You are cordially invited to a live demonstration of the new SciFinder Web on Tuesday, Nov. 4, from 2-3pm in room 241A at Middleton Library. Marie Sparks will be here from CAS to provide you with an overview of the various features and components of this new web version of the software that has become so central to your research. Many of the problematic issues with the first release in late Spring have been addressed, so we may well want to consider a timetable for switching over from the client, either partially or completely.

I hope you will be able to make it. Your input will be most helpful.

]]> http://biology.blogs.lib.lsu.edu/2008/10/27/scifinder-web-demonstration/feed/ 0 http://biology.blogs.lib.lsu.edu/2007/12/11/ieee-downtime/ http://biology.blogs.lib.lsu.edu/2007/12/11/ieee-downtime/#comments Tue, 11 Dec 2007 20:39:34 +0000 jryan1 http://biology.blogs.lib.lsu.edu/2007/12/11/ieee-downtime/ On Thursday, 13 December, IEEE will perform planned maintenance to the IEEE Xploredigital library.

During the maintenance, users may experience up to two hours of downtime beginning at approximately 4:00PM (EST). A message will be posted to the IEEE Xplorehome page to alert your users to the planned downtime. Please encourage your users to take this into account when they plan their research.

Complementary content will be presented at our sister web portal, www.biofpr.com. The portal is under construction, but users may register their interest in receiving email updates when the site goes live later in 2007. Visit www.biofpr.com now to register and enter a free prize draw! Biofpr.com will supplement the journal by providing immediate news, features and patent coverage, as well as interactive discussions and debate.

Product Information

Open Access to first issue

Logging in with identification is required for off-campus users, whether they are using the journal databases or renewing books through the library catalog. Distance students also will have to have a TigerCard and use their TigerCard number.

If you are a summer term instructor, please mention this to your students. Also if any of your written materials give directions about logging in to the library resources with an SSN, please make a change in the wording.

In case you have any questions or problems, you may call the Reference Desk at 578-8875 for assistance.

Everyone who has been involved with system upgrades in other contexts will not be completely surprised to learn that the upgrade and reinstallation of Science Direct’s core techologies last Saturday encountered some unexpected problems. As a consequence, the upgrade was aborted, the system was reset and we again need to close down the system this week-end to carry out the work.

With great regret and with the most profound apologies, therefore, we announce that ScienceDirect will be unavailable again tomorrow (Saturday, March 3rd) for approximately 9 hours starting at 06:30 AM EST (11:30 GMT). The changes are necessary to improve the performance of ScienceDirect and to ensure a high level of reliability in the coming years.

Through a series of modules, students will learn to search for and be critical of information found on the Internet and in library sources. It is a brief, yet comprehensive, introduction to essential research skills, which takes about two hours to complete. Students are tested at the end of each module and, test results can be emailed automatically to the course instructor.

Consider assigning Tiger TAIL to your classes that are doing research projects, either as part of their course grade or as extra credit.

The link to Tiger TAIL is on the library’s tutorial page at http://www.lib.lsu.edu/instruction/tutorials.html.

If you have any questions about Tiger TAIL, please write or call Mike Russo at mrusso1@lsu.edu or 578-6823.

Just send me an email at jryan1@lsu.edu and let me know when and where you’d like to have the instruction take place and I’ll set it up. Please take advantage of this service if you can — I think it’s important for all students to have a basic grounding in how to conduct research in a university library.

Jenna

Another project I’m working on this Fall is an update and possible restructuring of the subject guides on the library website. The guides are linked here. I’m responsible for the Biochemistry, Biology, Coastal Sciences, and Earth Sciences guides, so if you have any suggestions for resources to go on those let me know. I’m also thinking of making subguides under the major headings, so if you have suggestions for what subcategories I should use, let me know that as well.

This is my second year here at LSU Libraries and I hope to meet more of you and work closely with you as faculty to improve our library services. Please don’t hesitate to email me or call me at 578-2950 and discuss any questions, suggestions, or concerns you may have.

Jenna