BCB Graduate Student
Orientation
Tuesday, August 14th, 2007
- 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
1. Library Basics
- Library Website: http://www.lib.iastate.edu/home.html
- Library Card: Your red
ISU card serves as your library card. You will need to show it to the Circulation
Desk each time you want to check out items.
- Library PIN Number: Set your library
PIN number using the
last 11 digits of your ISU ID and a 4-digit Pin number which you select. Your
PIN number will allow you to access "My Account", a feature of the online
catalog which allows you see items you have checked out and their due dates,
overdue items, hold requests and fines. Note:
You will need to click on Library Catalog to access "My Account."
- Library
Hours
- Branch Facilities
- Loan Period for Books:
Graduate students are given an "extended" loan, with items falling due at
the end of the current academic year (i.e., the last day of the Spring Semester).
- Loan Period for Journals:
Unbound periodicals in the Periodical Room or General Collection may not be
checked out. Bound volumes can be checked out for one day only for
use outside the building.
- Off-campus Access to Electronic
Resources: Most electronic indexes/databases and electronic journals can
be accessed both on and off campus. Off-campus access requires a username
(last 11 digits of your ISU card) and password (Library PIN number).
- Still have questions about
the library? Check out Library Information
and How Do I?
for more information.
2. Locating and Getting Research
Materials
- Journals
- To find out if the ISU Library
subscribes to a journal you want:
- Go to the Library website.
At the top banner, click on Library Catalog. Select "Serial Title"
as your search type on the drop-down menu; type in the journal title
you want. Use the journal title, not an abbreviation.
- The subscription summary
at the bottom of the record for the journal will provide information
on what years are held by the ISU Library, the location, call number,
and status. Sometimes there will be a link in the catalog record for
the electronic version.
- Fulltext electronic journals
(e-journals) and electronic books (e-books) can be found under Collections>>>e-Journals
& e-Books. Do a journal title search to find out if we have
a journal electronically and for how many years back.
- Examples: Journal of
Cell Biology, Cell
- NEW!!! - "Get
it@ISU" is a name of a new tool offered by the Library. The tool
provides a direct link from a database citation to the full text of the
article (if available). You will see small "Get it@ISU" buttons
in most of the Library's major databases. After clicking on this button,
another window will open. If the Library has electronic access to the
full-text, there will be a direct link to the article. If full-text is
not available, click on the link to the ISU Library Catalog to determine
whether the item is available in print. If neither the full-text or print
is available, click on the link to request the item from Interlibrary
Loan. In most cases, clicking on the link to the full-text will go directly
to the article (if available). However, in my testing, I've noticed that
sometimes the link goes to the journal's home page or a table of contents.
Please report any problems you encounter. If you encounter a broken link,
and it appears that full text should be available, please let me know.
We're still getting the "bugs" worked out! If you use PubMed
on a regular basis, please note the following.
- In order to see the "Get
it@ISU" button in the PubMed record, use the ISU-specific link
for PubMed: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?otool=usiaslib
Bookmark this URL for future reference! When you use this link, you'll
notice that every PubMed record includes the "Get it@ISU"
button.
- If you use the Indexes
& Abstracts listing within the Library website, you'll notice
two links in the A-Z list for PubMed. Click on "PubMed –
ISU Affiliate." The "PubMed - Public Version" link
does not include the "Get it@ISU" tool.
- Books
- Use the Library catalog to search for books, journals, CDs, and DVDs.
- Indexes
and Abstracts - complete listing on Library website. From Library homepage:
Collections >>Indexes & Abstracts. See #3 for a description of indexes
and related resources for BCB.
- ISU Theses and
Dissertations
- Interlibrary Loan
(ILL)
- Library
Storage Building
- Additional
Request Forms (Storage Delivery, Vet Med Express)
3. Resources for Bioinformatics
and Computational Biology
4.
Questions or Comments?
- Please feel free to contact me
via phone or email at anytime. No question is too small or large! I also maintain
a personal homepage.
It includes links to newsletters about library resources.
- Questions relating to circulation
policy and practice (e.g., book checkout, fines, recalls, PIN numbers, etc.)
can be directed to the Circulation Desk via phone (294-3961) or email: CircDesk@lib.iastate.edu
- If you have questions about resources
or need to speak with a reference librarian, you may phone the Reference Department
at 294-3642.