New: JSTOR Ebooks

The UAA/APU Consortium Library has recently subscribed to a collection of ebook titles from JSTOR. In addition to our popular e-journal collections available through JSTOR, we now offer access to over 40,000 ebooks from renowned scholarly publishers, integrated with journals and primary sources on the JSTOR platform. Subject areas cover the humanities, social sciences, arts, law, history, health, science and math, business and economics, and area studies.

All JSTOR ebook chapters are available exclusively in a DRM-free, unlimited-user model. They work just like the journal articles on JSTOR, with unlimited simultaneous use, PDF downloads, and printing, and no need to log in or use special software.

You can search for ebook titles on the JSTOR platform or download an Excel file with the complete list of subscribed titles available.

 

SAGE Research Methods has a new look

srmoSAGE Research Methods has relaunched on a new and improved platform. Some of the key features of the new site are:

  • A unified platform for text and video content, providing users with a multimedia research experience
  • A fully responsive site that will work well with all mobile phones and tablet devices
  • Improved discoverability of content, both from within the platform and from external sources
  • The Methods Map has been improved, allowing users to explore method concepts with greater ease. The browse options have been enhanced to align with user needs – allowing browse by discipline, content type, and method topic.

Workshops for moving to the new version of RefWorks

refworksaRefWorks users must move to the new version of RefWorks citation management software by May 10th, 2016 when the old version expires. The new RefWorks has a number of nice features and it is very easy to move the citations from your old account to the new account.

How to Move to New RefWorks

In addition, the UAA/APU Consortium Library is offering workshops that will show you how simple it is to move your existing RefWorks citations and offer tips and tricks for how to get the most out of the new version.

  • In-person Workshop, Tue March 29th 1pm-2pm, Consortium Library Room 309

New Interface for ScienceDirect

Elsevier has recently released a new interface for its ScienceDirect platform.

The new release has four key upgrades:

  • A simplified user experience, with less visual clutter and improved design
  • Better visibility of open access content
  • Quicker discovery of relevant ScienceDirect content from search engines
  • Seamless export of citations and full-text articles to Mendeley

To learn more about this new release and other updates, visit the ScienceDirect Blog.

BrainPOP Offers Short Animated Films

Targeted at grades 3-12, BrainPOP offers short animated films on a variety of topics such as: science, social studies, English, math, engineering & tech, health, and arts and music. Students may also take quizzes, do activities, play games, and view related videos.

brainpop

BrainPOP Jr. is also available for students in grades K-3 and for a Spanish Language version,  see BrainPOP Español.

There is also a free teacher community, BrainPOP Educators, with a blog, lesson plans, Common Core standards, webinars, tutorials, and many other helpful resources.

New Database: Arctic & Antarctic Regions

Arctic Regions

The Consortium Library has recently added Arctic & Antarctic Regions from EBSCOhost to its collection of databases.

This database contains over 1 million records covering multidisciplinary research on polar regions, spanning from 1800 to the present. Sources indexed include books, dissertations, government reports, conference proceedings, and scientific periodicals.

Subject areas include:

  • Geology
  • Global Warming
  • Engineering
  • Oceanography
  • Biology
  • Ethnicity
  • And much more

See more information about Arctic & Antarctic Regions and a complete list of content coverage at http://www.ebscohost.com/academic/arctic-antarctic-regions

Ahoy, Mateys!

September 19th be International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

 

Learn how to parley in perfect Pirate with Mango Languages online learning program.

In addition to Pirate, the Library offers access to over 30 other languages through Mango, from Arabic to Vietnamese, courtesy of the Alaska Library Network. So step lively, me hearties, and go to Mango Languages to start learning!

So, Just What IS an Electronic Resources Librarian?

If you’ve used the Consortium Library recently, chances are you’ve come into contact with the electronic materials we offer. The library currently owns or subscribes to almost 70,000 electronic books and 60,000 electronic journals and provides access to thousands more freely available resources. The Library also has hundreds of specialized online databases that cover a broad range of subject areas and formats, such as streaming video, interactive tutorials, and audio files.

While electronic resources, or e-resources, for short, can make research materials accessible to many more students, allowing you to study at a time and place convenient to you, they also bring some challenges with them. Publishers have many different pricing and access models and they vary widely in what they allow you, the researcher, to do with their materials.

It’s  my job as Electronic Resources Librarian to get new resources up and running and make sure they are accessible to you through the Library website. I track renewals and license information and monitor usage data. I also troubleshoot any problems that might arise, such as maintenance outages, broken website addresses, and log in issues. It’s a full-time job keeping up with all the changes in the e-resource world, but it’s also fascinating to see how electronic resources continue to evolve.

Stay tuned to this blog for news and announcements about all that is happening with electronic resources here in the Library–from new resources to access problems to tips for using our ebooks, ejournals, and specialized databases.