Would it be farfetched to claim that Kean students have the opportunity to save $250 and several frustrating hours of school work, starting today? Assuming said students own a Kean ID card and sidestepped the popular Starbucks to attain a library barcode, the claim holds some weight.What many students may identify as the most frustrating step in the process of writing an academic paper is the bibliography. The Kean University Nancy Thompson Library has the solution. Kean students have admittance for free access to EndNote Web, a bibliography generator and citation manager that allows students to store, organize, and share their research. This software is available for personal purchase, normally priced at $250.
Some useful features of this program is its compatibility with some of the popular research databases, including EBSCOhost and ProQuest; these databases are among the many additional free access services offered to Kean students courtesy of the Kean library's subscriptions. Articles found using these databases are often easily exportable to a student's EndNote account. An even further convenient feature of the program is its ability to be accessed and operated within Microsoft Word. Theoretically, this capability of easy storage and organization will eliminate the "paper spread" of printed out or written down works-cited notes; and thus the time spent attempting to accurately document them at the end of a paper assignment.
The user mechanics of the program may take some adaptation for those less technologically inclined; however, the program is designed so that tutorial aids are always an easy click away. In addition, students, as well as professors, can schedule time with the library staff to have them host an EndNote workshop to increase user clarity on the "how to's" and capabilities of the program.
Students who already utilize the library's research databases may be familiar with the access of these resources off campus grounds. Kean University's EndNote access shares this availability; however, first time uses must activate their account on campus grounds prior to outside usage. This necessary procedure allows for the program to recognize the user is at "an IP authenticated workstation.After twelve months, [Kean students] are required to login again from an IP authenticated workstation to re-establish [their] association with the institution," according to EndNote Web.
If a student is finding a schedule-sync between the library staff and their own to be unsuccessful, students may seek out EndNote user guidance from their student government representatives. These workshops will still need to be scheduled, but late night and weekend hours are available to students who need the assistance. Kean University librarians, Craig Anderson and Linda Cifelli, advantageously train members of the executive board Student Organization of Kean University, the full-time undergraduate governing body, in hopes to cross-train other student leaders and spread awareness of student access to this program.
EndNote web is just one of the many of the free resources offered to students by the Kean University library to increase academic work productivity. 'Films on Demand' is a Kean student resource which allows students to search from thousands of educational videos; whether the topic is social science or physical science related, or anything in between. Students majoring in humanities may find the more concentrated movie selection in the 'Theatre in Video' option more useful, yet the earlier selection is not limited to what it has to offer any major.
For more information about the services available at the Nancy Thompson Library, please contact the library staff by calling 908-737-4618, emailing library@kean.edu, utilizing LibAnswers contact and chat capabilities via the Kean library site http://library.kean.edu, or visit their office on the first floor of the library behind the circulation desk.
