The Paul Meek Library has had numerous changes during the summer and this semester.
Over the summer, the library incorporated a new library search engine: the EBSCO Discovery Search. This new search engine can search every book, journal, e-book, newspaper and database that the library has to offer, simultaneously, instead of having to search each individual database. Books can also now be searched by chapter instead of whole content.
The Academic Search Premiere database has been upgraded to the Academic Search Complete which provides approximately 3,200 new full-text, peer-reviewed journals that are now available in the library database.
The library has also increased its JSTOR holdings. Now, students have access to thousands of e-books from JSTOR with publication dates that are current to the past three years.  More journals and information will be available through JSTOR without the process of relearning how to use the program, unlike in the past. New journal collections such as Arts and Sciences X-XV, Business IV and Ecology & Botany II, which includes 923 journals, were recently added to the library database.
By expanding the electronic database, students from campus, including the five satellite campuses, have access to the library’s resources. Before, students at the satellite campuses only had a limited amount of research methods, as they could not use the library’s print collection.
The American Chemical Society’s Web Edition Journals database is now available over the course of the next three years.
The library plans to debut the One-Button Studio, which is a recording studio that was developed by Pennsylvania State University. It will not be available to the university until later in the semester as it is being currently installed. To use this studio, one just plugs in a flash drive and pushes a button that will automatically control the green or blue screen, lighting and the video recording. All of this data is collected onto the flash drive.
According to Library Director, John Burch, the goal of the library has always been to provide ample resources for the students. “There will be far more resources available than ever before,” Burch said. Through the numerous additions made to the library over the past few months, students can look forward to an easier research process.
More advancements are scheduled to be made this October. More information on the Paul Meek Library and its additions will be made available as the semester progresses.
(Paul Meek Library | Pacer File Photo/Sarah Knapp)
