History 203L
Dimensions of History Lab
5:00 - 7:50 W (Lab)
CAS 128
Spring Semester, 2008
Roger Williams University
Lab Schedule
Michael R. H. Swanson Ph. D.
Office:  CAS 110, Ext. 3230
Hrs:  M. F.  1:00-2:00
T, 11:00-12:30,  W 2:00-3:00
E-mail:     History 203L@msn.com
All tools availalbe through the Helin Network from On Campus are also available from off campus.

From the Roger Williams University Library Website. 

Services for Off-campus users:

Who can use these services?
What resources are available to me off campus?
How can I connect to Library resources from home?
Do I need a library card?
How can I activate the library barcode on my student ID card?
How can I obtain research assistance?

Who can use these services?

   Remote Library Services are available to all RWU students, faculty and staff.
   Services include:

       * Research assistance via chat, email or telephone.
       * Online forms for Interlibrary Loan requests for books and journal articles.
       * Prompt delivery of articles using traditional mail and electronic delivery.
       * Remote and on-site library instruction.
       * Remote access assistance to library databases for doing your own research at
         home.

What resources are available to me off campus?

   The RWU Libraries provide remote access to the HELIN Library Catalog, to full-text electronic books and journals, and to over a 100 periodical and reference databases providing full-text content, citations, and abstracts. For a complete listing of RWU subscription databases see the Alphabetical list of Databases. Note: Only current members of the RWU community may access licensed databases.

   The HELIN Library Catalog indicates what materials are held by RWU and the other HELIN Libraries. The Catalog also provides links to those items that are available electronically on the web or within one of our subscription databases (i.e. Ebsco, Science Direct, JSTOR, etc.).

   The Library web site also provides access to various Web resources and Research Subject Guides to aid you in your research.

How can I connect to Library resources from home?

   From the Articles and Databases page, locate the database you would like to use. Once you select a database, you will be asked to enter your name and library barcode (found on the back of your student ID). Your library card must be activated to access the databases. If it is not activated, please contact the Circulation Desk at 401-254-3084.

We will try using these databases with an
add-on to Firefox called Zotero.  I think Zotero
will probably prove easier to use than it is to
explain.  In preparation, I'd like to have you visit
the Screencast Tutorial Page.  Watch the short instruction videos.  Play with it and see what you can figure out.
Next week,'s work will be more useful if you have moved beyond selecting a time period for your London research to selecting a topic or topics for consideration.  I will likely go around the room asking people what topics they're considering, or, if they've got that far, decided to put forward for consideration.  If you can get a topic settled upon you can begin doing some preliminary research in the primary and secondary sources over Spring Break, and that would be IDEAL
Thomas Babbington MacAulay
All of the above ought to look pretty familiar to you.  It's reprinted verbatim from the page for March 12. I've put the last paragraph above into a box.  It expressed some hope in an ideal.  Did anyone achieve that ideal?  We're in the countdown stages of toward the end of the semester.  About six weeks to go.  Besides working a little with Zotero and J-Stor, This lab session I'm going to go right down the roll for the class and ask people what progress they've made on determining a topic for the London paper.