special information for faculty

The Samuel C. Williams Library is committed to providing excellent resources and services to Stevens faculty who teach courses both on and off campus. Below you will find useful information for faculty.

library instruction
research assistance
reserve material
deposit accounts for document delivery
linking to articles in library databases
developing the library collection
citation searching
circulation services policies for faculty

library instruction

We offer both general and discipline-specific library research training sessions for students, faculty, and staff, in order to familiarize them with Library resources and give them an introduction to basic research techniques.  Training can be held in the Library training room, in your classroom, or even at a satellite location. Sessions held during your regular classtime will reach the most students and we will target sources and services for your particular needs.
We are happy to meet with faculty members to create a session tailored to the specific research needs of any course or department.  Please contact an Reference and Research Services Librarian for information or to schedule a library research session.

research assistance

We are happy to meet with students and faculty individually to discuss research resources. Please contact one of the Reference and Research Services librarians to arrange a meeting.
We can help you to identify appropriate resources for your research and familiarize you with helpful techniques and tips for searching for information on your subject, topic or field of interest.
(Please note that we are also available to visit faculty-members' offices for assistance, since most of our resources can be accessed remotely.)

reserve material

Reserve Books
Certain items that prove to be high-demand/high-usage are housed separately from the regular collection and have a shorter borrowing period to facilitate fair access. Selected titles are entered into the Reserve Collection at the request of faculty or Library Staff and are shelved behind the Circulation Desk. Reserve books can be borrowed for 2 hours and can only be used in the Library. Faculty seeking to place Library Books on reserve must complete a Reserve Book Form. The Library will then take care of either pulling books from the shelves or ordering them if necessary. Forms should be completed as thoroughly as possible. Forms and material should be sent to the attention of John Cruz, Circulation Services Manager.
Reserve Course Materials
Reserve course materials include homework assignments, examination questions & answers, old examinations, etc., that faculty have placed on Reserve in order to provide convenient access for their students. These materials, arranged by Course #, can be borrowed for 2 hours and can only be used in the Library. Faculty wanting to place course material on reserve should complete a Course Material Reserve Form and submit it along with the material being sent to the Library. Please note that it is important that all items on the form be completed as thoroughly as possible. Forms and material should be sent to the attention of John Cruz, Circulation Services Manager.
Reserve Periodicals
A small number of popular periodical titles are kept at the Circulation Desk for a current rolling 3-month period. Reserve periodicals can be borrowed for 2 hours & can only be used in the Library.

deposit accounts for document delivery

The Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery Service provides quick access to documents that are not available from the Library's online databases or onsite collection of material. It is recommended that active researchers set up a deposit account to allow for online ordering and facilitate the prompt delivery of documents. This can easily be done with a transfer of funds from a department or grant account to the Library account.

Please contact Mary Ellen Valverde to set up a deposit account or to inquire further about ILL/DDS.

linking to articles in library databases

Most library databases provide a way to use a URL or Digital Object Identifier (DOI) that allows you to reference and point to a specific document or article that is in a library database.  This is useful in situations where students need to use specific articles for a class, and is particularly useful in online course software.  The URL or DOI for a document doesn’t change, so from semester to semester the links don’t have to be updated.  Because URLs and DOIs link directly to library databases, paper or digital copies of articles do not need to be created, thus avoiding any possible copyright infringement. 

Any person wishing to access the library databases from off-campus must first create a VPN (Virtual Private Network).  Information on created a VPN can be found here: http://www.stevens.edu/library/about/connect.html.

Using a DOI - Digital Object Identifier

An example of using a DOI is shown below from the database Science Direct, from a journal called Omega.  For this article, the DOI is 10.1016/j.omega.2008.02.001.  If you look at the link provided next to the DOI that says “Cite or Link Using DOI”, it explains DOIs and gives a website to go to where you can enter the DOI:  http://dx.doi.org.   If using a DOI, a student would need to first go to the website dx.doi.org, and then enter the DOI for the article.  They would then be redirected to the article in the database.   

The SpringerLink database also uses DOIs.  In the example below, the DOI links to an individual chapter in a book.

Linking to a publication without a DOI

Not all databases give DOIs for documents.  The example below is from the database Academic Search Premier.  In the field “Link to this Publication”, a URL is given with a link to the article.  The DOI website isn’t needed for this one; you can just copy and paste the link into the course software or webpage, and the article can be obtained directly from clicking on the URL.

 

 


The example below is from the National Newspapers database, which uses a PROQUEST interface.   Here you would copy and paste the Document URL, again without using the DOI website.

 

 


The final example is from the Business Source Premier database.  In this database you would copy and paste what they call the Permalink.  Business Source Premier also uses the EBSCO interface, but as you can see it is a little bit different from Academic Search Premier database which uses the same interface.  The URL for the article is given in the field “Persistent link to this record (Permalink)”.
    

 
The DOI website http://dx.doi.org  is needed only if a DOI is given, and the link to the article will be specifically called a “doi”. 

For any help needed with the library databases or creating links to articles for classes, please contact a Reference and Research Services Librarian. 

A printable version of these instructions is available at http://www.stevens.edu/library/fileadmin/library/publications/using_persist_urls.pdf.

developing the library collection

The Library depends on faculty to build a collection of the most useful books to support the Stevens curriculum. After careful consideration, please send your requests for new titles with our Recommend Books for your Library form.  If you have any questions about recommending books, please contact Scott Smith.

citation searching

The library does not provide citation searching services. A citation search is required of professors by the Promotion and Tenure committee to demonstrate impact in one’s academic field. The number of cites an article receives can provide an indication of the importance or significance of an article.

In the past, the librarians at the S.C. Williams Library were able to assist professors prepare citation searches by using a specialized, limited-access database, but it has become cost-prohibitive to perform these searches at this time.

Professors wishing to perform citation searches can use the Scopus database to find citations of their work for papers published between 1994 and the present.  Helpful information about using the Citation Tracker feature in the Scopus database is available, and the Reference and Research Librarians are available to help researchers learn how to use the Scopus database.

At this time, it is suggested that a thorough citation search should include the use of BOTH the Scopus and Web of Science databases, as each database provides varying, and also overlapping, coverage.  Furthermore, the combination of searching both databases does not necessarily guarantee that you've obtained every citation in existence for a particular paper.

The Scopus database is available for use at Stevens.  The Web of Science database is not available for use at Stevens.  It is suggested that professors and students go to a library that provides access to the Web of Science database, which allows cited reference searching of the Science Citation Index, Social Sciences Citation Index, and the Arts & Humanities Index.  A library located very close to Stevens Institute that is open to the public and which offers access to the Web of Science database is the New York Public Library.

Information about using the Web of Science database for citation searching is available on the Thomson Reuters website.

The S.C. Williams Library provides searching of the Arts & Humanities Index through the AHSearch database available through FirstSearch.

Students wishing to perform citation searches of a particular author are encouraged to use the Scopus database.

The Reference and Research Services Librarians are available to your answer questions about citation searching.

circulation services policies for faculty

I General:

1)    This policy will apply only to faculty and non-matriculating researchers.

II Loan Periods:

1)    The loan period for general circulating books is 120 days.

2)    The loan period for new circulating books is 120 days.

3)    A book can be renewed ten times through the library online catalog (iLink) on the library web site, unless there is a recall or hold placed on the book.  For additional renewals, the book must be presented at the circulation services desk.

4)    An individual is limited to 10 borrowed items at any given time.

III Recall Policy:

1)    Anyone whose borrowing privileges are in good standing can request that a book be recalled to general circulation or to the reserve shelf.
Users can place a hold on a book when it is checked out to someone else to ensure it is returned by the due date.
A hold prevents the book from being renewed by the original borrower, and requires that it must be returned by the due date.  Once a book "on hold" has been returned to the library, the requester will be notified through email that the book is ready for pick-up.
 Users can place a recall on a book when it is checked out by someone else only if the book has been renewed at least once prior by the original borrower, to ensure that the borrower has had adequate time to use the book.  The original borrower will be notified of the recall and the new due date.

IV Fines:

1)    The fine for overdue books is $0.25 per day, beginning the first day past the due date.  The fine is withdrawn if the book is returned within 2 days of the due date.  After 28 days past due, the book is considered lost.

2)    The fine for recalled books is $1.00 per day beginning the first day past the revised due date.  At 28 days past due the book is considered lost.

2)    All fines will continue to accrue over weekends and holidays, including days the institute is closed.  

V Loss of Library Privileges:

1)    Any borrower who "loses" a book entrusted to them will have their library borrowing privileges revoked until all fines and fees are paid.

2)    "Loss of Library Privileges" includes the right to borrow and renew books and place materials on the "Reserve Shelf."

VI Notices and Replacement Charges:

1)    Faculty will receive two reminder notices that their books will be due within one week.

2)    An overdue notice is to be sent once a week for three weeks after a book is due.
 
3)    Once an item is considered lost, a final e-mail notice is sent and then a hard copy letter is mailed out stating the replacement costs.  The replacement cost for books with a publication date prior to the previous five calendar years will be $100 plus a $20 processing charge plus any overdue fines that have accrued. The library will not accept replacement copies of lost books purchased by the user responsible for the lost item.

4)    If a lost item has not been recovered or the fees have not been paid after 28 days from the final notice, the department will be charged for the lost book.

VII Questions:

1)    For questions regarding the particulars of this policy, contact the Circulation Services Manager, John Cruz, at Juan.Cruz@stevens.edu or 201-216-5334.

For further information about Circulation Services, please see the CirculationServices/Policies page.