Connect with the Campus Library!

I love this new database we just subscribed to! The Global Road Warrior (funny name, don’t you think?) is a guide for individuals traveling abroad or companies doing business in foreign countries.  As a Greek myself, I checked to see how accurate this database is for information it provides about my own original country.  My favorite section to explore was “Society & Culture.”  Here is one of the “Stereotypes of Greeks as accepted by Greeks “  I found in that section  - I thought you might appreciate it!

“There are two types of people in the world: Greeks and people who wish they were Greeks.”

By golly, quite true!

This database even has a section for “Essential terms,” important words to use when you travel to the country.  Ok, now practice …“Den katalavéno”;  in Greek it means I don’t understand! This expression may come on handy if you plan on visiting my country soon.

Check our newly revised Government Info link under “Research Tools,” at the bottom of the COCC Barber Library homepage! Here, you’ll find new categories and links we added just for  you: “How to Cite Government Docs,” “Statistics,” “Climate Information,” “U.S. History,” etc.  Under the category WEB SEARCH ENGINES, you’ll also see an Ask a Librarian link (Government Information Online ) which gives you a cool way to “ask government information librarians who are experts at finding information from government agencies of all levels (local, state, regional, national international) on almost any subject from aardvarks to zygomycosis!”

Ever wish you had your own private researcher who could scan hundreds of scholarly journals every day and alert you when a new article is published on a certain topic? You can use EBSCO’s RSS feature and have exactly that.

Do you already use a RSS Feed Reader (aka news aggregator of news reader) to stay up on your favorite news sources and blogs? You can use that same tool, combine it with the powerful research capabilities of EBSCO, and be alerted when there are new magazine, journal or newspaper articles on a research topic of interest. Once you’ve set this up, you will see the latest articles as soon as they are made available. And it’s a just a few clicks away.

Choose the EBSCO database of your choice, and perform the search on your topic. (Your search can be as simple or sophisticated as you want. Consult a librarian if you’d like help with this step.) Above your results list, you’ll see the RSS symbol and the words “Create alert for this search.” A pop-up screen displays with the search alert information. Copy the Syndication Feed URL into your newsreader.

You can set up a feed for an entire journal as well. Click the Publications link on the sub-toolbar. Once you have found the desired publication, click the RSS alert icon to the left of the publication name. Of course, there is more you can do. Click on Help once you are in EBSCO, look for the section on Saving Searches and Alerts and you will see even more explanation on how to set up RSS feeds and alerts.

At this time, EBSCO supports the following newsreader programs: My Yahoo!, CustomReader, FeedReader, Wizz RSS, Bloglines, Pluck, Safari 2.0, NetNewsWire, NewsGator, and Google Reader. If you’re not already using a newsreader, check out some of these. It’s a great way to stay up on your news sources without visiting every page.

Whether you are a web designer or wish to spice up your own personal web page, you may want  to check out “10 Places to Find Free Images Online and Make Your Content More Linkable,” by Loren Baker in Search Engine Journal.  In this web site, Baker offers a great list of sources for free or royalty-free images you can upload and/or edit for your website.  I don’t know about you, but this has been a list I have been waiting for for a long time!

Do you love to gaze at the stars in the night sky?  Want to experience some of the beauty of the Universe? I spent more than an hour with my child last night exploring Sky-Map, a web site which presents a detailed map of the sky and a huge collection of images of all objects outside our solar system.  When you are in this web site, use “Show stars above you now” (click on the time icon next to the search box) to enter your location and find all constellations viewable in your area, right above your head!  Want to search for a specific object in the sky?  Just do a search by typing its name in the search box, “Find Object”.  I addition, you’ll find so much more to explore in what’s featured under “Attractive Spots of the Universe”!  And for the real astronomer inside you, this web site is also filled with all kinds of hard-core information to satisfy your whole scientific appetite! 

A couple of weeks ago Cat blogged about the Library’s newest online resource, the Oxford English Dictionary.  Here’s a great chance for you to try it out:  look up the word Google. 

Well, surprised at the results?  It’s true.  The word “Google” has made it into the OED as a verb, meaning, “To search for information about (a person or thing) using the Google search engine.”

Google’s great.  You can find a lot of information there and I use it all the time.  But, you don’t always find everything you need or the best information, especially when you’re doing academic research.  So, I propose a new way of thinking about the library.   

That trusted resource, the OED, tells us that “library” is a noun meaning, “A place set apart to contain books for reading, study, or reference…”  I’m suggesting that you start to think of “library” as an action verb, like Google:

Library, v., “To search for information about anything using the Library.”

The resources at the library (we’re not just talking about books, people!  Take a look at our extensive list of e-Journals, Article Databases, and other online resources.) are for much more than reading, study, and reference.  These resources provide you with the raw materials for your research and papers, the know-how for new hobbies & activities, and the knowledge needed to make informed opinions about issues of critical importance.  Most importantly, the raw materials, know-how, and knowledge obtained from the library enable you to take action in everyday life.  Even better, the library comes with professionals trained in the art of helping you find the information you need. 

So, the next time you’ve run into a dead end with Google, or you just aren’t sure you’re getting the best information out there, library your question, and see what you find!

A new website, Linus Pauling and the International Peace Movement: A Documentary History, was recently launched by the Oregon State University (OSU) Libraries Special Collections. This is an amazing resouce of primary materials documenting the pioneering work of two individuals, Linus and Ava Helen Pauling, who were two major contributors to the twentieth century peace movement. The couple, both of them well-known scientists, devoted their life “speaking against the dangers of radioactive fallout, weapons proliferation and the cultural effects of Cold War hysteria.” 

According to the OSU Libraries announcement, “The centerpiece of the Pauling peace site is an illustrated, fifty-three chapter narrative, written by Pauling biographer Thomas Hager. Over five-hundred archival documents and more than fifty audio and video clips provide deeper context for the events and ideas discussed in this narrative. In addition, the complete details of the Paulings’ personal and professional activities for the years 1950 and 1951 are exhaustively chronicled in the unique Linus Pauling Day-by-Day calendar.”

Check out this comprehensive list of search engines that are out there.  There are subject-specific search engines, search engines that provide credible results (i.e., sites reliable enough to cite in a paper or project for school), search engines for opinions, search engines for specific types of media (like maps, music, images, video), search engines outside the US, and the list goes on and on…Try branching out beyond Google and let us know what you think!   

When was the last time you read a poem?  Or listened to a poem being read?  If you can’t even remember the last time you read or heard a poem, then stop everything and explore some of the options that are out there to help you make contact with poetry on a regular basis.  The best part is that there are a couple of great sites that provide audio clips of poems, so you can indulge even if you don’t have the time to sit down with anything other than required reading.  The Poetry Archive has lots of (mostly) contemporary poets reading their own work.  Think poetry is irrelevant to everyday life?  Think again.  You can browse The Poetry Archive by topic, so it’s easy to find something of interest to you.  You can also browse by poet or poem title.  If you have kids, they can visit The Children’s Archive.  Another excellent audio archive is called PENNsound.  It’s similar in conception to The Poetry Archive – modern poets reading their own works.  While you can’t browse in the same ways you can through The Poetry Archive, you can explore some of the interesting anthologies put together by PENNsound.  In addition to audio clips, PENNsound has video and longer podcasts.  Both of these sites are great ways to make poetry a part of your life!

Need a break from homework?  A website to help you procrastinate?  Check out MoOM (The Museum of Online Museums).  This site is a gathering of some interesting and unique digital archives and exhibits.  One of the most random is certainly the Gallery of Nebraska Pay Phones, which is exactly what its name says it is.  Are you out of food and also ideas of what to buy at the market?  Visit The Grocery List Collection, which claims to be the “world’s largest online collection of found grocery lists.” With over 1600 lists to view, you’ll find plenty of inspiration.  In addition to links to these and a great many unusual collections, MoOM also links to the websites of established museums with outstanding reputations:  MoMA, The Art Institute of Chicago, and The Smithsonian, just to name a few.