Behind The Screens: The Online Library System

By Katie Steiner, Fall 2010

As practicum and internships become more competitive and the job market increases only in scarcity, there is arguably one singular aspect of the modern day that makes attending graduate school in 2010 a luxury: the online library services. In our specific case, library.alliant.edu, which offers online databases, online journals, online interlibrary loans, personalized online support, and much more. Alliant librarians throughout the state of California are staying on top of technological advances and constantly making changes in order to make student life easier.

At approximately 9:30pm on a dreary Sunday night, my curiosity about the efficiency of the library system got the best of me. A small box on the right side of the Alliant library homepage caught my eye. Above the box it read, “Available: Ask-a-Librarian," and in the text box beneath, an inviting message read, “Type here to chat. Press ENTER to send.”

And so, I did. And yes, it was a real live human: Peggy Makie, a librarian from the San Diego campus. I took the time to ask this librarian about her life behind the screen.

Most students use the ask-a-librarian web chat function to ask how they can search for articles, Peggy said. They are taught how to access the databases and the best terminology to use to maximize their search (Peggy recommends using the thesaurus or subject term function within the database).

A link that students should utilize more often, in Peggy's opinion, is the Search Guides link from the Library homepage. Students are very happy when they are shown the Resources for Scholarly Writing & Publishing (http://library.alliant.edu/screens/publishing.pdf).

The librarians who work on the other side of the chat box are spread out over all the cities where Alliant has campuses. They share a rotation of times when they will work the web chat. And, for eight hours each week, Joe Tally, the director of the Hurwich Library, is the man behind the screen.

Joe commented that a service students should take advantage of is the ability to “just ask questions,” regardless of whether they choose to do it online or on campus. The question Joe said he answers most frequently is, “How do I get the full-text of this article?” He noted that it is possible to get the full-text version of articles about half of the time.

The reasons behind why Alliant does not subscribe to PubMed is another question Joe is frequently asked. The answer: Because Alliant subscribes to MedLine, which is a private database with similar content as PubMed, but with an interface that is easier to use. The layout of Medline is very similar to PsycINFO, so it provides students with an intuitive feel.

Things are constantly being added or changed for the purpose of making academic life easier on students, Joe said. San Diego is in charge of the changes on the webpage but only major new services are advertised to students, so Joe stresses the importance of keeping yourself informed about new updates.

There are many ways for students to find out about new changes. On the homepage of the library website, announcements about recent changes are displayed on the top center. Also, students can become fans of the Alliant library on Facebook or Twitter, or can follow the blog at http://alliantlibrary.wordpress.com/.