For KYVU Students

Quick Tour: How to Navigate the Gateway

The KYVL Website is also referred to as the Gateway because it serves as your gateway for information and research help.

The Right Side:
About Catalogs and Databases | About Government Information | About Kentuckiana Digital Library | About Information Skills Tutorial | About the Virtual Reference Desk | About About KYVL

Header

Whenever possible, throughout the KYVL Website, you will see a header which consists of the logo on the upper left side and the title of the page or section on the upper right. The logo is linked back to the main KYVL page (www.kyvl.org) to provide you with an easy way to get back to the beginning. This header will help to identify those pages that KYVL is responsible for creating.

Footer

To make navigation through the site easier, we have created a footer for the KYVL pages. This includes links to the main KYVL page, to KYVU, to Kentucky Libraries' Web pages, to the Governor's Education Pays page, to a help form, to the toll free phone number, and to the address to which you can email suggestions for improving the site.

Recommendations for Viewing

• Although we have tried to keep the 480x640 screen resolution in mind when designing this site, it is easier to use with a 600x800 screen resolution or higher.
• Because Java is used in the site, we recommend that your Web browser be 4.0 or higher.
• To read many of the government documents and other resources like some of the full-text articles in the databases, we recommend you download a free pdf reader like Adobe Acrobat
• To hear sound and see video on our site, we recommend that you download Real Player which is available free. The free product is not easy to find on their site. As of 8/10/00 you are looking for a link to RealPlayer 8 Basic.

About Catalogs and Databases:

Here you can search over 30 databases. Some will simply tell you where to find magazine or journal articles on your topic. Some will provide summaries, or abstracts, of the articles as well. Others -- "full-text" databases -- will deliver some entire articles directly to your computer. Whether you are a student, K-12 teacher, college/university professor or just doing research for your own needs, there is something here for everyone. You will have free access from your school or local public library. To have free access from your personal computer go to your library for the current id/password. KYVU students should go to their home institution's library to get current id/password. Read here for descriptions of all 32 databases.

Under the same button you can check out a growing collection of online library catalogs from Kentucky libraries. These electronic card catalogs will tell you which Kentucky libraries own the material you need.

If you want to get a book or article that's not available in your home library or in full-text format, KYVL provides free delivery of library materials to the library nearest you via Ariel and ground courier service. See your local library's Interlibrary Loan Librarian for details. Note: KYVU students should go to their home institution's library for this service.

About Government Information:

Are you looking for Kentucky tax forms? Kentucky statistical information? Reports from Kentucky government agencies? The KYVL Gateway provides you with subject-oriented, annotated links to official Kentucky government websites, and U.S. and International government websites of relevance to Kentucky.

About Kentuckiana Digital Library:

The Kentuckiana Digital Library provides a searchable database of finding aids for special collections and archives from all over the state of Kentucky and of selected digitized objects in those collections. A finding aid is a standard tool used by special collections and archives to give researchers access to the collection. It generally includes information about how the archive obtained the collection, a chronology related to the collection, a brief history, and a list of the items in the collection. Digitizing the finding aids provides a level of access to these collections previously only available if you were actually at the institution holding those items.

We are also digitizing the actual photo, letters, journals, and more that exist in collections across the state.

About Information Skills Tutorial:

This online interactive tutorial was built to help you learn how to do effective research, improve your information literacy skills, learn how to cite your sources and much more. It is self-paced and includes quizzes so you can see how you are doing.

About the Virtual Reference Desk:

The best web resources available are found here at the Virtual Reference Desk, including almanacs, dictionaries, telephone directories, statistical sources, homework helpers, book reviews and more. You are provided with subject-oriented, annotated links to reference websites in all subject areas. Focus is on websites that have been used by our Reference Helpdesk to answer questions, that support KYVU students' needs or the information needs of Kentuckians, or websites of relevance to Kentucky.

This is also the place to look for research help. Whether you are researching a topic for class or just looking for information for your own interests, the Virtual Reference Helpdesk Librarians want to help you find what you need. Fill out the I NEED HELP form, call our tollfree number: 1-877-740-4357 or email us: [email protected]. The Helpdesk is staffed Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Please double check any email address that you send to us so that we are able to get back to you.

About About KYVL:

This area of the KYVL website is designed to help Kentucky librarians and others learn about the Kentucky Virtual Library (KYVL). Here you can find the KYVL mission and chronology which will give you information on how we have evolved. You can check out What's New for the latest news on KYVL. You can click on Services to learn more about databases, training, document delivery, etc. You can follow the Committees link which will lead you to the membership and the minutes of all the committees working on the project.