ProQuest Alerts and More!

So many new online research tools, so little time! This week’s features: 1) the long-awaited, much anticipated Alerts feature in ProQuest databases, 2) ever helpful Google launches cheat sheet, 3) Trial Databases for November/December @ The BRAIN, 4) New Database Access Points, 5) New Guides @ The BRAIN and 6) New research tool commemorates Canadians in War.

1) ProQuest Alerts
The long-awaited alerts feature is now available in ProQuest databases! You can now save alerts in the following ProQuest databases that the Library subscribes to: CBCA, ProQuest Science, ProQuest Nursing, and Wilson Applied Science and Technology Abstracts. Setting up a search alert allows you to see the latest articles published in your area of interest. An email alert is sent any time new articles in your stated subject area are added to the database. You can set up an alert to be run daily, weekly, monthly or every three months. Here are the steps to set up an alert in a ProQuest database:
1) From the databases page, select the database you wish to search.
2) Perform a search in the database.
3) Select the yellow �Set up Alert� button from the top of the result list.
4) A pop up window appears. Select the schedule for your alert, enter your email address, a subject for the email that will be sent to you and any notes you would like to add in the message body.
5) Click the Save button.
An alert will be sent to the email address that you entered for the time periods that you specified and it will contain the latest articles added to the database for the subject you searched on.

2) Google Cheat Sheet
Check out this cheat sheet created by Google to help make your Google searches more precise. Find out how to narrow your search to certain dates, perform mathematical operations, find definitions, and more!

3) Trial Databases for November/December @ The BRAIN
Check out the goodies available for this month! Canada�s Heritage from 1844 allows you to search the Globe and Mail newspaper back to 1844. The database contains actual scanned pages from the newspapers so it is definitely worth checking out! Also available is Canadian Almanac and Canadian InfoDesk. From this database you can access Associations Canada, Canadian Environmental Directory, Financial Services in Canada, Canadian Almanac Directory, Directory of Libraries in Canada and government information. Also on the roster is CPI.Q. (Canadian Periodical Index Quarterly). From this comprehensive resource you can access hundreds of predominantly Canadian magazines and journals. Access such titles as Canadian Manager, Atlantic Monthly, Studies in Canadian Literature, the Globe and Mail and more. Also available are: e-CPS (the invaluable pharmaceutical resource Compendium of Pharmaceutical Substances online), SAGE Full-Text Collections: Politics and International Relations (important magazines and journals in these fields) and Technical Package (from EBSCOhost, this package contains databases of magazines and journals in the fields of computer science, engineering, information science, and more.) Remote access to trials is not available�please ask Library staff for passwords so that you can try these out onsite. Please let us know what you think of these trials!

4) New Database Access Points
Now getting to the databases you need is easier than ever! Cruise on over to the Database page on The BRAIN and see just how easy it is. You can now access the databases alphabetically, by subject or by information type (newspaper, ebook, etc.) Handy help sheets are also available in a drop-down menu.

5) New guides @ The BRAIN
Two new pathfinders are now available on The BRAIN: Labour Market Information and Job Search Resources. Click on �Course Support� on the left column of The BRAIN home page to access the list of guides. �Labour Market Information� contains a list of resources (both print and online) that are excellent for finding out what the market is like for different careers. �Job Search Resources� lists both books and web sites that are useful in the job hunt.

6) New research tool commemorates Canadians in War
Appropriate for November is a new research collection launched at The University of Manitoba. The Canadian Wartime Experience: The Documentary Legacy of Canada at War provides access to primary research materials including many newspaper clippings and photographs that depict the differing roles played by Canadians during times of conflict.

Post-Halloween Stash

Even though Halloween is over you can still get tricks and treats at the BRAIN_blog. This week we feature: 1) Safari Tech Books electronic books, 2) ProQuest Databases� new Suggested Topics, 3) reverse phone number lookup at canada411.ca, and 4) there�s more to life than Google: clusty.com

1) Safari Tech Books Online database not just for techies
Safari Tech Books Online, the Library�s online collection of hundreds of electronic books in the subject areas of computers, e-commerce and business, has more than just ultra techie books. Check out titles for the average mortal such as Absolute Beginner�s Guide to Microsoft Access 2002, Absolute Beginner�s Guide to Creating Web Pages, The Little Digital Camera Book, Mastering Digital Photography, Consumer Gadgets: 50 Ways to have Fun and Simplify Your Life With Today�s Technology�and Tomorrow�s. The list goes on and on. Click Find Electronic Books on the BRAIN home page and select Safari Tech Books Online to access these electronic books.

2) New Feature in ProQuest Databases
The Library�s ProQuest databases (CBCA, ProQuest Nursing Journals, ProQuest Science, and Wilson Applied Science and Technology Abstracts) have a handy new feature. Perform a search and then take a look at the �Suggested Topics� that appear at the top of your result list. These suggestions contain index terms to better focus your results and are useful if you have too many hits in your result list or if you are unsure what term to use when you are searching. Note that if you are using more than one search term, suggestions are for your first term only. To include your second term, click on the suggested term, then scroll to the bottom of the screen where you can add your second term back in. Coming soon to ProQuest databases: Alerts! Stay tuned to the next BRAIN_blog to hear more!

3) Reverse Lookup at Canada411.ca
You can now do a reverse look up search on Canada411.ca. Select “find a person” or “find a business” and then �Reverse Phone� or �Reverse Address� to perform a reverse search.

4) There�s more to life than Google: New search engine: Clusty.com
Our �there�s more to life than Google� column returns with a look at Clusty.com. Still in beta, this new search engine allows you to see your results in a clustered set. Viewing your results in nicely organized subject categories instead of as one long grocery list lets you hone in on the information you want and also gives you a better idea of what you�ve found without the hassle of clicking on each link in your result list. For example, if you search on �e-learning AND Canada AND colleges� your results are clustered into subject categories such as �education�, �distance learning�, �colleges�, etc and displayed in the left panel. Click on a category and the results within that category display in the right panel. There are also handy features such as the ability to display a result in a new window or in a little preview pane. Click on the �Advanced Search� link to take a look at the databases being searched. You can add sources such as BBC News, eBay and PubMed on this screen as well.