UOS Libraries
UOS Libraries
 The University of Sharjah Library
was established in 1997, to support
the diverse academic programs of the
university. It endeavors to build an
outstanding collection of information
resources that meet the needs of UOS
teaching and research programs, and
the community at large.
 One of its main objectives is to
provide students with
lifelong
learning
skills
through
the
information literacy sessions.
Location
 We are located at the Medical & Health
Sciences Colleges Campus – Building M-26.
 The libraries are fully automated and directly
linked to all faculty and university offices
through the university network.
 Such links enable users to search the library
catalog, electronic databases and a range of
other online sources of information campus
wide.
Library Services
Reference Services
Circulation Services
Document Delivery /
Interlibrary Loan Service
User Education
Media Service
Internet Service
Reference Services
• Reference librarians provide
Reference Services by
assisting and guiding the
users in
• Searching the Online
Catalog,
• Using the Reference
Collection,
• Searching Online
Databases, and the
Internet to find
information on specific
topics.
Reference Services
You can request the
service either in person,
or by phone, or virtually
by filling the “Ask the
Librarian” e-form
available on the Library
Homepage.
Circulation Services
Students holding a valid ID card are
eligible to borrow, 3 books for 2 weeks,
Renewals
Borrowed materials can be renewed, if
not requested by other students.
Overdues
A fee is charged for materials not
returned on the due date stamped at the
back of the book.
Damage/Loss of Library Materials
The borrower is personally responsible
to replace or pay the cost of
lost/damaged books according to library
rules.
Document Delivery / Interlibrary Loan
Services
• In case UOS
library does not
hold one of the
requested items in
stock, they will be
ordered from other
libraries.
Internet Service
• All UOS Libraries
provide free access to the
Internet for research.
Searches can be
performed individually or
with the help of
Reference Librarian.
• Search results can be
saved, printed, or emailed to the users’
personal accounts.
User Education
Library Skills sessions are conducted
regularly by Reference Librarians, to
keep the students aware of the
available library services and
collection, and to enable them to
search, find, retrieve, evaluate and
make effective use of information
resources presented to them
Sessions are conducted for groups or
on a one-to-one basis.
Media Service
• Media service dealing with
Audio-Visual materials and
equipment, including
reserving or loading
audiotapes, videotapes,
computer files, CDs, and
others.
Library Facilities
• Computer Labs at UOS
Libraries support the
students by providing
access to the campus
network, the Internet and
to a growing number of
web-based educational
resources.
• The networked computers
are loaded with a variety of
general applications
programs and connected to
a networked printers and
scanners.
Library Facilities
• WIRELESS NETWORKING
Wireless Networking is available in
all University of Sharjah libraries
to allow library patrons use their
own laptops and access the
Internet, library catalog, and other
electronic resources
Library Facilities
• PRINTING
Lab computers are connected to a networked self-service
printers for both black & white and color copies.
• SCANNING
Scanners are connected to the networked computers for
students' use
• PHOTOCOPYING SERVICE
Self Photocopying Service through a coin operated photocopy
machine is available in all four libraries.
Library Facilities
• MEDIA SERVICES
A State-of-the-Art
Multimedia Rooms
equipped with new
educational
technology are
available for use by
students and faculty
through reservation
at the reference
desk.
• LISTENING
STATIONS
Library Resources
The Library holds a broad range of printed
information resources as well as electronic ones,
covering all disciplines and curricula in the university.
The Library Collection consists of
 Books
 Periodicals
 Non-Print Materials, such as Audiovisual Materials,
Microfilms, Microfiche, CDs, DVDs, ..etc.
 Electronic Resources, such as Online databases, EJournals, E-Books, Web Resources, ..etc.
Books
What is a Book?
The Book is a set of
written, printed, or blank
pages fastened along
one side and encased
between protective
covers
(The American Heritage® Dictionary of
the English Language: Fourth
Edition. 2000).
The word
“LIBRARY”
makes most of the people
think of
BOOKS
Books
 Books are special source of information on a
wide range of subjects. They are available in
Print as well as Electronic format.
 Information in Books is less current than in
periodicals, since Books take longer time in
publishing process, to be written, edited,
published and then acquired by the library to
appear on the shelves.
 However, Books have very Background and
important information on topics.
Sources of Information
Sources of information are
 Encyclopedias
 Ready-Reference Sources
(Almanacs, Yearbooks, Handbooks,
Directories)
 Biographical Sources
 Dictionaries
 Geographical Sources
 Government Documents
Periodicals
 A Publication issued at regular intervals
of more than one day
(The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English
Language: Fourth Edition. 2000).
 Periodicals are considered the best
sources for current and up-to-date
information.
 Newspapers, Magazines and Journals
are all Periodicals published on regular
basis.
 Frequency of publishing could be; daily,
Weekly, Bi-weekly, Monthly, BiMonthly, Quarterly, Annually
Periodicals
 There are several periodical
types, such as
Scholarly
Popular
Trade, ..etc
Periodicals are available in
Print and online either on the
Web or through Online
Databases
Non-Print Materials
Information is produced in
several formats other
than print such as,
• Audio-Visual Format
• Audio information
includes tapes, CD’s,
• Video information
includes VCR tapes,
CDs, DVDs
Non-Print Materials
• Microform Format
Information can be placed
on Microforms for
archival purposes.
Microforms are divided
into two major
categories, Microfilm
and Microfiche
Non-Print Materials
• Electronic Format
With the information
technology revolution,
electronic forms of
information became
very popular
Online Databases
 Online Database
A computerized file, with an
organized collection of information
that can be accessed electronically,
by author, title, subject, ..etc.
 Types of Databases
Library Online Catalog
Electronic Periodicals Indexes and
Abstracts
Internet Search Engines
Online Databases
Databases have several advantages.
They offer;
 Up-to-date information
 Efficient searching, you can search
multiple resources and years by one click
 Easy Access, they are available anytime
from any computer connected to the
Internet
 Various formats, abstracts, fulltext, with
some audio-visual features such as sound
and image
Online Databases, …cont.
• The main unit of the Database is the Record
• The Record provides a set of meaningful
information
• Each record represents an Item, which could
be a book, journal, journal article, book
chapter, audio or video program, …etc.
• Each item is described through the use of
specific fields in the database record.
• Fields include information such as, author
name, title, subject, keywords, publisher,
place of publication, source, year of
publication, …etc.
Database Record
Online Databases, …cont.
Online Databases usually
index articles from journals,
and sometimes it includes
links the Full-Text of the
articles.
The library usually subscribes
to databases of users' interest,
and allows the users to access,
and search, these databases via
an Internet connection.
Online Databases, …cont.
List of Subscribed Databases
Virtual Resources
• The library has
created college
specific virtual
resources through
“myuos Portal”. It
includes
Educational
resources available
through the Web.
Mobile Access
• Some Online Databases
enabled Mobile Access
to search and get full
text research, such as;
• EBSCOhost
• Dynamed
• Access Medicine
• RxDrugs
Medical Library Blog & Twitter
Organizing Information
• In order to make all information
resources available to users and easy to
find and retrieve, libraries organize them
according to International Cataloging
and Classification Systems.
• Books are organized and placed on the
library shelves according to their
Subjects
• This system makes finding books simple
and straightforward.
National Library of Medicine Classification System
 The Medical Library at UOS implements National
Library of Medicine Classification System (NLM) .
 NLM is a system uses a combination of letters and
numbers to arrange materials by subjects
 Call Number, placed on the Spine of the book, tells
us where the book is located on the shelf in the
library
 Because materials are classified by subjects, users
can find several books for the same subject, on the
same shelf
Understanding Call Numbers*
Call numbers are the unique address of every item in the Library.
Call numbers appear:
On the Spine of the Book
On the Online Catalog
* OASIS: Online Advancement of Student Information Skills, J. Paul Leonard Library, San Francisco
State University, Last updated: Jan 26, 2007
http://oasis.sfsu.edu/ [Accessed Jun 27, 2007]
Reading a Call Number*
* OASIS: Online Advancement of Student Information Skills, J. Paul Leonard Library, San Francisco
State University, Last updated: Jan 26, 2007
http://oasis.sfsu.edu/ [Accessed Jun 27, 2007]
NLM Main Subject Areas
Preclinical Sciences
QS Human Anatomy
QT Physiology
QU Biochemistry
QV Pharmacology
QW Microbiology and Immunology
QX Parasitology
QY Clinical Pathology
QZ Pathology
NLM Main Subject Areas
Medicine and Related Subjects:
W
Health Professions
WA
Public Health
WB
Practice of Medicine
WC
Communicable Diseases
WD
Disorders of Systemic,
Metabolic, or Environmental
origin, etc.
WE
Musculoskeletal System
WF
Respiratory System
WG
Cardiovascular System
WH
Hemic and Lymphatic
Systems
WI
Digestive System
WJ
Urogenital System
WK
Endocrine System
WL
Nervous System
WM Psychiatry
WN
WO
WP
WQ
WR
WS
WT
WU
WV
WW
WX
WY
WZ
19th
Radiology. Diagnostic
Imaging
Surgery
Gynecology
Obstetrics
Dermatology
Pediatrics
Geriatrics. Chronic Disease
Dentistry. Oral Surgery
Otolaryngology
Ophthalmology
Hospitals and Other Health
Facilities
Nursing
History of Medicine
Century Schedule
Develop a Search Strategy
 Decide on a Topic to Search, which is:
 meaningful to you
 Interesting and you will enjoy searching
 Manageable : If it is too broad you may be
overwhelmed by the amount of information you
find . If it is too specialized, there may not be
enough or little information available.
 Selecting a subject can be the most difficult part in
your assignment / research
Develop a Search Strategy
 Compile a list of similar words / synonyms
and appropriate related terms to each of
the keywords identified, by checking for
example, Encyclopedias, Periodicals
indexes, TOC of books on your topic,
..etc..
 The keywords stated in the questions will
be the proper keywords and the basis for
search terms.
 You can find a helpful background
information particular subject by searching
Encyclopedias, dictionaries, textbooks,
thesauri, ..etc. Bibliographies at the end of
articles leads you to other books and
articles on your topic, which might be very
helpful.
Develop a Search Strategy
Read about your topic, specialized
encyclopedias will help to identify important
concepts.
The search process starts by structuring your
inquiry into a statement, question, sentence or
hypothesis.
Identify the important keywords that describe
your topic before you start looking for
Background information.
Develop a Search Strategy
 Compile a list of similar words / synonyms and
appropriate related terms to each of the keywords
identified, by checking for example, Encyclopedias,
Periodicals indexes, TOC of books on your topic,
..etc..
 The keywords stated in the questions will be the
proper keywords and the basis for search terms.
 You can find a helpful background information
particular subject by searching Encyclopedias,
dictionaries, textbooks, thesauri, ..etc. Bibliographies
at the end of articles leads you to other books and
articles on your topic, which might be very helpful.
Boolean Searching
After you have compiled your list of
keywords to describe the important
concepts in your research, you may want
to combine them with connectors to make
a logical search statement.
These are the most common connectors:
• “And” : To narrow your search. All terms
must appear in results
• “OR” : To broaden your search. Either
term should appear in results
• “Not” : To narrow your search by
excluding specific terms.
• “Adj” : Search for terms that appear
together
Using AND, OR, NOT, and ADJ to create
logical search statements is also known as
Boolean searching , Boolean Operators.
Phrase Searching
 You can narrow your search by using a “Phrase Search”
instead of keywords.
 Put your phrase between Quotations “ “
Examples
“Educational Technology”
“Lifelong Learning”
“Physical Therapy”
Truncation
 To obtain more results and broaden your search,
Truncate the word to its root.
 Truncation means shortening a search term by
adding a symbol to the root of a word, to retrieve its
variant endings
Examples
 Search for “child*” retrieves documents for
child, children, childhood, childbirth, …etc.
 Search for "market*" retrieves: market,
markets , marketer, marketers, marketing,
..etc
 The most used Truncation Symbol is the Asterisk
(*)
Tips for Smart Searching





Always be as precise as possible when
selecting keywords that describe your topic
Check your spelling
Think of related terms
( mortality OR death OR survival analysis)
Use acronyms if available
(WHO – World Health Organization )
Consider differences between American and
British spelling
(color / colour – catalog / catalogue –
program / programme)
Tips for Smart Searching
 Using quotation marks around phrases which
tells the search engine to find all of those
words in a row, exactly as you typed them,
rather than looking for those words separately
in the document.
 Use Boolean Operators to combine search
terms which make a logical search statement.
The most common connectors are AND, OR,
NOT
 Use search limits to get more relevant articles,
such as, "publication date" and "language".
Searching for Information
• Need a Help
 Approach the Reference Desk
for assistance
 Use Ask the Librarian Form
 Call The Reference Desk in your
Library
• Need More help with research paper
 Schedule for a specialized
instruction session with the
reference librarian
The Library Homepage
• The library has established its homepage
on the net to act as a Portal of
Knowledge and Information about the
library, its holdings and services.
• It provides patrons with effective means
to access and search the online Catalog,
Online Databases, Electronic Library,
…etc.
The Library Homepage