Keeping up

Tax information changes rapidly. We have four copies of Deduct it!. They range in copyright dates from 2004 to 2011.

The 7th edition (2011) is on the shelf at the Marietta campus library. The older editions are available electronically through Ebsco.

It might be interesting to do a compare and contrast between the 2004 edition and the 2011, 7th edition. While searching for a cover image, the 8th edition popped up. 'Deduct It!' seems to be an annual publication. Many folks purchase the new TurboTax every year. It makes sense that a new book would be needed, too.

Changes in the tax code, how do you keep up?


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Check with your CTC Librarian for the log in to use the Ebsco books.

Checking it twice

It's getting close to the end of the IRS fiscal year. Do you have your deductions in order? Is there something you could do to maximize your financial worth?

Our Accounting program offers a Tax Preparation Specialist Certificate. You might not want to be a tax preparer for others but this certificate could help you with your personal or small business taxes. It is too late for the April 2012 tax cycle but keep the certificate in mind for something to complete before April 2013.

To help you right now, we have a Library Guide for Accounting. Check out the box on the Articles tab with directions for setting up an alert in the Accounting database in GALILEO. The alert is an invaluable resource for keeping up with current information.

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Your Georgia librarian can give you the GALILEO password.

Narrowing the digital search

Learning how to narrow a search can be frustrating. One needs to know the source one is using- what is in this database? One needs to have a clear search term - using one word might pull up a plethora of information while using a synonym pulls up nothing. What is a novice researcher to do?

A scroll through Databases A-Z in GALILEO revealed Career & Technical Education by [ProQuest}"which includes several hundred full-text titles in the area of vocational information". A look at the Publications list notes 798 titles are available, that is a few more than "several hundred". The regular ProQuest has 11207 titles listed in Publications.

Already I can see how Career & Technical Education by ProQuest has helped me narrow my search. They have selected titles that apply to technical education. There are specific titles for Automotive, Cosmetology and Horticulture.

Comparing the publication lists of the specialized database with the regular ProQuest, shows that what is in Career & Technical Education really will meet the specific needs of our technical students information needs.


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Your Georgia librarian can give you the password to access GALILEO from home.

Sneak Peek

A change is coming from ebrary -

"ebrary is getting a new look! Over the next few weeks, we are updating the standard design of our customer sites. We believe the simplified instructions and graphical subject areas of the new design will make the research experience faster and more enjoyable for patrons." Preview the new design.

You've read my mumbling about ebrary. My quick perusal of the preview didn't silence the mumbles.
- I don't see a print option, though their competition offers printing and pdf e-mailing.
- I don't see a citation option, though it continues to list all the info you'd need to create a citation. Their competition offers citations ready to use.
- The 'search all of ebrary' box is still prominent above the book while the 'search the particular book' box is off to the right.

The new graphic interface at the opening of the resource might not get much use from our students. We have links directly from the catalog to the individual ebrary title.

We'll see if this effort makes a difference in use. Check out the Preview for yourself. If you need a login, check with your CTC librarian.


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Look who is fifty

Adam Gopnik wrote for the New Yorker in October:

Our cult of decade anniversaries—the tenth of 9/11, the twentieth of “Nevermind”—are for the most part mere accidents of our fingers: because we’ve got five on each hand, we count things out in tens and hundreds. And yet the fifty-year birthday of a good children’s book marks a real passage, since it means that the book hasn’t been passed just from parent to child but from parent to child and on to child again.

[More]

NPR played an interview with Norman Juster on November 29th.

Both sources gave me intriguing information about this classic, that I admit, I haven't read. Using World Cat shows me the nearest library that owns the book. I'm going to use Inter Library Loan to borrow a copy and read this work!


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Is it real?

We're into the crunch time for research. There are just a few weeks left till this first semester at CTC is over.

The campus libraries are filled with students finding and using resources both online and in print.

It seems easy to me to use GALILEO for quality information. Yet, sometimes what a student thinks they need isn't readily apparent in one of the databases.

They resort to a quick Google search. We know this is going to happen. To help students decide if the site they are using is authoritative, we've created an Evaluating Websites guide. It's not as comprehensive as some evaluation links but we do offer hints and tips on how to decide if a web site is going to be helpful.

We encourage care as you hurry to finish your research. Make sure the web resource you are using meets the standard of academic rigor you are striving for!


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Still stuffed

My stomach has yet to recover from eating too much, too often, over the holiday. Going from one family event to another, where the host expects to be honored, not only by your presence, but by your consuming the delectables presented, leads to indigestion. What is one to do to alleviate the consequences of plain old gluttony?

CTC Library subscribes to several health databases. Each requires a login if accessed from the CTC Library page. All are also listed in GALILEO. Your CTC Librarian can give you the passwords to the individual resources or to GALILEO.

From the CTC Library page, I chose Facts on File : Health Reference Center to look for indigestion information. 81 articles were pulled. The three column results format makes it easy to see what might be helpful. The first column has title and source. The second column notes article, drug, and article overview. The third column allows you to save the item.

Is there a way to sort the information? I checked 'Help'. The FAQ
did not offer a suggestion for sorting. The Advanced Search option has the Boolean search limiters, type of source, and date limiters for News Articles. News Articles can be sorted by date. That option seems to be the only way to 'sort' and it is totally limited to News Articles.

It's not difficult to scroll through the list. What I found were articles that discussed ways to prevent indigestion. One article did describe using baking soda to help alleviate a bit of discomfort. Several drug articles with references on how the drug may cause indigestion. Hmm. Not much help with my current problem.

I think I may just have to wait this out. The consequence of gluttony is a bit of discomfort!


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