Maximizing your use of the NCSU Libraries

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Maximizing your use of the NCSU Libraries
Tamika BarnesEngineering Services Librarian
Stephen MeyerNCSU Libraries Fellow
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What do we do at the Libraries

• Acquire and organize information resources (like
  books, journals, and electronic databases)
• Assist faculty, staff, and students in
  identifying and using the resources
• Strive to preserve resources for future users as
  a record of collective knowledge
• Provide open access to these resources for our
  user community
• Develop new technologies to facilitate the use of
  information resources

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Specialized Collections

• Patent Depository
• Government Documents
• Geographic Information System

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Services

• Laptop Lending
• Standards on Demand
• Interlibrary Loan
• Digital Media Lab
• Scholarly Communication
• SearchAssist

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NCSU Libraries manage a largenumber of resources
including

• Books
• Reference works
• Journals / magazines / newspapers
• Databases
• Technical Reports

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Books

• 3.1 million books at NC State Libraries
• Accessible through the Libraries website (OPAC)

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Reference Works

• Typical characteristics
• Consist of a series of records related to a
  single topic topics may be broad or specific
• Not meant to be read from cover to cover
• Employ a writing style that is meant to be
  informative (rather than subjective)
• The internal organization of these works tends to
  favor quick access, e.g., alphabetical or numeric
  rather than chronological order

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Journals

• Typical characteristics
• These resources are serials, publications issued
  in successive parts intended to be continued
  indefinitely
• May be published in print or electronic format or
  both
• Include many different types scholarly, trade,
  popular

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Databases

• An information set with a regular structure
• Used to both store information and organize it
  for efficient searching and retrieval

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Databases (contd)

• A crucial database distinction
• Surrogate records
• vs.
• Content

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Databases parting thoughts

• Names indexed differentlyde los Reyes, FLde
  los Reyes, F.L.de los Reyes, Francis L.de los
  Reyes, Francis L., IIIde los Reyes III, F.L.
• Look for differences in advanced search features
  (truncation, plurals, limits)
• Search in multiple databases