Old Dominion University Library

Library Update
Volume 18, Issue 3, August 1996


Welcome back to campus!

Brave the hard hat areas and the sometimes noisy conditions to visit the library soon. Despite the construction activity, we've got lots of new resources that you'll want to see for yourself.

Although we'll be closed on Labor Day, our regular hours (beginning August 26) are:


Monday-Thursday 8:00am - midnight
Friday 8:00am - 6:00pm
Saturday 9:00am - 5:00pm
Sunday 1:00pm - midnight

Hours for certain departments vary from this schedule. Interim hours for August 19-23 are 8:00am to 5:00pm, Monday through Friday only.


World-Wide-Web Workshops

Hour-long faculty World-Wide-Web workshops are set for Thursday, August 22 at 2:30 and Friday, August 23, at 2:30 in room 211 of the library. Call the Reference Department at 683-4182 to let us know if you plan to attend one of these hands-on sessions.

Web workshops for Old Dominion students will be held every Tuesday in September, from 12:45 to 1:15. Since space is limited, we will require students to stop by the Reference Desk or to call the Reference & Research Services Department at 683-4182 to register on the day of the workshop. Acceptance will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

Additional workshops will be announced at a later time.


Thursdays set for library introductions

Each Thursday in September, from 12:45 to 1:15, an Introduction to the Library will be held in the lobby for Old Dominion University faculty, staff, and students (not whole classes, please!). A reference librarian will introduce you to some of the most important services.


New, from our homepage on the Web

Check out http://www.lib.odu.edu for the latest library information. This summer we added a new feature: a weekly list of new books received by the University Library. You'll find it on the Web when you choose to look at the online catalog.

We've also got guides to resources in the library as well as a new series of guides to selected World-Wide-Web resources, grouped by academic departments.

Look for lots of additional databases (see separate articles on FirstSearch and InfoTrac in this issue) and many new electronic journals from Project Muse, all courtesy of VIVA, the Virtual Library of Virginia.

Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, which are accessible to on-campus users and which include Aquatic Sciences & Fisheries Abstracts, Entomology Abstracts, Oceanic Abstracts, and Pollution Abstracts are also new, although our license restricts use to stations on campus with .odu.edu IP addresses.

Visit our web site to see what all the excitement is about!


InfoTrac: health, business and more

Many full-text articles, in addition to citations, are available to you on four InfoTrac databases:

These databases include periodical indexes and articles, but also go beyond. The Health Reference Center features reference works and ephemeral materials as well. General Business File ASAP even includes company profiles and reports.

You may access these readily whenever you log on remotely to our online catalog or when you use one of the library's Pentium workstations. When you log on remotely, you will be asked to enter the barcode from the back of your Old Dominion ID card.

These excellent resources come to us through VIVA, the Virtual Library of Virginia Project.


FirstSearch equals 50+ databases

VIVA (The Virtual Library of Virginia) has expanded the number of FirstSearch databases from 14 to more than 50 for all our library users. In addition to the wildly popular WorldCat, such databases as Books in Print, Art Abstracts, Business Dateline, BookRev Digest, EventLine, GeoRef, Psyc First, SocioAbs, and Worldscope are among the excellent choices. When the University Library does not own the material you need, many of the FirstSearch databases allow you to make electronic interlibrary loan requests.

Access FirstSearch at any Pentium station in the University Library, or access it remotely via the World-Wide-Web, telnet, or modem. See addresses elsewhere in this issue. Remote access will require you to enter the barcode from the back of your Old Dominion University ID card.


Access the library electronically


In the next issue:

Meet our new business reference librarian, find periodicals information on the online catalog, check out library learning opportunities, and more.


CALENDAR

August 22,23
Faculty World-Wide-Web Workshops, 2:30pm

September 2
Closed for Labor Day

September 3, 10, 17, 24
Student World-Wide-Web Workshops, 12:45pm

September 5, 12, 19, 26
Introductions to the Library (ODU Community), 12:45pm



Library Update is published four times a year by the library for the Old Dominion University community. Its purpose is to inform users of new and existing services, policies, and procedures. Editor: Cynthia Wright Swaine