Alert: Library System Downtime June 6th

We want to give everyone plenty of fair-warning to avoid unnecessary frustration, so here's the warning:  Much of Sawyer Library online functionality (and, in fact, functionality at the Law, NESAD and Madrid Libraries,too) will be unavailable for most of the day on Thursday, June 6th, 2013.

The Library needs to upgrade both our Integrated Library System (ILS) and our server.  Step one is to move from a physical on-site server to a "Cloud" (SaaS) server.  That is what will happen on the 6th.  Because we are shifting all our data and workload from one server to another, there will be unavoidable downtime.

What does that mean to our users?  Well, if you check out something in the Library that day, we will likely be using a manual system.  You won't be able to look up books in the online catalog, look at your circulation record or renew books online.  But here's the real downer:  Since our off-campus authentication system, our proxy server, is also part of our ILS, you will not be able to access databases from off-campus on much of that day.  If you are ON campus, the database should pick up a Suffolk IP address and let you in, so if you can visit the Boston (or Madrid) Campus--and it doesn't have to be the Library itself--you should still be able to access the databases through non-proxyized links that you can find here. (Just click the tabs on the guide for the alphabetical lists of links to all our databases.)

And here is another work-around.  The free web version of WorldCat allows you to look up a print book and then set your zip code to pinpoint a library that owns it.  Set your zip code as 02108 and Sawyer or the Law Library should come up if we own it.  If you click the link for our book or library, you might get an error but if that happens, just click on a different library on the list and get the call number from their catalog.  Since most academic libraries use the same call number, you can take their call number to our stacks and probably find the book.  If you are ON campus, you can also use this version of WorldCat. Look for the green tag for "Sawyer Library" when you search.  The base call number will be listed in the "Class Descriptors" field following LC:

We are sorry for any inconvenience this service interruption will cause.  But we are doing this to provide a better, more flexible, and more secure library system that will make it easier for us to provide the best library service possible.

Updates will be provided via social media.  So, on the 6th, keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter feeds for when things are back to normal.

New Journal: Nature Climate Change

It's not often that we blog about a new journal title.  Then again, libraries don't often add individual journal titles anymore.  We get most of our electronic journals either in publisher groupings like Sage Journals Online and Wiley Online Library, or through general aggregators like EBSCOhost (who produces databases like Academic Search Complete and MEDLINE with Full Text).

But we just added a new single serial title, from the publisher of Nature, called Nature Climate Change.  Not only does this journal focus on one of the hottest (if you'll excuse the pun) science topics in society today, but it does so from a holistic approach.

The original Nature said of the new journal's launch in 2011: "This journal focuses as much on the impacts of climate change as on its origins and mechanisms. And for the first time within the Nature-branded stable, the journal is explicitly set up to include the social sciences within its remit, with a trained social scientist on its staff, and a panel of social-science advisers to help us to penetrate territory that lies beyond our traditional zones of engagement."  (And social scientists like APA psychologists took note!)

The journal describes itself this way: "Nature Climate Change publishes original research across the physical and social sciences and strives to synthesize interdisciplinary research. The journal follows the standards for high-quality science set by all Nature-branded journals and is committed to publishing top-tier original research in all areas relating to climate change through a fair and rigorous review process, access to a broad readership, high standards of copy editing and production, rapid publication and independence from academic societies and others with vested interests.

In addition to publishing original research, Nature Climate Change provides a forum for discussion among leading experts through the publication of opinion, analysis and review articles. It also highlights the most important developments in the field through Research Highlights and publishes original reporting from renowned science journalists in the form of feature articles."

If you'd like to read a promotional brochure about the journal, click here.

Our subscription starts with 2013, and we hope to build from there.  If you are interested in this important subject, we hope you'll make use of this journal.  Here is the latest issue.

Notable E-Book: Handbook of Psychology (2nd Edition)

Cross-searchability and 24/7 anywhere and everywhere access options have always made eReference books attractive.  But sometimes there are other considerations, too.  In the case of the new Handbook of Psychology, one of those considerations is the amount of shelf space we'll save!  For the Handbook of Psychology is, in print, twelve large volumes.   So, we opted for the electronic version, which allows users to do keyword searching across all volumes as well as browse and open material from a table of contents.

Wiley, the publisher, claims that "The Handbook of Psychology, Second Edition, provides psychologists, practitioners, researchers, and students with complete and up-to-date information related to the field of psychology and behavioral science.  New topics include discoveries based in neuroscience, clinical psychology's new interest in evidence-based practice and mindfulness, and new findings in social, developmental and forensic psychology."

And reviewers are also impressed. Alan Kazdin, in PsycCRITIQUES, recently said "The work is extraordinary in scope by virtually any metric. The consistencies of the individual contributions across the many volumes are remarkable in level of depth and style of writing. The Handbook of Psychology is a major work without peer in scope and coverage of the conceptual, empirical, and applied advances of psychology. The volumes provide a status report on psychological science, even though clearly selective in their contents. There are broad issues to raise that span many volumes and areas of our field. Overall the volumes reflect an enormous accomplishment, statement, and status report. There is no other set of volumes I have seen that is as comprehensive, integrative, or enlightening as this Handbook."

The Wiley Online Library interface does have some quirks, however.  On the landing page, when you enter the Handbook, browsing is relatively simple, just expand the volume links in the lower middle of the page.  Searching is a little trickier, because if you just put your search terms in the box in the upper right, you'll actually search across the entire Wiley Online Library, so you'll likely pull up everything BUT content from this Handbook--including many articles and book chapters we don't have access to.  So, instead, click the link (highlighted in yellow in the above screenshot) to "Search in this Book."  You can search specific titles, authors or sections if you select from the the check boxes below the main search box, or just put in keywords.  If there are multiple hits, Wiley will sort them by relevance.

When you click on an entry in your search results

note that you first see an abstract.  Tabs provide links to the article, figures (illustrations, tables, graphs and photographs--a handy feature!) and to the references.  Look to the right (as circled in yellow in the above screenshot) if you want to go straight to a PDF of the entry/article.  You see that there are also article tools.  These include the ability to export a reference to RefWorks.

Here is a list of the twelve volumes of the Handbook of Psychology:

Volume 1--History of Psychology
Volume 2--Research Methods in Psychology
Volume 3--Behavioral Neuroscience
Volume 4--Experimental Psychology
Volume 5--Personality and Social Psychology
Volume 6--Developmental Psychology,
Volume 7--Educational Psychology
Volume 8--Clinical Psychology,
Volume 9--Health Psychology
Volume 10--Assessment Psychology
Volume 11--Forensic Psychology
Volume 12--Industrial and Organizational Psychology

As you can tell, this is a detailed and valuable resource.  As the publisher says: "While the field of psychology has been rich in both comprehensive encyclopedias that offer brief listings on a wide range of topics as well as in handbooks devoted to specific topics in the field, there has not previously been any single handbook designed to cover the broad scope of psychological science and practice. Handbook of Psychology fills the gap and provides the only singular source of information on the field of psychology."

Psychology researchers, and those interested in behavioral science aspects of other fields of research, take note of this new addition!

Notable E-Book: Encyclopedia of Video Games

Now, here's a reference set that might be fun to browse through!  (Of course, we also purchased it because it relates to curriculum here at Suffolk.)  It's the eBook version of a two-volume reference book called Encyclopedia of Video Games: The Culture, Technology, and Art of Gaming.  Published by Greenwood, we got it on the popular and easy-to-use Gale Virtual Reference Library platform.

Booklist says of this resource: "Quite a range of topics is presented in this timely set, marking the fiftieth anniversary of the first real video game (Spacewar!, 1962). The 300-plus signed entries are arranged alphabetically in two volumes, from Abstraction-Ludology and machinima (digital art) to Zeebo (a 3G-enabled game console).The style is very readable throughout. Unfamiliar terms are defined (Advergame, Deludic play, Speedruns) as well as popular ones (Joysticks, Resolution, Scrolling), making this accessible even to someone who knows little about the topic. Entries include biographies, types of games (including those classified as racing, shooting, strategy, survival horror); companies (Atari, SEGA, Sony); groups (Entertainment Software Association, World Cyber Games); platforms (Nintendo Wii); terms; and selected games. Most entries run about two pages, with four pages for MMORPGs and six for Simulation games."

The journal Reference Reviews indicates that "The encyclopedia defines “video games” in its broadest sense to include arcade games, console games, computer games, handheld games, and mobile games. In addition to the history of video games, it details such diverse applications of video games as entertainment, education and training, psychological experiments, and therapy. It also discusses the study of video games from many perspectives including computer science, philosophy, art history, and political science; and describes the use of video games worldwide. Controversial topics, such as gaming addiction, violence and censorship, copyright and piracy, and the use of video games in military training are also addressed."

School Library Journal adds: "Along with examinations of (selected) products from Pong to Sony PS3 and densely technical disquisitions on the "JAMMA Standard," "Z-Axis Depth," and other expert-level knowledge, articles covering such topics as "Girls' Games," "Education (Religious)," "Ludology," and "Cheating" explore social and psychological aspects of the pastime. Furthermore, articles on gaming in a number of countries and regions of the world provide international scope."

Choice concluded that "This two-volume encyclopedia features a great deal of practical, theoretical, and historical information about the development of video games."  But the reviewer also thought that the organization showed a "lack of clarity" and therefore "the work is possibly most useful as an e-book."  Good thing that e-book is exactly the format we chose for this encyclopedia!

New Database: Mintel Oxygen

Are you interested in market trends and consumer research for the U.S. and Europe?  Then a database we recently added will be useful to you.  It is Mintel Oxygen.  And the company claims "Mintel Oxygen is a one-stop online platform, designed to give you easy and fast access to our smart consumer and market insight."  Constantly adding new reports, they claim that "more than 600 report titles covering UK, European, US and International consumer markets are added to Mintel Oxygen every year" and that each one constitutes "an insightful mix of sound data, opinion and comment."

Unlike many of the databases that run through our proxy server, this one has a few extra hoops to jump through.  First, when you click the link, you'll have to accept the rather lengthy "Conditions of Use" agreement.  Then, after you enter the database, it wants you to set up (or log into) your own individual account before accessing anything.

This is easy enough to do.

Just click one of the links to create a personal profile on the landing page.  (Since the database uses cookies, you'll probably go straight to a login page the next time you access the file.)

You are most likely to be interested in the Reports area, which you can click into from the categories (divided between U.S. and International) on the landing page after login--or through the pull down menu in purple top frame at any time. See screenshot above.

Report categories include Beauty and Personal Care, Drink, Finance, Food, Foodservice, Health and Wellbeing, Household, Leisure and Entertainment, Lifestyles, Multicultural America, Retailing and Apparel, Technology, Transportation and Travel.  The reports tend to be both varied and specific, as this partial list of recent drink reports

indicates. There are even some subject Webinars (look for link in the top purple frame).  The latest of these, at the moment, is "The Snacking Consumer."  You might also want to browse through the Analyst Insights area, also linked in the top frame.

Yes, you can search across the database.  Either plug a keyword or two into the simple search box in the upper right, or link into the the Advanced Search through the Search options in the top frame.

The database is awkward in many ways.  You have to look at report sections in bits and pieces.  The landing page for a report might have an area marked "Download" that offers a PDF of a "Report Brochure," which might make you think you are getting the full report.  Au contraire!  This is just an ad offering to sell the report you have right in front of you for $4000 or so. (You don't need to buy anything, of course.  We subscribe already!)  To access the report, either click the Report Content sections below or open the Table of Contents (a green button) to View Tables or pick specific report areas.

For more on the database, you might want to take a look at their quick help guide.

With more than 600 reports each year,  this database can certainly help you research market sizes, shares and forecasts, brand profiles and product innovation.  But don't forget that we have other databases with market reports and consumer data.  These include GMID from Euromonitor as well as the many reports tucked away in databases like Business Source Complete and ABI/INFORM Complete.  And for more on all our marketing and advertising resources, see our LibGuide.

[Find Mintel Oxygen on our A-Z database list, or in our Subject Database List for Business & Management.]

New Database: Sharpe Online Library

We know that most researchers, especially undergraduate students, have little patience for using print reference books these days.  So, one of our jobs, as librarians, is to identify and purchase reliable online reference that students can readily access and use to get basic information about a topic as they start their research process.  (That is, we need to give you a practical alternative to Wikipedia!)

To this end, we have several robust collections of online reference books.  These are the online equivalent of authoritative reference encyclopedias and handbooks where entries are authored by scholars and carefully edited by professionals in the topic's field.  (That is, something likely to be better and more reliable than Wikipedia!)  These collections include Gale Virtual Reference Library and Sage Knowledge, as well as Oxford Handbooks Online and CQ Political Reference Suite.

Now we have added another publisher platform of reference books.  It is Sharpe Online Reference (SOLR).

The publisher says that "Sharpe Online Reference offers interdisciplinary subject coverage" and "the convenience and flexibility of online research 24/7." They also claim that their electronic collections provide "revised and updated editions of Sharpe's most popular encyclopedias" and "free annual updates."  Also included: "SOLR Primary Source Archive: more than 500 key annotated documents, audio/visual clips, images, and other primary sources covering all periods of U.S. History," and "Global Voices: more than 125 primary resources and annotations, reflecting foreign perspectives on the United States."

At this point, we have purchased seven of the more recent titles on the platform.  On the U.S. side:

• Democratic, Republican, and Third Parties (1790-2011)
• Asian American History and Culture
• Culture Wars in America

And on the Global side:

• Booms and Busts: Economic History (1630s-Present)
• Global Social Issues
• Native Peoples of the World
• World Food

As always, we will add only those titles that seem to match the curricular interests of our students and faculty.  But we will certainly be adding additional titles of interest as they are published.  Sharpe encyclopedias are basic, useful reference tools that will likely provide a good starting point for research on related topics.  (But remember, your professors will likely want you to use peer-reviewed journal literature for most of your research!)

One example from our Sharpe titles is  Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures, and Contemporary Issues .  It was described by Library Journal in this way: "coverage of 400 different groups and selected countries and issues is by an impressive roster of historians and anthropologists from a wide range of institutions. It is particularly gratifying to see ethnic and native groups included from Western industrialized nations as well as from the more expected developing areas. ... The articles are written in clear prose and deal with the geography, history, religion, customs and rituals, and colonial experiences of each group while being respectful of each culture's heritage and customs. ... There are few reference sources available in this area with worldwide coverage. Because of its quality and its scope, this excellent work is recommended."

To use SOLR, from the landing page click a title to search within or browse just that one encyclopedia.  Or use the search box at the upper right to search across all the Sharpe content we own.  You should also know that although it is simple to print entries you like, other functions like bookmarking, emailing, and adding notes can only be done after setting up a sub-account.  And if you want a citation, MLA, APA and Chicago style are all included on any print request.

We hope you'll find this new and growing reference collection useful!

[Individual titles we own will all be in our Online Catalog.  Otherwise, find SOLR on our A-Z or eBooks database lists.]

Did You Know...We Have Our Own Google Scholar!

Although your average reference librarian will usually suggest that using one or more of our (expensive) fulltext-rich, enhanced scholarly databases is the best way to tackle most academic research, we also recognize that people love to just Google their topics.  The massive, scatter-shot nature of Google always ensures that you will get some results, no matter what you plug into the search box.  And if those results are not the best possible research materials, many students (and some faculty) don't much care.

Google is smart enough to know that to be all things to all people, they needed to help academics winnow out more scholarly materials when they search.  Hence, Google Scholar.  The company says that "Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites. Google Scholar helps you find relevant work across the world of scholarly research."  And although they are not exactly transparent about what goes in and what doesn't, they do have information about inclusion and metrics at this page.

One of the (several) frustrations about Google Scholar is, however, that much of the scholarly literature they index is in publisher databases that charge a lot of money.  If a database doesn't know who you are or how you are academically-affiliated, they will likely offer to provide easy access to a wide variety of peer-reviewed journal articles if you are willing to provide credit card information and pay between $15 and $75 dollars to view and download them.  But, remember those expensive databases I mentioned in the first paragraph? We own or subscribe to a myriad of them.  And those databases might well provide "free" access to those same articles as long as you are a current student or faculty of CAS/SBS!  But YOU MUST GO THROUGH OUR VERSION OF GOOGLE SCHOLAR.

As you can see from the URL in this screenshot,  the link to Google Scholar that you find on our homepage or in our LibGuides actually runs through our proxy server, allowing you to be authenticated and recognized as a Suffolk University researcher, no matter where you are, 24/7.

So when you do a search and get results, a great many of the articles that might come from sources like JSTOR, Wiley Online Library, Sage Journals Online and other databases, will open for you (after you authenticate) when you click on the title.

Keep an eye out for the 360Link that you sometimes see to the right.  This will check our eJournal Locator across all databases. This clickable access can make research much easier.  But be aware of two things.  First, not all materials cited in Google Scholar come from scholarly journal databases.   And, secondly, like all libraries, we do not own all items or all databases.  So, our version of Google Scholar can be a great help, it is not the magic bullet of universal literature access.  (Alas, universal open access is just a dream we dreamed.)

Also, consider using the Advanced Search Option in Google Scholar--

a hard-to-spot popup box. Here, you can indicate an author you want, look for an exact phrase (even just in the title of the article) or specify a date range.  This allows for (slightly) more focused searching.

But there are other things that Google Scholar can be useful for besides providing a wide-ranging index with links.  Did you know that many people use it to track cited references of important articles?  For an explanation of that, see this LibGuide page.  And related to this, some software and services actually use Google Scholar to do the kind of "citation analysis" we usually associate with the "impact factor."  Publish or Perish is an example.

And did you know that you can export Google Scholar references to RefWorks?  It's one of the "Settings."

 And for more on RefWorks, see this guide.

So, yes, Google Scholar can be a useful tool because it searches across so many materials.  But it is essential that you critically evaluate the items you find in it--especially those NOT from a peer-reviewed journal.  There are some sources in Google Scholar (like other student term papers) that your professor will probably not want to see on your bibliography.

Bottom line, if you are planning on using Google Scholar, be cautious and critical.  And if you are a member of the Suffolk community, be sure to use our version to reduce dead-end (or costly) frustration!