Last day till 2006

The library closes today at 5. We'll reopen on January 3, 2006.

The librarian will take a break from the blog till January 3, too.

Merry Christmas (and happy Hannukah, Kwanzaa, etc!)

A winter present

We have just purchased, the recently well reviewed in Library Journal, Garden Literature Index for our Horticulture program. The database is available through GALILEO.

"Garden Literature Index, (GLI) is the premier resource for access to articles about plants and gardens. Topics include horticulture, garden and landscape design and history, botany, ecology, plant and garden conservation, garden management, and horticultural therapy. A highlight of the database is its focus on environmentally sustainable horticultural and design practices. This index and abstract product is designed for gardening enthusiasts, professionals, and students of horticulture and of garden and landscape design and history. Garden Literature Index covers a wide range of serial titles including general gardening titles of national, international, and regional interest, and titles devoted to specialty gardens and plant groups. It includes periodicals of the major learned societies in horticulture, botany, ecology, entomology, and plant pathology, and of many plant societies and trade associations. Publications of commercial horticulture, landscaping, and retailing are represented. Indexed and abstracted are more than 300 core titles, the majority of which are published in English. Coverage for many titles extends back further than a decade. Garden Literature Index is a unique resource that brings together articles about plants and gardens into a single source, and it includes titles that are not available in any other index. "

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

And the answer is

Did you use the thesaurus? Some of these are pretty obscure.

1. Colorless Yuletide ..................... White Christmas
2. Castanea Seed Vesicated in a Conflagration ..................Chestnuts Roasting on an open Fire
3. Singular Yearning for the Twin Anterior Incisors ........All I Want forChristmas is my Two Front Teeth
4. Righteous Darkness ...........Oh Holy Night
5. Arrival Time: 24:00 Hours/Weather Conditions: Cloudless...............ItCame Upon a Midnight Clear
6. Loyal Followers Advance...................O Come All Ye Faithful
7. Far Off in a Feedbox..........Away In A Manger
8. Array the Corridors................Deck The Halls
9. Lilliputian Male Percussionist.............Little Drummer Boy
10. Monarchial Triad........We Three Kings 11. Nocturnal Noiselessness..............Silent Night
12. Jehovah Deactivate Blithe Chevaliers..............God Rest Ye MerryGentlemen
13. Red Man en Route to Borough..........Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
14. Frozen Precipitation Commence..............Let It Snow
15. Proceed and Enlighten on the Pinnacle.............Go Tell It On TheMountain
16. Antlered Quadruped Valentino Namesake with the VermilionProboscis.....Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
17. Query, regarding the Identity of Juvenile...............What Child IsThis
18. Delight for this Planet............Joy To The World
19. Give Attention to the Melodious Celestial Beings..........Hark TheHerald Angels Sing
20. The Gross Square Root Festive Twenty-four HourIntervals...............Twelve Days Of Christmas
21. Jocund Elderly Martyr Lacking Five Cent Pieces...........Jolly Old St.Nicholas
22. Expect My Arrival at My Domicile for Yuletide..........I'll Be Home ForChristmas
23. Tintinabulate Hollow, Cup-shaped Metal Instruments..........Jingle Bells
24. Perambulating in a Terrain of Stupefaction from 12/21 to3/19..........Walking In A Winter Wonderland
25. Oh Diminutive Hamlet of Israel South of Jerusalem...........Oh LittleTown Of Bethleham
26. Hallucinating About an Ivory Yuletide in the First PersonNarrative.........Dreaming Of A White Christmas
27. Metallic Element AG Cup-shaped musical Instruments...............SilverBells
28. Oh Yuletide Tall Woody plant.........Oh Christmas Tree
29. I Witnessed Maternal Parent Osculating Bewhiskered Male in a Carmine Ensemble..........I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
30. Female Ancestor Experienced Collision with Rangifer Tarandus....GrandmaGot Run Over By A Reindeer
31. Boreal Ice Crystal Homo Sapien.......Frosty The Snow Man
32. To This Place Advances the Personification of the Spirit of Christmas..........Here Comes Santa Claus

Merry Christmas!

Name that tune!

This is related to the library in that one could use a thesaurus to figure out these Christmas song titles.
Answers tomorrow!

1. Colorless Yuletide .....................
2. Castanea Seed Vesicated in a Conflagration ..........................
3. Singular Yearning for the Twin Anterior Incisors
4. Righteous Darkness
5. Arrival Time: 24:00 Hours/Weather Conditions: Cloudless...............
6. Loyal Followers Advance...................
7. Far Off in a Feedbox..........
8. Array the Corridors................
9. Lilliputian Male Percussionist.............
10. Monarchial Triad........
11. Nocturnal Noiselessness..............
12. Jehovah Deactivate Blithe Chevaliers
13. Red Man en Route to Borough..........
14. Frozen Precipitation Commence
15. Proceed and Enlighten on the Pinnacle
16. Antlered Quadruped Valentino Namesake with the Vermilion Proboscis.....
17. Query, regarding the Identity of Juvenile...............
18. Delight for this Planet............
19. Give Attention to the Melodious Celestial Beings
20. The Gross Square Root Festive Twenty-four Hour Intervals...............
21. Jocund Elderly Martyr Lacking Five Cent Pieces...........
22. Expect My Arrival at My Domicile for Yuletide..........
23. Tintinabulate Hollow, Cup-shaped Metal Instruments..........
24. Perambulating in a Terrain of Stupefaction from 12/21 to 3/19..........
25. Oh Diminutive Hamlet of Israel South of Jerusalem...........
26. Hallucinating About an Ivory Yuletide in the First PersonNarrative.........
27. Metallic Element AG Cup-shaped musical Instruments...............
28. Oh Yuletide Tall Woody plant.........
29. I Witnessed Maternal Parent Osculating Bewhiskered Male in aCarmine Ensemble..........
30. Female Ancestor Experienced Collision with Rangifer Tarandus
31. Boreal Ice Crystal Homo Sapien.......
32. To This Place Advances the Personification of the Spirit ofChristmas..........

Santa came early!

We are delighted to have received a gift from a fellow DTAE school of a print set of Contemporary Authors! The other school is purchasing the online database and needed the shelf space so we are the benificiaries!

Contemporary Authors published by Gale contains "biographical information on more than 120,000 modern novelists, poets, playwrights, nonfiction writers, journalists and scriptwriters in the award-winning Contemporary Authors® series.
Sketches typically include personal information, addresses, career history, writings, work in progress, biographical/critical sources and authors' comments and/or informative essays about their lives and work."

This is a superb addition to our reference collection!

Winding down

End of quarter is here.
Students are studying for finals.

The Library will be open from 8-5, Dec 19-22.
The Library will be closed from Dec 23-Jan 2.

We'll reopen on Jan 3, 2006!

Why do people do that?

Have you ever wondered why groups of people do what they do?

Sociology (according to Websters Dictionary in Encyclopedia Britannica in GALILEO ) is : "the science of society , social institutions, and social relationships; specifically : the systematic study of the development, structure, interaction, and collective behavior of organized groups of human beings."

Sociologists make their living studying human behavior. GALILEO has a subset of EbscoHost, "The Sociological Collection... with more than 475 full-text titles. It provides information on all areas of sociology, including social behavior, human tendencies, interaction, relationships, community development, culture and social structure. "

GALILEO
.... Database A-Z
....... Jump to S
.......... Sociological Collection

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Finding a business

One can always Google to find a business- type in the name of the company or the type of business. One always takes chances that way- similar named companies appear, thousands of sites show up. Who has the time to weed through the massive amount of information?

We've added The Thomas Register to GALILEO.

The Thomas Register is "the most comprehensive resource for industrial information, products, services, CAD drawings, and more." For our technical programs this is one site that helps students connect with companies in the students field of study.

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Mapping your USA travels

It is getting close to holiday travel time. Some folks go "home", others take a vacation in an exotic locale.

This site is a fun way to way to map your US travels: "Go to http://www.world66.com/myworld66/visitedStates and you can click on the list of states which you have visited. Then the map will color in red the states you have visited. Makes a nice visual of your travels."

The atlas is a delightful way to armchair travel. There doesn't seem to be a specific atlas in GALILEO. The Encyclopedia and the Almanac have maps of countries!

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Safe place to look

There are times when being a kid is the best! Folks explain things better to kids. They make it easier to understand. Yet, on the internet, one has to be so careful.

GALILEO has a link to KidsClick! Web Search for Kids by Librarians -Links to great sites for kids on all topics (current events, science & math, fine arts, sports & recreation and more). Searches can be limited by reading level (up to grade 2, grades 3 - 6, grades 7 and up). A privacy policy is posted on the site.

It's a safe place to find information for both children and adults- the sites aren't "kiddie sites". They are places with real information!

GALILEO
....Database A-Z
.......Jump to K
...........Select KidsClick

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Planning a party!

Oh boy! It's party time- all over the world folks are celebrating beginnings and endings. Some are building bonfires for the Winter Soltice, some are burning candles for Advent or Hannukah or Kwanzaa. Some are thinking ahead to New Years Eve! A time for sparkling something or other to imbibe (responsibly).

Where does one go to learn about the best wine for a celebration? Many turn to the venerable magazine Wine Spectator. You don't want to purchase the magazine at your local store (or maybe they don't have it on the shelf). What's a party planner to do?

GALILEO....Believe it or not Wine Spectator is in EbscoHost- not in Academic Search Premier on the front page but in Business Source Premier (#28 on NMTC list)! Wine making is a big business.

GALILEO
...Databases A-Z
......Jump to B
.........Scroll down a bit to Business Source Premier #28
............Click on Publications
................Type in Wine, click on Browse
.....................Scroll down a bit and you'll see Wine Spectator with issues back to 1996!

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

A date which will live in infamy

American familes were touched by the attack on Pearl Harbor. My mother very clearly remembers that Sunday afternoon, Dec 7 1941, her Dad was painting the dining room ceiling. When the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor came across the radio, he stopped painting and went immediately to the office. He worked for Western Electric. The line across the ceiling remained there through out the war. What story does your family have about Dec 7 ,1941?

Read more about Pearl Harbor in the Encyclopedia. We have moved a print set of Comptons Encyclopedia to the circulating collection. You may borrow a volume of the encyclopedia and take it home to read!

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

To use or not to use

A play on Shakespeare's words. Yet the question is serious- to use or not to use GALILEO- how do I figure it out?
There are three ways to learn how to use GALILEO (well, four if you count asking the Librarian).

The three ways to get answers to your using the resources questions can be found on the front page to the middle right of the screen- there's a:
1. How do I...(drop down screen)
2. GALILEO Tutorial
3. Online Library Learning Center

Get the answers on how to use GALILEO by exploring the three ways on-screen or ask your Librarian!

Trees, stars, and candles, Oh my!

The shortest days of the year bring on a plethora of holiday rituals with Christmas, Hannakuh, Kwanzaa and the Winter Soltice being the better known.

To find out what is currently written about Religion and Philosophy there is a database in GALILEO specifically for Religion and Philosophy.

GALILEO
...Databases A-Z
.....Jump to R
.........Religion and Philosophy #140 (an Ebscohost Database)

The Religion & Philosophy Collection is a database with more than 243 full-text journals. It covers topics in spiritual, ethical, philosophical, cultural, and historical aspects of the world's major religions. NOTE: Most of the journals in the Religion & Philosophy Collection are also included in Academic Search Premier; however, some titles are unique to the Religion & Philosophy Collection.

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

They welcomed strangers

We arrived as immigrants and many of the local folks welcomed us. The Digital Library of Georgia has a collection of Southeastern Native American Documents, 1730-1842, which contain approximately 2,000 documents and images relating to the Native American population of the Southeastern United States from the collections of the University of Georgia Libraries, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville Library, the Frank H. McClung Museum, the Tennessee State Library and Archives, the Tennessee State Museum and the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. The documents are comprised of letters, legal proceedings, military orders, financial papers, and archaeological images relating to Native Americans in the Southeast.

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Read all about it

We have the ability to add web sites to GALILEO. This makes GALILEO a one stop research center for NMTC.

This site, U.S. News Archives on the Web, is a listing of local newspapers web sites. They are arranged in alphabetical order by state, then by city. There are notes on what it costs to get a print of an article. Find out what the headlines are in various parts of the country- it's interesting to read what editors think is the important news of the day.

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Re-gifting

Lots of jokes about re-gifting (giving a gift you received to someone else as a gift). This is the time of year to share our bounty with those in different circumstances.

Did you buy a new cell phone or are you planning to buy a new cell phone for a gift? What do you do with the old cell phone?

The Georgia Phi Chapter (Rad Tech program) at North Metro Technical College is collecting old cell phones. They will give the old cell phones to "Cell Phones for Soldiers" who will then recycle the phones and use the cash to buy phone cards for our soldiers overseas.

There is a box in the library for old cell phones! This is a regifting with benefits.

Grandma, Grandpa and who?

Holidays frequently bring relatives together for a meal or two. Distant cousins are discussed. Family stories are traded. Memories are shared. Laughter and tears are the norm. Who was here? What did they do? Someone gets interested in finding more information about the family.

In GALILEO, while at the library, one can use Ancestry.com. The World War I Draft Registration cards are on-line - these tell a mans birthdate, birthplace, eye color, haircolor and if he was bald! The census from 1930 back to 1790 gives lots of interesting information- who lived in the house, who the neighbors were, jobs, ages, literacy.

Start gathering those family facts so you can participate at the next gathering with new stories about kin.

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Mike's back!

The hot dog man, Mike, is back at his post providing fresh, hot, hot-dogs! He's stationed between the 100 and 200 building.

Finding a Deal

Biggest shopping day of the year. Yesterdays papers were crammed with sales flyers (well the papers have been crammed with sales flyers for a week.....).
Where can you go to find out about a particular product? The magazine, Consumer Reports, has built a reputation as a reliable authority for product testing but you haven't saved all those issues in a neat stack.
The library doesn't open till after the shopping malls.
Where can you find out if that particular widget is the best widget to buy?

Yes, GALILEO!
Select EbscoHost (Academic Search Premier (at EbscoHost)
.....Select the Publication button (sort of in the middle of the screen)
.........Search for Consumer Reports
............Click on Consumer Reports (it does have a three month delay so you need to keep the last three months of the print issues)
...............Then you can "Search within this publication" (the link is toward the right of center)

Voila! Information about the widget you desire. Notice that you can set a Journal Alert and EbscoHost will e-mail you the latest entry for your search!

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

What did they say?

Cheers, laughter, marching bands, more cheers - did you miss what the commentator said about that float? What was that quip made during the newscast? LexisNexis carries transcripts of radio and television broadcasts. It takes about 4 hours for the transcript to appear.

GALILEO
....Databases A-Z
.......Jump to L
...........LexisNexis
...............limit your search by timeframe, be as specific as you can for what you're looking for

Happy Thanksgiving! Be grateful for the wonderful resources available to the citizens of Georgia through GALILEO . And don't eat too much.......

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Silence

No classes on Wednesday.
Library is closed.
Very, very quiet.

Are you ready for the holiday?
Be thankful for GALILEO .

Feeling ones age

How old are you? Mentally, physically, spiritually, socially, chronologically? Regularly someone is quoted as saying "I only feel...." and of course it's many years younger than their chronological age.

Dr. Andrew Weil has written a book titled "Healthy Aging: A Lifelong Guide to Your Physical and Spiritual Well Being". Chapter 9, Body II: The Anti-Inflammatory Diet refers to the science of nutrition and notes articles in Medical Journals.

Yes, I'm going to send you to GALILEO to look for articles on nutrition. You know where to go- start with EbscoHost, then try ProQuest. You can look for medical publications in both databases and limit your searches to those publications!

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Bring one, take one

The long weekend coming up might offer time to read for fun. We don't purchase popular fiction for our collection. We exist to support the programs at NMTC. Yet, some of our patrons do like to read for fun....we have set up a cart with paperbacks for trading. Bring one in and take one out. It's run on the honor system. It looks like we have more paperbacks than when we started! If you're looking to trade in some older paperbacks and take away something new to read...come on by Room 103.

Something new to me

Scrolling through GALILEO's Databases A-Z, I ran across a database that was new to me-
Social Science Information Gateway (SOSIG) "A searchable online catalog of thousands of Internet resources evaluated and selected by librarians." The service aims to provide a trusted source of selected, high quality Internet information for researchers and practitioners in the social sciences, business and law. It is part of the UK Resource Discovery Network.

It may have a more European slant but at least a person has looked at the site to evaluate it.

You know that the wild web is wild for a reason, no one is in charge- using SOSIG or SKS WebSelect gives you a fighting chance at weeding out the junk web sites.

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to all citizens of Georgia from their librarian. Some resources noted on this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

What does that mean?

Literary criticism can be mystifying. What do they mean by "Middle English" or "situational irony"?

The answers are in our Reference section. The Longman Dictionary of Literary Terms " (REF PN 44.5) is a user friendly primer of critical terms, aimed at undergraduates getting their first taste of serious literary study."

This week I've pulled print resources to answer questions where the answer wasn't being found on the internet (not even in GALILEO). Not everything has been digitized (yet).

On-line classes

VCRs were first used to "time shift". You could save a television program and then watch it at your convenience. On-line classes offer that same opportunity. Sometimes the on campus class is offered at a time that is inconvenient for you (you're working, for example). The on-line class offers you the chance to take the class when it fits your schedule.

On-line classes aren't "easier", nor are they less time consuming - if a class takes two hours in the classroom plus homework....the on line class will take two hours in front of the computer plus homework...keep in mind that a 5 minute lecture is one page of printed text.

Orientation for online classes is held before registration. There will be an orientation today (Wednesday Nov 16) at 10:30 and again offered 3 times tomorrow (Thursday Nov 17) - 10:30, 2:30, and 5:30.

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Opinions wanted

GALILEO is doing a survey to find out the users' opinion. The survey icon is at the bottom of GALILEO's opening screen on the left.

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Now is the time

Last week was advisement for current students.
This week is early registration!

Once you have been advised, you'll get the pin number to get on BANNER where you'll be able to register.

I gather there is a glitch with the pin numbers distributed last week during advisement....you may need to come to school to get the correct pin number. Admissions cannot give those numbers over the phone.

Sign up now for Winter Quarter

One who has served

Today we honor those who have served in the military. As someone else has noted,
we are the land of the free because of the brave.

From the OED ("The Oxford English Dictionary is the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium." The OED gives definitions, etymological analysis, and quotations to demonstrate the use of words in the English language over time. )

Veteran n. and a.
....1. a. One who has had long experience in military service; an old soldier.
.......b. Any ex-serviceman. Chiefly N. Amer. Not always distinguishable from sense 1a.
....2. One who has seen long service in any office or position; an experienced or aged person.

From the Encyclopedia Britannica: "World War I ended with the Allied and Central Powers signing an armistice on Nov. 11, 1918, and people around the world rejoiced at the cease-fire. In 1919, United States President Woodrow Wilson marked the one-year anniversary of the event by proclaiming November 11 Armistice Day. The day became a federal legal holiday in 1938. After World War II, veterans groups and other organizations campaigned to have Armistice Day restructured into an occasion recognizing all veterans of service in the United States military. In 1954, after the Korean War, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill officially changing the name to Veterans Day. "

Both of these resources can be found in GALILEO.

NMTC does have a print version of Encyclopedia Britannica in the Reference collection if you'd like to flip through the pages!

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

What do I want to be?

Do you remember adults asking you what you wanted to be when you grew up? Are you still asking yourself that question? This is advisement week for current students at NMTC. Get with your advisor to make sure you're on track to finish your program so you can be what you want to be.

If you're still not sure what you want to be.....check out the Career & Technical Education database in GALILEO. This is a ProQuest database which "contains over 400 titles, all in full text and many in full image, which contain the charts, diagrams, graphs, tables, photos, and other graphics originally published with the text. Subjects include automobile, electronic, and computer technology; the building trades; graphic arts; medicine, nursing, and pharmacy; child care; food service and hotel management; office skills; veterinary technology; retail work; public safety; and other practical studies."

North Metro offers programs in most (not all) of these areas.

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

What is that growing there?

It would be nice to have a guide to crops grown near highways or big signs that declare this field has "xyz" planted. (Farmers might not think that was a good use of their resources.) I'm always asking "what do you think that crop is?" as we drive through Georgia on the interstate. Young plants look different than full grown plants (at least to this city person).

Our collection of horticulture books includes a large selection of electronic books. I searched our card catalog using the keyword "crops". An electronic book available through netLibrary , The new Oxford book of food plants (c1997) by J. G. Vaughan, was on the list. Interesting color illustrations for the food. Some illustrations show the plant at various stages.

Guess if I had a wireless computer I could check the book as we were driving along.

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Reading by flashlight

Did you read by flashlight under the covers when you were a child? So excited to read, desperate to find out what happened next?

Now, there's no time to get to the library, no time to pick out a book to read for fun.
What is an old flashlight reader to do?

Yes, I'm going to send you to GALILEO and then to netLibrary! You can read an entire book on-line instead of surfing the web during a break (well at least a portion of the book - a little at a time- kind of like the old days).

GALILEO staff have worked with netLibrary to authenticate access through GALILEO. One password to GALILEO gets you in and then you have access to the netLibrary book for 15 minutes. You can create your "free" account in netLibrary and borrow the book for 4 hours.
NMTC has purchased additional sets of e-books. Our patrons have access to over 34,000 electronic books in netLibrary.

GALILEO
.....Databases A-Z
.........Jump to N
............select netLibrary


The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Advisement

Merriam Webster (in GALILEO through Encyclopedia Britannica) says:
Main Entry: ad·vise·ment
Pronunciation: ed-vz-mnt
Function: noun
Date: 14th century
1 : careful consideration : DELIBERATION
2 : the act or process of advising (as a college student)



This is the week for advisement for current students. Get with your advisor to make sure you're on track to finish your program in a timely fashion. Early registration is next week.

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Ah- the old time newsboy - shouting the availability of current news. In todays information glut you can read the news before it happens through internet sites of all shades and persuasions.

But if you like to read the news after someone has a chance to check facts and get the timeline straight...then newspapers are for you! Here is one source on GALILEO that is focused on newspaper articles:

Newspaper Source (EbscoHost database) provides current information from daily feeds from the Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News and Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service Newspaper Source as well as cover to cover coverage of The Christian Science Monitor, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Times (London), and The Toronto Star. The database also contains selected full text from more than 180 regional (U.S.) newspapers, including The Macon Telegraph, Savannah Morning News, The Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, The Detroit Free Press, and The Miami Herald. In addition, full text television & radio news transcripts are provided from CBS News.

It doesn't have every article from every paper. I did a spot check for the Atlanta Journal Constitution. It's only available at school.


The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Checking the facts

Folks used to believe if it was in print, it must be true. That belief in the authority of a published work has transferred to the internet - "isn't everything available on the internet?" , "isn't everything on the internet true?" (real questions from real people).

GALILEO offers SKS WebSelect- a database of Internet sites that have been selected by a person and looked at to make sure the site is authoritative.

For the people who are sure everything on the internet is true -here's a website that might be good to use to discuss the problems with accepting everything on the Internet at face value Dihydrogen Monoxide - DHMO Homepage.

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

That's where it was!

A few weeks ago I wrote about photographs of cities showing what was no longer around. Today let me share - maps that document what once was:

"The Digital Library of Georgia is pleased to announce the availability
of a new online resource: Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for Georgia Towns and Cities, 1884-1922.

The digital collection consists of 4,445 maps by the Sanborn Map Company
depicting commercial, industrial, and residential areas for 133
municipalities. Originally designed for fire insurance assessment, the
color-coded maps relate the location and use of buildings, as well as
the materials employed in their construction. The maps indicate which
city utilities--such as water and fire service--were available.
Fire insurance maps document the changing face of towns and cities,
providing highly detailed information for each neighborhood and block.
The Library of Congress web site refers to them as "probably the single
most important record of urban growth and development in the United
States during the past one hundred years."
The Sanborn Maps database is a project of the Digital Library of Georgia
as part of Georgia HomePLACE. The project is supported with federal LSTA
funds administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services
through the Georgia Public Library Service, a unit of the Board of
Regents of the University System of Georgia. The maps represented are
from the University of Georgia Libraries Map Collection.

"Sanborn," "Sanborn Map," "Sanborn Map Company," and "Sanborn Fire
Insurance Maps" are recognized trademarks of the Sanborn Map Company, a
subsidiary of Environmental Data Resources, Inc. (EDR). The presentation
of the historic maps on this site is in no way connected with either the
Sanborn Map Company or Environmental Data Resources, Inc."

GALILEO
......Digital Library of Georgia (center of the page next to GALILEO Planet, right above Quick Help)
.........Collections A-Z (scroll down on the left)
............Jump to S
................Scroll down past the Sam's to Sanborn

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Leaf color

Driving around town one sees gorgeous reds and oranges and yellows. It's like being in a paint box! So what causes the leaves to change colors?

Look in Access Science @ McGraw Hill in GALILEO. I used the search term "Autumn leaf color" (in quotes). Photoperiodism seems to best explain the change in colors.

"AccessScience@McGraw-Hill: The Online Encyclopedia of Science & Technology is the web version of McGraw-Hill's authoritative, print multi-volume counterpart. Included in the online version are The McGraw Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, weekly science and technology news articles, research updates, comprehensive and current science biographies, study guides, recommended web sites. The major subjects areas covered in AccessScience are: Agriculture, Forestry & Soils; Anthropology & Archaelogy; Astronomy & Space Science; Biological & Biomedical Science; Chemistry; Computing & Information Technology; Data, Tables, and Tools; Earth Science; Engineering & Materials; Environmental Science; Food Science & Technology; General Science & Technology; Mathematics; Medicine; Military Science; Navigation; Paleontology; Physics; Psychiatry & Psychology; and Veterinary Medicine.
Database provider: A McGraw-Hill Database"

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

All Hallows Eve

This is a holy day for some Christians- the Eve of All Saints Day. Encyclopedia Britannica has information about Halloween- its history and evolution into a more adult oriented holiday.

On This Day in Encyclopedia Britannica according to tradition, Martin Luther this day in 1517 posted on a church door in Wittenberg, Germany, his Ninety-five Theses, a manifesto that turned a protest about an indulgence scandal into the Protestant Reformation.

I wonder what Martin Luther would think of Halloween in the United States?

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

The weekend is upon us

Fall leaves turning gorgeous colors.
Cool air invigorating the senses.

Falling back in time on Saturday night (Sunday morning).
All Hallows Eve on Monday.
Tricks and treats and costumes.

Is it reliable?

When you're surfing around the web... how do you know a web site is authoritative, that the information is correct? I tell the SCT 100 classes that we could create a very good web site noting Acworth as the capital of Georgia! Some poor kid is going to find our site, happily print it out, turn it over to the teacher and fail that Social Studies assignment. There is no one to stop us or make us put the correct information on our web site. So who do you trust?

You know I'm sending you to GALILEO.

There is a database in GALILEO - SKS WebSelect that is an online database of Internet resources providing access to quality Web sites on almost any subject. WebSelect is continually updated to include new sites and dynamically changing data. Summaries provide a concise overview of site content and authority. Keyword, Subject Heading, and Topic Browse searches can be performed. Topics are assigned based on site content and mission. WebSelect is dynamically updated and offers Internet resources from around the globe, including those of leading universities, government agencies and respected organizations.

Look at SKS Web Select and read the Encyclopedia Britannica before you go searching on the wild web. Build your foundation of knowledge, get the correct facts then you'll be able to quickly assess whether a site is accurate!

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Cite your sources

Faculty regularly say "cite your sources". You must tell your reader where you got the information. GALILEO has a quick tutorial on citing sources.

At the ProQuest workshop I learned there is a way to create a bibliography within ProQuest - the sources will be cited using APA or MLA or several other ways of citing sources.
How can you make it do this?

Go to GALILEO
.....Select Research Library (at ProQuest) [on the left side of the screen, to the right of South America]
..........Search for your topic
................Open the document - read, decide if that's the one you'll use in your report (yesterday I wrote this is where you can translate the document)
......................If this is a "keeper" - notice the box - Mark document (center of the screen to the right of Email) click on that box
See how the last green tab (My Research) has a document in it?

Keep opening and reading the articles. When you're finished with your reading and note taking and marking the articles, the My Research tab will have quite a few documents in it.

Click on the My Research tab
The top link says Create your bibliography. Once you've selected that link note the options you have available to you!
Print- if you cancel the print job you can read the bibliography on the screen
Download offers you the opportunity to save the file as a text file on a floppy or flash drive or the hard drive.

Great way to make sure you've got the bibliography in the correct format.

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Better late than never

Whew- it's already the end of the day.

Proquest (a database on GALILEO) offered two online workshops today. At both workshops helpful tips were offered on using the database.

The best thing I learned was - Proquest will translate the articles into a variety of languages.

Open the document and there is a Translate document into drop down screen. Voila- Chinese, French, Spanish, Italian, etc.....they do note that the translation is "on the fly" so it may be a bit rough around the edges in terms of grammar.

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

This porridge is too hot, this porridge is too cold...

and everyone knows the last line is.....

This porridge is ju-ust right!

The classic folk and fairy tales are part of our culture. Parents tell the stories or read the stories at bedtime so every child learns the basics of our literary heritage.

Mother Goose rhymes are an integral part of our literary history.

If you've forgotten some of these classic stories and poems, we have added a children's literature collection to our library for the Literature class in the Early Childhood Education program.

April Showers bring

May flowers!

You've heard the joke- usually told around Thanksgiving-
If April showers bring May flowers...
What do May flowers bring?
.................................. Pilgrims.
A classic in elementary school humor.

Now is the time to think about planting for those Spring flowers- especially if you want daffodils and tulips. We have several gorgeous books on Bulbs. One is by John E. Bryan (SB425. B74 2002). I measured the spine and the book is two inches thick - magnificent pictures (some photographs, some drawings), informative text, with a Glossary, a bibliography, an index of common names (so you can discover that daffodils are really narcissus).

Our Horticulture program regularly wins awards at the American Landscape Contractors Association events. Our library supports the program with a variety of print materials.

Time flies

when you're having fun!

Today is one of my SCT 100 days. SCT 100 is Introduction to Computers, a class that every student must take at NMTC. I teach one hour on GALILEO for each section. It's one way to remind everyone of the great databases and internet sites that are available in GALILEO!

You know, I'm touching only the highlights of this vast resource!

Hunter's Moon

Gorgeous full moon this week- so bright it was like having a light on in the yard. The weather people referred to it as a "hunter's moon". One sure could tromp through the countryside without the need of a flashlight.

I wasn't sure where the phrase came from- I looked in the Oxford English Dictionary (available on-line through GALILEO ):

"hunter's moon, a name for the full moon next after the HARVEST MOON (q.v.)."
"1710 Brit. Apollo III. No. 70. 2/1 The Country People call this the *Hunters-Moon. 1854 TOMLINSON Arago's Astron. 171 There can, therefore, be but two full moons in the year which rise during a week almost at the same time as the sun sets; the former, occurring in September, is called the Harvest-Moon; and the latter, in the month of October, being in a similar predicament, is termed the Hunter's Moon."

"The Oxford English Dictionary is the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium." The OED gives definitions, etymological analysis, and quotations to demonstrate the use of words in the English language over time. The web-based version of the OED include all information contained in the print counterpart plus at least 1,000 new and revised entries each quarter.
The publisher, Oxford University Press, provides extensive information about the dictionary and its use on their web side.

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

How difficult is that article?

Have you ever wondered what your reading level is? Rumor has it that some local newspapers aim at a 6th grade reading level.

In GALILEO, EbscoHost offers a database called Topic Search
......Databases A- Z (last tab on the right)
………Jump to T
………….Select Topic Search
…………….Click on Advanced Search (second tab)

Scroll down in Advanced search- look where it says Lexile Reading Level.
I clicked on all current events, all topics but limited the search to 200-350 Grade 1.
49 articles came up….
I didn’t type in a search topic- I just limited it to the reading level….Interesting.

I did share this with the Adult Literacy department. If you're working with ESOL adults this might be very handy- finding low level reading but high interest for adults!

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Where did they go?

At lunch over the weekend I was looking at photos of a city that no longer exists. The city is there but not the same city. Time marches on. Buildings are demolished, renovated, moved. Photographs help us remember what once was.

Vanishing Georgia comprises nearly 18,000 photographs. Ranging from daguerreotypes to Kodachrome prints, the images span over 100 years of Georgia history. The broad subject matter of these photographs, shot by both amateurs and professionals, includes, but is not limited to, family and business life, street scenes and architecture, agriculture, school and civic activities, important individuals and events in Georgia history, and landscapes. The wide variety of the collected visual images results from efforts by archivists from the Georgia Division of Archives and History who sought, between 1975 and 1996, to preserve Georgia's endangered historical photographs. Designed primarily for preservation, the project located, selected, and copied historically significant photographs held by individuals who wanted to share their pieces of the past with future generations.The Georgia Archives joins with the Digital Library of Georgia to present the Vanishing Georgia images as a digital resource. Support for the project is provided by a Library Services and Technology Act grant administered through Georgia HomePLACE.

GALILEO
...Databases A-Z
.....Jump to V
........Vanishing Georgia

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

I've got an ow-ie

What do you do for a cut or scrape? My typical response is wash the "ow-ie" with soap and warm water, pour on peroxide, slather with that triple anti-biotic cream, and then cover the whole thing with a band-aid. Is that the best course of action?

What if you are confronted with something more than an "ow-ie"?
Here's one place to check out your options:

World Wide Wounds is an Internet-only electronic woundcare journal, edited by Suzie Calne and published by the Surgical Materials Testing Laboratory in association with the Medical Education Partnership. ISSN 1369-2607

This web site was added to the NMTC portion of GALILEO by the NMTC Library staff in conjunction with the Allied Health faculty.

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Ignorance is Bliss

Well, that's not what Thomas Gray (1716-1771) really said. In Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 17th ed, pg 333:22 the full quote is:
"...Where ignorance is bliss, 'Tis folly to be wise."

No folly here - if you're looking for information on agriculture this database has the keys to wisdom:

AGRICOLA (AGRICultural OnLine Access) is a bibliographic database of citations to the agricultural literature created by the National Agricultural Library (NAL) and its cooperators. Production of these records in electronic form began in 1970, but the database covers materials in all formats, including printed works from the 15th century. The records describe publications and resources encompassing all aspects of agriculture and allied disciplines, including animal and veterinary sciences, entomology, plant sciences, forestry, aquaculture and fisheries, farming and farming systems, agricultural economics, extension and education, food and human nutrition, and earth and environmental sciences. Although the AGRICOLA database does not contain the materials, thousands of AGRICOLA records are linked to full-text documents online, with new links added daily. AGRICOLA is searchable on the World Wide Web. For information on how to obtain library materials, see How to request materials from NAL.

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Shade Tree Mechanics

Remember when a person could fix their car without a computer? If you still have a car that can be fixed while parked under your shade tree- check out Auto Repair Reference Center:

The Auto Repair Reference Center database includes automotive repair information supplied by Nichols Publishing, the former publisher of the ChiltonÒ information.

Auto Repair Reference Center contains information on most major manufacturers of domestic and imported vehicles, with repair information for most vintage makes starting as far back as 1954.

• Database content includes approximately 25,000 vehicles covered from 1954 to present
• over 100,000 factory drawings and step-by-step photographs
• over 65,000 technical service bulletins & recalls issued by the original equipment vehicle manufacturer
• wiring diagrams for easy viewing and printing; specifications & maintenance schedules;
• Labor Time Guide & Estimator
• Quick Tips, a complete guide to vehicle ownership & maintenance
• New repair procedures and updates will be added continuously

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

What do I see

Out the glass doors, I see people setting up tables and displays. The lobby area is being prepared for the "Welcome Back" Festival.

• Student organizations will be highlighted.
• Student ID's will be made.
• Parking decals will be distributed.
• Best of all, food will be available

This will occur twice today- 11-1 and again 4-6

A NMTC Student ID allows the holder to borrow materials from both Kennesaw State University and Southern Poly.

In 1492

Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

Today is the official celebration of Columbus Day in the United States. No mail delivery, government offices closed, parades and speeches.

Poetry helps us remember facts and feelings. The rhyme about Columbus sailing the ocean blue in 1492 is a classic for elementary students.

There are other poems that remember Columbus Day. Some of those poems are dark and very thought provoking.

Check out LION (Literature OnLine) in GALILEO for poems about Columbus Day. LION (Literature Online) is a full-text library of over 330,000 works of British and American poetry, drama and prose. In addition to literary texts, LION includes biographical sketches of major writers, selected author bibliographies, and critical and reference works.

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Thumbing

Thumbing through a reference book can be enlightening. The World Almanac (REF AY 67 N5 W7 2005) is one of those print resources where opening the book at random and glancing at a table or chart can lead to an ah-ha moment. There are lists of the tallest this and the longest that.

In GALILEO there is a World Almanac database. "The World Almanacs, first published in 1868, is a reference database that covers arts and entertainment, U.S. cities and states, people in the news, the nations of the world, sports, the environment, vital statistics, science and technology, computers, taxes and much more." This database is provided by OCLC FirstSearch.

In my opinion, it's not as much fun as thumbing through the print edition but the facts are there and you can find information on the tallest this or the longest that if you know how to search.

World Almanac does have a World Almanac for Kids web site with a bit of the information that is in the print edition- but not all of it.

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

The more things change

...the more they stay the same. (Proverb noted in A Dictionary of American Proverbs REF PN 6426 D53 1991, pg 91)
To ignore the facts of history is to repeat them. (Proverb noted in A Dictionary of American Proverbs REF PN 6426 D53 1991, pg 302)

Learn from the Baldy Editorial Cartoons, 1946-1982, 1997 (in GALILEO).

The Clifford H. Baldowski Collection at the Richard B. Russell Library contains 6,740 pen and ink drawings and 2,460 velox. The digital database opens with approximately 2,500 cartoons from the collection. Clifford H. Baldowski, known by the pen-name "Baldy," depicted the local, national, and international news of his day in the editorial pages of the Augusta Chronicle, Miami Herald, and Atlanta Constitution. His work is a rich source for those studying political reorganization in Georgia and the growth of Atlanta as well as the Civil Rights Movement, the Cold War, the Vietnam conflict, Middle East tensions, and Watergate.

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Nursing Journals

Our Allied Health program is growing by leaps and bounds. Though we are a small institution (compared to UGA), GALILEO provides our students access to resources our library couldn't provide.

ProQuest Nursing Journals includes more than 280 full-text/image journals in nursing and allied health.

You can "Set up Alert" which will send the information you want to your e-mail address!
You can "Set up Alert" for a journal or a topic!

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Lines out the door

The line for the bookstore is snaking across the lobby and out the door by the library.
First day of classes.
Students are excited.

Just looking

Have you ever just wandered around a library- just looking?
You weren't looking for anything in particular, just browsing.
Browsing is a wonderful way to have that serendipitous discovery. Several databases offer "browsing" as a way to let your fingers wander through the on-line collection.

Encyclopedia Britannica (#52 on the NMTC list of GALILEO resources) offers several browsing options (you can find the browse portion by scrolling down and looking on the left of the screen). World Atlas is a travel junkies delight. Click on a country- the tabs offer you choices of maps for political, physical, land use, peoples, population, precipitation, and vegetation. Within the maps there are links to articles.

A delightful way to be an armchair traveler.

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

165 resources

There are 165 resources available to the North Metro Tech user in GALILEO. Each library has the ability to add resources (web sites and databases) to their portion of GALILEO. We've added 43 resources that support the programs at NMTC.

You can find the NMTC specific resources in two ways.
1. Go to Find a Database by Name (on the left side of the screen, just under Proquest)
....Type in nmtc
.......Keep the default selection Name+Description
..........Click on Go
The list of 43 resources will come up.

2. You can go to Databases A-Z
.......the resources selected and added just for NMTC will have the NMTC logo next to them. In the description of the resource it will say that the resource was selected by the NMTC Library staff....

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Registration Day

It's not quiet today! New students are going through orientation (8:30, 1PM, and 4:30). They'll register for the fall classes which begin on Tuesday, October 4!

Who has the picture?

Google offers an image search which can be quite helpful for generic pictures. However, if you want depth to the information about a piece of art, look to GALILEO.

In particular, select Grove Art Online:
"Grove Art Online provides web access to the entire text of The Dictionary of Art, ed. Jane Turner (1996, 34 vols.) and The Oxford Companion to Western Art, ed. Hugh Brigstocke (2001). We offer ongoing additions of new and updated articles, over 1,500 thumbnail art images and line drawings displayed in the text of articles, extensive image links, and sophisticated search and navigation tools."

GALILEO (password for NMTC changed on the 27th)
....Databases A-Z
.....Jump to G
.......Scroll to Grove Art online (#80 on the NMTC list)

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Quiet on Campus!

NMTC is on break.
Students and faculty are getting ready for Fall Quarter which begins October 4.

Registration will be this Thursday, September 29.
Orientation will be held at 8:30 AM, 1 PM and 4:00 PM.

Password changes

The GALILEO password for North Metro Technical College will change tomorrow (Sept 27). Check with the librarian for the new password.

The password for each Georgia library is different. To get the password, you must be a member of that library. In the case of NMTC, you must be a registered student (in Banner), faculty or staff.

NPR Transcript

Yesterday I wrote about the Bird Flu news story on NPR. I checked LexisNexis before 9AM. The transcript for Morning Edition hadn't been posted yet. I checked Lexis Nexis today and yesterdays Morning Edition transcript was posted! It had been posted by 10AM yesterday.

It's interesting to read the transcript- listening provides one set of facts, reading confirms or corrects what was "heard".

To get to Lexis Nexis in GALILEO
GALILEO
....Databases A-Z (tab at the far right next to the K-12 triangle)
......Jump to L (#93 in NMTC GALILEO)
.........Select Lexis Nexis
...........To find NPR transcripts:
..................Click on the Guided News Search tab
.....................Select News Transcripts in Select News Category
.....................Select National Public Radio Transcripts in Select News Source
.....................Enter a search term
.....................Narrow to a specific date range
Click Search

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Bird Flu

Listening to NPR news in the morning gives me something to think about. This morning there was a story about Bird Flu (Avian Flu).

I went to Access Science @ McGraw Hill in GALILEO for information about Bird Flu. Some information is available.
I went to Lexis Nexis hoping I could find the transcript for this mornings NPR story (it wasn't posted as of 8:10 AM). I did find 101 articles about Bird Flu (Avian Flu) listed for the past week in Medical News. You might find the transcript later today.
A Google search for "Bird Flu" turned up the CDC (Center for Disease Control) and WHO (World Health Organization) sites at the top of the list.

Lots of information available- what will you do with it?

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Happy 10th Birthday, GALILEO

Dear GALILEO Users,

Today we celebrate GALILEO's 10th Birthday! ...

When GALILEO was launched on September 21, 1995, it was an early leader in providing centralized access to a specialized collection of full-text resources. Today, users' expectations have increased along with the volume of information available on the Internet. GALILEO users want
GALILEO to be simpler to use --- this message comes through in user comments, survey results, usability tests, and in feedback from librarians. "Why can't I search everything in one search?" is a common refrain. The Google experience has shaped user's expectations for accessibility and convenience.

Georgia librarians have been involved in a variety of product review,
investigation, and discussion activities over the past several years in
order to determine how the GALILEO infrastructure should be changed to allow multiple approaches for libraries to position content and access in the most effective way.

Specific goals and technologies have been identified to upgrade
GALILEO's existing functionality. Additional product review, approval by participating consortial communities was received and a final proposal was then presented to and approved by the GALILEO Steering Committee in June 2005. and the approval of a three year implementation and cost proposal by the GALILEO Steering Committee in June 2005.

The planned GALILEO Upgrade will use four new products:
* EZproxy (http://www.usefulutilities.com/)
* WebFeat (http://webfeat.org/)
* SFX (http://www.exlibrisgroup.com/sfx.htm)
* MetaLib (http://www.exlibrisgroup.com/metalib.htm)

The Upgrade will provide the following enhancements:
* A single search box to search across multiple databases simultaneously
* The ability to link from a citation without full text to an
article in another database that does provide full text
* Journal lists for all the titles in GALILEO databases
* Interfaces with a customized look and feel for each user community
* More customization of menus
* Access to content and features from library websites, online
courseware, campus portals, and other environments that better
meet user needs
* Enhanced opportunities for user personalization

The GALILEO Upgrade is a complex project that will be implemented in phases over the next three years.

Federated searching will be provided first within the existing GALILEO system through the WebFeat federated search service, followed by linking through the SFX product and additional remote access support from the EZproxy product.

These initial deployments will be made available first for review and feedback
by the GALILEO Reference Committee and then for general review in the GALILEO demonstration system via announcements to the GALILEO listserv
prior to being moved into production. Subsequent phases will involve
community working groups in the development of customized interfaces,
also involving an additional product, MetaLib, for the academic library
community infrastructure.

You can keep up with the projects and plans for the Upgrade through the
GALILEO listserv as well as the project website http://www.usg.edu/galileo/about/planning/projects/upgrade/. As features become available, training sessions will be offered to assist librarians and library staff in understanding and utilizing new tools and techniques. GeorgiA LIbrary LEarning Online was named for GALILEO to evoke the concept of learning and discovery. As this project evolves, we will all learn about targets and sources; users perceptions, expectations, and use; and integration with other technologies. These tools are not perfect, but they will support our efforts to better connect the user with the information needed at the time of need. Because GALILEO represents so many different type and size libraries and user constituencies, vendors will be very interested in GALILEO's experiences, as they work to improve these tools.

As in the past 10 years, GALILEO will continue to grow and change to
meet user needs and to complement the services provided by Georgia's
Libraries. Thanks for your support, encouragement, and for all the
feedback and work you will do over the next years to effectively serve
our users.

Happy Birthday GALILEO!!!!

Merryll

P.S. Information sessions are being scheduled that are open to anyone
in the GALILEO communities who wants to learn more about this exciting
new project to "Upgrade GALILEO for the 21st Century." These sessions
will be offered via webconferencing and conference calls given the
desire to limit travel because of the high cost and potential shortage
of gasoline. Announcements about the projects will be made to this list
as well.



--
Merryll S. Penson
Executive Director, Library Services
Office of Information and Instructional Technology
Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
2500 Daniells Bridge Road
Building 300
Athens, GA 30606
706-583-2007 (voice)
706-583-2294 (fax)
Merryll.penson@usg.edu
http://www.galileo.usg.edu
http://gil.usg.edu


The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

GaCollege411

In GALILEO there is a link to GaCollege411, a site put up by the state to help Georgia students (and their parents) prepare for college.
On this site are practice tests for the SAT, GRE, and Compass and Asset tests.

GALILEO
…tab for Georgia (4th tab from the left)
…..Georgia A-Z (down at the bottom of the drop down tab)
……GaCollege411 (#13 on the list) also can be reached through http://www.gacollege411.org/
Right hand side is a button for College Test Prep (4th button down)

You can take practice tests at home by going through GALILEO or directly to the GaCollege411

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Talk Like a Pirate

On LM_NET, Karen DeFrank reminded us that today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day Ahoy, ye maties!!

When you go to the site you'll find an advertisement for a new book: Pirattitude! : So you wanna be a pirate? : Here's how! - John "Ol' Chumbucket" Baur and Mark "Cap'n Slappy" Summers.

Book Index With Reviews in GALILEO has information on this title.
World Cat in GALILEO tells you which library owns the book- if you'd like to borrow it through InterLibrary Loan (just ask your librarian).

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Google searches Blogs

Last week Google introduced a new search feature- Blog Search . Of course, I looked for North Metro Technical College and View From the Library.

Yes, someone has mentioned this blog in their blog. They did have a concern about searching in Encyclopedia Britannica for a specific date (it was an August blog on Women's voting rights). I learned something from their entry- EB has a "This day in history" link (far right side of the screen in a yellow column) which can be searched by date!

Now you know and so do I!

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

The answers are

Here are the ten scavenger hunt questions for the Constitution Day celebration:

1) Which of the following men did NOT sign the Constitution? George
Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Abraham Lincoln, James
Madison, Jr. _____________________
2) What year was the Constitution signed? _______
3) In what city was the Constitution signed? _____________________
4) Which two signers of the Constitution later became U.S. Presidents?
______________________________________
5) Fill-in-the-blank: The Constitution consists of a preamble, 7
articles, and _____ amendments.
6) The first 10 amendments are also known as the _________________.
7) Which amendment gives freedom of religion, speech, and the press?____
8) Which amendment limits the President to two terms in office? ___
9) Which amendment gives 18-year-olds the right to vote? ___
10) Which amendment gives women the right to vote? ___


Thanks again to Cheri Jost of Garland, Texas on LM_NET for sharing this scavenger hunt.

The answers are:
1) A. Lincoln
2) 1787
3) Philadelphia
4) G. Washington and J. Madison
5) 27
6) Bill of Rights
7) Amendment 1
8) Amendment 22
9) Amendment 26
10) Amendment 19

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes...

The Encyclopedia of Constitutional Amendments, Proposed Amendments, and Amending Issues, 1789-2002, 2nd Edition (REF KF 4557 V555 2003) by John R. Vile is available as an e-book through abc-clio.com. We have the print copy in our reference section. It's interesting to flip through and note the years that proposals were introduced and how often a proposal is introduced to Congress before it is acted upon.

Changing the Constitution isn't done frivolously or easily.

Last two questions for the Constitution scavenger hunt:
9) Which amendment gives 18-year-olds the right to vote? ___
10) Which amendment gives women the right to vote? ___

The answers will be posted on Friday.

Thanks to Cheri Jost of Garland, Texas on LM_NET for compiling this scavenger hunt!

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Apple Pie

The SLC (Student Leadership Council) will be serving Apple Pie twice today in front of the Admissions office in the 100 building (11-1 and then again 4-6)! Because Constitution Day is Saturday (and we're closed)- they have chosen to celebrate today. I like the apple pie- it is all American!

How are you doing on the scavenger hunt for Constitution information?
Here are the next two questions:
7) Which amendment gives freedom of religion, speech, and the press?____
8) Which amendment limits the President to two terms in office? ___

Thanks to Cheri Jost of Garland, Texas on LM_NET. The answers will be provided on Friday.

We have The Encyclopedia of the American Constitution (REF KF 4548 E53 1986) if you'd like to delve a little deeper for information about our Constitution.

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Mayflower Compact

How did we get to the Constitution of the United States?

Some folks say the Mayflower Compact written in 1620 was a seed for the US Constitution. Read more about both documents in Annals of American History an Encyclopedia Britannica resource in GALILEO

Yesterdays questions were pretty easy- the scavenger hunt gets a little tougher as the week goes by. The answers to the scavenger hunt will be provided on Friday.

4) Which two signers of the Constitution later became U.S. Presidents?
5) Fill-in-the-blank: The Constitution consists of a preamble, 7
articles, and _____ amendments.
6) The first 10 amendments are also known as the _________________.

Thanks to Cheri Jost of Garland, Texas on LM_NET for the scavenger hunt.

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Remembering

Yesterday many remembered 9/11 with official memorial services. Remembering in an official way is good for the community. Public remembering brings the community together.

This Saturday, September 17, is another official day of remembering. It's the day we remember those men who wrote and signed our Constitution.

Each day this week, I'll have something about the Constitution. Here are a few questions- like a scavenger hunt- the answers are easily found online- I'll give you all the answers on Friday!
Here are the first questions:

• 1) Which of the following men did NOT sign the Constitution? George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Abraham Lincoln, James Madison, Jr.
• 2) What year was the Constitution signed?
• 3) In what city was the Constitution signed?

Thanks to Cheri Jost of Garland, Texas on LM_NET for compiling this scavenger hunt.

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Where did they come from?

I mentioned yesterday that I'm into genealogy. On July 1, the DTAE libraries gained access to a wonderful resource through GALILEO - Ancestry.com. One can only access Ancestry on campus.

If you're doing your family tree- you start with yourself and work backwards- one generation at a time. Ancestry has the US census online from 1790-1930. You can see who your grandparents neighbors were by checking the census!

What do you need to know to find your family in the census ? - It helps to know the state they lived in. If you know the county they lived in your search will be focused.

What will you find out about them? Each census gathered different information. Ancestry notes that "The 1930 United States Federal Census is the largest census released to date and is the most recent census available for public access. The census gives us a glimpse into the lives of Americans in 1930, and contains information about a household’s occupants including: birthplaces, occupations, immigration, citizenship, and military service."

Check it out- those family stories just might be true.

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.

Cite your sources

I do genealogy for fun. Sometimes I look at information I've gathered and I wonder if I copied it correctly- the data just doesn't seem correct. Fortunately, I've cited my sources for information so I can go back and check myself (and anyone who uses my data can check my research by referring to the sources I've cited).

How do I cite my sources? The basic formula is:

• Who did it (the author- last name first- like the phone book)
• What did they do (the title)
• How does my reader find it (the publisher, copyright date, and page)

APA (American Psychological Association) and MLA (Modern Language Association) follow this formula- the differences are where the commas, periods, quotes, and parenthesis are placed (at least that's how it looks to me).

Yesterday I noted that Encyclopedia Britannica online gives you the way to cite their articles in both APA and MLA style.

GALILEO has a tutorial on citing articles in their Quick Help drop down box. Also in the Online Library Learning Center #8 "Giving Credit Where Credit is due".

The password for home use of GALILEO is available to the citizens of Georgia from your librarian. Some resources noted in this BLOG are only available to NMTC patrons.