New Databases & e-Books!
Library Services for Washington Campus & Non-Local Students
Special Collections Exhibits* What DO They Do?: Reference
Do You Have a Favorite Book? * Did You Know?

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WELCOME New Students, Faculty, & Staff!

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New Databases & e-Books!

The University Library has acquired access to several new databases that will help our patrons with their research needs. At last the fields of Communication & the Arts are reaping the benefits of online resources. The School of Education will find the Educator's Reference Desk very useful, and ebrary has made over 11,000 e-books available to all students, faculty, and staff.

American Film Institute Catalog – A full-text database, AFI Catalog presents a detailed view of American feature films produced from the late 1800s up to 1970. Full production and cast information, extensive plot summaries and production notes, as well as AFI's Top 10 Films lists for 2000-2002, are included.

Communication Abstracts – An online citation and abstract index of communication-related literature, Communication Abstracts is a comprehensive source covering articles, reports, papers and books. It also includes information sources that are relevant to Communication research. Timely issues covered in this database include the role of technology in human communication, risk communication, crisis communication, film studies, and public opinions.

ebrary – ebrary revolutionizes research on the Web by combining copyright security, full-text searching, innovative reference tools and a rich collection of authoritative copyrighted content that includes books, journals, magazines, maps, and other publications. You can browse, view, search, copy, and print documents with ease and convenience from your computer at any time. In addition to the collection of over 11,000 e-books, ebrary also provides access to Business resources such as Dun & Bradstreet/Harris and Datamonitor publications.

Educator's Reference Desk – This new site is a great place to start if you are doing any type of research in the field of education. From ERD you can access an easy to use search engine for the ERIC database, the largest online resource for education information. Educator's Reference Desk includes over 2,000 lesson plans, an extensive collection of useful web sites, and a large question archive on a variety of education topics. This site replaces the discontinued resources previously located at askERIC.org.

Film Index International – A full-text database that includes international coverage of films and film personalities, FII provides in-depth indexing of over 100,000 films (from the first silent movies to the latest blockbusters) and biographical information for over 40,000 personalities. Coverage includes international film awards and prizes as well as searchable plot summaries and full cast and crew lists.

Historical Newspapers – Excellent for historical-critical research, this full-text online index includes issue coverage of the Christian Science Monitor from 1908-1991, The New York Times from 1851-2001, The Wall Street Journal from 1889-1987, The Washington Post from 1877-1988, and the Los Angeles Times from 1881-1984.

For further details on these and any of our other databases, please go to http://www.regent.edu/general/library/research_tools/databases_article_searching/, find a database and click . You will need your Regent email username and password if using these databases off-campus.

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Library Services for Washington, D.C. Campus and Non-Local Students
by Marta Lee, Library Liaison to the School of Government and Washington Campus

 

Students not located at the Virginia Beach campus have many resources for obtaining information and using Library services.

A Librarian, Marta Lee, travels to Washington, D.C. several times a semester to lend research assistance to students and faculty. Located on the fourth floor of the Washington Campus, the Library Resource Room has select newspapers, journals and books for answering quick reference questions. Because of limited space and resources, materials do not circulate. Computers in the Library Resource Room are connected to Regent University Library Web pages. Once books or article citations are selected from the library catalog or databases, students may utilize Interlibrary Loan (ILL) to obtain the items.

Web pages have been designed for all students not at the Virginia Beach campus: http://www.regent.edu/general/library/services/distance/. These pages detail our reference services, instructions for obtaining a local library card, recommended databases for the different schools, and other important information for students in Washington, D.C. and around the world.

Students may contact the library for reference assistance toll-free at 1-888-249-1822, or by e-mail: reference@regent.edu. You may also contact Marta Lee by e-mail, martlee@regent.edu, or by phone (757-226-4174 or toll free at the number above).

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Special Collections Exhibits:
Honoring Regent's 25th Anniversary & Brown v. Board of Education
by Don Gantz, Special Collections Assistant Supervisor

In the Fall, Special Collections exhibited four new displays related to Regent's 25th Anniversary. Materials were chosen from the University Archives, including photographs of early land development, administrators, and faculty. Also included are some of the first issues of Regent's student-produced Focus magazine, featuring examples of student photography and articles by some of Regent's first faculty members and students. The displays may be still be seen in the exhibit area across from the circulation desk, and in the Special Collections reading room on the second floor.

 

More recently, a new display was created in the library foyer commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court landmark decision Brown v. Board of Education, which addressed the issue of racial segregation in public schools. The focal point of the exhibit is Norman Rockwell's illustration, "The Problem We All Live With," created for Look magazine's 1964 article of the same name. The little girl featured in the illustration is Ruby Nell Bridges, the first African American to attend William Frantz Public School in New Orleans. For Bridges' inspirational story, please go to http://www.rubybridges.org.

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What DO They Do?: Reference
by Karen Robinson, Library Liaison to the School of Communication & the Arts

With a sea of information crashing in on every side, a reference librarian is the beacon in a foggy harbor. In the University Library Reference department, librarians and graduate assistants work together to provide information, guidance and instruction to the Regent community and general public. Their primary goal is to meet the information needs of each library user, both in person and online; in short, research assistance and ready reference information.

In addition to the online self-paced library course, librarians have developed subject pages and offer a variety of workshops focusing on databases and other specialized resources. Each of the reference librarians is available to assist in classes to inform, demonstrate, and instruct faculty and students how to find their needed information. Reference librarians also select and purchase books, journals, audiovisual and online resources to support the various disciplines.

• Steven Kenneally, Leadership/Digital Services (see Steven's article in the September '03 Library Link!)
• Fotini Kontos, Psychology & Counseling/Regent Undergrad
• Marta Lee, Government/Washington Campus
• Karen Robinson, Communication/Copyright/Coordinator of Reference Services
• Bob Sivigny, Divinity/Special Collections
• Leanne Strum, Business/Systems
• Sandy Yaegle, Education/Instruction

There are four ways to contact a reference librarian: by phone, in person (including personalized consultations), through email, and via the Virtual Reference Desk – online chatting with a reference librarian in real time. See the Reference home page (www.regent.edu/general/library/services/reference/) for posted hours.

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Do You Have a Favorite Book? Tell Us About It! 

Whether it brought laughter, tears, or inspiration, if you have a book you would like others to know about, send an email to Sandy Yaegle (sandyae@regent.edu). Just include the title, author, and a few lines about why you like the book.

We will be featuring our patrons' favorite titles in the coming months.

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Did You Know...?

...there is a Library Calendar available to you? The new calendar details University Library closings and special hours, events, and learning opportunities. As always, these items are available elsewhere on the Library web site, but now they are in one convenient spot!

From the Library home page, click "Calendar" on the left menu bar for frequent updates.

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