Welcome to the library

New students, welcome to St. Kate's. Returning students, we're so glad you're back. We hope to see you all in the library.

You can find a lot of great things in the library: study space, computers, books, magazines, newspapers, journals, group study space (you can even reserve some rooms online), and much more.

And a really important thing you can find in the library: librarians. When you need to do research for a paper and aren't sure where to begin, ask us. When you have been researching but you need more and are struggling, ask us. We are the ones who know how to help you find what you need, so don't struggle. Ask for help. We love working with students.

Welcome, and have a good year!

Image: "Welcome Sign" by David King is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Text & chat with us

You can now text & chat with the St. Kate's librarians!

Don't want to leave your room and visit us at the reference desk? No problem. Have a quick question on how to cite something? Easy peasy. Just text us or chat with us and we can help you.

RefWorks Users: No more Group Code!

As of now, logging into your RefWorks account is easier! 

The beloved St. Kate's Group Code is no longer required for off-campus access -- just log in using your personal username and password (the one you chose when you created your account).

Creating a NEW RefWorks account WILL require either a Group Code or being on-campus. RefWorks will ensure that all logins are unique, so no further access code will be required.

For now, logging into Write-N-Cite 4 still requires either the St. Kate's Group Code or the authentication login code that is given when you download WNC. With a future upgrade, the need for the Group Code will be eliminated.

Wikipedia or...?

A recent article from MIT Technology Review (The Decline of Wikipedia  by Tom Simonite, Oct. 22, 2013) discusses the fall of Wikipedia as the source for "all human knowledge" (Wikipedia's claim). Most college students know Wikipedia isn't the best source for writing papers, but it may not even be the best source for many other things.

"Among the significant problems that aren’t getting resolved is the site’s skewed coverage: its entries on Pokemon and female porn stars are comprehensive, but its pages on female novelists or places in sub-Saharan Africa are sketchy. Authoritative entries remain elusive."

Considering that 90% of contributors are male and its complex bureaucracy, this lack of scope isn't all that surprising. Luckily, there are plenty of other sources for quality, authoritative information. The libraries' books, journals, and databases are among these. A few sources that are similarly comprehensive for general knowledge, historical background, and current events include:

• Credo Reference
• Oxford Reference
• Academic Search Premier
• CQ Researcher

Training Help with RefWorks and ProQuest databases

Do you struggle with ProQuest Education Journals?

Do you slog through PsychINFO?

Are you baffled by RefWorks?

Pam Harris, MLIS student and ProQuest trainer, is available to train you either online or in person.

Contact Pam directly (pmharris@stkate.edu) or fill out this online form: http://tinyurl.com/PQ-St-Kates

Government Shutdown Affecting Your Research?

With the US Government in its second week of a partial shutdown, you may find access to some research websites unavailable.

For example, NCES.gov (education statistics), NASA.gov (space and aeronautics), Census.gov (demographics), and AmericanFactFinder (demographics) are all offline during the shutdown. Some alternative resources available through the library include:

• For NCES try: ProQuest Education Database 
• For aeronautics/space try: Credo Science Reference 
• For the Census/demographic information try: American Demographics (book) HB849.49 .R875 2012 or
  Social Explorer  (free from Oxford Press during the shutdown) 

Need more help? Stop by or contact a librarian.

Need a Scholarly Journal?

example of a scholarly journal

Did your instructor say you need scholarly journal articles for your paper? Take a quick peak at the characteristics of a scholarly journal:

• Usually covers a single subject area (such as neonatal nursing, art history, etc.)
• Usually reports on research or reviews the literature
• Language is often technical and specific to the subject
• Articles will contain a list of references cited in the paper. (Using this reference list, a reader may consult those same sources for more sources)
• Authors are usually researchers or experts in their field
• Has little or no advertising
• May have charts and graphs
• Titles may be Journal of.. or Quarterly Review of..., or simply the name of the subject
• Scholarly journals may or may not be peer-reviewed 

Some databases, like Academic Search Premier, allow you to check the box Scholarly (Peer review) articles.

New Resource! Web of Science

Web of Science provides access to the world’s leading citation databases, with authoritative, multidisciplinary coverage from more than 12,000 of the highest impact research journals in the world, including Open Access journals. You’ll find current and retrospective coverage across 526 different subject areas in the sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities (with backfiles to 2007).

Need help searching Web of Science? Check in with the librarians.

New Website for Journalism and History Buffs

Investigating Power is a new website that culls the best of American journalism. The site includes interactive timelines on some of the country's most important historical events including Civil Rights, Watergate, Corporate Power, and 9/11. The site highlights journalists from Florence Graves to Mike Wallace. It includes original footage (think "primary source"!) of newscasts and events.

1940 Census To Be Released Online

For the first time, access to the1940 US Census data will be available online. The National Archives and US Census Department have partnered to release the 1940 Census data on a new website to go live April 2, 2012. Census data is of use to genealogists, sociologists, historians, and more. The 1940 Census reflected the end of the Great Depression and gives a picture of life seventy years ago.

Help for Fashion Assignment

Researching the history of fashion? Try this helpful LibGuides page for pointers on looking up historical articles in indexes and primary source documents.

Research: History of Fashion from LibGuides

New Search Feature on Homepage

Now, search for any topic directly from the Libraries homepage. Use the handy LibGuides search feature and get results from the Libraries' extensive collection of online guides that cover a variety of subject areas. These guides provide lists of books (both books in our collection and e-books), links to databases specifically for that topic, lists of external websites, and search, citing, and evaluation tips.

New Databases Bring Art and Music to Your Fingertips

http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/vatican.exhibit/
exhibit/e-music/Music_room3.html

Grove Music Online (added March 2011)
Grove Music Online is an authoritative and dynamic online resource for all aspects of music. Now available through the Oxford Music Online gateway, Grove Music Online includes the full text of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition; The New Grove Dictionary of Opera; The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, second edition; The Oxford Companion to Music; The Oxford Dictionary of Music; and linking from Grove articles to Classical Music Library.

Grove Art Online (added March 2011)
A comprehensive online reference resource for all aspects of the visual arts worldwide from prehistory to the present day. Features thousands of signed articles and images, timelines of world art, MoMA lesson plans, and links to ARTstor and Art Resource. Also includes the full text of The Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms, and The Oxford Companion to Western Art.