and Book Level. If reviews are available, they will appear on the record, along with any related Web site links (including frequent links to the Library of Congress).
Polk Library will offer links to this database from the “Education” section under “Find Articles by Subject” (http://www.uwosh.edu/library/web.html) and from the EMC Web page (http://www.uwosh.edu/library/emc/). Access is available from off campus.
Cuddle Up with a Book from the Browsing Room
Amanda Swaw
Student Coordinator, Browsing Room
With the holidays officially over, our New Year’s resolutions are in full swing. Everyone is eating healthier, working harder, and studying more. With this in mind, I recommend reading something enjoyable, a guilty pleasure without the guilt. So, grab a quilt, get some hot cocoa and enjoy one of these good books, all available in the Polk Library Browsing Room.
- Mad About Mia, by Millie Criswell
- Mr. Paradise, by Elmore Leonard
- Divided in Death, by J.D. Robb
- The Man in My Basement, by Walter Mosley
- Odd Thomas, by Dean Koontz
- Rape: A Love Story, by Joyce Carol Oates
- Time’s Eye, by Arthur C. Clarke & Stephen Baxter
- The New American Splendor Anthology, by Harvey Pekar
Articles Online in ILLiad
Erin Czech
czeche@uwosh.edu
An enhancement was added to the Interlibrary Loan system (ILLiad) in early January that some of you have already noticed. We now have the capability of receiving and delivering requested articles to you electronically. You can log in to the ILLiad system using the link in the email message sent to your campus account, or from the Polk Library home page. Click on the button marked “View/Download Electronically Received Articles” to access the electronic documents you have received. They will be available for 30 days for viewing, printing or downloading.
Not all articles will be received electronically, as some of our lending partners do not yet have the ability to send electronically, so you may continue to receive photocopies. But look for those electronic documents to arrive more quickly than the photocopies, so you can tackle your research that much sooner!
Spotlight on Reference
Renee Sengele
sengele@uwosh.edu
Fashion, Costume, and Culture Ref. GT 511 .P46 2004 v.1-5
Subtitled “Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and Footwear through the Ages”, this five-volume set provides historical and cultural information about fashion trends around the world, ranging from the ancient world to the twenty-first century. Entries include information about togas, fez caps, saris, high heeled shoes, sideburns, and mood rings. Each time period also includes an introductory section summarizing some of the influential people and events in fashion, and every entry includes citations to books and articles for further research.
Staff Highlights
Crystal Buss was hired in January 2004 as the new Night/Weekend Student Supervisor & Building Security Staff. Crystal graduated from UW Oshkosh in May 2003 and previously worked for four years at Polk Library as a student employee in the circulation department. She will be responsible for the evening supervision of the library building and collections, as well as assisting with electronic and traditional reserve materials. Welcome, Crystal!
Polk Library News is a publication of Forrest R. Polk Library, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.
Renee Sengele, editor (sengele@uwosh.edu) 920-424-7331
Patrick Wilkinson, Director, Polk Library (wilkinso@uwosh.edu) 920-424-2147