Alkek Library News

Welcome Students! The Library's resources & services = a successful semester!

For a great start to the new semester, Alkek Library offers drop-in orientations at the beginning of each semester. If you are new to Texas State and have never been in the library, all you need to do is check the schedule for the time and then just meet at the Reference Desk on the 2nd floor as you enter the main lobby.  There is still time left to take advantage this open walking-tour.  

If you prefer to tour Alkek Library from the comfort of your home or dorm room, we have an online tutorial as well as still photos and mp3 audio tours for you to enjoy at your leisure.

If you have a question, need directions or want to get a jump start on your research, you can stop by the Reference Desk, call us at 245-2686 or get online help using the Ask-A-Librarian service. We offer multiple ways of online help. You can chat with us using your preferred chat client by adding us to your contacts, or you can chat w/a librarian using the many Ask a Librarian widgets placed on various pages throughout the library website. There is an email option, and you can also schedule an individual consultation. New this semester we now offer the option to meet online with a librarian using videoconferencing software.

Also new this semester we have added an additional way to contact us! Now you can also TEXT-A-LIBRARIAN by texting # 512-761-8398. We are using a Google Voice number, so we can receive offline message in case you send it after hours.

We also offer workshops on using RefWorks, an online resource for bibliographic management. These are held in our classroom 101, downstairs from the main lobby. Our workshop schedule is updated periodically, so check back often for other classes.

Many of our research resources are available remotely. Access to many journal articles, newpapers, magazines are available online. If you want to know if we have access to your favorite newspaper or magazine you can search for it by using the Periodical List. Or, if you already have a topic you need to research, you can use one of the subject research databases. For more information about using the databases, see this research guide. There are also other research guides arranged by subject which offer you the best resources for your research topic.

Other popular library resources are Reserve and E-Reserve. You can check Reserve by professor or course for materials your professor has placed there for your class to use. Sometimes your textbook will be on Reserve. Other things like chapter readings, articles, videos, or old tests may be on Reserve. If your professor uses the E-Reserve service, they will give you a password to access the materials.

The final tip for a successful semester: Don't pay for journal articles! If you find an article you need, but the library does not have a subscription, then you can utilize the Interlibrary Loan Service to get a copy of the article. This service is also available for books and other materials. It is a free service.

Welcome to Texas State and remember: librarians are here to help you succeed!

 

 

News from the Writing Center...

In case you missed the email about this, the Writing Center is offering workshops in November and December. Here is the information from their email:

The Writing Center is offering select workshops during the months of November and December. The schedule is listed below and is also available at http://www.writingcenter.txstate.edu/Events/Workshops.html.

The Right Word, The Right Place—Diction and Style in Academic and Everyday Writing

An informative workshop that will help you learn how to polish your writing by carefully choosing your words and using them in the most effective manner.

11/5 (Wednesday) 4:00-5:00 p.m. in DERR 234

11/6 (Thursday) 2:00-3:00 p.m. in FH G09 (Writing Center)

Resume and Personal Statements

Learn how to make the most of your academic and work experience and take your education or career to the next level.

Resumes: 11/11 (Tuesday) 3:30-4:30 p.m. in FH G09 (Writing Center)

Personal Statements: 11/12 (Wednesday) 3:30-4:30 p.m. in FH G09 (Writing Center)

Done Researching…Now What?  Research Methods II

Find out how to properly apply your research to an essay.

11/19 (Wednesday) 3:30-4:30 p.m. in FH G09 (Writing Center)

11/20 (Thursday) 3:30-4:30 p.m. in FH G09 (Writing Center)

Surviving the In-Class Essay

Learn how to prepare for and survive the challenges presented by the dreaded in-class essay.

12/1 (Monday) 5:00-6:00 p.m. in FH 341

No reservations are necessary.  Simply come to the assigned room at the designated time.  Please bring pen and paper for notes and any questions you may have about the topic. I f you have questions or would like more information, please contact Amy Kuehl, Writing Center Coordinator, at (512) 245-3018.

Many helpful resources are available through the Writing Center site, including handouts: http://www.writingcenter.txstate.edu/.  

To make an individual appointment with a writing counselor, call (512) 245-3018 or stop by FH G09 (Writing Center).  You may also make Bobcat Chat (online) appointments at http://www.writingcenter.txstate.edu/Student-Resources/Online-Tutoring.html.

 

Use Startpages to Organize Your RSS Feeds & More

One of the coolest new tools I've been using lately is NetVibes startpage. A startpage is a personalized web homepage. Others include: iGoogle, Pageflakes, and MyYahoo. I've chosen Netvibes because you also have a public version you can share with others socially. (Pageflakes also has this feature.) Here is my Netvibes public page. Notice the different tabs .

On both the private and public page, you can choose what modules and widgets to add.  Netvibes already has many to browse and choose from. If you already have a delicious, facebook or flickr page you can have them fed to your startpage. See the larger view of the image by clicking on it.

You can also create different tabs to organize your feeds. I have one for blogs, database & journals feeds, and one I have created for research feeds for a presentation I am giving.  Tabs help to organize your RSS feeds according to how you want to view them.

On the private page, you see the same modules as on the public page plus you can add a widget to monitor your email from your different accounts in one place, have a calendar, weather widget, and more. Its as easy as clicking the "add content" button, pasting the RSS feed URL into the box and adding it to your page.

Most databases will allow you to subscribe to a search query or the latest articles from a particular journal. Use the databases help feature or look for the RSS image to find out how.

Here is a nice comparison of different startpages that discusses the different features of each one. At the bottom of the post is a chart that puts all the features together for easier comparison.

Watch the library workshop page for future workshops in late summer or the fall semester on setting up personalized startpages. Or follow the links above to create your own startpage now.

Importing Library Catalog Records into RefWorks

RefWorks is a bibliographic management tool that enables you to save, organize and use your citations for assignments, research papers, and other academic work. Most of the article databases offer an option to mark citations and "export to RefWorks." What isn't so obvious is how to get records from the library catalog into RefWorks. The process is easy once you've done it a couple of times.

Here's how:

• Log-in to your RefWorks account.
• Search the catalog for books, videos, etc.
• Save the records by clicking the "Save to List" button.
• View your "Saved Records"
• Check the "End Note/RefWorks" and "Send list to Screen" buttons then hit "Submit"

By using the "Send List to Screen" option, an .html version of the records will look like this:

• Highlight and Copy all the text on the page
• Next, go to your Refworks account choose the "Import" option under the References heading.



• For the Import Filter/Data Source option pick Innovative Interfaces
• For the Database choose the Endnote/RefWorks format
• In the text box below, paste the records from the .html page and click the import button.

This completes the process. For more information about using RefWorks, you can drop in for a RefWorks class offered throughout the semester, use this RefWorks guide for tips on various databases and RefWorks, or you can also watch the RefWorks tutorial to learn about RefWorks.

Happy New Year! Learn how to use Refworks before you start your research papers.

First, I should introduce myself. My name is Tara Spies and I am the newest addition to the Alkek Library Information Literacy Instruction Team. I am a Reference/Instruction Librarian and my subject specialties are art/design, communication studies, and technology. If you have any questions about research in those areas you can contact me at [email protected] or want to request an instruction class in any of these areas with me please don't hesitate to do so.

It is the beginning of the spring semester so it is probably a good time to learn about new and improved research tools before your research gets underway. If you don't already know about Refworks, you will wish you had once you know that it is a online citation and bibliography tool that you can use to help you organize and format your citations/references for your research papers in whatever writing style you are supposed to use (APA, MLA, etc.). You can create a free account and familiarize yourself with some of its basic features. You can use their tutorial or attend one of our upcoming workshops on how to use Refworks. Once you get the hang of it you will see what a helpful tool Refworks can be for citing sources in your paper and for your reference/bibliography page that you put at the end of it.

Refworks just released a new version of Write-and-Cite that will let you download and use it while offline. The online version is still available for when it is more convenient for you. You can read about more new enhancements to Refworks in their January 2008 Release Notes

Good luck with your spring semester!