Money, money, and more money

The holidays are over and the gift buying bills are starting to appear. I went looking for a resource in GALILEO that might have timely articles on credit use. Scrolling through the Databases A-Z list I noticed Banking Information Source (ProQuest).

The description notes: Banking Information Source (ProQuest) combines the currency of the Internet and the perspective of industry journals to provide the ultimate financial services research tool. With over 500 of the most authoritative sources of information, there is simply no better way to keep informed.

I haven't used the new ProQuest interface a lot. This quest for financial information is giving me an opportunity to play.

The cool blue appeals to me visually. The larger search box and the limiter for full text on the front screen simplifies searching.

There is no Scholarly Journal limiter on the front page of Banking Information Source (ProQuest). The Scholarly Journals limiter is on the front page of the main ProQuest database. You can limit to scholarly journals in ProQuest Banking Information Source by going to the Advanced Search screen and using the Source type boxes to limit to Scholarly Journals. They do provide a visual clue of a graduation cap icon before an article that is in a scholarly journal.

ProQuest completes the text as you type and offers a list of topics. I discovered I did need to put a phrase in quotes or it would search for the words individually.

I could sort by date after the search was completed if I neglected to limit the search by date range.

ProQuest provides a search tips link which has a plethora of hints, tips, and very useful tricks for getting the most out of a search!

I was amused to note there is a scholarly journal titled The Journal of Money Laundering Control. Who would have thought such a thing existed! You may get the current GALILEO password from your Georgia librarian.



-kls

Still judging

What started my thought process about judging a book by its cover* was the Book Case blog entry, Best Book Jackets of 2010. It is helpful (and appropriate) that there are links to the Book Page where one can read reviews. The best part of Book Page is the box in the bottom left corner with links to Independent Booksellers, WorldCat (where you can see the closest library that owns the book), and a site that compares online booksellers prices.

If judging a book by its cover is your selection style, book covers are a part of our library catalog. Looking at the cover is a quick and handy way to figure out if you want to go further.

-kls

*from Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Over 400 reference books are available in Credo Reference through GALILEO.

Judging a book

"Don't judge a book by its cover"*. Yet, we all do it- we make snap judgements based on appearance. The appearance of a persons clothing, their physical shape, their facial expression. Yes, we assess a person immediately based on how they look and act. It has been a survival tool for humanity. How quickly can you decide if someone is friend or foe?

Today is the first day of Winter Quarter. People I've never met are coming into the library for the first time. They are coming to a conclusion about me as quickly as I am about them. I hope we both will be generous with our quick take.

*from Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Over 400 reference books are available in Credo Reference through GALILEO.

Get the current password to use GALILEO from your Georgia librarian.

-kls

400 years and counting

Happy 400th Birthday to the King James Version of the bible! In honor of its quatercentenary anniversary, Gordon Campbell has written Bible: The story of the King James Version 1611-2011 [BS 186 .C367 2010].

It's a lively biography of the book that many consider the Word of God. The section that has most appeal to me is Appendix 1 :The companies and later revisers which has brief biographies of the scholars who worked so hard to create a work 'to be read in churches'. It is fascinating how Mr. Campbell uses the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography to flesh out the story of the Bible as we understand it. It is people who make history come alive!

-kls

Sign up, now!

Registration for Winter Quarter is going on today.
Winter Quarter begins Thursday, January 6, 2011.

-kls

What happened today?

Using Google to search a date floods one with list after list. The first entry on my search for January 4 is Wikipedia. The Wikipedia list is broken up by events, births, deaths with a calender at the end which allows one to move from date to date.It is very handy for a rather comprehensive list of births and deaths.

If you're looking for a historical perspective on the date try GALILEO and look in the Annals of American History

Annals of American History "includes the full text of primary documents in American history, including historical accounts, speeches, memoirs, poems, editorials, landmark court decisions, and cultural criticism. This resource also has multimedia files, including hundreds of images and video and audio clips of famous speeches."

Put the date in quotes to help the database limit your search to that specific date- otherwise you'll get a conglomeration of January and 4 entries!

The document I found most interesting was the 1815 New England and the Union paper.

Moreover, as the convention's emissaries approached Washington, they were met by the news of General Andrew Jackson's unexpected victory at New Orleans. By the time the emissaries arrived, it was no longer possible to serve the kind of ultimatum contained in the convention's report.

Timing is everything. I wonder what the results would have been with today's instant messaging?

Get the current password to use GALILEO from your Georgia librarian.

-kls