Bidenmania

Unless you've been living under a media and/or digital rock, you should know that Senator Joe Biden, Democrat from Delaware, has been tapped to be the Vice-Presidential nominee of Barack Obama. Some of you may have even received a text message at 3:30 am Saturday morning informing you of Biden's nod.

Who is Biden? The USA Today for today described him as Pennsylvania's Third Senator (perhaps due to the proximity of Delaware to Pennsylvania and the fact he was born in the Keystone State). Many talking heads on the television have noted Biden's tendency to talk and talk and talk and talk . . . Well, you get the idea.

One place to find information about Biden is his official US Senate website, which you can access here. Understand that is this is an official Senate website maintained by Biden and his staff, it is not the best place to look for hard-hitting, critical analysis of Biden or his record. You can learn that by looking in the biography section that he won election to the US Senate at the age of 29. Under the terms of the Constitution, this would make him too young to serve as a US Senator. However, Biden did turn 30 by the time he took office in 1973. Also, you can sign up to receive the aptly named 'Biden Bulletin' which is an email newsletter.

One source of information about Biden is our old friend Galileo. From Browse by Subject, you can go to Social Sciences and select Political Science. Once there, you can do a search for 'Joe Biden' in the first search bar. The third result you get is actually a piece from USA Today that Biden wrote about Afghanistan.

Notice though, that when you change the search to 'Joe' in the first search bar and 'Biden' in the second search bar, the results are slightly different. This is also true when you change Joe to Joseph. A search for 'Joseph Biden' in the search bar gives us a set of results where the third result in Academic Search Complete is an an article relating to the future possible makeup of the Obama cabinet.

Another possibility is to go to Galileo and click on the 'Search' tab. At this point, you have the ability to search many databases by clicking on the show more databases link and selecting each database you want to search in. A search for 'Biden' and 'plagiarism' in Academic Search Complete and Research Library gives us a handful of results related to some incidents involving Senator Biden and accusations of plagiarism from his first presidential campaign in 1988.

Get ready for an information glut on Biden over the next week, just as you will get one when John McCain announces his VP pick on Friday (probably).

JWF

It begins tonight

The political junkies are salivating as the Democratic convention coverage begins tonight. Where can one read about the conventions - past and present?

Current information can be gathered with a Google search, a scan of CNN or Fox. What if you'd like to read about the last convention or even the 1980 Democratic Convention. You know I'm going to send you to GALILEO!

I selected Browse by Type because I knew I wanted newspaper articles. The Newspaper link opens with a list of newspaper sources. I can't search through them the way I can search when I use the Browse by Subjects tab. I tried the New York Times links (both current and Archive) only to discover they end up being "I pay" sites.

What can I access as part of GALILEO? ProQuest offers The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, (plus the Christian Science Monitor, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal through the Newspapers database.

ProQuest is easy to use. The Advanced tab allowed me to limit my search by year. I wanted to check out the 1980 convention - there are 69 articles from 1 Jan 1980 to 31 Dec 1980 about the Democratic Convention! The drawback is I found nothing for the 1976 or earlier conventions.

Now what? I went to Browse by Subject, selected Social Science, selected Political Science and Administration - limited my search for Democratic convention (no quotes) to 1976 and several articles came up through Academic Search Complete. There were even a few with a search limited to 1972.

For the confirmed political junkie, GALILEO offers access to resources to feed your addiction for information about the political process!

Your Georgia librarian has the password to use GALILEO at home! Watch the coverage and read the articles!


-kls

Access limited to location

It is very frustrating to have vendors limit access to a database based on IP addresses. Our auto guys are having difficulty using the Shop Key / Mitchell 1 resources because they are only available on campus. We had password access last year to Shop Key which made it very handy for students to do homework and for the instructor to prepare lesson plans. This year when we added the Mitchel 1 resource for the diesel program - slam - IP address access only....and the Mitchell 1 costs 4 times as much as the Shop Key...

What can a library do?

We offer Auto Repair Reference Center by Ebsco through GALILEO

The Auto Repair Reference Center database includes automotive repair information supplied by Point 5 Technologies, Inc., under license from Nichols Publishing, the former publisher of Chilton® Information and information from Delphi Integrated Service Solutions. 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 1945. Database content includes approximately 28,350 vehicles covered from 1945 to present; over 191,000 drawings and step-by-step photographs; approximately 72,000 technical service bulletins & recalls issued by the original equipment vehicle manufacturer; over 114,000 enhanced wiring diagrams for easy viewing and printing; specifications & maintenance schedules; Labor Time Guide & Estimator; Auto IQ; Quick Tips, a complete guide to vehicle ownership & maintenance; unlimited remote access and much more. New repair procedures and updates will also be added continuously. All of the content in Auto Repair Reference Center has been created by ASE certified technicians.

I admit I haven't played with either enough to do a clear compare and contrast. The auto guys prefer the Shop Key resource. It could be they haven't played with the Ebsco product.

I do like the videos in the Ebsco Auto IQ tab. I tried to look up my car but it's too new- the ARRC only goes to 2007.

Maybe I'll offer treats and they can show me Shop Key and I'll show them ARRC!


-kls

Sharing stories

On LM_NET, Judy Freeman posted a thank you to another member for reminding us to use NoveList for curriculum ideas. At the beginning of the year many of us need a jump start on what to read. Parents may find these tips useful as well.

If you're looking for a way to extend your story time, the Desperate Librarians or . . . When You Need a Few New Ideas newsletters offer suggestions for the latest titles. I've attended Judy's workshops and can attest to the originality and timeliness as Judy shares how to make a story stay firmly attached in the memory of the listener.

Go to GALILEO
Select Databases A-Z
Type in NoveList
Search for "Desperate Librarians" (you need to use the quotes)
Voila - ideas galore!

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


-kls

Now What?

Supposing that there may be those of you who haven't heard, the Olympics games are being held in Beijing, China. (Technically they are not called the summer Olympics, even though the winter Olympics are officially called the Winter Olympics).

Over the past two weeks you may have caught footage of the opening ceremonies, stayed up till near dawn to watch gymnastics, or experienced the agony of tape-delayed covergage. Those of you who are home during the day may have seen unfamiliar sporting events that are often just a blip on the radar, even during the Olympics, such as badmitton or water polo.

Next week, the Olympics and the sporting events that make them up, will recede back into the level of obscurity that they inhabit except for a two week period every four years. (Not including the Winter Olympics naturally.) Still, life goes on for the sports and the Olympics beyond Beijing.

Most sporting federations will hold one or more world championships between the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. One such event will be the 13th FINA World Swimming and Diving Championships, to be held in Rome, Italy in 2009. (FINA oversees International Swimming and Diving.) Learn more about this event here.

And before you know it, the 2010 Winter Olympics will be upon us. These games will be held in Vancouver, Canada. (Translation=less tape delay). You see, those fine folks at the International Olympic Committee have this well thought out and organized idea of picking the host site for the Olympics about six to seven years out from the date of the games. That allows the host city/nation time to prepare. London will host the 2012 summer Olympics. Sochi, Russia will host the 2014 Winter Olympics. Chicago, Rio de Janiero, and Madrid, Spain are the finalists for the 2016 summer Olympics. Whew. That's a lot of Olympics to look forward to.

Still, as you are watching the hurdles, pole vault, diving, swimming, and judo, just remember the Olympics once had events such as the Hop, Step, and Jump (similar to the Triple Jump) and even the Tug of War. Wasn't life so much simpler . . .

JWF

Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts

The new librarian strongly recommended "Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and other powerful web tools for classrooms" by Will Richardson.

Jeff read and learned from the first edition while working at Chattanooga State. We purchased the second edition this summer for NMTC. I finished flipping through the book and read the section, "About the Author". The URL for Mr. Richardson's blog jumped out at me. I went exploring and found Weblogged-ed at http://weblogg-ed.com/. (I've added it to my Bloglines.)

Mr. Richardson's entry for today discusses del.icio.us. I had an "ah ha" moment. I've regularly copied and pasted the "About Us" description from web sites. I'm glad del.icio.us has increased the character limit.

I noticed the new "look" to del.icio.us a few weeks ago. I had a few issues with it - I felt like it was a "new" site. There was a learning curve. Yesterday I realized I could sort the additions alphabetically (which was one of my pet peeves). Obviously, I'm still learning.

How do we use del.icio.us at NMTC? We've been checking the curriculum posted at the TCSG site for the programs offered at NMTC. We use that information to look for resources to add to the NMTC del.icio.us. We're tagging by class to make it easier for students to find just what they need.

I've recently shown del.icio.us to the Intro to Early Childhood class. They can use this for an electronic portfolio. ECE students collect information about agencies they may need to contact. Del.icio.us makes a perfect portable favorites.



-kls

The Truth Really is Out There

The web is filled with information. When you think about it, anyone can post information to the web. This information can be true or false, and sometimes it can be hard to tell the difference. There are times when you hear a story and think, 'There's no way that's true.' Well, think again, because it is often as important to verify that something is false as much as it is to verify that something is true.

One such true tale that is often dismissed as false is the case of the exploding whale. The time was 1970, the place was Oregon. A whale beached near Florence, Oregon and died. The Oregon Department of Transportation was given jurisdiction over disposing of the whale's remains. The plan was to destroy the whale's body using dynamite. The resulting whale kibble would serve as food for seagulls.

However, the plan went awry. The whale was destroyed, but the amount of dynamite used was only sufficient to blow the whale into large chunks, rather than the planned for kibble. Spectators ran for their safety and cars were damaged as huge whale chunks rained from the skies. The spectacle was captured for posterity by a local tv news crew.

Sounds incredulous? Perhaps. Yet another internet hoax? Not this time. The tale is true, yet lay largely forgotten until the mass adoption of the web in the lat e1990's, which gave it a resurrection and new life.

How to find information that verifies this story? First, we can turn to Galileo . Once there, we will select the option of 'databases by type.' Then we will go to 'newspapers.' Finally, we will select the database 'Newspaper Source.'

Once in Newspaper Source, we will do an advanced search for 'exploding' and 'whale' and 'Oregon,' and we will limit the search to full text. We will get one result, which is a transcript of an interview from National Public Radio from 2005.

Exploding Whale/NPR Transcript

Another source in Galileo to try is LexisNexis, which can be found be going to the tab 'databases A-Z' and looking under 'L.' Within LexisNexis, do a power search and set 'major world publications' as your source, and search for 'exploding' and 'whale' and 'Oregon.' This search will produce numerous results, many of which relate back to our search topic.

Finally, for those interested, there is a YouTube video of the event. Exploding whale on YouTube. Also, the urban legends reference website, Snopes, has a good page on the exploding whale. Exploding whale on Snopes

JWF

What day is this?

I'm creating a display. I pulled The Man Who Walked Between the Towers (GV 551.G47 2003) by Mordicai Gerstein. I went to pull the movie review for Man On Wire. I was going through the Saturday paper. The movie section wasn't there! Did someone pull the movie section? I looked a bit further only to discover - it was in Friday's paper.

Friday's AJC had the review by A. O. Scott of the New York Times.

-kls

Walking the wire

When I read the movie review by A. O. Scott for "Man On Wire" in the Saturday AJC, I thought there was a children's book about this event - and I couldn't think of the title.

I went to GALILEO and did a Search for Philippe Petit. I limited my search to Academic Search Complete, Research Library, NoveList and Book Index with Reviews. I figured I'd get something in NoveList and Book Index with Reviews.

Voila - there it was in NoveList. The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Michael Gerstein. NoveList offers a curriculum extender for many titles- including this one. You can use this title in Math, Language Arts, PE, and Social Studies.

You might not want to take your elementary age child to the movie (it is rated PG-13) but the book would be appropriate for any age!

I looked in WorldCat to see who has the book. Yes, NMTC has the book- it is a Caldecott Winner- we do have an Early Childhood class on Children's Literature. Having the award winners in our library supports their program.

I gave you the link to the "public" version of WorldCat. If you use the WorldCat available through GALILEO, there is a "Borrow This Item From Another Library" link. That is helpful for you to get the book quickly from another library!

You may get the password to use GALILEO at home from your Georgia librarian.


-kls

All the luck

On NPR I heard that 8-8-8 is thought to be a lucky day by the Chinese (and others - see the Associated Press on MSNBC about marriages). My RSS feed this morning from The Ancestry Insider wrote about the lucky day and noted Ancestry.com has a Chinese site. I did a quick visual compare and contrast with the Ancestry Library Edition available through GALILEO (remember you can only get to Ancestry Library edition at your Georgia library). I see the search boxes! I like the Chinese header with the blowing leaves.

I just noticed at the bottom of the Ancestry.com screen that it is distributed by ProQuest.

ProQuest has an option to change the interface language on its regular databases. I wonder why Ancestry doesn't offer that option?

You can do a compare and contrast at your Georgia Public Library (or Tech College Library). Ancestry Library Edition is only available on site.


-kls

Where is that web site?

I started the morning teaching the Intro to Early Childhood class why Social Bookmarking is a useful tool. I started the session with Common Craft's Social Bookmarking video. I really like the Common Craft tutorials.

Sharing the Resources related to your Program of study demonstrated a way to gather up resources with tagging and bundling.

The instructor is going to use the students del.icio.us sites as their portfolio. This allows the beginning ECE students to gather web sites, tag them, and bundle them as the student progresses through the program. Upon completion of the program, they'll have a healthy set of web sites for their professional use!

I'm going to this class again and demonstrate the usefulness of the persistent links available through Ebsco and ProQuest. You've noted my complaining about how permanent is persistent. Hope springs eternal!

The instructor is quite excited about eliminating the three ring binders and the mounds of paper!


-kls

Yes, we're here

A staff member sent me this link Libraries Shine In Tough Economic Times : NPR Nice story. It was very nice to be thought of!

I went looking in Lexis Nexis, where I used to look for NPR transcripts and I did find this particular story very easily:

GALILEO
..Databases A-Z
...L
....LexisNexis
......General Search
........I copied and pasted the entire title
........I limited the search to TV and Radio Broadcast transcripts
........I limited it to the previous week
Search and there it was!

I admit I first tried a general search in GALILEO without success. Lexis Nexis isn't one of the options.

You may access current TV and Radio Broadcast transcripts through LexisNexis in GALILEO.

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

-kls

Looking at the new interface

Ebsco is trying to make their interfaces "friendly". This came out on July 29th from NoveList:

We are continuing to hear from our users with suggestions and comments concerning the new version of NoveList. We encourage and welcome this feedback, as it helps us to make the changes that mean the most to you in your libraries. As a result of your feedback, we have released the following enhancements which now available in NoveList:

* Quick Print has a new display that is designed to reduce the
amount of paper needed to print your results. Each title or item
has been reduced to a two or three line display, with only the
most valuable information.
* The citation that displays above NoveList articles and lists is
shortened, so you will not need to scroll down as much to find the
content that you are looking for.
* When you select links to feature content, you will no longer see
the search string ("PD 430716," for example) in the Find box.
* The Clear button at the Find Similar Books page now clears all
boxes of their checkmarks, instead of returning to the default page.
* The Search History will now be available at the Basic Search, as
well as at the Advanced Search.

I like the effort to listen and "fix" for the patron.

Stupid is as...

The ALA Information Literacy list is discussing how best to teach students the skills to find the best information. Many instructors let students settle for "good enough" resources found with a Google search.

Leonard Pitts noted in his article Not voting for stupid 07/27/2008 the difference between ignorance and stupidity.

Ignorance is a lack of information. We're all ignorant in one way or another.....I'm talking about stupidity, which I define as an inability to analyze, draw conclusions from, or otherwise "use" information even when one has it.

We just finished Day 5 of SCT 100. That's where we show students the resources available. We deal with the ignorance by demonstrating the resources. There's no time to walk through the thinking process on how to differentiate what is useful (accurate) and what is not.

GALILEO offers a page of FAQ's on how to find a database or an article. This deals with the ignorance factor.

I want ways to teach the thinking process, to deal with the stupid factor:

I selected Browse by Subject
...I selected Education
......I selected Colleges & Universities
.........The only database noted is Career & Technical Education. I decided that wouldn't do.
......I selected Education and the search list has 7 databases that seemed reasonable (including ERIC)
I typed in critical thinking, limited to full text, 2008-2008 -
A nice selection came up with some titles pointing to specific curriculum.

I think I'll go and read a bit!

-kls

You get what you pay for

I did a search on Google for "universal remote" review.

What did I find? Several snazzy looking sites with reviews on universal remotes that cost $60-$400 (and up). I admit, I only spent $8.95. That could be why the universal remote doesn't do what I want.

Still trying- a search using "universal remote" "under $10" review turned up individual reviews. That will have to do.

On to real library research - you get what you pay for.


-kls

Chirp, tweet

I'm still thinking about universal remote reviews.

I was scrolling through the All Databases list in GALILEO and ran across this addition All About Birds which "is a website from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that includes information about watching birds, learning their nesting behaviors, attracting birds, identifying them, recording observations, and getting involved in bird conservation. The site includes guides, images, maps, sounds, videos, and much more. There is also a link to the Macaulay Library, an archive of animal sounds and videos. "
Database Provider: National Science Digital Library (NSDL)

I regularly sit on my deck enjoying the birds in the yard. This resource will help me figure out which bird is which!

I'll go back to thinking about universal remote reviews. I may do a Google search and see what appears. I think I can evaluate the sites to find the one that will really have accurate information.

-kls

How universal is universal?

I bought a universal remote because our remotes seem to get away from the equipment they control. I've thought about velcro straps and links to the stand. Yet, I know I like to wander around a classroom and aim the remote. I don't want to be tethered to a cart or TV. So we "lose" remotes.

The universal remote I purchased isn't working with the specific equipment. Would it have made a difference in what I purchased if I did a little research?

Consumer Reports popped into my head. You know where I'm going - to GALILEO.

I selected the Journals A-Z tab
Typed in Consumer Reports and saw several databases that have the magazine.
I selected Ebsco - well they do have the new interface.

The Consumer Reports Buying Guide in Ebsco's Academic Search Complete came up.
I selected search within this publication (teeny tiny print above the list of years)
And this is where I got confused - the search box was filled in with JN "Consumer Reports Buying Guide"
I stared at the screen and thought- where do I fill in my query?
I selected Advanced Search
OK- there were the extra search fields
I typed in Universal Remote -
Nothing came up - How can that be?
Ah- I did not change the "Select a Field" drop down
I changed the field search to TX - All Text
and - 27 articles came up.

Yet- as I skim the titles- I'm not seeing a specific article for universal remotes. The first article PRODUCT RATINGS AND BRAND RELIABILITY might be helpful. I opened it and choose to search through the 140 page PDF file to find mention of remotes. Lots of remotes noted but not a section on universal remotes (that I saw)

Hmm. I think I need to rethink the process. I'll try something else and let you know how it works!

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

-kls

Carnivore, herbivore, locavore

And what are you?

In yesterdays New York Times "Getting That Locally Grown Flavor With Fuss but No Muss" noted new businesses springing up to support those who would like to eat locally grown produce but don't want to garden (or can't garden because they live in a high rise). I shared the article with our Horticulture department. It could be a growing (no pun intended) business market.

I found the article for you by using GALILEO.

I selected Databases A-Z and scrolled looking for newspapers.
I found the New York Times (ProQuest databases).

I searched for locavores limiting my search to the previous seven days. Nothing came up but ProQuest suggested using the terms Farmers Market or Farmers Market AND Fruit.
I selected Farmers Market, limited to the previous seven days and victory! The article was there.

Yet, it was the article in today's Britannica Blog by Robert McHenry that made me smile -

"Yes, locavoracity is yet another application of that grand green dictum, Think Glibly and Act Vocally."

.

I'm delighted to have the variety of foods I find in my huge grocery store- though I do admit the fresh tomatoes from my neighbors garden and the fresh eggs from my friends chickens do taste better.


-kls

North Metro Tech Library Reference Wiki

Meanwhile, back at the ranch . . .

Hello. Last week I decided to create a reference wiki for North Metro Technical College Library, North Metro Tech Reference Home. You may, or may not, be asking yourself why. There are several reasons for doing this.

1. This is a useful tool for the librarians at NMTC. We are not always working at the same time. One of us may help a patron with a unencountered area of need and forget (gasp) to tell the other. This wiki allows each of us to examine ways that the other has been helping our patrons.

2. The wiki will prove a useful off campus tool. Hopefully, the wiki will be a site that patrons can access from home to avoid an unnecessary trip to campus. There will be lots of 'how to's' on the wiki, along with general and basic information about the library.

3. This wiki is separate and apart from the Policies and Procedures NMTC wiki at North Metro Technical College Library Policies and Procedures. Yes, some of the information may be redundant. However, I hope that this new wiki will enable you the patron to access information on how to use library resources and also to get help when a librarian just may not be available (namely at 2:00 a.m.).

4. Other college and university libraries have developed their own reference wikis. This one will be unique, as the others are already unique, and its aims, purposes, services may not exactly match up to those of other libraries.

The format I selected to use for the wiki was Wetpaint. Comparing it to Wikispaces, I felt that it was more easily edited and updated. However, one drawback to Wetpaint is that there is some commercialization in the form of banners. I do hope that these banners will not become too much of a distraction.

The wiki will be a long work in progress and will never truly be finished. Stay tuned . . .

JWF

After all the fuss

Last week Ebsco rolled out the new interface. I mentioned it twice then became so wrapped up in using it, I forgot to mention it again!

What makes it better? The colors are the same. The layout is different. It feels cleaner, spacious, easier to navigate. The search options seem straight forward and easy to follow. The limiters follow along nicely.

The real beauty is in the results screen. On the left you may narrow your search. In the center are the articles. To the right more options.

A cleaner, visually friendly way to display the results!

Get the password to use GALILEO at home from your Georgia librarian.

GALILEO is the library...Ebsco is a resource in the library!

-kls

Word Clouds

Wordle is a website that allows you to create word clouds/graphics out of text that you enter. You can enter song lyrics, poetry, nonsense, prose, jargon, etc. into Wordle and generate an interesting word graphic. You may then edit the graphic if you so choose to suit your personal preferences.

One great source for text for Wordle is LION (Literature Online), available through Galileo. LION allows you to search for poetry. Once you find a poem or bit of prose that you like, you can go to Wordle, paste in the text, and create your very own word cloud. Remember, your local public library in Georgia can give you the Galileo password if you are a state resident.

This blogger made a Wordle out of the French National Anthem in honor of Bastille Day a few weeks ago. -JWF

Privacy

This morning I read about bloggers being arrested for libel and slander because of what was posted. On a list serve I belong to there was vigorous discussion about forwarding what is sent with people not on the list. On another list there was vigorous discussion about Information Literacy. Yes, I read a lot.

All of which reminded me of George Orwell's Nineteen eighty-four : a novel.

In GALILEO, NoveList provides a good summary of the book along with an interesting discussion guide. The question in the discussion guide that struck me had to do with memory.

Why is the thought that he might be "alone in the possession of a memory" (p. 60) so troubling to Winston?

We spend so much time creating lists, journaling, writing things down so we don't forget that in the end we forget.

Something to think about privacy and memory.

You may get the password to use GALILEO at home from your Georgia librarian.

-kls

Rolling over

Latest news from GALILEO (10:02am):

The EBSCOhost 2.0 switchover is in process.

EBSCO has reported to us that during the initial deployment today, EBSCOhost personal folders will not be available. They have also reported that some slowness with searching may occur. Both problems should resolve when the deployment completes later this afternoon.

Again, if you encounter any problems with the new EBSCOhost 2.0 interfaces, please report them to GALILEO using the Contact Us form.

-kls

Not yet

Ebsco sent an announcement through GALILEO that they would release the new Ebsco on July 16. I checked at 8:15 am through GALILEO and - nope - not yet. One may select the New Features link to experience the revised Ebsco right now.

Soon.

It will be released soon.

-kls

Plink, plink, plink

Early morning is the best time to pick blueberries, said the city girl. I just returned from picking a basket of Georgia blueberries. While I was picking I thought of Robert McCloskey's "Blueberries for Sal". Using GALILEO I looked at NoveList K-8 for extenders, ties ins and reviews.

NoveList K-8 has a slightly different look than NoveList. Both offer hints on what else to read, reviews, links to WorldCat so you can find the closest library that has the title. Yes, NMTC has the book for the Early Childhood literature classes to use!


-kls

Testing, testing

Something new this way comes.....

The next generation EBSCOhost user interface will become available to all customers in July 2008. Based upon results gathered from extensive user testing, EBSCOhost 2.0 offers a clean new look and feel, for a technologically sophisticated, yet familiar search experience, with the built-in flexibility to provide individual user customization options.

You may test Ebsco by going to GALILEO
-- select Ebsco from the Databases A-Z list
--- select the Ebsco database you'd like to use
---- click on New Features! (upper right hand side of the screen)

It does "look" better! Your Georgia Librarian will give you the current password to use GALILEO at home.

-kls

I'll drink to that

George Will noted in his Sunday column, Survival of the sudsiest: A toast to beer, The Ghost Map : the story of London's most terrifying epidemic and how it changed science, cities, and the modern world by Steven Johnson [RC 133 .G6 J64 2006]. Through GALILEO I looked in Book Index with Reviews. The review noted:

"An account of the worst cholera outbreak in Victorian London--and an exploration of how Dr. John Snow's solution revolutionized the way we think about disease in cities. In the summer of 1854, a devastating cholera outbreak seized London just as it was emerging as a modern city: more than 2 million people packed into a ten-mile circumference, a hub of travel and commerce, continually pushing the limits of infrastructure that's outdated as soon as it's updated. Author Johnson chronicles Snow's day-by-day efforts as he risked his own life to prove how the epidemic was being spread. When he created the map that traced the pattern of outbreak back to its source, Dr. Snow didn't just solve a pressing medical riddle--he established a precedent for the way modern city-dwellers, city planners, physicians, and public officials think about the spread of disease and the development of the modern urban environment.--From publisher description."--

You'll notice that World Cat has a link in BIR. It's easy to find the nearest library that has the title.

A mention in a column, a look in GALILEO and I think I'll read this book!


-kls

What did they say?

Are you searching for information and you run across a web site in French or Spanish or another language? What do you do? Grab a dictionary with English/French or English/Spanish? Muddle through with your high school language skills? How do you figure out what it means?

I read two articles* today about Bastille Day (July 14th) and the new web site that lists those who lost their heads to the Guillotine, Les Guillotines de la Revolution francaise.

Both authors referred to Google : Language Tools. I went and tested the site- very interesting. This is a helpful tool if you find a site in another language- or if you want to share a site with someone whose first language is not English.

I can see a teacher using the Language Tool in a conference with a student who just may not be very clear about what the English words mean. The tool might be helpful for a student (or anyone) who wants to hone their understanding of a language other than the one they use at home. For travelers this might be an easy tool to get hints about what that sign means.

Through GALILEO, ProQuest offers translators for the directions in their database. Once an article is selected, ProQuest also offers a Translate document box. See if you can understand what the author is trying to say when you read the article in another language.

To use GALILEO at home you will need the password which you may get from your Georgia librarian.



*articles:

Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter : Guillotine Victims Listed Online

Genealogy / Kenneth H. Thomas Jr : Web site lists guillotine victims, AJC , Sunday July 13, 2008, M3

-kls

Another perspective

Looking at life through the eyes of another, is one way to broaden horizons and get that bit of perspective that opens us up to really living. Mark Haddon won the Whitbread Award for his first novel, The curious incident of the dog in the night-time [PZ 7 .H1165 Cu 2004]:

The Amazon.com review notes...Mark Haddon's bitterly funny debut novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, is a murder mystery of sorts--one told by an autistic version of Adrian Mole. Fifteen-year-old Christopher John Francis Boone is mathematically gifted and socially hopeless, raised in a working-class home by parents who can barely cope with their child's quirks. He takes everything that he sees (or is told) at face value, and is unable to sort out the strange behavior of his elders and peers.

Our newest English Lit instructor highly recommended this title. I read it in one evening and have since recommended it to our Early Childhood instructors as they teach the classes for a Special Needs certificate. The story draws you in and illustrates how life looks from inside the head of a Special Needs teenager.

If you want a taste of the writers style - you may go to GALILEO and select NoveList- search for the title. There is link to the first chapter! A link to World Cat lists the libraries that have the book. Yes, NMTC is listed!

Ask your Georgia librarian for the password to access GALILEO from home!

-kls

The wings are flapping

Summer Quarter begins on Wednesday, July 9. If you've taken online classes you're familiar with Blackboard, Web CT, and Course Compass. A new format has been added to the mix.

Training for instructors began last week. For the student there may not be much change. The colors will be different but the folders, files, drop boxes, etc will feel quite familiar.

ANGEL for GVTC Online Classes, is a Web-based course management and collaboration portal that enables educators to manage course materials and to communicate with students. ANGEL can function both as a complement to traditional courses and as a site for distance learning. With ANGEL, you can take surveys, quizzes, and tests; send and receive course mail; post messages to threaded discussions and chat rooms; upload assignments using online drop boxes; and more. You can check your progress and grades at any time during a course.

I like the resources tabs. Right now Google and Wikipedia are listed. Soon GALILEO and the link for Resources related to your program of study and the NMTC Library catalog will be included to make it easier for students to find information to support their studies!

We'll all be learning how to spread our wings this summer.

-kls

Election 2008 Resources

Election Resources


Hello. The 2008 Presidential Elections are fast approaching. Here in Georgia, we will vote in federal and state primaries on July 15th.
You have probably been inundated with news about the elections on television and on the radio. Need we even mention the various ads on television, radio, and now even the web.
Here are some resources related to the upcoming 2008 Elections:
Okay, first are links to local county election boards and government sites. Also included is a link to the Elections Division of the Office of the Georgia Secretary of State.
Cobb County Board of Elections
Bartow County Board of Elections
Paulding County Government-Elections Section
Cherokee County Elections and Registration
Elections Division of the Georgia Secretary of State

This next link is to a website/blog with really detailed information. It is called electoral-vote.com. This is a very well maintained website and is almost always updated daily. The key feature of this site is that the lead graphic is a map of the United States. Based on the most current polling data for each state, the particular state is shaded a degree of either red or blue. For instance, a dark blue state would mean that the state has currently polled very strong for Obama, and a dark red state would mean the opposite in favor of McCain. The colors of the states change as new polls for the state are reported. A running tally of electoral votes for each candidate is kept as new polls come in. Moving your mouse over a state you are interested in will give you even more detailed information. The website also keeps a close tab on US Senate races that are consider competitive. The website watches US House of Representative races that are competitive, though less attention is paid to these since there are so many to keep an eye on.
Electoral-Vote.com

Our next site is one that is of historical interest. This is a massive archive of results from previous Presidential elections. You may access results from these past elections in both graphical and statistical form. Results may be further broken down by state and in most cases even by county level. It should be noted that some information on this site requires a fee. Also, the author of this site reverses the red state/blue state color scheme by assigning blue to Republicans and red to Democrats.
Dave's Presidential Election Atlas

This site is a general political news site that is frequently updated. This site also provides polling data for Presidential, Gubernatorial (governor), and Congressional races. Interestingly, this site did a very clever NCAA bracket style mock tournament where users picked the Vice Presidents for both parties. The tournament featured head to head matchups of potential VPs over several weeks just like the NCAA’s. Users voting in the Republican bracket eventually picked former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee as their choice for McCain’s VP and users participating in the Democratic side picked General Wesley Clark as their favorite for Obama’s VP choice.
CQPolitics
National Public Radio is public radio news service. However, they cover political stories and elections both on air and via their website. On the website you can find web articles about elections, and also listen to podcasts of related news segments.
NPR

This site is run by Larry Sabato, of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. However, the site is not updated as frequently as some others. Still has some good information though.
Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball

The following websites also explores political leanings and election predicitions. However, you have to pay for a good portion of the information.
The Rothenberg Political Report
the Cook Political Report


JF

Are we there yet?

Must be the season to look for relatives online. Dear Myrtle had "Kendall Hulet from Ancestry.com to discuss the New Ancestry.com Search options" on her podcast.

Notice in the screen shot below, Ol' Myrt has only typed in the name William, but Ancestry's computers are already working hard by comparing this with other known men by the name of William on my family tree. In this example, I was planning to research William Gist Froman (A) but if I wished to work on a client's family, I could change the tree Ancestry will search by clicking the down arrow button at (B) below. The "Advanced" button Kendall explains during this interview is shown at (C) below. If I wish to save data entry time, I can merely click the William Gist From on the list, and his birth and death info will be inserted in the new Ancestry.com search screen automatically. This certainly speeds up research time. For more info about Ancestry's new search capabilities, take the tour.

Georgia library users may access Ancestry.com at their Georgia public library. NMTC students may access Ancestry.com on campus!

You may wonder why a college student would use Ancestry? Yes, they might be doing Family Research but that's not likely. I showed the Nursing students how they could look up famous nurses in the census and note siblings, parents, neighbors. They were intrigued! It also would be helpful in American History projects - to add a touch of primary sources to the bibliography.

No need for the password to access Ancestry through GALILEO - it's only available at the library.

-kls

Search tips

Lots of folks need hints and tips on how to use a database (this is what librarians teach). Diane Haddad at the Genealogy Insider provides a few tips on searching the genealogy databases. I wonder if she's a librarian. She comments on Ancestry.com, which is available on campus through GALILEO

• Use One-Step Search Tools, which offer more-flexible searching of several databases in Ancestry.com [available on campus only-kls], Footnote, EllisIsland.org and other sites (to view results from a fee-based site, you need a subscription to the site). For example, the One-Step tools might let you search on a name fragment, more year ranges, or more combinations of terms.

NMTC students may get the current password via the Student E-mail login. All other Georgia residents may acquire the current GALILEO password from their Georgia librarian.

-kls

Now we are two!

The View has gained another perspective. The second librarian hired by North Metro Tech will begin adding his two cents about what it looks like from our front desk. Stay tuned for his first entry.

I'll bet you'll be able to tell us apart.

-kls (we'll add our initials in case you can't differentiate our styles)

Who has the book?

Mentioned before- but very worthwhile is the World Cat public site. This site helps you find the nearest library that owns the book you'd like to read.

Use your public library to test the worth of a book before you hit Amazon (not that I have anything against buying a book but when your library has it for you to borrow)- and they dust it and shelve it and.....well, I'm partial to using the library resources. If your library doesn't own the book you want to read - they can borrow it through Inter Library Loan!

Now's the time to wander through your library and borrow the treasures your taxes have paid for!

More suggestions

Everyone (well, lots of folks) have suggestions on what to read during the "lazy, hazy days of summer" - even The Wall Street Journal

Thanks to Sarah Hey at Stand Firm for pointing out the Wall Street Journal site.

See, everyone does have suggestions on what to read!

Still judging

Must be the start of summer- the numerous ways to judge a book are presenting themselves in a variety of locations. Just a bit ago I wrote about Zoomii and the ability to judge a book by its cover. Now, I've read useful hints and tips on judging a book from a conference participant who has had the chance to observe users selecting a book ....

The most common method is to pick up the book, look at the spine and/or cover title, check the index for a specific item, and then check for the price. I’d like to share a strategy to approach a new title that will enable you to use it more effectively...

Carolyn Barkley offers examples of why the initial approach may not work. She concludes her blog entry with

A thorough examination of a new resource is essential to its effective and efficient use. Consult the title page; don’t rely solely on the information on the spine or cover. Look at the table of contents to understand the organization of the content. Thoroughly read the introduction and/or preface to gain an understanding of the scope of the book as well as find the tips the author may provide about how to best use the resource. Consider the index carefully to understand what is being indexed and how the index entries relate to the text. I guarantee you’ll be able to put the information in the source to much better use.

I wonder if she's a librarian at heart?

Judging a book

A post on LM_NET suggested trying Zoomii. From the about section:

Why Zoomii?

"Because I love bookstores. Spending afternoons wandering the shelves. Happening across great books I didn't even know existed. But it's an experience I never found online. Online bookstores are wonderful. They've got amazing prices, huge selections, and they're open all the time. If you know exactly what you want, they're perfect. But somehow I kept coming back to the bookstore just to browse. Zoomii is my attempt to bring online as much of the real bookstore experience as possible.
-Chris Thiessen"

You have the option of a Canadian or an American version (look for the flag) - they tell you it works slowly with the new FireFox 3.0 but I didn't find any glitches. It is like browsing a book store with the covers in rows and shelf after shelf of titles. If you like browsing this might be the site for you!

Look, look

I'm catching up on reading the feeds of genealogy blogs. Yes, I enjoy the search, must be why I'm a librarian. Dick Eastman notes a graphical search engine that is in beta testing. It is pretty.

I've added this to my list of 40 search engines. Though I admit, I fall back on Google for my default search strategy.

Yes, "the search" is a large part of the fun.

Wild Thing

I did add an iRead app to the Library MySpace. It's an easy way to share what I like and what I'm reading. After 17 years in the K-12 environment, I'm quite fond of Children's Literature. The brevity, the clarity, and the illustrations keep my attention.

I'm going to add Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are" to my list of books read!

Which brings me to the Britannica Blog entry by Greg McNamee in honor of the 45th anniversary of the book, "Where the Wild Things Are" and the 80th birthday of the author, Maurice Sendak.

Gnashing of teeth, rolling of eyes, but a warm meal upon arrival home. There's love for ya!

Ten days

Time flies when you're having fun.

It has been ten days since I shared. What in the world have I been doing? There has been the end of fiscal year inventory of AV materials, the spending of end of year money, the cataloging of materials found in offices, moving computers and phones in preparation of the new Librarians arrival!

And that's the best part of time flying.

The second librarian will be joining NMTC on July 1st. He has aready expressed interest in talking about his "View from the Library".

I'm looking forward to the pace of summer and the addition of another librarian!

Just the facts, Ma'am, just the facts

Genealogy is my hobby. I look for "proof" of a relationship in wills, deeds, church records, cemeteries, and old newspapers. Germaine Greer has done a remarkable job in "proving" the relationship of Ann Hathaway and William Shakespeare in "Shakespeare's Wife" [PR 2906 G74 2007].

From Ebscohost a review in Maclean's; 4/14/2008, Vol. 121 Issue 14, p80-80, 8/9p, 1c by Brian Bethune

Greer, 69, who in her day job is an academic expert in early modern English literature, waded through a mountain of poetry, plays, local court records and Tudor history.

That's what intrigued me - the noting of legitimate sources to prove the relationship. Genealogists use a "preponderance of evidence" from verifiable resources to tie people and places together. This is what Germaine Greer has done so well- used verifiable sources (and noted them) to show a better picture of Shakespeare's wife!

Wikipedia vs the others

The RSS feeds from library bloggers inspire, push and amaze me. Today I was introduced by The LibrarianInBlack to Digital Reference written by Stephen Francouer. I have added Digital Reference to my feeds.

Perusing past entries in Digital Reference, I came across a series of posts (see May 5) comparing Wikipedia to three subscription online resources.

"While most of the topics were covered in all four sources, I found it interesting which sources had a main entry on the topic vs. which ones covered the topic in some other entry. For all but two topics, Wikipedia had a separate entry on each topic. This is not surprising, given that in Wikipedia, which is born digital, there is all the space in the world for yet another page, while the other three sources are all born in print, where each additional page added means greater printing costs."

A podcast on the topic of small library marketing suggested creating ones own Wikpipedia entry for the library. I went to look at Wikipedia to do that for my library. I was surprised at the policies on verifiability and original research.

At this point Wikipedia doesn't exude the cachet of authority of a subscription resource like Encyclopedia Britannica. That shady reputation may be coming to an end as more articles in Wikipedia are footnoted with verifiable sources.

And the answers are....

1. Whom was Memorial Day originally intended to honor?
.....Memorial Day originally honored Civil War soldiers.

2. In what year did Memorial Day become an official holiday?
.....Memorial Day became an official holiday in 1971

3. Which city was the first to celebrate Memorial Day?
.....Residents of Waterloo, N.Y. were the first to proclaim a day to honor deceased soldiers on May 5, 1866

4. What was Memorial Day originally called?
......Memorial Day was originally called "Decoration Day" because of the practice of decorating soldiers graves.

5. In what year did "The Star Spangled Banner" become the national anthem?
......Francis Scott Key's "The Star Spangled Banner" became the national anthem in 1931.


Thank you to the Daughters of the American Revolution for posting the questions (and answers) in their magazine "American Spirit" May/June 2008, pg 10,12

Honor the memory

Flags are flying, cemeteries have been decorated, let us remember and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for us.

The Daughters of the American Revolution, the largest womens service group in the country, was founded to honor and remember the first Patriots. "The American Spirit" is the award winning DAR magazine published 6 times a year.

The current issue has a quick quiz for Memorial Day:

1 Whom was Memorial Day originally intended to honor?
2. In what year did Memorial Day become an official holiday?
3. Which city was the first to celebrate Memorial Day?
5. In what year did "The Star Spangled Banner" become the national anthem?

I'll post the answers tomorrow but I'll bet you can find the answers through Encyclopedia Britannica in GALILEO.

Let us not forget.......

What was its name?

Do you ever wonder what a poem or story was called?

You can describe the plot, the characters - even come up with the ending...but you can't think of the title or the author so how can you find the book (or poem) at your library?

The Library of Congress has created a tip sheet with suggestions for finding that elusive title.

Fortunately, several of the resources they suggest are available to you through GALILEO. This list may help you remember the name of that favorite story!

- Book Collection Non-Fiction a cross-curricular research database that contains abstracts and searchable full text for more than 3,800 popular nonfiction books for youth on core subject areas, as well as information on careers, health, sports, adventure, technology, life skills, and more.
- Book Index with Reviews is a comprehensive database that provides information on over 3.8 million book titles in a wide range of formats, including large print and books on tape.
- Georgia Cat a customized, union catalog of Georgia Public Library System's bibliographic records. GeorgiaCat includes the records from the collections of all Georgia public libraries that have added their holdings to WorldCat.
-LION full-text library of over 330,000 works of British and American poetry, drama and prose.
- NoveList an online readers' advisory tool that helps readers find new books based on books they've read or on topics in which they are interested.

There are tools to help you "remember" that title!

Reading not Listening

This tip was picked up in conversation with a librarian while attending AABIG (Atlanta Area Bibliographic Instruction Group) at GSU. I had no idea I could do this.....if you open your e-mail and enter a cell-phone-number@teleflip.com as the e-mail address, then type your message, and hit send - it will deliver a text message to that cell phone number (fairly quickly)!

Quite handy if you want to send a text message to someones cell phone from your e-mail (especially if you know they need info but not conversation and your text messaging skills are rusty - or non-existent)

The caveat - and of course, there is always a caveat - my test message (I sent one to my cell phone as a test) came through twice- then I received a text message from teleflip offering me their online service. If your recipient pays to receive a text message - they won't be amused- or pleased.

Still - what a handy tool. I'll bet it could be used to share reference information....

Another reason to attend conferences- chatting with participants leads to revelations of "new to you" resources.

Click, click, click

I've started taking pictures in the library, posting them in the digital frame at the circulation desk and today....I uploaded two batches to Flickr.

Organizing the photos in "sets" is easy. My "free" account allows me three sets. I'm going for People, Places, and Things. I'll see if I can purchase a Pro Account with next years budget. It's not too pricey and it would allow me to organize the pictures in more sets. I could do award winners, events, class materials.......it could become a visual del.icio.us!

The circle grows

Thanks to Gerry McKiernan on the ili (Information Literacy / ALA) list for sharing this information that Gerry gleaned from Bernie Sloan:

OCLC and Google to exchange data, link digitized books to WorldCat DUBLIN, Ohio, USA, 19 May 2008-OCLC and Google Inc. have signed an agreement to exchange data that will facilitate the discovery of library collections through Google search services.

Under terms of the agreement, OCLC member libraries participating in the Google Book Search* program, which makes the full text of more than one million books searchable, may share their WorldCat-derived MARC records with Google to better facilitate discovery of library collections through Google.

Google will link from Google Book Search to WorldCat.org, which will drive traffic to library OPACs and other library services. Google will share data and links to digitized books with OCLC, which will make it possible for OCLC to represent the digitized collections of OCLC member libraries in WorldCat.

[snip]

WorldCat metadata will be made available to Google directly from OCLC or through member libraries participating in the Google Book Search program.

Google recently released an API that provides links to books in Google Book Search using ISBNs, LCCNs and OCLC numbers. This API allows WorldCat.org users to link to some books that Google has scanned through a *Get It* link. The link works both ways. If a user finds a book in Google Book Search, a link can often be tracked back to local libraries through WorldCat.org.

The new agreement enables OCLC to create MARC records describing the Google digitized books from OCLC member libraries and to link to them.
These linking arrangements should help drive more traffic to libraries, both online and in person.

[snip]

The new agreement between OCLC and Google is the latest in several partnerships between the two designed to increase the visibility of libraries on the Web and deliver information to users at the point of need. OCLC will be working with other organizations to include digitized content in WorldCat in the months to come.

[snip]

[ http://www.oclc.org/news/releases/200811.htm ]

Gerry notes - "Thanks to Bernie Sloan for the HeadsUp! "

We keep sharing and sharing and sharing!

Does durable mean what you think it means?

When a database vendor notes a "durable" link, what does that mean?
The American Heritage Dictionary (available through Credo) defines durable as Lasting; stable
The Collins Dictionary (available through Credo) defines durable as Long-lasting; enduring.

LION offers a durable URL link to the information available - poems, etc. LION notes you may post the link in an e-mail or document. The implication is one may send the link and the recipient will be able to click on the link to access the LION document.

The durable link remains durable in the sense I think of "durable" on campus where we have direct access to GALILEO and LION. Yet off campus, the link opens up a screen in LION requesting a log in.

I'm missing something about the long lasting, stable enduring part of the the LION link.

"Life isn't an algebra problem"

The Adventures of Johnny Bunko : the last career guide you'll ever need [HF 5549.5.C35 P56 2008] notes"Well, actually it's like an algebra problem painted by Salvador Dali".

On the back cover :

The Adventures of Johnny Bunko is America's first business book in the Japanese comic format known as manga."

LM_NET has been discussing "why boys don't read". This comic book might help convey pertinent information in a way that persuades the reluctant reader to head for the business section for titles that have just a bit more depth.

A rose by any other name

Words convey information. When I was in high school, I took Latin. One of the benefits of Latin as a universal language, is it doesn't evolve with additions to the vocabulary. Caeser would be able to attend a Latin class and participate. While Shakespeare might have a bit of trouble with the current use of English.

Which brings me to the Merriam Webster Open Dictionary. Peter Sokolowski noted five new words in his blog article. Mr. Sokolowski encourages us to participate in the ever growing lexicon : "When you notice a new word — on the radio, in a book or magazine, or online — and discover that it’s not in the dictionary, then it’s a good candidate for Merriam-Webster’s Open Dictionary."

I thought about the book Frindle by Andrew Clements. Amazon's Booklist review describes the story:

Ten-year-old Nick Allen has a reputation for devising clever, time-wasting schemes guaranteed to distract even the most conscientious teacher. His diversions backfire in Mrs. Granger's fifth-grade class, however, resulting in Nick being assigned an extra report on how new entries are added to the dictionary. Surprisingly, the research provides Nick with his best idea ever, and he decides to coin his own new word. Mrs. Granger has a passion for vocabulary, but Nick's (and soon the rest of the school's) insistence on referring to pens as "frindles" annoys her greatly. The war of words escalates--resulting in after-school punishments, a home visit from the principal, national publicity, economic opportunities for local entrepreneurs, and, eventually, inclusion of frindle in the dictionary. Slightly reminiscent of Avi's Nothing but the Truth (1991), this is a kinder, gentler story in which the two sides eventually come to a private meeting of the minds and the power of language triumphs over both. Sure to be popular with a wide range of readers, this will make a great read-aloud as well. Kay Weisman

You can find Frindle at your nearest Library by using WorldCat.

Ahh - now I see clearly

The test made a hyperlink of the title - which took one to the wav file. Looking around the screen, I noticed a "download" link. I'll have to play with that and see how it works!

One of the first podcasts I downloaded was from OPAL, Online Programming for All Libraries. I listened to the Library Thing presentation.

I have a personal Library Thing. I've created a Library Thing Local for the NMTC library. I noticed that Georgia Highlands College has a Library Thing page.

I haven't yet played with Library Thing for the NMTC Library. Looking through the GHC Library Thing, I'm getting ideas on how this could be useful. Yet, my catalog (Surpass) is easy to edit. I think I could "tag" materials. Is that heresy in the cataloging world?

Something to ponder- tagging versus subject headings. Can formal cataloging coexist with informal tagging? All this thinking brought about by a Mothers Day gift!

Can you hear me now?

This is a test...at the beginning of April I learned how to record and save audio to a "server" on campus.

Mothers Day came early with a Fed Ex delivery of an I-pod Nano. I'm inspired to create podcasts. Blogger.com offers a way to create podcasts in the blog. I'm going to try it with The Song of the Chattahoochee that I recorded in early April.

So we'll see if you can hear me now?

Weeding helps growth

From Merriam-Websters in GALILEO:

Main Entry: weed
intransitive senses : to remove weeds or something harmful
transitive senses
1 a : to clear of weeds b (1) : to free from something hurtful or offensive (2) : to remove the less desirable portions of
2 : to get rid of (something harmful or superfluous) -- often used with out

It's Spring-time and we're going through the collection looking for outdated and/or no longer appropriate materials for this collection. You know we have a "compact" physical space.

Everything on the shelves needs to support the current programs offered at North Metro Technical College.

While "weeding", we look at "holes" in the collection and decide what to purchase to fill those holes. When the fiscal year begins, we'll be ready to spend our budget wisely and the collection will grow in a healthy fashion.

To use GALILEO at home, get the current password from your Georgia librarian.

Page 6 and page 8

Carol Stanley and Jerry Stovall have written a compelling blog (only available in print through the Georgia Library Quarterly, vol. 45, number 1, Spring 2008, pgs 5-8) detailing the frustrations felt by librarians who are supposed to be helping patrons find information.

The librarians of the Technical College System of Georgia are dealing with the dichotomy of working in an academic library with a filter on internet access.

How can this be? How many universities in the Ivy League (or even the Georgia Board of Regents league) would stand for limiting access to information with a filter on the internet?

The students in the technical college system are being denied access to information under an arbitrary system implemented by the state of Georgia to prevent government employees from using the internet to "play" rather than work.

The managers of government employees can't manage therefore college students are denied access to information....and how is this helpful in a free academic environment?

It's what technical college librarians deal with as the powers that be push the technical colleges with one hand to be accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools yet with the other hand deny access to academically useful resources available through the web with the filter Websense.

Read all about it in the Georgia Library Quarterly.

Oh, Carol and Jerry mention the View from the Library in their article on pages 6 and 8 of the GLQ. They can read this now...... Thanks for the mention!

Civil Rights Digital Library

The Atlanta Journal Consitution noted on April 27 "the Civil Rights time machine" .

In GALILEO the "more >>" describes "The Civil Rights Digital Library (CRDL) as a vehicle that promotes an enhanced understanding of the Civil Rights Movement through its three principal components:

a digital video archive delivering 30 hours of historical news film allowing learners to be nearly eyewitnesses to key events of the Civil Rights Movement a civil rights portal providing a seamless virtual library on the Civil Rights Movement by aggregating metadata from 75 libraries and allied organizations from across the nation instructional materials to facilitate the use of the video content in the learning process

The CRDL links to primary sources and other educational materials from libraries, archives, museums, public broadcasters, and others on a national scale. The CRDL features a collection of more than 30 hours of unedited news film from the WSB (Atlanta) and WALB (Albany, Ga.) television archives held by the Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia Libraries. These moving images—about 450 clips--cover a broad range of key civil rights events, including the desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas (1957); the Atlanta Temple bombing (1958); Atlanta sit-ins (1960); Freedom Rides (1961); desegregation of the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech (1961); the Albany Movement (1961-1962); desegregation of Ole Miss (1962) and University of Alabama (1963); and Americus Movement (1963, 1965); Birmingham demonstrations (1963); among many other topics.

CRDL is a partnership among librarians, technologists, archivists, educators, scholars, academic publishers, and public broadcasters. The initiative receives support through a National Leadership Grant for Libraries awarded to the University of Georgia by the Institute of Museum and Library Services."

THE CRDL is accessible through GALILEO and on its own CRDL site. Learn from the past to prevent errors in judgement in the future!

Pictures on the desk

I read about using digital photo frames for PR. I bought a digital photo frame and an inexpensive digital camera. It's fun to take the pictures, save them to an SD card and load the frame. Visitors stop and get entranced with the show.

New books, old books, patrons reading, location shots....

Changing the "show" each week is very easy to do. I placed the frame on the front desk. It greets patrons as they enter!

Finished the Terrible Two's

The View turns three today!

Three years of commenting on the resources available through the North Metro Technical College library!

It's Cinco de Mayo and the view from the library is most entertaining. The celebration is being set up in the Lobby right outside the glass doors for a grand time to be had by all!

Pinata, games, food, and music. Even a talent show put on by the students. What fun! I have a front row seat.

And the winner is

Atlanta poet edged out of 'Out Loud' contest....

"Dana Gioia, chairman of the National Endowment of the Arts, said the contest seeks to bring poetry to life. "Poetry was originally an oral art ... great words, powerfully spoken," Gioia said. The program "starts with the idea that poetry is to be experienced," he said. "We want to help restore the pleasure to poetry."

There's always next year! Congratulations to Elijah P. Orengo for making it to the finals.

One more step up the ladder

Georgia teen makes national poetry recitation!

Georgia's young poetry reciting champion has advanced to the final rounds in the national Poetry Out Loud recitation contest.

Elijah P. Orengo, 16, a sophomore at Westlake High School in Fulton County, emerged Monday as one of the top four poetry reciters in his region and will compete with 11 other students Tuesday night in the national finals........

-from the Atlanta Journal Constitution

They said it and they did it

Lexis Nexis had posted that on April 28 the look of their site would change. They didn't misinform us!

Go look
- they switched sides for the links
- more white space between lines
- where you used to have the links drop down when you selected Federal cases, now it goes to another page and there is a column headed by Federal Cases.

I'm going to show the Business Law class how to find information about businesses. I'm going to have to learn how to do it myself!

To access Lexis Nexis through GALILEO, you need to get the current password from your Georgia librarian. Be aware that some Georgia libraries do not have Lexis Nexis as part of their GALILEO offerings.

Better heard then read

Poetry seems to be best enjoyed when heard.

Todays AJC had an article about Elijah P. Orengo who will be particpating

in the finals of a versifying smackdown called Poetry Out Loud.

The Poetry Foundation notes:

Recitation and performance are major new trends in poetry. There has been a recent resurgence of poetry as an oral art form, as seen in the slam poetry movement and the immense popularity of hip-hop music. Poetry Out Loud builds on that momentum by inviting the dynamic aspects of slam poetry, spoken word, and theater into the English class.....

You may listen to previous years winners. Good luck to Elijah!

What a nice way to bring Poetry Month. to a close.

Civil Rights Digital Library

The Atlanta Journal Constitution had an article about the Civil Rights Digital Library (CRDL) initiative in Sundays edition.

The Press release information:

......is the most ambitious and comprehensive effort to date to deliver educational content on the Civil Rights Movement via the Web.

The CRDL promotes an enhanced understanding of the Movement trough its three principal components:

1)a digital video archive delivering 30 hours of historical news film allowing learners to be nearly eyewitnesses to key events of the Civil Rights Movement
2) a civil rights portal providing a seamless virtual library on the Movement by aggregating metadata from 75 libraries and allied organizations from across the nation
3) instructional materials to facilitate the use of the video content in the learning process.

The centerpiece of the site is a collection of more than 30 hours of historical news film held by the Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia Libraries. These moving images—about 450 clips--cover a broad range of key civil rights events, including the following:

- desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas (1957)
- the Atlanta Temple bombing (1958)
- Atlanta sit-ins (1960)
- Freedom Rides (1961)
- desegregation of the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech (1961)
- the Albany Movement (1961-1962)
- desegregation of Ole Miss (1962) and University of Alabama (1963)
- the Americus Movement (1963, 1965)
- Birmingham demonstrations (1963)
- many other topics

The video archive covers both national figures and local leaders. There is more than two hours of film related to Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr.
King’s role in the Albany Movement is documented extensively, including clips of speeches at mass meetings, his arrest by local police, press conferences, and his visit to a pool hall to urge local African Americans to adopt non-violence in achieving change in Albany. Among the clips is coverage of King’s reaction to President Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, his receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, and his funeral in 1968.

In addition to the news film, the digital library includes related collections from 75 libraries, archives, and museums across the nation.
Most are original documentation of the period, such as oral histories, letters, diaries, FBI files, and photographs.

A partnership with the online New Georgia Encyclopedia is a key component, providing concise, authoritative articles on events and individuals associated with the Civil Rights Movement in Georgia, supplemented by images and multi-media files.

The CRDL initiative includes a special site for teachers, called "Freedom on Film" (currently in development) that relates civil rights stories from nine Georgia towns and cities, along with related news film, discussion questions, lesson plans, and related readings. Freedom on Film is being developed by University of Georgia faculty and students, along with scholars from other institutions.

The Civil Rights Digital Library receives financial support from a National Leadership Grant for Libraries awarded to the University of Georgia by the federal Institute for Museum and Library Services.

Different hours

Just added "Different Hours" [PS 3554 .U49 D54 2002] by Stephen Dunn to the catalog. I was skimming the Pulitzer Prize winning book of poems and stopped at The Hours -

Worst was to live by somebody else's time,
the hours scheduled for him, smudged
with clarity and motives not his own.......

Struck me as a powerful truth- living by someone else's schedule is never fulfilling. The ability to have flexibility in life and work is so pleasing. It allows one to "feel" in charge of the effort being made.

LION Literature Online in GALILEO has over 200 poems written by Stephen Dunn. LION provides an easy way to get a poetry break during the workday when your hours are set by somebody else's time....

The password to use GALILEO off campus (at home or work) is available from your Georgia librarian.

It sounds like Spring

The sounds of Spring sports - the crack of the baseball, the pounding of the hoofbeats, the whoosh of the golf ball - all bring a smile to the lips after a long winter. If you want to bone up on your sports trivia as you share the joy of Spring sports - The The LibrarianInBlack refers to the Sports Illustrated archive (vault) where one may search for sporting information!

I did a search for Arnold Palmer (I like golf - not to play but to watch) and found 518 articles, 18 photos, 13 covers and 161 videos.

Yes, there is an advanced search feature (as noted by Gary Price at the Resource Shelf), you need to do a simple search first, then the "refine your search" boxes are available to limit your search by decade or date.

This wouldn't be the View from the Library without a reference to GALILEO....you can read Sports Illustrated articles (back to 1992) through EBSCOHost Academic Search Complete, ProQuest and LexisNexis.

I found this information by using the new Journals A-Z tab, typing in Sports Illustrated, then clicking on the title. I was taken to a search box where I could click on the link to the three resources (there was a search box that took me right into Lexis Nexis when I typed in Arnold Palmer).

Both ProQuest and EBSCO allow you to create an "alert" that will send you an e-mail when the new issue is added to the database.

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

Pictures, colors, options, oh my

You've read my moaning about the plain look of Ebsco. They have announced they are changing their interface (must be the season). Here's a Flash demo of the new look.

To use Ebsco products at home through GALILEO you will need the current password, which you may get from your Georgia librarian.

Late wife

English is such a delightful language with nuances and opposing meanings for a word that make it hard to pin down exactly what someone means. With "Late wife" [PS 3551 .N4155 L38 2005], Claudia Emerson has written one of those nuanced titles - is the wife not on time, is she deceased, is she the past wife....which late is she?

Amazon.com notes

Winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. In Late Wife, a woman explores her disappearance from one life and reappearance in another as she addresses her former husband, herself, and her new husband in a series of epistolary poems. Though not satisfied in her first marriage, she laments vanishing from the life she and her husband shared for years. She then describes the unexpected joys of solitude during her recovery and emotional convalescence. Finally, in a sequence of sonnets, she speaks to her new husband, whose first wife died from lung cancer. The poems highlight how the speaker's rebeginning in this relationship has come about in part because of two couples' respective losses.

Ms. Emerson's poems are clear, poignant, revealing - the late wife begins anew - April is poetry month- look at life from a different perspective - the perspective of a poet.

Open Vault

WGBH Boston has opened the vault on their collection of television shows! Open Vault "provides online access to unique and historically important content produced by public television station WGBH for individual and classroom learning. The ever-expanding site contains video excerpts, searchable transcripts, a select number of complete interviews for purchase, and resource management tools.".

Their Top Picks include Lucille Clifton reading the poem Turning as part of the show Poetry Breaks.

"Poetry Breaks," conceived by Leita Hagemann Luchetti and co-produced by Luchetti and WGBH New Television Workshop, is an ongoing series of over 100 thirty-second to four-minute spots presenting internationally known poets reading their work on location. These have aired individually on WGBH and public television stations across the country. The Workshop collaborated with Luchetti until its closing in 1993, at which point the works became co-productions of Luchetti and the larger WGBH Foundation.

Thanks to Sybil Finemel, Library Director MLIS.CIO., Contributor, lii.org, Librarians' Index to the Internet Virtual Reference Desk Volunteer
24/7 OCLC Reference Librarian for noting the Open Vault on LM_Net.

Nothing stays the same

It is the beginning of the quarter. I'm enjoying showing students the new GALILEO. It is easier to find articles with the search tab and steps 1-3.

The Business Law class uses Lexis Nexis Academic which is not included in the search list. As I prepare to meet a second time with Business Law, to show some tips and tricks of Lexis Nexis - I realized there is a little box at the bottom right, noting Lexis Nexis will change its interface on 26th April 2008.

LexisNexis Academic is getting a new look on April 26, 2008. The improved design is part of an ongoing global effort to improve ease of use for all LexisNexis users.

It feels like they just changed their format (and I'm struggling with finding information in the latest incarnation - though I keep taking the workshops)

It's a test to see if I can keep learning!

Remember you get the password to use GALILEO at home from your Georgia librarian.

Rolling, rolling,

Rolling down the river.... the tune just popped into my head as I was reading Sidney Lanier's poem Song of the Chattahoochee. The link takes you to LION in GALILEO.

It is National Poetry Month. We have the "Poems of Sidney Lanier" [PS 2205 .A2 L35 1999] on the shelf. It, too, has the Song of the Chattahoochee. I read the poem and created a .wav file with a link in the Poetry Reading section.

Someday, I'll learn how to create mp3 files....someday. I'm feeling quite pleased with my simple .wav!

To access GALILEO (and LION) at home, you need the current password which is available from your Georgia librarian.

It sounds like

In honor of National Poetry month, I'm trying to create audio files of Poetry Reading. I'm learning.

April Showers

Bring May flowers

April is poetry month. From the sublime to the ridiculous, poetry trips off our tongues. We have Poetry for Dummies [PN 1042 .P579 2001], which sounds simplistic but....it is described in Amazon this way:

Sometimes it seems like there are as many definitions of poetry as there are poems. Coleridge defined poetry as “the best words in the best order.” St. Augustine called it “the Devil’s wine.” For Shelley, poetry was “the record of the best and happiest moments of the happiest and best minds.” But no matter how you define it, poetry has exercised a hold upon the hearts and minds of people for more than five millennia. That’s because for the attentive reader, poetry has the power to send chills shooting down the spine and lightning bolts flashing in the brain — to throw open the doors of perception and hone our sensibilities to a scalpel’s edge.

Poetry For Dummies is a great guide to reading and writing poems, not only for beginners, but for anyone interested in verse. From Homer to Basho, Chaucer to Rumi, Shelley to Ginsberg, it introduces you to poetry’s greatest practitioners. It arms you with the tools you need to understand and appreciate poetry in all its forms, and to explore your own talent as a poet.....

And you know what Mayflowers bring?....

yes, it's Pilgrims.