IU libraries debuts new link service

As the end of the semester approaches, the IU Library System is beginning to offer two new tools that will help students research more efficiently. \nThe first new service, called IU-Link, helps students find full texts of information instead of just references. It is designed to simplify the search for full-text articles in the databases offered by IU.\nThe other, the Request Delivery service, allows students to transfer books from any IU library to the most convenient campus library without ever leaving their computer. \nWhile some databases may only have a reference, other databases may offer the same piece of information in full text. The IU-Link system looks through 100 databases offered on the IU Libraries Web site and can find the full text of the article as long as it exists in one of those databases.\n"If you are searching PsycINFO, which has no full-text articles, and you find a reference to an article that EBSCO has in full text, this new program will link you to that full-text article," said Carolyn Walters, head of the Information Commons and Undergraduate Services at the Main Library. \nIU-Link is not, however, a search engine in itself. \n"Users only see the link to the full text if they are on a citation and they have already done their search," said Julie Bobay, associate director of Collection Development.\nStudents who perform a search on a database with the new service will see an IU-Link button next to the reference. Clicking on that button will connect the user to the full text on another database. If the full text is not available online, the IU-Link button will also tell the user where to look for the full text in one of the libraries on campus. \n"It takes the drudgery out of the process," Bobay said. "Finding the article you want to read and getting it should be as quick and painless as possible so you can read it."\nThe IUB Library has also implemented its request delivery service over IUCAT. This means users who log into IUCAT can request to have any book in the IU Library System delivered to any campus library.\n"Request Delivery provides a different level of service," said Pat Steele, head of Academic Information Services. "It puts the user in control."\nIU students used to fill out forms at the library in order to request a book from another campus. Steele says that the new online service simplifies the process for both students and library staff who process the orders. \n"People are excited to click on something and have it appear a few days later," Steele said.\n-- Contact staff writer Greg Ingram at rgingram@indiana.edu.