Think Like a Librarian: New Tabs
Here's how I have organized my browser to handle new tabs:
It's pretty sweet. I can open a new tab and see a collection of bookmarks to get me where I want to go. In the past, I would just open Google and search for whatever site I wanted, or I would go to the Library homepage and start my research from there. I can still do that using the address bar search, but this way, I cut out those steps and get where I need to be much faster. Here's how to do it:
1) Download a New Tab Extension
You'll need to get a browser extension that allows you to bookmark specific sites in your new tabs. In the image above, I'm using Foxtab, but I've also used Speed Dial in the past and it works very well too. You can find a good list of Google Chrome extensions here.
2) Identify the Main Resources You Use
You'll need to decide what bookmarks to place in your new tab. I have two pages of bookmarks, one for common daily links, like Tumblr and Gmail, and one for my research links, which includes things like Jstor and Google Scholar. Try browsing the library's most popular databases for key research tools, or have a look at our research guides, which will help you find resources for specific subject areas. Also, you can keep adding new bookmarks as you discover them throughout your research.
Here's a list of the tools I have on my Research page:
Google Scholar
Jstor
EbscoHost
Proquest
Sage Journals
Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford Reference Online
Gale Virtual Reference Library
Online Writing Lab (OWL)
Refworks
3) Create the Bookmarks
For the library's subscription resources, you can't simply link to the main page. What you'll want is to link through the library's proxy authentication so you can access our subscription. To do this, go to the resource listing on the library databases page, right-click the Connect link, and click Copy Link Address. Now the links go through the library, requiring you to login with your ID and password.
4) Add a Logo (optional)
Because I like to have things nicely organized, I usually add a logo as the image for each resource. I find these by searching Google Images. Most extensions will allow you to add custom images, but some may have predefined options only.
5) Make it Pretty (optional)
Most of these extensions will give you the option to customize the background, the size of the links, and other aspects of the appearance. I chose the wood grain background so I feel like I'm working at a nice pine desk.