Volume 14, Number 1 Fall 2001

       When we wrote our last column we of course had little idea of the immediate relevance and importance of materials on terrorism. To recapitulate: we reported on the new arrangement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to send us on a continuing basis its publications to support our curricular concentration in emergency management, and we mentioned the gift of the archives of counter-terrorist consultant, Graham Knowles. The horrendous events of September 11 and after have illustrated once again how critical such information is to understand criminal and terrorist activity of all kinds.

       The arrangement with FEMA and our acquisition of the primary sources on counter-terrorism were, sorrowfully, timely. But the Sealy librarians are ever in the vanguard of the acquisition and management of information. Our job is to anticipate information needs, not just react to them. Shortly after the World Trade Center disaster we made a quick survey of our book holdings on terrorism and we found almost one thousand titles. We are still compiling lists of books, articles, reports, and other publications, both in print and electronic format which will help us understand and fight against the horrors thrust upon us.

       We can feel pleased only in the fact that we began this collecting in the field some time ago. Once again this collecting effort is a prime indicator of the depth and breadth of John Jay's collections in all facets of the criminal justice field. Yet again, it underlines the fact that we must never let our collecting activities lapse for even one day. We never know when a lacuna will prove crucial to an understanding of a phenomenon. And we must continue to collect vigorously and exhaustively in our mission areas. We must not allow budgetary problems to make us short-sighted in our collecting efforts. We rightfully boast of having the finest collection in the field and being the only library in the CUNY system that collects comprehensively in a research field. The distinction is well worth emphasizing in the coming days as we cope with a new world order.
 

       Gale Literature Resource Center is a great new addition to CUNY's collection of online databases. The foundation of GLRC is built on the Dictionary of Literary Biography, Contemporary Authors, and Contemporary Literary Criticism, yielding a database that covers over 120,000 authors. With the inclusion of the MLA Bibliography, there is something for everyone interested in literary research.

       An easy author search of the entire database yields results that include full text biographies, full text articles from over 130 journals, selections of literary criticism, bibliographies, links to reviewed websites, and the MLA citations. Other search options are keyword, title, advanced search and an "authors by type" feature that lets you look for authors by gender, nationality, ethnicity, etc.

       In addition, there are portraits, a timeline and "Authors on the Highway," a calendar of author appearances. Gale continues to expand and update this product, so its value should only increase with time. It is available on the Library's computers from our homepage, under electronic resources. There is no remote access.
 

       The CUNY Library system has purchased Ebsco Host Academic Search Premier to be the principal online periodical index, to replace the InfoTrac Index. With full-text articles from nearly 3,200 scholarly journals, the new database is the world's largest scholarly, multi-discipline, full-text database designed for academic institutions. Academic Search Premier offers information from many sources found in no other database. In addition, other databases like PsycInfo and SocioFile can now be searched via the Ebsco Host interface so users can link to full-text articles when using them. Ebsco Host is one of the many full-text databases that can be accessed from home.
 

     Obtaining articles from psychology and sociology journals has just become a little easier. Thanks to radical changes in the software interfaces to our two most important psychological and sociological indexes, PsycInfo (formerly Psyclit) and Sociological Abstracts (formerly SocioFile), we are now able to provide links from citations directly to the full text of many articles.

     For example, one can search PsycInfo using the truncated keywords serial murder* or serial killer*. Among the first few citations found are links to the full text of articles published in Homicide studies, Journal of interpersonal violence, the Journal of counseling and development and the British Medical journal. Searches on different topics retrieve full text articles from American behavioral scientist, the Journal of social psychology, Canadian review of sociology and anthropology and the Journal of marriage and the family, among others

     A search of Sociological Abstracts retrieved the full text of articles from International journal of the sociology of law, Punishment and society, Crime law and social change, Journal of Black studies and International journal of cultural studies.

     Our new interface to PsycInfo comes from the Ebsco company. It permits reasonably seamless connections between the citations supplied by the index publishers and the full text of articles stored either in the EbscoHost full-text database, or at the publisher's web site, or at the Ebsco Online Electronic Journals site. We have a variety of arrangements for accessing the electronic text of journals; we may subscribe directly to a particular journal, or CUNY may pay for the subscription, or the journal may be contained in one of the full-text databases that we, or CUNY, licenses. With Ebsco, we have gathered together all of these subscriptions, allowing access to all through one interface. Each of the citations in PsycInfo have a "Check linked full-text resources" feature. This can be used this to identify which citations are available in full-text, and to automatically search the CUNY+ catalog for the others.

     The Cambridge Scientific Abstracts company (CSA) has designed our interface to Sociological Abstracts. The CSA interface permits links from the index to the full text of those journals that the library subscribes to, where the publisher allows print subscribers to access the electronic format. Our subscription to the print format of some journals includes access to the electronic format stored at the publisher's web site. Having searched the Sociological Abstracts database, one can use the "Locate document" feature to identify which citations have links to the full text.

     Not all citations link to the article's full text. Both PsycInfo and Sociological Abstracts are very large indexes, covering hundreds of journals and other publications. At present, only a small proportion of the citations retrieved with each search links to the full text of the article. But this small proportion of these large databases adds up to quite a large number of easily retrieved scholarly materials.

     Using Ebsco and CSA software to link from indexes to the full text of available materials will, we hope, make literature searches a little easier for everyone. We certainly welcome this new convenience; we think you'll like it, too.
 

       The Lloyd Sealy Library has been offering remote access to our licensed electronic resources since Spring, 2000. Almost all of our electronic full-text collections (LEXIS-NEXIS, EbscoHost, etc.) and indexes (Psychological Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, MLA Bibliography, etc.) can be accessed over the World Wide Web even when users are not on campus. The fastest access is via the Library's Home Use page at http://www.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/homeuse.cfm or select Home Use from the Library's home page. The most frequently used resources are also available through "Shortcuts" on the home page.

       In order to use these resources, faculty, students, and staff must have a John Jay e-mail account. When you select a resource from the Home Use page you will be asked for your John Jay e-mail username and password. Once you have provided these, you will be passed through the Library's proxy server and will appear to the outside information providers as if you are using a computer on campus. (Note: our contracts with the information providers entitles us to provide access to remote users in this manner). If you are having problems with your e-mail account, contact the Department of Information Technology at x8200.

       Also note that if you are searching CUNY+ from home, it is usually a good idea to connect using the link that says "via the John Jay Library Proxy Server" on the CUNY+ page. If you log in to the Library proxy server before you search the web catalog, then you are automatically "proxied" and can connect to any licensed electronic resource (full text journal, etc.) you may come across there.
 

       The library is proud to announce the arrival of a new collection of netLibrary books – electronic versions of books produced by leading publishing houses. This was made possible thanks to funds provided by Vice President Rob Pignatello. The collection now includes about 3600 titles, including textbooks, scholarly and scientific publications, fiction, etc.

       NetLibrary can be accessed from the library's home page while on campus or from home. The collection can be searched by author, title, ISBN, publisher or just browsed by keyword. The keyword search even allows retrieving text by a quotation and looking up a page it appears on. Titles of eBooks can also be searched in the library's online catalog.

       The electronic books in netLibrary are exact replicas of their printed counterparts. The reader can see the cover page of the book, complete publishing information, and table of contents -- in other words, everything a printed copy would have.

       But electronic copies have a variety of attractive features: a built-in dictionary to check the meaning, pronunciation, and sometimes the image of a word; easy navigation within the book using a special tool box; copying and printing parts of the text; putting a book aside on a virtual shelf with other favorites, etc.

       The actual reading can be performed in two ways: browsing (the content can be read for about 20 minutes) and checking out (the book can be checked out to a reader's account for a longer use from 4 to 24 hours either on-line or off-line). NetLibrary takes precautions to protect copyright laws - a copyright warning appears on the screen if the user is suspected of excessive copying or printing, and the activity is terminated by the system.

       The library urges you to take advantage of this valuable collection of eBooks for your own research needs and for use in the classroom. Should you have any questions, please contact a reference librarian.
 

       .... wherein members of the faculty share their favorite books with us all.

       Margaret Wallace: Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte (1st ed. 1847)

       "This is my all-time favorite non-professional reading. It's so multi-faceted. I read it once a year, and every time I see new things in it. Once I thought it was about love; now I think it's about obsession."

       Susan Will: Last Man Standing: The Tragedy and Triumph of Geronimo Pratt, by Jack Olsen (2001).

       "I have followed Geronimo Pratt's case for many years and jumped at the chance to read Olsen's account. I was extremely pleased by the richness and complexity of his account. In presenting his fast-paced, compelling version of how Pratt (a Viet Nam veteran from rural Louisiana and the leader of LA's Black Panther Party) became a victim of the FBI's COINTELPRO program, Olsen also exposes the tragedies and the triumph of our criminal justice system. With few exceptions, bright lines are not used to separate good and evil. Instead, Olsen describes individuals who victimized Pratt as reacting to perceived threats. The ultimate triumph of Pratt's release is tempered by the tragedy that it took so long. The book begs the question: Can what happened to Pratt happen again, and what can be done to prevent it from occurring again?"

       Beavan, Colin. Fingerprints: the origins of crime and the murder case that launched forensic science. New York: Hyperion, 2001. HV 6074 .B34 2001

       Bridges, Tyler. Bad bet on the bayou: the rise of gambling in Louisiana and the fall of Governor Edwin Edwards. New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 2001. HV 6721 .L8 B75 2001

       Camenson, Blythe. Opportunities in forensic science careers. Chicago: VGM Career Books, 2001. Ref HV 8073 .C316 2001

       Caneva, Kenneth. The form and function of scientific discoveries. Washington: Smithsonian, 2001. Q 180.55 .D57 C36 2001

       Gest, Ted. Crime & politics: big government's erratic campaign for law and order. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. HV 6789 .G47 2001

       Gitter, Elisabeth. The imprisoned guest: Samuel Howe and Laura Bridgman, the original deaf-blind girl. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2001. HV 1624 .B7 G57 2001

       Kessler, David. A question of intent: a great American battle with a deadly industry. New York: Public Affairs, 2001. KF 3894 .T63 K47 2001

       Noon, Randall. Forensic engineering investigation. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2001. TA 219 .N64 2001

       O'Brien, Patricia. Making it in the free world: women in transition from prison. Albany: SUNY Press, 2001. HV 9304 .0145 2001

       Pincus, Jonathan. Base instincts: what makes killers kill? New York: Norton, 2001. JC 578 .R3693

       Rawls, John. Justice as fairness: a restatement. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2001. JC 578 .R3693 2001

       Sarat, Austin. When the state kills: capital punishment and the American condition. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001. HV 8699 .U5 S27 2001

       Solomon, Andrew. The noonday demon: an atlas of depression. New York: Scribner, 2001. RC 537 .S598 2001

       Taylor, Karen. Forensic art and illustration. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2001. GN 74 .T38 2001

       Williams, Linda. Playing the race card: melodramas of black and white from Uncle Tom to O.J. Simpson. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001. E185.625 .W523 2001
 

Larry Sullivan, Chief Librarian, 8265, lesjj@cunyvm

Marvie Brooks, Reference, 8261, marvie.brooks@jjay.cuny.edu

Jane Davenport, Collection Development, 8236, janedavenport@yahoo.com

Janice Dunham, Associate Librarian for Public Services, 8256, janjj@cunyvm

Nancy Egan, Reference, Interlibrary Loan, 8269, negan@jjay.cuny.edu

Dolores Grande, Serials, 8235, dmgjj@cunyvm

Marlene Kandel, Cataloger, Coordinator for Technical Services, 8237, mkkjj@cunyvm

Katherine Killoran, Reference, Circulation, 8263, kbkjj@cunyvm

Maria Kiriakova, Reference, 8260, mkiriakova@jjay.cuny.edu

Bonnie Nelson, Associate Librarian for Information Systems, 8267, bnelson@jjay.cuny.edu

Ellen Sexton, Reference, Reserve, 8258, esexton@jjay.cuny.edu

Antony Simpson, Reference, Library Instruction, 8242, asimpson@jjay.cuny.edu

Lee Evans, Daniel Kaykov, Systems Adjuncts; Barbara Carrel, Nancy Farrell, Lory Gallo, Eileen Gatti, Jane Greenlaw, James Kuslan, Catherine Stern, Reference Adjuncts