Green, 'Come Explore the Libraries' Virtual Construction Site', NCSU Libraries Newsletter v1995n00 (Green Kathy)
_The NCSU Libraries Newsletter_
Volume 22 no. 6
January 1995
Green, Kathy
"Come Explore the Libraries' Virtual Construction Site"


Students, faculty, and others returning to the Libraries this 
semester may notice something different in the D. H. Hill 
Library's Reference Department:  six new workstations 
surrounded by traffic cones and signs declaring the space a 
"Hardhat Area." A few clicks of a mouse attached to any of the 
workstations brings up an array of databases, many of them 
appearing in the Libraries for the first time.

Frequent explorers of the Internet, particularly the World Wide 
Web, may recognize the phrase "hardhat area" as a term 
developed to warn users that the site they are visiting is 
"under construction" and may be less stable than the eventual 
production version.  The Libraries' hardhat area, as the 
information sheets available in the area explain, is the first 
phase of the NCSU Libraries' Database Project, an ongoing 
strategic effort aimed at providing network access to almost 
all of the databases to which the Libraries maintains 
subscriptions.  The project presents library catalogs, indexes 
to journal literature, full-text databases, and Internet tools in 
a Microsoft Windows environment.

A number of the databases may be familiar to library clients 
who have used them in the CD-ROM area adjacent to the 
reference desk (e.g., PsycInfo and ERIC).  Others have been 
"imported" into the environment from branch libraries or other 
departments.  For example, Statistical Masterfile--an index to 
statistical information published by the federal government, 
international organizations, and private industry 
associations--formerly was available only in the Documents 
Department.  Some databases are new. Raleigh's _News and 
Observer_, available in full text and covering the years 1990 
to the present, is a recent addition, as is _Books in Print_. In 
total, more than two dozen information resources are available. 
Explorers can click on an icon that displays all the databases 
or choose a subject area to bring up an appropriate subset of 
resources.

As with other construction sites, real and virtual, the library's 
hardhat area will change over time.  We will continue to 
stabilize and upgrade the current interface as more databases 
are added and increase the years of coverage for the existing 
databases.  Because availability of the hardhat area is 
currently limited to D. H. Hill, establishing remote network 
access to the Hill library is a priority.  An online "navigation" 
tool will be added to the array of resources, as will an online 
comments and problem report form.

As the Database Project develops, the Libraries would like 
your input.  The hardhat area is an invitation to you to try out 
a favorite resource, explore new ones, and tell us what you 
think.  Comment forms are available at hardhat area 
workstations, or they may be sent electronically to:

hardhat@dhhill.lib.ncsu.edu