If you are not currently affiliated with the University at Buffalo, you are unable to access our databases from outside the library. However, if you are a New York State resident, you can access databases freely through the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, the New York State Library’s NOVELNY, and the New York Public Library. For details, check out our Off-campus Access to Databases for NYS Residents page.

Please note that all University Libraries will be closed on Monday, May 27, 2013 in observance of Memorial Day.

Need immediate assistance? Our Instant Librarian service is open 24/7. Need something from the Libraries? With Delivery+, we’ll get it for you!

We wish each of you a safe, relaxing, and productive summer!

The Graphic Novels Collection is located in Lockwood Library’s entrance lobby. Graphic novels use the conventions of comic book art to tell an extended story, combining a series of drawn or painted pictures with dialogue and captions. Check the Catalog for specific titles, or enter a “keyword” search – graphic novels – to get a complete list of over 500 available titles.

Modern comic books are generally associated with superheroes, such as Batman or Spider-Man. Superheroes are represented abundantly in the graphic novel arena, but there are all types of non-superhero stories as well, representing every category of popular fiction (science fiction, fantasy, horror, crime, and more). Graphic novels come in varying shapes and sizes and all types of artistic and storytelling styles.  They have become an extremely popular medium for readers of all ages, as evident in the top-grossing movies based on graphic novels in recent years, including “Ghost World,” “American Splendor,” “A History of Violence,” “Road to Perdition,” and “V for Vendetta.”

Some examples of popular graphic novels in UB’s collection include: Persepolis, the true account of a girl growing up in revolutionary Iran; Kings in Disguise, a critically acclaimed story of a young boy traveling cross-country during the depths of America’s Great Depression; the sword-yielding violence of Conan: The Frost Giant’s Daughter; 30 Days of Night, a gripping tale of vampires attacking an isolated town north of the Arctic Circle; and X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills, a tragic story of prejudice set in a world of superheroes. Want to find out more about Graphic Novels? Visit the Buffalo & Erie County Libraries’ GET GRAPHIC website.

Library catalog records can be confusing. Trust me, I know. I used to create them for a living. As you work on your final papers, let me shed some light on the mysterious format of the library catalog record.

First of all, what do I mean by catalog record? I’m referring to the page that appears when you search for a book.  Essentially, it’s a description of the book you’ve selected. On this page, you’ll find the essential information like: author, publisher, date of publication and subject headings. Back in the day, all of this information used to be stored on print catalog cards.

But, are you just looking at these records or using them to your advantage? The pages can serve as tools to help you find more items on your topic.

Let’s say I’m looking for a book about the Freedom Riders in the South during the 1960s. To search, I go to the library’s homepage and select the “Catalog” tab*, so I’m searching just for books, not academic journals articles. I type in the phrase “freedom riders” and look at my results.

*You are more than welcome to search the “Everything” tab, but your search results will include results from our journals, shown on the left.

The first result seems to be a DVD, so I choose the second title, which is a book, which is what I need for class.

Let’s have a look at this page, or “record”:

The first line of text is the title of the book followed by the author’s name (we call this the “title proper” and the “statement of responsibility” in the cataloging business).

Let’s look at the other elements, or “fields” of this record:

Main author: This is how the author’s name appears in most library catalogs in the English-speaking world.  Did you know that if you clicked on “Arsenault, Raymond”, you would find all the books in our library that he’s written?

Format: This field lets us know what type of item we’re looking at. If this were an eBook, or an academic journal, or a DVD, this is where you’d be able to tell .

Language: This is pretty self-explanatory. However, if you’re looking for something specifically in another language, like a translation of a work, this area is very helpful.

Published: Let’s say that your professor wants you to find the most recent publications. This is the field that would tell you when the book was published.

Subjects: Our library, along with most other academic libraries, uses something called LCSH, or Library of Congress Subject Headings. These terms, which work like tags, are standardized phrases used by libraries all over the country.  As the name implies, subject headings let you know what the book is about. Similar to the “Main Author” field, you can click on the subject link and it will take you to other books in our catalog on that topic.

However, there are a few neat things you can do with subject headings. If you were to click on “Civil rights workers”, it would take you to a listing of all books in our catalog about civil rights workers, whether they are about women’s rights or South Africans working to end apartheid.  Clicking on the words/phrases that follow that subject heading will give you more specific results.  Clicking on “History” will get you a list of Civil rights workers in the United States, which could include abolitionists from the mid-1800s. If you clicked on “20^th century”, it would make your results even more specific, and you are more likely to hit upon results about the Freedom Riders in the South in the 1960s.

If you have any questions about searching the catalog or any other aspect of the library research process, be sure to ask a librarian. We are here to help and look forward to working with you!

UB students planning end-of-semester study sessions can take a break and relax during Stress Relief Days in the UB Libraries. We’ll have certified therapy dogs to meet and pet, coffee and snacks, games, and soothing music in two library locations:

South Campus: Health Sciences Library, Room B-15, lower level

North Campus: Lockwood Memorial Library, Basement Staff Lounge

Wednesday, May 1st             11 am – 3 pm
Thursday, May 2nd               11 am – 3 pm
Friday, May 3rd                    11 am – 3 pm

Chair massage and reflexology/reiki sessions will also be offered. Here’s the schedule:

                                   HSL                         Lockwood

Wednesday              Chair Massage                    Chair Reiki

Thursday                  Chair Reiki                       Reflexology

Friday                        Chair Reiki                     Chair Massage

Check out these photos for a glimpse of what’s in store!

A few general study space reminders:

• Cell phone conversations should be held in public corridors and stairwells.
• Please assume responsibility to safeguard your belongings from theft.

Announcing two great programs for summer 2013 . . .

Summer Opportunity:Explorations of Health & Science
Translational Research in Multidisciplinary Teams:  From Bench to Bedside
May 19-24, 2013, Greiner Hall, University at Buffalo

The Extension Learning Experience “Explorations of Health & Science” will be a unique faculty-led experience that will allow students to explore translational research in multidisciplinary teams over a six-day period at UB over the summer. Through a variety of excursions, tours, discussions and participation in the program, University at Buffalo faculty will lead students on an exploratory experience where they can learn more about the role of research and its importance when applying for programs.

You will explore health science careers within the framework of translational research and multidisciplinary teams in the area of substance abuse and addictions. The experience will help you find the appropriate major, graduate programs, and career for your passions. You will have the opportunity to learn first-hand the potential of health and science related disciplines as pathways to interesting and fulfilling careers.  Students will earn an opportunity to work directly in a small-group format with faculty in health science departments.

Why Should You Participate?

• Work closely with faculty in the health sciences fields
• Develop a clear path to educational programs that includes hands-on research training
• Gain new insights into how a career in health science research can be pursued while completing your degree at UB
• Learn about career pathways that are being developed today and will be “jobs of the future”
• Appreciate how undergraduate research experiences may strengthen your application to research-oriented undergraduate and graduate programs

Registration Cost:$590.00 (residential) & $450 (commuter | Registration Deadline: May 1, 2013

Registration deadline extended!!  You now have until May 8^th to register.

To Register and for more information:  https://www.ubevents.org/event/2013extensionlearning

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Summer Opportunity: Lawyers as Agents of Social Change, Extension Learning Experience
July 28-August 4, 2013, Chautauqua Institute

The Extension Learning Experience “Lawyers as Agents of Social Change” will be a unique faculty-led experience that will allow students to explore how different communities and belief systems influence laws and legal institutions over a six-day period at the Chautauqua Institution over the summer. Through a variety of excursions, tours, discussions and participation in the program, University at Buffalo faculty will lead students on an exploratory experience where they can learn more about the role of lawyers, jurists, and staff and their importance in local, national, and international forums.

Participants will explore the role of lawyers as counselors and agents of social change in local, national, and global contexts. Our focus will be on both the socio-historical context of the Nuremberg Trials and current legal issues. Students will observe court proceedings, dissect primary legal documents, and read context narratives to prepare them for their experiential learning modules. We will explore how different communities and belief systems influence laws and legal institutions. We will also take time to recognize the achievements and impact of Justice Jackson, a local lawyer who became a U.S. Supreme Court Justice, on the national and global scale and discuss how each person has the ability to advocate for, and participate in, social change.

Excursions Include

• The Chautauqua Institute lectures on the state of our criminal justice system — what works, what doesn’t, how effective it is, and how it compares to others around the world.
• Tour of the Robert Jackson Center: learn about Justice Jackson, an upstate New York lawyer who rose to prominence as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice and served as the Chief Counsel for the U.S. at the first Nuremberg Trial in 1945 and 1946.
• Tour of the NYS Supreme Court courthouse located in Chautauqua, New York, where participants will observe court proceedings, interact with court personnel, and discuss the roles and duties of different actors in the judicial process.

Why Should You Participate

• Opportunities to gain an understanding of the role jurists, practitioners, and support staff play in local, national, and global forums.
• Identify and describe how local, national, and international laws are influenced by different communities and belief sets.
• Develop an understanding of the role of the United States in the wider global community and the ability to critically evaluate legal issues and assess potential outcomes.

Registration Cost:$1,050 | Registration Deadline: May 1, 2013

To Register and for more information:  https://www.ubevents.org/event/2013extensionlearning

• Academic Scholarship and Plagiarism (a self-paced PowerPoint tutorial)
• Resources by Subject: Plagiarism (a guide to define and understand what is and what is not considered plagiarism)
• Plagiarism: What It Is and How to Avoid It (a Shockwave tutorial)
• Research Tips: Writing Your Paper (a guide to writing your paper and citing sources)
• University at Buffalo Academic Integrity (defines academic integrity, how to avoid violations, etc.)

If you have additional questions about plagiarism, be sure to utilize the resources available on campus.

Writing a research paper for a course can be a stressful exercise for many.  Finding the right resources to use, synthesizing it all in to a coherent structure, and assuring your argument flows and is logical.  Added to that is the often confusing convention of citing your sources.  Your sources are those books, articles, websites, and data you’ve found that assisted you in stating your case.  In college level writing those sources need to be cited correctly or you could unknowingly be committing plagiarism.

What is plagiarism? To quote from the UB Libraries’ Research Tips website, “Plagiarism is the act of using another person’s ideas or work without acknowledging the original source and giving proper credit. It is unethical and, in some cases, it is illegal. Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty, and is considered by the University at Buffalo to be a serious offense. University policies related to plagiarism are available on the University’s Academic Integrity web site.”

How do you avoid plagiarism?  Always provide proper citations for all quotations, summaries, paraphrases, or any other work or idea that is borrowed from others. The UB Libraries’ Research Tips website, listed above, has a lot of very useful information, samples, and tutorials on how to cite your sources and recognize when you  may be plagiarizing, so check it out.