Input Requested - Library Links in Pipeline

Mayo posted about this in September, and I am renewing the request for input while I wait for an answer from ITD about who can make this change happen:

The library links in the Pipeline "MTSU Info" tab are outdated. We have six spaces in the current design. What do you think these links should be?

Current links are

• Voyager Library Catalog
• InfoTrac
• LexisNexis
• Britannica Online
• Research Gateway
• Library Home Page

-K. West

Sign up for a LexisNexis webinar on the new interface

Please sign up for a webinar that is convenient for you. ~Mary Ellen

Dear Colleagues,
Below is a list of upcoming webinars on the new interface of LexisNexis Academic. Please sign up to attend one at:
http://www.lexisnexis.com/academicwebseminars/

Monday, December 14, 2:00 p.m. (EST)
Tuesday, December 29, 12 Noon (EST)
Monday, January 4, 2:00 p.m. (EST)
Tuesday, January 5, 4:00 p.m. (EST)
Wednesday, January 6, 12 Noon (EST)
Wednesday, January 6, 2:00 p.m. (EST)
Monday, January 11, 2:00 p.m. (EST)
Tuesday, January 12, 12 Noon (EST)
Tuesday, January 12, 2:00 p.m. (EST)
Tuesday, January 12, 4:00 p.m. (EST)
Tuesday, January 19, 12 Noon (EST)
Thank you and have a great day!
Lynn Smith

Earnrolyn "Lynn" Smith, J.D., MILS
Information Professional Consultant
earnrolyn.smith@lexisnexis.com
LexisNexis Academic & Library Solutions
www.lexisnexis.com/academic
(314) 773-4649

From LexisNexis Academic ListServ regarding new interface

Alistair Morrison:

Dear Colleagues,

Here are my quick answers to the questions about the LexisNexis Academic interface enhancements posted by Kerrie Wilkes and Mary Ellen Pozzebon today. We are still on schedule to release the ungraded interface over winter break. Our target date is now January 8, 2010. Once the release occurs, you will no longer have access to the old interface. All URLs related to LexisNexis will redirect to the new interface. If you have durable URLs pointing to specific documents or titles, they will continue to work but will display in the new interface.

Kerrie’s observation about the use of the old Source Directory and other features in the new interface is absolutely correct. The underlying platform of LexisNexis Academic is not changing. The enhancements we are releasing are limited to adding or improving the design of search forms and replacing the site navigation system. The Source Directory taps into some core functionality of the underlying platform and so we are simply retaining it. We are also retaining the results lists display and clustering. The search forms for Company Dossier and Shepard’s are also in the old style because of the way that these forms need to interact with the Shepard’s and Dossier services.

I will be posting a more formal announcement of the release in the next couple of days and asking you help us get the word out by forwarding it to colleagues who do not follow this listserv.

Best regards,

Alistair


Alistair Morrison, MA, MLS

Product Manager

LexisNexis Academic & Library Solutions
7500 Old Georgetown Road, Suite 1300

Bethesda MD 20814

Telephone: 301-951-4529 | Switchboard: 800-638-8380 | Fax: 301-652-1273
Email: alistair.morrison@lexisnexis.com
Website: http://academic.lexisnexis.com


From: LN Academic list [mailto:ACADEMIC-LIST@LISTS.LNACADEMIC.COM] On Behalf Of Kerrie Wilkes

I actually have a more basic question about the new interface. I was going through the beta and noticed that if you click on certain sections (ex. The Sources link) it is still structured in the “old interface” of files and folders, and is still red and white and not blue like the new beta shows. Is this simply because the beta doesn’t reflect the whole change? Or will the new interface have elements of the old interface as well.

Thanks. -Kerrie


From: LN Academic list [mailto:ACADEMIC-LIST@LISTS.LNACADEMIC.COM] On Behalf Of Mary Ellen Pozzebon

I'm just wondering when the new interface will replace the current one. Thanks.

SAILS doorprizes

We're giving away ten prizes to randomly selected students who took the SAILS test. I notified the winners today (Monday, 12/7) via email, and they are supposed to email me back to tell me if they want a water bottle or t-shirt. I am then instructing them to pick up their prizes at the Service Desk. Until they reply/specify, I am keeping the prizes in my office.

If there are questions, please send them my way. Thanks!

-- Jason

Network Outages in December

There are three significant scheduled downtimes in December that will affect services delivered by the Information Technology Division. The first is scheduled for December 22, 2009, from 5 PM to midnight, to accommodate necessary electrical work. All central services, to include but not limited to Banner, RaiderNet, email, PipelineMT, and Internet and network access, will be affected.

The second is scheduled for December 28, 2009, from 8 AM to noon. RaiderNet, email, MT$ource, off-campus library access, wireless and Residence Hall networks, and other systems relying on PipelineMT credentials for access will be unavailable.

The third is scheduled for December 28, 2009, beginning at noon and extending through 5 PM December 30, 2009. During this time PipelineMT and RaiderNet will be unavailable.

Help for that Country Assignment

Might be too late, but I noticed some of the December Tenn-Share trials might be good for the international business assignment. Here's the info from the newsletter:

World Trade Press, a publisher of informational and educational products focusing on international trade, logistics, and country data, is offering free trials for the following resources:

Global Road Warrior: With in-depth coverage on 175 countries, Global Road Warrior is a comprehensive cultural, business, and travel database. From cultural stereotypes and superstitions, to social and business etiquette, to women's role in society - everything from dating rituals, holidays and festivals, to classic recipes for each country, and visa and passport information - Global Road Warrior provides a wide array of country information, all accessible in a fast, well-designed format. Users find it helpful for college reports, school
projects, business research, travel planning, or simply satisfying their curiosity.
Free Trial Access:
www.globalroadwarrior.com
Username: grwr
Password for Dec: india

AtoZ Maps Online includes modern outline, political, thematic, topographic, scientific and animated maps, as well as tens of thousands of antique maps of the world, individual countries, U.S. states, and U.S. towns and cities, in an array of digital formats unavailable anywhere else, which are especially useful for genealogical research. Additional features include country and state flag images and icons, geography crossword puzzles, geography
lesson plans, interactive geography games, and 14 geography, cartography, earth science and other glossaries. The database also contains the entire USGS 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle series for the United States in a variety of digital formats.
Free Trial Access:
www.atozmapsonline.com
Username: az
Password for Dec: milan

World Trade Ref is the ultimate resource on international trade. It provides comprehensive, detailed coverage of the whole range of tools required for importing or exporting products or services to or from all the countries of the world.
Free Trial Access:
www.WorldTradeRef.com
Username: wtr
Password for Dec: yen


I wonder if Global Road Warrior is good enough to update Craighead's which is no longer published in print.

-K. West

Recently Returned Items

As we near the end of the semester, just a reminder about items in Voyager with a Recently Returned status. If an item was returned within the last few hours, it may not be on the shelf yet (depends on how busy Circulation is and how many people decided to return things at the exact same time).

It is good practice, before sending a student upstairs, to note the time returned and explain possible scenarios to the student. I believe it is Circulation's practice to not look for a recently returned item, so be careful about what you send students to them to ask.

BTW, if you know what you're doing (!), Circ seems to appreciate shelving help during exam week. It's a nice way to feel you've accomplished something while still being able to procrastinate.

-Kristen W.

Health and Business Information websites

At Datafest this year there were presentations on free resources. The health and business resources seemed particularly good, so I had my student assistant create two internet guides.
You can find links to Business Information Websites and Health Information Websites in the 'Internet Guides' category on the Business, Management, and Marketing and Nursing subject guides respectively.

Share button on Databases A-Z

I added a share button on Databases A-Z as a test.
Let me know what you think about the format and placement.

Project Muse low usage

Usage of Project Muse in 08/09 was abysmal. It's costing nearly $2 per session. I see in LibData that it only appears in the 'Find Articles in Other Databases' category.

Are there any subject guides where it could be moved to 'Best Sources for this Subject'? Are there other subject guides it can be added to? It appears on:

African American Studies
Anthropology
English Language and Literature
History
Mathematical Sciences
Music
Philosophy
Political Science
Social Work
Sociology
Speech and Theatre
Theatre and Dance
Women's Studies

Any other ideas? Thanks for your help in promoting this and other resources that may be of use to our patrons.

Faxing at Linebaugh

May not help someone without wheels, but I noticed that Linebaugh Library offers public fax service ($1.50 a page). This might be an option for students asking about fax machines when Phillips Bookstore is closed.

-Kristen

MTSU Students at Linebaugh

In case you don't know, MTSU students are eligible for a borrower's card at Linebaugh Library, regardless of where they live. Students should apply for a card in person and take their driver's license or other federal ID and their MTSU student ID. No proof of residence is necessary.

-Kristen W.

Serving International Students at the Reference Desk

Sue A. found a very useful resource on the special challenges of international students in the library and how we can help them. It is located at http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~cosentin/stress.htm

ILLiad is Down

ILLiad is currently inaccessible. Users trying to log in receive an error message that the "username is not in the database." The problem appears to be an LDAP authentication issue on MTSU's end, and it will be fixed as soon as possible.

Users need to wait until ILLiad is working before they make ILL requests. Please do not send users to ILL with a hard copy of requests--we don't have the resources to manually enter requests for patrons.

Pam suggested telling patrons to try again on Thursday morning.

-Kristen W.

Journal Locator problems

Two people have reported occasional journal locator problems. Serials Soutions says that they're not aware of any problems.
If you experience any difficulties, try to get a screen shot and I will forward it to Serials Solutions.
Thanks.

Web of Knowledge

There is now a separate resource that searches all of the Web of Knowledge databases at the same time. It's available on Databases A-Z for now.
If you would like it placed elsewhere, please let me know.

SciFinder Scholar web & client versions

The links to SciFinder Scholar on both Databases A-Z and the Chemistry page now go the web version because the client version is being phased out.
The only way to get to the client instructions is on the SciFinder scholar Database details page.

Problem reporting

While Beverly is away, you can report Journal Locator problems to me. I will trouble-shoot the issue and forward journal access problems to Nan for resolution.
As a general rule, Journal Locator and Journal MARC record problems are reported to Beverly. Article Linker and general electronic resource problems are reported to me.
~Mary Ellen

Worldcat Local Beta Site

We have a no-cost version of Worldcat Local because of our subscription to Firstsearch. Mayo, Mary Ellen, Ken and Jackie have looked at the site and spent some time configuring the set up. We have it to the point that we would like input from Reference Librarians about its strengths, drawbacks and possible uses. You can get to it either of two ways: Direct web link:

http://mtsu.worldcat.org/

A search box that can be used in Libdata or placed on webpages: http://library.mtsu.edu/libdata/page.phtml?page_id=76

If you get a chance to play with it please post comments here.

Thanks, Mayo

Rittenhouse Nursing Library discontinued

Rittenhouse has been discontinued.

Express Printing Stations

Effective today (9/22), the four stand-up PC stations nearest the ref desk are going to be "Express Printing Stations." Each workstation will have a 10-minute limit (though this is apparently going to be "self-enforced" and the computers won't time-out on the patron). These four PCs will not have the full versions of Word, Ppt, Excel, etc., but will have Word Viewer, Ppt Viewer, Acrobat viewer, etc., so that people can pull up their files and print them. Mike is going to make signs after they finish configuring the PCs.

- Jason

SAILS log-ins at the ref desk

Selected Univ 1010 classes are participating in an online exam called SAILS (Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills) that will help us understand their level of research skills.

We've been getting some SAILS stragglers who didn't come to the library with their University 1010 classes but need to take the exam.

I've put a few extra log-ins at the reference desk (by the password binder) in a manilla envelope for these students. If asked for a SAILS log-in, please ask them to read the "Introductory Script" (a brown piece of paper, also in the envelope) before handing it out. This is part of our IRB-mandated "informed consent" so that the student understands what they are getting into.

Questions? Refer the person to me at jvance@mtsu.edu or ext. 7871. I can email them a log-in if it's after hours and I'm not here. Thanks -- Jason

Biology 1111 Finding Research Articles

If you've walked through Periodicals or Reference, you probably know that Biology 1111 students are here looking for 5 online articles and 5 print articles.

Just a reminder that Jason (and others) figured out that if you use Biological and Agricultural Index Plus or another Wilson database, you can use the "Library Owns?" link to quickly see if the print journal is available.

One student and I had a devil of a time tonight finding five articles that were actually on the shelf (or in the copy room or on the Periodicals counter...). We ended up taking one relevant article and scanning its reference list for other journals we knew were available in print (Proceedings of the National Academy is a good one). I think it was as fast as the hit or miss database search.

Other suggestions to help lesson the confusion? Please chime in.

-Kristen W.

Laptop access at MTSU

Having problems connnecting your laptop on Campus? Here are a few items that may be helpful in correcting your problems:

1. If you are running a 64 bit operating system, you need to go to ITD for assistance.

2. You must uninstall any peer-to-peer (P2P) software, such as Limewire, FrostWire, Kazaa etc. If you do not uninstall the P2P software, you will not be allowed to access the MTSU Wireless network. If you have any questions in regards to this, contact ITD at 898-5345.

3. Next you need to "register" your laptop with Campus. How do you do this? Simple, open a browser page to MTSU's home page (http://www.mtsu.edu/). From this point you will be redirected to the registration page. ITD has provided a short tutorial to step you through this process. You can find a link to it at: http://library.mtsu.edu/information/computing/laptop.php

4. During this process your computer will be checked to insure it meets the minimum requirements to access the MTSU wireless network. If you do not have an anti-virus program, you will be redirected to a free version of Trend-Micro anti-virus. If you do not wish to use this program, you may purchase another brand or download one of the free versions. Word of caution, there are several "fake" anti-virus programs on the web, so be careful what you download. One safe site is http://free.avg.com/

5. You should also ensure that your MS criticals are up to date. You can do that by doing a Windows Update (click on Start, go to All programs, select "Windows Update" then follow the on screen instructions.) If you are uncertain or need assistance, check in the EIC for a Student Technology Assistant to assist you.

6. Once you fill in all the required information it will step you through the process of loading the EnTeraSys client. No error messages, then your done.

7. If you recieve an error: "max number of remediation attempts has been exceeded", you will need to go to ITD (BAS after 16:30 / 4:30pm) to unlock your account.

Posted: 14 Sep 09
By: Ol' Sarge

Biology 3230 Resources

There's a booktruck of biological literature, including some current and past periodicals and some reference titles, near the Reference Desk. These are items I used in a Biology 3230 class Monday morning and will use again on Tuesday evening.

I don't want the items completely out of circulation for that long, and there are too many to reshelve and repull.

-Kristen W.

Off Campus Access to Library Databases

I received two reference desk phone calls this week in which students could not access library databases from off campus. In both cases, when the student clicked on a database link, Internet Explorer displayed an error saying it could not display the page, rather than displaying the ezproxy authentication page. One student was calling from work, and one from her office at Volunteer State.

The problem may be related to security firewalls and the https://ezproxy.mtsu.edu:3443/login?url= ezproxy prefix.

Perhaps we will need to back off using this ezproxy prefix universally. If you hear other reports of the same situation, please let Mary Ellen know, or post a comment here.

The workaround David suggested to me today is to have the student go directly to the authentication page at http://ezproxy.mtsu.edu/login . Once the student logs in, the http://ezproxy.mtsu.edu/menu/ page will display, and this page has a list of available databases from which to choose.

This is by no means a perfect alternative, and I would not tell a student to do this without first finding out what database she needs and trying it myself. It worked beautifully today for the student who needed to access MLA International Bibliography, but the list of resources on the menu page is long and confusing, and not every link leads where you expect it to.

-Kristen W.

CourseLib Stuff

For those using and creating CourseLib pages:

1) I am working through each of the LibData resources created for a CourseLib page and standardizing the naming convention to Course Page: SUBJ 1000. If necessary, I'm adding an instructor or course name behind the course number. If all the resources start with the same naming convention, it makes them easier to find in a global query. I'm not changing any CourseLib pages themselves.

2) I usually add a link to Reference Desk info or Need Help? at the bottom of my course page. If you want to do so, you can add your own text item to your page, or now you can add the Need Help? LibData resource to your page instead of creating your own text. The resource displays like this:

Need Help?
Ask library questions by phone, email, text, or IM.


-Kristen W.

Need New Info in Pipeline

The links that are provided in Pipeline under the "MTSU Info" tag are completely out of date. The Voyager link is still valid but all of the database links point to pages from our old website. So, we need to figure out how to get that changed but first we need to decide what resources we would like to have listed there. We have 5 spaces plus the Voyager space in the current design.

Nominations?

Mayo

ps - Links currently displayed are Voyager Library Catalog, InfoTrac, LexisNexis, Britannica Online, Research Gateway, Library Home Page

JSTOR Use Agreement

JSTOR has begun using a pop-up agreement when a patron clicks on a PDF. I have checked with the Contracts office about this and was told it's ok to agree to this click-through.
It is inconvenient, however, so I'm going to complain to JSTOR about it anyway.

Three new digital collections

Three new Adam Matthew Digital Collections are now available. The subject guides they're available on are listed below:

Everyday Life & Women in America, c1800-1920

History
Women's Studies

The Nixon Years, 1969-1974

History
Political Science

Slavery, Abolition and Social Justice, 1490-2007

African American Studies
History

New LexisNexis interface

The beta release is at: https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic/
It will likely be released in late December.

Music Research

Just a reminder that the MTSU Music Librarian, Sarah Brown, is available to help students with research questions if we're stumped.

Music Bibliography students are working on a series of assignments right now. Sarah is happy to help us interpret the assignment if we get questions--she is teaching the library instruction sessions for these classes.

Sarah Brown, Howard Music Library, sbrown [at] mtsu [dot] edu, 898-2751

-Kristen W.

MARC records for Electronic Resources

In the past the cataloging department has created a new Location in the OPAC for each Electronic Resources collection for which book-level MARC records were loaded. Due to the growing number of MARC records available from vendors and to enhance resource discovery, book-level electronic resources records will now be cataloged with the location "Internet" and the call number "Electronic Resource". NetLibrary records will retain their own Location.
You may search for records from a specific collection by doing a keyword search for the collection name, e.g. 'Gale Virtual Reference Library'. Records that were previously cataloged with a specific collection location will be modified as time permits.

Guest Passwords Redux

Due to a technical glitch regarding Alumni access to the Library's public computers, starting immediately, the Service Desk will resume issuing Guest Logins to non-MTSU library users who wish to use the computers. This means they will be able to print again.

Additionally, the Service Desk will also be giving out a login and password for non-MTSU affiliates who bring a laptop and want to access the wireless network. There will be no printing capabilities through this login/password. Also, this is a static login/password and will not change daily as does the Guest Login.Questions, comments, concerns, let me know!

Thanks!
C

Hall of Shame

Students may contact the desk looking for a two-part article, "The Physical Education Hall of Shame," from the journal JOPERD. Journal Locator will find JOPERD if the student has that as the name--its full name is The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance. Part I of the article is in print in Periodicals (Aug 92). Part II is online (Feb 94).

Now that I've posted this, no one will have any trouble finding this, but I didn't want Amy's groundwork to go to naught.

-KW

Access to some Government Documents interrupted

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: GPO resources
Date: Thu, 03 Sep 2009 08:38:03 -0500
From: Beverly Geckle


Thought I should update User Services about this.

Links to electronic government documents may not be functioning for awhile. On August 24th "the PURL server suffered a significant hardware failure." According to GPO no data has been lost, but restoring the system is taking time.

On a related note, GPO has been working toward migrating from GPO Access to FDsys a more modern system (from what I understand.) Here is a link to FDsys http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/home.action

Beverly
--

Article Search Tab

Many thanks to all who were involved in the discussions and implementation of the federated search option that is now available under the article search tab on the Library's home page. In hindsight, I recognize now that it would have been prudent for me to suggest we test this out before I asked Bako to make it go live. However, (and unfortunately), I am showcasing my ignorance with the complexities of this, but I really had no idea that there were so many options available to us for customizing how we want this to search our EBSCO databases. :-)

Please check out this link to see the myriad options we have:
http://supportforms.epnet.com/eit/searchboxbuilder/

Also, please have a look at the article search tab and let me know what you think and any suggestions you have. I will compile them into a list and share with everyone. I know we are all slammed, but if you could let me know your suggestions just as soon as you can, I would be most appreciative.

Thanks....
C

Recreational Computer Use on Public Computers

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Recreational Computer Use on Public Computers -- Please Read
Date: Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:56:08 -0500
From: Christy Groves
To: usall@ulibnet.mtsu.edu, lduke@mtsu.edu


Hello everyone.
The Administrative Office has asked that those working at the Reference desk serve as a back up for the following situation:

Because our computers are so very busy at the moment, the EIC student assistant on duty is now to be vigilant of students seeking a computer and unable to find an open one. For only the computers in the EIC lab, the EIC assistant is to help students unable to find an open computer get access to one. They are to discreetly search the area and locate someone using a computer for non academic use. Granted, this is quite subjective and may be difficult to determine. However, they are to try to find someone obviously surfing, shopping, gaming, etc. and gently ask them to relocate to a computer on one of the upper floors or to one of the stand up terminals by the Reference Desk, stating that the computers in the EIC lab are to be used for research and study activities.

The computers on the upper floors can be used for research or non academic use, just he same as always. The EIC students do not have to be vigilant of non academic use of the computers in the upper floors.

Again, the Admin Office has asked that those working at the Ref desk serve as a back up for the EIC student should such a need arise. As always, if the situation becomes even more problematic or if the user becomes in any way confrontational, we can contact the Service Desk for further help.

Hopefully, this situation will settle down soon.

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, concerns, etc.

Thanks!
C

Office Hours for Ginny and Rachel

Per Sharon, Ginny and Rachel are teaching sections of U1010 and may have students looking for their offices for office hours.
-Mary Ellen

More on IM

One other IM reminder:

If you minimize the Buddy List instead of closing it, Pidgin WILL NOT POP UP A MESSAGE WINDOW in front of your other work when a question is asked, it will only subtly flash at you from the Windows Taskbar at the bottom of the screen. So, this is one instance where you should click the Red X, unless you're OK with the subtle flash.

Sorry to yell, but I want to make sure everyone realizes this. I don't yell very often, so I hope you'll forgive me in this instance.

-Kristen W.

IM Reminder

Don't forget that Pidgin is available on Ref1 and on Ref2, allowing for twice the IM fun at one low price.

Ref1 should log in to mtsulib1@libraryh3lp.com/Home

Ref2 should log in to mtsulib2@libraryh3lp.com/Home

One of the two can log in to the other accounts (Hotmail, Gmail, and AIM). To me, it seems easiest to do this at Ref2, since that's the machine where we are used to answering IM and since these three accounts are in the list directly above mtsulib2. In reality, it doesn't matter.
Also, there's nothing that says both accounts need to be activated. It will, however, help to do so when the desk is busy.

When librarians are logged in to both libraryh3lp accounts, each will receive a popup when a question is asked (provided Pidgin hasn't switched to idle status). The conversation will belong to the librarian who answers first. The librarian who didn't answer first will see a note that the other account answered the question, and the IM patron will appear to be offline.

Amy and Kristen are happy to answer questions or give demos.

-Kristen W.

PsycArticles and PsycInfo

PsycArticles and PsycInfo have switched from CSA to Ebsco.

MTSU Bookstore Extended Hours

Phillips Bookstore has extended hours at the beginning of the semester:

Thursday, August 27 7:30am-5pm

Friday, August 28 7:30am-6pm

Saturday, August 29 9am-5pm

Sunday, August 30 1pm-5pm

Monday - Thursday, August 31 - September 3 7:30am-7pm

Friday, September 4 7:30am-5pm

Saturday, September 5 10am-2pm

Resources at IMR-LRC

I stopped in at IMR in the LRC to ask about the sign out front advertising SPSS, Adobe Creative Suite, and group practice rooms. Here's what I gleaned:

SPSS is available on the PC's in the computer lab. This is great, since it gives us another place to send students for SPSS. Adobe Creative Suite (Acrobat, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash, etc) is also available.

IMR has one medium-sized presentation practice room with TeamSpot, which lets a group connect five laptops to one projector and share files. There are two small rooms that hold two people tightly and one person semi-comfortably, each with a computer, large desktop monitor and DVD/VCR player. The three rooms are together billed as Team Tech Rooms. Right now they are first-come-first-served, but a student reservation system may be available soon.

You already know that the IMR computer lab is the destination for Mac users. I didn't realize, however, that that students can borrow items from Audio/Visual Services and use them in the IMR. When I was there yesterday, two students had borrowed a projector so they could trace and enlarge an image onto posterboard. The catch is that A/V Services closes at 4:30 pm, so if students need to use something in the evening, they should stop by IMR early and ask to reserve an item.

For pre-service education students, the Instructional Technology Support Center provides Pre-Professional Skills (PPST) /Praxis I study materials. Students can register on the ITSC Web site.

One last thing: Business Cards with IMR hours and phone number are available at the Walker Library reference desk. Feel free to hand one to a student who may need it.

Do you know something else about IMR resources or services that the rest of us might not know? If so, please chime in.

-Kristen W.

English Short Title Catalogue

The English Short Title Catalogue is now online and is more comprehensive than our CD. Thanks Mayo, for discovering this.

Reference Shelving Carts

Systems has installed one additional community computer at the table nearest the reference desk. Because this is intended to provide a computer for patrons with disabilities we probably need to relocate the shelving carts that are kept there. It would be pretty cumbersome for someone in a wheelchair to move one or two carts plus the heavy wooden chair before being able to access the computer.

For now I've put the carts against the pillar. If we don't think this works well we can find another option.

Mayo

Ezproxy security certificate

The new Exproxy prefix is creating a security certificate warning in some browsers. Library Systems is working to resolve the problem.

If a patron calls about this, just tell them to follow the browser prompts to accept the certificate.

The new CCH interface is also having security certificate problems of its own, patrons may have to accept the security certificate twice when they are using CCH (for the time being).

Ebsco multi-database search

Ebsco support helped me set up a search profile that would search all of our supscribed databases at once: Ebsco MultiDatabase Search.

What should we call it and where should it go? Mayo already suggested replacing ASP on the Find Articles and Research Gateway pages. Should this replace all instances of ASP in the 'Find Articles in Other Databases' category on subject guides, much like we have with Omnifile and General Onefile? Any other suggestions?

Finally, is it too close to the start of the semester to make this change?

LexisNexis Enhancements Delayed

In July, I told you about planned LexisNexis search form enhancements, targeted for implementation August 15. The developers hit some snags, and rather than change things in the middle of the semester, implementation has been delayed until December. Here's the entire message from the product manager.

-KW

Dear Colleagues,

You may recall that when I first announced the planned enhancements to LexisNexis Academic I promised that if we could not release them before the beginning of the fall semester that we would wait until winter break. I am now, unfortunately, in the position of having to honor that commitment. We have run into a delay related to the redirect that is needed to move subscribers onto the enhanced LN Academic interface. The earliest date that we could put in the redirect is August 29, and that this date is not guaranteed. This timing would already be too late for many of you who begin your semester before August 29, and it leaves no room whatsoever for correcting any problems. Because of the timing and the level of risk involved, we have decided that the most prudent course of action is to delay the full release of the improved interface until late December. We will, however, release the improved interface on September 1 as a fully functional Beta.

The most important things for you to know are:

• The improved interface will be available as a fully functional Beta release to all users beginning on September 1 at a new URL
• We will post the URL for the Beta site on the listserv and the wiki.
• If you wish, you can switch to the new release at any time by updating your URLs, or you can wait until the December release. The new URLs will continue to work after the full release. Subscribers who switch to the new URLs early will not have to take any further action and will not be affected by the full release in December.
• Many subscribers will find it impractical to switch to the new version because
  of the work involved in updating all URLs related to LexisNexis Academic. If you have embedded URLs to specific sources in your catalog or online resources system, or have developed instructional materials using durable URLs to specific search forms, sources, or documents we recommend that you wait for the December release. If you wait for the December release, you will not have to make any changes to your URLs.
• No action at all is required for subscribers who wait for the full release in December. At this time, the URLs for the current interface will redirected to the new version. This includes durable URLs for specific search forms, sources, or documents. Subscribers who choose to wait for the full release may wish to promote the URL for the Beta as an advance look at the updated interface.
• After the December release, both the new URLs and the old URLs will be supported indefinitely.

Please contact me with your questions and concerns either on the list or directly. I am disappointed that the improvements we have made will not roll into production for the fall semester, but when I try to imagine the roll out from the point of view of the librarians and instructors who support LexisNexis Academic users, I know that that it is better to wait and make these changes smoothly and gracefully during a semester break.

Best regards,
Alistair Morrison, Product Manager, LexisNexis Academic & Library Solutions

APA 6th Edition

Two copies of the 6th edition of the APA manual are now available at the Reference desk and three more are available in the Reference stacks.

Facts on File: World News Digest

Facts on File: World News Digest is now online This replaces the print reference set.
It has been added to Databases A-Z, Current Issues, Country Studies, and Newspapers.
If you can think of any other subject guides to add it to, please let me or the page author know.

Facts on file : weekly world news digest with cumulative index

Value Line Changes

Value Line Mutual Fund Survey is now called Value Line Fund Advisor and will be a monthly print publication. Although some content formerly in Value Line Mutual Fund Survey is now only available online, we do not plan to set up the online access at this time unless we get requests from faculty or students. It would be limited access and we would have to sign them in.

There have been no changes to the heavily used Value Line Investment Survey at this time.

CCH

The CCH interface has changed and now requires registration. This shouldn't a problem, since most users of this product would be regular users and would prefer the option of having a personalized account.
This change has been expected for a while, but of course then appeared with no warning.
I have set up a generic user password for use only in demonstrating the database at the reference desk. Users should register to use the database.
The password is in the reference binder with the other passwords.

Split Web of Science into two resources? Feedback needed.

It is possible to create a limited search in Web of Science so that Social Science researchers can default to a Social Science Citation Index search and Science Researches can default to a Science Citation Index search. You can see in the examples below that it is still possible to select both or either index from the search screen.

Would you like me to do this? The resource titles would be as listed below:

Web of Science - Science Citation Index


Web of Science - Social Sciences Citation Index

Base Resources for Subscription Electronic Resources

Please remember not to edit the base resource of subscription electronic resources in LibData. Although LibData does not restrict authors from editing the base resources, it is important that you only edit the instance of the resource in the subject guide for which you are responsible.
Editing the base resource for subscription resources may cascade unwanted changes to subject guides on which it appears. Additionally, since authors cannot make changes to others’ subject guides, needed changes may not cascade to pages on which the resource appears, or to the Database Details page.

Please only make changes to the instance on the subject guides that you author. See image:



An easy way to determine if a resource is a subscription resource is if it includes a proxy prefix in the URL. See image:



If you are making a change to the base resource for a non-subscription resource that occurs on several pages,
1) Search for the resource:



2) Do a Drilldown:



3) And contact the author of each page to which the change will cascade. (Kristen, please correct me if I'm wrong about this)

If you would like to suggest a change to the base resource of a subscription electronic resource, please e-mail or call Mary Ellen.

Lexis.com

The Lexis.com subscription has ended. We had made the decision to cancel this last year and the subscription is finally up. Use Westlaw's KeyCite instead of Lexis Shepard's Citations.

MLA Handbook Web Site

The library's first copy* of the revised MLA Handbook has made its way back to the reference area after an extended vacation in an undisclosed location. I have created an account for online access at http://mlahandbook.org.

The site license allows librarians to display the site to students when working at the reference desk. The site includes the complete text of the print Handbook and additional examples not contained in the print version. Please do not distribute the login information or log in students at their own computers. Log in information is at the reference desk in the same location as other usernames and passwords.

For more information on the revised handbook, visit this library news post.

-Kristen

*addtl copies are on their way through processing in Coll Mgmt.

Trial to Access Engineering

There is a trial for a collection of 262 Engineering books on the trials page.

Access to Gale Virtual Reference Library Reference (GVRL) Books

We can create subcollections in GVRL that search one book or a number of books. For instance on the Movie Reviews page, patrons can simultaneously search all 10 volumes of the History of American Cinema without getting results from any other books in GVRL.

The Nursing guide includes a search of several GVRL titles related to medicine.

On the Anthropology guide I created a direct link to the Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America.

Several science subcollections are available on various science guides.

Take a look at the title list for GVRL and let me know if you want a direct link to a specific book or a collection of books added to your subject guide(s). These subscollections could also be a great resource for CourseLib pages.

GVRL has over 3,200 books available for purchase. Next time you are evaluating your section of the reference collection, you might find what you need electronically. MARC records are also available. I have asked for the MARC records for our current holdings to be added to Voyager.

Easier resource linking in D2L

Thanks to a collaboration between David Robinson and the RODP librarian Peter Nerzak, database links and appropriately prefixed article links placed in D2L will no longer require logins. A new ezproxy link provides for seamless authentication when used within the confines of a D2L course shell.

https://ezproxy.mtsu.edu:3443/login?url=

Lucas and Mary Ellen have replaced all of the database links in Libdata so that they now contain this prefix, so we can simply copy and paste the libdata url that shows up for the databases on the A-Z list or the Subject Guides. If used outside of D2L, it will prompt for login as usual.

--Amy

Legal Resources Guide

Notes from Amanda Moore's legal resources presentation are on the wiki at http://mtsulibref.pbworks.com/Legal-Research-Sources

--AY

Call Number Locations

There's a new page on the Library Web site that shows the hundred divisions of the Dewey Decimal system and floor locations in the library. It's at
http://library.mtsu.edu/help/guides/deweyfloor.php

The page is linked from the Common Questions, Research Gateway Find Books, and Research Guides pages.

A corresponding print handout is in the reference area.

-KW

LS Class Project

We still have a cart of reference books near the reference desk laden with books being used in the library science reference project.

The overflow books are now on a study table near the windows on the west wall, with a sign asking for the books to not be reshelved.

-KW

Sharing in EndNote Web

You can share citation folders in EndNote Web. So, if you're collaborating on a publication with someone else, both of you can use the same folder of citations.

I'm slowly getting back into using EndNote Web and am happy to try to answer questions. I'm not to the point of writing and formatting a paper--still just working with importing citations.

Visit the Database Details page for more information and a link to EndNote Web.

-KW

Oxford Scholarship Online Collections

I removed the two new Oxford Scholarship Online books collections, Economics and Finance and Social Work, from the Economics and Finance, Psychology, and Social Work subject guides because the search platform was returning dozens of results for books we don't own.
I have complained to the vendor about their inability to limit search results to subscribed resources.
However, the MARC records for these books are in Voyager, so results will be returned for any searches in Voyager. You can also search the collection by limiting to the 'Oxford Scholarship Online' location in Voyager. Below are a couple sample books. It really is a nice collection.


http://voyager.mtsu.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=818193

http://voyager.mtsu.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=818200

Cancelled Sage collections

All of the Sage collections now go to the Sage platform. You will also notice that we no longer have Sage Management & Organization studies, Materials Science, Political Science, and Urban Studies & Planning. These collections were cancelled, however we do have archval access for the years that we subscribed - 4/1/2006 – 3/31/2009.

The Big Book of Jobs

The Big Book of Jobs which recently appeared on the new book truck at the desk is basically a case where free government content (The Occupational Outlook Handbook) has been repackaged with a little additional content and sold as a separate title by a publisher (McGraw-Hill). The first 50 pages of the book covers resumes and cover letters and the rest is a reprint of the entire 2008-09 Occupational Outlook Handbook. Since we already have the 08-09 Handbook in Ready Reference and it is also available online the decision was made to send this book upstairs and make it available for checkout. Thanks.

Sharon

Value Line online trial

We have a trial to Value Line online until 7/30. http://library.mtsu.edu/userservices/eresources/trials.php

"Value Line is the largest independent provider of investment-related information in the world, with a reputation for high quality, cost effective data used by individual investors, portfolio managers, corporate finance professionals and academic institutions. In addition to the same information that our print subscriptions include, online access allows you to screen stocks, track portfolios and get access to online educational tools and up to the minute information on our listed companies!"

: A Sage Full Text Collection

Within the next couple of days I'm going to be transitioning all of the Sage full-text collections to the Sage platform from the CSA platform. Journal Locator already goes to the Sage platform for these journals.
For a preview, go to: http://ezproxy.mtsu.edu/login?url=http://online.sagepub.com/cgi/search.

TK20 Manual

There's a TK20 manual at the reference desk now. It's in a thin, red-spined report cover, with an orange cover, on the bottom shelf under the telephone.

-KW

Editions and Adaptations of Shakespeare

Editions and Adaptations of Shakespeare has been added to the English Language & Literature subject guide.

About the product:
Editions and Adaptations of Shakespeare contains eleven major editions from the First Folio of 1623 to the Cambridge edition of 1863–66, twenty-eight separate contemporary printings of individual plays and poems, selected apocrypha and related works. In addition it contains more than one hundred adaptations, sequels and burlesques from the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, including the whole of Bell's Acting Edition of Shakespeare's Plays (1774).

MLA Handbook, Seventh Edition

The revised MLA HAndbook is here. Well, it was, and now it's missing. Nonetheless, I blogged about it on Walker Library News, and Sue made a request to order several more copies.

Each copy comes with an activation code for a personal account on the Handbook Web site, where you can browse complete contents of the print volume and read over 200 additional examples.

I suggest taking the codes from the Reference copies and establishing accounts with our library Gmail and other email accounts. We can keep login information with other Reference Desk instructions, and then use the Web site when working with students at the desk.

What do you think?

-KW

LexisNexis Enhancements

LexisNexis is working on cosmetic changes to LN Academic. User studies and focus groups revealed that most undergraduate users don't think the Easy Search form is easy to use!

Enhancements include a dramatically different landing page that includes search boxes for different types of searches and sources. Changes are also intended to help users better understand the type of content available in LexisNexis Academic.

Target date for these changes is August 15.

View proposed prototype pages and leave feedback at http://www.amdev.net/lna_proto/

-KW

When Pidgin Crashes

From time to time, Pidgin (our IM client) takes exception to something and Windows displays that lovely message about closing a program. Often, restarting Pidgin after this message brings the same results.

There is a simple fix that will usually resolve the problem--delete the Pidgin preferences file.

• Open the My Documents folder from the desktop.
• Switch view to My Computer
• Open IMLogs on 'lib-nt1\sys2\files' (L:)
• Open .purple folder
• Delete prefs.xml file
• Start Pidgin using the desktop icon
• Reset usual Pidgin preferences and plugins (refer to instructions at Ref Desk)
• Preferences include: Logging on and LibraryH3lp plugin enabled

Or, you are welcome to ask Amy or Kristen for help.

-KW

Electronic Resources added 6/23/09

Below are newly added or edited electronic resources. The information type and subject guides listed on are included:

American Society for Microbiology (Articles - Best Sources for this Subject)

Biology
Nursing

ArchiveGrid (Primary Sources - Archival Directories)

History

CAMIO (Selected Resources - Images)

Art

Encyclopedia of Popular Music Online (Selected Resources - Encylopedias & Dictionaries)(This is also included in Oxford Music Online)

Music
Recording Industry

Greenwood Digital Collection (Selected Resources - Reference Sources)

Reference Sources

Local Market Audience Analyst (Selected Resources -> Statistics & Data)

Business Communication and Entrepreneurship
Business, Management, and Marketing
Electronic Media Communication (under Business Research -> Marketing Research)
Journalism
Statistical Sources

OAIster(Primary Source Materials -> Digital Collections)
History

Oxford Scholarship Online: Economics and Finance (Selected Resources -> E-Books & Books)

Business, Management, and Marketing
Economics and Finance

Oxford Scholarship Online: Social Work (Selected Resources -> E-Books & Books)

Psychology
Social Work

SDC Corporate Restructuring (Business Research -> Company and Industry Data)

Business, Management, and Marketing Business
Economics and Finance

SDC Global Public Finance (Business Research -> Company and Industry Data)

Business, Management, and Marketing Business
Economics and Finance

SDC New Issues (Business Research -> Company and Industry Data)

Business, Management, and Marketing Business
Economics and Finance

Thomson Banker Analytics (Business Research -> Company and Industry Data)

Business, Management, and Marketing Business
Economics and Finance

Early American Fiction 1789–1875 (Selected Resources - Poetry, Prose, & Drama)
This was a LION collection that didn't have a direct link until now.

English


Learning Express Library

I fixed the link, it should work from off-campus now

Trial to Business Source Premier

We have a trial to Business Source Premier until 8/3. Please check it out. Here is a description:

Business Source Premier is the industry’s most used business research database, providing full text for more than 2,300 journals, including full text for more than 1,100 peer-reviewed titles. This database provides full text back to 1886, and searchable cited references back to 1998. Business Source Premier is superior to the competition in full text coverage in all disciplines of business, including marketing, management, MIS, POM, accounting, finance and economics. This database is updated daily on EBSCOhost.

JSTOR collections

Our new JSTOR collections, III, IV, V, & VII, are now available through JSTOR.

Gale PowerSearch Webinar

I saw the new Gale interface in action yesterday, and it's pretty slick. New features include the ability to save items in custom folders in perpetuity (with an account). Also, the tools menu (save, print, email, etc) is more prominent. One thing I learned is that you can have ReadSpeaker, the text-to-speech tool, read just a word or portion of an article by highlighting only the portion to be read.

You can see the new interface before the July 1 cutover date by visiting the TEL trial site at http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/tel_trial (available until 6/26)

Or, watch a Gale PowerSearch 2.0 Webinar the first week of July. These are just for a TN audience. Details are below.

-KW

Gale PowerSearch 2.0 Webinar
Thurs, July 2 - 10:00 am
Mon, July 6 - 2:00 pm
Tue, July 7 - 11:00 am and 7:00 pm
Wed, July 8 - 10:00 am and 3:00 pm

LOG IN INFORMATION:

To log in to the webinar, you will need a phone with outgoing call capabilities and a computer with internet access. You will then use the following information:

To join the audio portion of the Web Conference

• Dial: 1(800) 549 – 8228
• Then enter the passcode: 7079304#

To join the Online Web Conference

• Click on the meeting URL: http://web.meetme.net/r.aspx?p=2&a=70542228677053
• Enter your name and email address.
• Click on the Sign In button.
• Accept the Terms and Conditions, if applicable, and click "Join" to enter your conference.

(Please ensure that you have all popup blockers turned off and you have downloaded the plugins. If this URL does not work, please use the alternate URL http://www.meetme.net/anytime )

The Tennessean newspaper

We will lose access to The Tennessean through the America's Newspapers database on July 1. This title is moving to ProQuest with all Gannett newspapers. TEL has not been able to reach an agreement with Proquest on a license for access to The Tennessean.
I will let you know if we do get access again. ~MEP

LibGuides Preview

The Subject Guide Team, part of the Library Web Committee, is looking at possible replacements for the LibData subject guide platform. More to come on that later; this post is a teaser to say that the team will be soliciting your input, as either or both a subject guide author user.

One available system is LibGuides. If you're looking for something to pass the time at the reference desk, see what you think about this MTSU art subject guide I created in LibGuides. It quickly morphed into a vehicle for the resource page to accompany instruction we did for the Governor's School art students, hence the GSA Students tab. And it's quite a work in progress, with only a little bit of content loaded so far.

Nonetheless, I encourage everyone to take a look and imagine what could be if we hosted all our library subject guides on this platform. And as I said, more to come later!

-KW

Document delivery for distance ed students

This doesn't come up very often for people working on the desk, but just in case you get a call or chat from a DE student wanting access to an article we have in print but not online, or wanting delivery of a book, here is the policy.

To qualify for document delivery of locally owned items, a student must be taking only distance courses and live outside of Rutherford county. These students can request an article or a book through ILL. When setting up an ILL account, the student should select a Status of RODP or Distance Ed. It may help to have the student reiterate his/her DE status and need for delivery in the Notes section of the request form.

--Amy

Interplay Saves the Day

Just another plug for Interplay, which once again came through where Play Index failed. This time, I was looking for a contemporary play, one that MTSU used to own but has been lost. Interplay led me to an issue of American Theatre which contains the complete script!
-KW

Zotero

Here is an interesting article about the direction that Zotero is going in:

http://ezproxy.mtsu.edu/login?url=http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/jumpstart.jhtml?recid=0bc05f7a67b1790e615c5a1418f2144d593a966b2a19b49eae3f2ef30c4adea5646efb6f08338094&fmt=P

Encyclopedia of Popular Music

Encyclopedia of Popular Music, is now available in the Oxford Music Online interface.

E-Resources posted online

Some of the new resources have been added to the subject guides. Listed below are the resources, their information types, and the guides they are posted on.

TRACFED (Selected Resources - Statistics & Data)

Political Science


ISI Journal Citation reports (Selected Resources - Journal Citation Analysis)

Agribusiness and Agriscience
Biology
Chemistry
Computer Science
Engineering and Industrial Studies
Geography and Geology
Health and Human Performance
Library Science
Mathematical Sciences
Music
Nursing
Nutrition
Physics and Astronomy
Psychology

Music Online (Primary Source Materials - Digital Collections)
Music

The Sixties (Primary Source Materials - Digital Collections)

History

North American Indian Thought and Culture (Primary Source Materials - Digital Collections)

History

American History in Video (Selected Resources - Videos & Films)

History

Counseling and Therapy in Video (Selected Resources - Videos & Films)

Pschology
Social Work

Dance in Video (Selected Resources - Videos & Films)

Speech and Theatre

Use Jing for instant screencasts

Jing is a free download that allows you to create screencasts or screenshots on the fly. You can save your video or screenshot to your computer or you can press a button to upload the screencast to the Jing site and simply send the video URL to your viewer. This way you don't have to worry about file formats or sending bulky files.

I just used Jing to show a DE student how to find a newspaper from her date of birth. http://bit.ly/LcLur

--Amy

Update on taking new books to Valerie

More about getting the new books through the reference area: Valerie has pretty well cleared out the discharge backlog over at Circulation and says that when trucks are ready to come from Reference to Circ you can just park them by her cubicle. She'll take the "in process" status off and get them onto Circ trucks so the Cataloging trucks can go back upstairs.

Mayo

Weather Record Assignment

Students in COMM 2200 have an assignment that asks them to find the record temperature high and low for their hometown. First go to the National Weather Service website at http://www.nws.noaa.gov . Next locate and click on Tennessee on the map. Scroll down the navigation bar on the left side and locate and click on Climate Local. Next look at the horizontal tabs and click on Local Data Records. Once this option has loaded look for and click on All-time Records for Various Middle Tennessee Locations. Looks like 109 and -19 are the extremes for Murfreesboro.

Sharon

School Crimes Study

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) has just published School Crimes Study: A Study of Offenses, Offender, Arrestee and Victim Data Reported to the Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System. This report provides valuable insight into the characteristics of crimes reported by Tennessee public and private school systems from 2006-2008. The report for the most part exlcudes college and university reported crimes although it was not possible to completely remove all occurences from the study. The URL for the report is http://www.tbi.state.tn.us/Press%20Release/School%20Crime%20Study%20Final.pdf
I am adding it to the LibData database.

Sharon

Curriculum Collection Tips

I always manage to learn something new in the Curriculum Collection if I hang around long enough. I know we don't get many questions about this, but you never know...

• Some preservice teachers looking for books to use in the classroom expect to see books shelved by grade order. One quick thing they can do is take a title they think might work and see what reading level Amazon has assigned it (thanks for that tip, Kim!).

• Students often expect to see all the unit plan idea books in one section, when they are in fact shelved at the Dewey number corresponding to the topic of the unit. If you can convince a student to use Voyager, a good way to find these books is to keyword search the Curriculum Collection and add the words thematic unit to the search. Teacher created is another phrase you can add to the search, because Teacher Created Materials is a prominent publisher of these resources.

What do you know about the Curriculum Collection that might be useful for the rest of us Reference Desk staffers?

-Kristen

Off-Campus Access Problems

Currently enrolled students who can access Pipeline but can't access any library databases need to contact the ITD helpdesk at 898-5345.

ITD makes all that happen as a matter of course, but at the beginning of the semester, a few accounts always fall through the cracks.

-Kristen

Taking new books to circulation

Hi all,

If you take trucks of new books over to circulation it's important that you check with Valerie about where to put them (it depends on how backed up they are in discharge) and to let her know that they have not had the "In Process" status taken off. I've been using some of my reference desk time to take the status off before taking them over to Circ. They then are ready for a student to work with. However, I haven't been keeping up so it's ok to take them over but make sure Valerie knows the status.

Thanks. Mayo

Broken Computers

Just a friendly reminder about broken computers and printers in the EIC:

Please be sure that if you put up an "Out of Order" sign that you submit an online problem report, call Systems, or talk to Al. When others see an out of order sign they will assume the problem has been reported, and it sometimes turns out to not be the case.

Mike said this morning that he prefers we NOT submit a problem report for the EIC printers but that we call Systems directly (x5666). This will help get the printer back in working order as soon as possible.

-Kristen

SciFinder Scholar

SciFinder Scholar is moving to the web! The client version will phased out over the next few months. I have removed the resource for the client version from the Chemistry subject guide. Those who are now using the client can still access SciFinder Scholar, however, users that are new to the database should begin with the web version.
A portion of our seven simultaneous users is now allocated to the web version.

Users can register here: SciFinder Scholar registration page.

They may then access the SciFinder Scholar Web .

Tutorials on the web version are available on the SciFinder Support & Training - Web Version page.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

The best place to find data on FDI seems to be the UNCTAD website.

Main FDI data page
By Country.
Historical data (1970-2004) on all countries/regions. Click on the link that says Free Registration. As far as I can tell, though, you don't actually have to register for anything.

--Amy

Voyager - Persistent Links

In the same vein as Jason's recent post about the Voyager Canned Search Generator, here are Mary Ellen's instructions for creating a persistent link to a single item record:

Search the OPAC for the book or record you want. Click on the MARC view. The 001 field will give you the Bib ID number. Then create the following link, where nnnn is the BibID number, http://voyager.mtsu.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=nnnnn

So if you wanted to link to Terry Pratchett's Thud! you would create the following link: http://voyager.mtsu.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=675715

I copied the dummy link and pasted it as a sticky note to my Google home page, so I have it handy without having to look through my email (or this blog!).

-Kristen

Linking into Voyager

If you try to send someone a link to an item record or a search results list in Voyager (via IM, email, or on a LibData page), the link won't work for them. But, here's a workaround for creating a sharable link...

1) Visit the Canned Search Generator: 
http://libraryasp.tamu.edu/cannedsearch/cannedsearch.asp

2) Copy and paste the URL from your Voyager results page.  [Note: The simpler the search, the better this works. Lots of limits, browsing, etc., will make this behave strangely.]

3) Click "Generate New URL" and the Canned Search Generator will give you a working, sharable link.  It is still going to be a long link, so if you're going to paste it into an email or IM, you might consider shortening the URL with one of these tools:

http://www.tiny.cc

http://www.tinyurl.com

http://metamark.net

Photo Law Ethics Assignment

The ethics and the law assignment for Photo Law is back. It's the same basic assignment from past semesters, with perhaps a few tweaks. The assignment really isn't as hard as it appears.

Only two questions are troublesome: 1) Shephardizing RAV v. City of St. Paul and 2) the Law Week article about advertising in a student newspaper.

For 1) search the Web for the case citation before you look for the later cites in LexisNexis or WestLaw.

For 2) I don't think there is a cumulative index to Law Week, so it helps to find the case in LexisNexis (use key word searching) and then you have a year to target in Law Week.

Of course, a good reference librarian isn't going to just give away the answers, so use these hints as a way to help the students find the answers on their own.

-Kristen