By Erin DostalThe Daily Northwestern
As part of the university’s “developing relationship” with the search engine powerhouse, Northwestern students can use Google Scholar alongside NUcat and Einstein to explore the NU library’s resources.
Although the service has been available since 2005, Jeff Garrett, NU’s assistant university librarian for collection management, said little has been done to publicize the service.
“Ultimately, what we’re trying to do is connect our students and our faculty with items that are of interest to them,” Garrett said. “If Google is what our community wants to use, then we should have access to Google Scholar.”
Reference librarian Geoff Morse said many students know about the service.
“Often when students come to the reference desk, they’ll mention they found something on Google Scholar,” he said.
The search engine helps with researching restricted-access databases, such as ScienceDirect or JSTOR. Its reach also includes articles from libraries such as the Harvard University Library System and the New York Public Library.
NU expressed interest in using Google Scholar after talking with other American research institutions.
Students can access Google Scholar by visiting scholar.google.com. Under “Scholar Preferences,” students can select “Northwestern University” to be identified as part of the NU community, giving them legal access to documents in its library.
The database also is helpful because most students already are familiar with using Internet search engines, Garrett said.
“Like anything involving Google, it’s free and easy,” he said.
Communication freshman Abigail Goldman said she thinks Google Scholar could be useful.
“Anything that makes information more accessible is an asset to the student body,” Goldman said.
While Google Scholar provides a convenient service, NU librarians have mixed feelings toward its widespread use, Garrett said.
Google Scholar does not provide access to many of the library’s resources, including a collection of about 130,000 books from the 18th century that is already available online.
“Students need to know that Google Scholar does not provide access to everything,” Garrett said. “It’s a friendly, welcoming front door.”
Garrett said that while it can be useful to students who want fast, simple information, dependence on the tool will keep them from getting the most out of what the library has to offer.
To alleviate some of these concerns, Garrett has been talking with Google for the past few months about expanding its bibliographic information. This would allow Google Scholar to cover more of NU’s collections in its searches.
“It’s a developing relationship,” Garrett said. “We’re hoping that if both parts of this relationship keep working at it, it will in time … really be a benefit for the Northwestern community.”
Reach Erin Dostal at [email protected].
