The Dewey Library Blog

Individuals and families alike can suddenly find themselves in crisis due to any number of serious problems. HIV / AIDS, substance abuse, domestic violence, disability, teen pregnancy, physical and sexual abuse, post traumatic stress disorder, and mental illness are just a few of the many hardships that can impact the lives of many. Fortunately, people who find themselves facing such adversity are not alone in having to deal with their crisis. Clinical Social Workers specialize in helping individuals, families, and groups address a wide range of problems and guide them through their crisis. There are many resources available to people in search of more information regarding clinical social work.

New York State has an association, the New York State Society for Clinical Social Work, which is dedicated to clinical social workers. Their website contains information about the history, mission statement, and organizational structure of the society, definitions and descriptions of clinical social work, information on Society chapters and committees and how to join the society. The society also has a page that details the scope of practice for New York State’s Clinical Social Work.

There are many resources on the topic of clinical social work located right here in the Library. Recent additions to the library collection include the following:

Chang-Muy, Fernando and Elaine P. Congress. (2009) Social work with immigrants and refugees: legal issues, clinical skills and advocacy. New York: Springer.
Dewey Library / JV 6465 S63 2009

Cooper, Marline. (2008) Clinical social work practice: an integrated approach. Boston, MA : A&B/Pearson.
Dewey Library / HM 586 C66 2008

Mizrahi, Terry, and Larry E. Davis. (2008) The Encyclopedia of Social Work. New York: Oxford University Press.
Dewey Library / Reference HV 12 E53 2008

Ronen, Tammie. (2007) Cognitive behavior therapy in clinical social work practice. New York : Springer Pub. Co.
Dewey Library Reserves / RC 489 B4 C64 2007

Austrian, Sonia. (2005) Mental disorders, medications, and clinical social work. New York: Columbia University Press.
Dewey Graduate Library / HV 689 A88 2005

If you have any questions about researching clinical social work, please contact our Bibliographer for Reference, Social Welfare, and Gerontology, Elaine Bergman. She can be reached by calling 442-3695 or by email at :ebergman@uamail.albany.edu.

Blog post created by Matthew Laudicina

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As you may or may not be aware, October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. For many people with disabilities, attaining employment, or even getting fair consideration for a position from a potential employer, is a difficult task. Fortunately, there are federal organizations and multiple resources that people can turn to for help and information.

A great place to go for information is the website for the Office of Disability Employment Policy, which is available through the United States Department of Labor. According to their website, The Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) provides national leadership on disability employment policy by developing and influencing the use of evidence-based disability employment policies and practices, building collaborative partnerships, and delivering authoritative and credible data on employment of people with disabilities.

In addition to the Office for Disability Employment Policy website, there are recently published books located right here in the Dewey Library with more information:

Haugen, David M. (2008) Rights of the Disabled. New York: Facts on File, 2008
Dewey Library / KF 480 H365 2008

Colker, Ruth. (2009) When is Separate Unequal? a Disability Perspective. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Dewey Library / KF 480 C655 2009

Erkulwater, Jennifer L. (2006) Disability Rights And the American Social Safety Net. New York: Cornell University Press.
Dewey Library / HD 7105.25 U6 E75 2006

Coming Soon to the Dewey Library:
Bagenstos, Samuel R. (2009) Law and the Contradictions of the Disability Rights Movement. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Dewey Library / On Order

If you have any questions or are in need of more information about the employment and/or rights of people with disabilities, please contact Social Welfare Bibliographer Elaine Bergman. She can be reached by email at ebergman@uamail.albany.edu, by telephone at 442-3695, or stop by the Reference Desk.

Blog post created by Matthew Laudicina

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Social Welfare students:

As you know, your program has an information literacy component consisting of two library seminars. Many students have questions about which seminars they should take.

All Social Welfare students must take the Social Welfare Research Seminar. This seminar is required within your first 15 credit hours in the program. You will learn about basic library services such as Document Delivery and Interlibrary loan, and highlight pertinent social welfare databases, encyclopedias, internet resources. Topics covered include test and measurement resources, statistics, and citing sources in APA format. This class will provide you with a general orientation to beginning social welfare research using materials in the library.

Once you take the Social Welfare Research Seminar, you have your choice of topics for the advanced seminar.
The topic may differ, depending on your academic concentration. Here is some assistance in making this choice:

General classes recommended for all students:

*Introduction to Research Databases: learn how to effectively search for articles using databases
* Conducting Research Online : an overview of research resources that can be accessed from outside the libraries
* Using EndNote: EndNote software helps organize sources and produce bibliographies

Recommended for direct practice students:

* Library Resources for Evidence-Based Practice: learn how to find and evaluate research information for clinical social work practice

Recommended for MACRO students:

* Introduction to Federal Public Policy Research: resources for finding the legal authority for polices, constructing a legislative history and evaluating federal public policies
* Introduction to Westlaw Campus: how to find statutes, regulations, cases, and other legal information
* Non-Profit Organizations: Information Sources: print, online and Internet sources for information regarding non-profit organizations

Recommended particularly for students with a concentration in Gerontology:

* Resources in Gerontology: this seminar covers specialized reference materials, databases and other resources that focus on social gerontology

Advanced registration is required for most seminars. Some of these classes fill up quickly, so register early as possible. The Social Welfare Research Seminar in particular fills up very quickly. Each week's offerings are posted on this blog each Monday. In addition to the online registration, you may also register in person at the Dewey Reference Desk or call us at 442-3691.

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

101 Careers in Social Work / Jessica A Ritter, Halaevalu F. O. Vakalahi and Mary Kiernan-Stern [Dewey REF HV 10.5 R58 2009].

How often do we ask ourselves (or get asked) what we are going to do with that specialized college degree? If you’re a student in the social welfare program wondering this, you should check out this new reference title.

The first section of the book deals with what social welfare is and a general overview of the profession. It also guides you through what qualifies one as a social worker and what special licensing is involved in working in the profession, including information about being licensed to practice in multiple states.

Part II fills in the majority of the book, offering different areas in which a social worker can find a job. Examples given are working with child welfare, health care, criminal justice and the legal arena, academia, politics and human service organizations. Chapter 18 steps out suggesting alternative careers in social work, like being a documentary filmmaker or even an entrepreneur.

Finally, the book concludes with Part III as a “Where do we go from here?” commentary on successfully paying for your higher social welfare degree and landing the perfect job in your field. This book is a great resource for any social welfare student to consider outside of their regular coursework.

This book is available in the Dewey Reference collection. Come take a look today! If you need help locating the book, just ask us at the Reference Desk.

Blog post created by Jill Parsons

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The final Social Welfare Research Seminar for the summer will be held Wednesday, June 17th at 3:00pm. Sign up in advance -- either in person at the Reference Desk, by calling 442-3691, or use our online registration form.

More seminars will be scheduled in the fall. If you were not able to take the seminar this June, keep an eye out for the fall schedule which will come out in late August.

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Advanced standing social welfare students, take note: two Social Welfare Research Seminars are scheduled for this week. Monday, June 8th at 11:30am and Tuesday, June 9th, at 2:30pm

These classes fill up rapidly, so sign up in advance -- either in person at the Reference Desk, by calling 442-3691, or use our online registration form.

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Advanced standing social welfare students, take note: two Social Welfare Research Seminars are scheduled for this week. Wednesday, June 3rd at 11:30am and Thursday, June 4th, at 2:30pm

These classes fill up rapidly, so sign up in advance -- either in person at the Reference Desk, by calling 442-3691, or use our online registration form.

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 03:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Students studying Social Welfare and Gerontology might be interested in the Ageline database. Ageline is an online research database produced by AARP (American Association of Retired People) that contains abstracts of books, reports, and articles on aging and on people middle-age and older. The abstracts are from both AARP and other publishers. Whenever possible, links are provided for the full text or for purchase information.

The Ageline database user interface has been recently improved. Some of the new features help you to search and retrieve information easier. These new features include:

• Performing a basic search from the Ageline home page.


• Sorting your results by most recent date, author, document type, source, title, or by relevance.


• Displaying your search expression at the top of each of the results pages. You will find this at the top of each page labeled: “Your search: “.


• Selecting the journal title link and displaying all entries in the database from that particular journal.


• Selecting one of the subject terms in your result entry and displaying all entries in the database that have the same subject term.


• Viewing the Advanced Search screen on one screen.


• Displaying or hiding search options on the screen. These options include displaying more search fields, and displaying search options such as Publication Year, Target Audience, and Document Type.


• Specifying the relationship between words when your search phrase contains more than one word. Meaning, you can specify whether the two or more words are next to each other, within five words of each other, in any position in the text, or whether the results must contain these words exactly as entered.


• Limiting your results to be from the latest Ageline update.

All of the previous functions are still available. These allow you to limit your search results to only include entries that provide full-text online for free, perform searches for a particular author, particular title, or a particular subject, browse author, title, and subject indexes, use Boolean operators to create complex searches, and to print or download records.

If you have any questions on how to use the Ageline database, or any other Social Welfare research assistance, please contact Elaine Bergman, the Social Welfare bibliographer at ebergman@uamail.albany.edu, or by phone 442-3695.

Blog post created by Judith Mueller

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Social welfare was sparked by the social conditions that were created in the 19th century, after the Civil War, and by the industrial revolution. While charity work has always existed throughout history backed by religion, the scientific approach towards caring for those who needed help started in the 1800’s. Social work applies social theory and research to improve the lives of those in society who need help. It uses other social sciences such as psychology, psychiatry, and sociology to provide answers to basic societal problems such as hunger, homelessness, limited education, discrimination, and abuse of various types (domestic, elder, child, substance, and sexual to name a few).

After the Civil War, many people immigrated to America, and many freed slaves moved to the cities looking for work. Poverty and other urban problems grew. Institutions like almshouses, orphanages, and settlement houses were built to help with basic needs such as health care, food, housing, and education. Along with poverty, other problems increased such as dangerous work conditions, child labor, discrimination against minorities, and long work weeks. Social Workers were the driving force behind many public policies that have changed the way society reacts to these problems. These policies include unemployment insurance, worker’s compensation, minimum wage, Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare. There is also better treatment of those with disabilities, and mental illness, and civil rights are granted to all people regardless of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.

The Dewey Library has a robust collection of resources tracing the historical origins of social work in the United States.For more detailed information about the history of social welfare in America, check out some of the following sources in Dewey Library.

The following reference books can be found in Dewey Library:

• Social Work Dictionary by Robert L. Barker - Dewey Library / Reference : HV 12 B37 2003


• Social Work Almanac by Leon H. Ginsberg – Dewey Library / Reference : HV 90 G53 1995


• The Encyclopedia of Social Welfare History in North America edited by John M. Herrick and Paul H. Stuart - Dewey Library / Reference : HV 12 E497 2005

• Milestones in the Development of Social Work and Social Welfare by Robert L. Barker - Dewey Library / HV 40 B22 1999


• Newsletter – Social Welfare History Group by the Social Welfare History Group - Dewey Library / Periodical : HV 16 S63X


• Charity and Mutual Aid in Europe and Northern America Since 1800 edited by Bernard Harris and Paul Bridgen – Dewey Library / HV 51 C43 2007


• The Locus of Care : Families, Communities, Institutions, and the Provision of Welfare Since Antiquity edited by Peregrine Horden and Richard Smith - Dewey Library / HV 51 L63 1998


• With Us Always : a History of Private Charity and Public Welfare edited by Donald T. Critchlow and Charles H. Parker - Dewey Library / HV 16 W58 1998


• From Poor Law to Welfare State : a History of Social Welfare in America by Walter I. Trattner - Dewey Library Reserves / HV 91 T7 1999


• In the Shadow of the Poorhouse : a Social History of Welfare in America by Michael B. Katz – Dewey Library / HV 91 K349 1996


• The Reluctant Welfare State : a History of American Social Welfare Policies by Bruce S. Jansson - Dewey Library Reserves / HN 57 J25 1993


• The Dangerous Classes of New York, and Twenty Years’ Work Among Them by Charles Loring Brace - Dewey Library / HV 743 N5 B8 1973


• Widows and Orphans First : the Family Economy and Social Welfare Policy, 1880-1939 by S.J. Kleinberg - Dewey Library / HV 699 K585 2006


• Social Welfare : a history of the American Response to need by June Azinn and Mark J. Stern - Dewey Library / HV 91 A94 2005

• From the National Association of Social Work: http://www.socialworkers.org/profession/centennial/


• From the School of Social Welfare at Boise State University: http://www.boisestate.edu/socwork/dhuff/history/central/book.htm

If you have questions about doing Social Welfare research, talk to Elaine Bergman, our Social Welfare Bibliographer. She can help with advanced database searching and other quick ways to obtain the information you need. E-mail her at ebergman@uamail.albany.edu or call 442-3965 to set up an appointment.

Blog post created by Judith Mueller

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ethical decision making is a very important part of social work. Ethical dilemmas can come up in myriad situations, such as those which involve: personal relationships with current and former clients; client refusal of services; cultural sensitivity issues; end of life decision making; and privacy protection in counseling and research study design. Social welfare students have a number of resources to help them research ethical decision making in a social work environment.

The National Association of Social Workers has published a Code of Ethics, and the International Federation of Social Workers also has an Ethics Document which provide guidelines for ethical decision making.

The database Social Work Abstracts has a number of articles on this topic. To locate the database, go to the library's Database Finder and click on the letter "S" at the bottom of the page. Use keyword searches such as ethics, or more precisely “ethical dilemmas,” or “ethical decision making.”

In addition the Libraries have a number of recently published books which students of social work ethics may find useful:

Banks, Sarah. (2006) Ethics and values in social work. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.
Dewey Library / HV 10.5 B335X 2006

Guttmann, David. (2006) Ethics in social work : a context of caring. New York: Haworth Press.
Dewey Library / HV 40 G98 2006

Reamer, Frederic G. (2006) Social work values and ethics. New York: Columbia University Press.
Dewey Library / HV 10.5 R427 2006

International Federation of Social Workers. (2007) International definition of the social work profession; Ethics in social work, statement of principles; Global standards for the education and training of the social work profession. Berne, Switzerland: International Federation of Social Workers.
Dewey Library / HV 40 I548X 2007

And, Coming Soon:
Gambrill, Eileen, ed. (2009)Social work ethics. Burlington, VT: Ashgate.
Dewey Library/ On Order

If you have any questions about researching ethics from a social welfare perspective, please contact Social Welfare Bibliographer Elaine Bergman (phone: 442-3695, email: ebergman@uamail.albany.edu), or stop by the Reference Desk.

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Social Welfare program has an information literacy component which requires students to take two library seminars during the course of their studies. Many students have questions about which seminars are appropriate for their course of study. Here is an overview of some useful seminars and who might most benefit from taking them.

All Social Welfare students must take the Social Welfare Research Seminar. We suggest that you take this before you take the elective seminar. In this class we cover basic library services such as Document Delivery and Interlibrary loan, and highlight pertinent social welfare databases, encyclopedias, internet resources. Topics covered include test and measurement resources, statistics, and citing sources in APA format. This class will provide you with a general orientation to beginning social welfare research using materials in the library.

Once you take the Social Welfare Research Seminar, you have your choice of topics for the advanced seminar.
The topic may differ, depending on your academic concentration. Here is some assistance in making this choice:

Recommended for all students:

* MINERVA, UA Libraries' Online Catalog : advanced skills in using the Library Catalog and locating and accessing library materials
*Introduction to Research Databases: learn how to effectively search for articles using databases
* Conducting Research from Home : an overview of research resources that can be accessed from outside the libraries
* Using EndNote: EndNote software helps organize sources and produce bibliographies

Recommended particularly for direct practice students:

* Library Resources for Evidence-Based Practice: learn how to find and evaluate research information for clinical social work practice

Recommended particularly for MACRO students:

* Introduction to Federal Public Policy Research: resources for finding the legal authority for polices, constructing a legislative history and evaluating federal public policies
* Introduction to Westlaw Campus: how to find statutes, regulations, cases, and other legal information
* Non-Profit Organizations: Information Sources: print, online and Internet sources for information regarding non-profit organizations

Recommended particularly for students with a concentration in Gerontology:

* Resources in Gerontology: this seminar covers specialized reference materials, databases and other resources that focus on social gerontology

Because some of these classes are in high demand, we strongly suggest that you register for a class as early as possible. The Social Welfare Research Seminar in particular fills up very quickly. Each week's offerings are posted on this blog each Monday. In addition to the online registration, you may also register in person at the Dewey Reference Desk or call us at 442-3691.

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 09:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Graduating Social Welfare students or those expecting to graduate in May of 2009 looking for a job might want to check out the library’s selection of career and job seeking resources for social work. On the library’s main web page on the right hand side, select “Social Welfare” in the “My Research Subject is…" field. Then select “Social Welfare Career Resources”.

Dewey Library has many books on careers in social work for those still trying to narrow down their specialty. Check out the books in the Books on Social Work Careers section. These can provide more in-depth descriptions of various career avenues one can pursue with a social welfare degree.

For information about what career resources the University at Albany has available, as well as some basic career guides, check out the General Resources section.

Professional organizations in any field contain a wealth of information for those just starting out in a new career, including help with finding employment. For example, if you are interested in working as a School Social Worker, you might want to check out the School Social Work Association of America.(Or if you want to specialize in working in a hospice, you would want to check out the American Hospice Foundation. For more information about the social welfare professional associations, see the General Resources section.

If you are preparing to take the licensing test, you might want to check out Social Work Examination Services. For more information about licensing, see the Licensing and Accreditation section.

If you would like to find a job in New York State, you might want to check out the web page for the New York State Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). For more information about possible jobs within the states of New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont, see the State Job Resources section.

There are other specific "niche" organizations that may help you narrow your search by subject, or perspective. For example, if you would like to find work as a social worker with a special interest of working with to Christians, check out the North American Association of Christians in Social Work. For more information about possible jobs throughout the United States, see the U. S. Job Resources section.

The Dewey Library has other materials such as resume writing guides, examination manuals and other assistance for your job search. If you have any questions about these resources, Ask-A-Librarian!

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You may know William Roth, a prominent faculty member in the University at Albany’s School of Social Welfare. His memoir, titled Movement is a tri-fold step into his life as he describes in his own words his world, living with dystonia, winning a battle with cancer and being the song of parents who escaped the Holocaust. This book is now available at the Dewey Library, Call Number:RC 280 T7 R68 2008.

Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder that causes unpredictable muscle spasms. It tends to develop in one’s childhood, which is what happened to Roth. He noticed one winter that his left foot began to curl inward and soon was diagnosed with dystonia, something that will remain with him until this day. Combined with a tricky bout of cancer later in life, Roth is an exemplary survivor.

Roth’s memoir starts with a prologue of his disorder and progresses as each chapter takes hold of one of three central topics: dystonia, cancer, and family history. While the chapters go back in forth in his life, the constant theme is indeed movement, particularly forward. As one delves into the book, each chapter progresses until the unfortunate circumstances of having his father treat family (and other) victims of the Holocaust and dystonia become one, and in the end, the stories come full circle.

Growing up, we learn he both comes to terms with and struggles with dystonia. He undergoes risky (some might call it experimental) surgery as a child to lessen, perhaps even stop, the dystonia that will infiltrate his body. The disorder causes his muscles to jerk randomly , limiting his social interactions, yet, Roth succeeds in keeping his ground and enters Yale, finding himself involved in many activist engagements. This would only be the start of Roth’s interest in becoming an activist: It is not until he takes a tour of Willowbrook in the 1970’s, an institution for young people with developmental disabilities, he sees the horror in how “the other” is treated. Roth then becomes an activist gaining rights for disabled persons, and later establishes the Center for Computing and Disability at UAlbany.

In his adult life, Roth learns he has cancer via a large tumor in the back of his throat. Coupled with dystonia, the surgeries and chemotherapy to rid the cancer are even more complicated. Roth consults with some of the best doctors and surgeons in the northeast to be on his “team”, just as one would select the best players in baseball to be part of their team. He assembles his team for medical expertise, to help him weigh decisions or just to be there to simply talk about the fears of cancer. After the first, invasive surgery and therapy, the cancer isn’t eliminated. The second time? Home run. All this after a few strikeouts at bat along the way.

This may seem simple on paper, but the vignettes of Roth’s life come together to tell a story of triumph and heartache that life gives. While the chapters do a dance to unfold the story, there is a sense that Roth himself moves continually forward, only stopping for brief moments to reflect. Often in his memoir, he will pose question as to why certain events happened in his life – why he got cancer, and how and what contributed to it. Roth ends his brief moments by saying “I will never know” and then the story moves forward. Even when he gets unexpected grim news along his cancer journey, he decides to split into two people, a sort of coping mechanism Roth uses to deal with the reality and emotionally charged feelings of cancer.

Perhaps Movement is a way of Roth to reflect on his life, to string together the most important components to see his life, rather than just living it. He thrives despite his dystonia, overcomes cancer against all odds and dedicates his all to being a devoted father to his son, Daniel. In the end, Roth claims he is loves life and its people and is not afraid to die, nor afraid to live. These are words we can all take from as we read Movement and perhaps find ourselves in Roth, winning great battles and overcoming limitations.

Faculty Member William Roth

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mary Jane Brustman (on the left) has taken on additional administrator responsibilities, and will be based at the uptown campus. Elaine Lasda Bergman (on the right) will assume the role of Social Welfare Bibliographer.

Photo credit: Morris Stilson

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mary Jane Brustman, longtime Social Welfare bibliographer and Head of the Dewey Library, has been asked to take on increased management responsibilities within the University Libraries. We wish her well as she moves on to these expanded responsibilities. Although she will still be down at the Dewey Library a couple of afternoons a week, most of her time will be spent at the uptown campus.

As a result of this change, Elaine Lasda Bergman will be assuming the role of Bibliographer for Social Welfare. Already the bibliographer for Gerontology and Reference, we feel assured that Elaine will continue the high level of service and assistance with research that Mary Jane has provided to the students, staff and faculty of the School of Social Welfare. You may contact Elaine by email: ebergman@uamail.albany.edu or by calling her at 442-3695.

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Are you a new social welfare student?? Check out our library's main webpage at http://library.albany.edu. On the right side is My Research Subject. Select Social Welfare for a good place to start your library research:

>

BE SURE TO NOTICE:
Databases & Other Electronic Resources. Search these databases to find research (especially articles) on your topic. Come to our library workshops to learn how to use databases.

Internet Resources for Social Welfare. Use these links to websites to support your research and internships. Websites here are on topics related to the School of Social Welfare curriculum.

Social Welfare Career Resources. Find out about books on social work careers, websites on finding jobs, accreditation and licensing.

Social Welfare: A Guide to Information Resources. Learn all about key information resources (including databases) for social work research.

For more information about important Social Welfare Resources, contact Mary Jane Brustman at 442-3517 or email her: mbrustman@uamail.albany.edu.

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 07:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

UA Libraries now offer online access to the Mental Measurements Yearbook. This authoritative guide describes over 2,000 testing and assessment instruments, and has long been important resource for Social Welfare researchers. The database provides the same information in the print Mental Measurements Yearbook from 1985 to the present.

Our subscription is accompanied by Tests in Print, which provides bibliographic information on commercially available tests, including the publisher and purchase price.

To access these resources, go to the library's Databases and Indexes page, and click on "M" to locate Mental Measurements Yearbook. On the database's main search page (which is the familiar Ebsco interface), click the "Choose Databases" link at the top of the search page and select Tests in Print to search the two resources simultaneously.

A brief session with a librarian can help you more effectively learn how to use the Mental Measurements Yearbook and Tests in Print -- remember to Ask-A-Librarian!

Blog post created by Michael V. Daly

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 11:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New MSW students may sign up for one of three Social Welfare Research Seminar sessions held in June. The Social Welfare Research Seminar is part of the MSW program’s information literacy requirement and is mandatory for all students pursuing the Masters' degree in Social Welfare.

The June schedule is as follows:

• June 9 (Monday): 11:00am
• June 18 (Wednesday): 4:30pm
• June 25 (Wednesday): 4:00pm

You may sign up one of three ways: stop by the Dewey Library Reference Desk, call us at 442-3691, or register online.

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dewey will be offering the final two informational workshops for graduate students this week. If you are a Social Welfare student needing to fulfill the information literacy requirement, you may want to use this opportunity to complete the workshop before the end of the semester. Sign up in person at the Dewey reference desk, call 442-3691, or register online.

This weeks classes:

Thursday:
2:00 PM: Introduction to Online Research Databases

Friday:
11:00 AM: Conducting Research from Home

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 11:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Many Social Welfare students come to us with questions about which library seminars they must take in order to graduate.

We recommend that all Social Welfare students first take the Social Welfare Research Seminar. In this class we cover: library services, the library website, encyclopedias and dictionaries, basics of searching the
MINERVA library catalog, which databases to use, introduction to database searching, Internet sources for social welfare including test and measurement resources and statistics, evaluating information, finding APA Style information.

After you have taken the Social Welfare Resarch Seminar, you will likely need to take an advanced or more specialized seminar. The topic may differ, depending on your academic concentration. Here is some assistance in making this choice:

Recommended for all students:

• MINERVA, UA Libraries' Online Catalog : advanced skills in using the Library Catalog and locating and accessing library materials


• Introduction to Research Databases: learn how to effectively search for articles using databases


• Conducting Research from Home : an overview of research resources that can be accessed from outside the libraries


• Using EndNote: EndNote software helps organize sources and produce bibliographies
• Using the Web to Communication and Collaborate: Learn about blogs, wikis, RSS and more

Recommended particularly for direct practice students:

• Library Resources for Evidence-Based Practice: learn how to find and evaluate research information for clinical social work practice

Recommended particularly for MACRO students:

• Introduction to Federal Public Policy Research: resources for finding the legal authority for polices, constructing a legislative history and evaluating federal public policies


• IIntroduction to Westlaw Campus: how to find statutes, regulations, cases, and other legal information


• Non-Profit Organizations: Information Sources: print, online and Internet sources for information regarding non-profit organizations

We encourage you to attend one or more of these seminars as soon as practiable -- you will get the most benefit out of the material covered if you attend the seminars early in your course of study. You can view the full schedule of seminars online. In addition, each week's offerings are posted on this blog each Monday. In addition to the online registration, you may also register in person at the Dewey Reference Desk or call us at 442-3691.

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 10:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LIbrarians who are Subject Specialsts here at UAlbany have created online guides, to help you get the "lay of the land" with regard to key library resources for your academic discipline. These guides are found on the sidebar of our Dewey pages, under the heading: My Research Subject . You will also find them in the pull-down menu of the UA Libraries' main page .

Bibliographer (also the Head of Dewey) Mary Jane Brustman has updated the Subject Guides for Social Welfare and Criminal Justice.

The guides now include information about resources relevant resources in our Special Collections Department. For example, Special Collections has an archive of materials from Neighborhood and Community Associations, which may be useful for Social Welfare researchers; and The National Death Penalty Archive, of interest to some Criminal Justice researchers.

In addition to a slightly redesigned format (e.g., the guides now display an image of a recently published work by departmental faculty), the Social Welfare and Criminal Justice Subject Guides also have a "mini-update" at the bottom listing upcoming classes and library events that pertain to the subject.

We hope you'll take a look at the Subject Guides and provide us wiith feedback -- how helpful are these guides? What can we do to make them more useful? Our purpose is to make the library easier for you to use, so we welcome your opinions.

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 11:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The University at Albany Libraries now offer two new databases that may be of particular interest to the downtown campus community.

Public Administration Abstracts provides bibliographic information for a wide variety of topics related to the disciplne of public administration, for example: administration and economy; law, politics and society; administrative structures and organization; international relations, organizations and policy; national government; public and social services; taxation, budgeting and finance; and theory and methods. Coverage runs from 1974 to the present.

Abstracts in Social Gerontology provides bibliographic information on topics such as: elder abuse, services and advocacy for the elderly, mental and physical health issues affecting the elderly, caregiving, death and bereavement, family issues concerning the elderly, and legislation and policies affecting the elderly.

Both of these databases are replacing their print counterparts and are available from the Database and Indexes page on the UA Libraries' main web page.

Don't forget to contact us if you have questions about these new resources, or if we can help you with any other request.

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 07:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Mental Measurements Yearbook, an authoritative guide to over 2,000 testing and assessment instruments, has long been important resource for Social Welfare researchers. We currently only offer this reference in it's print format; however, we are currently testing an online version. To access the online version, go to the library's Databases and Indexes page. Click on the Ebsco link in the middle of the page. When you get to the Ebsco search screen, click on the blue "Choose Databases" tab at the top of the page.

Check the box next to the Mental Measurements Yearbook and click "Continue."

Please let us know what you think of the online format. Feel free to comment below, or contact Mary Jane Brustman, the Bibliographer for Social Welfare.

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 07:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Many Social Welfare researchers and students are required to locate various assessment instruments, tests, and measures; either to utilize or to analyze and evaluate. However, many times, the keyword searches we commonly use in Google, the Research Databases or Minerva do not provide us with the instrument itself. This can pose quite a research challenge. The Dewey Library has many resources at your disposal which can help. A good starting point is the Social Welfare “My Research Subject” page -- it has several sources to help you. Under the subcategory "Internet Resources in Social Welfare" you will find a section of websites specifically dealing with tests and measures, here are some examples:

• A website known as Tests and Measures in the Social Sciences lists the 10,000 measures found in full in 97 books.


• A complementary site, SDSU (San Diego State University)TestFinder lists more books with tests and measures and many citations to those included in journal articles.


• Testlink from Educational Testing Service offers more than 20,000 educational and psychological tests and measurements. Some tests can be downloaded free or for a fee from the site; others must be ordered.

These are only a sample of what may be found under this category of the Internet Resources in Social Welfare page. Check to see if there is anything useful to you.

In addition to Internet sites, University at Albany has its own School of EducationTest Library (from the Division of Educational Psychology and Methodology). This website lists tests, books, hours for the library and more. The Test Library is located in Education B-11 on the Uptown Campus.

In the Dewey print collections,we also have Tests in Print [Dewey Library Reference LB 1131.5 B8], a guide to tests including how they may be ordered/purchased.

Librarians are happy to help you with any of these sources or any other research issues. Contact the Reference Desk and we will be glad to be of assistance. If you have questions specific to Social Welfare, please contact Mary Jane Brustman to set up an appointment. You may e-mail her or call her (442-3517).

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 07:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Elaine Lasda Bergman, currently the Reference Bibliographer at Dewey Library, is taking on a new role as Gerontology Subject Specialist starting this week.

Elaine has several years of experience as a reference librarian and bibliographer at University at Albany. She also has expertise in health care information from her work as manager of the library at the Healthcare Association of New York State. Elaine will be purchasing gerontology materials for the library as well as assisting researchers and doing presentations.

Elaine is available at ebergman@uamail.albany.edu phone: 442-3695

Posted by at 03:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Q: I am a returning grad student in Social Work who has been out of school for some time. I have been assigned a paper in my first class that asks for at least 12 "peer reviewed articles." How would I go about finding articles that are peer-reviewed?

A: When you go to search for articles through our "Database Finder" at http://library.albany.edu/databases/search.asp you can narrow the databases down by subject on the menu at the bottom of the screen. You can select Social Welfare from that list and it will provide you with a list of databases that are strong in your subject area.

To find peer reviewed articles, you will need to narrow down the search in the databases. For most Social Welfare topics the best place to start is in Social Work Abstracts. This database includes the 100 most important journals in the social welfare field. You can supplement this search with Social Services Abstracts (for human services literature generally) and PsycINFO (for psychology and psychiatry literature.)

Most databases have a feature to limit your search to Peer Reviewed (i.e. scholarly or research) articles. In Social Services Abstracts you can limit your search to Peer Reviewed after you complete your initial search. Just click on the green menu bar above your search results. In PsycINFO look for the “Limit Search” feature. Limiting to Peer Reviewed is especially important when using general databases like EBSCO Academic Search Premier. There you can “Refine Search” to retrieve only peer reviewed articles.

For further reference, we have a subject guide for social welfare that may be of help to you: http://library.albany.edu/subject/social_main.html .

Also, if you have any in depth questions about research, our Social Welfare Librarian would be happy to help.
Her contact information is as follows:
Mary Jane Brustman
Dewey Library 442-3517
mbrustman@uamail.albany.edu

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 07:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For all the new Social Welfare masters students: Be sure to sign up for your first required workshop soon at http://library.albany.edu/dewey/classschedule.htm .

The class will provide you with information about library services (such as ERes, free article delivery service, wireless access, etc.), basic reference sources, using the University Libraries website, what databases are available, how to search databases, what is a research article, using the Internet for research, citing sources and more. Undergraduates, doctoral students, and faculty are welcome as well.

A similar class is available with information and resources for Criminal Justice students. If you take these classes early in the semester you will be prepared to do efficient research.

Questions? E-mail Mary Jane Brustman, Librarian for Social Welfare and Criminal Justice, at mbrustman@uamail.albany.edu .

Posted by Elaine Lasda Bergman at 01:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)