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Graduate Student Services
Kathy Jones and Jan Sauer
Graduate level research, in contrast to that of undergraduates, is extensive and often uses information from a wide range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary sources. You may be expected to do a comprehensive literature review. Our Dissertation and Theses Guide will help you track down what other graduate students have done. What's below should help explain some of the services you can expect from the University Library. Remember to consult with the librarians often to insure that you are getting the most out of your time and effort.
University of South Alabama's Graduate School's Guide for Preparing Theses and Dissertations is online as a pdf at: http://www.southalabama.edu/graduateprograms/ThesisDissertationGuide.pdf. This is the official style guide which you must follow when you prepare your work for presentation.
Catalog
Information on USA Libraries' books, audiovisual and journal holdings, their formats and locations, can be found on the SOUTHcat Catalog. The catalog can be accessed through the World Wide Web at http://library.southalabama.edu. A brochure explaining the search possibilities is available in the library or try this guide for finding books. For help with access call the Electronic Services librarian, Kathy Wheeler, at (251) 460-7938 or (251) 460-7025 or e-mail her at kwheeler@jaguar1.usouthal.edu.
Library Homepage
The University Library homepage serves as a gateway to the Catalog, electronic indexes and e-journals, library information, remote services, as well as a portal to the Internet. Most of the Library's electronic sources can be accessed from anywhere as long as you are a currently enrolled student. Several of the databases to which the library subscribes provide access to the full-text of articles from magazines and journals and a few of the journal publishers allow us electronic access to articles if we also subscribe to the print version (see Our Journal List). Be sure to ask at the reference desk for more information about full-text availability of formerly print-only items. Select Articles, Indexes and Databases on the homepage to view the lists of databases subscribed to by the University Library.
Reference
For detailed and complex research questions, you are encouraged to come to the library and consult with the reference librarians on 2nd Floor North. Reference librarians are always willing to confer about possible research tools and newly available resources for your research needs, though you may need to make an appointment so the librarian can allow adequate time to assist you. Brief factual information is available by phone (251-460-7025) or by e-mail (webref@jaguar1.usouthal.edu).
Library Instruction
Graduate students are urged to become familiar with the mode of research in the discipline and the tools used to access its resources. If you are not confident using these tools, ask your professor to schedule a class session targeting these resources. The library has a classroom with computer access to the databases, the Internet and a color projector for real time on-line demonstrations. Make an appointment with your department's library liaison, as listed below, for individual help with any research problems you encounter.
| Name | Department | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mary Engebretson | Continuing Education | mengebre@jaguar1.usouthal.edu | 6-2825 |
| Kathy Jones | Communications & Social Sciences | kjones@jaguar1.usouthal.edu | 6-2829 |
| Amy Prendergast | Sciences & Technology | aprender@jaguar1.usouthal.edu | 6-2827 |
| Jan Sauer | Library Instruction | jsauer@jaguar1.usouthal.edu | (251) 460-6045 |
| Kathy Wheeler | Electronic Services, Math & Statistics | kwheeler@jaguar1.usouthal.edu | (251) 460-7938 |
| Ellen Wilson | Instructional Technology, Freshman Seminar, EH101 & EH102 | ewilson@jaguar1.usouthal.edu | 6-2826 |
| Jerry Wright | Humanities & Education | jwright@jaguar1.usouthal.edu | 6-5986 |
Interlibrary Loan
If USA does not own the material, we can obtain a book or a journal article for you from another library. ILL takes an average of 14 working days, but titles in Alabama libraries may arrive faster via FAX, UPS or Ariel/Prospero (the Internet) and no charge is passed on to you for these in-state items. Charges made by out-of-state libraries will be billed to your account. The ILL request forms are available from a link on the homepage or directly at http://www.southalabama.edu/univlib/illforms.htm.
As graduate students, you can have 20 ILLs in process at any time but are limited to 10 requests in one day. Although you are not charged for in-state borrowing, please realize that the library subsidizes the costs involved for special computer access, shipping and handling. By using WorldCat on FirstSearch under "Articles, Indexes, Databases", you can determine if a book or journal is available in other area libraries. ILL requests can also be made directly from several FirstSearch databases by selecting the ILL link. Call the ILL office at (251) 460-7034 for more information or send an email to libref@jaguar1.usouthal.edu or come in. ILL is within the first reference office on 2nd Floor North.
NOTE: The Biomedical Library handles all ILL requests for the faculty and students of Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health whatever the subject matter being requested. Call 251-460-7043 for more information. For ILL information and forms see the ILL link on the Biomedical Library's homepage.
Circulation
Graduate students may check out up to 40 circulating items with a USA identification card. Books have a four-week checkout period. The library reserves the right to recall books after two weeks if they are needed by another borrower. A research assistant may be given permission to check out materials for a faculty member with the faculty member's library card. Graduate students and faculty may check out bound, not current, journals for three days with no renewal.
Government Documents
USA is a 60% selective depository for U.S. government publications. Most of the documents are listed on the SOUTHcat Catalog except for some older items. Access to information about older documents is available through Marcive, an online database, available under "Articles, Indexes, Databases" on the library's homepage, or through the printed index, Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications, which is kept in the documents area. The Internet is now also a rich source for government information, see the library's Government Resources: Federal and Alabama for some useful government sites. For reference questions, contact Paula Webb, Documents/Serials Reference Librarian, or Vicki Tate, Depository Librarian, at (251) 460-7024.
Instructional Media Center
The IMC is located on 1st Floor North of the library. Its collection includes DVDs, laser discs, audio and video tapes, CDs and the corresponding equipment. Several venues can be scheduled for group viewing. A reserve section and equipment for individual listening and viewing are also available. Check with the IMC about checking out media items.
PETAL
The PETAL program, new to the Library, is designed to offer faculty (new and experienced) an opportunity to learn more about designing effective instruction as well as, how to increase learning in and out of the classroom. The IMC will house the PETAL technology lab that can be used by faculty, staff and students to develop multimedia instruction and presentations. Instructional sessions will be offered to help individuals create effective multimedia instruction. Contact PETAL at 251-461-1563 or by emailing petal@usouthal.edu.
Photocopying/Printing
Photocopies can be made using a TRACcard at the rate of $0.10 per page. For more information about photocopies, see the Photocopying/Printing FAQ.
Copy Service
For a fee, journal articles owned by the University Library can be copied and delivered to researchers. Article requests are limited to three per day (at a minimum charge of $3.00 per article) and are usually filled within 24 hours, except weekends and holidays. The fee schedule and the request form are available on the Library homepage at http://www.southalabama.edu/univlib/copy.htm or at the Reference Desk.
Fee-Based Databases
Specialized databases to which the library does not subscribe may be available through commercial vendors like Dialog and STN. They may be searched for the direct cost of the search. It is best to make an appointment for these librarian-assisted searches with Amy Prendergast at 460-7025.
Purchase Requests
Requests for books can be submitted through the purchase request form linked from the library homepage. Book purchases are also made by University departments so you might want to discuss your research needs with your department's library representative.