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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 4, 1986)
^ ‘■fH 6c - 5 Up" | ^ IJ o "o D <u bc~ — *n o % <u be ^ fc 03 c S c ^ .2 s a. «= C_-d £'C o c-g'-p&g c s" 'c3 be n r ~ QJ £2 '§ 5 E IJ KJ e J s:J.#U J Beyorfaf bTooICs Computerized Information Searches If you need very current data, or if you need arti cles on a topic which combines two or three main ideas, a computerized literature search may stream line your research. Students themselves can search hundreds of databases to produce lists of articles, books, proceedings, reports, and government docu ments on the specific topic requested. Evans Library offers a variety of search systems to meet the needs of faculty and students. • AIRS The Automated Information Retrieval Service, a fee service, provides customized searches of the literature in a broad range of topics. The computer systems used by the AIRS staff allow users to search recent information in over 300 in dexes, abstracting services and directories. AIRS is the most sophisticated and complete of the services and might be appropriate for a major project. Costs vary, but a typical AIRS search can cost between $25 and $50. AIRS is located on the first floor of the Library, Room 110. • BRS/AFTERDARK is a do-it-yourself com puterized search system which searches and re trieves bibliographic information according to your instructions. Literally millions of citations may be searched for information pertaining to your partic ular interest. Students perform their own searching after completing a 45 minute instructional program. A minimum charge of $2.50 per search is assessed. Check with the Reference staff for more information. • INFOTRAC uses laser disk technology to provide access to citations in over 1,000 journals dealing with current events, business and technol ogy. There is no fee for this service. Check with the Reference Division for appointments and a brief in troduction to the system. • WILSEARCH allows the user to search in dexes such as Reader’s Guide to Periodical Litera ture, Education Index, Social Sciences Index, Art In dex and others. The cost of the service is $1.00 and users must complete the instructional manual be fore using Wilsearch. Make an appointment to use this service in the Reference offices on the first floor. • PATENT SEARCHES Because Evans Library is a patent depository, the Library has ac cess to CASSIS, an online service provided by the Patent and Trademark Office. CASSIS contains all U.S patent numbers which will lead the user to full text patents on microfilm cartridges. CASSIS can provide a current list of patents by class/subclass. Contact the Government Documents Division on the second floor for more information. Computers, Movies & More If you need to use a computer, videocassette player, movie projector or other audio-visual equipment, visit the Learning Resources Department (LRD) on the sixth floor of the Library. Make an appointment and present your student ID and use any one of the hun dred plus microcomputers available including Apples, TRS-80’s, Balcones, IBM-PC’s and others. The LRD provides user assistance on microcomputers as staff time permits. Self-teaching materials are available in various formats. Each semester the LRD also offers fee based workshops in word processing and micro computer use. In addition to equipment, the LRD contains audio-vi sual materials which support the teaching and re search of the University. The collection contains re corded drama, including the complete plays of Shakespeare and materials in the field of history, politi cal science, anthropology, biology, education and oth ers. The LRD does not have a collection of recorded music. The LRD can borrow, free of charge, materials from the Texas State Library videocassette collection of ed ucational and entertainment programs. Their catalog is available in the LRD. Materials in this department can be identified in the card catalog on the first floor. The location stamps “Multi-Media” or “Learning Resource” will appear above the call number to indicate the item is located in the LRD. Most audio-visual material can be checked out for two weeks with the exception of 16mm films which are limited to 3-day checkout. Microcomputer software does not circulate. Audio cassette players can be checked out for two weeks. All other playback equip ment is used in the LRD only. Viewing rooms and booths are available. Reserves If your instructor tells you material has been placed on reserve, you will need to go to the Reserve Depart ment on the first floor in Room 118. Reserve materials are books, journals, articles, and other required read ings for a class. A limited number of quiz files are also kept on reserve. A call number is necessary to request reserve material at the service desk in the Reserve Room. To obtain the call number, use the ALIS terminal and enter course name, course number, instructor or title. The majority of reserve material may be used only in the building. Borrowing times for materials are deter mined by the faculty member placing the material on reserve. A stringent fine policy is designed to encour age borrowers to return materials promptly. Essential Sources Government Documents Evans Library is designated as a federal depository li brary which means the Library receives the majority of books, pamphlets, reports and other materials published by the U.S. Government. This enormous body of material is a valuable source of information for research. Texas State documents are also housed in this division. The Technical Reports Collection, another part of the Docu ments Division, includes scientific and technical reports with emphasis in the areas of oceanography, water re sources and transportation. The Government Documents Division has its own card catalog and reference desk on the second floor of the Library. Material in this collection is not cataloged in the main catalog. Microtext Department A gold mine of information, the Microtext Department houses about three million documents in microform in cluding microfilm, microfiche, and microprint. Newspaper indexes are located in this department along with some 3,500 newspaper and magazine titles. The collection also includes college and university catalogs, education materials on ERIC, financial reports, engineering catalogs and industrial standards. Consult the card catalog found in the Microtext Department on the second floor to accu rately identify microform holdings, Paper reproduction of most microforms can be pro duced by the Department at $.20 per copy or by the user at coin-operated copiers for $.15 per copy. Map Department Atlases, gazetteers, and aerial photographs are found in the Map Department along with street and road maps, nautical charts, aeronautical charts and sheet maps. The Map Department is located on the second floor of the li brary, Room 205. Current Periodicals (CPD) Approximately 8,000 journal and periodical titles and 200 newspaper titles are located in the Current Periodi cals Department on the first floor of the Library in Room 119. Only the most recent unbound issues of journals and magazines are located in CPD. Generally, CPD materials do not circulate.