Words have power

We do seem to be slipping back to a pictograph style of information sharing- the ubiquitous icon that tells us what to click.

Yet, there are games that don't use high powered graphics to entice and intrigue gamers. Interactive Fiction was the first gamers gig and it still exists. Here's a bit of history by snakemeister:

"There was a time, before personal computers became capable of producing anything worth the moniker of ‘graphics,’ when text was king. ‘Text Adventure Games,’ ‘Text Games,’ ‘Adventure Games’ and occasionally, ‘Graphic Adventure Games,’ are all terms used to describe a genre of computer games which relied on nothing more than a textual description of the player’s location, and a text prompt allowing the player to control which actions their avatar performed. Today, the genre is known as ‘Interactive Fiction’ or IF, and if you’re sitting comfortably, I’d like to give you a quick look at its history."

You can read it all right here. Then go explore the text games he suggests. Words do have power- be your own graphics designer by creating the pictures in your head!

Do you want to know?

GALILEO offers a search box called Quick Search . Quick Search wings through several databases at once. You link directly to the article.

Voila - search, retrieve, read, use.

O'Reilly Radar notes the introduction of Science Direct-ly into Google. The Elsevier product Science Direct is being indexed by Google Scholar.

You can't access the articles unless your institution subscribes to the Elsevier product.

Reminds me of the prescription medicine commercials - the advertisers hope you'll go tell the doctor what you need.

After using Google Scholar will you go tell your librarian you "need" Elseviers product?

An impression is made

Dr. Haim Ginott said “Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression.” I think he meant ideas, activities, songs, words, actions not sticks or bricks.

Taking the concept that ideas, activities, songs and words do make an impression on a child like a solid object falling on wet cement - try out Britannica's Learning Zone.

It has been available to Public Library users of GALILEO in Georgia.

Today it is available to DTAE users of GALILEO.

This is great for our Early Childhood Education program. Those students now have a chance to explore this resource while studying about Human Growth and Development.

The description in GALILEO tells a lot....Britannica Learning Zone is designed specifically for young learners. Students will find engaging and developmentally-appropriate activities including an interactive atlas, learning games, engaging audio and video, and effective vocabulary builders. The Britannica Learning Zone teaches concepts such as geography, time, shapes, numbers, and reinforces relevant vocabulary, all in a fun and safe online environment. There is also an area where students can demonstrate their creativity and practice what they've learned.


You get the current password to use GALILEO from home from your Georgia Librarian.

Are you happy at work?

Sometimes reading about another line of work makes one feel quite content with their current line of work. Read the professional magazines for an assortment of jobs to get a taste of the other side of a job.

Vocational & Career Collection an Ebsco database "provides full-text coverage for 400 trade and industry related periodicals including American Machinist, Contemporary Longterm Care, Pediatric Nursing, Wireless Week, Drug Store News, Video Business, Reeves Journal, Hotel and Motel Management, Restaurant Business, Advertising Age, and many more. In addition to the full text, indexing and abstracts are provided for 650 journals. The majority of full-text titles are available in native (searchable) PDF, or scanned-in-color. Full-text content in this database dates as far back as 1985."


You get the current password to use GALILEO at home from your Georgia librarian!

Summer Blockbusters

Harry Potter opens today - you can read reviews by going to Advanced search in either ProQuest or Ebsco and limiting your search to movie reviews. You can also check LexisNexis for NPR transcripts- you know someone has something to say about the movie!

But what if you missed the last summer blockbuster? What if you'd like a Cliff Notes version of a popular movie just to have something to nod wisely about during casual conversation.....check out the 30 Second Bunnies Theatre by Starz. It's amazing how they can animate and tell the story in 30 seconds!

Slapstick comedy

Ancestry Library Edition is only available at your Georgia library (Public or DTAE).

Heritage Quest, another genealogy database, is available to use at home through the public library in Georgia. Heritage Quest has the census, PERSI, books, and How To Articles. You will need to get the current password for your public library in Georgia to use Heritage Quest at home.

Before you go searching the census, take a walk down memory lane and watch this clip from a Three Stooges movie! It did bring a smile. I doubt the census takers behaved quite like Curly and Moe!

Only on campus

Access to Ancestry Library Edition is only available through GALILEO on campus. It's not just for family history.

• It's for American History (look up the presidents in the census, who were their neighbors)
• It's for Literature (look up authors, where were they in birth order in their family)

Two reasons to use this primary resource for your paper. It will add spice to your reports - you can copy and paste the original images into your Power Point or your document.

(I learned about this at the North Georgia Associated Libraries workshop presented by Courtney McGough and Dave Falke. Very clever use of what is usually considered a genealogy tool)

Read All About It

ProQuest Newspapers - just the place to go to get a variety of perspectives on todays news from the following:

Christian Science Monitor (1988-)
Los Angeles Times (1985-)
New York Times; Late Edition, East Coast (1980-)
Wall Street Journal; Eastern Edition (1984-)
The Washington Post (1987-)

And you can set up an alert sothe newest articles will be e-mailed to you.
Almost like an RSS feed!

First Day!

The excitement is filling the hallways as students look for classrooms, greet friends, and generally catch up on the news of the school!

There is a Student e-mail link on the current student page.
That's new to us!