InfoHacks

As graduate students, your academic life is all about staying on track and getting things done. This blog is designed to help you get the most out of what the University of Illinois Library has to offer. We'll provide time-saving tips, new tools and great resources vetted by the most experienced people in the world of organizing information - librarians! We hope you will find it useful, to the point and part of your reading routine.

If you like what you read or have a tip of your own, please tell us by filling our the anonymous form or by leaving a comment. We're glad you're here.

11 million volumes?!?

I bet you're wondering how you're going to navigate over 30 libraries, 11 million volumes, over 90,000 electronic journal titles and myriad library services. We've got the tour for you!

Take a tour of the Main and Undergraduate Libraries! During the tour, attendees will visit departmental libraries and the 'stacks' as well as take a walk through the tunnel to the Undergraduate Library. The session will last about 50 minutes. Meet in the Marshall Gallery, on the first floor near the east entrance. No registration necessary. Contact Central Reference for more information at reflib@illinois.edu or call 217-333-2290. View the Library Calendar for all events.

Fall 2008 Tour Schedule

Tuesday, August 19th from 10am-1pm

Wednesday, August 20th from 10am-1pm

Thursday, August 21st from 10am-1pm

Monday, August 25th from 10am-1pm

>>All tours meet in the Marshall Gallery at the Main Library on the hour.
If you would like to arrange a tour for your group, please contact Merinda Hensley, Instructional Services Librarian or call 217-333-2290.

The Library will once again be offering multilingual tours of the Library on September 3rd and 4th. Check the schedule for times and languages offered.

Missed the tours? Take a virtual tour on your own time...

Today is the first day of classes and campus is hopping!

What's happening at the Library this week?

First of all, if you're using the north-south corridor as a pass through to another class - stop and notice that there is someone from the library at the Library BookNook just waiting to welcome you and your directional questions about the library. Stop by and say, "Hello!"

Second, if you're already in the hallway, you'll notice the library exhibit, "Collection in the Occult Sciences." The Merten J. Mandeville Collection is an endowment collection of over 16,000 volumes and journal titles. If you're interested in the afterlife, aliens and tarot cards - stop by the Education and Social Science Library and check out this unique research collection.

Third, over the summer the library opened a new entry to the Main Stacks. It's the same entrance on the second floor of the Main Library, but the turnstile is gone. Just store your belongings in the lockers provided and show your i-card at the desk and you'll be on your way to 6 million volumes and 10 decks of books. There are maps of the stacks just inside the doorway to your right. And remember, we shelve everything in Dewey!

Welcome back! We're looking forward to serving you for the 2008-2009 academic year.

P.S. Every Monday we'll be posting what's happening in the University Library. So c'mon back and check it out!

How do you organize your citations? Do you pay money for your software? (End Note) Are you using space on your hard drive? (Zotero) The University Library presents RefWorks, your own web driven personal database. Upload citations directly from the online catalog, subject databases and the Internet.

QUICK TIP: Good news! RefWorks now offers server space to upload pdf files, images, whatever, directly to your citation records. This is so convenient when you want to have a file close at hand. You can upload files up to 20 MB each. For even more server space, upload your files to your NetFiles account and put the URL into the individual record.

Haven't worked with RefWorks yet? Join us for a training workshop at the Library and we'll get you started. RefWorks can save you loads of time when you're ready to publish your bibliography, organize for your literature review or share citations with a colleague across the country. Spend less time organizing and more time researching.

PSST! What's an "InfoHack"? A time-saving, information organizing, life altering solution to improve the quality of your academic career. Join us every Wednesday.