Introduction

Welcome to “Healey Library Hacks: Unlocking Hidden Treasures – Research Guides Edition “! If you’ve ever wondered whether or not Healey Library offers curated subject-matter content and wondered where those are stored, you’ve come to the right place. Healey Library offers what are known as “Research Guides”, created by the Reference, Outreach, and Instruction (ROI) librarians. They are a collection of recommended resources and information designed to assist students, faculty, and staff in navigating and conducting research on specific subjects or topics. These guides can also be created and tailored to specific courses based on faculty requests.  The research guides can also be searched by types: Course Guide, General Purpose, Subject Guide, and Help Guide. In this blog post, we’ll look at some sample research guides recommended by our library staff, using the potential needs of School for the Environment as examples.

Research Guides

Environmental Sciences  

The Environmental Sciences LibGuide is a comprehensive overview of articles, books, databases, and other resources available through Healey Library and open access related to Environmental Sciences. 

Sustainability 

The Sustainability LibGuide is a collection of sustainability-related faculty publications, campus and community resources, and national/international resources. 

Raw Data   

The Raw Data LibGuide is a curated list of recommended databases that provide raw data sets, organized into user-friendly sections based on data type for easy browsing. 

Open Access  

The Open Access LibGuide is a valuable resource for students, faculty, and staff, providing free and unrestricted access to a wide range of scholarly materials. 

Language Table and Library Glossary 

Located in the “Guide to Credo Information Literacy Models” LibGuide on the left-hand side under “Library Vocabulary”:

The Language Table includes a multilingual glossary of research terms in seven different languages. 

The Library Glossary offers a comprehensive collection of research terms and definitions to aid researchers in understanding key concepts and terminology essential for their studies. 

Summary

Introduction

Welcome to “Healey Library Hacks: Unlocking Hidden Treasures – Databases Edition “! If you’ve been curious about what databases Healey Library offers students, faculty and staff, you’ve come to the right place. In this blog post, we’ll highlight 9 out of the 351 library databases recommended by our library staff for research foci that align with School for the Environment. These resources are designed to enhance your teaching, studies, and research endeavors. While we’ll be using examples of how these databases could benefit those in the School for the Environment, these databases are multidisciplinary tools that can be used to fit the research needs of any college or major. 

Databases

ProQuest is a comprehensive research database that provides access to thousands of full-text scholarly journals as well as newspapers, magazines, dissertations, and more.

ScholarWorks 

ScholarWorks offers access to a wide range of scholarly works produced by the university’s faculty, researchers, and students.  

Kanopy serves as a streaming video provider. It offers a wide selection of documentaries and popular films. 

PolicyMap provides access to a wide range of demographic, economic, and social data, which can be easily visualized and analyzed using tools provided by the platform itself. 

Social Explorer has a user-friendly interface, extensive data visualization, and comprehensive data sets based on the U.S Census.

Brill Climate Change and Law Collection 

The Climate Change and Law Collection database concentrates solely on legal aspects and policies related to climate change, providing specific and detailed information in this area. 

Summary

Healey Library offers a multitude of databases that can greatly benefit students, faculty and staff. Here’s a brief overview of the databases covered: 

• ProQuest is user-friendly and frequently recommended by Healey librarians to freshmen and sophomores who are beginning their research process.  It includes thousands of full-text scholarly journals, newspapers, magazines, dissertations, and more.
  
  
• Science Direct provides credible, up-to-date research on a broad range of disciplines. For example, this database can be helpful for researchers interested in ecology or animal populations and looking to find the most up-to-date research.  
  
  
• JSTOR focuses on providing access to current and older journal articles and e-books across various disciplines. This database, for example, can be beneficial for students researching long-term ecological trends.  
  
  
• ScholarWorks provides free and open access to academic papers, theses, dissertations, and other scholarly publications published by faculty and students all across campus. This resource can be especially helpful for grad students as a reference for their own dissertations or thesis as it organizes its contents by colleges, departments, etc. 
  
  
• Browzine allows students and faculty to easily browse, read, and organize journals by subject. For example, making it simple to find top-tier environmental science publications for those interested in environmental sciences. 
  
  
• Kanopy is recommended as an additional tool for faculty and students looking for video content. For example, Kanopy has a wide collection of environmentally oriented films such as the Green Planet collection, that faculty in the School for the Environment will find interesting. 
  
  
• PolicyMap provides access to a wide range of demographic, economic, and social data. For example, this database can be useful for those in Geographical Information System (ENVSCI 281) or Statistics for the Environment (ENVSCI 261) courses. 
  
  
• Social Explorer serves as an alternative to the U.S. Census database that makes it easier for students to navigate and understand statistical information. 
  
  
• Brill Climate Change and Law Collection provides detailed, relevant information on legal aspects and policies related to climate change.

By exploring these resources recommended by our library staff, you can enhance your teaching, deepen your studies, and advance your research. We hope this guide has provided valuable insights and inspired you to make the most of the resources available to you at Healey Library. Happy exploring! 

Introduction

Welcome to “Healey Library Hacks: Unlocking Hidden Treasures – Archival Collections Edition!” If you’ve been wondering about what the Archives in the Healey Library has to offer students, faculty and staff, you’ve come to the right place. In this blog post, we’ll look at a sample of some of the archival collections recommended by our library staff, using the potential needs of the School for the Environment as examples.  

Archival Collections

Open Archives News

The Open Archives News site is an excellent resource for staying up to date on the latest materials and activities from the Archives.  

Thompson Island Collection  

This collection contains historical documents, maps, and records that provide insights into the environmental changes and ecosystem dynamics of Thompson Island over time.  

Boston Harbor Islands Collections

This Archives has a number of collections focused on the different islands around Boston Harbor.

Mass. Memories Road Show  

The Mass. Memories Road Show is a statewide, event-based participatory archiving program that collects and digitizes photographs and documents highlighting Massachusetts history. All digitized content can be found on the Digitized Collections page. 

Boston Harbor Cleanup Case: Judge Mazzone’s Papers  

This physical collection contains comprehensive documentation of legal cases and environmental disputes that took place during the Boston Harbor Clean Up.  

Boston Urban Gardeners Records   

This collection provides a rich repository of historical documents, photographs, and records documenting Boston’s urban gardening movement.  

Roadmap for Participatory Archiving (RoPA) 

Created by the Archives, this resource guides libraries and organizations through the process of creating and executing participatory archiving events.  

Summary 

The Archives in the Healey Library offers a comprehensive collection of archival material for students, faculty, and staff across various content areas. This blog highlighted a sample of archival materials focused on School for the Environment: 

• The Finding Aids and Digital Collections are valuable for environmental sciences students looking to access a wealth of historical and contemporary data, research reports, and multimedia resources. These collections support students’ understanding of environmental issues, local and global ecological changes, and historical environmental data, enhancing their research and academic projects. 

• Students can set up appointments with archivists to find collections relevant to their research by visiting the Archives website or by emailing library.archives@umb.edu. 

• The Open Archives News site is an excellent resource for staying up to date on the latest materials available in the Archives.

• The Thompson Island Collection supports researchers by offering primary source materials that may help with studying long-term ecosystem dynamics, human impacts, and conservation efforts specific to Thompson Island. Some of the items in the collections can be found online, optimizing student accessibility. 

• The Boston Harbor Islands Collections offer historical documents, maps, and records that provide insights into environmental changes on the islands over time. Students can focus on a particular island that is the most relevant to their research.   

• Many of the materials in the Mass. Memories Road Show collection contain environmental themes. Students can search the digitized collections, using keywords related to environmental sciences to find materials relevant to their research. 

• Judge Mazzone’s chambers papers contains comprehensive documentation of the legal and environmental cases that resulted in the Boston Harbor Clean Up. These papers provide firsthand insights into legal proceedings, environmental policies, and regulatory frameworks, offering students a deep understanding of historical and contemporary environmental issues. 

• The Boston Urban Gardeners collection offers insights into sustainable urban agriculture practices, community engagement in environmental stewardship, and the evolution of green spaces within urban landscapes.  

• The Roadmap for Participatory Archiving (or RoPA) is a valuable resource to faculty members looking for alternative ways of engaging communities for field research. This can be especially beneficial for sciences focused on community dynamics and allowing for communities to tell their own stories.

 By exploring these archival treasures recommended by our library staff, you can enhance your teaching, deepen your studies, and advance your research. We hope this guide has provided valuable insights and inspired you to make the most of the resources available at Healey Library. Happy exploring! 

Welcome to “Healey Library Hacks: Unlocking Hidden Treasures”! If you’ve been curious about what Healey Library offers students, faculty, and staff, you’ve come to the right place. In this blog post, we’ll discuss three notable resources, the Info for Faculty Page, Google Scholar, and the Lean Library browser extension which are designed to enrich your teaching, studies, and research journeys.

Notable Resources

Info For Faculty Page

Found on the library website, the Info for Faculty Page is useful for those looking to maximize their use of library resources. While intended for faculty, please note that some of the resources are open to everyone.

By selecting UMass Boston as your institution under “Library Links” in the Google Scholar Settings, you can get access to library-subscribed content for free.

For more help, visit our Ask a Librarian page.

Lean Library

Healey Library offers a wealth of tools, applications, and curated content that can greatly benefit UMass Boston students, faculty and staff:

• The Info for Faculty page serves as a helpful resources guide for new faculty navigating library resources while also assisting current faculty in maximizing their use of library resources.
  
  
• Google Scholar provides access to a wide range of scholarly material. By selecting UMass Boston as your institution under “Library Links” in Settings, you can get full access to library-subscribed content for free when you search on Google Scholar.

• The Lean Library browser extension provides instant access to library-subscribed research articles, journals, and books, facilitating efficient and up-to-date research for students and faculty without having to go onto the library website.

By exploring these free resources recommended by our library staff, you can enhance your teaching, deepen your studies, and advance your research. We hope this guide has provided valuable insights and inspired you to make the most of the resources available at Healey Library. Happy exploring!