Find What You're Looking For...

The new library homepage makes it easy to find what you're looking for.

Click on the yellow Find button to see the University Libraries' options for access to a variety of information services available to you. They're summarized below:


Books: This section connects you with resources that help you find books owned by the University Libraries or other libraries in Indiana or around the country. You can also find out what new items have arrived on campus recently.

Course Reserves: If your instructor has put material on reserve (either electronically or in print), you can find it here.

Articles: You probably guessed this, but these links take you to our database listings and other tools to help you find articles in newspapers, scholarly journals, popular magazines, and other sources.

Research Tools: The links here will lead you to resources that can help get you started with research on various topics.

Digital Commons: This icon links to the University Libraries' Digital Commons.

Music, Movies, Software: Believe it or not, but we don't only have books in the library! Check out the link to the Media Finders to locate CDs, DVDs, and more.

Digital Images: These are general links to image collections accessible with your BSU log on credentials, or those cleared for royalty-free use. The University Libraries' Digital Media Respository is also linked in this section.

And there you have it, another section of the website illuminated for you.

Join me next week for another revealing look at a part of the new homepage. Until then, remember, you don't have to be in the library to use it!

Get help with a click...

When visiting the library homepage, help is only a click away.

As you can see in the image to the left, if you've got questions, we've got answers. Clicking on the violet Help button gives you access to several helpful services. I've highlighted a few for you below.

Ask a Librarian: This service provides you with ways to get in touch with a librarian who can help you find resources you need for whatever you might be doing. Whether it's research for a paper or you're just looking for something good to read, ask us!

How Do I...?: The links in this section can give you good information if you need help finding books, images, articles, or how to cite resources.

Finding Your Way: Need to visit Bracken Library or just curious about what it's like on the inside? You can access a virtual tour, get local maps of campus or Muncie, or driving directions. in this section.

Next week, look for another quick tour of part of the library website.

As always, remember you don't have to be in the library to use it!

New Library Homepage: a Rainbow of Information Options

You may have noticed that the library homepage changed at the end of May. Now, five colored blocks and corresponding tabs organize information on the site. This week, I'll take you on a brief tour of our new digs on the web, and even give you an "easy button" if the changes are just too much for you to handle.

The Blocks


Find - As you might expect, clicking on this yellow block will lead you to information available from CardCat or one of our many academic databases, for example.



Help - Click on this purple block to ask a librarian for help, read our FAQ's, or take a virtual tour.




Resources for... - This red block breaks out information for audiences who might be using the library: students, faculty and staff, distance learners, etc.




About - Learn more about the library's hours, how long you can check something out, and more with a click in this green block.



New & Notable - You can read about current library news by clicking on the headlines in this blue block.


The Tabs


Once you click on a color block, you'll be taken to a page with a tab of the corresponding color. A great feature of these tabs is that the headings on the page appear on the right-hand side of the tab. Click on the heading, and you'll be taken to that section of the page. (See the example of the Find tab in the screenshot.)

The Easy Button

If you get stumped, you can always click on the link that takes you to the previous version of the homepage. If you're familiar with that homepage, it might make things easier to find.

The End of the Rainbow

You use the library homepage as your path to the pot of gold available to you as a student, staff, or faculty member of Ball State University: information. Remember, you don't have to be in the library to use it, and there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!