COSMOS: Guide to the Library

To get help, stop by one of the library’s Reference Desks.  Most reference desks are “on call” during the summer, see below for where to ask for help.

• Reference Desk Locations
  • Shields Library (2nd floor)    Ask for help at the second floor reference desk 11:00 AM-3:00 PM  or Office (Rm. 288)
  • Carlson Health Sciences Library (main floor)     No reference desk, ask for help at the Circulation Desk

• Basic Help
  • Shields Library Info Desk (main floor)      Staffed by student workers
    

Map to Campus Libraries:  

Campus Map

Subject Guides:

• list library resources by discipline

• best options for each COSMOS Cluster linked below

• great resource for overviews & background info on complex topics

Library Catalog  (formerly Harvest Catalog)

The Library Catalog tells you what the UC Davis library owns, what the call number is, where it is located, and whether or not it is checked out.  If there is an electronic version that we subscribe to, the link will be in the catalog.
Use the catalog to locate books, journals, government documents, dissertations, maps, music scores & recordings, movies, and any other materials the library owns.

Visiting the Library:  Provides a floor map of each library. This will be helpful in locating books with call numbers.

MELVYL UC  Library Catalog                  Melvyl Help

The MELVYL catalog tells you what all UC campus libraries own, and also searches other institutions.  As with the UCD Library Catalog, MELVYL gives records for books, journals, government documents, dissertations, maps, music scores & recordings, movies, and other materials.
MELVYL does index some articles but is not a good option for searching for articles in the sciences. (Click on the ARTICLES link in this guide to access article databases.)

The REQUEST button:      allows you to request items from other institutions (UC and non-UC).

 

GOOGLE Books                                Google Books Help

Library catalogs only search catalog entries (author, title, subject indexing, etc) not the full text of the book
Google Books searches full-text of books (only titles that Google has scanned), but you cannot access most of them (because they are still under copyright)

But you can use Google Books to identify titles you might be interested in.
–Use Google Books to search for phrases or topics you are interested in (works well for technical terms).
–Then search for the title of the book(s) in the UCD Library Catalog or Melvyl

ALL Journals  (that UC Davis subscribes to):

Use the  UCD Library Catalog  or  MELVYL catalog to find which journals we subscribe to,  either online or in print.

Online subscriptions:   the catalog will give the link.  NOTE: we sometimes get online content for different years from different sources, R-E-A-D the fine print.
Print subscriptions:    the catalog will give you the call number, location, and indicate whether or not it is checked out.

Electronic Journals A-Z List:

Lists only online journals that UC Davis has an online subscription to.  If we have a print subscription, the journal will not be listed here.

Google Scholar

You can use Google Scholar to search for journals (or articles).  Google has no way of telling you which online journals UC Davis subscribes to, unless you set your Google Scholar preferences to show UC-eLinks (see below).

Google Scholar:  How do you actually GET the articles?

On-Campus:    You should be able to access any online journal that UC Davis subscribes to.
Off-Campus:    You must install the VPN client first, to access online journals UC Davis subscribes to.

No UCD Online Subscription?:  We may have a print subscription.  Check the library catalog .  If we do not have a print or online subscription, you can request articles through Interlibrary Loan.

• Endnote Online is citation management software that allows you to store, manage, and format bibliographic citations, and easily change formatting of citations in Word documents.

• Available free to UC Davis students, faculty & staff (campus has a site license). 

• Online registration required.

Endnote: Getting Started Guide:

Covers both online and client/desktop version:

• getting references into and out of Endnote
• using Endnote with Word
• setting up Endnote Libraries, Preferences, Groups, and Journal Abbreviations

Use “Endnote Online” to put your citations in the appropriate format (example below shows ACS format):

1. Register for an Endnote Online account

Use the link above, or,
From the Web of Science database: click on the “Endnote” link (in gray bar at top screen)

2. Getting References INTO Endnote

From Web of Science:

Log on to Endnote Online
Search Web of Science. Then from the Web of Science results screen:

Select citations to export,

click on the Save to EndNote online link
choose Save to EndNote online

Use Numbers of Records to identify which citations to send, then for Record Content choose: (Author, Title, Source, and Abstract)
click SEND

Export will happen automatically

From SciFinder: Two step process to get citations into Endnote Online

Step 1: Conduct your search in SciFinder. Then: select citations to export (use checkboxes)
Click EXPORT (near top right)

Choose TAGGED FORMAT (*.txt)
Name it or note the name of the file
Click EXPORT

Click SAVE file (remember what you named it)

Step 2: Log on to Endnote Online
Under COLLECT, select IMPORT REFERENCES
Enter:

FILE: Use the BROWSE button to select the file you created above
IMPORT OPTION: Choose SciFinder (CAS).
If you don’t see it, click SELECT FAVORITES, select “SciFinder (CAS)” in the ALL box, the click COPY TO FAVORITES.
TO: Select the Endnote Online Group where you want the citations imported.

Click IMPORT

You can also cut and paste, or enter citations manually

3. Create Libraries (two methods)

ORGANIZE tab

MANAGE MY GROUPS
New Group

–OR–

MY REFERENCES tab

Select references for new library
ADD TO GROUP –> New Group

4. Getting References OUT of Endnote

To create List of References:

Select FORMAT tab
Select BIBLIOGRAPHY

References: choose library
Bibliographic Style: choose citation style
File Format: choose RTF

Choose: SAVE, EMAIL or Preview & Print

Cite While You Write

Let’s you embed citations in your Word document, while using Endnote Online to format them

5. Sharing References

Allows you to share references with others

ORGANIZE tab
Manage My Groups
Manage Sharing: Add email(s)

• Library cards are only needed to check out print items (books, etc.).
• All online resources are available without library cards.

• When COSMOS students need to check out a book for the first time, they will be asked to fill out a brief application form, then the library will issue a library card.
• Any library circulation desk should be able to do this for you. The COSMOS director has already provided the library with a list of COSMOS students.

Map to Shields Library        

Campus Map

Location of Shields Library Circulation Desk

SciFinder: Register for Account

You must register for a SciFinder account before you can use the database. (login to VPN to access registration page from off-campus)

One-Time Registration (on-campus):
1. Go to the UC SciFinder website, under “New User?” select Davis (UCD).

2. Review the instructions for creating a username/password, click the registration link at end of the page. You must register with your “ucdavis.edu” email account.

3. When you receive a confirmation email, click the link in the message to complete the registration. Check your spam folder if you do not see the confirmation email in your inbox.

Once you have an account, logon to SciFinder.

One-Time Registration (off-campus):
First, log in thru the VPN, then complete steps 1-3 above.