Tropical Research & Education Center: FAQ

Accessing databases and journals from off-campus

UF doesn't have my resource

Copying print articles

Get more help

Bibliographic management software: RefWorks

1. I'm working off campus. How can I access the databases and read electronic journals?

   The majority of our electronic databases and journals are restricted for use only by UF faculty, staff, and students. If you are on campus, the library recognizes your IP address, however if you are off campus, you will need to log on using the UF VPN software.

2. The UF library doesn't have my:
    
   • Journal: Be sure that you are looking in the catalog for the journal and not just through the e-journal locator. We have an increasing number of journals online but many titles (especially older volumes) are still in print format. The print journals in Marston are shelved by call number and date: volumes after 1990 are on the 3rd floor and before 1990 are now in storage. If we don't hold your desired journal, you can request the individual article through Interlibrary Loan.
   • Book: If you can't locate the book in the catalog, you can request it through Interlibrary Loan. You will need to create a separate ILL account with your contact information and specify as much information as you can about the desired book.
      
   • In either scenario, please contact Melody Royster, so she is aware of the missing resource.
      
3. How can I make a copy of an article in a print journal?

   You can now use the declining balance feature of your Gator 1 card in order to pay for copying/printing in the libraries. Black and White copying/printing will cost $0.10 per page, and is available from all campus libraries. Color copying/printing will cost $0.50 per page, and is available from the AFA Library, Marston Science Library, and the Health Science Center Library. If you are a current UF student, faculty, or staff, you can add money to your Gator 1 card through the Gator 1 Center web site. For a complete step-by-step guide, please visit the Printing in the Libraries page. Once you have added funds to your Gator 1 card, it will take approximately 10 minutes for the transaction to be credited to your account. If you wish to obtain a departmental copier account, please visit the Gator 1 Center office and complete the Library Vending Debt Card form. You can also check out bound journals to photocopy articles in your department or copy center. Another option is to use the scanners located on the 2nd and 3rd floors to make PDF of the article which you than you can save on USB drive, burn to a CD, or email to yourself.   

4. How can I get more help about using the library?

   The best way to obtain help is to contact Melody Royster, your subject specialist. She can be reached by email at mroyster@ufl.edu, in person at Marston Science in Rm. 312B, or by phone at 352-273-2661. Please contact her if you are having trouble finding materials, have questions about databases, or would like to schedule an instruction session for yourself, class, or lab group.

   For general reference questions, please call the Marston Science reference desk at 352-273-2856 or instant message our chat reference service at screen-name uflibrarian on Google, AOL, or Yahoo. For more information, please see our "Ask A Librarian" page.

5. I'd like to use software to manage my citations. Does the library provide such software?

   We offer RefWorks, a web-based bibliographic manager, for all faculty, staff, and students. RefWorks allows users to create an unlimited number of accounts, import and create article citations, and format and quickly output reference lists into Word, HTML, or plain text format. You will need to create an account and, if off campus, be sure to use the UF Group code. Currently, RefWorks is allowing an unlimited amount of data to be stored in each account and you can upload citations, images, documents, and other types of files (up to 10 MB). There is an extensive amount of help documentation available, or please contact Melody Royster with any questions.