The USF Libraries provide access to hundreds of databases to the students and faculty. Still, some may prefer using Google Scholar, at least in their first steps in a research process.
There are several tips though that can make a quest for information more successful in Google Scholar . First, go through the Library Web site, authenticate with the proxy server or BlackBoard, and then locate Google Scholar as you would any other database in MetaLib. If you go to the trouble to do that, the “Find it@USF” (SFX) links will be available, and you can then can pull up the full text seamlessly.
You can also add to the functionality of Google Scholar by going into “Preferences” and enabling links to RefWorks or Endnote.
Because it does not have the power of commercial search engines, Google Scholar does not allow search results to be sorted by date, format, or any other way. Also, Google Book search results are mixed in with journal citations, which can be a problem if you are only looking for journal articles.
(thanks to Susan Ariew of the Tampa Library for the tips)
As you know, the USFL Library publishes a list of newly arrived titles every month (combined in the summer months). However, the USF Libraries catalog now sports a link you can click to see the new books in the library system.
To see the new books on management, for example, you go to entering the subject keyword “management” into the search box and it will retrieve all records with that keyword. THEN you have a link on the top left hand side that says “Limit by: New Titles” and it will give you all new titles with the keywords “management” in the record.
You can further narrow your results by limiting them by library. Select “USF Library - Lakeland” to see the new titles in our location only.
Alternatively, you can also make an Advanced Search using no keywords and selecting only the USF Library - Lakeland in the Location field. You will then see the new books in all disciplines for our location.
This USFL Library monthly list will continue to be published as well.
Several new features to the USF Libraries Catalog. Try them out!
New Basic Search Screen plus browse command!
You can now use the radio buttons to move to the advanced search. A radio button for “search begins with” allows you to browse for titles or authors.
Cite this! What’s that?
A new option has been added on the results page (along with the options mentionned in this previous post). Clicking on “Cite this” will open a pop-up window with correct citations for the item in MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian and Harvard style. Don’t forget to save your record to RefWorks as well for future use.
New Icons! The catalog contains icons for different formats like, for example, e-journals, vhs and dvd.
And coming soon, you will be able to send search results to your cell phone.
UPDATE: The new maintenance work has been reported to FRIDAY, MAY 2nd.
Additional work needs to be done with the library servers after the other morning’s brief maintenance-related outage. There will be a new outage on Friday May 2nd , between 5:00am and 5:30am (everything should be back up at 6:30am at the latest).
The following services will be impacted:
the main library website, which will affect some links from the Lakeland Library website
EZProxy (one of the ways to connect to the electronic resources from home
There will be a brief outage for the library servers on April 30th, between 5:00am and 5:30am (everything should be back up no later than 6:00am). A new power system will be installed.
The following services will be impacted:
the main library website, which will affect some links from the Lakeland Library website
EZProxy (one of the ways to connect to the electronic resources from home
If you used the USF Libraries catalog today, you may have noticed some enhancements:
the cover of the book is presented when available, on the right hand side
on the right hand side as well, you will find a link to Google Books giving you more information on the title. In some cases, you will be able to preview at least part of the content of the book, like the table of the contents. The link for the preview will be underneath the cover image.
back in the catalog, under each title, you will find different icons:
“Add” will add the title to a temporary list. At the end of your catalog search, even if you have done multiple queries, you will be able to find all the records in your list by clicking the “My folder has items” at the top of the page.
“Print” will print one record at a time.
“Email” will permit you to email the record to yourself or someone else.
“Save” will permit you to save the record onto the drive of your choice as a .txt file
finally, a “RefWorks” button will let you export the record to your RefWorks database
the “Print”, “Email”, “Save” and “RefWorks” are also available for your list.
April 13 to the 19 is National Library Week. Actress and author Julie Andrews is the Honorary Chair this year.
Tuesday the 15th is National Library Workers Day, a day for library staff, users, administrators and Friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers.
The USF Lakeland Library and its staff are wishing you a great week. Do drop by and say Hi!
Next Tuesday, March 25, 2008, there will be a morning maintenance window on the servers in the Libraries between 5:30 AM and 6:30 AM. Some servers (web services, proxy server, etc.) may experience some very brief hiccups during the period.
