Into the swing

Into the swing
In this issue: 1) E-Journal Portal, 2) BRAINwave of the month, 3) roundup of e-world news.

1) E-Journal Portal
As you know, the Library has access to thousands of electronic magazines and journals (9,196 to be exact!) through the online databases to which we subscribe (EBSCOhost, ProQuest, etc.) Finding out if the Library has access to a particular electronic journal or magazine you are interested in used to be a tad tricky and not a whole lot of fun. Now, it�s a breeze with the Library�s new E-Journal Portal! Such a breeze you�ll want to do it again and again, just for the sheer exhilaration!
Search E-Journal Portal for a magazine or journal title and find out instantly in which online database the title resides. Then, (if the title is available) link instantly to that publication within the database. View in a glance all of the issues that are available for you to access (for some publications, access goes back decades!)
Not sure of the exact title of the magazine or journal? No problemo! Browse all of the titles available in an alphabetical list. Need a rundown of all of the titles we have in your subject area? Browse the collection by subject. Subjects are further subdivided by subheading so that you can see right away the number of titles for each facet of the subject you are interested in. Is it a citation that you are after? Simplissimo! Just type the relevant info into the Citation Linker and link away!
Check it out!

2) BRAINwave of the month: Journal Alerts!
A new feature for the BRAIN_blog, �BRAINwave� will describe a tip for maximizing your access to the many e- resources accessible on TheBRAIN! This month�s BRAINwave features the journal alert!
What is a journal alert and why would you want such a thing, you ask? Journal alerts take the form of email messages that notify you when a particular magazine or journal that you select, has been published. In addition to notifying you of a new issue, the email message also provides the table of contents of the new issue. You can then link directly to articles you want to read from the table of contents in your email message! Beautiful, n�est ce pas?
Now let�s get started!

1. From TheBRAIN, click Find articles from magazines and journals.
2. Select the EBSCOhost database you are interested in searching. (EBSCOhost databases have the word �EBSCOHOST� in brackets beside the title of the database. Not sure which one to choose? Select the �more info� link under the database title if you would like to know more about any of the databases listed or go to the Databases main page to choose a database by subject.)
3. Click the Publications button from within the top green navigation bar.
4. In the �Browse Publications� box, type in the magazine or journal title. (Note: make sure to use the �Browse Publications� box rather than the �Find� box.)
5. Look for your title in the result list and click on the blue link for your title.
6. In the top right corner you will see a link: �Journal Alerts�. Click this link.
7. You will be asked to log in. If you haven�t created a login yet, select the link �I�m a new user�. Create a unique login for yourself. This doesn�t have to be your staff or faculty number; it can be any login of your choice.
8. The next screen presents a form for you to fill out. Here you can specify the email address(es) where the alert will be sent, etc.
9. Select the Save button.
10. Now, each time a new issue of this title is published, you will be sent an email with the table of contents and links to the articles in EBSCOhost.Need a demo? Come into the Library or try Ask The BRAIN to see a demo of how to set up an alert!

3) E-World News Roundup
A quick roundup of news in the Internet search and e-world!

• This month, Highwire Press launched a new and improved web site. Highwire, a project of Standford University Libraries, is the �largest repository of free, full-text, peer-reviewed content, with 876 journals and 973,612 free, full-text articles online.� It has been around for three years and offers some dreamy features such as the ability to set alerts (like the Journal Alert I described above), save favourite links and perform comprehensive searches.
• Blog fans out there will be happy to learn that Google this month launched a Blog Search Service. You can search for individual blogs or blog postings. Have used it to discover that there are other brain blogs out there � say it isn�t so!
• Fans of the educational resource from the U.S. Department of Education, ERIC, will be pleased to learn that a citation management feature is now available. You can now save records to �My Clipboard� and then print, email or export records, as well as save them to a folder in your My ERIC account. The export feature is compatible with citation-management software! More info
• Sept. 24th begins Banned Books Week. See the Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2004 here!
• Looking for that perfect RSS Reader? SearchEngineWatch published a great roundup of readers in the beginning of September!
• Last month, AskJeeves added more �Smart Answers� to their search service. Smart Answers provide actual answers rather than links to web pages in search results. For example, type in a search on a country and get quick facts about the country at the top of your search results (such as capital city, population, location, head of government, languages, etc.) as well as links to further information in the CIA World Factbook, at the BBC, and (very important) current weather! More info
• Last month, a new search service launched (in beta) that lets you share your search results with others. Jeteye lets you save your searches, add notes, tags, and images and then share them with your favourite folks. Registration required (free).

Welcome back

Welcome back to another new semester at Mohawk! For the first BRAIN_blog issue of the semester, we have a summary of all the new library e-services we�ve been working on throughout the summer just for you! As well, for those who were completely away (i.e. not even daring to touch their computer all summer�and to that, I say �good for you!�), we have a recap of some of the summer BRAIN_blog issues that you may have missed! Yes, the BRAIN_blog never sleeps. Without further adieu, here is: I) summary of new services and II) recap of summer BRAIN_blog issues!

I) New Services at the Library @ Mohawk
1) BRAINlinks
Our biggest news is the launch of BRAINlinks Recommended Web Resources. BRAINlinks is a comprehensive database of the Library’s web-based resources. We’ve revamped our current Recommended Web Sites by Subject to include more resources and comprehensive searching features that allow you to zero in on exactly what you want, quickly, easily and in no time flat. One exciting feature is the ability to email or save your result set � grab your results and go! More info

2) Self Service (with a smile)
As mentioned in the August 10th BRAIN_blog issue, you can now recommend a title for the Library to purchase while wearing your favourite pj�s. In these same modest accoutrements, you can also book a video for your class and place items on reserve for your students. How can such a feat be accomplished you ask? Head on over to the facultyspace and you will find self-service forms to recommend a title, place an item on reserve or book a video. All of these forms are located in the left sidebar of the facultyspace home page. The links are: Recommendations (your path to enlightening us as to which title you�d like to recommend for the Library!), Reserves (no, not the Army�this is where you can place items on reserve!) and Book a Video (exactly what it says!)

3) More facultyspace goodies�blogging bonanza
While you�re at the facultyspace you may also want to check out the links we�ve added on the fine art of blogging. Click on the Tech Toolbox link and at the top of the page you�ll see a link called �all about blogs�. Here you�ll find resources on blogging that we think are the top 5 out there. Check them out and get your blog on! Need more help? Just drop me a line! I�m happy to share the joy of blogging with faculty.

4) New titles list
Wondering what titles the Library has been busy purchasing over the summer months just for you? Well wonder no longer! A complete list of the titles newly added to the Library @ Mohawk collection can now be found on TheBRAIN in the left sidebar (click New Titles under �About the Library�). This list can also be accessed from the facultyspace�.just click �New Arrivals� from the left sidebar. The new titles list will be updated every month so check back often!

5) Now, tell us what you REALLY think
One thing we love in Libraryland is feedback�good, bad, ambivalent�it doesn�t matter, we love it all! Now there is a new way to let us know what you really think of TheBRAIN. Look in the left sidebar of TheBRAIN home page under Library News, and click �Take Our Survey!� The rest is up to you!

6) More magazines and journals!
For those who were away, (perhaps gallivanting through the summer sands), the Library acquired access to even more online magazines and journals in June.
Yes, to the thousands of articles from popular magazines like Time and Maclean�s and journals such as Lancet and The Economist you can now add literally piles of more magazine and journal titles. These new titles come in the form of EBSCOhost databases such as Academic Search Elite, Health Source � Consumer Edition, Military & Government Collection, and more. To see these new databases in action, head on over to the Databases page at TheBRAIN.

7) Everything you wanted to know�
�about the Library@ Mohawk can now be discovered in the Library FAQs. Check it out and resolve all those library mysteries you�ve been harbouring. Can�t find the answer to your question? Then, try chatting with us�

Chat with the Friendly Library People
Have a question? Need answers straightaway? Then it�s time for AskTheBRAIN! Navigate over to AskTheBRAIN and ask those undying questions that could not be answered in the Library FAQs. Library folk are standing by Monday � Friday, 10am � 9pm and Saturday and Sunday, 8:30am � 5pm. AskTheBRAIN offers the advantage of co-browsing�that means that you and the library staff person can look at a web page together and browse the Internet at the same time. Yes, it�s quite dandy! The virtual doors open on Sept. 12th!
Ok, that last bit wasn�t exactly news as AskTheBRAIN has been around for ages, but who could resist that wonderful segue from the Library FAQ piece?

9) MyHamilton
Ok, we admit it; we in the Library @ Mohawk cannot take credit for this next news item. But we also could not let another minute go by without telling you about some positively electrifying news in the e-world just for Hamiltonians! In a few short days, (on September 13th), Hamilton will be home to a brand new community portal! MyHamilton is a supersite that will house all of the information currently found on the City of Hamilton website and the Hamilton Public Library website, and will also feature comprehensive information on Hamilton Communities and Organizations, Business and Industry, Culture and Recreation, Tourism, and much, much more. In addition, myHamilton is a portal that you can personalize! Create your own login and then be able to customize the portal to your liking, save search results, access your HPL Library account, make purchases online (for example, dog licenses, parking tickets, etc.) In short, do everything from finding out when the next garbage pickup is, to joining a yoga class, to starting up your own online yahtzee group (I know you want to)�.all from the comfort of your comfy slippers! Before the launch, use this link: http://www.myhamilton.ca/myhamilton . After launch, the URL will be: http://www.myhamilton.ca/

10) Coming Soon�.BRAINtogo!
Have pda, will travel? Soon you will be able to get in touch with the Library @ Mohawk while you�re mobile! All the essentials such as contact info, hours, locations and more will be at your fingertips when you�re on the go! Watch this space for further announcements!

II) Recap of summer BRAIN_blog issues!
There is nothing better than reliving those glorious summertime memories so for your reading pleasure, here are links to some summertime BRAIN_blog articles you may have missed:

Discover your inner (and virtual) social butterfly with Lookmarks, Connotea, CiteULike & mmmmmm�Yummy!
In this article, BRAIN_blogger e-Lizabeth takes you on a whirlwind tour of the best social bookmarking tools out there.

Let�s talk about books, baby…or…summertime, and the reading is E-asy!
Join e-Lizabeth on a fast-paced excursion into e-book land! So many sites to explore, so little time!

All over the map
When Google Earth made it�s debut, we got excited! Relive the excitement in this review of Google�s latest brainchild.