Galvin Library will open at 8:30 am on Saturday, May 10 and remain open until Midnight on Thursday, May 15. On the lower level, the circulation desk will be open and course reserves will be accessible. The upper level offers quiet, comfortable study space. Bring your study materials and laptop, grab a fatboy and get ready for your exams. For more information on library hours, click here.

Are you not registered for Summer or Fall classes but would like to have library privileges throughout the Summer months? Submitting a Summer Privileges Form will allow the IIT student who has not yet registered for classes access to library resources until the start of the Fall 2008 semester. Library resources include IIT materials, on-site borrowing at I-Share libraries, document delivery and interlibrary loan. Students who are already registered for the Fall 2008 semester have library privileges throughout the Summer semester and August intersession and DO NOT NEED this form. Privileges granted through this form last from May 18 - August 20.

If you are unsure if your library privileges are current you can check with a circulation department staff member or stop by the circulation desk on Galvin’s lower level. If you are not a current IIT student and you are seeking access to library resources please visit the By User policy page.

The wind was unpredictable, a few drops of rain fell, and the sky was overcast at times. But none of that stopped 111 people from participating in the Galvin Library’s first Circulate! Disc Golf Hole-in-One competition. Everyone was a winner, going home with a free Frisbee, snacks, and a smile. However, two contestants really stepped up and showed IIT how disc golf is done.

We’d like to congratulate the winners:

• Jacob Ernst (Arch), 1st place
• Christopher Lee (CAEE), 2nd place

Jacob and Christopher both won Barnes and Noble gift certificates for their nimble ‘bee tossing skills. Thank you all for joining us at the Galvin Library tee, tee #2, this past Thursday and Friday to celebrate National Library Week. It’s never too early to start practicing for next year…

Got a favorite book you wish everyone knew about? Tell us about it! In honor of National Library Week (April 13-19th), Galvin Library will be honoring IIT students’ most beloved books.

Let us know in the comments below what your favorite book is, and why you love it so much. We’ll put a copy of your book on display next to the Circulation desk on the lower level of the library. Make it fun – that means no textbooks! (Well, OK, but only if it’s *really* your favorite book).

Don’t miss upcoming announcements on other National Library Week activities and contests!

Galvin Library has created an application that allows you to connect to library resources directly from your Facebook profile. Here’s what it looks like in your profile:

Use the IIT Library Catalog Search application to:

• Search the IIT Library Catalog: find books, e-books, videos, and journals
• Log in to your IIT/I-Share library account: renew books, check the status of your requests
• Connect to the library’s Ask a Librarian service: get research help via IM, email, or phone

The library offers many other electronic tools that make online research easier, including browser toolbars and plugins, and citation management software. Click here to see a list of more options.

We’re pleased to now offer links to IIT library services from within Google Scholar, the popular academic search engine. When doing a search in Google Scholar, users on the IIT main campus will automatically see links like the ones below in the search results. Off-campus users can also get the links by setting up IIT Library Links in the Scholar Preferences section of Google Scholar. (Click here for instructions on setting up Library Links).

If full-text access is available to a journal article in your search results through IIT, you’ll see the GetArticle@IIT link. Follow this link to the SFX menu, which will show you options for getting the full text of the article.

If online full-text is not available, use the More options @ IIT link to see if the journal is held in print at the library, to connect to Document Delivery services and get the article via interlibrary loan, or to see if an abstract or table of contents is available electronically.

At the moment, IIT Library Links are available for journal articles only, not for books. To check if IIT has a book you’ve found in Google Scholar, use the IIT Library Catalog.

Disclaimer: Users should note that Google Scholar is still in “beta,” or test mode, and that not all academic publishers allow Google full access to their content. Therefore Galvin Library cannot completely guarantee the accuracy and functionality of Google Scholar Library Links, nor is it our opinion that a search in Google Scholar is a viable replacement for a search using library-provided bibliographic databases and indexes, many of which also do not allow Google Scholar to access their content. If you experience problems getting the full text of an article via the GetArticle@IIT link, use the Journal A-Z List or Article Finder on our web site to see if full-text access is available.

Galvin Library is pleased to offer an exciting new tool that makes online research easier than ever. The IIT Library Toolbar allows you to access the library from anywhere on the web, allowing you to search the library catalog and Google Scholar from your browser’s toolbar, and linking references to books and articles on web pages you visit to the library’s catalog and online journals.

What is it?
A browser extension for Firefox and Internet Explorer built on the LibX platform that provides direct access to library resources. You’ll find it on all of the library’s computers, and now you can install it for your own browser as well.

What it looks like:

Install the IIT Library Toolbar (Firefox)
Install the IIT Library Toolbar (Internet Explorer)

Features:

Catalog search box: Search the IIT Library Catalog or the I-Share Catalog directly from the toolbar. Search by keyword, title, author, subject, ISBN/ISSN, or call number. Use the button to add more search fields for advanced Boolean queries.

Right-click context-menu: When you select a piece of text on a web page and right-click, LibX offers a number of different search options for that term, such as a catalog search by keyword, title, or author; a Google Scholar search; and a search of ITT’s online journal holdings. LibX even recognizes what type of text you’ve selected — be it plain text, an ISBN or ISSN, DOI, or PubMed ID — and offers different options to match!

Google Scholar button: Use LibX to search Google Scholar for articles and quickly find full-text copies subscribed to by your library. Select a citation (or any piece of text), then drag-and-drop it onto the Scholar button on the toolbar to do a search for that item. You can use this feature even from inside a PDF file, which makes retrieving papers referenced in a PDF file a snap.

Embedded IIT links: LibX places IIT icons — or — in web pages if the library has resources related to that page. Whenever you see the icon, click on the link to see what the Library has to offer. Icons are displayed at Amazon, Google, Yahoo! Search, the NY Times Book Review, Barnes & Noble, or other pages where COinS metadata has been embedded. Watch this screencast for examples of this cool feature (requires Macromedia Flash Plugin).

For more information on this great new tool, click here.