The Curtis Law Wilson Library produces a newsletter every month called the Data Miner. http://library.mst.edu/
The September 2008 newsletter describes these new additions more extensively for further reading.
This library has two important changes that have occured within the last three years to improve its user centered services to its students:
1. SFX Makes Finding Journal Articles Easier.
Students are now able to access materials much more successfully due to new software that has been added to the database. The software is called SFX - a link resolver. This software allows users to more easily find full text electronic journal articles, including articles available in full text in the library’s many databases. This software makes it possible for patrons to simultaneously search multiple databases, allowing them to find information on a subject more quickly and easily.
The SFX link resolver is software that links search results to sources that will satisfy the user’s information needs, including the electronic full text of the articles, the library catalog or interlibrary loan. The MetaSearch allows users to search several of the library’s databases and the MERLIN library catalog simultaneously. The results from multiple sources are presented as a single list and ranked by significance.
The ability to find journals easily is always on a student’s mind. This new software sounds promising to the student’s of Missouri. Perhaps SFX software finally master’s the term/keyword searching that is used when students do researching online. This new software is indeed a great idea if in fact it does deliver on its promises. Every university or college campus should have one.
I wonder what Engineering students did before to find backfiles of information? This new addition is great for the engineering students and faculty. The importance of having the ability to acquire this older scholarly literature will indeed help students with innovations and help not to repeat or enhance some of the experiments for their future endeavors. Perhaps the budget allowed for this increase in resources at MST but overall it’s a good one for all.
I love that some of my classmates are choosing nonconventional renovations! Just because there aren't men running around wearing hard hats and cutting through walls, doesn't mean a library can't renovate their services!
ReplyDeleteThe changes you cover sound really helpful for the users of the library. I would love to have access to both resources. I also feel like the library really reached out to the students. That kind of information access support from the library probably really helps the students get over the sometimes daunting task of SEARCHING!
That SFX software sounds like a really awesome thing. Being able to search multiple databases and the library's catalog simultaneously is SUPER useful, especially if a student isn't really sure where to start looking for resources in the first place.
ReplyDeleteWhoa! I took a quick peek at others blog's and they all look professional. This is my first time ever doing a blog so bare with my mediocre style of doing one. =)
ReplyDeleteTerri, fear not. I am new to the blog thing too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing advances in engineering library services. The database seems really useful and a great asset to the community.
I would love to try SFX and see what its all about from a first hand perspective. :) searching, ILLs, all of these tools are very beneficial for any user! :)
ReplyDeleteIt's so great to see when libraries continue to make resources easier to access. Everyone benefits and the efforts are well worth it. SFX sounds wonderful. Thanks for the information.
ReplyDeleteI have not heard of SFX but I just attended a meeting in which a fairly new consortium has been created for private, academic libraries. The larger University of California system, the California State Universities and even the community colleges had joined in consortiums. This consortium uses software called Camino which is tightly integrated with the library's Innovative Millenium's Integrated Library system. It is a way to move to user mediated interlibrary loan. Less "work" for the library staff but the service works so well that the number of books being borrowed has increased tremendously which means lots of legwork to page the books and ship them out to the consortium member libraries.
ReplyDeleteThat SFX software sounds so beneficial. I sometimes get frustrated searching UNT's when I can't find something in one, so you have to go to the next database.
ReplyDeleteAlso, having the older stuff available digitally is a really nice accomplishment. There is still so much of the older stuff that is relevant but not accessible.
Link resolving is essential, and not just in the online library. We are beginning to create research guides, may of which have links in them. It won't be long before we have quite a lot of them that will need to be reviewed for linking accuracy unless we can get a resolver.
ReplyDeleteRe: backfiles, I struggle with this a lot, because I often have to make a decision about whether to subscribe to back-files at all. I know it depends on the topic and the journal, but it can still be a challenging decision to make, especially since we do not have any pay per use subscriptions.