Library Services and Resources for the School Library Media Specialist Program

 

 

Welcome to the University of Washington and the University Libraries!  The Libraries staff is available to assist you with your research.  This guide is intended to connect you to basic services and some of the major resources to support your course of study.  Please do not hesitate to contact your libraries liaison with questions and comments. 

The starting point for finding information on all aspects of the Libraries services and collections is the UW Libraries web site and this guide. A useful resource for finding background information is the Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science.

 

Library Card and NetID

In order to check out books and use many of the online service features provided by the Libraries, you will need to obtain a Husky card, which also serves as your library card. Once you have the card, you will need to have it activated. This can be done in person at any UW Libraries circulation desk, by phoning the Library Cashier, Mon-Fri 9-5 at (206) 543-1174, or by completing a form. This is an important step, as it finds your name in the registration database and adds you to the Libraries database. To use the campus computer labs, a NetID (also called campus email account) is necessary. Labs are located in Mary Gates Hall and in the Odegaard Undergraduate Library. You can set up your NetID on your own by following the instructions available at http://www.washington.edu/computing/. Your NetID can also be used to connect to the UW Libraries restricted databases and resources.

 

Connecting to the UW Libraries from off campus

 

To take advantage of the many resources provided by the Libraries for your research, you will need to be able to connect to the Libraries from your home or office.  Although the Libraries Catalog can be accessed by anyone, most of the research databases are available only to UW faculty, students, and staff under contractual agreements with publishers.  You can access the resources on this page labeled UW restricted by clicking here. Should that not work, instructions for connecting are located on the Libraries Information Gateway at http://www.lib.washington.edu/help/connect.html.

 

Finding Books

 

To locate books in the Libraries, use the UW Libraries Catalog.  The catalog can be searched by author, title, keyword, and subject.  Subject searching uses Library of Congress subject headings, so unless you know the exact heading, it is best to begin with keywords.  Most of the Libraries collection is classified using the Library of Congress system, but there are still periodicals and books with Dewey Decimal numbers.  Once you’ve found the book or periodical title you need, note the library location and call number.  There are 18 libraries on the Seattle campus and libraries on the campuses at Bothell and Tacoma.

 

If the UW Libraries does not own the book you need, or the book is not currently available, you can repeat your search in Summit, the shared catalog of the academic libraries in Oregon and Washington. If you live near a Summit library, you can place a request for the book and have it delivered to that library. You can also request UW books through Summit.

 

Finding Journal and Magazine Articles

 

The Libraries subscribes to a number of databases to help you identify journal and magazine articles pertinent to your research.  Some of the databases include the full text of the article, while others will necessitate a trip to the Libraries to find the journal.  The most pertinent databases for finding articles on school library media topics are:

 

Education Fulltext. (UW restricted) Education Full Text is a bibliographic database that indexes and abstracts articles from English-language periodicals and yearbooks published in the United States and elsewhere. English-language books relating to education published in 1995 or later are also indexed. Abstracting coverage begins with January 1994. Full-text coverage of many of the journals begins withJanuary 1996.

ERIC  (UW restricted) The ERIC database lists articles and unpublished documents (curriculum guides, lessons plans, etc.) in the field of education, beginning with 1966 and ending in Fall, 2003. The Libraries subscribes to many of the journals cited in ERIC, and owns the complete ERIC Document (ED) file on microfiche.   

Library Literature and Information Science Full-Text (UW restricted) Indexes more than 200 library and information science periodicals, beginning with December 1984, many with full-text.

Expanded Academic Index   (UW restricted) Indexes over 1500 journals and magazines and includes some full text articles. 

ProQuest Databases . (UW restricted) Indexing and full text for a basic collection of general-interest, humanities, social science and science periodicals and newspapers; 1986 to present. 

 

Finding Newspaper Articles

 

During the course of your research, you  may need to find articles in the popular press.  The following databases will identify newspaper articles:

 

Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe  (UW restricted) Extensive array of full-text news (newspapers, wire services, transcripts and newsletters.

National Newspapers.  (UW restricted) This newspaper database provides coverage of major newspapers, including the New York times, Washington post, Los Angeles times, Christian Science monitor, USA today, Boston globe and the Atlanta journal/constitution. 

Washington State Newsstand  (UW restricted) Indexing and full text from several Washington newspapers, including the Seattle times, Seattle post-intelligencer, Puget Sound business journal, Spokane spokesman review, Tacoma news tribune, and Vancouver columbian. 

 

Other Resources

 

The Libraries subscribes to several resources assisting with the selection of school library resources. These include:

 

Children's Catalog. (UW restricted) A selective annotated list of fiction and nonfiction books and magazines for children from preschool through sixth grade, along with review sources and other professional aids for children's librarians and school media specialists.

Middle and Junior High School Catalog. (UW restricted) Middle and Junior High School Library Catalog is a selective annotated list of fiction and nonfiction books for young people in grades five through nine, along with review sources and other professional aids for children's librarians and school media specialists.

Senior High School Library Catalog. (UW restricted) Senior High School Library Catalog is a selective annotated list of fiction and nonfiction books for young adults in grades nine through twelve, along with review sources and other professional aids for librarians and school media specialists. It consists of fiction titles, nonfiction titles, and short story collections.

Horn Book Guide Online. (UW restricted) Reviews from the Horn Book magazine.

For additional selection and reviewing resources, see the UW's Children's Literature subject page.

 

Borrowing Books and Journals

 

Your Husky card is your Libraries card.  While you are in residence on the UW campus, you can borrow books; some journals also circulate.  The loan period for most books is one quarter, with the exception of those in Curriculum Materials, Children’s Literature, and Government Publications.   Books can be renewed online through the Renewals service.

 

If your permanent residence is not located within a reasonable distance of the UW Libraries (i.e., outside the Puget Sound region), you can obtain books and articles through our UWorld Express service. Check the UW Libraries Catalog first to see if we own the item.  There are fees for this service; delivery fees are listed on the UWorld Express page.

 

If you are near the UW Tacoma or UW Bothell campus libraries, you can also request books through the Libraries catalog Request function and have them sent to those libraries for pick-up.

 

You may occasionally need books or articles not held by the UW Libraries.  The Libraries' UWorld Express provides this service.

 

Liaison Librarian

 

Nancy Huling, Head of Reference and Research Services and Library and Information Science Librarian, is the Libraries liaison to the School Library Media Specialist program.  She can help you to identify sources for your research and assist you in formulating a search strategy.  Questions regarding any of the Libraries databases and help in how best to use them can also be referred to Nancy.  How to contact Nancy:

To contact the libraries on evenings and weekends, see the choices on our Ask Us page.

 

Selected Web Sites

 

Below are selected web sites that provide information or useful links to information for School Library Media Specialists.

 

Washington Library Media Association

American Association of School Librarians (a Division of the American Library Association)

The Information School, University of Washington

Educator's Reference Desk (formerly AskERIC)

The Big6

UW Libraries Curriculum Collection

UW Libraries Children's and Young Adult Literature Collection

 

For information, contact Nancy Huling, hulingn@u.washington.edu

updated 7/2005