Resource Spotlight – University Libraries

Pure-ly New Scholarship!

Contributed By Professor Natalie Lau, Scholarly Communications Librarian

Seton Hall University Libraries has migrated all former SelectedWorks profiles to the Seton Hall University Research Portal, powered by Pure by Elsevier, due to the retirement of SelectedWorks. Pure aggregates research outputs of any and all types which makes it different from SelectedWorks, also knowns as Expert Gallery Suite, was announced by Elsevier to retire in December of 2024. Since then, the team at Seton Hall has fortified the Pure profiles before release to ensure that profiles are up to date. Here is the link to the Pure site powered by the University Libraries.

Pure works seamlessly with Digital Commons, ORCID, Scopus, and many other familiar third-party sources to create a holistic scholarship profiling system for the Seton Hall University community. Pure reduces the administrative burden due to the many integrations available for automated searches. Check out our research guide for more details: https://library.shu.edu/facultymetrics/pure

For those considering applying for rank and tenure, the process to request scholarly metrics will remain the same but may include metrics which are displayed on your Pure profile! This gives you a few metrics to keep an eye on and to watch your reach grow. Request your scholarly metrics here: https://shu.libwizard.com/id/d43149339678f3d72253bbf99b1697ee

Due to a limited quantity of licenses, we can offer profiles to all full-time faculty at Seton Hall University. If you have any questions regarding your profile eligibility, please contact us at: erepository@shu.edu.

Exciting New Resource – Folio Library Service Platform (LSP)

The Seton Hall University Libraries will went live with the FOLIO Library Services Platform (LSP) on March 3, 2025. Using EBSCO FOLIO hosting and implementation services from EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) the new system will provide SHU Libraries’ end users with a complete solution that joins library resources with seamless access anytime, on any device.

The mission of the SHU Libraries is to create and implement tools that are easy to use, suit researchers’ needs and can work with their current and prospective library systems. EBSCO FOLIO joins in this mission to aid the university in implementing the open-source LSP, marrying openness and accessibility with the innovation and collaboration that make up the FOLIO platform.

FOLIO works seamlessly with existing solutions, streamlining workflows and providing ease of access and better innovative possibilities for the SHU Libraries. Through FOLIO’s customizable architecture, the University Libraries will be free to choose applications for its unique system while avoiding their previous ILS’s forced packages and predetermined workflows. As existing and active users of EBSCO Discovery Service™ (EDS) and OpenAthens, FOLIO presented itself as the most practical option for the Libraries.

Seton Hall University Libraries Assistant Dean of Information Technology and Collection Services, Sharon Ince, says the decision to switch to FOLIO helps streamline workflows significantly “We needed to find a solution to address impasses, especially those surrounding ERM workflows and linking to our discovery layer. Since both solutions are built natively within EBSCO products, we felt confident in our switching to the open LSP with EBSCO’s support.”

SHU Libraries will join several notable Association of Research Libraries (ARL) members who use EBSCO FOLIO Services, including Columbia University Libraries, Cornell University, the Library of Congress, Michigan State University, Oklahoma State University, and the University of Georgia.

We welcome you to our information center in the near future, but in the meantime if you need detailed help through the University Libraries. You can book a research appointment here: Research Appointment Site.

Theatrical Information Resources & University Libraries

World Theater Day (3/27) is celebrated around the globe during the month of March. The importance of dramatic arts in terms of research potential are part of the information resource base offered by the University Libraries.

Included among the information sites offered include . . .

“Drama” – Library Research Guides

“Theater” – SHU Search

“Theater” – SHU Book Search

Africana Studies – Introductory Resources Provided By The University Libraries

In honor of African American History Month and the value of discovery all year long, the University Libraries feature several different resources that serve to aid our research community. When learning more about the African American experience there are various specialized sites to discover including the following examples . . .

Starting Your Research – Introductory & Interdisciplinary Databases

The Spring Semester has started and with the beginning of new information seeking adventures, the University Libraries offers several electronic-based tools to aid all of students and faculty with their respective research assignments. The Databases Page found under the “Find” links and icon located within the center toolbar.

Included among the most popular individual multi-disciplinary sites are: Academic Search Premier, Credo Reference, Global Issues in Context, LexisNexis Uni (formerly LexisNexis Academic), Opposing Viewpoints in Context (Gale), ProQuest Databases, and Statista: Insights and Facts Across 170 Industries and 150+ Countries.

Multi-Language Education & The University Libraries

December is “Learn a Foreign Language” month within the United States and this provides our research community with the prime opportunity to explore different ways to connect more closely with the world at large. Popular dialects from Afrikaans to Zulu and others in-between are available for your discovery.

The University Libraries has various links to different language resources in order to aid your research efforts. This includes general Books on Language, SHU Search – Introduction to Languages, along with Languages & Library Guides found on our homepage.

Creating an Open Access Journal with the University Libraries

by Maria A. Barca

Are you interested in publishing in or creating an Open Access journal? If your answer is “yes!”, but you don’t know where to start, then keep reading. In this blog post, we’ll look at how Seton Hall University Libraries can help you create or publish in an Open Access journal.

Open Access scholarship—including journals—are high-quality, peer-reviewed works that are freely available for people to access. There are no financial, legal, or technical barriers to accessing Open Access content. See this link for more information.

So where would you go to publish or create an Open Access journal? To our repository, of course!

Seton Hall University has an institutional repository: eRepository @ Seton Hall. Through the eRepository, Seton Hall students, faculty, researchers, and other community members can upload their Open Access scholarly research, data and datasets, podcasts, infographics, presentations, etc., for the world to access. You can immediately see the reach that our eRepository has with the interactive map found on the front page of the site.

If the prospect of posting in our eRepository excites you: good! Your librarians are here to help you upload your scholarly works to the repository; and if you have even bigger goals, we can also help you create academic, peer-reviewed Open Access journals to showcase the works of scholars and students on a particular topic or area of expertise. One of our eRepository journals, Locus: The Seton Hall Journal of Undergraduate Research, has been particularly successful.

If you are interested in publishing in the eRepository, creating an Open Access journal, or just have more questions about how we can help you expand your research output, please contact the Research Information Management Librarian, Maria A. Barca (maria.barca@shu.edu) or reach out to the eRepository email (eRepository@shu.edu).

SHU Libraries Database Spotlight: ICPSR

By Sara Makler, Adjunct Librarian

The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (or ICPSR) is, as the name implies, a consortium of universities who seek to collect, preserve, and disseminate social science data. ICPSR contains a vast quantity of data available to the SHU community. The data includes studies and files in areas such as population, economics, education, health, social and political behavior, social and political attitudes, history, crime, aging, and substance abuse. This trove of data can help you with research for assignments.

You can easily search by topic and find data and the publications associated with it. This allows the use of these publications with an eye towards the actual data as well as the authors’ use of that data, enabling you to gain a familiarity with the use of raw data that you may not otherwise obtain.

This is extremely useful. To get to ICPSR, go to the library homepage at https://library.shu.edu/home and click on Databases.

Once on the database page, use the Search box to find “ICPSR”.

Alternatively, go directly here: https://library.shu.edu/ICPSRsite

For more information about data resources at SHU, please visit: https://library.shu.edu/data

For more information about Data Ethics, please visit: https://library.shu.edu/dataethics

SHU Libraries Database Spotlight: Statista

By Sara Makler, Adjunct Librarian

Statista is one of the world’s largest providers of statistical data. It consolidates data from over 22,500 sources from around the world, related to over 80,000 topics. If you are working on an assignment that requires statistical data, you are likely to find something on Statista. In addition to the raw data, Statista provides related studies that can help with research assignments. While Statista is known among business and marketing majors, it has data about numerous other topics, such as social sciences and health.

Statista will benefit your research in almost any assignment that calls for data use. At SHU, you can find it here: https://library.shu.edu/statista

Or follow the instructions below to get there.

Go to the library homepage at https://library.shu.edu/home and click on Databases.

Once on the database page, use the search box to search for Statista.

For more information about data resources at SHU, please visit: https://library.shu.edu/data

For more information about Data Ethics, please visit: https://library.shu.edu/dataethics

Caribbean American Heritage Month

Happy Caribbean American Heritage Month! To learn more about Caribbean culture, life, and history, we partnered with SHU’s West Indian Student Organization (WISO) and compiled a list of reading recommendations. Below is a list recommended by Ijah Penn, the treasurer of SHU WISO. To see more reading recommendations, you can go on Instagram and follow #caribbeanreads, and you can get involved in SHU WISO or learn more about their organization by following their Instagram: shu_wiso

Additionally, Chelsea Barrett, Business Librarian and Africana Studies liaison, compiled a new Research Guide on Caribbean Studies. Please check it out and provide feedback!

1. Land of Love and Drowning (2014)- The author Tiphanie Yanique represents St. Thomas and the U.S Virgin Islands. The story is a book of twisted and dark family secrets that plague the Bradshaw women over 60 years in the early 90’s in the U.S Virgin Islands. The novel is available as a print book in the library.

2. Elizabeth Nunez is a Trinidadian author who writes about internal cultural and societal struggles and the complex identities of her characters reflect the turmoil of these challenges. Two of Nunez’s works listed below can be found in the SHU library catalog as ebooks: Even in Paradise (2016), and Not Everyday Use (2014).

3. The Dragon Can’t Dance (1986) by Earl Lovelace is a novel that discusses the difficulty of postcolonial Trinidad. The story is told through one man’s preparations of an elaborate dragon costume for Carnival as he attempts to shed the struggles of his life after Emancipation. This book can be found in print in the library.

5. A Brief History of the Seven Killing (2014) is written by Marlon James, who represents Jamaica. The novel is a suspense-filled fictional story about Jamaica’s history and the political climate of the 1960’s through the 80’s. This book can be found in print in the library.

6. Esmeralda Santiago is a prominent Puerto Rican author in the United States. She writes memoirs that encapsulate her own assimilation into this American culture and way of life, which allow others with similar experiences to relate and feel represented. Her writing showcases themes of self-discovery, immigration, working-class immigrant experience and biculturalism.

Below are just a few samples of her writing and contributions:

Esmeralda Santiago. “El Hombre Que Yo Amo.” Ploughshares, vol. 26, no. 2/3, 2000, p. 146. EBSCOhost. Link to Read Full Text.

Video: “Esmeralda Santiago discusses her novel When I Was Puerto Rican.”

More selections from Santiago’s writing are also available to read in this print book, Boricuas: Influential Puerto Rican Writings — An Anthology.