by Mei-lan Liang You may have been noticing an enigmatic message every time you log into your e-mail account: !!** NTU Library’s New Service!!** —> type “libnew” to see what’s new about NTU library services The diction may leave something to be desired, but it is not a message to be ignored - it will direct you to FirstSearch, a powerful new online information service available on the NTU computer network from October 1, 1995 to February 28, 1996. For anybody doing research, or anybody looking for something that just can’t be found in the NTU library, First Search is the place to go With FirstSearch 3.1, you can easily and systematically access information from all over the world, even if you are computer illiterate or cyberphobic. To get started, log in to the NTU online library catalog, TULIPS, either in the library, or at home with a modem. Choose: D> Connect to another reference database, and you’re up and running.
The “actions” you can take - such as conducting a subject search of scholarly journals - are clearly listed on each screen. All you have to do is to type the name or first letter of the action. There is an online help function in case you get lost, and a guide to FirstSearch is also available in the reference division of the General Library. You may use FirstSearch to look for books, articles, dissertations, films, computer software, and other types of material on the subject you are interested in. FirstSearch provides access to eight different databases, including ArticleFirst, ContentsFirst, ERIC, FastDoc, GPO, PaperFirst, ProceedingFirst and WorldCat. Each database covers a certain category of resources; for example, WorldCat is the world’s largest computerized card catalogue, containing the merged catalogues of more than 18,000 libraries around the world; ProceedingsFirst an index of conference publications; and ContentsFirst lists the table of contents of nearly 12,500 journals. After typing, for example, the action and a subject su: Phantom of the Opera, a list of 494 records is displayed, screen by screen. This is only a search under the WorldCat card catalog. You may e-mail to yourself up to five of the citations you retrieve through your research, use the text delivery service to order the full text with a credit card, or request an interlibrary loan for a text unavailable at NTU libraries. FirstSearch won’t be around forever, so hurry up and give ‘er a whirl before it’s too late! a
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May 2024
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