New Database: Encyclopedia Britannica Online

Alkek Library has just added Encyclopedia Britannica Online to its array of databases. Besides the in-depth encyclopedia articles, the online version of the popular 32-volume print encyclopedia includes many additional resources :

• Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary


• Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus


• Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Quotations


• The New York Times, BBC News, and SBS World News headlines from around the world


• World Data Analyst Online: Create your own tables and graphs comparing countries using the most recent statistics or historical statistics, which show changes in countries over time.


• World Atlas


• Timelines


• Year in Review


• Gateway to the Classics: electronic versions of significant works of history, literature, philosophy, and science.

Encyclopedia Britannica Online can be accessed through the Databases section of the library homepage or directly http://libproxy.txstate.edu/login?url=http://search.eb.com.

Wilson Databases Redesign Interface

WilsonWeb releases the “frameless” interface. Among some of the the enhancements you will see when trying the new interface, are the following: (from Wilson's news release)

• New enhanced layout and graphics
• New navigational features that will make the finding of information easier, faster and more successful. For example, you will see new clickable tabs at the top of the search results that allow for the narrowing of search results to include full text when available, peer-reviewed articles, etc. Also, notice the new dual use text entry box at the top of each search results screen, allowing you to search within your results, or for constructing an entirely new search.
• New for the popular Suggested Subjects. They are now listed on the left side of your search results screen and have been expanded, offering additional subjects that might be of interest.
• New simplified Print, Email, Export and Save functions.
• New easy to use Search History screen. Combine your searches, create email Alerts and save searches for later retrieval from this screen.
• New translation capability. Translate Full Text HTML documents from English into French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and/or Korean.

Some of the most popular databases Alkek subscribes to are via Wilson such as, Art Full Text, Biography Reference Bank , Education Full Text , General Science Full Text, and Social Sciences Full Text, just to name a few.

I find the new interface a refreshing change. The change is not so radical that you won't know you are using Education or Humanities Full-text. Now, most of what you expect to see in your search results (narrow your results, subjects, export, etc.) are there and easy to navigate. It's easier to save and print and to create a search alert. Way to go Wilson!

We Have a New Look!

Welcome to the new library website. We hope you find the new design easy to navigate. The Start Your Research box is intended to help you search the library catalog, databases, and other information resources quickly. Through the headlline links we will be providing news about research tools, new databases and other information of interest to students, faculty and other library users.

So let us know what you think. Use the "How are we doing" link on the home page near the bottom of the left navigation bar, or send a message to: library@txstate.edu.

Southwestern Writers Collection acquires Cormac McCarthy papers

The Southwestern Writers Collection (SWWC), a part of The Wittliff Collections at the Alkek Library, has acquired the papers of author Cormac McCarthy.

McCarthy’s body of work includes some of the finest novels of our times. Critic Harold Bloom declares Blood Meridian (1985) “the authentic American apocalyptic novel,” stating, “The fulfilled renown of Moby-Dick and of As I Lay Dying is augmented by Blood Meridian, since Cormac McCarthy is the worthy disciple both of Melville and of Faulkner. I venture that no other living American novelist, not even Pynchon, has given us a book as strong and memorable….”

In 1992, McCarthy won the National Book Award for the New York Times bestseller All the Pretty Horses, and in 2006 he was given the Pulitzer Prize for his most recent novel, The Road. The recipient of numerous other awards, including a Rockefeller Foundation Grant, Guggenheim Fellowship and MacArthur Fellowship (the so-called “genius” grant), Cormac McCarthy has been highly praised from the very start of his career.

No Country for Old Men, on which the recent film by Joel and Ethan Coen is based, was touted by Sam Shepard as “a monster of a book. Cormac McCarthy achieves monumental results by a kind of drip-by-drip process of ruthless simplicity. It will leave you panting and awestruck.” In December, the movie was named best film of 2007 by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.

A room designated for the Cormac McCarthy Collection, will be located within the Southwestern Writers Collection on the Alkek Library’s seventh floor, and will be equipped for exhibits, study, and related activities.

Public events are being planned, and will be announced.

Read the full news release here.

Happy New Year! Learn how to use Refworks before you start your research papers.

First, I should introduce myself. My name is Tara Spies and I am the newest addition to the Alkek Library Information Literacy Instruction Team. I am a Reference/Instruction Librarian and my subject specialties are art/design, communication studies, and technology. If you have any questions about research in those areas you can contact me at ts20@txstate.edu or want to request an instruction class in any of these areas with me please don't hesitate to do so.

It is the beginning of the spring semester so it is probably a good time to learn about new and improved research tools before your research gets underway. If you don't already know about Refworks, you will wish you had once you know that it is a online citation and bibliography tool that you can use to help you organize and format your citations/references for your research papers in whatever writing style you are supposed to use (APA, MLA, etc.). You can create a free account and familiarize yourself with some of its basic features. You can use their tutorial or attend one of our upcoming workshops on how to use Refworks. Once you get the hang of it you will see what a helpful tool Refworks can be for citing sources in your paper and for your reference/bibliography page that you put at the end of it.

Refworks just released a new version of Write-and-Cite that will let you download and use it while offline. The online version is still available for when it is more convenient for you. You can read about more new enhancements to Refworks in their January 2008 Release Notes


Good luck with your spring semester!

Library Acquires Two New JSTOR Collections, Arts & Sciences V and Business II

JSTOR has been Alkek Library's most used database for several years in a row, and we are happy to announce that the Library has acquired two new collections, Arts & Sciences V and Business II. JSTOR is not a current issue database but instead provides access to complete runs of back issues, frequently to volume 1 of the journal.

Arts & Sciences V will provide access to older issues of core scholarly titles in philosophy, history, classics, religion, art, and language and literature. Journals include The Bulletin of the Museum of Modern Art, Design Quarterly, Environmental History, Film History, The Hudson Review, Hypatia, Journal of Folklore Research, Journal of Modern Literature, Research in African Literatures, and Victorian Studies. When complete in 2009, the collection will include 120 journals.

The Business II Collection expands JSTOR's coverage of economics and finance, and introduces journals focused on administration and marketing, including the flagship journals of the American Marketing Association. Business II also includes a number of journals that explore the intersections between economics and law, policy, and psychology. Several core international business titles are also included:

International Journal of Health Care Finance and Economics
Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient
Canadian Public Policy / Analyse de Politiques
Revue économique
Scandinavian Journal of Economics

Alkek Library Launches New Database Pages

The Library's database pages have been redesigned, and will hopefully be much easier to use than the old ones. The new database homepage features database subject listings by academic department and other major topic areas, allowing us to list the most pertinent resources for each subject. The new design also makes it easier to search for specific types of resources, such as images, company and industry information, grants, literary criticism, plays, lesson plans, or historical primary sources, to mention only a few. The pull-down under By Type lists all the different types that we have indexed. Another new service, the citation finder, allows you to type in information from a citation and to locate it in one of our full-text databases. Please give us feedback on our new pages and how they are working for you.

Library Adds Anatomy.tv, an Interactive 3D Model of Human Anatomy

Anatomy.tv is a suite of 3D interactive models of human anatomy and pathology. Users may zoom, rotate and peel away layers to learn or visually communicate anatomical structures and kinetic functions.

The nine anatomy modules consist of Foot, Hand & Forearm, Head & Nec, Hip, Knee, Pelvis & Perineum, Shoulder, Spine, Thorax and Abdomen. Each module has multiple Layers or Views and all come with MRIs and quizzes. Depending on the module, there may also be 3D animations, slides, videos, or X-rays. The interactive functional anatomy module provides a full skeleton with content on bones, ligaments and muscles. The accompanying text highlights attachments, innervations, blood supply, primary actions, gross motor movement and common injuries/pathologies.