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Ask A Librarian Featured Questions

Ask A Librarian Featured Question: December 2020

Our featured question this month is: “Why can’t I log in to access online resources off campus?

Here are some options you can try:

  • Use another browser
  • Clear your cache and cookies
  • Reset your NID password
  • If you logged in through WebCourses and used Library Tools, try logging on directly through the library website instead
  • If you are logging in from your workplace, you may be trying to access OpenAthens from behind a firewall.  Please contact your workplace IT to see if there is a work around

Tried all of the above and still having issues?  Please email our eResources team at eresourc@ucf.edu Provide the browsers you have used, the options you have tried and error messages you have received.

Featured Bookshelf: 2020 Staff Favorites

Each December, the UCF Libraries’ Featured Bookshelf celebrates the favorite books of employees of the UCF Libraries. And you know a major thing about librarians and library staff? They love talking about their favorite books. The books listed below are some of the favorite books we read in 2020.

Click on the link below to see the full list, descriptions, and catalog links for our favorite 2020 titles. These 20 books plus favorites from previous years are also on display in the 4th floor Reading Room of the John C. Hitt Library.

Featured Bookshelf: 2020 Staff Favorite Reads

And if you find someone has checked the one you’re interested in out before you had a chance, did you know you can place an interlibrary loan and have another copy sent here for you? Click here for instructions on placing an interlibrary loan.

Research Tips Thursday Following the Research Conversation

Research Tips Thursday: Following the Research Conversation

The key to understanding a situation is to get the whole story, and in research that means tracing the scholarly conversation. This last Research Tip Thursday of the Fall Semester with show you how to jump backwards and forwards through a scholarly conversation using just one article.

Find this video and more at guides.ucf.edu/rtt

Ask A Librarian Featured Questions

Ask A Librarian Featured Question: November 2020

Welcome to the Libraries new blog topic: Ask A Librarian Featured Questions. Our popular virtual Ask Us reference service supports the UCF community from wherever they are located. It provides options for chat and text from the UCF Libraries’ homepage in addition to phone and email support.

The most asked question on Ask Us: “How do I open this article?”

This question comes to Ask Us staff largely through our most used mode of contact, our chat feature.  

When someone clicks on an article in a result list accessed through QuickSearch, there is a link to our chat widget “Ask a Librarian Chat” below the article record.

Taking a look, we can check the left side of the page and see which link is provided.

  • Find Full Text – click this button and on the next page select the link: Full text from (database name). The database should open with the article information and a PDF link, if not, you can copy and paste the article title into the database search box.
  • PDF Full Text – click this link and it will go directly to the PDF of the article
  • Request Item/See Options – this link indicates that this article is not available through QuickSearch. Please note that not all of our Databases are searched when using QuickSearch. Click on the link and another tab will open with links to check other options. A good one to try first is “Search for (journal name) in Publication Finder” to see if we have access to the journal and year the article is from. If so you can click on the Database link that contains the article, and search for the article title in that Database. Another option to try is: “Search for this article title in Google Scholar” sometimes it may come up and have a PDF link to the right of it. If after this you cannot access the article you can click on the link: “Request this item through interlibrary loan.”  This will bring you to the NID login and then to the auto-filled request form. ILL will access the PDF for you from another library, this usually takes 3-5 days.

Make sure to visit Ask Us to ask questions about research, library resources, services, and policies. We look forward to assisting you!

The video that was here is out of date and has been archived. Click here to download the video for viewing.

Faculty Support: We Have You Covered Text on Image of Open Book with Pen

Faculty Support: Planning for spring? We can help!       

We hope this fall semester has gone great. As you are preparing for your spring 2021 classes remember we are here to help!   

  1. Our Information Literacy Modules can be assigned for the Academic Engagement Requirement.  
  1. Check the library to see if we have you textbook available online with unlimited users or if there are open educational resources available.  
  1. We have many streaming videos that you can embed in your Canvas course.  
  1. Contact your subject librarian to see what resources we have available in your subject area.  

Check out our Services for Facultypage for more information on how we can support your research and teaching.

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