Vol. 15, No. 1
October 2000
Rebecca A. Wilson, Editor

Too soon the summer is gone but there is always excitement and a sense of high expectations as we begin anew – this the 143^rd Academic Year at Susquehanna University. We welcome new and returning faculty, staff, and students.

By way of an update, changes over the summer included a complete shift of the Library’s collections. Fall of 1999 marked the 10^th year anniversary of the Library’s 1989 renovation. At that time, projected growth space was estimated at approximately 10 years. Right on schedule, we have reached shelving capacity on the second floor and to accommodate continued growth of the collections, we were required to move several thousand volumes to the lower level. As a result, circulating books with call numbers 973.8 through 999 are now located in the former computer-lab area.

Please take a moment to review the Newsletter. It contains information about Library resources and services that may be helpful to you.

Over the summer, the Library purchased the Ariel software with funds available through the ACLCP consortium (Associated College Libraries of Central Pennsylvania). Using scanning technology, the Ariel System permits the rapid electronic transmission and receipt of documents being borrowed or loaned among libraries participating in the program. Among our ACLCP members, 14 of the 21 libraries in the consortium (67%) now use the Ariel Document Transmission Software.

Anne Ritchey, InterLibrary Loan coordinator, reports that of the 503 documents received since the system was installed in August, 350 of those (70%) were transmitted via Ariel. Other documents came via U.S. Mail, UPS, or fax. Of the 318 documents sent out by our Library, 215 (68%) were sent electronically via Ariel.

Ariel is being used in the following ways: book chapters can be scanned and transmitted electronically – thus the book never leaves the Library. Journal articles can also be scanned instead of being photocopied and mailed out – saving on photocopying and postage. However, not all items can be sent via Ariel; and no matter how immediate electronic transmission is, items cannot be sent any faster than staff can manage to get to the task. But Ariel reduces the time needed for many requests.

No doubt you are aware that Ann Wilson, our Circulation/Reference Librarian, accepted a position with the Brodart Company during the summer. The advertisement for a new librarian has been posted in several sources, including The Chronicle of Higher Education, College & Research Libraries News, and the Pennslyvania Library Association Jobline. Review of applications will begin October 20 and continue until the position is filled.

In the interim, we have hired Mrs. Juli Boggs to serve as Circulation Assistant until the search is completed. Juli has worked on a temporary basis in several offices on campus in the past - including the Library. Under her expert direction, activities in Circulation, including oversight for Course Reserves and the 65+ student workforce, are running very smoothly.

In other news, catalog assistant Jill Derr remains out on medical leave. Temporary assistance in cataloging is being provided by Kathy Dalius, part-time Media Assistant, and Anne Ritchey, part-time Interlibrary Loan Assistant. Both staff members have previous experience in Technical Services; they’ve been working additional hours and doing a wonderful job keeping the Library caught up with the processing of new materials.

Following Chris Praul’s departure, the librarians are taking turns covering the Reference Desk from 5-7 p.m. Monday through Thursday on a temporary basis. A Librarian is also still on duty from 7 – 10 p.m. When the new librarian is hired, Reference Desk coverage will be reconfigured to include shared assignments among all the librarians.

We would like to acknowledge with gratitude Christine Jaegers, Director of Continuing Education, for her ongoing support of references services – which makes professional reference assistance available between 5-7 p.m.

OCLC really did make the official switch-over to the NEW FirstSearch this summer, and all participating libraries now sport the revised search interface. Herewith some of the features:

• From the MENU on the left:

  HOME screen – searches can be done in a single database or in multiple databases simultaneously. Choose from the topic (multiple databases) or the database list. A search in the topic Arts & Humanities, for example, retrieves hits in 9 databases; results can be displayed from no more than 3 databases at a time, however. Caveat: the search retrieves the term(s) from anywhere in the record.

  BASIC – searches only one database at a time. Can do an author, title, or keyword search. Can limit to full-text articles or to S.U.’s holdings.

  ADVANCED and EXPERT – searches only one database at a time. Can label fields and combine fields. These searches also allow limiting to full-text articles or to S.U.’s holdings.

  LIST ALL – provides a list of all available databases and the "i" icon gives information/coverage about a database.

• The results screens in all searching levels cross-reference other databases containing related material.
• Icons appear indicating full-text articles (pulled from the WilsonSelect database and S.U.’s holdings).
• Some databases have SUBJECT (thesaurus) lists.

Of course the grandest news for Fall semester is the revamping of the Library’s Web Page. Student computer assistant Greg Beitler worked (patiently!) with the librarians throughout the summer to completely remodel our Web Page. Reference Librarian Kathy Dalton spent hours writing descriptions for the new, comprehensive database listing of print and online resources. And much more information about the Library’s collections and services was added to existing text.

Kathleen Gunning, Pat Fishbein and Becky Wilson worked with Kathy and Greg to write and revise text, plan the general layout, change the design, rewrite the text, revise the categories, reword the text again, and change it all again one last time. Incredibly, Greg is still speaking to us!

The five sections immediately below the building contain a wealth of information about all aspects of the Library and Media Center. The drop-down menus disclose full options. The categories:

		includes Resource Main Page, Full Listing of Resources, Collections, Web Research Tools, Faculty Recommended Sites, and Library Newsletters.
		links to the Request Main Page, and to online Request Forms for Interlibrary Loan, Course Reserve Materials, Media Services Center, Book & Video Orders, and Comments & Suggestions.
		provides access to iLink, our online catalog of the Library’s holdings of books, periodical titles, videos, CDs, recordings and other materials. There is a link ACLCP, our 21-member-library consortium’s combined holdings of over 5 million bibliographic records, and the Catalog Main Page also links to other online catalogs, worldwide.
		details programs and services provided by the Library in support of the University’s educational endeavors. The Services Main Page and subsequent pages describe Circulation, Reserves, Interlibrary Loan, Reference & Research Instruction, Tutorial Services, Student Employment, a Staff Directory and more.
		main page describes Media Collections and Equipment, Staff, Hours of Operation and other Services provided by the Media Center.

The most significant change was the shift from an abbreviated listing of database shortcuts to a subject arrangement that groups related resources together.

By selecting the appropriate subject area (blue boxes), students are led first to a short grouping of general databases covering all subject areas, then to a specialized list pertaining to the specific subject area selected. Links provide direct access to the selected database, while descriptive text provides locations of CD-ROM and print resources housed in the Library.

For each database or resource listed in the chart, information is given regarding format (print, CD-ROM, or Web-based), publication dates, content (i.e., what the database covers), whether it contains citations, abstracts, or full-text, and its location (either that it is online or where it is located in the Library. If online, a link is provided to "go there").

The four "Good General References" that appear at the top of the chart in the subject categories are full-text databases that cover most disciplines. These include Expanded Academic Index, Lexis-Nexis, ProjectMUSE, and FirstSearch’s WilsonSelect. Just below this is the subject-specific list of resources deemed most appropriate to the subject area selected.

Just above the subject boxes to the right is a TITLE list of all online databases. Users who are familiar with particular sources can go there to gain direct access to a specific database very quickly.

Library hours during the regular semesters are posted in the upper right portion of the Web Page. A link to BREAKS lists hours of operation during term breaks and holidays. Particular thanks to Greg Beitler for suggesting that this feature be added. It appears to be beneficial to students to have it so prominently displayed.

The three burgundy ovals at the very bottom of the page direct users to specific kinds of information.

1. leads students to online Web sites that give examples of how to cite electronic resources (including MLA and APA formats), and how to evaluate web pages.

2. contains a directory of Library staff by name and function.

3. has been added to highlight new resources and other informational items. Check out the new databases added over the summer!

Students have responded very positively to this new format, claiming that it is easier to locate appropriate databases in which to begin their research. In addition to the positive comments we’ve received, the September 29 issue of the Crusader featured an extensive, well-written article describing the new Web Page.

Please take a few moments to explore the new arrangement and let us know what you think!

Several new online databases were added to the Library over the summer months. Through our membership in PALINET, we were able to subscribe to the following resources at greatly reduced rates. These databases offer rich and extensive resources to faculty and students for research. For example:

At last, the electronic version of PsycLIT, the premier database for scholarly research in psychology and related fields, is available on the Web. The online version contains everything that was available in the CD-ROM version, plus conference proceedings and papers. PsycINFO can be accessed through FirstSearch.

PsycINFO contains citations and abstracts of articles in nearly 1500 periodicals in applied psychology, personality, human and animal experimental psychology, social psychology, educational psychology, psychometrics and related topics.

It also includes citations and abstracts of English-language books, chapters, dissertations and reports in psychology and related fields, as well as international material selected from more than 1,400 periodicals written in over 25 languages. PsycINFO annually adds 55,000+ references through monthly updates. Coverage from 1887- date is available on First Search.

ProjectMUSE, produced at Johns-Hopkins University, contains over 100 scholarly periodicals from university presses in the fields of literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, gender studies, and many others.

ProjectMUSE is a powerful research tool that allows users to:

• Perform keyword and boolean searching
• Search full text across all journals in the database, selected journal titles, or in just a single title
• Search tables of contents of articles and book reviews by author and title as well as by Library of Congress subject headings

ProjectMUSE offers a user-friendly interface with the following features:

• Full-text articles designed for easy on-screen reading
• Hypertext links for efficient navigation among article bibliographies, citations, endnotes, biographies and illustrations
• Page numbers from the print edition embedded in electronic text for easy citation and referencing
• Illustrations that are larger and sharper than those in the print journal and, where possible, in full color
• Library of Congress subject headings following each article title in the tables of contents and embedded in article files for highly accurate searching
• Unlimited downloading and printing
• Electronic version available before print
• Editorial information, indexing/abstracting listings, bibliographic data

The Encyclopedia of Life Sciences is designed to be "the most ambitious single reference source ever to be published in the biological sciences. When complete in 2001 it will comprise over 12 million words, 4,000 articles, 7,500 illustrations, 180,000 index entries and 26,000 links. It will be constantly updated online."

Special Features include:

• Emphasis cell and molecular biology and its relevance to medicine.
• 5,000 of the world’s leading scientists are contributing 3,500 signed articles.
• Extensive tables, figures, and illustrations.
• Special Essays written by the leading scientists in their fields: E.g., Ian Wilmut, who cloned Dolly the sheep, writing on Whole Animal Cloning.
• Extensive cross-referencing and indexing, with an estimated 26,000 internal links and up to 180,000 index entries.
• All articles, illustrations, and figures are original and were commissioned for ELS.
• Offers both student- and specialist-appropriate search and retrieval facilities and multimedia features.
• Direct links from references to primary literature and other information resources.
• A distinguished group of Scientific Advisors ensures that ELS remains authoritative, timely, and comprehensive.
• Every article is peer-reviewed by the Scientific Advisors as well as our own editors before being added to the database.
• Articles on the electronic version will be regularly updated with at least 20% of the material completely updated in a given year.
• Links to related science sites chosen by our Editors make ELS a true portal for scientific information and research.

CORE SUBJECTS:

RELATED AREAS OF COVERAGE:

Agriculture, Biogeography, Bioinformatics, Biological and Physical Techniques & Instrumentation, Biophysics, Biotechnology, Cancer Research, Chemistry in Biology, Clinical Medicine, Ecology, Environmental Science, Food Science, Pharmacology, Functional & Comparative Morphology, Taxonomy & Systematics, Physiology, Theoretical Biology, Therapeutics, and Toxicology.

AccessScience is a web-based database in science and technology with 7100+ articles, 2000+ biographies of leading scientists, and 115,000 dictionary terms. The database includes:

• The full text of the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and its corresponding yearbooks
• The Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms with new and revised entries as they are ready
• Weekly late-breaking science and technology news articles, with links to background information and biographies to aid the reader's understanding
• Research updates reporting on important recent development and trends
• Comprehensive and current scientist biographies—linked directly to related topics and encyclopedia articles
• Lists of Nobel Prize Winners, linked to relevant articles and topic home pages in the Encyclopedia, as well as to biographies

The Oxford English Dictionary Online includes the complete text of the 2nd ed. of 1989, the additions 1993-1997, and draft material for the 3rd ed., with a projected 1,000 new and revised words to be added quarterly.

The Oxford English Dictionary claims to be "the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past. It traces the usage of words through 2.5 million quotations from a wide range of international English language sources, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to film scripts and cookery books."

The OED covers words from across the English-speaking world, from North America to South Africa, from Australia and New Zealand to the Caribbean. It also offers the best in etymological analysis, listings of variant spellings, and shows pronunciation using the International Phonetic Alphabet. Plans are for quarterly updates with at least 1000 new and revised entries.

All of these resources can be accessed from both the "Databases & Indexes by SUBJECT" and the "Databases & Indexes by TITLE" links on the Library’s Web Page. At present, they are also listed in the "What’s New" section.

Librarians have now completed an initial review of the Standing Orders Collection (reference and other books and serials that are received on an annual basis, or as published). Later in the semester, faculty will be invited to participate in the review to evaluate which titles should be discontinued.

As with the Periodicals Review two years ago, only titles with fewer than 11 counted uses over the past 10 years will be considered for de-selection. About 60 titles meet this review criteria, so the project is much smaller than the Periodicals Review and will involve just a few titles in any given department. More information about this project will be forthcoming.

Did you know……. The Library hired 34 new students this Fall, bringing the total number of student employees to 69!

Thanks to a wonderful suggestion by faculty member Dr. Karen Bloom, faculty can now place several electronic requests for Interlibrary Loan and Course Reserve materials much more easily by selecting the "Submit Another Request of This Type" option at the conclusion of a request. The screen will retain all information pertaining to the requester, without the need to re-key name, address, phone number, etc. Simply add the descriptive information for the next item needed. Thanks to Karen for suggesting this, and to computer student assistant Greg Beilter for adding it to our Web Page.

Two exciting features have now been enabled in the Sirsi integrated system. The first is in iLink, our online public access catalog. Thanks to the intelligent and persistent efforts of Pat Fishbein, it is now possible for users to retrieve a complete list of all periodical titles and all video titles to which the Library subscribes.

To retrieve these lists, select the appropriate box in the upper right corner of the opening search screen in iLink. Search options listed are: Quick Search, Complex Search, Call No. Browse, Periodical List and Video List. After making your selection, follow instructions on the screen to retrieve an alphabetical list of titles. In the Periodicals List, all full-text titles will appear; this includes online as well as print subscriptions to a journal. The bibliographic record also indicates the database(s) in which the full-text of an online periodical appears. And please remember that in the case of videos, all video titles with numbers will precede the alphabetical list.

The second feature Pat and Sheila Fisher enabled in Sirsi is that of patron notification. The system automatically generates an email notice to faculty and staff, notifying them that books and videos they have requested for purchase have been ordered. Pat has also created a second report. On a monthly basis, faculty will receive an email message listing all titles ordered in the previous three months that have been received. So the October report will list all received books that were ordered in July, August and September. As expected, there will be some overlap in the reports. For this to work, please be sure that your name appears on the book/video order request. The Library Committee reviewed this suggestion and recommended implementation.

iLink can also be checked at any time to determine whether a particular book or video is on order and/or has been cataloged.

--Pat Fishbein