Tips and Tricks for using UNT Library Electronic Resources

• News!!!  Attention All UNT Libraries' Electronic Resources Users!!!
• Quick Overview
• How Do I Know What Resource to Use? (Selecting the Best One)
• How Do I Find a Specific Electronic Resource?
• How Do I Print, Email, & Save?
• What If I Am Not With UNT?
• What about Firewalls & Networks?

News!!!  Attention All UNT Libraries' Electronic Resources Users!!!

Every 120 days, you will need to reset your password to authenticate for UNT systems.  If you are getting an authentication error, please go to the Account Management System (AMS) area to change your password.  You must use strong password protocols on all AMS passwords, so please check the guidelines for password creation. 

If you are unable to log in to AMS to change your password, you can reset your password and "start fresh."

Do you need to test your EUID, password, Internet browser, cookies, or whether you can authenticate to our proxy server?  Use our Remote Testing Page to verify any (or all) of the above questions.

Use our Ask a Librarian service for help in selecting and using electronic resources via chat, email, phone, in-person reference assistance.

Quick Overview  

Electronic Resources provided by UNT Libraries can be easily accessed by any UNT student, faculty, or staff member from anywhere in the world on any computer with web access through any Internet Service Provider.

EUID and Password

If you are off-campus, this is all you will need to use 95% of these products.

To look up Your EUID:  https://ams.unt.edu/whatsmyeuid.php

To activate your account:  https://ams.unt.edu/acctreq.php

To reset your password:  https://ams.unt.edu/resetpw.php

If you have problems with your EUID and password, you can check them on our Remote Testing Page available from our How to Access Electronic Resources page.  The Remote Testing Page will also allow you to check if your browser supports cookies and also to test your authentication via our proxy server.

Resources that Require Special Software 

For a small group of products that are loaded on CD-ROMs, you must use the helper program, Citrix ICA Client, available as a download.

Logging Out

Whenever  you finish using an electronic product, look for a "log out" or "log off" button, typically on the right side of the screen. Click on it to exit. Because some products limit the number of "simultaneous users" or have unusual internal logging out requirements, using this log out option works better for you and frees up the product so others can use it.

How Do I Know What Resource to Use? (Selecting the Best One)

There are three approaches to consider:

1. Use the Electronic Resources Main Page and its special features - More info
2. Use Subject Guides & Class Pages for suggestions from librarians - More info
3. Use the Ask A Librarian service and contact a librarian directly.

1. Use Electronic Resources Main Page

At Electronic Resources you will find the web page displayed below. Please note the key features:

• Links to E-Journals and E-Books
• Alphabet to find abstracts and index titles by name of the database
  
• Search Box when you want to type in a title or a broad subject
• Browse Abstract and Index titles by subject
• Browse Abstract and Index titles by category

If you know the title of the journal you want, use the E-Journals link.

If you know the title of an electronic book you want, use the E-Books link (though searching the Online Catalog is more effective).

If you know the title of the abstract/index database or journal package that you want, use the alphabet and browse to it . Some full text reference works are also listed here.

But What If I Am unfamiliar with the resources?

Normally this means you are looking for the best index/abstract database that contains information about journal articles on your topic. The following suggestions will also help you find other resources that might help with your task.

Use the search box and type in the broad category for your topic (English, business, etc.) or the four letter course code like ENGL, PSYC, BIOL.  After you click "search," you will get a list of recommended resources and their descriptions. This is an alphabetical list so scan through the suggestions to make sure you get the one(s) most suited for your task.

Or use the Browse Abstracts and Index titles by subject and select the broad category for your topic like Business and Economics, Government, Law, and Politics, etc, and click on "browse."  You will find a web page subdivided into content areas with links to resources.

 Finally, use the Browse Abstracts and Index titles by category if you need to find a specific type of resource.  The resources listed here are in alphabetical order, so scan the list to find the most appropriate resource(s).

2. Use Subject Guides & Class Assignment Pages

UNT has many electronic resources; finding the best one for your needs can be a challenge. Let a librarian help you.

• Use the Subject Guides Resource Pages. These have been prepared by librarians with special knowledge in the area and contain an overview of the information sources for your broad subject area or field. These guides may include both print and electronic sources.
• See if a Class Pages Resource Guide has been prepared for your class or field. These are developed for specific classes and often specific assignments by a librarian with the involvement of the course instructor. While these are most helpful for students taking the designated course, they are also useful for anyone who wants to gain a quick sense of good information tools for the subject matter covered in the course.

Tip: Keep in mind that the UNT Electronic Resources are extraordinarily diverse

• Full Text:  Some contain the "full text," including actual journal or newspaper articles or other content. Examples: LexisNexis Academic, IEL (IEEE Xplore), ScienceDirect.
• Partial Full Text:  Contents may be full text or abstracts. Examples: ABI Inform, Academic Search Premier, Research Library, Library Literature and Info Science Full Text.
• No Full Text But Still Useful:  Many electronic resources were developed as tools to help you find information in other locations such as books, journals, or even web pages. Examples: Biosis Previews, Art Abstracts, Music Index, Sports Discus, and Library & Information Sciences Abstracts (LISA). Though the database is not full-text, the full text of some articles may be linked (see the "Find Full Text" links in the database(s) for details.
• General Resources:  Some electronic resources cover a broad range of content areas and are considered "general resources." Examples:  Academic Search Premier, LexisNexis Academic, Book Review Digest, OCLC's WorldCat.
• Specialized:  Others focus on one content or subject area such as Engineering Village 2 (INSPEC & Compendex; for engineering, physics, computer science), Sociological Abstracts, PsycInfo.
• Links to Articles:  More and more of our non-full text databases are now  providing a hyperlink to the full text article.  See the "Find Full Text" link in the database for details.

3. Use Ask a Librarian and contact us  by chat, phone, email reference, or  in person at any of the libraries.

How Do I Find a Specific Electronic Resource?

• If You Want a Specific...Abstract/Index database (to search for journal articles by topic, subject, keywords)

1. Use the Library Catalog and do a title search
2. Use the Electronic Resources main page and type the title in the search box or browse using the alphabetic listing

• If You Want a Specific...Journal (full text)  Make sure you are searching by the full title of the journal, not the article title. And, journal abbreviations do not work.

1. Use the Library Catalog and do a title or journal title search or
2. Use the Electronic Resources (Journals) listing

• If You Want a Specific...Electronic Book or Reference Tool  We have many full text, online books for your use.

1. Search the Library Catalog.  Many items will indicate electronic access with links in the record. We also have a large number of electronic books from netLibrary.  You can limit to  after you do a search or just go to netLibrary directly
2. Another product, Safari Tech Books online contains books covering all aspects of Information Technology and Computer Science
3. Some full text materials, primarily reference materials,  appear on the Electronic Resources main page under the "Browse Abstract and Index titles by category"

How Do I Print, Email, & Save?

Printing and saving from web-based Electronic Resources works easily. Simply use the print or save option from within your browser, the product itself, or Adobe Acrobat Reader, the PDF program.

More and more of our electronic resources provide this option so you can easily send the content to yourself or another.

,  you will not be able to print or save the results.  Instead,  you must copy/paste them into a word processing program or email message.

What If I Am Not With UNT?

You can use much of the Libraries’ Web Site even if you are not currently affiliated with UNT:

• the UNT Library Catalog (to see what materials are owned by UNT)
• pages devoted to UNT Library Services
• many resources to help you with your work such as Subject Guides, Class Pages, Quick Reference, and Writing Style Manuals
  
• Government Information Connection, which helps you find Federal and State information, much in full text. Many Government Information Resources, including Medline-PubMed (abstracts for medical journal articles) and the US Patent and Trademark Database (available from the USPTO web site) are available without any restrictions.

To use UNT Electronic Resources that are restricted to members of the campus community you will have to visit one of our campus libraries:

• Willis Library, Science and Technology Library, Research Park Library, and the Media Library, all on the Denton campus
• Lewis Library at the Health Sciences Center in Fort Worth
• UNT Dallas Campus Library

What about Firewalls & Networks?

Firewalls have sometimes created problems when users have tried to access UNT Electronic Resources. If you are on campus (outside of the libraries) or are accessing Electronic Resources from within a non-UNT network and your computer is behind a firewall, your network administrator will have to configure the firewall before you will be able to access the UNT Electronic Resources. Go to Remote Access - Firewall and Accessibility Information for our most current information on firewalls, ports, and server IP addresses. Please note, these have changed since the 02-03 academic year. If you have difficulties contact the Libraries' LAN/PC Management Dept at 940-565-3024.