The entire UW-Platteville community has access to RefWorks citation and bibliographic management software. Web-based and Windows and Mac compliant, RefWorks allows you, after choosing a username and password, to build a personal database of records you've found doing any research. For example, if you are researching nanotechnology and micro-robotics, simply capture citations to journal articles or books on the topics and move those citations over into folders in your RefWorks account. You can then easily retrieve those records and build a bibliography - in any number of citation styles - from them.
But beyond that building of your own database of citations, did you know that you can include the full text within the record? Each user has access to a whopping gig of space for each record in your account! That means, typically into the "Notes" field, you can copy and paste the full html text of the journal article!
Another way to get access to the full text of a journal article is to remember that there's a "Find It!" link to the full text, when full text is available. This will happen when you pull a journal's record over into your RefWorks database while searching a library subscription database (such as EBSCOhost's Academic Search Elite).
If all this sounds wonderful (but perhaps a little confusing) please feel free to ask a librarian for a quick demonstration. There's great online help, too, so don't miss out on using this very helpful tool. Once familiar with it, you and your students can save a lot of time by using RefWorks.
NOTE: You do NOT need to come to the library to use RefWorks. Because the software is Web-based, once you log on to the university's server and create an account (choose a username and password), then your account with your personal database of references will "follow" you anywhere you have access to the Web.
Please note that the Southwest Wisconsin Room staff members maintain the University Archives on the lower level of the library. Besides making available copies of past catalogs and yearbooks, the Archives staff is dedicated to collecting copies of works published by university and area writers.
So if you have written an article or book that has been published, please donate a copy to the Southwest Wisconsin Room so that others in the future will have access to your work.
If you haven't already checked out the library's "Resources by Academic Discipline" web pages, please note that they were created to make life easier for you and your students. Librarians have gathered peer-reviewed resources by subject - according to major areas of study at UWP.
Reviewed by Jennifer Snoek-Brown
Reference Librarian
Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX, the Law that Changed the Future of Girls in America by Karen Blumenthal
Shelved in the Instructional Materials Lab (IML) with the call number 796.082 B658L
This fascinating book - intended for a younger audience but very suitable for adults - outlines the struggle to eliminate discrimination on the basis of gender in education. Most think of Title IX, enacted in 1972, as the "sports law" that forced public schools dependant on federal aid to provide equal funding for girls' and boys' sports programs. However, the sports aspect was almost overlooked in creating the law; the original intent of Title IX focused on bolstering girls' participation in science and math classes.
With an engaging and enthusiastic writing style (which makes this book almost impossible to put down once started), Karen Blumenthal covers the entire process of Title IX, from background events, multiple revisions, political dealings, as well as the social struggles in making the law a reality in the United States. Blumenthal remains objective in her research, and her message is clear in supporting equal rights for both sexes.
The book includes highlights such as period political cartoons, photographs, sidebar profiles, a timeline, and a "Then and Now" quotes column. The most interesting element of the book is the "Statistics Scorecard" feature sprinkled throughout. Its amazing statistics, covering the years between 1971 and 2001, starkly remind us of the major impact Title IX has had across generations - not only in sports but also in the higher education and career goals of girls and women nationwide.
I recommend this book for all ages and both genders, from those who remember public education before Title IX to those who have grown up with its benefits. Whether serving as a refresher course or a new experience for those unaware of the history of Title IX, this book will have a startling and powerful impact on all who read it.
Kay Young, Editor
608.342.1134
young@uwplatt.edu