Lawrence V.
Johnson Library
Reference Services
The Reference Collection consists of about 3,000 volumes, including encyclopedias, atlases, dictionaries, almanacs, bibliographies, industry standards, indexes and abstracts, and handbooks. A professional librarian is available for reference assistance from opening time until one hour before closing every day the library is open. Reference assistance is not restricted to faculty, students, and staff of SPSU, but to all who use the library. Asking for assistance is strongly encouraged.
Assistance is available in person at the Reference Desk, by telephoning the Reference Office at (678) 915-7471, or by sending email to the Reference Desk (reference at spsu.edu).
Electronic Services
GIL | GALILEO | | Additional Databases | Internet Access
The library's mission includes using technologies that support instruction and enhance access to information. Among the electronic resources we offer are an online catalog, electronic databases, GALILEO, selective listings of print and electronic resources, and electronic journals.
GIL (GALILEO Interconnected Libraries)
GIL is the library's online catalog. GIL is also the online catalog of all institutions in the University System of Georgia, making it possible to search the catalogs of other University System libraries individually or all at once. GIL is accessible via the Internet at http://gil.spsu.edu. The GIL Universal Catalog is a combined database of all the catalogs of libraries of the University System. It allows a you to execute a single search against the holdings of many libraries and eliminates the need to search the catalog of each library individually. Linking to the GIL Universal Catalog is available after an unsuccessful or unsatisfactory search in the SPSU catalog, or it may be accessed directly at http://giluc.usg.edu. The GIL Universal Catalog is instrumental in GIL Express.
GALILEO
GALILEO Databases | Internet Access to GALILEO
GALILEO is an initiative undertaken by the University System to improve access to information in Georgia's colleges and universities. The GALILEO project includes:
- converting all the card catalogs of University System libraries to electronic format and creating a common catalog resource;
- providing electronic full-text of more than 1,500 academic journals;
- supporting statewide borrowing among University System libraries and facilitating the sharing of research materials by means of fax and courier services;
- providing electronic assess to state government publications and census data;
- providing access to electronic periodical indexing and abstracting databases.
GALILEO Databases
GALILEO offers more than 200 databases which index and abstract articles from popular magazines, scholarly and technical journals, and newspapers. More may be added. In some databases, the text of the journal articles is linked to the article citations and may be viewed online, printed, saved to disc, or emailed. A few databases include digitized images of the journal pages. Citations in some databases are linked to a database of periodical holdings in Georgia libraries, indicating which libraries have these journals.
Some GALILEO databases cover reference works, such as the Encyclopedia Britannica or Oxford English Dictionary, biographical dictionaries, and phone books, while others deliver data from census reports.
Internet Access to GALILEO
Faculty, students and staff with personal accounts with commercial Internet Service Providers, such as AOL or EarthLink, may access almost all GALILEO services, including most of the periodical indexes and full-text databases, via the Internet. To reach the GALILEO home page, open URL http://www.galileo.usg.edu using the appropriate command in your Web browser. To access the GALILEO databases via a commercial Internet Service Provider, a password is required. Passwords expire at the end of each semester and are obtained through GIL, the library catalog. Access GIL at http://gil.spsu.edu, click "Get GALILEO Password," and login with your library barcode or student number and last name. Not all GALILEO databases are available from off-campus.
Additional Databases
Although GALILEO provides access to most of the databases we require, the library augments GALILEO with a few subscriptions to more specialized databases. These include databases covering engineering, architecture, construction, and computer science. Most online databases are available from any computer on campus, but are not available off-campus. These additional databases are listed in the GALILEO subject menus and on the Johnson Library databases page: http://www.spsu.edu/library/Departments/Reference/databases.html.
Internet Access
In addition to a dozen public workstations, Internet access is available for those who bring their own laptop computers. Several of the study rooms on the second floor are wired with connections to the campus network, and wireless access to the campus network is available throughout the library. In order to access the campus network and the Internet from laptop computers,
- You must have an account on the campus network;
- You must bring your own ethernet cable to connect to the ports in the wired study rooms;
- For wireless access, you must have your laptop set up to access the campus network in the IT Workshop (H-242).
The library has two laptop computers which may be charged out for three hours use in the library at the Circulation Desk.
Interlibrary Use Cards
Johnson Library is a member of the Atlanta Regional Consortium for Higher Education (ARCHE), an association of public and private four-year colleges and universities in the Atlanta-Athens area. SPSU faculty and students may visit other member libraries and borrow books directly from them by obtaining an Interlibrary Use Card from the Reference Desk. Cards are issued to students and temporary and part-time faculty on a semester basis; cards for full-time faculty are good from July 1 to June 30 each year. Members of ARCHE include Emory University, Clark Atlanta University, Oglethorpe University, and Agnes Scott College. (For-profit colleges, such as DeVry University, American InterContinental University, and Life University, are excluded.)
In order to obtain an Interlibrary Use Card, students must be in good standing, meaning that there are no blocks on their records. You must obtain an Interlibrary Use Card prior to visiting the other library.
Johnson Library also maintains reciprocal borrowing arrangements with the libraries at Chattahoochee Tech and North Metro Technical College. Faculty and students need only present their SPSU ID card to charge out materials from these two libraries.
Interlibrary Loan
Interlibrary Loan provides access to books and photocopies of articles obtained from other libraries. In some cases, requested materials may be available within a few days, while others may require a few weeks to obtain. In some cases, there may be a fee charged for borrowing books or obtaining photocopies. A full description of Interlibrary Loan services, along with forms for requesting materials, is found at http://www.spsu.edu/library/Departments/ILL/ILLPolicies.htm.
The Reference Department schedules and conducts library instruction classes for classes or groups on request. A professional librarian works with each class or group to teach research strategies, the use of electronic resources, and the evaluation of information. Sessions may be geared to a specific research project or interest. Most classes are taught in conjunction with a course offered at SPSU, but other groups with a need to use the library are encouraged to ask for instruction.
- If term papers or research projects are assigned in lower-level classes, an hour of instruction with a librarian can introduce students to the fundamentals of research.
- Instructional handouts used in freshmen classes are available in PDF format:
- In upper-level and graduate classes, a librarian can show students more advanced research strategies or tailor a presentation for a specific research question.
- Librarians can help devise effective research assignments for research methods courses.
- Reference librarians have already prepared a number of guides to the resources available in the library, in electronic databases, or on the Internet. Ask if there is one covering your field or ask to have one prepared for you. Most are available on the Web at http://www.spsu.edu/library/bibs/.
To schedule a class session, please contact the Reference Office at (678) 915-7471, email the Reference Desk (reference), or the Head of Reference (svincen1). Please schedule your classes at least one week in advance.
(Email addresses are in the "spsu.edu" domain.)
Steven Vincent, Head of Reference/Interlibrary Loan
(678) 915-7466
August 10, 2005
Lawrence V. Johnson Library
Southern Polytechnic State University
Southern Polytechnic State University, 1100 S. Marietta Parkway, Marietta, GA 30060-2896
