Maybe you're waiting to see the Thor movie until after finals are over. Maybe you've seen it and you're dying to get more back story on the mythical God of Thunder. Maybe you've been staring at journal articles all morning and just need a break. Maybe you just love comics loaded with exclamation points! Whatever the reason, Special Collections has just the thing for you. As part of our fantastic Comic Books Collection, we have more than 200 back issues of the original Thor comic books dating from 1965 through 1990! The first issue in our collection, number 119, even includes a battle against one of Thor's movie foes, The Destroyer!

But Thor isn't limited to his own book. You might also know him as part of The Avengers, along with Captain America, The Hulk and Iron Man! Don't worry; we've got you covered there as well, with more than a hundred issues from the 60's, 70's and 80's. Catch up on the Avengers back story now, before their movie comes out next year! And before you ask, yes, we've got classic 60's and 70's issues of Captain America, the Incredible Hulk and Iron Man as well!

Special Collections will be open from 1 until 4 pm Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday all the way through Finals Week, and until 8pm on Thursdays. During the summer, we'll be open by appointment only. To find our superhero lair, enter the Library Gallery and walk straight back- you'll see our doors on the right. No secret decoder ring required!

To browse all of the comics available at Special Collections, enter comic books in the Collection field in the following search; or put in more specific search terms to find the exact comic you're looking for: http://umbc.pastperfect-online.com/37467cgi/mweb.exe?request=advform .

by Steve Ammidown, Special Collections Student Assistant

Through May 15, 2011, UMBC has trial access to Films on Demand.

Films On Demand is a web-based digital video delivery platform that allows you to view streaming videos from Films Media Group anytime, anywhere, 24/7! Thousands of videos are available for in-class use and remote viewing from the library, in the dorm, or at home.

Access information is available at: http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/databases/trials/fod.php

Please let us know what you think. Leave a comment or send your comments to Eric Jeitner at ejeitner@umbc.edu.

Beginning Wednesday, April 13, 2011, catalog account access for Special Borrowers (including alumni card holders, high school card holders, and Friends of the AOK Library & Gallery) will be restored with some minor changes. After clicking on the "My Library Account" link you will be taken to a page to select your campus. Scroll to the bottom of the list to select "Other" - DO NOT select UMBC.

You will then be asked to log in as before with your 14-digit barcode number and last name.

Note that this procedure will not work for current UMBC students, faculty, and staff.

Please contact the Circulation Department at 410-455-2354, e-mail circlib@lists.umbc.edu or the Reference Desk at 410-455-2346, e-mail ref@lists.umbc.edu if you have any problems with this new system.

Forget your pen? Need index cards or post-it notes? Want to save your work to a CD or DVD? Does your calculator need a new battery?

Don't worry - now you can use your campus card to purchase these items and more without leaving the Library!

Our new supplies vending machine, located in the Print & Copy room on the first floor of the library, includes:

* CD-Rs & DVD-Rs
* pens & pencils
* index cards
* post-it notes
* pencil sharpeners
* staples
* calculators
* batteries
* first aid supplies
* and much more!!

What: Google Search Tips Workshop
When: 12:00 – 12:30pm, Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Where: LIB 259

In this interactive workshop, you will learn how to use a variety of search tools available in Google that allow for more effective and efficient searching, including advanced search, filters features, command search and more. In addition, you will learn how to connect Google Scholar to UMBC library resources.

if you have any questions about this workshop, please contact Shu Qian at qian@umbc.edu.

Celebrate National Library Week with free database trials from Gale. Trials run through April 24, 2011.

* Gale NewsVault — More than 10 million digitized pages
* Global Issues in Context — Today’s world issues from a global perspective
* Slavery and Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archive — The largest, most ambitious collection devoted to slavery studies
* GREENR — An interdisciplinary approach to environmental studies
* Powerspeak Languages — The ultimate language learning resource
* Science in Context — How scientific disciplines relate to real-world issues

Please let us know what you think. Leave a comment or send your comments to Drew Alfgren at alfgren@umbc.edu.

Beginning Tuesday, April 5, UMBC is instituting single sign-on for Library resources. This means that once you have logged into myUMBC you will be able to access your catalog account, Research Port, and our other electronic resources without an additional log in. All Library resources will be accessed using your myUMBC username and password instead of your 14-digit Library ID.

• Will this change the way I renew books or check my catalog account?

  You will still renew books through your catalog account, but the log in process will be different. After clicking on the "My Library Account" link you will still be asked to select your campus. After selecting UMBC, you will be taken to a standard UMBC log-in screen where you will log in with your myUMBC username and password. This last step will be bypassed if you are already logged into myUMBC and you will be taken directly to your catalog account.

  Special borrowers and alumni card holders are currently unable to access their library accounts. We are working on this problem and hope to have it resolved soon. In the meanwhile, please contact the Circulation Desk at 410-455-2354 or e-mail circlib@lists.umbc.edu if you need to check due dates or renew items.

• Will this change the way I access Library resources (article databases, e-journals, etc.) from off-campus?

  There will be no change if you use the UMBC VPN for off-campus access.

  If you access Library resources directly from the Library's website, or if you use Research Port for off-campus access, the log in process will be different. As noted above you will still need to select UMBC as your campus, but from there you will be taken to a standard UMBC log-in screen where you will log in with your myUMBC username and password. If you are already logged into myUMBC you will be taken directly to your selected resource once you select UMBC as your campus.

  Some patrons have reported receiving a message stating that their account has expired when trying to access Research Port through single sign-on. If you receive this error message please send the following information to Janet Hack:

  • Your name
  • Your campus ID
  • Your Library ID (from your myUMBC Profile)
  • The 14-digit number above the barcode on your UMBC ID card
  • Please indicate if you have ever used a different 14-digit number to access Research Port

  If you are not able to access Research Port through single sign-on, please try using the UMBC VPN for access. See our page at http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/services/remoteaccess.php for more information on using the VPN.

• Will this change the way I use Interlibrary Loan (ILLiad)

  ILLiad is not part of the switch to single sign-on. You will still need to use your self-selected ILLiad username and password for all ILL requests.

Thank you for your assistance as we work our way through the unanticipated problems encountered during the switch to single sign-on. We hope that this change will ultimately make it easier to access Library resources. Please send any comments or concerns to Janet Hack, or contact the Reference Desk at 410-455-2346

UMBC now has trial access to the database Filmmakers Library Online. The trial runs through May 30, 2011.

Filmakers Library Online provides award-winning documentaries with relevance across the curriculum—race and gender studies, human rights, globalization and global studies, multiculturalism, international relations, criminal justice, the environment, bioethics, health, political science and current events, psychology, arts, literature, and more. It presents points of view and historical and current experiences from diverse cultures and traditions world-wide.

For off-campus access, please login via VPN first (http://vpn.umbc.edu). Then follow the link under "News & Events" on the library homepage. For more info on remote access, see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/services/remoteaccess.php

Please let us know what you think. Leave a comment or send your comments to Eric Jeitner at ejeitner@umbc.edu.

UMBC has trial access to the following EBSCO databases through April 30, 2011:

Political Science Complete
Political Science Complete™ (PSC) contains full text for more than 520 journals, and indexing and abstracts for over 2,900 titles, (including top-ranked scholarly journals), many of which are unique to the product. PSC has a worldwide focus, reflecting the globalization of contemporary political discourse.

The database also features over 340 full-text reference books and monographs, and over 36,000 full-text conference papers, including those of the International Political Science Association. PSC includes a subject-specific thesaurus with over 17,500 terms (7,366 preferred and 10,175 non-preferred terms), to provide subject searching guidance to researchers.

Public Affairs Index
Public Affairs Index is a bibliographic database covering all aspects of national and global contemporary public policy issues ranging from public health, the environment, housing, human and civil rights, to international commerce and conflict.

This database draws from a diverse array of scholarly journals, conference papers, trade publications and government documents to provide up-to-date information on a broad range of topics of concern to the world today.

Social Work Abstracts
Social Work Abstracts offers extensive coverage of more than 900 social work and human services journals dating back to 1965. Produced by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), the database provides indexing and abstracts dealing with all aspects of the social work field, including theory and practice, areas of service and social issues and problems. Researchers seeking scholarly and professional perspectives on subjects such as therapy, education, human services, addictions, child and family welfare, mental health, civil and legal rights, and more will find Social Work Abstracts to be an indispensable resource.

For off-campus access, please login via VPN first (http://vpn.umbc.edu). Then follow the link under "News & Events" on the library homepage. For more info on remote access, see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/services/remoteaccess.php

Please let us know what you think. Leave a comment or send your comments to Drew Alfgren at alfgren@umbc.edu.

Based on requests and expressed interest in new or alternate products, the MDL has arranged trial access to the following databases. For off-campus access, please login via VPN first (http://vpn.umbc.edu). Then follow the link under "News & Events" on the library homepage. For more info on remote access, see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/services/remoteaccess.php

URLs and log-in information, where needed, are as follows:

NEW 2/24 - Encyclopedia Britannica Image Quest
Log-in Information

EBSCO
Academic Search Complete
Business Source Complete
Communication & Mass Media Complete
Criminal Justice Abstracts
Log-in Information

Additional EBSCO Trials - no log in required
Art & Architecture Complete
Film & Television Literature Index, with Full Text

ProQuest (no login necessary)
History Online and History Study Center - ends 3/20/11
ProQuest Central - ends 3/20/11
ProQuest Newsstand - ends 3/31/11

Oxford Bibliographies Online
www.oxfordbibliographiesonline.com
Log-in Information

Oxford Journals
Log-in Information

Bio One 2 (Active for subscribers to BioOne 1, no login necessary)
http://www.bioone.org/search

Past Masters
good thru 2/25
Log-in Information

SAGE good thru 2/28
Criminology and Nursing/Health Science
Log-in Information

H.W. Wilson (no login needed)
WilsonWeb Readers’ Guide Retrospective good thru 2/28

Gale (no login needed)
GREENR - Global Reference on the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources
http://www.galetrials.com/default.aspx?TrialID=8463;ContactID=27220
(if the above link doesn't work, please copy and paste into your browser)

Theatre in Video
Log-in Information

American Geophysical Union
Current Journals, Journal Archive, Industry News
Log-in Information

Please let us know what you think.