The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, September 19, 1990, Image 6

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    LEARNIIM<3 THE FIQF>ES
LIBRARY BASICS
To get the most value for your time spent in
the Library, master the basics of library use. The
basic “finding tools” are NOTIS, the online cata
log; an array of computer databases; and the peri
odical indexes.
NOTIS IS
... the online library computer system at the
Sterling C. Evans Library
... a database containing records of all books
and journal titles in the Library
... searchable by author, title, subject and
keyword
... available for searching on terminals
throughout the Library and by remote access
from your own computer
... and much more!
NOTIS can be used to find bibliographic
information, locations and call numbers for materi
als held by the Sterling C. Evans Library. NOTIS
will even tell you if a book is checked out, and
when it is due.
Through NOTIS, the Library also offers access
to Business Periodicals Index, Applied Science
and Technology Index, and Biological and Agri
cultural Index with the Wilson Database, or WILS,
feature. Plans call for more databases to be
added to this function in the near future.
For help using either the Library Catalog or
Wilson Database portions of NOTIS, detailed
searching guides, or remote access instructions,
contact the Reference Desk.
FINDING BOOKS
After finding a NOTIS record, copy the location
and call number and consult a Location Guide at
the Reference Desk to see which floor houses
that call number.
FINDING JOURNALS
To identify which magazines, journals, news
papers, yearbooks, etc. the Library receives and
where they are located, consult the Library
Catalog part of NOTIS, searching for the journal
by title. The NOTIS record will give you the call
number and location of the journal. Older, bound
volumes of most journals are shelved in the
stacks. Consult a Location Guide to find the
correct floor. Recent, unbound issues for most
journals are in the Current Periodicals Depart
ment (CPD) on the first floor, and are arranged by
call numbers.
USING INDEXES
When you need a magazine or journal on a
particular subject, consult the indexes in the Ref
erence Division on the first floor. These indexes
are arranged alphabetically by title on numbered
tables. The Evans Library has over 400 indexes
available in specific subject fields. Ask to see the
INDEX TO INDEXES available at the Reference
Desk to determine which index would be most
helpful for your topic.
CHECKING OUT BOOKS
To check out a book, bring it to the Circulation
Desk on the first floor, and present a current, valid
University I.D. Lost I.D.s and changes of address
should be reported to personnel at the Circulation
Desk.
With a few exceptions, all stack materials
circulate. The normal loan period is two weeks
for students, one month for graduate students and
four months for faculty. Books may be renewed if
they have not been requested by another Library
user. Bound issues of magazines and journals
may be checked out by faculty and graduate stu
dents from the Circulation Desk on the first floor
for a four hour period.
The Evans Library does not charge fines for
overdue materials except for items that have been
recalled for another user. A lost book must be
paid for or replaced with an identical copy. A non-
refundable processing fee is charged when a
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 NOTIS to see if the book
is charged out. If necessary, fill out a Locate
Card at the Circulation Desk and the Library will
notify 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.
ASKING FOR HELP
You have a research project and you are 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 research 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 assignments.
The main, centralized Reference Desk is
located on the first floor. Another help desk on
the second floor provides reference service for
government documents and microforms. Assis
tance is also available in the Map Room, and on
the sixth floor in the Learning Resources Depart
ment. Intercom telephones located on the third,
fourth, fifth and sixth floors allow you to communi
cate with the Reference staff when you need help
on those floors.
All reference desks have instructional hand
outs available to make your search a little bit eas
ier.
BEYOND BQQKLS
Computerized Information Searches
If you need very current data, or if you need
articles on a topic which combines two or three
main ideas, a computerized literature search may
streamline your research. Students themselves
can search hundreds of databases to produce
lists of articles, books, proceedings, reports, and
government documents on the specific topic
requested. The 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 system used by the AIRS staff allows
searches of recent information in over 800
indexes, 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 $50 and $75. AIRS is located
on the first floor of the Library in the Reference
Office, Room 110, and appointments can be
made at that location.
‘AfterDark
The AfterDark service is a do-it-yourself
computerized search system which searches and
retrieves bibliographic information according to
your instructions. Literally millions of citations
may be searched for information pertaining to
your particular interest. Students perform their
own searching after reading an instruction man
ual. There may be a charge for this, depending
on the database searched, and an appointment is
necessary. Check with the Reference staff for
more information.
*The James and Virginia Wiley
Laser Disk Service
The Evans Library’s CD-ROM service uses
laser disk technology to provide access to a
variety of databases covering such fields as
agriculture, psychology, business, current events,
education, and more. Use of the CD-ROM data
bases is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Results of searches may be printed out or down
loaded onto floppy disk. There is no fee for this
service.
*Wilsearch -
Wilsearch allows the user to search indexes
such as the Readers’ Guide to Periodical Litera
ture, Art Index, General Science Index, and
others. There is a minimal charge of $.10 per
citation for this service. Make an appointment to
use the service in the Reference offices on the
first floor.
‘Patent Searches
Because the Evans Library is a patent deposi
tory, the Library has access to CASSIS, a data
base of patent information on CD-ROM, 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 car
tridges. CASSIS can provide a current list of pat
ents by class/subclass. Contact the Government
Documents Division on the second floor for more
information.
ESSENTIAL SOOBCiES
Government Documents
The Evans Library is designated as a federal
depository library, which means the Library
receives the majority of books, pamphlets,
reports, and other materials published by the
United States 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 Documents Divi
sion, includes scientific and technical reports with
emphasis in the areas of oceanography, water
resources and transportation. Although records
of federal documents published since 1976 are
listed on NOTIS, older materials and state docu
ments are not. Consult the staff at the Govern
ment Documents/Microtext reference desk on the
second floor for assistance.
Many government documents circulate and
may be checked out at the Government Docu
ments/Microtext Circulation desk.
Microtext Department
The Microtext Department, located on the
second floor, holds the majority of the Evans
Library’s three million microforms, which include
microfilm, microfiche and microprint. Approxi
mately one fourth of all periodicals can be found
in this department, along with newspapers
(excepting current editions) and newspaper in
dexes. Among the over 400 collections held in
the department are college catalogs, company fi
nancial reports, ERIC (an education index),
engineering catalogs, and industrial standards.
The Guide to Microform Collections in the Sterling
C. Evans Library provides access to over 400
collections, ranging from historical to economic to
census to literary materials. A growing number of
the microform holdings appear in the NOTIS cata
log, by individual title or by every title in the
collection. For assistance in identifying or locat
ing microforms, consult the staff at the Govern
ment Documents/Microform Reference desk.
contains recorded drama, including ttie complete
plays of Shakespeare, and materials in the fields
of history, political science, anthropology, biology,
education and others. The LRD also has a limited
collection of recorded music.
LRD materials are identifiable in the card
catalog and the public access NOTIS terminals by
the location stamps “Multi-Media” or “Learning
Resource” above or preceding the call number.
Inquire in the LRD about microcomputer software.
Circulation checkout periods vary. Videocas
settes and 16mm films circulate for three days.
VMS tapes may be checked out of the LRD by
TAMU teaching faculty only. Slides, filmstrips and
audiocassettes circulate for two weeks. Micro
computer software cannot leave the LRD area.
Items cannot be renewed by phone. Audiocas
sette players can be checked out for two weeks.
All other playback equipment is used in the LRD
Copies can be made from microfilm and
microfiche when the Department is open. Patrons
can make their own copies for $. 15/copy or staff
will complete copy orders at$.20/copy. Micro
fiche can be duplicated for $.25. Many of the
items in the Microtext Department can be
checked out, as can portable film and fiche
readers. The machines are loaned for two weeks
to undergraduates, graduates, staff and faculty,
and a $1.00 a day fine is charged for late returns.
For more information, please visit the department,
or call the Government Documents/Microtext
Circulation Desk at 845-1952.
Map Department
Atlases, gazetteers, and aerial photographs
are found in the Map Department along with
street and road maps, nautical charts, aeronauti
cal charts and sheet maps. Topographic and
geologic maps make up a large portion of the
approximately 130,000 maps housed here.
Nearly all maps circulate. The Map Department is
located on the second floor of the Library, Room
205.
RESERVES
If your instructor tells you material has been
placed on reserve, you will need to go to the
Reserve Department on the first floor in Room
118. Reserve materials are books, articles and
other required readings 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 NOTIS termi
nal and enter title, author, or key words.
The majority of reserve material may be used
only in the building. Borrowing times for materials
are determined by the faculty member placing the
material on reserve. A stringent fine policy is
designed to encourage borrowers to return
materials promptly.
SPECIAL TREASURES
ARCHIVES
Current Periodicals (CPD)
Approximately 8,000 journal and periodical
titles and 200 newspaper titles are located in the
Current Periodicals 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.
COMPUTERS, MOVIES
AND MORE
If you need to use a computer, vidoecassette
player, movie projector or other audio-visual
equipment, visit the Learning Resources Depart
ment (LRD) on the sixth floor of the Library.
Make an appointment and present your student
ID and use any of the two hundred plus micro
computers available including Apples, Macin
toshes, IBM PC’s and compatibles. The LRD
provides assistance on microcomputers as staff
time permits. Self-teaching materials are avail
able in various formats. Each semester the LRD
also offers fee-based workshops in word process
ing and spreadsheets.
In addition to equipment, the LRD contains
audio-visual materials that support the teaching
Archives is a rich source of information on the
history and growth of Texas A&M University and
of Texas. Everything from old Aggie football films
to early student uniforms 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 the Archives
is through the West entrance of the original
building, called the Cushing Building.
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS DIVISION
Special Collections 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 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.