We just compiled the final statistics for database use for the last academic year. A few of our databases do not let us track usage, but most of them do and we keep an eye on that throughout the year. Here are some interesting numbers for the FY 13-14.
Total database searches, July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014 : 457,468
Most used database: Academic Search Complete, 78,545 searches
Heaviest database use month: April 2014, 72,003 searches
Total full-text articles obtained: 103,588
Total e-book use: 5,537 titles
Total Films on Demand video views: 1,335
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Monday, July 21, 2014
ValueLine updates
Value Line, a database that allows you to check out corporate stock information, has updated their search interface. They've also put out some helpful videos to help library users understand how to get the information they want most efficiently. I found the Basic Navigation video helpful. If you need the more advanced features that Value Line offers, there are other videos available.
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Favorite "cult" novels
Summer is the perfect time to catch up on those books you've been meaning to read if you only had the time. If you are lucky enough to enjoy a break from classes at the moment, consider choosing a few titles from this list of Fifty Essential Cult Novels.
What are "cult novels"? Emily Temple writes on Flavorwire, " Any book with a squadron of rabid fans swearing that it changed their lives quickly seems cultish. Cult novels often come from the fringes, they often represent countercultural perspectives, they often experiment with form."
What titles would YOU add to the list that have changed your life?
What are "cult novels"? Emily Temple writes on Flavorwire, " Any book with a squadron of rabid fans swearing that it changed their lives quickly seems cultish. Cult novels often come from the fringes, they often represent countercultural perspectives, they often experiment with form."
What titles would YOU add to the list that have changed your life?
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Database changes
We have changed suppliers for some of our databases. This was a financially-driven decision as both companies (Ebsco, that supplied these databases for years and ProQuest, a competitor of theirs) were offering the exact same information from a third party, but had the databases priced differently. This year, ProQuest offered the better deal so we changed the following databases: PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES (both from the American Psychological Association) and Philosopher's Index.(published by the Philosopher's Information Center).
What does this mean to you?
The search screens are slightly different than what you may be used to. The biggest change for me is that the options to narrow your search are on the right side of the screen instead of the left side.
When you click on "Search for Fulltext" there is an intermediate pop-up screen that you need to click again to see if fulltext is available in the BVU Library. You can also use this intermediate pop-up to click to go to an interlibrary loan form if you've discovered that fulltext is not available for that journal.
The biggest change may be that you will no longer be able to search a psychology database and an education or general database simultaneously. Only databases from the same vendor may be searched simultaneously at this time. Because educators and education students often need cross-disciplinary information from both the education and the psychology journals, you will now need to search the psychology databases separately from the other discipline's databases.
As we become more familiar with the new ProQuest databases, we'll post additional information here to inform everyone.
What does this mean to you?
The search screens are slightly different than what you may be used to. The biggest change for me is that the options to narrow your search are on the right side of the screen instead of the left side.
When you click on "Search for Fulltext" there is an intermediate pop-up screen that you need to click again to see if fulltext is available in the BVU Library. You can also use this intermediate pop-up to click to go to an interlibrary loan form if you've discovered that fulltext is not available for that journal.
The biggest change may be that you will no longer be able to search a psychology database and an education or general database simultaneously. Only databases from the same vendor may be searched simultaneously at this time. Because educators and education students often need cross-disciplinary information from both the education and the psychology journals, you will now need to search the psychology databases separately from the other discipline's databases.
As we become more familiar with the new ProQuest databases, we'll post additional information here to inform everyone.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
We've been a little short-staffed this week. We had one librarian retire on June 30, another is on vacation, and a third staff member is home recovering from a broken leg. This is just a temporary dip in the usual census. We should be back to full strength in August. Meanwhile, to fill the void, we have a special visitor today who will be hanging out at the library while she awaits her first vet appointment this afternoon. Meet Hermione!
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