Libraries

Changes to Library Homepage

Welcome back from break, everyone! As you return to campus and start working on another semester’s worth of projects, you may have visited the Libraries’ homepage. When you got there, you might have noticed that some things have moved around. Specifically, some of the ‘tabs’ have been renamed and reorganized. Here’s a short update about what’s new with the tabs.

This was the old lineup:

And here’s the new one:

Journal List

This tab was formerly labelled simply “Journals.” It’s got a new name now, but it contains the same information: a list of all the journals and magazines that we subscribe to, both in print and online. You can search for a specific title, or browse through a list. Whichever makes most sense to you to get the journal you need!

Articles/Databases

The two separate “Articles” and “Databases” tabs have been merged, and their content has been rearranged as well.

The “Starting Points” links that used to be on the Articles tab – which take you to general interest databases containing articles on a wide variety of subjects - are now in a box labelled “Popular Starting Points.” A few new starting points have been added, and Google Scholar has been removed. If you really like using Google Scholar, though, don’t worry! It’s still available, in the box labelled “Article Indexes.”

More on Google Scholar

If you prefer using Google Scholar to start your research, here are some tips that might help you:

  • If you’re using a WIU networked computer (which includes all the computers in WIU Libraries!), when you navigate to Google Scholar, the “Find it @ WIU” option will always appear next to articles you have access to, whether you go through the Library page or not. If you’re off campus, though, use the library page – it’ll make it much easier!
  • Another way to quickly get to Google Scholar and have the “Find it @ WIU” option appear is to install the WIU Libraries Research Toolbar in Firefox. It lets you search Google Scholar, as well as other Library resources like WestCat and Academic Search Complete, right from your browser, no matter what page you’re on. Pretty handy, huh?
Collections Tab

The Collections tab is a newcomer to the Libraries’ homepage. When librarians talk about “collections,” they usually mean groups of materials of a certain theme, topic, or provenance (place of origin). That’s what is on this tab! If you click on it, you’ll see a carousel featuring a few of these collection, and a link to a list of all of our special collections. Some are online (like digitized WIU Yearbooks) and some you can view if you visit our Archives on the 6th floor of Malpass.

If you need help finding anything on the Libraries’ homepage – even if it’s not related to any of the new tabs! – feel free to Ask a Librarian for assistance. Good luck with your spring semester!