Rayner English 190 Section 34 Fall 2009

Hi everyone,
Here are my responses to the questions you posed when you filled out the assessment Tuesday.
If any other questions come up don't hesitate to contact me at gillesj@slu.edu. Good luck with your research.

Jane Gillespie

I'm still a little confused about finding books in the library.

That's okay, this is a pretty big library. The more often you find books, the easier it is. First find the book in the library catalog. Notice the location (the catalog record will say "Pius Library" if the book is in the general collection), the call number and the status. If a book in the general collection is on the shelf the catalog record will say "available" in the status area. (Remember if the book is checked out, search MOBIUS to see if the book is available at another library.)

Write down the call number of the book. Look at a location guide to determine where books with that call number are located in the library then go to the correct area of the library. The online library tour might help you get oriented to the library or you can just wander around. Look at the little white tags on the end of each set of book shelves to find where your book is located.
It is easier if you just look at information before the decimal point in the call number at first, then look at the whole call number once you find the right shelf. Here is a tip sheet that shows you how to read call numbers.

Remember, if you have trouble finding a book you should always ask for help at the Reference Desk.

Which floor has what books?

The location guide tells you which floors have what books. Circulating books are located on floors 1-4 of Lewis Annex and floors 2-5 of Pius Library. Tip-use the elevator to go between floors in the Lewis Annex--it is much less confusing than using the stairs.

How do I get to the full text of an article when I am using PubMed?

PubMed is a free database that contains abstracts and some freely available journal articles. Anyone with access to a computer can use PubMed. Many of the journal articles that are abstracted in PubMed are not freely available. SLU has subscriptions to many journals that are abstracted in PubMed but that will not be obvious to you unless you access PubMed via the SLU database list on the library home page. If you access PubMed through the Library instead of via the "open web" it will be configured properly and show the 'Find it at SLU" button that will lead you to the full text of the journals subscribed to by SLU.