When you start to
search for information, you will need to first
understand both the information sources and the search
tools that you have to choose from. Online library
catalogs, journal article databases, electronic books or e-journals,
and independent web search engines - they're all geared
towards finding specific types of information. As
such the
search tool that you chose to use should ultimately
be geared towards the information (type) you need to find.
In part B of this
module, I'll cover our E-Book and E-Journal holdings,
and will also discuss how to search for monographic
(book) holdings within Blackwell Library's collection.
E-Book / E-Journal Holdings at
Blackwell
E-Books
E-Books are just like all other technology - they have a
time and a place when they are or aren't appropriate,
and some people love them and others hate them.
Several years back we had the opportunity to buy into a
large 'packet' of electronic book titles along with all
of the other USM schools, whereupon we would all share
access to the titles. This offer - which the
schools did ultimately accept - was with the E-Book
company NetLibrary, and that is the company that still
manages each E-Book title that we have access to.
Correspondingly, you will need to create a free
NetLibrary account if you want to have access to any of
them.
One example of a title that might be
of interest to a chemistry student is:
Applications of environmental
aquatic chemistry [electronic
resource] :
a practical guide, by Eugene R. Weiner.
(You can tell
that this is an e-book because of the [electronic resource] notation after the title!)
The call number for this title shows
up as such in the catalog:
SU Blackwell Library NetLibrary
eBooks | TD193 .W45 2008eb
After you have clicked on the link provided via the
Find It button within the catalog record (),
you are given a
very long URL to
click to get direct access to the title. Once
you click on the link and access the Net Library
interface, you are given the opportunity to create a free account by entering in all of your relevant
personal information, if you are a first-time user, or
to directly log into the system if you have already
created an account.
Make sure you use your SU e-mail account when
registering - if you use any other e-mail address you
will not be given full-text access to NetLibrary. It is
through your SU e-mail account that the NetLibrary folks
verify that you are an SU student and should therefore
be given (free) access to these titles that we have paid
for.
Once you are registered with NetLibrary, you will be
able to check out and download each title - and in
NetLibrary terms what this means is that you will be
able to:
Check out and download eBooks to your personal
computer for reading offline during the checkout period
(the length of the checkout period varies by library),
and;
Transfer eBooks to compatible portable devices. (The
list of these portable devices currently includes:
the
Barnes & Noble nook,
Sony's Daily
Edition, all four Sony Digital Readers (PRS-300, 505,
600 and 700BC), as well as the
COOL-ER. All
devices that support the
Adobe Content Server are compatible although
some work better than others with NetLibrary eBooks.)
You can gain access to
these titles, and search for these titles, by looking
inside the library's book catalog,
Catalog usmai.
At the end of this module I'll go into detail on how to
search for books using the library's catalog.
E-Journals
Our E-Journal holdings are a work in progress that is
growing every month. Accessed via
Research Port (the
University of Maryland's proxy server) the site
provides a searchable index of titles that are
available to SU students, faculty, & staff online.
In most cases, the title provides you with the
information of the electronic run (the years for
which we have electronic access) , the ISSN for the
journal (the International Standard Serial Number -
a number that is uniquely assigned to each journal
title as it is created - the journal equivalent of a
Social Security Number), and the database in which
you can find the electronic content.
From our Research Port list, this is what the list of
available e-journals will look like. To get this
list I did a search for e-journal titles that contain
the word 'Chemistry'....
Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry
ISSN: 1618-2642
You can see that these links provide you with
information about the title including previous
titles/name changes, the number of years available in
online form, and in which database(s) you can find the
title. After your search results are back, getting
full-text access to the titles you find is as easy as
clicking on the database link provided for each title.
Searching for Books Using the SU Catalog
The SU catalog is happily very user-friendly when it
comes to searching for print or e-books. Using the
'Catalog' tab from the Library's home page, you can
instantly see all of your searching options:
The
Quick Search is your
most basic option - from the drop-down list you can
search by keywords ('word/s anywhere'), title, subject,
author, even call-number. Using the Advanced
Search link inside the same box gives you even greater
options - like searching by series, notes, or performing
a browse or command search. Performing a search is
as simple as typing in the title you're looking for, the
author you're looking for, or a few relevant
subject-keywords (after you've chosen the appropriate
category from the drop-down list) and then hitting the
search button.
The
USMAI Combined catalog
is how you can search for books owned by other USMAI
(University System of Maryland and other Affiliated
Institutions) libraries, and once you've found them,
request that these titles be sent to you at Blackwell
Library.
The
Electronic Books
link will take you directly into the generic Salisbury
University NetLibrary eContent Collection, from where
you can log in as yourself, search for eBook content,
and check-out/download e-books to use either on- or
off-campus.
The
Interlibrary Loan (ILLiad) Service
link is a way to have a book delivered to you from
another library - specifically, a book that we do
not have access to either directly at SU or through the
USMAI Combined catalog. So if there is a
specific title that you know you either want or need,
and you've checked at SU and in the USMAI system and
struck out both places, then use the ILLiad Service -
it's a great free way to take advantage of the good
nature of libraries and borrow what you need from
somewhere else far away!
),
you are given a
