Doing Research & Getting Materials on Placement

Doing Research

Off-Campus Access to Databases

PsycINFO, Social Work Abstracts, and other databases can be searched from off-campus. When connecting from off-campus; you must connect via the links on the Smith College Libraries' web pages to be recognized as a Smith user. RefWorks must also be accessed via Smith's web pages. When connecting, you will be prompted for your GroupWise username and password. For more information, please see the Off-campus Access FAQ. (For problems with your GroupWise account, contact the ITS User Support Center: 413-585-4487 or 4its@smith.edu).

Getting Materials (non-local placements)

First, please try libraries near your placement to get needed books and articles. If you cannot find the materials you need, please follow these procedures:

Books

• If Smith owns the book, we will mail it to you and pay for the shipping. Send requests to sswreq@smith.edu.
• Please do NOT use Request Item in the online catalog! We cannot send Five College books to you.
• If Smith does not own the book, we will usually buy it for the library and mail it to you. Send requests to sswreq@smith.edu.
• If Smith does not own the book and we cannot buy it, we can help you check for locations near your placement site. You may also try to request it via interlibrary loan at your local public library.
• Do not request books via interlibrary loan at Smith as we cannot mail books from other libraries to you.

Theses and Dissertations

• We will mail Smith theses/dissertations to you at no charge. Send requests to sswreq@smith.edu.
• Many SSW 2007+ theses are online, as are SSW dissertations 2009+.
• For non-Smith theses and dissertations, try the interlibrary loan service at your local public library.
• Dissertations are also available for sale from UMI’s Dissertation Express for $37 (PDF download) or $44 (unbound paper copy). The library will not buy dissertations for you.

Do NOT ignore recall notices! Failure to return materials promptly will result in fines and possible suspension of library privileges. Books and theses are due early June 4, 2012, but are subject to recall at any time. If you receive a recall notice, mail the item(s) back to Smith immediately (you will pay shipping) or contact sswreq@smith.edu for advice.

Journal Articles

• Use the SC Links button within databases, or Smith’s Journal Locator, to see if the article is available online from Smith.
• If the article is not available online, check for print holdings at Smith via the Journal Locator or SC Links button. If we have what you need in print, send an email to sswreq@smith.edu, and we will supply the article as a PDF from our collection.
• If the article isn’t available online or in print from Smith, you may request it via Interlibrary Loan, again via the Journal Locator or SC Links button. You will be notified via email when the article has arrived.
• Note that if you submit a large number of ILL requests, we may ask you to use a library near your placement site for some/all of the articles.

Using Interlibrary Loan

If you live in the Smith area, you may use Interlibrary Loan by submitting requests and picking up material here just as you did during the summer. If you are out of town, you may request articles and book chapters only if they are not available online or in a library near your placement site. Remember that we cannot mail books from other libraries to you.

Contact Information