University Library > Guides > Online Resources

UW-Whitewater Online Resources

Table of Contents:

Types of Electronic Sources
Online v. Paper Indexes
Off-Campus Access

Indexes & Databases
Other Internet Sources
Need Help?

Types of Electronic Sources

Computer workstations in the University Library are commonly used to access:

The Library Catalog: This contains records of books, periodicals, government documents, non-print materials and more that are physically available in the University Library. The catalog is also used to access electronic reserves, ebooks and online government documents.
Licensed/proprietary online databases: The library subscribes to over 170 databases, most of which are available both on and off-campus via the Internet. These include databases such as periodical and book indexes, fulltext journals and books, text and data files, reference materials and statistics. To get to the portal page for the libraries online databases, start on any University Library webpage, and select Articles from the Find menu.
General-purpose and discipline-specific software that supports teaching, learning and research, including Microsoft Office products and more
Four stand alone CD-ROM database workstations containing different purchased or subscription databases such as periodical and book indexes, text and data files, and a large number number of government documents. Each workstation has a label indicating its subject coverage. The S8 CD-ROM workstation is located near the Reference Desk next to the Guide racks. S4 and S5 are located located across from the Reference Desk in the Reference Alcove. BPO is located in the Periodicals Microform Room on the first floor.
Freely available data, text, graphics and software from institutional and other websites around the world. Campus workstations are loaded with Netscape®, Internet Explorer® and Firefox® browsers. Use a search engine or directory in one of the browsers to find information on the World Wide Web. Not sure which one to use? Access to several search engines and directories is available from the Library's Search the Web page.

Online indexes overlap but do not replace paper indexes. Paper indexes are especially important in searches for information published before the computerized databases were compiled; most databases cover back to 1983, however, this date varies. Paper indexes are located on the index tables and stacks on the library's second floor.

Information taken from electronic resources may be cited differently that for print resources. Please check the Citing Internet Resources web page, individual print and online Citing References guides for APA, MLA and Turabian styles, or the various style manuals located in the Library. APA, MLA and Turabian style manual's can be found at the Reference Desk and in other Library locations. To locate a manual, search for it by title for it using the Library Catalog.

Off-Campus Access

Off-campus access to nearly all of the Library's online resources is restricted to UW-W faculty, staff and students. All library resources do not with a single access system, so you will be asked to enter either your 7-digit UW-W (HawkCard) ID and last name or Net-ID (email name) and Net-ID password depending on the resource.

Indexes & Databases

The electronic databases subscribed to by the UW-W are accessible from any University Library webpage by selecting Articles or Databases from the Find menu. Choose Articles to view the portal page where you can choose databases by subject or system. Choose Databases to view the master list of online databases subscribed to by the UW-W.

Alternatively, to view databases arranged by subject, click on one of the lists below:

Top of Page

Other Internet Sources

Many non-subscription Internet sources have been selected by the reference librarians and organized into helpful webpages. These may be found from any University Library webpage by selecting Internet Resources from the Find menu.

These are just a sampling of the Internet site you may wish to locate using a web browser, search engine or directory. Check out the Search the Web page for selection assistance.

Need Help?

Almost every online database the UW-W subscribes to provides search tips and other helpful information for using it. It is a good idea to read these help screens before beginning to search in a database.

In addition, the reference librarians have created basic Library guides for the major aggregators or systems that produce databases, as well as subject oriented guides such as those for citing references. Print guides may be found on the second floor of the library across from the Reference Desk. Identical online guides are available at Library's Guides page.