All posts by Anastasia Forte

Feature Articles, Just for Fun

Puppies & Ants & Sharks, Oh My!

Do discussion boards have you down? Are papers making you pessimistic? Do finals have you frantic?

Do you just need a way to de-stress?

Well in lieu of Puppies at Perkins, the libraries have compiled a caboodle of animal live streams for you to view any time you need to de-stress! Puppies, kittens, sharks, and even giraffes, below you’ll find live streams for zoos, aquariums, shelters, and more!

  • Zoos:
    • The Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute has several animal lives streams including cheetah cubs, naked mole-rats, a lion, a giant panda, and elephants!
    • The Melbourne Zoo and Werribee Open Range Zoo have a live snow leopard cub cam!
    • If you need more pandas, head on over to Edinburgh Zoo’s live panda cam and meet Yang Guang!
    • Need late night de-stressing? Let Chewy & Mo the sloths keep you company from Hattiesburg Zoo’s sloth cam!
    • Baboons, owls, koalas, butterflies, and so much more the San Diego Zoo is bring them all live here!
    • Of course the Houston Zoo has live streams! And their’s includes ants, flamingos, and rhinos!

  • Aquariums
    • Monterey Bay Aquarium has quite a few live streams. Jelly fish, birds, penguins, sea otters, and even sharks, head on over and see the many live cams this aquarium has to offer!
    • Another aquarium packed with interesting lives streams is the The Georgia Aquarium! Piranha? Gators? Whales? They’re all here!

  • Parks

  • Non-Profits
    • Warrior Canine Connection helps provide service dogs to veterans. You can watch their puppy cams here!
    • Kitten Rescue Los Angeles is a rescue sanctuary for cats and kittens. While they find homes for them you can watch them live!

Happy De-Stressing and stay safe!

Uncategorized

Database Tips & Tricks: Linking Google Scholar with Duke Libraries

Have you ever found an article on Google Scholar and when you tried to view it, it asked you to pay?

You want to pass your assignment but at $42 for one article, you’re starting to debate if it’s worth it…

But don’t give up yet!

Linking your Google Scholar account with Duke University Libraries will save you time, money, and from feelings of despair.

  • First you’ll want to sign into your Google Account  and then head on over to Google Scholar‘s home page.
  • Next select the menu bar in the top left  ()  and choose settings.
  • Under settings, choose library links, search for Duke University, choose all that apply, press save and log in using your Duke login.

Now you’re linked! Now when you find an article on Google Scholar on the right there will be a Get It at Duke link () that will let you bypass that paywall!

But wait! One more thing (it’s optional)…

Under settings, go to account, and check “Signed-in off-campus access links”, now for 30 days if you revisit an article that you visited on campus originally, it will automatically re-provide access.

Get linking and happy researching, friend!

For more Google Scholar Tips & Tricks check out https://blogs.library.duke.edu/blog/2019/10/31/database-tips-tricks-google-scholar/.

Announcement, Services

You Count! The 2020 Census

Happy census day! Just like Duke Libraries, the census is for everyone. Our primer below will help make sure you are included in the 2020 census. For more information, you can go to the official census website.

Census Overview

  • What is the census?
    • A count of all people living in the United States as well as 2 commonwealths (Puerto Rico and the Northern Marianas Islands) and 3 territories (Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).
  • When does it happen?
      • Every 10 years since 1790, as mandated by the U.S. Constitution in Article 1, Section 2.
  • Why is it important?
      • Determines the allocation of over $800 billion for essential programs in
        • Education
        • Healthcare
        • Infrastructure
        • Employment and Training
      • Decides the number of seats each state has in the House of Representatives
      • Used to draw congressional and state legislative districts
  • What questions are on the census?
      • The Census Bureau has posted a slideshow of all questions asked on the 2020 census and why they are asking them.
  • Is my information private?
      • The Census Bureau is bound by Title 13 of the U.S. Code to keep your information confidential. 
      • The answers you provide are used only to produce aggregate statistics; you are kept anonymous.
  • Do I have to participate in the census?
      • Yes, residents of the United States are legally required to be counted
  • How can I complete the census?

College Students, the census, and COVID-19

  • Do I need to complete the census?
    • If you normally live on campus, no. There is a designated “residence administrator” who will submit the questionnaire directly to the Census Bureau.
    • If you live off campus, yes.
  • I live off campus but am currently living elsewhere because of COVID-19. Where do I count?
    • You count at the place you live and sleep most of the time. Even if you are currently at home because of COVID-19, you need to complete the census for your off-campus living quarters.
  • I can’t access my mail. How do I complete the census? 
    • You can complete the census online or by phone. There is an online option to enter your address if you don’t have the Census ID that is included on mailed materials.

Remember, you count!

For more information on the census visit https://2020census.gov/en.html

Database Tip, Library Hacks, Tips and Tricks, Tips for students

Database Tips & Tricks: Nexis Uni

What do business, criminal justice, political science, company dossiers, and patents all have in common?

All of these can all be found onNexis Uni Image!

Nexis Uni is a database containing over 15,000 credible news, legal  and business sources. Need US Treaties? They have it. Need company profiles? They have it. Need news in general? They have it.

NexisUni is a great resource and it’s relatively easy to use so let’s get started!

Of course, you’ll want to sign up/sign in.

This allows you to:

  • Create, share, & have folders shared with you
  • Create alerts
  • Customize display & document settings and search filters
  • View search history, document history, Shepard’s history,  & a Research map
You’re signed in, you’re set up, so let’s get searching!

Enter terms, phrases, companies, questions, whatever you like and it’ll bring you to the results page.

The Results Page

  • Above the results, you’ll find options to save the results to a folder, print, email, download the list or individual docs, send to google drive or dropbox, export citations, and sort.
  •  On the left is the category (news, law reviews, cases, etc) you’re currently viewing.

Document Page

The document page has different sections depending on the document type, but each page has an “About” and “Notes” section.

  • The about section will have the source information, related content, and the Shepard’s Signal if it’s a legal document.
  • The notes section allows you to annotate, copy, highlight, add to a search or folder your selected text.

Other Helpful Tips

  • If you need help reading the style of their documents:
    1. Go to advanced search from the home page
    2. Choose the tab that applies (All, Legal, Business, or News) and the content you’re looking for under the specific tab
    3. On the right you’ll see a section called, “Search Field Examples,” select to enlarge, and it is a helpful guide on how to read the document in that category.
  • If you see glasses , you’ve viewed the item before.
  • More Helpful Features
  • How to Customize Your Settings

And there you have it! You’ve got the basics of how to use Nexis Uni!

Happy Researching, Friends!

Announcement, Feature Articles

Duke University Libraries Summer Research Grants for LIFE Students

  • Do you have a cool project idea that uses extensive library resources, such as archival materials or foreign language books?
  • Are you a first generation and/or low income undergraduate student?
  • Would having up to $4500 assist with your project idea?

If you answered yes to all three, then consider applying for the Duke University Libraries Summer Research Grants (DULSRG)! We welcome applications from students with all levels of prior experience using library materials.

DULSRG are awarded to first-generation and/or low-income undergraduate students to support original library research either at Duke or at another library or cultural institution with a library. Awards are granted up to a maximum of $4500 to cover expenses such as campus housing, transportation, lodging, and meals while conducting research. Because research expenses can vary depending on the field of research and the duration of the project, students are able to pool grant funding with other awards.

You can find out more details about the award, including how to apply, here: https://library.duke.edu/research/grants

Deadline: March 27th, 2020

Contact Arianne Hartsell-Gundy, Librarian for Literature and Theater Studies, at arianne.hartsell.gundy@duke.edu, if you have questions.

Database Tip, Featured Database, Library Hacks, Tips and Tricks, Tips for students

Database Tips & Tricks: PubMed

Another day another research paper, am I right?

And your professor said you could use any sources within biomedical or life sciences, as long as the sources are peer-reviewed.

Well we have the database for you!

PubMed is a database full of peer-reviewed articles focused around biomedical and life sciences and here’s how you get to it: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/.

So first let’s and that can be found at the top right.

After selecting Log in, choose Duke as your university and then it’ll prompt you to either create an account with your Duke email or sign into an account you already have, choose whichever is appropriate.

Some benefits of logging in:

  • View Recent Activity
  • Create/Manage Bibliographies
  • Create/Manage Collections
  • Create Custom Filters
Results Page

And after you’ve logged in and started searching, the results page gives you a helpful bar that look like:

 

More options for each sections looks like:
 

But it should be noted that the when choosing “Save” or “Email” you’re saving/emailing  citations and not the search or its results.

Helpful hints:

  • Clipboard expires 8 hours after being added
  • You can save all the search results to your Collection

 

On the left is a column containing your filters and if you’re looking to get more specific in your search use this!

Article Page

On this page you’ll find some of the same features listed from the results page, but you’ll also be able to:

  • Download citations to RIS file
  • Add articles to favorites
  • A link to the full text (but beware, some of the links don’t always work)

The bottom of this page also gives you similar articles, a list of articles that cited the one you’re viewing, and a list of MeSH terms to aid you in your search.

And congratulations, you now have the tools you need to start or finish your paper!

Happy researching, friend!

And if you have more questions, feel free to reach out to a librarian at https://library.duke.edu/research/ask

Database Tip, Library Hacks, Tips and Tricks

Database Tips & Tricks: Google Scholar

 

So you received a topic for your paper and you don’t know where to start? Google it!
But wait…what if you Google Scholar it instead?

Google Scholar is basically Google but with scholarly sources. How do you get to it?

scholar.google.com – super easy, super simple.

Before you start your search there’s two things you’re going to want to do to make your research easier.

  • First go into the settings (under this button on the top left), and choose library links. You’re going to search for Duke University and choose the “Duke University Libraries – Get it at Duke and then save. This makes it so that any article found on Google Scholar that Duke has access to you’ll be able to go straight to that article. You’ll know it worked when you search an article and see this in the right column.
  • Secondly, you’ll want to go back into the savings option and make sure that you’re signed into an account so you’ll be able to save your articles into your library.

Now you’re all set to do your research! But just a few more things to make note of:

  • The star button will save the article to your library
  • The quotation button will give you the citation for that article in MLA, APA, etc and also allows you to link to several citation management tools (they’re sometimes slightly incorrect so double check your citation!)
  • The “Cited By” shows how many people have cited that article via Google Scholar
  • Advanced search is found under the menu option

And that is it! You are prepared to do Grade A research, friend!

If you have more questions, feel free to reach out to a librarian at https://library.duke.edu/research/ask

Or join us in the lobby of Perkins for our 5 Minutes to becoming a Google Scholar Power User on any of these dates:

  • Nov 6, 2019: 11a – 12p
  • Nov 12, 2019: 1:30p – 2:30p
  • Nov 22, 2019: 11a – 12p