Power Up Your Academic Searches With Consensus

Posted on October 30, 2025 Written by

From now until August 31, 2026, the Ross Pendergraft Library is offering a free trial of the AI-power academic search engine, Consensus, to all Arkansas Tech University students, faculty, and staff.

A screenshot of the Consensus search engine featuring a search box that says "Consensus: Research starts here"

What Is Consensus?

Consensus is a search engine for academic content that uses artificial intelligence to provide summaries of a given result set that may provide insight, answers, or a ‘consensus’ of highly-cited academic research on a given topic.  It claims to make academic searching easier and less time-consuming for busy researchers.

How Do I Create An Account?

Tech users can create an account with Consensus using their atu.edu email.  This will automatically grant them Consensus enterprise level account status from now until next year.  If users have already created an account with their atu.edu email, users will see the premium icon in the bottom, left-corner of the Consensus homepage:

The current trial enables users to have unlimited Pro searches, unlimited Study Snapshots, and 50 Deep Searches a month.

What Content Does Consensus Search?

Unlike general search engines like Google, Consensus will only search academic articles and peer-reviewed studies.  It uses sources like Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, Pubmed, and its own collections licensed through other academic publishers.  Some of the results include preprint versions of articles before they were peer-reviewed and published elsewhere. According to their website, users can search over 220 million peer-reviewed articles. While most results will be comprised of open access content, it may also include articles with abstracts only or restricted access.  These articles can be searched by title or DOI in the library’s search engine for immediate full-text access or access through Interlibrary Loan.  You can see some illustrations of their included content at their dashboard.

How Do I Use It?

Like any search engine, the website features an open search box where users can query the database.  It supports both semantic searching and structured, Boolean searching.  A semantic search, like a whole phrase or question, searches for synonyms and contextual meaning rather than the exact search terms.  A Boolean search will give you a more precise result set featuring articles using exact keywords, and the ability to recognize operators like AND, OR, and NOT, as well as quotation marks for phrase-searching.

If you ask Consensus a “Yes” or “No” question, this will activate a meter which will synthesize results from the top 20 papers to provide an illustration of where academic consensus on your question would fall:

A screenshot of the consensus meter featuring a yes or no bar, and the question Do vaccines cause autism. The bar for "NO" is longer (93%) than the "possibly" bar (7%)

View their Best Practices page to get more out of your Consensus search.

What Makes Consensus Different Than Other Academic Search Engines?

Like all academic search engines, Consensus uses search filters to help users refine results.  It also ranks results by relevancy to your search query.  It does have a few features that make it stand out:

  • The first twenty results of every search are summarized to give a broad overview of the result set.
  • Consensus uses citation count, recency, and journal impact in result ranking.
  • Users can use an embedded chatbot to ask questions about an individual paper.
  • Paper “Snapshots” provide a quick list of a study’s methods, sample sizes, population, location, outcomes, and results.
  • Advanced filters on study methods, citation count, sample size, duration, and journal ranking are available.
  • Users can create a table, draft outlines, or upload other papers to analyze, summarize, or query.

Unlike the Library’s collection of databases, it cannot access our own licensed content, nor can it search across our own premium collections.  It also lacks robust controlled vocabulary searching features (subject searching).

Additionally, some library databases from Ebsco and Proquest already include article summarization in their results.  JSTOR users with individual accounts can also access a “Chat With A Paper” feature and view an AI summarization of the first twenty results.

Should I Trust Consensus?

While this search engine cannot hallucinate by fabricating citations (like ChatGPT), it can provide misleading summaries of real articles.  Researchers should treat any AI-generated summary with the same skepticism reserved for any second-hand source of information.  It can leave out important details or misinterpret results.

Students should also be made aware that copying an AI-generated summarization without attribution can constitute plagiarism.  They should review the Academic Integrity policies of ATU or discuss using this content with their professor.

Interested users should review their Security and Privacy Policies before creating an account.  While the product claims to not use customer data to train AI models or sell data to third-parties, it is still a private company, and individuals should carefully assess risks to their data and privacy before creating accounts.

What’s the Consensus On Consensus?

We want to know your feedback and experiences using this new tool—good or bad.  As artificial intelligence changes the way we learn and conduct research, it is important to use these opportunities to be curious, be skeptical, and be responsible in our practices.   If you want to give us your impressions on the tool, or if you have additional questions or concerns about using it, reach out to the library by contacting us via email at askus@atu.libanswers.com.

Filed Under: Library

Hear About Haunted ATU On Oct. 29th

Posted on October 27, 2025 Written by

Have you heard of the ghostly piano player at Witherspoon?  Have you felt a cold presence in Caraway Hall?  Are you worried that your classroom was built on an old Cherokee burial ground?  Does Tucker terrify you?

Illustration of an old building with trees and bats. Text across the top says "Ross Pendergraft Library 'Haunted Sites' at Arkansas Tech University. Wednesday, October 29th, 6:00 PM, Pendergraft Library 300B. Amy Milliken Department of Arkansas Heritage. Ms. Milliken will showcase ghost stories about several historic buildings at ATU!." Text at the bottom says, "For more information, library.atu.edu"Prepare to be totally creeped out this Wednesday, October 29th at 6:00 P.M. in RPL 300B as we welcome a guest presentation from Amy Milliken on the spooky stories and folklore centered around several historic buildings at Arkansas Tech University.

Amy Milliken is the Education Outreach Coordinator at the Department of Arkansas Heritage. She will share not only historical information about the buildings and grounds, but she will also separate the myths from the facts behind the campus’s most famous ghosts and ghost stories.

This event is free and open to the public.  For more information about the event, contact Luke Heffley at 479-964-0546 or lheffley@atu.edu.

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Free Trial of APA Manual Online

Posted on September 26, 2025 Written by

It’s time to get exCITED about the APA Manual Online!  From now until October 14th, the Ross Pendergraft Library is offering access to the online version of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association a.k.a. the APA Style Manual (7th edition).

Try the APA Manual Online

Available for a limited time to all ATU users, the APA Style Manual Online features the searchable full-text of the entire manual, cover to cover.  Users can navigate by page number, table of contents, and use the search box to find out how they might cite an Instagram post.

Cover of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association 7th edition.The APA Manual Online also includes “Lessons” to guide you through common topics like citing Journal Article References, Citing References In Text, or using Direct Quotations and Paraphrases.

By creating an optional personal login, you can also bookmark sections, highlight phrases and paragraphs, and add your own notes to different areas of the manual.  The Manual is also mobile friendly and looks great on a smartphone or a tablet.

For more information on the features of APA Manual Online, you can view this video tutorial of all of the features:

If you like what you see in the APA Manual Online, give us your feedback by emailing us at askus@atu.libanswers.com.  You can also call us, text us, chat at us via the Ask Us webpage.

Remember, you have until October 14th to try this out!  For all other databases, including new databases, see our A-Z Databases Page for library resources fit for your next bibliography.

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RPL Author Series Kick-Off September 24th

Posted on September 17, 2025 Written by

The RPL local author series is back!  Join us on Wednesday, September 24th at 6:00 PM in the Ross Pendergraft Library & Technology Center room 300B as we welcome local author, Janet Ake to kick off our monthly author series.

Photo of Janet Ake.A retired librarian and teacher who lives in Yell County, Janet Ake is the author of several novels including Her Beautiful Mind, Daughter of Three Suns, and Ice Mountain: A Beauty and the Beast Retelling.  Her latest novel, The Last Protector, is a post-apocalyptic fantasy novel that tells the story of Ezander and his fight to survive a desert wasteland and save the woman he loves.

Come meet the author, ask questions, and enter a chance to win a free copy of her latest book, The Last Protector.  Entry is free and open to the public.

Image of a book jacket for The Last Protector. Cover features figures in a desert landscape. One figure wears a cloak, one has a long staff. Behind them, a wolf howls on top of a mountain. Behind them all a shadow of a large figure with hair that looks like creatures are coming out of it.For more events at the Ross Pendergraft Library & Technology Center, follow us on  Instagram and Facebook. You can also contact Luke Heffley, special projects coordinator for Pendergraft Library, at (479) 964-0546 or lheffley@atu.edu for more information about the RPL Author Series.

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Traveling with the Arkansas Traveler

Posted on March 24, 2025 Written by

Did you know that many of the online databases and ebook collections available at Arkansas Tech University are actually provide freely for the whole state of Arkansas?  This state collection is called the Arkansas Traveler Program, with an aim to provide educational resources to everyone, regardless of institutional affiliation.

When Google is not enough and valid sources are hosted behind paywalls, the Arkansas Traveler project can make it possible for school children, college students, faculty researchers, and ordinary Arkansans to access scholarly articles, educational videos, language instruction, and thousands of ebooks on a variety of subjects.

So what’s included?  Here’s a short list of our most popular resources provided by the Arkansas Traveler Program:

  • ProQuest Central – A multidisciplinary one-stop database covering scholarly journal articles, periodicals, videos, disssertations & theses, newspapers, and more.
  • ProQuest One Business – A large business database encompassing millions of full-text items including company reports, industry reports, scholarly articles, and more.
  • ProQuest One Literature – The largest database we have for literature. Includes literary criticism, biography, and full-text access to more than 500,000 works of poetry, drama, and prose.
  • Pronunciator – A language learning application that includes step-by-step lesson plans for 163 languages, ESL courses, and American Sign Language courses. It includes an app to keep track of your progress without an owl.
  • Research Companion – A series of videos, tools, and resources to help students do more effective research, evaluate sources, and synthesize that research into their own papers.
  • Ebook Central – A multidisciplinary collection of ebooks. While some are provided by ATU, many of the ebooks in this collection are provided from the Traveler program

Many other resources are funded by the Traveler program.  To see which ones, go to our A-Z databases page, and look for the blue icon: “ASL Traveler.”

A screenshot of a database link to the resource "ABI/INFORM Collection (now part of ProQuest One Business" and a blue button with the words "ASL Traveler" appearing next to the link. There's a red arrow pointing to the blue button.

Funding for this program is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services to the Arkansas State Library under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act.  For more on the Arkansas Traveler program, visit their FAQ page or Ask Your Librarian.

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Like Us? Love Us? Tell Us!

Posted on March 2, 2025 Written by

The annual library survey is now live and listening:

https://questionpro.com/t/ADooIZ3L5d

Tell us how the library’s collections, services, and spaces mattered to YOU in 2024.  If you’ve ever used our website or stepped foot in the Ross Pendergraft Library & Technology Center, we want to hear what you think about your library.  The survey has been redesigned so you can finish faster and get back to studying for midterms.

Have you ever wanted something different in the library?  More study spaces?  More books?  Less noise? An entirely new floor with a cafeteria and espresso machine?

From now until March 21st, when the survey closes, is your chance to let us know how we can improve and what we’re doing right.

As a direct result of your feedback on past surveys, we’ve made a lot of changes already:

 

Photograph of diner booth seating at a library table, featuring two large, high-backed gray benches and a wooden, blond table.

  • You wanted more comfortable seating and more places in the library to study, so last summer, we renovated a part of the first floor, removed or relocated some outdated books, and added booth seating and study cubicles—creating more study spaces with more attractive, private, and comfortable seating.
  • Many of you said you wanted audiobooks on Libby, so we now have almost 600 of them through the Libby app. Now you can have more debates with your friends about whether listening to an audiobook counts as “reading.”
  • Snacks are now allowed! Just keep Dorito dust off the books.
  • We added a water bottle refill station on the first floor, near the restrooms.
  • Some of you said we want to stay more informed about the library, so we increased the quality and frequency of our social media presence.
  • We added a supply vending machine to get last minute scantrons, charging cables, and playing cards to get through the late-night study sessions.
  • Every year, we hear that you want more quality journal access, and every year, we try to deliver. This past year, we expanded JSTOR and added access to local and state newspapers with America’s News.
  • You told us some of the computers were getting slower, so we upgraded the Apple computers on the third floor and added docking stations to every floor so you can bring your laptop and plug and play (thanks to our good friends in the Office of Information Systems).
  • We can all agree the elevators were sometimes unreliable. Thankfully, they are now getting replaced.
  • Finally, many of you wanted a shorter survey to get through. Take it now and time us—we think it’s faster, but you tell us.

We hope you will continue to tell us what we do best and what we can do better on this year’s survey.  If you want a more direct approach, send us a text, email, or chat.  If you prefer the socials, we can be found on Facebook and Instagram.  No matter how you do it, let us know how we can make your library better.

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100 Years Serving Citizens

Posted on February 27, 2025 Written by

Tucked away on the second floor of the library is a collection that began 100 years ago this month.  This collection is the United States Government Documents collection, provided freely to Arkansas Tech as part of national program called the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP).

Administered by the Government Publishing Office, the FDLP distributes the congressional bills, laws, regulations, presidential documents, reports, and statistics to 1,150 libraries across the country.  These libraries are known as “depository” libraries—a distinction that Arkansas Tech’s Library has held for 100 years, making us the 3rd oldest depository library in Arkansas.

As a depository library, we are committed to accepting, retaining, and maintaining a selection of the publications of the federal government.  Currently, this includes 40,145 physical titles in various formats including books, serial publications, maps, CD-ROMS, microfiche, and games.  It also includes 49,737 electronic resources searchable within our Find It online database.

Government information remains of the most reliable sources of accurate information about the country. Not only does it encompass the laws and regulations of the county, it also includes the reports from various government agencies and services such as NASA, the National Park Service, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the Department of Veteran’s Affairs.  You can find information about the scientific studies, cultural exchange programs, foreign aid services, scholarships, census data, and health programs paid for with your taxpayer dollars.

Who can access this information?  Anyone.  All citizens, regardless of status at ATU are free to use the collection and access the electronic resources.  Depository libraries like us play an important role in providing federal government information to the public.  And we’ve been doing it for a loooooong time.

If navigating such a collection seems overwhelming, we’ve got you covered with a handy research guide to government information both here in the library and out there on the internet.  You can also email or make an appointment with our government information expert in chief, Charity Park.  You can also come check-out a selection of government document materials now on the first floor.

A photograph of various books from the government document collection sitting on a table.

 

 

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African American Women in Art

Posted on February 14, 2025 Written by

Join us on Tuesday, Feb. 25th at 6:00 PM as we host Dr. Lynnette Gilbert, assistant professor of art, for an exploration of African American women in art in RPL 300A.  This event is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served.

Please note this event was originally scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 18, but has been reschedule due to inclement weather.

Photograph of Dr. Lynnette Gilbert

Dr. Gilbert joined the ATU faculty in 2019. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tougaloo College, a Master of Arts degree from the University of Alabama-Birmingham, and a Doctor of Education degree from the University of Houston. She has taught classes in African American art history, a seminar about women in art, and studio art classes.

Broaden your cultural horizons and learn about figures in art and art history that you may have overlooked.  For more library events, visit our calendar of events or follow us on Instagram or Facebook.

 

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Attention Content Creators!

Posted on January 13, 2025 Written by

Are you looking to create higher quality videos, photographs, or sound?  Look no further than the Ross Pendergraft Library Media Production Labs.

This unique service offers the spaces, the equipment, the software, and the expertise needed to elevate your creative output, regardless of major or academic discipline.  If you are working on a school project or a fun project, all students are welcome to use the labs.

The Media Production Labs include three distinct areas on the second floor of the library to record, create, and learn: the Media Lab, Audio Lab, and Video Lab.

Media Lab

This is an open service area staffed with expert assistance to answer your questions about media production. It features 18 PC computers and other devices to enable you to compose music, digitize analog recordings, create marching band drills, and watch DVDs or BluRay videos.  The Media Lab also houses the library’s CD and LP collection, some of the documentary film DVDs, as well as equipment to check-out for home or in-house library use.  This includes mics, stands, cables, cameras, umbrella lighting kit, tripods, and a pop-up greenscreen.  A full list of equipment, including video tutorials, is located at this Video Production Guide: https://libguides.atu.edu/videoproduction.

Images of a dslr 4K camera, Umbrella lighting kit, and a phone tripod available for reserve through the Media Lab

The Audio Lab

A reservable audio recording studio that students can reserve to record, edit, and mix sound. It includes some sound-absorption panels, an iMac digital work station featuring the latest in sound mixing and sound editing software, and numerous professional audio production tools.  Drop some beats, make a podcast, or professionally record a narration over video or Powerpoint.  Reserve time in the Audio Lab by signing in to this page: https://bookit.atu.edu/spaces?lid=15585&gid=32830

The Video Lab

A reservable video recording studio that functions as a maker-space for video capture, still photography, chroma-keying, post-production, and virtual/mixed reality. It features a wall-sized green screen, photography lighting, a PC with three monitors and an expansive suite of video editing software, a 4K video camera, and VR headsets and gloves.  Explore greenscreen and VR technologies with expert assistance and professional tools.  Reserve time in the Video Lab by signing in to this page: https://bookit.atu.edu/spaces?lid=15612

Each of these labs come equipped with professional software like the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite, Ableton Live, Audacity, GarageBand, Logic Pro X, Vegas Pro 19, OBS Studio, and others.

Access to the Audio Lab and Video Lab are limited to currently registered students working on multimedia projects.  Students can also check-out selected equipment for home use for limited durations by visiting the Media Lab.

In addition to spaces, equipment, and software, the Media Librarian, Dr. Lowell Lybarger, has prepared several online research guides to help level up your skills on content creation:

  • Audio for Podcasting – The basics on starting your own podcast and how to use the equipment and software of the Audio Lab to make your dream a reality.
  • Video Production – Everything you need to get started on your next video project, including information about the equipment from the library, how to use video production software, and tips for sound design for videos.
  • Free Media for Content Creation – A valuable collection of web sources for video, images, photographs, sound effects, music and more freely available, adaptable, or usable in your own multimedia project.
  • Multimodal Literacy – A resource guide for creating stories through multiple media avenues beyond the written word. Includes a resource toolkit and information on copyright.
  • VR Guides @ATU – A step-by-step guide for using for using the HTC Vive or Oculus Quest 2 Virtual Reality systems the Video Production Lab.

If you’ve always wanted to be a creator instead of just a consumer of music, video, or other media content, the Library’s got you covered.  Stay up-to-date on events, news, and contests from the Media Production Labs by following them on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube.

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Inclement Weather Hours

Posted on January 10, 2025 Written by

The Ross Pendergraft Library & Technology Center will be closed from noon on January 9th until Monday morning, January 13th, at 7:00 AM.  Virtual research help services will still be available on our ASK US page during normal business hours, Thursday and Friday, from 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM.  You have the option to chat, text, call, or email your research questions and/or your snowman photos.

Looking for something to do during the snow days?  The Library has a variety of online books, audiobooks, and streaming video to help pass the time.  Check out these two collections in particular:

Ebooks and Audiobooks via Libby (Overdrive) —  Enjoy your favorite thriller, biography, or fantasy novel from the comfort of your own phone, tablet, or Kindle.  Download the Libby app on your device to get started and make sure you choose “Arkansas Tech University” as your library.

Streaming movies via Swank – Watch Hollywood blockbusters, independent masterpieces, or cinema classics on one of the library’s streaming video services, Swank.  Select from fifty films that you can watch freely online from your laptop or phone.  Cozy up with some hot chocolate and a good movie—all from your library!

If you need help with any of those services or more, don’t hesitate to Ask Us.

In the meantime, follow us on Instagram or Facebook for more news and updates about the library.  Stay Warm!

Filed Under: Library