he IUCAT Online Catalog Gets a New Look With I-Link
On August 19, a new version of the IUCAT online catalog system
debuted at all IU campus libraries. With the new I-Link software,
Keyword and Exact searches can now both be performed from the main
screen. A new logo, redesigned buttons and the following features
have also been added.
My Account
IU Northwest students, faculty and staff ONLY can now review a list
of materials they have checked out as well as put on hold or renew
items in real time. Your IU Network ID and password guarantee a
secure connection. NOTE: This is the same ID that you use
to access Insite and OnCourse. It is also the same username and
password used to access your IU Northwest e-mail account. If you still experience
problems using My Account, go to the IU Northwest Information Technology
Help Desk in Raintree 204 for help.
New Library Groupings
All library users can now search all of the libraries on a single
campus in one keyword or exact search. You may choose from: All
Bloomington Libraries, All IUPUI Libraries and All South Bend Libraries.
Likewise, the Bloomington and Indianapolis law libraries or the
dental and medical libraries can be accessed in a single search.
ONLINE Virtual Library
Each IU campus library now has access to the ONLINE virtual
library. This new feature contains electronic resources such as
Early English Books.
Take a look at this improved, more user friendly online catalog
from ANY on or off campus location by going to the
IU Northwest
Library Electronic Information Page and clicking the Connect
to IUCAT link under the IUCAT heading.
Favorite Web Sites: Legal Information
The web sites featured this month have been critically evaluated
and selected by the IU Northwest librarians as well as a group of academic
and public librarians across the United States who compile a yearly Best
Free Reference Web Sites List for the American
Library Association. Here is a list of selection
criteria initially created by the MARS Best Free Websites Task
Force to choose these sites. The Library hopes our readers will find
these web sites useful for locating reliable, accurate and authoritative
information on the Internet.
Findlaw is a comprehensive directory of free legal and governmental
resources. It contains a career resource center, a consumer law section,
multiple directories of legal organizations and lawyers, links to U.S.
cases and legal codes, and a wide array of other governmental resources
at the state, national, and international level. There is a link to the
SEC EDGAR database and connections to business, general, and legal news
resources are also plentiful. The directory at the top level is well
organized and easy to use. (Summary used by permission of the MARS
Best Free Websites Committee)
This comprehensive, well organized legal information site produced by
the Cornell Law School provides the user with easy access to recent and
historic U.S. Supreme Court decisions, full-text access to every U.S.
state statute and constitution, complete full-text of the Code
of Federal Regulations (CFR) and the U.S. Code as
well as bills pending in state legislatures. The resource also offers
a spotlight section which highlights specific Supreme Court decisions
during the current term and also includes clickable links to law cases
recently in the news. The site also features a well placed search box
for locating relevant federal and state court decisions, statutes or
regulations on a myriad of legal subjects.
From the legal beagles at Nolo Press comes this one-stop site for legal
information geared toward the consumer and layperson. Most researchers
will probably start with the section entitled "Self Help Law Centers." The
Nolo Legal Encyclopedia is an essential part of this section and it is
covered separately below. The Self Help area also includes a fairly basic
legal dictionary that, according to the authors, is a "work in progress." The
FAQ center facilitates submission of a query ("Ask Auntie Nolo")
if the user's particular question is not covered in the extensive FAQ
list. A research center includes links to the U.S. Constitution and other
Federal law sites and information on statutes in all 50 states. Users
interested in purchasing Nolo products can do so from the Law Store.
Several of the members of the MARSBEST group voted for the Nolo
Legal Encyclopedia apart from the site as a whole and indeed,
it does stand on its own as a valuable legal resource. Just as on the
home page, the user can choose a subject from the guide, do a free-form
search, or use the extensive list of suggested keywords. The retrieved
information often includes some of the FAQ's as well as useful, abbreviated
articles. Links to related articles are also provided. (Summary used
by permission of the MARS Best Free Websites Committee)
Social Work Abstracts Now Available in Electronic Format
The IU Northwest Library recently converted the journal index Social Work
Abstracts from a CD-ROM to a web-based product. Produced
by the National Association of Social Workers, Social Work
Abstracts Plus offers two unique databases for accessing
the latest research in the social work field: Social Work Abstracts and
the Register of Clinical Social Workers.
Social Work Abstracts provides information on social work
theory and practice, areas of service, social issues ans social problems
from 1977 to the present from over 450 journals. Secondly, the Register
of Clinical Social Workers is a directory of U.S. clinical social
workers containing names, addresses, telephone numbers, employers, education
and employment history along with licensing information and type of practice
of individual social workers.
To access Social Work Abstracts Plus from IU Northwest campus computers ONLY,
go to the
IU Northwest
Library's Electronic Information Page and under the Journal and
Newspaper Indexes heading, click the Humanities and Social Sciences link.
At the next screen, choose Social Work Abstracts.
- At the database's main menu, check the specific section you wish
to search. Then click the Start Searching button located at
the top right side of the screen.
- At the next menu, type in the specific keywords you wish to find
and click Search.
- If you have any additional questions on how to locate information
or limit a search, a pull-down menu called How Do I? as well
as a Help area are provided at the top right side of the search
screen.
African-American Studies History Universe Database Recently
Added to the Lexis-Nexis Online Collection
During the Summer Semester, African-American Studies joined
the growing list of Lexis-Nexis electronic database collections.
Part of the History Universe module, African-American
Studies offers full-text access to a variety of pivotal primary
and secondary source materials from the colonial period to the present
time. New documents are added on a quarterly basis. This web resource
provides materials in the categories:
Contains letters, documentary records and memos of major individuals
such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall and Mary McLeod Bethune.
Research topics feature the slave trade, major events in the civil rights
movement and the NAACP's legal fight against racism and segregation.
Includes over 400 colonial cases concerning slaves' rights and the many
forms of punishment experienced by slaves in that era. The resource also
contains every U.S. Supreme Court decision (including dissenting opinions)
pertaining to race.
Contains every colonial statute on slavery and race. The service also
provides full-text access to every major law passed by Congress affecting
African-Americans since 1792.
Offers access to significant speeches by prominent people like Booker
T. Washington.
Features hundreds of photographs depicting famous locales, persons and
institutions from the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
and the National Archives.
Provides rare 19th century documents on the African slave trade (including
the Amistad case) as well as 20th century publications on lynching.
Features over 1100 reference and biographical articles from important
scholarly journals and anthologies.
To use the African-American Studies database from IU
Northwest
campus computers ONLY, go to the
IU Northwest
Library Electronic Information Sources Page and under the Library
Catalogs, Electronic Journals and Other Databases heading, click
the Other Databases link. At the next screen, select Lexis-Nexis
African-American Studies.
Oxford Reference Online Offers a One-Stop Spot for Your Ready
Reference Needs
Need to find some quick information on a specific reference topic? Try
using Oxford Reference Online. Oxford Reference Online provides
comprehensive coverage through its Core Collection to 100 full-text dictionary
and reference book titles from 23 specific subject categories. These
subjects are:
- Art and Architecture
- Biological Sciences
- Classics
- Computing
- Earth and Environmental Sciences
- Economics and Business
- English Dictionaries and Thesauruses
- English Language Reference
- Food and Nutrition
- General Reference
- History
- Law
- Literature
- Medicine
- Military History
- Modern Languages
- Mythology and Folklore
- Performing Arts
- Physical Sciences and Mathematics
- Political and Social Sciences
- Quotations
- Religion and Philosophy
- Science
For specific titles included in this web resource, go to www.oxfordreference.com/views/GLOBAL.html?subview=TitleList.
Information can be accessed through a quick or advanced search menu or
the user may search within a subject category for over 1.5 million dictionary
entries, facts, figures, people, dates, places and quotations.
To use the Oxford Reference Online web site from IU
Northwest campus
computers ONLY, go to the
IU Northwest
Library Electronic Information Sources Page and under the Library
Catalogs, Electronic Journals and Other Databases heading, click
the Other Databases link. At the next screen, select Oxford
Reference Online to begin searching.
, Library News Web Editor |
