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Improved access to CatalogUSMAI

Information and Library Services

Staff of ILS

Information and Library Services

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NEW LIBRARY CATALOG

On Monday, January 6, 2003, library users of the University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions (USMAI) will have a new and improved online catalog to access the USM libraries' collections: catalogUSMAI.

In preparation for the change to the new catalog, you will not be able to place holds in VICTORWeb from December 23, 2003 until the new catalog is implemented on January 6, 2003.

The new Web-based online catalog will provide more advanced features than the previous automated library system used by the libraries since the early 1990s. Some of the new capabilities include:

• an enhanced Basic Search, with on-screen tips to guide users in searching and the ability to do keyword searches in specific areas of the catalog records, such as words in the title area
• ability to refine a list of search results to show only the available items, screening out items that are checked out, lost, or otherwise unavailable
• a powerful Advanced Search capability

On its initial release in early January, catalogUSMAI will provide access to the library catalogs currently available in VICTORWeb. Access to the library catalogs of St. Mary's College of Maryland Library and the University of Maryland Health Sciences and Human Services Library and will be added to catalogUSMAI later in 2003.

INGENTA PROGRAM

Information and Library Services (ILS) invites you to sign up for the UMUC Ingenta Program. This pilot provides the opportunity for both faculty and Doctor of Management students to order articles listed in the Ingenta database in full text via fax. The program is subsidized by Information and Library Services; and, within guidelines, there is no cost for participants. For more information on this program and how to sign up, please see the UMUC Ingenta Program FAQ.

TURNITIN.COM

UMUC now provides faculty and staff who are currently teaching or supporting teaching activities with an important plagiarism detection tool. This Web-based service has a database of over a million papers submitted to it, a digitized version of the Gutenberg Collection of Literary Classics, and papers pulled from the Internet and various "paper mills," (i.e., services that sell term papers). When you or one of your students submits a paper to TurnItIn.com, it compares the paper to its database and issues an "originality" report. While Turnitin.com cannot search books or subscription databases, it is a valuable resource in helping you check for plagiarism.

You can find out more about TurnItIn.com and obtain instructions on how to apply for a Turnitin.com account online and how to use it by reading the Plagiarism and TurnItIn.com FAQ.

LIBRARY SERVICES IN THE CLASSROOM

As you prepare your courses for the spring semester, just a reminder about two services ILS offers to enhance your instruction: e-reserves and library instruction.

E-reserves

If you are teaching a Web Tycho or Web Tycho-enhanced class, you can place various types of materials on electronic reserve (e-reserves), including journal articles, book chapters, lecture notes, and other course-specific materials if they are required reading for students in the course. When possible, Information and Library Services will obtain copyright clearance for items that are protected by copyright. You can read more about the ILS e-reserve service and access the online form to request e-reserves under Electronic Reserves onWebTycho.

We encourage you to use our e-reserves service to post readings for your WebTycho or Web Tycho-enhanced class because we will ensure that copyright clearance and instructions for accessing the material are current. However, if you have links to Web sites or instructions on how to access articles in MdUSA in your own classroom materials, remember to check them for currency before the semester starts. Database interfaces and URLs change frequently, and when they do, students have difficulty accessing the material. Then you will need to write new instructions or provide new links for accessing articles. Our e-reserves service eliminates that step.

Library Instruction

As the number of electronic resources continues to expand, learning how to navigate the various online sources, select the most appropriate ones for research, and filter through the thousands of possible results to choose the best materials for a research project can be a daunting experience even for experienced researchers. While graduate students learn rudimentary research skills in UCSP 610, they can benefit greatly from instruction tailored for a particular course. Consider requesting a librarian to visit your face-to-face or online classroom. We will work along with you to:

• provide an introduction to general library skills and answer students' questions
• create customized resources for a specific research project
• design exercises to assist your students in becoming more effective researchers.

ILS BROCHURE

This summer ILS published a brochure that provides a concise introduction to all ILS resources, services, and instruction. It includes a special section for faculty services as well as a handy quick guide to the most frequently used ILS URL's on the back.

Now the brochure is available online as well as in print. You can view a PDF version of the brochure by clicking on the library brochure link in the left-hand frame of our newly redesigned ILS Home page.