Milligan Library Life

by the staff of P.H. Welshimer Memorial Library & Seminary Library

Database Searching 101

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Ever since Google introduced its single search box on an uncluttered screen, database vendors (and other search engines) have struggled to keep up. In the years since, databases have moved more and more to a Google-like interface. The problem is that these interfaces LOOK more like Google, but they don’t SEARCH like Google. Users are frequently frustrated by very poor results when they try a Google-like search in a database.

I will give some suggestions on how to improve database searches. But first, a little discussion about how people typically search in Google. One common Google technique is to just type in what you want as a natural language search: How has Facebook changed college students’ attitudes about privacy? This yields 254,000 results. Natural language searches will yield zero results in almost every database to which Milligan or any other library subscribes. Probably the most common search technique (and the one I use in Google) is the string of keywords technique: Facebook college students’ privacy. 40 million results. Yet this search in most databases will, again, yield zero or very low results.

Some of you may be thinking: Why should I even bother with databases, since Google already has so much information on this topic? The long answer warrants a separate blog post. The short answer is that many Google results would not be considered academic sources, and would not meet the criteria of most college research papers. Academic databases contain academic resources that are needed to write academic papers. While there are academic sources in Google, it is often difficult to identify them among all the other results in a typical Google search.

While database searching can be very sophisticated and complex, it doesn’t have to be. A few simple techniques can vastly improve almost all searches.

Search Tip #1 Add the word AND in between all your search concepts. AND is a Boolean operator, a special command to the computer. It tells the computer to find results with all of your search terms. Facebook AND college students AND privacy in a database will give you much better results than a natural language or phrase search. Note that I put the AND between concepts, not between each word. Since I want the concept of “college students”, I did not put the AND between college and students. You really don’t need to understand the why of it to use it, but if you are interested in knowing more, check out:
http://lib.colostate.edu/tutorials/boolean.html
http://www.umsl.edu/services/libteach/keyword.html

Search Tip #2 If your search results are low and you think you have good search terms and you would like to get more results, try truncation. Truncation is shortening a word to its stem, so that the computer will find all possible endings for the word. The standard symbol for truncation is an *, which works in almost all Milligan databases. If I change my search to Facebook AND college students AND priva*, the computer will now find results with both private and privacy. The second link above has an excellent tutorial on truncation.

If you would like to learn more about searching in databases or need help finding what you want in a database, talk to me, Mary Jackson, as I’m the most excited about this topic. But any member of the library staff would be happy to help you.

Million Pennies Campaign raises $18.50 in February 2011

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Milligan College Library is proud to announce that you, our loyal library users, contributed $18.50 in cash and change to our Million Pennies Campaign in February 2011.  We have now raised $2,913.06 since the start of the campaign in April 2010, which means we’ve achieved nearly 30% of our goal!

The Library staff would like to extend a hearty thank you to our February contributors: Jacob Albrecht, Zaphod Beeblebrox, David Corwin, Angela Highfield, L. Ron Hubbard, June Leonard, Joseph Smith, and Brian Williams. Remember, if you’d like us to thank you by name, please write your name down on the slips of paper in the tray next to the donation box, and we’ll let everyone know about your generosity!

We still need your help in raising funds to help us reach our goal of a totally renovated library.  Bring your loose change and help us get closer to $10,000. Remember, when we raise the money, we’ll allow you, the contributors, to name a study room whatever you like.  Every penny helps!

New Books and Media Received (February 2011)

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The following Books, Musical Scores, and DVDs (174 items) were received into the Library collection through the Acquisitions Budget during February 2011. Check availability of new titles in the Milligan Online Catalog, or come into the Library and browse the New Books Shelf.

1 Corinthians / Alan F. Johnson. Downers Grove, Ill. : InterVarsity Press, c2004.

3 uses of the knife : on the nature and purpose of drama / David Mamet. New York : Vintage Books, 2000.

1688 : the first modern revolution / Steve Pincus. New Haven : Yale University Press, c2009.

Accidental empires : how the boys of Silicon Valley make their millions, battle foreign competition, and still can’t get a date / Robert X. Cringely. New York : HarperBusiness, c1996.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson / edited and with an introduction by Harold Bloom. New York : Bloom’s Literary Criticism, c2010.

Alfred’s basic piano library, Level 2 (3 Volumes) / Willard A. Palmer, Morton Manus, Amanda Vick Lethco. [Van Nuys, CA] : Alfred Pub., 1993-2000.

Alfred’s Basic Piano Prep Course : for the young beginner (3 Volumes) / Willard A. Palmer, Morton manus, Amanda Vick Lethco. Van Nuys, CA : Alfred Pub Co, 1988-

Alfred’s premier piano course : 1A (5 Volumes) / Dennis Alexander,[ et al..]. Van Nuys : Alfred Publishing, c2005-2008.

Alfred’s premier piano course. 1B (4 Volumes) / Dennis Alexander … [ et al.]. Van Nuys, CA : Alfred Pub. Co., c2005-2009.

Alfred’s premier piano course. 2A (4 Volumes) / Dennis Alexander … [ et al.]. Van Nuys : Alfred Pub. Co., c2006.

Apocalypse and allegiance : worship, politics, and devotion in the book of Revelation / J. Nelson Kraybill. Grand Rapids, Mich. : Brazos Press, c2010.

The artist & the scientists : bringing prehistory to life / Peter Trusler, Patricia Vickers-Rich, Thomas H. Rich. Port Melbourne, Vic. ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Augustine and the Jews : a Christian defense of Jews and Judaism / Paula Fredriksen. New York : Doubleday, c2008.

Autobahn : a short-play cycle / by Neil LaBute. New York : Faber and Faber, 2005.

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New “Life” for the Library News blog

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Welcome to Milligan Library Life, the new name for the Milligan College Library blog. The name change is the result of a decision to differentiate the way we use various communication and social networking media in the Library.

In addition to a website, the Library maintains a Facebook page, a Twitter feed, targeted email, and this WordPress blog. Up to now, we have tended to view these various mediums as multiple ways of getting a single message out to our user community–namely, letting you know what’s happening in the Library. The more channels of communication we utilize, the greater our exposure. Right?

This is true to a point. But as we live with these online mediums we realize that maybe we have more than one message to share–or at least, we may have more than one way to share our message. Now that Facebook has become nearly ubiquitous in the Milligan College community (as it has practically everywhere else), we have decided to push most of the Library’s news and event-type posts in that direction. We have also found it convenient to utilize Twitter as a quick way to post schedule and informational alerts to Facebook and the Twitter widget on our website home page.

What do we do with the blog? The blog format is not really appropriate for short bursts of news information. We discovered that what looks perfectly appropriate on the Facebook wall appears as a cluttered mess in a blog. The blog format lends itself to longer form articles–and invites reading at a more engaged and leisurely pace.

Of course it takes more time to write in a form that invites reading at a leisurely pace. Do we have the time? Do we have anything worth saying using this format? Would anyone be interested in reading it?

These are legitimate questions. But rather than give up on the blog I encouraged the Library staff to experiment with me with this other form of communication in the way it works best. Enter Milligan Library Life. We are fairly competent and interesting folk who make it our business to stay informed about the rapidly evolving information environment impacting all our lives. I think it would be valuable to have us report and reflect periodically on such things as trends in library and information resource technologies, copyright and intellectual property issues, concerns about online freedom and privacy, etc. We could also tell you about developments in the Library or Archives, offer tutorials for using information resources more effectively, tell you about new books and media added to the Library, or review an interesting book we read or a movie we watched.

So here we go. We won’t have any set publication schedule, but we would hope to have at least one or two new posts per week. I will be functioning as the editor, with other Library staff participating as contributing editors, writing on items of interest from their particular areas of expertise. If you are inclined, we would also welcome your comments as a way of generating a conversation. I think it will be fun!

Gary F. Daught, Director of Library Services

View our new Library FAQ!

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Got questions about library use or policy? Chances are you can find the answer in our brand-new Library FAQ.

This list of frequently asked questions replaces and expounds on much of the content of its predecessor, the Library Handbook.  The FAQ serves as the Library’s official policy document, and Library staff will update it periodically to reflect our current practices.

Take a look around and let us know what you think.  If you have any questions, please ask!