Thursday, September 30, 2010

Criminal Justice Abstracts

We will be switching the Criminal Justice Abstracts database over to an EBSCOhost interface.  This is happening because EBSCOhost bought the company that owns CJA.  Right now we have access to CJA through both the old CSA interface and the new EBSCOhost one.  That should be the case through the end of this semester.  After that, we should have CJA only through the EBSCOhost interface.

The new interface will provide access to full-text articles and will have the blue and green look of all of the other EBSCOhost databases. 

Mental Measurements Yearbook with Tests in Print

Mental Measurement Yearbooks and Tests in Print have been combined into one database. The links on the Library's 'Databases A-Z' page and 'Databases by Subject' have been updated to reflect this change.

Here’s the new description:
•    Mental Measurements Yearbook with Tests in Print   
Searches MMY and TIP simultaneously. MMY is a comprehensive guide to 2,000+ testing instruments, from MMY Volume 9 to present, containing descriptive information, professional reviews, and reviewer references for tests in psychology, education, business, and leadership. TIP is a comprehensive bibliography to all known commercially available tests currently in print in the English language. EBSCOhost

The listing for Tests in Print has been changed to Tests in Print (combined with Mental Measurements Yearbook) and remains on the 'Databases A-Z' page and the 'Social Sciences/Law' database page.

As always, if you have any questions you can contact your liaison librarian or the Reference Desk.

Pardon our dust!

The Library is in the process of shifting some collections, and although we're putting up signs and labels, some items may be 'in transit' or difficult to find. If you can't find what you're looking for on the shelf, please ask for help at either the 1st floor Circulation Desk or the 2nd floor Reference Desk.

What's happening:
Currently, the 1st floor Bound Periodicals are being moved to the 2nd floor empty Reference Collection stacks. Shelving will next be removed from the 1st floor area to open up the space and reinstalled in the Microforms area to house the Reference Collection. Once this phase is completed, the Reference Collection can be moved to the 1st floor along with the Reference Desk. All this is being done to make the Library a more user-friendly and inviting space, so we appreciate your patience in the months ahead!

As always, if you have any questions, please contact the Reference Desk at 389-4204 or send us an email at reference bloomu edu.

Friday, September 17, 2010

QuizWhiz for Students!

Students, use your research skills to win prizes in the LexisNexis QuizWhiz! Open only to students, QuizWhiz is a research game that has a different question each week to can be answered using LexisNexis databases. You can earn points which can be redeemed for gift cards from national retailers in values of $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100.

To play, go to the LexisNexis Academic database here and click on the link for QuizWhiz at the top of the screen. You'll need to register with an email address and provide your real name and a mailing address to allow LexisNexis to validate your eligibility and send you the gift card. The information collected will be protected in accordance with the LexisNexis privacy policy posted here.

Competition runs from September 13 through November 15, 2010 with questions updated as frequently as twice a week for opportunities to earn more. If you have any questions, stop by the 2nd floor reference desk in the Library or call us at 389-4204.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Reference Manager Overview

For a comparison of features available on several different reference manager programs including RefWorks, EndNote, Zotero, Mendeley, and CiteULike, read Martin Fenner's blog post on Gobbledygook, a Nature blog.