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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 18, 1987)
To get the most value for your time spent in the library, master the basics of library use. The basic “finding tools" are the card catalog, .he online cata log and the serial holdings list. • FINDING BOOKS The card catalog located on the first floor is divided into an author-title catalog (white labels) and a subject catalog (orange labels). To find books, look up an author, title or subject, copy the call number and consult a Location Guide at the Reference Desk to see which floor houses that call number. • MEET ALIS If you prefer, you may search authors and titles using the computer terminals in the catalog area. This system is our online catalog and is called ALIS. In addition to the call number and location of materials, ALIS will also tell you if the book you want is charged out or on the shelf. You can search for authors and titles only; subject searching is not yet available on ALIS. For your con venience ALIS terminals are available on each floor of the Library. • FINDING JOURNALS To identify which magazines, journals, newspapers, yearbooks, etc. the Library receives and where they are located, consult the Serial Holdings List on microfiche. These microfiche cards are located in the stands next to each microfiche reader. Microfiche readers are located in the catalog area, on each floor and at all service desks. To use the Serial Holdings List, look up alphabetically the title of the journal on the 'rritcTofiche. The ca\\ numbeT and tocaVion are printed to the left of the title. Older, bound issues of most journals are shelved in the stacks. Consult a Loca- tioh Guide to find correct floor. Recent, unbound is sues for most journals are in the Current Periodicals Department (CPD) on the first floor and are ar ranged by call numbers. • USING INDEXES When you need a mag azine or journal article on a particular subject, con sult the indexes in the Reference Division on the first floor. These indexes are arranged alphabetically by title on numbered tables. Evans Library has over 400 indexes available in specific subject fields. Ask to see the INDEX TO INDEXES available at the Ref erence Desk to determine which index would be most helpful for your topic. I L a# Checking Out Books To check out a book, bring it to the Circulation Desk on the first floor and present a current, valid li brary card. Personnel in the Circulation Department will issue or update library cards for you. With a few exceptions, all stack materials circu late. Normal loan period is two weeks for students and one month for faculty and graduate students. Bound issues of magazines and journals may be checked out from the Reference Desk on the first floor for a four hour period. Evans Library does not charge fines for overdue materials except for items that have been recalled Asking for Help... You have a research project and you’re not sure where to start, or perhaps you are in search of an obscure publication. Whatever the need, never hesitate to ask for help. Typically our reference staff answers more than 500 questions daily. With their special training, librarians can help you plan your re search strategy, refer you to the best information source, or locate hard-to-find materials. You have the benefit of immediate professional help while learning skills you can put to use in future research assignments. The main, centralized Reference Desk is located on the first floor. Other help desks can be found on the second floor in the Government Documents Di vision, the Microtext Department and the Map Room, and on the sixth floor in the Learning Re sources Department. Intercom telephones located on the third, fourth, fifth and sixth floors allow you to communicate with the reference staff when you need help on those floors. All reference desks have instructional handouts available to make your search for information a little bit easier. for another user. A lost book must be paid for or re placed with an identical copy. A non-refundable processing fee is charged when the book is lost. A complete copy of the Circulation Policy is available at the Circulation Desk. If you cannot locate material that is supposed to be on the shelf, check ALIS to see if the book is charged out. If necessary, fill out a Locate Card at the Circulation Desk and the Library will call you when the material has been located. If another user has the book you need, fill out a Recall Card and you will be notified when the book is returned. Special Treasures • ARCHIVES is a rich source of information on the history and growth of Texas A&M University and of Texas. Old Aggie football films to early student uni forms are among its unique keepsakes. The papers of Texas public officials such as Congressman Olin E. Teague and former Speaker of the House Bill Clayton are included in its numerous collections. Access to Ar chives is through the West entrance of the original building called the Cushing Building. • SPECIAL COLLECTIONS DIVISION houses unique collections of national importance to students and scholars in the humanities. Among its treasures are the Science Fiction Research Collection, the Jeff Dykes Range Livestock Collection and the Loran L. Laughlin Collection of Rare Antiquarian Books. Such collections provide scholars with rare and original material for research. Special Collections also offers art treasures including the Western Illustrators Collec tion and the Mavis and Mary Kelsey Collection of Americana with prints by Winslow Homer and Frederic Remington. Although all items are kept in closed stacks, researchers may use them in the reading room in the Special Collections Division on the second floor of the Library. <D d& ^ CO n. ra I—< (/, < r. rS * . -o —] V < -O it 3 P 0 & ■ts ‘“-I c: i-H <u ,£p bo ki ss a, S O : U 8- ft! <b c ^ 0 2 •s£ ^ 2 O C S3 "o - V c > O -3 x c c ^ "H CHS qj cq <u LT: -o r-x v qj -o oxs g-a o 2 " "Si « ‘S.II'Sl I 1.1° 1^-5° I 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 reading an instruction manual. A minimum charge of $2.50 per search is assessed. Check with the reference staff for more information. THE JAMES AND VIRGINIA WILEY LASER DISK SERVICE uses laser disk technology to pro vide access to a variety of databases covering such fields as agriculture, psychology, business, current events, education and more. There is no fee for this service. WILSEARCH allows the user to search in dexes such as the Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature, Education Index, Art Index, Social Sci ences Index, and others. There is currently no fee for this service. Make an appointment to use the 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, Reserves 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 of the two hundred plus mi crocomputers 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 microcomputer 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. 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.