Wiley/Synergy Workarounds
A number of workarounds are being adopted by library users to deal with the problems linking to the Synergy content that was migrated to Wiley Interscience last weekend. Here are some things you can do to get to Synergy journal articles.
- If you have a DOI (digital object identifier) for the article in question, plug it into the DOI resolver at the following address:
If this does not work (and it won't for some titles), plug the DOI into the Wiley resolver by cutting and pasting the DOI onto the end of the following URL:
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/resolve/doi?DOI=
- If you don't have a DOI, but do have a full citation or the article's author and title, plug them into the free DOI lookup at CrossRef. Then use the DOI to link to the resource.
If you have questions about either process, please Ask Us!
Posted by caswell at 7:43 AM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
Blackwell Synergy ending June 27 - merging with Wiley Interscience
As of Monday, June 30th 2008, all Blackwell journal content—including all full-text HTML and PDF versions of articles from current issues, backfiles, and issues published online before print—will be incorporated into Wiley InterScience.
Blackwell Synergy will close at the end of business (Pacific Standard Time) on Friday June 27th with the migration completed by Monday June 30th. Over the weekend of June 28th and 29th, there will be a period when both Blackwell Synergy and Wiley InterScience will be unavailable during the re-indexing of data.
As of June 30, 2008, all journal content on Blackwell Synergy will be merged into Wiley InterScience. After June 30th, Blackwell Synergy will no longer be available.
Posted by coulter at 8:44 AM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
Library Catalog and Off Campus Access Update
UNISTAR, our online catalog, will be unavailable from 9:00 p.m. - midnight tonight, June 18th, due to work on our server. Access to databases and to some electronic resources from off-campus will also be affected during this time.
We apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you for your patience.
Posted by basye at 4:26 PM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
Off-Campus Access to Databases Restored
Access to our research databases and additional online resources from off-campus has been restored. Thank you for your patience while we dealt with technical problems.
If you encounter any errors or problems, please contact the library.
Posted by basye at 11:24 AM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
Panther Prowler Service Work This Afternoon
Due to work on our servers, Panther Prowler metasearching will be unavailable from approximately 2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. today, Monday June 2nd.
This affects metasearching via Panther Prowler only. While Panther Prowler is down you may still search for articles by going directly to individual databases. Click on the names of the databases on the Databases A-Z list to begin searching.
Please contact the library via the Ask Us! page or call the Reference Desk at 273-2838 if you have questions or need assistance.
Thank you for your patience!
Posted by basye at 12:22 PM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
ReferenceUSA
Rod Library recently subscribed to ReferenceUSA, a residential and business/organization directory. Entries in the residential section include telephone numbers, addresses, and neighborhood home value and household income data. The business/organization section contains contact information and other data such as: estimated sales, credit rating, year established, primary line of business, competitors, and photo of establishment. Non-profit organizations also are included. The search forms can be manipulated to create lists of individuals and companies meeting certain criteria.
ReferenceUSA is listed in UNISTAR, the library catalog, and on the Databases A-Z on the library home page.
Posted by lyle at 1:27 PM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
Iowa and Federal Tax Forms
It's that dreaded time of year again...tax time!
If you are looking for federal tax forms, go to the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov/
If you are looking for Iowa tax forms, go to the Iowa Department of Revenue website at http://www.iowa.gov/tax/index.html
Posted by gouldg at 11:45 AM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
Panther Prowler Enhancements
The software that runs Panther Prowler was upgraded on January 21. This upgrade includes significant enhancements to the user interface. First, the upgraded interface was developed to comply with leading accessibility standards. Second, the search syntax was changed to function more like leading web-based search tools such as Google. For example, users should now enter multiple word searches in quotes to retrieve exact phrases (for example, "gun control"). And third, search results now include "clusters and facets" on the right side of the screen. These provide an easy way to see the most frequently occurring topics, authors, journal titles, years of publication, and so on.
Posted by lyle at 7:59 AM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
Panther Prowler Upgrade
On Monday morning, January 21, the software that runs Panther Prowler will be upgraded. Consequently, metasearching will be unavailable during that time. The upgrade should be complete and metasearching should be restored by early afternoon.
It will still be possible to bring up the local user interface and to select individual databases from the Databases A-Z list for searching at vendors' sites. This is accomplished by clicking on the names of the databases.
Please contact the library via the Ask Us! page if you have questions.
Posted by caswell at 3:12 PM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
Searching UNISTAR by Publisher's Name
It is now possible to use the Rod Library Specialized Search form to search for publisher's names. This is important because publisher's names from the publisher field are not indexed in the general keyword index. They are in a separate index. Publisher's names will only appear in the general keyword index if they are present in other fields such as notes or series. Thus, the general keyword index cannot be relied upon as an indicator of which items the library owns from various publishers.
Here are some examples of how to search using publisher's names.
If one wanted to find out which publications from the German music publisher Sikorski are in the library's collections, one would select the publisher option from the dropdown and enter the term sikorski in the search box. The search results would include everything with the term sikorski in the publisher field.
One can also qualify searches of publisher's names. For example, if one wanted to find out which scores published by Sikorski are in the library's collections, one would select the publisher option from the dropdown, enter the term sikorski in the search box, and click on the radio button for scores. The search results would include all scores with the term sikorski in the publisher field.
Note that one can use the Advanced Keyword Search (AVS) screen to qualify searches by publisher. So if one wanted to find out which scores written by Shostakovich and published by Sikorski are in the library's collections, one would select the author option from the AVS dropdown, enter the term shostakovich in the search box, select Printed Music Scores from the Publication Type dropdown, and enter the term sikorski in the Publisher search box. The search results would include all scores by Shostakovich with the term sikorski in the publisher field.
Posted by caswell at 11:51 AM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
Panther Prowler Takes on a New Look
On Monday, July 30, the library implemented a new Panther Prowler search interface. The new interface integrates several important functions of Panther Prowler into a single page so that users may have access to them in one place.
For more detail see:
http://www.library.uni.edu/gateway/ml/html/pp_interface.html
The direct link to the new interface is:
http://www.library.uni.edu/gateway/
Posted by caswell at 8:16 AM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
ProQuest Databases Unavailable
ProQuest has scheduled a twelve (12) hour maintenance window to install new enhancements to their search interface. During this time, users will have no access to any ProQuest databases. The maintenance will begin Saturday, July 21, 2007, at 9:00 p.m. CST and end on Sunday, July 22, 2007 at 9:00 a.m. CST.
Posted by coulter at 11:58 AM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
New Library Databases
Rod Library has recently acquired three new databases: The New York Times, 1851-2003 (ProQuest Historical Newspapers), Books in Print.com Professional, and CQ Global Researcher. Each of these databases is accessible from the Databases A-Z menu that appears under the Journal and Magazine Articles (Panther Prowler) heading on the Library home page and through UNISTAR, the Library’s online catalog.
Continue reading "New Library Databases" »
Posted by martink at 11:31 AM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
ProQuest Databases Unavailable
A ProQuest® platform enhancement release will be on April 28, 2007. A twelve (12) hour maintenance window will take place to install these exciting new enhancements. The window will begin Saturday, April 28, 2007, at 22:00 EDT to Sunday, April 29, 2007 at 10:00 EDT.
Continue reading "ProQuest Databases Unavailable" »
Posted by coulter at 12:07 PM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
New Rod Library Digital Collections
The site currently consists of four main sections.
1. "UNI Historical Collections" contains information related to our university history, including some audio streaming provided by Art/Music, a set of architectural plans for Central Hall from the 1800s, and the first eleven years of UNI's yearbook.
Continue reading "New Rod Library Digital Collections" »
Posted by basye at 3:38 PM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
LexisNexis Academic Redesign 2007
LexisNexis Academic is undergoing a redesign; Rod Library will move to the new interface later in the year. If you want to take a look now at the redesign, click this link http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic.
There also is a link to this beta version at the top of the page of the current version. Some new content is being added as well.
Posted by basye at 3:40 PM | Permanent Link to this Post
Panther Prowler User Guide
A new guide summarizes how to use Panther Prowler, the tool for searching several databases simultaneously and finding databases in which to search: http://www.library.uni.edu/gateway/pantherguide.shtml.
You also can get a link to the guide by clicking the question mark to the right of the "Journal and Magazine Articles (Panther Prowler)" heading in the middle of the Rod Library home page.
Call 273-2838, stop by the Rod Library reference desk, or Ask Us! online with questions about Panther Prowler, arrange for someone to demonstrate the product in your office, or to schedule a presentation for your department or other group.
Posted by basye at 8:11 AM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
Gale Virtual Reference Library
Rod Library has purchased full-text electronic versions of more than 140 reference books and sets published by Gale and its affiliates. These titles also are available in print format in the Library’s collections. The e-books include such diverse resources as the Cambridge World History of Food, Encyclopedia of Bioterrorism Defense, International Encyclopedia of Marriage and Family, St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, and Web-Based Learning: A Practical Guide.
Continue reading "Gale Virtual Reference Library" »
Posted by basye at 8:09 AM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
Q&A: Printing from the Westlaw Database
Question: Is it possible to print documents from the Westlaw database in computer labs across campus? Currently one receives just an error message.
Response: The problem with Westlaw is that it uses pop-ups in order to print documents from the database. In the library the Westlaw website has been added to a list of sites that are allowed to pop-up. The library is going to talk to ITS about adding the library list of allowable pop-ups to ITS computer labs.
Posted by caswell at 1:34 PM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
Q&A: Accessing Multiple Databases from Panther Prowler
Question: Is it possible to open two database windows from Panther Prowler at the same time, e.g., Lexis Nexis and Westlaw?
Response: Unfortunately not. This is actually a browser issue, not a problem with Panther Prowler. Browsers are programmed to number the windows that open sequentially. Thus, if you are at a web page in Window 1 and click on a link that opens in a new window, that will be Window 2. If you open a new window from Window 2, that will be Window 3.
However, if you drop back to Window 1 and open a second link in a new window, as you would do if you wanted to open a second database from Panther Prowler, the second database would open in Window 2 because 1+1=2. This behavior is true of both Internet Explorer and Firefox.
If it is important to have two databases open simultaneously, our suggestion is to use two different browsers and to open the Panther Prowler list of databases in each browser.
Posted by caswell at 1:31 PM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
ScienceDirect Unavailable on March 11th
ScienceDirect will be unavailable due to scheduled maintenance for approximately 7 hours on Sunday March 11th. The down-time will begin at 12:00 a.m. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Posted by basye at 10:56 AM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
ScienceDirect Unavailable on March 3rd
ScienceDirect will be unavailable due to scheduled maintenance for approximately 9 hours on Saturday March 3rd. The down-time will begin at 5:30 a.m. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Posted by basye at 12:18 PM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
ScienceDirect Unavailable on February 24th
ScienceDirect will be unavailable due to scheduled maintenance for approximately 9 hours on Saturday February 24th. The down-time will begin at 5:00 a.m. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Posted by basye at 9:18 AM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
Black History Month Special Report from NewsBank
NewsBank's Special Report for Black History Month is now available from their web site. The report contains informative articles on issues and events, culture, the civil rights movement, and more, plus profiles of selected individuals.
Posted by basye at 8:44 AM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
Newspapers and News Sources at Rod Library
Rod Library provides access to a wide range of current U.S. local, regional, and national, as well as international, newspapers. The Library maintains a limited number of print subscriptions to Iowa, major U.S., and selected international papers, for which it retains a limited number of recent issues. Selected titles, including The New York Times, Des Moines Register, and Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier, are retained on microfilm. Access to hundreds of additional papers is available through several databases, all of which are accessible through the Databases A-Z link on the Library’s home page. These databases are:
NEW!! PressDisplay (Newspaper Direct)
Full-color, full-page displays of the latest issues of over 400 U.S. and international newspapers in English and other languages that look like the print edition of a title. Includes 60-day backfiles. Users can browse individual issues, or search by publication, date, country, language, or keyword. Features include Top Stories and The World in Pictures. Audio versions of articles are available. Selected SmartNavigation titles can be translated into English or one of several major languages.
America’s Newspapers (NewsBank)
The complete electronic edition of record for more than 1,000 local, regional, and national U.S. newspapers. (Paid ads are not included.) Updated daily. Map-based interface. Backfiles, varying with each paper, are available. Users can search by region or state, or by headline, name, topic, date, author, or section, or review articles in a specific issue of a newspaper.
Ethnic Newswatch (ProQuest)
Full text (in English or Spanish) of over 250 newspapers and other publications “of the ethnic, minority and native press.” Includes U.S. regional and national publications. Users can search by author, title, keyword, or publication, and limit by date or a particular ethnic group.
Full text of over 350 U.S. and international newspapers, with extensive backfiles, varying by title. Also includes nearly 300 college and university newspapers. Broadcast transcripts from major television and radio networks. Access to wire services. Includes non-English language news sources. Supports author and keyword/phrase searching; user can limit by publication, news category, and/or date.
Newspaper Source (EBSCO)
Cover-to-cover full text of 25 U.S. and international newspapers and selected text for over 260 regional U.S. papers. Also includes full-text television and radio news transcripts. Updated daily. Searches can be limited by newspaper title, cover story, articles with images, publication type, or document type.
Posted by basye at 11:31 AM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
New Rod Library Databases
Rod Library has purchased the following databases, which were funded with Student Computer Fees:
Education Index Retrospective, 1929-1983: Access cover-to-cover indexing of over 500 English-language periodicals and yearbooks, published worldwide. Searching of Education Index Retrospective can be combined with the Education Full Text database.
Readers' Guide Retrospective, 1890-1982: Search the historical content of the Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature, a comprehensive index of subjects related to U.S. culture and history covered in 375 leading magazines in the popular press.
JSTOR Arts & Sciences Collection IV: Access the full text and full image of over 100 scholarly journals, beginning with volume 1. Collection focuses on titles in business, education, law, psychology, and public policy and administration.. Availability of content from the last 3-5 years varies by title. The Library also provides access to the JSTOR Arts & Sciences Collections I - III.
Posted by basye at 7:59 AM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
New Rod Library Databases
Rod Library has purchased the following databases, which were funded with Student Computer Fees:
Education Index Retrospective, 1929-1983: Access cover-to-cover indexing of over 500 English-language periodicals and yearbooks, published worldwide. Searching of Education Index Retrospective can be combined with the Education Full Text database.
Readers' Guide Retrospective, 1890-1982: Search the historical content of the Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature, a comprehensive index of subjects related to U.S. culture and history covered in 375 leading magazines in the popular press.
JSTOR Arts & Sciences Collection IV: Access the full text and full image of over 100 scholarly journals, beginning with volume 1. Collection focuses on titles in business, education, law, psychology, and public policy and administration.. Availability of content from the last 3-5 years varies by title. The Library also provides access to the JSTOR Arts & Sciences Collections I - III.
Posted by basye at 7:59 AM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
Martin Luther King Report from NewsBank
NewsBank’s Special Report on People in the News - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - is now available (see link on left side of NewsBank page).
People in the News – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. contains both current and background articles covering
- Biographical information
- Accomplishments
- Legacy
- Important issues and events
- Civil rights movement
- Struggle for freedom
Posted by basye at 1:15 PM | Permanent Link to this Post | Comments (0)
Old Library Homepage to be Removed
The link to the old library homepage will be removed from the current homepage on December 27th. At that time the old "Journal and Magazine Articles" links will also become unavailable. If you need assistance learning how to use Panther Prowler, our new multiple database search service, please contact the Reference Desk at 273-2838, chat with a librarian online, or send us an e-mail from our Ask Us! E-mail web page.
Posted by basye at 9:00 AM | Permanent Link to this Post
Library Book Sale
A used book sale will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 21, at the Rod Library. Items for sale include both fiction and non-fiction books (hardcover & paperback), LPs, CDs, videos, maps and magazines. These items have been removed from the Library¹s collection and include both adult and children's titles. Also for sale are plastic record covers and hard plastic audio cassette cases. Most items will be reasonably priced. For information on the books, call Barb at 273-2781. Payment must be made in cash (good check) on site before removal. Parking will be available in the "A" lot west of Gilchrist Hall or the "A" lot on W. 23rd St. by Campbell Hall. For more information, call Vince at 273-3527.
Posted by basye at 1:43 PM | Permanent Link to this Post
Constitution Day and Library Resources
Constitution Day is an American federal holiday enacted by the United States Congress in 2004 to be observed on September 17th every year to recognize the ratification and signing of the United States Constitution. All publicly funded educational institutions are required, by law, to provide educational programming and activities on the history of the American Constitution on that day. Rod Library has acquired three DVDs - Our Constitution: A Conversation, Key Constitutional Concepts, and Mandate: The President and the People - for the circulating collection for students, professors and others to view. We encourage you to utilize these DVDs in the spirit of Constitution Day. The DVDs are located on the first floor of Rod Library at the MultiService Center (MSC).
Posted by basye at 12:49 PM | Permanent Link to this Post
Panther Prowler - Expand Your Research
Do you need to search several databases to find academic journal articles and other sources on your topic? Or are you unsure which databases to search? If your answer is yes, you will want to try Panther Prowler, a new Rod Library search service currently under development. Rather than searching several databases one after the other, Panther Prowler makes it possible to search simultaneously up to ten databases and catalogs. Search terms can be run against pre-selected databases in broad categories, such as business, education, and science, or against databases of your choosing. Search results are combined and ranked by relevance.
Give it a try! Search from the purple "Basic Search" bar at the top of the Rod Library home page or click the "Journal & Magazine Articles" heading in the center of the Rod Library home page to search groups of databases arranged by broad subject areas.
Funded by student computer fees, Panther Prowler is an additional, new way to search multiple databases. However, if you wish, you may continue to search the way you have been by connecting directly to a preferred database from the "Databases A-Z" link in the middle of the Rod Library home page. The "native interface" of most databases provides additional search techniques that may be essential for particular research topics.
If you miss the former "Journal and Magazine Articles" links, for a limited time you may still access the old library homepage from the link at the bottom left of the current homepage.
Let us know what you think! Send your comments to metalib@uni.edu.
Posted by basye at 8:47 AM | Permanent Link to this Post
Library Home Page Revision
Rod Library recently made some changes to its home page. We hope these changes will make it easier to find the materials needed for study and research at UNI.
On the left side of the page, headings such as Library Collections can be expanded to reveal subheadings by clicking on the [+] sign. The subheadings can be collapsed by clicking on the [-] sign.
In the center of the page, the former Advanced Search heading has been deleted. In its place are three new headings for Newspaper Articles, Reference Sources, and Web Resources. Newspaper Articles includes links to newspaper article databases such as LexisNexis Academic and to information about print and free electronic newspapers. Reference Sources provides access to electronic and print encyclopedias and similar tools. Web Resources includes links to directories of academic resources on the web, major search tools, and guides to evaluating and citing web sites. Two formerly separate headings have been combined to form Course Materials and Research Help.
Links in the Journal & Magazine Articles section have been changed somewhat. For example, a Citation Linker provides a way to determine whether Rod Library has rights to electronic versions of particular articles or journals. A question mark next to the heading leads to a page that explains which tools to use to find articles on a subject and which to use to determine if the library has a particular known journal. It also points to a page that explains how to tell the difference between a journal and a magazine.
If you have any comments on the revised home page, please send them to libweb@uni.edu.
Posted by caswell at 8:39 AM | Permanent Link to this Post
JSTOR Arts & Sciences Collections I - III
Rod Library provides access to three JSTOR full-text journal collections, Arts & Sciences Collections I - III. There is a link to JSTOR in the Databases A - Z list under the heading "Articles in Journals and Newspapers" on the Library’s home page.
Arts & Sciences Collections I - III contain the full text of 359 journals in diverse disciplines. Collection III is not yet complete, but will be later this year. Lists of the titles included in Arts & Sciences Collections I - III are available at http://www.jstor.org/about/collection.list.html
Coverage begins with volume 1 of each title. JSTOR has a "moving wall," defined by the company as "the time period between the last issue available in JSTOR and the most recently published issue of a journal." Under this policy, access to recent issues, usually those published in the last 3 - 5 years, is not available.
JSTOR provides Basic, Advanced, and Expert search options. In searching JSTOR, the default is "all content in all journals." Citations identified through a JSTOR search can be saved for copying, printing, emailing, or export. The full text of an article can be printed, with PDF being the default.
For assistance in searching the JSTOR Arts & Sciences Collections, please inquire at the Reference Desk on the main floor of the Library or Ask Us.
Posted by caswell at 9:53 AM | Permanent Link to this Post
New UNISTAR Catalog Interface
Rod Library is pleased to introduce our new Online Catalog (UNISTAR) interface. Our aim is to make it easy to find the library resources and services of greatest interest to you. The new interface to UNISTAR went live on Monday, January 10th, 2005. The old interface will be available through the end of January at the following link: old Online Catalog (UNISTAR) interface. Please direct any questions or comments to the OPAC Committee. We would like to thank the many UNI students, faculty, and staff who responded to our requests for comments during development work.
Posted by caswell at 9:25 AM | Permanent Link to this Post
Find It! - A New Gateway Feature
A new feature has been implemented in the Rod Library Gateway to Library and Internet Resources. Called Find It! it provides links between citations in research databases and online full text. In other words, users can go directly to full text without having to search for journal titles in the catalog.
Whenever users see the Find It! button 
in a database, it will be hyper-linked to a menu that will tell them where to find the full text for the article. This feature is found in most databases, including those from Gale Group (Expanded Academic ASAP), ProQuest, and SilverPlatter. As additional research databases become Find it! compatible, Find it! will be enabled in them.
If you have questions about the service, you may want to read the Find it! Frequently Asked Questions.
If this does not answer your questions or you wish to make a suggestion, please speak to a staff member at the reference desk or Ask Us.
Posted by caswell at 9:46 AM | Permanent Link to this Post