October 1999
Newsletter #33
 

Library Begins Off-Campus
Storage

The Humanities Go Online

Finding the Right Index

Library Research Guides Now
on the Web

Literature Online

Videotapes Now Circulate

Deacidification Stops Damage
to Books

Library Databases available
Off Campus

Student and Faculty
Technology Guides Available
 

Finding the most appropriate periodical index can be a challenge. In the past, libraries typically organized bound periodical indexes on index tables by broad subject areas. With the advent of online databases, libraries implemented new methods of organizing the “virtual index table.” The Library recently reorganized its online periodical indexes and made them available via the Web, eliminating the problems you may have experienced with the former menu. Available from on or off campus, the Web-based format offers simplified access and more information about each database so that users can select the best database for their research.

How It’s Organized

The new Web menu lists the indexes and databases under new category names derived through usability testing. Library users were asked to divide the nearly 150 databases into similar-subject groupings and then to name these categories. The information gained from these users, along with librarians’ experience working with researchers, provided excellent data to improve the organization of the databases list. With eleven subject categories (as opposed to four in the previous menu), researchers can now more quickly pinpoint relevant indexes. Additional options include an alphabetical list of the databases, a list of databases that include the full text of the articles indexed, and a list of databases that can be accessed from off campus. A section highlighting new databases is available, as well as brief and comprehensive descriptions of each database. The longer descriptions include links to the database vendor’s help.

A planned enhancement is the addition of approximately 50 narrower topics to supplement the eleven broad categories. This would permit the user looking for articles on chemistry to select that term rather than browsing all the science and technology databases.