New EBSCO Databases Interface

Be aware Saint Mary's students: one of our most popular database providers is changing its user search interface! Soon when you sign in to use an EBSCOhost database, you will see a very different, and very "Google-ized" page design. If you'd like to read about the changes and see screenshots of the new interface, please visit one of the following links

1. EBSCOhost 2.0 Welcome and Information page
2. Interface Enhancements Overview (PPT)

This change will affect the following databases:

1. Academic Search Premier
2. Business Source Premier
3. Regional Business News
4. MasterFILE Premier
5. EBSCO MegaFILE
6. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
7. Catholic Periodical and Literature Index
8. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts
9. New Testament Abstracts
10. Old Testament Abstracts
11. Literary Reference Center
12. Mental Measurements Yearbook
13. Tests in Print
14. MLA International Bibliography
15. MLA Directory of Periodicals
16. America: History & Life
17. Historical Abstracts
18. Family & Society Studies Worldwide (Trial)

Soon we will have an updated database guide for the new EBSCOhost database layout. We'll keep you posted here on the TCLibrary blog. If you have any questions about using the database once its interface changes, please don't hesitate to contact a SMU Librarian.

Library Tip: RSS, wikis & more!

Confused by 21st Century technology vocabulary, like wiki, blogs, or rss feed? There is an excellent free educational web site to bring you up to speed on new technology, called Common Craft. Common Craft offers short, informative and entertaining videos that, to quote from their web site, focus on “making complex ideas easy to understand. We use a whiteboard-and-paper format we call Paperworks that is designed to cut out the noise and stick to what matters.” Each video only lasts a few minutes, but you’ll walk (or click?) away with a greater understanding of the technology swirling around you.

For a sample of how excellent this resource is, follow this link to watch “Wikis in Plain English” on Common Craft’s web site: http://www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plain-english

To view the complete list of free educational videos, visit: http://www.commoncraft.com/shows/video

Library closed July 4th & 5th

Well good Fourth
of July to ya!!

TC Library will be closed on Friday, July 4th, and Saturday, July 5th, in honor of the Independence Day holiday.
We hope that you all have a safe and happy holiday weekend.

New Books & Videos on Flickr

The librarians have once again come across a chest full of doubloons; thus, with your best interests in mind we spent our newly found gold on resources for our students and staff. Visually check out our new books and videos on our Flickr page--http://www.flickr.com/photos/tclibrary/--and click on each book to find out its availability in the library. Ahoy, enjoy the new books Gar.

TRIAL: Family & Society Studies Worldwide

MFT students and staff, we have a trial of Family & Society Studies Worldwide! Our trial goes until August 11, 2008. Please give this database a try and let us know what you think. If you have any comments regarding its usefulness or lack of usefulness please email Nykol Johnson at nmjohnso@smumn.edu If the above link does not take you to the trial you can try the link below: http://search.ebscohost.com/ You may need the following user ID and password to access the trial. User Id: s8996554 Password: password

Library Tip: Boolean Operators

This is an extremely helpful tip if you find yourself overwhelmed by a high number of search results while searching for information in a database or online search engine. Boolean operators, otherwise known as AND, OR, and NOT, are useful tricks that allow you to search for longer phrases and multiple keywords. The result is fewer, but more relevant, search results.

To learn more about Boolean operators, visit our Search Strategies and Helpful Tips page. There you can print a handout of tips regarding searching with Boolean operators, subject headings, and more.

If visual learning is more your thing, check out this slightly corny but very informative video produced by the Schurz Library at IU South Bend.

Interlibrary Loan Available!!

Interlibrary Loan is now available! Make requests as usual. If you have any questions, please consult the Interlibrary Loan pages or contact a librarian (phone: 612-728-5108, email: tclibrary@smumn.edu).