Hilda C. Landers Library & Archives

Database Page New Look

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If you’ve been to the SMCM Library’s databases page in the last few weeks you’ve probably noticed some changes from the previous version.

Don’t stress! The new versions has all the same great features (and databases!) just in a slightly different format.

New database page layout

The main difference is the new version defaults to an A-Z list of allllll the SMCM Library databases. Want to find suggestions based on subject (like the old version)? Just use the “All Subjects” drop-down menu under the search bar.

Speaking of the search bar, you can easily go directly to your favorite database (*cough*JSTORE*cough*) by searching OR using the A-Z letter links near the top of the page.

As always if you have any trouble or questions, Ask Us by sending an email to ask@smcm.libasnwers.com or calling the Reference desk at 240-895-4272.

Have a Question? Find an Answer.

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We get it. Sometimes you have a quick question and don’t want to bother to call, email, or ask us in person. Sometimes you just need to type a question into your iPhone and get an answer. Quickly.

In those situations, we have you covered. It’s a perfect opportunity to check out our collection of Frequently Asked Questions through our Ask a Librarian page.

Ask a Librarian link on library header

Not sure how to download Endnote? Need to access online databases from off-campus? Curious about the dates of this year’s Library Book Sale? Our FAQs have you covered. The best part is that you can literally type in a question and get an answer.

Ask a Librarian page screenshot

Please note: Although we try to keep our FAQs well stocked with useful questions, you may have a question we just haven’t posted an answer to yet. In that event, you’ll simply be prompted to email your question and a librarian will soon.

 

Meet OneSearch

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St. Mary’s community, meet OneSearch, a simplified way to search the St. Mary’s Library’s resources and collections powered by EBSCO Discovery Service. When you enter search terms in the OneSearch search box and click Find, you’ll be searching:

  • the SMCM library catalog,
  • the USMAI catalog, and
  • a variety of different research databases, including the always popular Academic Search Complete, PsycINFO and JSTOR databases (among many others).

There are of course, a few things to keep in mind when searching using OneSearch.

  • OneSearch does NOT search all of the library’s online databases (and it searches some databases better than others).
  • Not everything in OneSearch is available in full-text online.
  • If you’re doing research in a specific subject area, you might want to try searching an individual database for more subject-specific results.

Right now OneSearch is in beta mode, so changes, updates, and improvements happen from time to time. We would love to hear your OneSearch-related comments and suggestions. You can leave your feedback as a comment on this blog post or talk to any one of the librarians.

Happy Searching.

Ask Us! We mean it.

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Ask Us NowIf you’ve been to the library’s website recently, you may (or may not) have noticed a smallish box off to the left-hand side of the screen with the words “Ask Us.” It’s a small but commanding phrase, and here at the library, it’s one we take seriously. Librarians and library staff love questions and you need answers, so we’ve added yet another way for you to ask and us to answer:

Online Chat!

That’s right, librarians are online and available to help you. At the moment, our chat hours are a bit inconsistent, but eventually we’ll work out a regular routine. This is a new service for us and we’re still working out the kinks and playing around with the features. So, when you click on the “Ask Us” button you’ll end up with one of two screens:

If you’re really lucky, you’ll see this:

Chat with a Librarian

Chat Success!!!

which means a librarian is online and available to help you.

If you’re a little less lucky, but still amazingly lucky in the grand scheme of library help options, you’ll see this:

LibAnswers

Ask Us is our new FAQ system

Which is an entryway into our new LibAnswers system. It’s a Frequently-Asked-Questions system/knowledgebase and an email-a-librarian system all rolled into one. It’s a way to help yourself or get the help you need. Just type in a question to search for an answer.

So again, when we ask you to Ask Us, we mean it. We really, really do.

 

 

Happy Birthday!

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We are celebrating the birthday of our new web site!!  It came from humble, but delicious beginnings:

 

Our first meeting to discuss what we wanted in our new web site was accompanied by doughnuts and lots of slips of paper.  All seven of the librarians contributed DNA, and Veronica Arellano Douglas was the midwife through what seems like the longest labor and delivery in history.   We prioritized, we compromised,  we moved post-it notes around, and we agreed that we were ready for a big change.

So we’re ready to hear what you have to say.   Don’t be shy.   You don’t have to tell us we have a beautiful baby if you find things that don’t work, or don’t work the way you expected them to.  As hard as we try to think like our users (that’s you),  it’s hard for us to turn our librarian brains off.

Send us feedback!  Send congratulations to Veronica!  No pacifiers or baby blankets.  We could use more doughnuts, though.

Contact Us:

(240) 895-4264

ask@smcm.libanswers.com
47645 College Drive
St. Mary's City, MD, 20686-3001

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