Shelly Combs -- English 190 -- Section 08

Hello Everyone,

Please see below my responses to the questions and comments you wrote on the one-minute papers at the end of our recent class session at Pius Library. Don't hesitate to contact me if you need assistance with the research assignments for this course.

Dr. Joseph


1. Need more videos/How to access videos
Librarians at Pius purchase videos (mostly DVDs now, actually), for both recreational and classroom use, on a regular basis, and so the Pius media collection increases every year. If there are specific videos of interest to you that Pius doesn’t own, you can complete this online form (see http://libraries.slu.edu/services/purchsugg/book.html ) and your request will be reviewed and considered by the appropriate subject liaison librarian.

As to accessing media items in Pius Library…All media items are cataloged and searchable in the SLU Libraries Catalog. Do a subject or keyword search, as you would for a book, and then restrict the search results by clicking on the blue “Limit/Sort Search” (subject search) or "Modify Search" (keyword search) button at the top of the screen. Then, on the next screen …

• In the "Material Type" box, choose "VIDEO/FILM" and click on the blue "Submit" button at the bottom of the screen.

OR

• In the “Specific Video Recording” box, choose “DVD” and/or “VHS.” Do not choose “ANY”!

You also can display a current list of all DVDs or VHS tapes in the Pius collection. Go to http://libraries.slu.edu/help/howdoi/othermat.html and click on the links in the “VIDEO/FILM” section. You may find it helpful to use your browser’s Edit/Find function to do keyword searches of these lists.

The Pius Library media collection includes videos and DVDs, among other things. Only current SLU students, faculty, and staff can use these materials, most of which can be checked out to use at home.

• Students can borrow most videos and DVDs for 7 days (no renewals); these are housed in the Pius Media Collection on Level 2-East at the end of the Current Periodicals shelving.

• Media placed on Reserve for courses are can be borrowed for 2-hour in-library-use in a Pius viewing/listening room or 3-day circulating use at the discretion of the course instructor. Request reserve items at the Circulation desk on Level 1.

• Some media is restricted for use by students only in specific courses; these materials will be placed on restricted Reserve and Reserve guidelines apply (see above).

2. Where do we find what floor to look for the call numbers?
The easiest thing is to consult a Pius Library Location Guide. This resource is available online (see http://libraries.slu.edu/about/locatgde.html ) but printed copies are posted by the elevators and the secondary stairwells, plus you can pick up a small copy at the Circulation, Reference, and Serials service desks to carry around with you.

To use the location guide, regardless of its format, take the letters that start your call number and plug them into the appropriate range on the guide. For example, if your call number starts with LB 1234, you’ll see that the LB comes between the range HX – ML 20 on the guide. And that location is Level 4 – South. One thing – when you jot down the call numbers for books (or anything, for that matter), be sure to note the Location information in the Catalog Record. There are a number of “special” locations that indicate a book is shelved in a particular part of Pius. So if the location for the book with the call number that starts LB 1234 is given as Pius Reference, that book is in the reference collection on Level 1 – South. If you get turned around, ask for help at one of the service desks.


3. Some of the databases are still confusing.
Well, that’s to be expected…you’re just starting to learn about and use them! The more practice you have with database searching, the less confusing the process should be generally. That said, there’s always a learning curve when you’re first starting to use a database that’s new to you. Plus databases and the database platforms through which we access them are constantly changing so we’re all–even the librarians!–constantly in a learning mode. The key concepts to remember when using most databases is the difference between keyword and subject searching and the uses of the Boolean operators AND and OR.

• Keyword searches match only the letter combination (or “character string”) typed and not the actual subject content whereas Subject searches use the official vocabulary designed for use in the database.

• AND is used to narrow a search (i.e., to find records that multiple search terms have in common) while OR is used to broaden a search.

The best advice I can give you is to use the databases frequently to keep up your skills and, if you have any problems—or even if you just need a refresher with a familiar database or instruction on how to use one that’s new to you—ask a reference librarian for assistance. I like to meet with a student to see how s/he actually has done the database search so I can see what search techniques, etc., need attention. Don’t hesitate to get in touch!


4. I’m a little unsure on what the best way is to search the databases (tips for keywords, etc.).
There’s really not a simple answer to this. Keywords are terms you can use to express your topic – but as noted in class and in #3 above, keyword searches just match letter combinations and don’t look for content; that said, they will still find records about your topic since at least some records will include the letter combinations that are your keywords. Different databases work differently with keywords. Some will automatically search just on the term you type in and look for keyword matches; others will attempt automatically to match (or map) the keyword you typed to an official database vocabulary term

Once again, I think the best way to work through this is actually do searches in different databases so you can see how different databases function. I’ll be glad to meet with you so we can work through some searches together.