Welcome to the AUR Library! And the Latest Updates

To all new and returning students and instructors, welcome to the AUR Library. There are several updates to discuss.

Firstly, and very nice indeed, is the new method of access to the CSI databases. It is now based on IP address and, when you are on campus, you can simply click into the database you want and no sign in is necessary. Again, you can access the databases through the AUR catalog and look for the logo:

Underneath, you can click on Databases or Electronic Journals List. For more information on the electronic resources, you can always click on How does this work?

Off-campus access has still not be determined by CSI. We will announce the method as soon as we receive it.

Secondly, the Extend Search function of the AUR catalog has been improved. The Extend Search function has been developed by the AUR Library to make searching in other selected databases easier (for more information see Extending the Search in the AUR Library Information Wiki). Now, all you have to do is select the text that you want and the following will appear:

Click on this and your search will be made in a variety of databases, organized by:

• Other Roman Libraries
• World Library Catalogs
• AUR Digital Materials
• Electronic Book Projects
• Articles and Open Archives
• Synonyms/Other Tools
• General Search Engines
  

Click on any of these groups and the databases will appear below. For example, if you click on Other Roman Libraries, you will see the following databases:
SBN | URBS | Centro | Public Libraries | Senato | URBE

Click on any of these databases, and the database will appear below where the search has already been don. From here, you can browse and revise the search if you need to. Again, for full instructions, see Extending the Search.

You can also search directly in the Extend Search by clicking on Search Other Collections from any page in the catalog.

We are still revising some of the help screens. Also, this is complicated searching and may take some time, so you may have to wait a bit for the searches to complete.

Keeping Current in Your Field

ARL (the Association of Research Libraries) recently came out with a report entitled Current Models of Digital Scholarly Communication. Among other findings, there is a list of the most popular websites for scholars to stay current in their fields. In the Humanities, one of the most important of these sites is called Humanities and Social Sciences Online or H-Net.


H-Net is "an international interdisciplinary organization of scholars and teachers dedicated to developing the enormous educational potential of the Internet and the World Wide Web." It carries peer-reviewed essays, reviews, and announcements for upcoming events. The site is divided into many individual lists and, as with all such lists, some are more active than others.

Another section is H-Net Reviews. This section provides book reviews--including in-depth ones--of books found of interest to those in the list. There is also the possibility of others' comments to the book review, as well as to any post on the list.

One example of a book in the AUR collection is The Italian legacy in Washington, D.C. : architecture, design, art and culture / edited by Luca Molinari and Andrea Canepari -- Milano : Skira, 2007. with this online review.

Finally, if there is a list you would like but it is not there, you can start one yourself! The ARL report gives many other new and interesting ways that scholars can communicate. One of these is what they term the "academic hub" which is a portal for a scholarly society or professional membership organization. these attempt to be a "one-stop shop" for the most important information. One example is Poynter Online, created by the Poynter Institute, a school for journalists and teachers of journalists.