What’s New

New Tool for Archivists & Librarians: EAD Finding Aid Creation Tool and Repository

OhioLINK is pleased to announce the release of a finding aid creation application, repository, and full-text search engine. The EAD Finding Aid Creation Tool and OhioLINK Repository (EAD FACTORy) will help archivists ensure broad-based access to archival collections and local history collections by providing a solution for institutions wishing to create and deliver finding aids according to the Encoded Archival Description standard. Finding aids are descriptive tools that come in a variety of formats and levels of detail that describe the contents of archival or manuscript collections. EAD is an international standard for encoding archival finding aids, making them standardized in structure as well as more predictably searchable in collaborative electronic repository environments.

The OhioLINK Finding Aid Repository will allow researchers to search finding aids across institutions to locate archival materials and primary sources across the state. Finding aids may be browsed as well, and an advanced search function is also available. The Finding Aid Creation Tool and Repository are available for use by any institution in Ohio and do not require membership in OhioLINK. The brand new Repository is now ready and waiting for submissions.

The EAD Finding Aid Creation Tool and OhioLINK Repository is a project of the OhioLINK Database Management and Standards Committee. The committee formed the Encoded Archival Description Task Force in late 2004 and charged its members with creating standards for the creation of EAD Finding Aids within the OhioLINK community. Following the completion of content standards in 2006, the Task Force pursued the development of a Web-based tool that would allow users to create valid EAD finding aids without technical knowledge of complex EAD encoding. This major project was undertaken in cooperation with the Kent State University Libraries and Media Services' Systems unit. Programming was completed by KSU's David Gaj, Applications Developer.

Two Students From OhioLINK Schools Receive Innovative ETD Awards

Congratulations to Heather Forest, from Antioch University, and Justin Tickhill, from Ohio University, two recipients of ETD awards from the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) consortium. The awards recognize students who have written exemplary electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs). These ETDs demonstrate new dimensions of scholarship being explored by individuals who have made significant contributions to the worldwide ETD movement.

Both Heather and Justin are from OhioLINK schools and received Innovative ETD Awards which recognizes student efforts to transform the genre of the print dissertation through the use of innovative software to create cutting edge ETDs. Use of renderings, photos, video and other multimedia objects that are included in the electronic document were considered as part of the innovation of the work. The awards will be presented at the ETD 2008 Symposium, to be held this year at The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland, June 4th - 7th.

You can find both award-winning innovative ETDs in the OhioLINK ETD Center:

Heather Forest / Inside Story: An Arts-Based Exploration of the Creative Process of the Storyteller as Leader. Doctoral Dissertation: Leadership and Change; Antioch University, U.S.A.
File description: 27 files; pdf, mp3 (audio narratives).

Justin Tickhill / The Virtual Pig Head: Digital Imaging in Cephalic Anatomy. Master's Thesis: Biological Sciences; Ohio University, U.S.A.
File description: 13 files; pdf, mov (computer animations of tomography).

Tip: Travel Light with Electronic Stats and Facts Resources

Want to travel light when doing research or classwork on the go? OhioLINK offers dictionaries, a thesaurus, an almanac, numerous encyclopedias and hundreds of other reference books so you can check stats and facts anywhere, anytime. See a complete list of available resources or try some of our favorites on the list below.

1. Oxford English Dictionary -- A guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past.
2. Oxford Reference Online -- Over 100 dictionaries, general reference, language reference, and subject reference works from Oxford University Press.
3. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus -- Contains 35,000 synonyms and over 250,000 cross-references in an easy-to-use format, this thesaurus features succinct word definitions and an innovative hyperlinked category index.
4. STAT-USA -- A service of the U.S. Department of Commerce that delivers vital economic, business, and international trade information produced by the U.S. Government.
5. World Almanac -- Includes biographies, encyclopedia entries, facts, and statistics.
6. World Data Analyst Online -- offers detailed statistical comparisons of countries around the world, using both the most recent statistics and historical figures.

Want more tips? Learn how to:

• Search 10 Databases of Your Choice Simultaneously
• Practice a Foreign Language with Digital Videos
• Pick the Perfect Present
Posted by Candi Clevenger at 04:28 PM

New Digital Videos Covering Ancient History, Art, Business Ethics, Islam, and More

Want to learn more about a particular subject or a future career? Need a video clip to show in class or spice up a presentation? OhioLINK's Educational Films & Documentaries collection offers more than 2,200 digital, educational videos that you can stream or download from your desktop to show in class, link to from course pages and utilize for research. New videos, on a wide variety of topics, are regularly added to this growing collection..

Some of the newest digital videos include:

• Ancient History: America's Prehistoric Civilizations: The Mound Builders (Centre/Ambrose Video, 2007, 30 minutes)
• The Battle for Islam (BBCW production, 2005, 63 minutes)
• Benazir Bhutto: Battling Dictatorship in Pakistan (Women of Destiny, Lessons in Leadership series, Fims for the Humanities & Sciences, 2005, 41 minutes)
• The Body as a Matrix: Matthew Barney's Cremaster Cycle (Video Artists, Video Art: Film at the Fringes of Experience series, Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 2005, 53 minutes)
• Computer Architecture
• Corazon Aquino: Restoring Democracy in the Philippines (Women of Destiny, Lessons in Leadership series, Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 2005, 41 minutes)
• NewsHour Business Ethics Anthology (Business Collection series, NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, 2006, 180 minutes)
• Get Smart: What Consumers Need to Know (2020 - ABC News, 2006, 38 minutes)

The Educational Films & Documentaries collection is available to all students, faculty members and staff at OhioLINK member institutions. The videos are available for viewing and downloading (for temporary storage only) from on or off campus. Free software from RealNetworks is needed to view these videos. The current version of this software, called "RealPlayer," is available.

Looking for more digital videos? Try these other OhioLINK resources:

• Foreign Language Videos (freely available to anyone worldwide)
• Encyclopedia of Physics Demonstrations

Tip: Search 10 Databases of Your Choice Simultaneously

When you need articles for class quickly, you can turn to Quick Search @ OhioLINK to search multiple resources simultaneously. But what if the preset group of databases don't fit your needs or you want to search across disciplines? Quick Search @ OhioLINK comes to the rescue again!

Here's how to create your own custom group of up to 10 databases to search:

1. Go to Quick Search @ OhioLINK
2. Select Multi-Database Search.
3. Under Subject/Course, view the menu under Category
4. Select pick up to 10. This displays a list of all databases in the system.
5. Check-mark the databases you want, up to 10.
6. Now enter your terms into the search box and press GO.

Previous tip: Practice a Foreign Language with Digital Videos. More tips on using OhioLINK are available here.

KnowItNow Academic Will Continue

Got Research Questions? Get answers with KnowItNow!
KnowItNow Academic is moving from a pilot project to a permanent service, thanks to a commitment by librarians from 12 OhioLINK libraries to staff the service and KnowItNow's willingness to continue the collaboration. The pilot launched in January 2008 and has been well-received by both librarians and users.

Save time and frustration, chat online with a librarian!
Try KnowItNow Academic to get online help with any and all research questions from a librarian at a participating OhioLINK library, or refer your students to the service. KnowItNow Academic is available to students, staff and faculty members at OhioLINK member institutions Mondays through Thursdays from 11 a.m.-9 p.m., and Fridays, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Outside of these hours, or if academic librarians are not available, you can get online help with your research questions from public librarians using the regular KnowItNow service.

When you use KnowItNow Academic you may be helped by an academic librarian from another OhioLINK library than your own. If you prefer to talk to a librarian at your library, please contact your library directly.

More About KnowItNow
KnowItNow is a live online information service provided free of charge for the citizens of Ohio by the State Library of Ohio and your local public library. Professional librarians are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to answer your reference questions and assist you in finding information. KnowItNow is made available free of charge to all residents of Ohio through a federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant awarded by the State Library of Ohio.

Can't Find the Manual? Try Our Tech E-Books!

Do you have a hardware or software emergency? Is a new computer program or a code error driving you batty? Gently put down that computer you're tempted to throw out the window and try Safari Tech Books Online. Safari contains a growing collection of more than 5,300 computer science, information technology and related e-books that you can use to solve your tech problems in a jiffy. You can search across the entire collection or a single e-book and read an entire chapter or book from the comfort of your home, office or on the go.

New e-books are added regularly, some of the newest titles include:

	Adobe Photoshop CS3 One-on-One by Deke McClelland		Building Findable Websites: Web Standards, SEO, and Beyond by Aarron Walter
	I, Avatar: The Culture and Consequences of Having a Second Life by Mark Stephen Meadows		iPhoto '08: The Missing Manual by David Pogue and Derrick Story
	Learning Flash Media Server 3 by William B. Sanders		Microsoft Windows Vista On Demand, Second Edition by Steve Johnson
	The Moment It Clicks: Photography Secrets from One of the World's Top Shooters by Joe McNally		More Effective C++: 35 New Ways to Improve Your Programs and Designs by Scott Meyers
	The Non-Designer's Design Book, Third Edition by Robin Williams		Wicked Cool PHP by William Steinmetz and Brian Ward

Safari Tech Books Online is available to all students, faculty and staff at OhioLINK member institutions and is accessible via any Web-enabled computer.

Looking for more e-books? Try OhioLINK's Electronic Book Center. Your library may subscribe to additional e-books, so be sure to ask what is available.

2007 Annual Report Released

Find out how OhioLINK delivers cost-effective access to information resources, supports quality teaching and learning, and enables world-class research at Ohio colleges and universities in the newly released 2007 Snapshot, OhioLINK's annual report.

Key findings in this year's report include:

• OhioLINK's cost-efficiencies, including the $26.1 million invested in OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center statewide licenses that would have cost at least $105 million if purchased individually by Ohio's universities;


• OhioLINK's delivery of 23.3 million articles, books, images, videos, e-books, and other documents in 2007 to faculty and students; and


• OhioLINK's debut of the highly anticipated Digital Resource Commons, which provides a platform for OhioLINK members and other Ohio institutions to rapidly publish and access the wealth of research, historic and creative materials produced by Ohio's scholarly communities.

Read the OhioLINK Snapshot 2007 online now in PDF format or pick up a print copy from any OhioLINK member library. Other OhioLINK publications are also available online.

A press release about the report from the Ohio Board of Regents is also available.

New: Chinese Language E-Journals

The OhioLINK consortium recently purchased a subscription to 257+ full-text Chinese language e-journals in the China Online Journals collection from Wanfang. Faculty, students and staff at OhioLINK member institutions can access these journals from on or off-campus.

Please contact your library if you have trouble accessing China Online Journals.

Oberlin College Publishes Its First Honors Thesis on ETD Center

Oberlin College's honors theses program published its first honors thesis on the OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center: Polar Measurements of Mesospheric CO (2005) by Susannah Burrows.

The OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center is a free, online database of more than 15,000 graduate theses and dissertations and undergraduate honors theses from students at participating Ohio colleges and universities. For more information about the OhioLINK ETD Center, visit the frequently asked questions page.

Oberlin College is the 22nd program to join OhioLINK's ETD Center. A list of participating institutions is available. Any OhioLINK member institution may join and submit theses and dissertations to the database.