CEAS (Engineering and Applied Science) LIBRARY FAQ

Contents

1. Information about this document
2. Elementary Questions
   • 2.1: How can I tell if an item is on RESERVE?
   • 2.2: What books are available in the CEAS Library on (ANY) topic?
   • 2.3: Do you have (ANY) magazine?
3. Intermediate Questions
   • 3.1: How can I tell if the CEAS Library has (ANY) conference?
   • 3.2: What should I do if the CEAS Library does not have the (book, magazine, conference, etc.) I want?
   • 3.3 How do I submit an Interlibrary Loan request?
   • 3.4: How do I find an article on (ANY TOPIC)?
4. Advanced Questions
   • 4.1 Where do I find information about the UC ETD for thesis and dissertations??
   • 4.2 How do I find a list of UC theses in Electrical Engineering?
   • 4.3 How can I get a copy of a thesis or dissertation that is not in OhioLINK?
   • 4.4 How can I tell if the CEAS Library has a NASA CR or a NASA TM when all I have is the CR or the TM number?
   • 4.5 Where can I find the article in the journal SCIENCE, volume 240, page 996-1022?
   • 4.6 How can I search for a book about C or C++ if I don't know the exact title

1: Information about this document [Top]

This document is intended to answer the basic questions about the CEAS Library, as well as certain more advanced questions that come up repeatedly. More information about the CEAS Library is available in other parts of the CEAS Library home page. If you have further questions  ask the CEAS Library staff or send us a question or comment.

2: Elementary Questions [Top]

2.1: How can I tell if an item is on RESERVE? [Top]

The UC Library Catalog will show a location of CEAS Reserves or CEAS Reserves Perm for books on reserve.

The library catalog also has a separate reserve module.

• Connect to Library Catalog,
• select COURSE NAME or INSTRUCTOR  depending on what information you have

Items permanently on reserve in CEAS are listed under the "instructor" CEAS.

Here you will find a list of CEAS RESERVES SOLUTION MANUALS, for example.

In addition, many items are available through the CEAS Library electronic reserves. E-Reserves is the location that hosts all the electronic reserves for courses. Electronic reserves are also maintained by the CEAS Library at the electronic reserves repository. Resources are available for the students and faculty.

2.2: What books are available in the CEAS Library on (ANY) topic? [Top]

To find books on a topic connect to Library Catalog, enter the keywords you want, for example, cad/cam systems.

You can then click on LIMIT/SORT and limit your search, for example, to those available in the CEAS Library and  published after 1990, etc.

2.3: Do you have (ANY) magazine? [Top]

Journal titles are listed in the library catalog. Connect to Library Catalog, select Journal, and enter the journal name, for example, Computers & Industrial Engineering.

The display shows two entries.

• Clicking on the first one will  indicate the latest issue that has been received in paper and how far back the library owns the title. You can View additional copies or search for a specific volume/copy.
• Clicking on the second entry will take you to information about the online version.  Notice that the holdings do not go back as far online.  You can also click on the ONLINE version of this title to retrieve the full text and image of the articles available online.  Not all titles are available online.

If the journal was not found in the library catalog, or if looking for more online options for a journal title, use the Full Text Journals resource.

3: Intermediate Questions [Top]

3.1: How can I tell if the CEAS Library has (ANY) conference? [Top]

Conference names are listed in the library catalog as AUTHORS, but the title of the particular year's conference is listed as a TITLE. This can be confusing! If you think you have a conference name try it as an AUTHOR. If that doesn't work try it as a TITLE. If it still doesn't work pick unique words from the conference name or title and DO A KEYWORD SEARCH.

3.2: What should I do if the CEAS Library does not have the (book, magazine, conference, etc.) I want? [Top]

If you do not find the book or conference you want in the library catalog, the first thing to try is OhioLINK. With your failed search still on the screen press Search OhioLINK in the menu bar at the top of the screen. This will automatically run your same search in the OhioLINK database.

If you find the book or conference you want in OhioLINK you can then have it sent to you at U.C. by selecting REQUEST THIS ITEM and filling out the form. Notice that for some recent works of nonfiction the TABLE OF CONTENTS is displayed in OhioLINK . This can help you decide if you want to request the book.

You will then need to request the article or conference paper through ILLIAD (Interlibrary Loan Service).

3.3 How do I submit an Interlibrary Loan (or request an item) request? [Top]

If the item you are looking for is a book or a thesis, and it is not available in the library catalog or OhioLINK, you will need to go to ILLIAD interlibrary loan and request it here.

3.4: How do I find an article on (ANY TOPIC)? [Top]

Ttry the CEAS Library Self-help Guide, which allows you to search by broad topic.  Or, you can consult the master list of science and engineering databases and select an individual database based on its description.

Once you have found the citations to the articles you want, you will need to locate the journals.  First look in the library catalog by journal title.  If the journal is not found in the UC Library Catalog, try Full-Text Journals to determine if we have online access to the journal. If you don't find the journal you need, online or in paper, you will need to use ILLIAD.

4: Advanced Questions [Top]

4.1 Where do I find information about the UC "ETD" for electronic theses and dissertations? [Top]

See http://www.libraries.uc.edu/research/books/etd.html

4.2 How do I find a list of UC theses in Electrical Engineering? [Top]

University of Cincinnati theses and dissertations are listed in the library catalog. To look at a list by department enter a SUBJECT search for "university of cincinnati theses" and also ...thesis (This will give you all 29,000).  If you know what you are looking for you can be more specific, for example: university of cincinnati theses electrical or ...thesis electrical.

You may also do a KeyWORD search using university cincinnati (theses or thesis) and words from the name of the department, e.g. electrical.  Then you can limit by SUBJECT and use Ph, M, or B to select PhD, Masters or Bachelors theses.  Or you can sort by date.  But you can't do both!

Finally, you can search for the print copy of masters theses by local call number C.U. 157.xx (xx=last two digits of the year) and for the print copy of PhD theses by local call number C.U. 151.xx. Note that this will not work when the library catalog record is for the electronic version only.   Once you have the list of all UC theses for a specified year, you can limit by words in the subject, using "electrical engineering" to pull up theses for that department. Beginning in 2001, many UC masters and Ph.D. theses are available online in the OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Database. Beginning with 1955, the pdfs of all UC Ph.D. dissertations are avaialble through the ProQuest UC Dissertations and Theses Database.

4.3 How can I get a copy of a thesis or dissertation that is not in OhioLINK? [Top]

When looking for theses or dissertations not available at UC, try the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) or the Worldcat database. If the thesis or dissertation you want is not in OhioLINK you will need to use Interlibrary Loan through ILLIAD. If Interlibrary Loan is unable to borrow a copy of the thesis or dissertation and it is listed in the Proquest Dissertations and Theses database, you can purchase a copy from University Microfilms (UMI) using a credit card. PDF copies cost about $30.00, microfiche about $44.00, paper copies cost about $55.00. Recent UC dissertations are FREE if requested from a UC-authenticated computer.

4.4 How can I tell if the CEAS Library has a NASA CR or a NASA TM when all I have is the CR or the TM number? [Top]

First you will need to look in the NTIS Database.  Enter the CR or TM report number, pull up the record and get the NTIS number. You can also check the NASA Technical Reports Server to determine if an electronic version of the report is available.

Microfiche for NASA reports are filed by the NTIS (N-#) number in the microfiche cabinets in the CEAS Library.  If you do not find the microfiche you need, use the CEAS Library Ask A Librarian form.

4.5 Where can I find the article in the journal SCIENCE, volume 240, page 996-1022? [Top]

• Search in the UC Library Catalog for the JOURNAL "science|" - use the pipe "|" to avoid any longer titles that begin with the word "science".
• Use the "Limit/Sort" button to LIMIT your search
  Use the "PROJECTED MEDIUM " drop-down to select media type
  Use the "OTHER MATERIAL types" drop-down to select PERIODICALS/SERIALS/"
  Use to "Submit" link to get the result
• Try the two possibilities (#2 stopped in 1986, #3 is possible so select #3)
• Scroll down to see the list by volume number
  Under the list type in 240 to search for your specific volume
• The volume you want is in the Chemistry/Biology Library!

4.6 How can I search for a book about C or C++ if I don't know the exact title? [Top]

You CAN do a keyword search on a single letter such as "C" or even "C++".  To find a book on C or C++ or Vitamin E you can also use a SUBJECT search. This means you will need to know the EXACT subject heading to use. One way to find a subject heading is to search for what might be the beginning of a title, e.g. "Vitamin E" or "C++ Programing". Pull up one of the records you get and look to see what subject headings are used, then do a subject search using the heading you found.

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Send comments to: Jim Clasper, Assistant Engineering and Applied Science Librarian

Last modified jwc 9/23/10