Life Sciences Library
408 Paterno
University Park, PA 16802
814-865-7056
Email Us
If you need a library instruction session for your students, contact your subject librarian to make arrangements. Or if you have other library related assignments, feel free to ask for help. Librarians can assist by recommending resources, checking that all locations, physical and electronic addresses are correct, and making sure that the resources are available to the students.
Wednesday, September 12 and Thursday, September 13 -- 10:00am to 6:00pm
This annual event introduces new students to the resources and facilities of the University Libraries by encouraging them to visit many areas of the Libraries. The self-guided "tour" takes approximately an hour to complete. In the Life Sciences Library the students "hike" the trail and stop at the stations for the Reference Desk, the Stacks, the Current Journals area, and the Reference Collection. Over 3000 students attend the Open House with about half visiting the Life Sciences Library. So please understand if the Library is a bit noisy and hectic those days..
ScholarSphere is a service for collecting, preserving, and sharing the scholarly work of the Penn State community and is provided by the University Libraries and Information Technology Services. Scholarly works such as research datasets, working papers, research reports, and image collections, may be stored and shared with PSU personnel, other University personnel or the world. Ther benefits may include meeting funding agency requirements for sharing research data, enabling your data to be linked to journal publications, and creating a citable, durable record of your scholarship. To learn more, go to scholarsphere.psu.edu.
After Bryan Grove left the Life Sciences Library to work at the Hemingway Letters Project, Sherry Roth became our part time interim supervisor. Sherry is working both in Life Sciences Library and Maps Library. Sherry has also worked in the Earth and Mineral Sciences Library. Sherry hold a BS in Biology from Penn State and an MBA also from Penn State.
PubMed now limits results using a sidebar which is similar to what many other databases use. Click here for a more detailed explanation of these changes.
Food Science and Technology database (FSTA) is now accessible via the Web of Knowledge (WoK) platform from Thomson Reuters. Starting in 2013 IFIS will no longer be selling direct access to FSTA so we are migrating our subscription to WoK. Many or you are familiar with this search interface since it is the interface for Web of Science or Biological Abstracts.
For the next five months we will have access on both platforms (IFIS and WoK). If you have search strategies and/or search alerts saved on IFIS we suggest you look them over and determine if you want to set up something similar on WoK.
On the Food Science Research Guide both databases are listed for the time being. In January we will remove the link to the IFIS version. You may have to update your own bookmarks.
The search interface on WoK is more intuitive than IFIS, so we are sure you will find FSTA more useful with this new access. You can now also search all three of our WoK databases at one time (FSTA, Biological Abstracts, and Web of Science). This also means you will be able to see "times cited" information for articles in FSTA.
If you have questions or need help, contact Helen Smith (hfs1@psu.edu).
Multi-media assignments provide a unique learning opportunity for students. Library personnel such as subject specialists can help students locate credible background information. In the Media Commons, students will find high quality equipment and expertise in the use of software to create a professional video presentation. For more details to help faculty design projects, click here.
If you have other questions, contact, Ryan Wetzel, Media Commons Consultant at 814-863-4547 or rlw32@psu.edu.
Responsibility for instruction, reference assistance, and the selection of books and other materials for the Life Sciences Library is divided by broad subject areas. Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to request assistance or to recommend new titles for purchase. Please contact the appropriate subject specialist.
The Campus mail address for all these individuals is 408 Paterno Library.
This newsletter is available only in electronic form. If you know of anyone who is interested in receiving this newsletter, please send their name, department and e-mail address to:
• Kathy Fescemyer. We encourage comments, suggestions and questions
