UDM Re:Search ~ Integrating Instruction and Technology UDM's Libraries and Media Services Portal

Thank you to our guest writers, Sarah Lelgarde Swart, UDM Director of Instructional Technology and George Libbey, UDM Associate Dean for Public Services

[June 21, 2002]
University of Detroit Mercy launched a project team to reinvent its library website around a strategy to integrate instructional and library information into a one-stop portal. The Re:Search Portal at UDM went live in July, 2001. More than 500 web pages, about half of which are generated from MySQL databases, populate the site. The portal consists of 61 academic disciplines — including four UDM mission-specific disciplines of "Sustainable Communities," "Catholic," "Diversity," and "Social Justice. There's no stopping UDM either—as the team continues to develop and add new resources as well as provide dynamic updates that enhance existing features. A new version, Re:Search 2.0, is in the works for next year. Watch us grow!

Each discipline page contains subject-specific resources including:

• New Material Lists—recent library acquisitions
• Journals—a subject-specific list of journals held in the libraries
• Databases—discipline-related full-text and abstract databases
• Bibliographies—a selection of core materials prepared by the subject librarians
• Electronic Reference —available to UDM students and faculty 24 hours a day

Additionally, each page provides links to related professional associations, search-ability of "Infomine," a database of scholarly websites with more than 24,000 sites indexed by librarians across the country, and pre-loaded searches of the UDM libraries catalog. Also offered are ejournal full-text feeds from MagPortal which are refreshed weekly. There are seventy-five different eJournal feeds running on the UDM site providing full-text access to current articles from many well-known journals.

The navigation bar on the left side provides access to all the libraries' resources and services. Connect to the UDM Im@gine Catalog, other DALNET catalogs and UDM's Law Library catalog "Murphy". Or take virtual tours of the Outer Drive Campus Library, the McNichols Campus Library, or the Re:Search Portal.

Instructional Design Studio (IDS) is responsible for the design of the site while designers and librarians collaborate to develop content. More information about IDS' mission and initiatives at UDM including faculty development for online courses using our Blackboard server, web-based tutorials, and distance learning bibliographies and information is available online. IDS maintains a listserv called Technoclassroom related to distance learning, web-based course material, and other technology issues in academia.

Initial funding was received from SBC Ameritech Awards and administered by the Michigan Colleges' Foundation.

This can be a regular stop on your websurfing. Feel free to link to Re:Search from your site. It can be a learning experience for all. There's always something new to see and learn!

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