AU Library News

Planned System Maintenance

Thurs, 22 Aug 2013 09:00:05 GMT

Access to both versions of the Library Catalogue and subscription journal databases and e-book collections will be unavailable due to planned maintenance on Tuesday, August 27th, between the hours of 9 am - 4 pm MT. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause.

Changes to Google Scholar and RefWorks

Thurs, 14 Feb 2013 11:00:05 GMT

Due to a change made by Google, in order to export references from Google Scholar to RefWorks from off-campus, you must use a proxied link to Google Scholar. The link is: http://0-scholar.google.ca.aupac.lib.athabascau.ca/ To facilitate this, we have put the proxied link to Google Scholar on the Internet Search Engines databases page on the Library's website (http://library.athabascau.ca/journals/title.php?subjectID=48#g). Questions may be directed to the Library Information Desk (library@athabascau.ca).

Digitization Portal System Outage

Thurs, 14 Feb 2013 09:00:05 GMT

Some collections from our Digitization Portal are currently unavailable due to a server upgrade. Service should be restored by noon, Feb. 14. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Digitization Portal System Outage

Tues, 12 Feb 2013 15:00:05 GMT

Our CONTENTdm server is currently being upgraded and is unavailable. Some collections from our Digitization Portal will be unavailable during this time. Service should be restored by noon, Feb. 13. We apologize for the inconvenience.

AU Library Webinar Series

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 09:34:05 GMT

AU Library is sponsoring a series of webinars related to the Library of the Future. Details are as follows: Tuesday, February 26, 2013 (9:00 - 10:30 am): "From Gatekeeping to Gate Opening: An Evolving Role for Academic Libraries", by Steven Bell, Associate University Librarian for Research and Instruction at Temple University, and President, 2012-2013 of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). Monday, March 4, 2013 (3:30 - 5:00 pm): "Libraries of the Future: An Australian Research Library Perspective", by Phillip Kent, University Librarian at the University of Melbourne, an Executive member of the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL), a Director of CAVAL Ltd, and recently elected to the arXiv Member Advisory Board at the University of Melbourne. Thursday, March 7, 2013 (9:30 - 11:00 am): This session is an opportunity to discuss the presentations given by Steven Bell and Philip Kent and to discuss the proposed AU Library vision statement, mission, and mandate. Please use this link to access the webinars: https://connect.athabascau.ca/lotf/. The sessions will be recorded and archived at AU Space. Everyone is welcome to participate.

New Creating Persistent Links Tutorial

Tues, 20Jan 2013 11:41:05 GMT

Do you want to learn how to create or find persistent links to e-books and journal articles? If so, check out our new tutorial Creating Persistent Links to Electronic Resources.

Holiday Closure

Thurs, 06 Dec 2012 15:26:05 GMT

Athabasca University Library will close at 4:30 p.m. MT on December 24, 2012 and will reopen at 8:30 a.m. on January 2, 2013. Please ensure that all requests for materials are made by December 20th, so that we may process all requests and ship them before closing on the 24th. Please note that interlibrary loan requests received after December 14, 2012 may not be filled until January 2013, due to reductions in service by lending institutions during the holiday season. Happy Holidays!

Updated Tutorial

Wed, 07 Sep 2012 15:26:05 GMT

The Tips for Searching Tutorial has now been updated to include information on conducting comprehensive searches for literature. It can be found in the Help Centre, under Tutorials.

New Research Guide

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 15:28:05 GMT

A new Latin American and Caribbean Studies research guide has now been created. A direct link to this guide can be found here: http://libguides.athabascau.ca/latinamerican. It also appears on the Help Centre's Research page.

New Alumni Databases

Fri, 16 Aug 2012 14:28:05 GMT

We are pleased to announce that Athabasca University Alumni now ha ve access to a greater range of subscription databases! These databases can be found on the Alumni Databaseslist, and are identified by a green AU icon.

New Databases

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 14:28:05 GMT

Two new databases are now available through AU Library. AP News Monitor Collection provides access to recent news from Associated Press. Full text is archived for 30 days. Medline can now be accessed through the EBSCO platform. This National Library of Medicine database contains scholarly periodical literature in medicine, nursing, dentistry and other related fields. Comments and questions can be directed to the AU Library Information Desk.

Limiting AUCAT Search Results to E-Books

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 14:28:05 GMT

We have recently updated the"Limiting AUCAT Search Results to E-Books" tutorial. The new video can be found here: library.athabascau.ca/help/aucat/Keywordebooks.swf. Comments and questions can be directed to the AU Library Information Desk.

AU Library's Guide to the Research Process

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 14:28:05 GMT

AU Library's Guide to the Research Process has been updated. It can be found here: . A redirect from the old guide to the new guide is in place.

Digitization Portal

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 14:28:05 GMT

Did you know that AU Library's Digitization Portal contains historical photos, digital theses and projects and online films? Check it out here: http://digiport.athabascau.ca

New Nursing and Health Studies Research Guide

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 14:28:05 GMT

Check out the newly updated undergraduate Nursing and Health Studies research guide! The research guide can be found here: http://libguides.athabascau.ca/healthstudies, and the old page has been redirected to the new location.

Google course "Power Searching with Google"

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 14:28:05 GMT

Google has just announced a free online course called "Power Searching with Google". Details on the course can be found at the link

Open Educational Resources (OER)Opportunities and Challenges in Distance Education

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:28:05 GMT

The UNESCO/COL Chair in OER, Dr. Rory McGreal, presents a noon hour web-cast discussing the importance of OER in distance education. This web-cast will feature a panel of internationally known promoters and developers of open educational resources who will be discussing research, opportunities, challenges and new ideas on this topic. Panel speakers include Dr. Cindy Ives, Dr. Terry Anderson, Dr. Martin Connors, Steve Schafer, Rachel Conroy,Tony Tin, and Colin Elliott. The new OER KnowledgeCloud repository will be showcased in the presentation as well. This event is Athabasca University's contribution to the OCWC OER Week.

Date: March 8, 2012

Time: 12:00-1:30pm MT

Format: Adobe Connect

https://connect.athabascau.ca/oer_in_de/

For more information, visit http://www.oerknowledgecloud.com/presentation or contact Tony Tin at tonyt@athabascau.ca or (780) 675-6486.

New databases

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:28:05 GMT

AU Library has recently added some new databases to its collection.

Francis
Created by the Institut de l'Information Scientifique et Technique of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (INIST-CNRS) in Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy (France), this database is a multilingual, multidisciplinary database which provides access to resources in the humanities and social sciences. Areas of strength include philosophy, archaeology, geography, religion and sociology.

GeoRef
GeoRef is a comprehensive geosciences database which contains over 3 million references to articles, books, maps, conference papers, reports and theses. While full text is not provided directly through this database, in many cases full text content can be accessed through other databases AU Library subscribes to.

PILOTS
This bibliographic database provides access to international literature published on traumatic stress including PTSD and other mental health sequelae of traumatic events.

Social Services Abstracts
Social Services Abstracts provides bibliographic access to current publications in the disciplines of social work, human services and related areas.

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts.
This abstract and indexing database provides access to literature in the fields of political science, international relations and public administration and policy. Materials indexed in this database include journals, books, book chapters, dissertations and working papers.

ProQuest has a new Platform!

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:28:05 GMT

Proquest has a new platform! On December 8, 2011, AU Library launched the new Proquest platform. This change affects a number of databases offered by AU Library, including ABI/Inform Complete, Canadian Newsstand, CBCA Complete, Proquest Historical Newspapers, Proquest Computing, Proquest Education, Proquest Nursing & Allied Health Source, Proquest Science and Telecom.

As these databases are now all on the same platform, it is now possible to cross search them.

Ethnographic Video Online (New Database)

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 14:28:05 GMT

AU Library has recently subscribed to Ethnographic Video Online, a substantial collection of films on different cultures. To access this resource, follow this link.

Open Access Week

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 14:28:05 GMT

Athabasca University is participating in its third international Open Access Week - October 24-28, 2011 - to broaden awareness and understanding of open access.

The objective of AU's Open Access Week is to promote understanding, adoption, use and production of open access resources for formal and informal teaching and learning.

Information about presentations and speakers is available at http://openaccess.athabascau.ca/

Google Scholar

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 09:28:05 GMT

Did you know that you can set your preferences in Google Scholar to search a subset of AU Library's databases? To do so, go to Google Scholar, click on the wheel icon labelled "Options" and choose "Scholar Preferences". In the box labeled "Library Links" type Athabasca, and then click "Find Library". You will see Athabasca Univ. Library appear as an option. Check the box beside it, and click on "Save Preferences". To access the full text of a resource from off-campus, click on Athabasca Univ. Library.

If you have any questions, please contact the Library Information Desk.

eBooks on EBSCOHost

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 09:28:05 GMT

Did you know that netLibrary is now known as eBooks on EBSCOHost? All former netLibrary e-books are now available on the same platform as other EBSCO databases, such as Academic Search Complete, Education Research Complete and PsycARTICLES. Access to these e-books is either provided from the above link, or through AUCAT, the Library catalogue.

Searching with Truncation

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 09:28:05 GMT

Did you know that you can use truncation symbols in search strategies to help you retrieve variations on words? In the library catalogue and some databases you can use the asterisk * to retrieve alternate spellings of words and alternate endings.

Example: "environment* polic*" will retrieve environmental policy, environmental policies, environment policy, environment policies etc.

behavio* will retrieve behavior, behaviour, behavioural etc.

behav*r will retrieve both spellings of behaviour (with the U and without), but will not retrieve endings.

For more information on searching using truncation, check out the Tips for Searching Guide.

New Catalogue Features

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 09:28:05 GMT

AUCAT, the library catalogue, has a number of new features. Follow this link to learn about them.

Searching for Journal Articles

Thu, 7 Jul 2011 09:28:05 GMT

Want to learn how to find a specific journal article? Check out the new AU Journal Title List tutorial, found here.

New Version of LibX Toolbar

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 09:28:05 GMT

A new version of the LibX toolbar is now available. The new version is compatible with the newly released Firefox 4. Download the toolbar here. To learn about how the LibX toolbar works, have a look at this tutorial..

Using Other Libraries

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 09:28:05 GMT

Did you know that as a student at AU you can borrow materials from other libraries? AU Library participates in two reciprocal borrowing agreements. The Alberta Library Card program is available to residents of Alberta and allows in-person borrowing privileges at a variety of Alberta Libraries. More information about this program can be found at the above link.

The Canadian University Reciprocal Borrowing Agreement allows in person borrowing privileges at select Canadian universities. More information can be found at the above link.

New Databases

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 09:28:05 GMT

AU Library has added two new databases to its collection, Expanded Academic ASAP, and General Reference Center Gold. These databases can be found on the databases page (http://library.athabascau.ca/journals/title.php).

My Lists - New Catalogue Feature

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 09:28:05 GMT

A new feature has been added to the AU Library Catalogue. This new tool is called "My Lists". When you create a search, you can click on several items within that search and save them to a list which will be visible in your account page. This information is only accessible to you. With the list, you can add, delete, or export any of the items on the list. It also provides you with the ability to remove titles from your list that may appear in your Reading History. As a result of the My Lists feature being added, the Bookcart functions have changed slightly. Instead of an "Add to Bookcart" button in the search results, you now have a checkbox instead. All other function to the Bookcart is the same. Please contact the Library (library@athabascau.ca) if you require assistance with My Lists or if you have any questions about this new feature.

Database Changes

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 09:28:05 GMT

This summer you will notice many changes to the interfaces and special features of many of our database providers. A few to note that have already changed are Ovid, MyiLibrary, and Ebsco. Wiley InterScience will be replaced with Wiley Online Library the weekend of August 7-8, 2010. Please not that if you used the "saved searches" features of Wiley InterScience, they will be lost in the change to Wiley Online Library, so it's best to record your saved searches elsewhere and reset them after the changes to this database on August 8, 2010. If you have personal accounts within any of these databases or have used their special features, please go to these databases and check that your personal settings are still enabled. If you have any questions, please contact the library (library@athabascau.ca).

iPhone Catalogue

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 09:28:05 GMT

The AU Library is proud to announce that the library catalogue is now compatible with iPhones and Smartphones. The library catalogue has been compatible with mobile devices for some time, but a new feature has been added to automatically detect and allow searching capability with iPhones and Smartphones. Likewise, when mobile users navigate to the library website on their mobile devices, they'll see two links to get to the library catalogue: Library Catalogue (Basic) and Library Catalogue (Advanced). iPhone and Smartphone users can choose either link, but the "Advanced" link is the optimal choice. Alternatively, iPhone and Smartphone users can simply type http://mcat.athabascau.ca into their mobile browsers to get to the "Advanced" catalogue. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions regarding this new feature, please contact the library (library@athabascau.ca).

New Catalogue

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:30:05 GMT

AU Library is changing the user interface of the library catalogue on March 15, 2010. To try out the beta version of the new catalogue, click the link above. To provide feedback to the library regarding this change, please fill out our Feedback Form (http://library.athabascau.ca/forms/form_aucat.html).

Legal Studies Research Guide

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:30:05 GMT

A new Legal Studies Research Guide has been posted. The guide demonstrates how to find legal information on the web and provides links to useful resources.

Naxos Music Collections

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:30:05 GMT

AU Library has recently subscribed to several Naxos Music Collections, including Naxos Music Library, Naxos Music Library Jazz, and Naxos Spoken Word Library. These collections provide online access to audiorecordings in a number of genres, including classical, jazz, spoken word, and world music. To access the collections follow the link

Digitization Portal Launch

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:30:05 GMT

AU Library has just launched the Digitization Portal. Part of the Lois Hole Campus Alberta Digital Library (LHCADL), the digitization project is being led by Alberta's four universities: Athabasca University, University of Alberta, University of Calgary and University of Lethbridge. AU's digitization unit has been digitizing a number of materials in various formats, and is very pleased to announce that a link to the Digitization Portal now appears on the Library's web site. We welcome you to explore the site.

Security Certificate Errors Tutorial

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:30:05 GMT

The Library has just created a help file about security certificate errors. You can view it by following the link.

LibX Toolbar

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:30:05 GMT

AU Library has just created a LibX Toolbar which allows users to search specific Library resources or web pages without leaving the web page they are on. The toolbar is an add on for Firefox and IE. To install LibX, click on this link. AU Library's toolbar is configured to search the library catalogue, AUSpace, Google Scholar, WorldCat, Library web pages, the Journal Title List, Academic Search Complete, JSTOR and Wilson Omnifile. It is possible to highlight a term in any website, including Moodle, and drag it onto the toolbar to conduct a search in a specific resource. To find out more about searching LibX view this tutorial: http://library.athabascau.ca/help/LibX/AULibXTutorial.html

Business Source Complete Tutorial

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:30:05 GMT

The Library has just created a new tutorial for searching Business Source complete. View the tutorial by clicking the link.

Web 2.0 Tools

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:30:05 GMT

AU Library is very excited to announce that for the last few weeks we have been examining ways to implement some of the existing Web 2.0 tools into Library Services, so that staff and students will be able to work with resources selected by the library in different ways. For more information on these tools, click on the link.

Freedom To Read Week

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:30:05 GMT

You are invited to join AU Library and people all over Canada in celebrating "Freedom to Read Week", February 22-28, 2009. This is an annual event that "encourages Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom." (This is from the Freedom to Read website.) 2009 marks the 25th year of Freedom to Read Week celebrations in Canada. The week is a project of the Book and Periodical Council with participation by a number of organizations including the Canadian Library Association and the Canada Council, as well as several publishers. In Canada, a number of books and journals have been challenged over the years. Please see the following link for a list of more than 100 books and magazines that have been challenged in the past 21 years. http://www.freedomtoread.ca.ws3.korax.net/docs/challenged_books_and_magazines.pdf What can you do to celebrate Freedom to Read Week? 1. This year, we are encouraging people to "Free a challenged book". Go to http://www.freedomtoread.ca.ws3.korax.net/freedom_to_read_week/bookcrossing.asp and learn about how you can free a book and track the progress of it. 2. Write a letter to the editor of your paper expressing the need for intellectual freedom and the need to stop the censorship of books. 3. Write to your School Board, MLA and/or MP to express your opinion. 4. Participate in an event during Freedom to Read Week. See the calendar on the website. Edmonton Public Library has an event on Thursday, Feb. 26 at 7:00 PM. see http://www.epl.ca/freedom for more information. For more information about Freedom to Read Week, please go to http://www.freedomtoread.ca