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How do I find a book? There are several ways you can approach this topic, the easiest being to visit our homepage and look for the Gilacat tab towards the top of your screen. Inside this tab you can enter a phrase and search by keyword, title, or author using the drop-down menu. Another way to search Miller Library's collection of books and other materials is to visit our homepage and click the 'Gilacat Find Books' button on the upper left-hand side of the page to search by author, title, keyword, and more. Alternatively, visit "How to find a book using WorldCat" to search for books in the multiple-library database. How do I find articles? Like searching for books, we can approach this search by easier or more complex routes. For a simple search that combines most of our electronic subscriptions visit our homepage and select the 'Colossal Search' tab towards the top of the page. On this tab you may enter a search phrase and refine it by keyword, author, title, or subject. If you are looking for a specific database provider's materials, visit our homepage and click the 'Find Articles' button towards the upper center of the page. From there click on 'By Subject' to view all the electronic article databases we subscribe to within your area of research. Alternatively, visit "How to find articles using FirstSearch" to read a tutorial on how to effectively use one of our electronic article databases, FirstSearch. How do I know which databases to search? If you are just a neophyte searcher, try out our new Colossal Search function at the top our homepage. This single search field links almost all of our electronic database subscription offerings into a single source! If you feel a little more confident, try clicking on 'Advanced Search' below the Colossal Search box. In the advanced search you can delve into specific subjects or even choose individual database offerings. How do I find out whether the library owns a particular journal? Begin by navigating to our homepage and look for the Gilacat search tab toward the top of the page. Enter the proper name of the journal or magazine you are interested in and using the drop-down menu beside this select 'Journal'. If you are then presented with a list of similar journal titles to what you entered, select the one that most closely matches what you were looking for. This will bring you to the detailed record, which will display a list of issues we have most currently received for that title, as well as links to lists of any bound or microform versions for older dates. What is a peer-reviewed journal? Peer review is the evaluation of creative work or performance by other people in the same field in order to maintain or enhance the quality of the work or performance in that field. It is based on the concept that a larger and more diverse group of people will usually find more weaknesses and errors in a work or performance and will be able to make a more impartial evaluation of it than will just the person or group responsible for creating the work or performance. Peer review is used extensively in a variety of professional fields, including academic and scientific research, medicine, law, accounting and computer software development. Peer review is legislatively mandated in some situations, particularly in law and medicine. In others it is required by tradition and/or by administrative rules, such as in academia. In some fields, such as software development, it occurs naturally without any formal structure or requirements. In the case of peer reviewed journals, which are usually academic and scientific periodicals, peer review generally refers to the evaluation of articles prior to publication. But in a broader sense, it could also refer to articles following publication, as such articles often continue to be studied and debated for a longer period and by a much wider audience. How do renew library materials? If you are a faculty/staff member, or a student of WNMU, the easiest way to renew your items is to give us a call at 538-6176. We can renew most items for you over the phone in less than a minute. Alternatively, you may renew items using an online system, but only before their due date has arrived! To access this system visit our homepage and use the drop-down fields to select 'Faculty Information -> My Account' or 'Student Information -> My Account'. You will be asked to enter your named and W number to access a list of items you have out, and the renewal feature. Patrons unaffiliated with WNMU may not renew library items. How many books can I check out? Our normal limit for all patrons is twelve books; however, faculty members or students may request additional items over this limit when they are needed for legitimate research or coursework. How do I get a book or journal article that you don't have in the library? We are part of a giant group of libraries that share materials between each other; as a faculty/staff member or student you receive access to this service! Other residents of Grant County are asked to pay a small annual fee which covers a limited number of these requests. If you are interested in an item we do not have, simply visit the Interlibrary Loan page and fill out a short request form. How long does it take to receive a book or journal article I have requested? An article request can be received in as little as three business days because they are shipped electronically. Book requests usually take a minimum of two weeks to receive because they must be processed through normal mail. Can I check out Reference books and Government Documents? Any items marked as Reference must stay within the library unless express permission is given by the University Librarian. Miller Library is designated as a Federal Depository, and as such we have a large collection of both Federal and New Mexico State documents. These items can be checked out just like a book in our collection. |
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