UWG1101: Ingram Library Tutorial

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ACCESS TOOLS

This page describes the various resources available in and through the Library to access information.

Computer Workstations
The Library has 28 networked computer workstations, which are available for course-related Internet research as well as for accessing the Catalog, GALILEO, and other Databases.

Note: These computers are not set up for word-processing. You must use one of the on-campus Computer Labs for word processing and other similar software applications.

Library Catalog (GIL)
Use the Catalog (also called GIL), to find out what books, periodicals, government publications, videos, etc., the Library has, where they are located, and whether they are available to check out.

The Library Catalog may be accessed by clicking on the Catalog link on the Library home page. For help in using the catalog, a tutorial is available at the Online Library Learning Center. Of course, you can also ask a reference librarian for assistance.

Note: The Catalog can tell you whether we subscribe to a periodical (magazine, journal, or newspaper) and whether we have received a particular issue, but has no information about the articles in the periodical. To find articles on a subject, you must use Indexes and Databases.

Print Indexes
Print indexes are located on the Main Floor of the Library on the bookcases immediately in-front of the Periodicals. While print indexes are used primarily to locate articles in periodicals (magazines, newspapers, and scholarly journals), somes indexes also provide citations to book reviews, doctoral dissertations, biographical information, and statistics.

Why use print indexes?
For recent article citations in most disciplines, there is an up-to-date electronic index available. However, in some cases, there are useful indexes and abstracts that are not available online. These print materials can serve as valuable sources of information in your research. The Music Index and Philosopher's Index are just a couple examples of print resources to which we have no online access.

Furthermore, while some electronic indexes include citations as far back as the 1960s (e.g. ERIC); most others only cover the last 5-15 years or so. However, if you want to find older citations, print indexes that cover earlier years are very useful.

Databases and GALILEO
In addition, the Library provides access to over 150 online databases, through GALILEO and the Databases link on the Library home page. Many of these databases provide full-text periodical articles for printing or downloading.

Currently registered UWG students may access these databases from home over the Web. To do so you will need the GALILEO password. To obtain the current password, go to the Library Catalog, click on “Get GALILEO password,” and follow the instructions. More information about GALILEO will be presented in the next section.