New Galileo interface is here

On Thursday, we debuted our new catalog interface. In addition to the new look, we have new functionality as well. We recently upgraded to WebPAC Pro which sorts results by relevance and includes a spell checker. If you have any questions or suggestions related to the new features, please contact us.

Web Search Tip: The Boolean AND

Boolean operators are used to connect search terms in a way that either deliberately narrows or broadens the search.

The default search for the four major search engines is the Boolean AND; however, it is not necessary to use it between search terms: a search for chronic child malnutrition, is a search for chronic AND child AND malnutrition, and will retrieve a list of web pages which contain all three terms, anywhere on the page.

Adding more terms to a search will retrieve fewer results. According to OneStat.com, most searchers use only two or three words on average in a search. If a fourth term, and a fifth term, and a sixth term, were added to the search, the number of results would be fewer with each additional term—and more importantly, the results should be more focused.

Two related ideas:

When choosing search terms, it is a good idea to favor obscurity. If you have precise search terms and phrases to describe what you hope to find, use those terms. For example, rather than a search for global warming (global AND warming)—how about searching for "climate change" AND “greenhouse gases” AND “Kyoto Protocol”?

As many words in English have more than one meaning, it is a good idea to add one or more terms to the search that clarifies the meaning of the term with multiple meanings. For example, when looking for information about modeling, add clay or fashion to indicate the type of modeling you are searching for.

New items for the new year

Welcome back everyone! Although the library was closed for a little over a week for the holidays, we were working hard to bring you some library "presents". If you're a theology or art student, you will appreciate the three new database subscriptions Valparaiso University has purchased.

For theology students, we now have access to:

• Luther's Werke: Luther's Werke is the complete collection of Martin Luther's writings. We've had it in non-web based format in the past, but the current interface is a big improvement over the old DOS looking version accessible from the Novell Application Launcher.
  
• Patrologia Latina Database: Patrologia Latina spans "the whole history of Latin Christianity up to the year 1216".
  

In addition, the library has teamed up with the Art Department to bring ARTstor to campus. ARTstor can be found on our database pages. It "is a digital library of approximately 550,000 images in the areas of art, architecture, the humanities, and social sciences with a set of tools to view, present, and manage images for research and pedagogical purposes."

Finally, if you use our catalog (Galileo) regularly, look for some changes in the interface in the very near future. Since the acquisition of several new features (ex. advanced keyword search) it has become necessary to do some redesign. It has been a few years since the catalog was overhauled, so it was time. Watch for that change between now and spring break.

Have a great semester!

The perfect study break: FreeRice

If you listen to NPR's morning edition, you may have heard about a fun (and addicting!) new website conceived by a Hoosier called FreeRice.com. The full story on NPR's website can be found here. In short, FreeRice tests your vocabulary while generating food for the United Nations World Food Program. You are given a word and have to choose the definition from four possible options. When you answer correctly, the words get harder. When you guess incorrectly, they get easier. For each word you get right, the website donates 20 grains of rice to the United Nations. If you need a study break, give it a try!

To all our students, Merry Christmas and safe travels!

Web Search Tip: Natural Language

Back when Ask Jeeves was launched in 1997, the original concept was to "answer your questions in plain English." Jeeves has retired, and today none of the four major search engines—Google, Yahoo, Live Search, and Ask—officially support natural language searching. However, it works—and surprisingly well.

A user might ask, “Who won the Oscar for best actress in 1980?” The search engine determines which terms in the search phrase are significant (Oscar, best, actress, and 1980) and disregards those which are not (who, won, the, for, and in). The significant terms are searched in the database, and those sites most deemed most relevant to the search are returned. With a simple query such as, “Who won the Oscar for best actress in 1980?” (without quotation marks) both Ask and Live Search deliver the correct answer (Sissy Spacek, Coal Miner’s Daughter) above the organic search results.

Questions that begin with “What is” work surprisingly well. The query, "What is the World Trade Organization?" (again, without quotation marks) locates sites that ask and answer that question. Above the organic search results, Google provides links to both Google Book Search and to a list of definitions found on the web; Live Search provides a link to the Encarta World English Dictionary. These types of queries need not be questions; try “Gone with the Wind is the best movie ever made” or “Global warming is a hoax.”

Free food!

Today (Monday the 17th) the VU Guild will be sponsoring a study break for students at 2 p.m. in the Christopher Center. They will be offering drinks and snacks in the 3rd floor fireplace lounge. Please stop on by. Good luck on finals!

Library Hours: Finals prep, Finals week, Winter Break

Beginning this Sunday, Dec. 9, Library Services hours will change until Spring semester classes begin on Jan.9, 2008.

Finals Prep
Sunday, Dec.9
Open 10:00 am- 1:00 am

Monday, Dec. 10 - Friday, Dec. 14
Open 7:45 am- 1 am

Saturday, Dec. 15, Reading Day
Open 9:00 am- 1:00 am

Sunday, Dec. 16, Commencement
Open 10:00 am- 1:00 am

Finals Week
Monday, Dec. 17 - Thursday, Dec. 20
Open 7:45 am- 1:00 am

Friday, Dec. 21
Open 7:45 am -5:00 pm

Winter Break
Dec. 22 - Jan. 1, 2008
Closed

Interim
Wednesday, Jan. 2 - Friday, Jan. 4
Open 9:00 am- 5:00 pm

Saturday, Jan. 5 - Sunday, Jan. 6
Closed

Monday, Jan. 7
Open 7:45 am -5:00 pm

Tuesday, Jan. 8
Open 7:45 am -5:00 pm

Classes Begin
Wednesday, Jan. 9
Open 7:45 am - Midnight

Regular semester hours will resume on Wednesday, Jan. 9.

OED has arrived!

For all of you Oxford English Dictionary (OED) fans out there, we have some good news for you! Although we have always had a print copy of the OED, we have had many requests for the online version and have finally jumped the OED digital divide.

The OED is linked from our database pages under O and under the subject English. It is also linked from our Online Reference Resources page.

As with most of our other databases, VU affiliates can access the OED from off-campus by logging in using one's VU e-mail username and password.

If you have any questions about the OED, please let us know.

The Mitten Tree

Actually, it's more than a "mitten tree". The tree in the Christopher Center second floor lobby is an opportunity to provide some winter warmth to local children at the Spring Valley Homeless Shelter and area schools. Donations of new hats, gloves, mittens, socks, scarves and other non-food items will be collected through December 17th and will be distributed on December 18th and 19th. Please join us and hang items on the tree or deposit them in the box provided.