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My
name is John Leonard-Berg, and I am the distance education librarian for
the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. I have been at UW-Platteville
for six years, where I also hold the position of public services coordinator
at the UW-Platteville Karrmann Library. My major responsibilities
are to provide daily assistance to patrons at our public service desk and
to select reference materials essential to the teaching and research mission
of the university. When making any selection decision, I consider
both distance education and on-campus students. I'm extremely pleased
with the library's collection of electronic databases, books, journals,
and the convenient services available to all our students.
The
Karrmann Library home page
is your portal into the world of information. You will discover library
catalogs, 150 electronic databases, newspapers, and an abundance of Internet
sites reviewed by library subject bibliographers. Although it would
take pages to completely explain all of our wonderful features and services,
I would like to focus my discussion on locating scholarly books.
Many of your other information needs may be satisfied when exploring the
links off the Karrmann Library home page.
When
assigning a research project, every professor expects a well-selected bibliography
of authoritative books and articles. Let's take the first step and
locate some first-class books. The link "Library
Catalog" will open the door to 300,000 books housed at UW-Platteville.
Using the "Simple Search" function, you will be asked to enter the term
of choice in the dialog box. If you are searching for a term like "animal
rights," you will want to use quotation marks (i.e., "animal rights"), which
indicates to the computer program that you are interested in a multi-termed
keyword. You may also combine several ideas with a Boolean operator.
A possible search might be "animal rights" and ethics.
Sound
confusing? It really is not difficult. The help screens associated
with the library catalog are helpful and portray an abundance of relevant
examples. We have also created a guide that may be accessed at www.uwplatt.edu/library/guides/find.html.
If you need help, you may call the new toll-free library number (1-888-450-4632),
which will connect you with one of our many reference librarians ready
to give you personal attention.
Distance
learners may request books from the Karrmann Library. The books will
be mailed to you at no charge. An online web form is available for
your convenience at www.uwplatt.edu/library/ill/book.html.
Please be aware that regular loan periods are in effect and that you are
responsible for the cost of returning books to the Karrmann Library. If
the Karrmann Library does not own a book that you need, please check with
your local library about requesting the material through their interlibrary
loan service. Working with your local library should result in faster
and more direct service.
It
is my pleasure to assist you with your information needs. Please
keep watching for my comments in future issues of PLEXUS where many other
great services will be discussed.
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