Finding Information at the University of Connecticut

High School Coop Program

Summer, 2005

Books

For books available at the University of Connecticut, search our catalog, Homer. The link for Homer is on our library web page.  Non-reference books can be requested through ILL.

For books within the state of Connecticut, search ReQuest, the catalog of all public and state-supported college and university libraries available through Iconn, available for free. Most of these titles are available through ILL.

To identify possible books on a topic, use WorldCat, a database available through UConn. From the homepage, click on “most used databases” and then WorldCat. This searches libraries all over the world, but mostly in the US. These books are generally available through ILL.

Journal Article Citations

Journal Articles

Once you have a citation, you need access to the full text of the article. Many of our databases have direct full text linking to electronic journal articles. However this is a still an exception-ridden process, and some databases still have little direct access available., and few will have any access available prior to 2002.  

• Within a database use the full text direct link
• Or use the “UConn Fulltext?” link
• If neither of the above are available, use the gray “holdings” bar at the bottom of each record to link to Homer
• If none of these options are available open separate browser windows and link manually to the following two sources to check for journal availability:
• Homer, our library catalog. Search the journal title as a journal title on the basic search menu. Check the campus location for print titles and the “library has” field for volume and year information.
• Ejournal Locator  - this is a listing of our electronic journal and newspaper holdings. Type in the name of your journal; any title with those words in it will appear. Find your journal and check the listed sources. Some of these may NOT ultimately lead to full text.
• Call the reference desk (860-486-4637) if you have problems or questions using these resources.
• Some notable ejournals that we DO have:
• Nature (and 7 Nature specialty titles)
• Science (go through catalog, go to “current issue” link)
• American Scientist (text only through Infotrac)
• American Biology Teacher (through BioOne)
• Animal Behaviour (British spelling)
• Current Biology
• “Current Opinion” titles in 4 areas of biology
• “Trends” titles in 13 areas of biology
• Bioscience (AIBS)
• BioOne collection
• Journal of Science Education & Technology
• Journal of Science Teacher Education
• Science & Education
• Science Education
• Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education (Highwire)
• Cell Biology Education (open access)
• Open Access journals
• PLOS Biology & Medicine (coming are Computational Biology, Genetics and Pathogens, Summer, 2005)
• BioMed Central – many biology journals (some OA and some subscription)
• Directory of Open Access Journals  - lists more than 1500 scientific and scholarly journals freely available
• Current Awareness Services  - PubMed, PLOS Biology, Nature, etc.
• Email notification of publication of an article containing keywords, authors, or tables of contents in which you are interested.
• Generally free to you
• Many publishers have these available also

Newspapers

Reference Sources

Strategies to help students get the best results searching for journal articles

• Get some background information on your topic first – books, encyclopedias, general magazines like Scientific American or Bioscience.
• Search the indexes
• Search for review articles – broad scope, general terms
• Use dictionaries when you need them – online or print
• Read an article several times, taking notes, until you understand it
• ASK FOR HELP when you need it – teachers, librarians, etc.
• If you need help using UConn resources, call us! 860-486-4637.

Web Searching Tips

• Search Engine Watch – a great place for news on the latest developments in search engines and browsers. This site has a collection of searching help pages and a review of popular search tools. 
• Search Engine Showdown – another information source for search engine news and searching tips, including a chart of search features for popular engines and reviews. 

Additional Information

• Tutorials on using the library’s resources, citation styles, plagiarism, searching tips, and evaluating web sites are at this site:
• Remote access Information for library resources via either the proxy system or the VPN is available at:
• UITS Help Desk for help with either the proxy or the VPN is available from the UConn ITS Center Help Desk (860-486-HELP or helpcenter@uconn.edu.)

Proxy vs VPN?

There are two ways to access the UConn Library Resources online from a remote location (off campus.)

• The proxy service has been in effect for about 5 years. It is an established system which, when it works, works very well. It requires some small configurations to your home (or school) computer but nothing is downloaded from the UConn system onto your computer. You can set the proxy system for either “manual” or “automatic.” 
• Start with the automatic setting, as it uses less UConn server time for online transactions. According to the help desk it is “five clicks and you’re done.”
• If you have problems using the automatic proxy, you should try the manual proxy, as problems are more easily corrected using manual. However with the manual system you will have to enable and disable the browser to switch between the UConn proxy and other web use. It’s a simple click to do, but must be done if the computer will be used for other web activities.
• If you have any difficulties using the proxy service, contact the UITS Help Desk (number and email are above.)
• The VPN (virtual private network) is a recent addition to remote access for UConn, activated in January of this year. To use the vpn you must download a “patch” to your computer, but there is no configuration of your home machine.
• Because this is still in early stages and there have been a small number of reports of problems, you might want to try the proxy system first, and then use the VPN if proxy isn’t working for you.
• When wireless internet use becomes more widespread on campus the VPN may reach its maximum user limits (500 maximum simultaneous users) since they go through the same network.
• If you have any problems using the VPN service, contact the UITS Help Desk (number and email are above.)

Carolyn Mills

Biology Librarian

Babbidge Library

University of Connecticut

(860) 486-1263
carolyn.mills@uconn.edu