Library Resources

Many people are surprised that we remain open over the summer, asking what we do when the students leave. There is no doubt that students are the life of the building. We love the bustle of students working on projects and helping them to find the resources they need. But I definitely use the summer for both catch-up on important projects and for upgrades to our services. Here’s my “to-do” list for the summer:

1. Finish removing all of the Course Reserve items

2. Update our Movies Access database and printout

3. Update materials I’ve used for class visits and create a new program for Freshman Seminar

4. Finish Weeding Selection for P section (literature)  (This is 150 pages at about 2 hrs/page…basically, what I’m doing this summer!)

5. Go through collection and evaluate pamphlets and Reference Shelf titles

7. Work on Journal Finder replacement

8. Install Research Quickstart replacement and create new subject guides

9. Work out some bugs in EBSCO databases and add some improvements to it

10. Create more signs to help students browsing the collection

The library is open this summer to provide you with all of the resources and air conditioning that you need.

Summer Hours (May 14-August 17)

Monday-Thursday: 7:30 am-4:30 pm (closed briefly for Weekly Chapel on Wednesday mornings)

Friday: 7:30 am – 2 pm

Saturday/Sunday: Closed

Also closed for the following holidays: Memorial Day (May 28) and the Fourth of July

Test Proctoring

If you are taking an online course from another institution, exam proctoring is available to Bethany students free of charge

Please look at our Test Proctoring Policy for more information on scheduling your test times

Available for Checkout

Cross-Terrain Club’s sports equipment will continue to be available for students during the summer. Check here for a list of available items.

Try our Kindles or portable DVD player!

Skip Redbox and stop by the library to check out our movies. Campus favorites include the King’s Speech, Once, Captain America, the Chronicles of Narnia series, and Harry Potter. Find a favorite by searching the library catalog or browse the printed list at the front desk.

Even if I didn’t have the academic calendar right at my desk, I could easily tell that the final push to the end of the semester is upon the students. I’m gathering up some quotes that I’m using for our new table signs (which are still a work in progress) and I thought I would post these early. Here’s a sampling:

  by  quinn.anya 

“Complaining does not work as a strategy. We all have finite time and energy. Any time we spend whining is unlikely to help us achieve our goals. And it won’t make us happier.” -Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

” Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do. ” -Apple Inc.

“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” -Robert Frost

“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.” -Groucho Marx

“I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.” -Douglas Adams

“If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself.” -Einstein

“You never fail until you stop trying.” -Einstein

“You can’t just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.
What mood is that?
Last-minute panic.”-Calvin and Hobbes

“Calvin: I used to hate writing assignments, but now I enjoy them. I realized that the purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure poor reasoning, and inhibit clarity. With a little practice, writing can be an intimidating and impenetrable fog! Want to see my book report?
Hobbes: (Reading Calvin’s paper) “The Dynamics of Interbeing and Monological Imperatives in Dick and Jane: A Study in Psychic Transrelational Gender modes.”
Calvin: Academia, here I come!” “-Calvin and Hobbes

“What is the point of being alive if you don’t at least try to do something remarkable?” -John Green, Paper Towns

Finals Week(s) Library Hours (Opening and Closing Times below):

Finals Week:

May 6^th (Sunday) : 1:00 pm – 1:00 am

May 7^th (Monday) :  8:00 am – 1:00 am

May 8^th (Tuesday) :  8:00 am – 1:00 am

May 9^th (Wednesday) :  8:00 am – 8:00 pm

May 10^th (Thursday) : 8:00 am – 5:00 pm

May 11^th (Friday) : 8:00 am – 4:30 pm

May 12^th (Saturday) :  CLOSED

May 13^th (Sunday) : CLOSED

May 14^th (Monday) : Summer Hours Begin

How Do I Search for Scholarly or Peer-Reviewed Articles?

EBSCO Databases (EBSCOMegaFILE, Academic Search Premier, any option in the Journals/Articles section with a Blue “E” to the left of its name):  In the Advanced Search option (located underneath the main search box when you first click on the page), there will be a checkbox for “Scholarly/Peer-reviewed articles.” You can also limit the “Material Type” to Journal Articles.

JSTOR does not have a limit option for Scholarly/Peer-Reviewed since that is already the type of items on that site. However, if you use the “Advanced Search” option (underneath the main search box on the main page of JSTOR), you can limit to Articles using a checkbox. This option will eliminate book reviews from your results.

I Get TONS of Results in my Database Searches. How Can I Fix That?

Limiting your searches in EBSCO (Academic Search Premier, MegaFILE, etc.) Video courtesy of UTS Libraries

The Advanced Search option (located underneath the main search box in each database) will let you limit your search using the following options:

• Connecting several search words together, putting each into its own search box. You can use up to seven search boxes connected together! (Example: “social media” AND Facebook AND teacher if you’re interested in articles about teachers using Facebook)
• Limit by date: Certain classes will ask for articles that have been written in the past five years. This option is also a good choice if you’re working with something that’s fairly recent, such as South Sudan, which became a country in 2011.
• Limit to “Scholarly/Peer-Reviewed Articles” (Checkbox)
• If you’re using a phrase, put it in quotes (Example “social network”, “developmental psychology”)
• Each database has a “Subject Guide” or “Thesaurus.” These words are the words the people who create these records use to arrange the articles. Searching for these words (switching the drop-down box next to the search boxes where you put the words to “SU-Descriptors”) will give you very strong results!

Here is a list of sites that have found to assist you with research on a mobile device. We also have QR code links to the library collection at several locations in the “stacks” where our books are located to make searching a bit easier for you!

MN PALS- Search Bethany’s Resource Collection from Your Phone! (Select Bethany Library as Location): http://mplus.mnpals.net/vufind/

World Cat (catalog, not a database) :

Google Book Search

PubMed (Medicine/Health)

EBSCO Databases (ones with “E” logo on our library site): currently iPhone/iPad App only, see instructions at very bottom of page on EBSCO databases or email library AT blc.edu for assistance.

JSTOR (they are still in the testing phase)

Searching for a Book, eBook, Video, or CD

A search box is located on the main library page. Try the dropdown menu if you are searching for a title, author, or if you have the book number (ISBN).

Short Video Demonstrating a Basic Search From the Library Homepage

You can limit your results using the links on the left side of your search results page. If that still leads to too many results, try using some of the search limits in the Advanced Searching option.They also have written some great search tips available on the right-hand side of that page.

Short Video Demonstrating the Advanced Search option

Are you not finding any results? Try broadening your search (for example, searching for “social network” instead of “Twitter”) or expanding to the “All Libraries” search in the drop-down box below the “Find” button to look at other library’s collections.

How Do I Use the Databases When I’m Off-Campus?

You will be asked to login. The username and password are the same ones that you use for your email account. Please contact IT Services (x411) if you are having problems logging in from off-campus.

Wednesday, April 4: 8 am -5 pm

Thursday, April 5: 8 am -5 pm

Friday-Sunday: CLOSED

Monday, April 9: 8 am -5 pm

Tuesday, April 10: 8 am -11 pm

Articles On…

Education: ERIC

Most Subjects: EBSCO MegaFILE (strong with current events), Academic Search Premier, JSTOR

Business: Business Source Premier

Communication/Arts:  JSTOR, MegaFILE for current events topics

Health: Health Source, AltHealth for alternative/integrative medicine, PubMed for some topics (a bit tricky to use-library staff can help you!)

Spanish-language articles: Informe Spanish Journals, advanced search in JSTOR using “Spanish” as a language limit

Newspapers

Proquest Newstand Complete (includes current New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and local papers!)

Regional Business News

Streaming Video (Free)
Twin Cities Public Television (Excellent MN History, local, and multicultural topics)

National Public Television  (Arts performances, documentaries, and the latest Masterpiece dramas)

Khan Academy  (Amazing free video lessons on a wide range of topics-very strong in math/science)

You Tube Academic  (You Tube: Not just for videos of sassy toddlers! Check out these videos from universities and other academic centers)

Instructions:

1. Choose Your Borrowing Record from the top blue bar in MnPALS.
2. Enter your User ID/Barcode (14-digit barcode on your college ID starting with a 2) and Password (your last name).
3. To display the items you have checked out and their due dates, click on Checked out Items.
4. You may also renew items through this screen.
5. To renew Interlibrary Loan items that are not past their due date, click on the ILL Requests. 
6. Click on the “Renew ILL” button in the ILL Actions column. (Note: The library where you borrowed the book from is the place that decides whether or not the item will be renewed, not our library.)

Short Video Demonstrating Logging into Your Library Account (Steps 1-2)