In light of the announcement on Monday by the Louisiana Board of Regents that LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network will be loosing 2/3 of its funding for electronic resources for institutions across the state of Louisiana as of tomorrow July 1, 2010 (yes, tomorrow, it is not a typo), it seems appropriate to follow-up on the June 24th post about WorldCat (a resource that will soon be lost) and maybe begin to chat about ways to weather this research storm.
So, first things first, WorldCat. Aside from the subscription versions of WorldCat and WorldCat Local that LSU Libraries makes available to library users, there is also a public (for FREE) version at http://www.worldcat.org. The content in the public version is exactly the same as the information provided from the WorldCat Local search from the library homepage, the main differences… the interfaces and the ability to view – instantly – the holdings of LSU Libraries. Expanding the “Find a copy in the library” will allow you to enter in your local zip code (70803 for LSU) and see if any of the local libraries have a copy of what you are after. Clicking on the name of the library or institution will automatically redirect you to the local library catalog.
DO NOT FORGET! WorldCat indexes periodical articles! This means that you will be able to discover article citations (emphasis here on citations, NOT full-text and or the electronic version of the article) using WorldCat, specifically articles from JSTOR, ArticleFirst, and other databases that are indexed within WorldCat.
Final tip – kick it old school. Doing research? Have you found a resource that is absolutely perfect but you still need more information? Don’t just resort to using random information that you find online, use the bibliography at the end of your article, book, or book chapter to track down other relevant resources!
