Spring forward

Daylight savings time begins this weekend. We spring forward an hour. Why do we do this?

A search in GALILEO turned up this interesting article from the Washington Post. How did I find a current article with a brief history of Daylight Savings Time?

I went to Search in GALILEO
..Typed in Daylight Savings Time
....Clicked on Full Text
....Selected 2010 as the year
....I unclicked Academic Search Complete and Research Library
....I clicked on Show More Databases
I scrolled through the list looking for newspapers. I figured a newspaper might have a current history on Daylight Savings time.
....I selected Newspaper Source and ProQuest Newspapers

Selected the Search 2 databases button (I like how it tells me how many databases I've selected)

It was in ProQuest Newspapers that I found the Washington Post article

I like the ending...

In 2005, Congress moved the start date up three weeks and moved the end date back one week, adding an entire month to daylight saving -- and saving energy. That, however, may not apply to you, with all the energy you will spend playing outside in the extra daylight.

Lets go outside and play (if it quits raining).

-kls

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

To be or not to be

Little kids are regularly asked - what do you want to be when you grow up? Some of us have yet to make that determination and we're well into being a grown up. NPR posted a fascinating look at

the jobs humans once held, entire professions are now extinct. Click through the gallery below to see examples of endangered professions, from milkman to telegrapher, and hear from people who once filled those oft-forgotten jobs.

If you're thinking about what you'd like to do before the job becomes obsolete - check out the Georgia Career Information Center. It is a stand alone site that I'm sending you to through the listing in GALILEO.

What I like the most about the GCIS is the Skills Assessment because SKILLS helps you identify occupations that use the skills you like. It also helps you recognize skills that transfer between occupations. You can use SKILLS to select occupations to explore, identify ways to modify your career direction, or prepare for a job interview. When I took this self assessment the job it said I was most likely to succeed in was - drum roll, please - librarian. I admit to laughing out loud.

If you're not sure what you want to be - check out the GCIS.

You will need the password to get into Galileo. Select Databases A-Z, then G, scroll to Georgia Career Information Center. The login and password for GCIS is in the more information section.


-kls

In like a lion

Sometimes we get a classic proverb confused - is March coming in like a lamb and going out like a lion or is it coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb?

The first week of March has definitely come in like a lion with cold, rain, and snow in Georgia.

In our Reference collection we have several books of proverbs. The Facts on File dictionary of proverbs [PN 6421 .M36 2002] compiled by Martin H. Manser, notes this weather related proverb dates to before 1625.

I also checked the OED [Oxford English Dictionary PE 1625 .O8 1991, vol. IX pg 358] for the word march. The OED provided pages of information about the month and the physical activity of the march. Three proverbs are noted in the section defining the month, including the Facts on File Reference to Fletcher's 'Wife for a Month'.

There are free resources online but the free resources don't have the depth of information available in our print resources. Come inside, get out of the March weather and peruse our print resources!

-kls

Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook

March 2nd is the anniversary of the birthday of Dr. Seuss. The Mountain View campus library has a cookbook related to a very famous tale by Dr. Seuss. The book 'Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook' contains recipes related to various characters and stories of Dr. Seuss. Included are recipes for Schlopp with a Cherry on Top, Blueberry Bumplings, Glunker Stew, and other exotic fare.

Please drop by the Mountain View campus and check the book out. Or, if you are based on another campus, please remember that your Chattahoochee campus librarian can request that the book be sent to the campus library most convenient for you through intralibrary loan.

JWF

I like them, Sam-I-am

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss turns 50 this year. Many teachers and librarians are sharing the story with classes as part of Read Across America.

I'm reading it to English literature classes where the instructor has tied it to Hamlet. NoveList offers other Curricular Connections to extend the poem into various classes. You may like it if you try!


Thank you to Susan Grigsby, Teacher-Librarian, for sharing her Wordle.



-kls

the Girls' Guide to Rocking

Rock bands of past years that featured all female lineups are going to get some more attention with the release of the film the Runaways this spring. The film tells the story of an all-girl rock band of the late seventies that featured Joan Jett and Lita Ford, who would later go on to become big stars as solo acts during the 1980's. Other notable all female bands include the Go-Go's, the Bangles, the Indigo Girls, and the Donnas.

The Chattahoochee Technical College Library has a book about female rock bands. The Girls' Guide to Rocking [ML 3795 .H775 2009] is a book about how to start an all female band. The book includes basic information on getting started in the music business, writing songs, and choosing equipment. The book also provides some information on the history of women in rock.

This book is located at the Mountain View campus library. Remember that current Chattahoochee Technical College students can have library books located at one campus sent to another campus library for pickup and checkout. So check it out and start rocking!


JF

To see or not to see

We are becoming a society of visual learners. We absorb information from pictures rather than by making pictures of our own from the text we read.

YouTube has become one source for visual information. It is a veritable 'how to' library. GALILEO has a channel with 14 videos to help one learn how to use what is available in GALILEO!



The videos are also available on the GALILEO home page. On the right - under Getting started, select what can I do in GALILEO? You may click on Related tutorials to begin opening up other titles!

Learn how to use GALILEO!
You may get the current password to use GALILEO at home from your Georgia librarian.

-kls

Something new

The upgraded Library catalog is up and running.

It has many new (to us) features- including book covers and a visual search. I’m enjoying playing with the visual search – I clicked on the Visual Search link (the link is in the gray bar toward the middle of the screen) .


There are a few options pictured in alphabetical order - I picked Food.
When I click on a picture, the books available in the CTC collection are displayed.
Select a book by clicking on the details tab.

Some titles will display the Table of Contents

and some extra information about the book- including reviews.

Do you see the subject links? Clicking on one of them narrows your search to just that subject!

What a superb tool to help you make the best selection.

I’m looking forward to showing classes how delightfully fun this catalog is.

I have 8 English classes scheduled next week- they are in for a treat!





-kls

5 letters across

Do you do crossword puzzles? Do you ever find yourself just stuck? Janice Levine, one of the librarians at the Paulding campus, attended a webinar for Credo Reference. Here are her notes with the great hint for solving crossword snafus!

Some of the features that I liked:
• Citations at the end of each entry, in four possible formats, MLA , APA, and 2 others
• I liked the "Related Resources" that show up in the left column when you go to an entry, that link you back to our CTC online catalog and to Encyclopedia Brittanica
• There is also easy access back to the table of contents/index and to biographical entries and images and videos (if there are any) in a reference source through the "Browse Book" feature at the bottom left of any entry
• The advanced search feature allows you to limit your search by specific subjects or book titles, as well as by date, image, etc.
• Also, like in some other systems, one can save results as you flip from one article/entry to another, then delete unneeded info, and save or email info that you would like to keep
• The Gadgets box to the right was also very neat-it allowed you to do a quick search for definitions, people, images, pronunciations, crossword puzzle clues, quotations, holidays and festivals, and to easily convert from one type of measurement to another.
• *Yes-for those of you who are crossword puzzle fans you can actually put in the clues you have so far for a particular crossword puzzle word in the Gadgets box under "Crossword" and the computer will give you options as to what the word should be. So, next time you are doing a crossword puzzle while you are near a computer and you get stuck, you can try out this feature of Credo Reference!

JWF pointed out that Credo Reference has updated the MLA citations to MLA 7!

You may access Credo Reference through GALILEO and through the CTC Library page
Get the password to use GALILEO at home from your Georgia librarian.

-kls

A Librarian read....

Do you remember when Wolf Hall [PR 6063 .A438 W65 2009] arrived at Chattahoochee Tech, North Metro campus? I did a blog noting it was two inches thick and I just wasn't sure if I'd wade through it all. I did start it but couldn't, just couldn't finish it. Another librarian, Lauren Barnes at the Woodstock campus, borrowed the book.
Lauren e-mailed:

I have to say the work getting through the book was worth the interesting viewpoint. It was an interesting angle on the familiar Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII story. It was written from Cromwell’s viewpoint, who usually is painted as a villain. This time he’s the main character. The author starts talking about someone and you don’t know who she’s talking about. Like towards the end of the book there’s a conversation with “The Maid”. In this case, I would say it would make a better movie than a book! It was difficult to read, but if you’re a student of this era in time, it’s worth the time spent.

Maybe I'll try again.....

-kls

Black New Yorkers

The Black New Yorkers : The Schomburg Illustrated Chronology, 400 years of African American History [F 128.9 .N4 D63 2000] written by Howard Dodson, Christopher Moore, and Roberta Yancy offers a chronological history of African Americans in New York.

There are two lists with brief biographies of African Americans - Early Black New York leaders (pg 425) and The New York Black 100 (pg 426). Both offer just a bit of information - birth year, death year, and their accomplishments. If you're looking for Black History tidbits- this book offers you a plethora of opportunities to explore not only New York but America's Black History.

Amazon.com offers a peak inside the book as well as reviews.

-kls

Literature Resource Center

Literature Resource Center is a literature database in Galileo. The database allows you to look up articles of literary criticism, as well as information on various authors.

When you conduct a search in LRC, you will be given a list of search results. Select one of the results from your search. The page displayed for this item will have a red box on the right hand side of the page that is labeled 'tools.' One of the links in the tools box is for 'citation tools.' Clicking on this link will open up a new window that will allow you to select from a variety of citation formats for that particular article. One of these options is for MLA 7, which is the latest update to the MLA citation format.

You should also note that databases in Galileo that are produced by the GALE group, such as Literature Resource Center, all now carry the updated version of MLA. This should make life a bit easier for students citing in the updated MLA format.

Remember that the Chattahoochee Technical College Library has a PDF handout for the updated MLA, with examples, posted on the library's website.

JF

It's here!

The new and improved Lexis Nexis is available through GALILEO!

Today is Fat Tuesday also known as Mardi Gras . The day many Christians clean out the cupboard of dairy and meat products to spend the next 6 weeks fasting. I did a search in the new Lexis Nexis for Fat Tuesday.


Searching for Fat Tuesday (no quotes) turned up 971 articles that emphasized fat. It must have only looked for the word fat.
Searching for "Fat Tuesday" (with quotes) pulled 993 articles.
Sorting both results by publication date shows -
- the no quotes search has a GlaxoSmithKline Health care article first.
- the quote results search lists the Feb 16, 2010 Washington Post article on DC Fat Tuesday activities first.

The sort options are intriguing - chronological puts the articles in publication date order so the oldest article is first. Publication date puts the most recent article at the top of the list. I wonder why they didn't choose one term and note oldest and most recent as options for the sort?

And then, as long as I'm complaining - after you've selected an article, look to the right of the screen. See the icons? The printer, the envelope, the disc are all self explanatory . It was the open book that confused me. It is the icon they are using to send the bibliographic notes to RefWorks (Export of RefWorks format will be redirected to the RefWorks login center.). I know my institution does not subscribe to RefWorks but as an experiment, I clicked on the links.

I could apply for a 30 day trial account (an individual RefWorks subscription would be $100 per year). Why can't they just use whatever ProQuest and Ebsco use to create the citation?

I like Lexis Nexis for the legal information for our Business Law classes. I like it for transcripts of television or radio programs that I want to check.

It isn't as friendly for students to use for research because of the lack of a durable URL to an article. The lack of citation information isn't critical but they obviously know people want citation information or they wouldn't have the link to RefWorks.


I'm glad the new interface for Lexis Nexis is available. I hope they'll add a durable URL and a better citation system.

Get the password to access GALILEO from your Georgia librarian.

-kls

The links for Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras are thanks to Encyclopedia Britannica, another resource available through GALILEO!

Why we read for fun!

Thank you to Non Sequitur's author Wiley Miller for making it so clear why reading can be anything but boring.

-kls

Happy New Year

Coinciding with Valentines Day this year is the Chinese New Year of 4708. That juxtaposition seems appropriate. A New Year is a perfect time to get on the right foot with ones sweetheart. Though saying just what you want to say is sometimes harder than it seems!

ProQuest through GALILEO offers two tools that might assist you - the first tool will translate the article - look under Document view for a drop down box that says Select Language. The options are astonishing ranging from English to Chinese (Simple))to English to Spanish! If you aren't looking to impress your sweetheart - this would a super place to practice that language you need to suceed in your program. You could open two windows - going back and forth between the English version and the Other Language version.

Proquest does offer this caveat "You have requested "on-the-fly" machine translation of selected content from our databases. This functionality is provided solely for your convenience and is in no way intended to replace human translation."


The other translation tool allows you to change the Interface Language only. This way you could practice following the directions, while being able to read the article in the language you are most comfortable reading.

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


-kls

Nelson Mandela and Interlibrary Loan

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the release of activist Nelson Mandela from prison in South Africa. Mandela had been jailed for decades for speaking out against Apartheid. Apartheid was the political system by which a white minority dominated and segregated the other races of the country of South Africa. Mandela's release, along with the legal restoration of his African National Congress party, began a swift process which saw the dismantling of Apartheid and the eventual election of Mandela in the country's first elections open to people of all races.

This anniversary proved to be a bit ironic as I am currently reading a book about Mandela and the fall of Apartheid. The book is entitled Playing the Enemy and was written by John Carlin. The book was recently adapted into a film version entitled Invictus.

However, you will notice by looking through the Chattahoochee Technical College Library catalog that the book isn't part of our collection. So how then, did I get the book? It was through a process called Interlibrary Loan. This is a service that the college library provides to you. We are able to get books not in our collection by borrowing them from other participating libraries all around the United States. Go to Worldcat and type in a book title to see what libraries near your present location own the book.

There are exceptions to Interlibrary Loan. Please read the rules regarding Interlibrary Loan on the library's section of the Chattahoochee Technical College website. The biggest exception students need to be aware of is that the library will not request textbooks for students through Interlibrary Loan.

JWF

Snap Judgement

The Chattahoochee Technical College Library has some books on cd-rom for patrons and staff.

One such book is entitled 'Snap Judgement: When to Trust Your Instincts, When to Ignore Them, and How to Avoid Making Big Mistakes with Your Money,' by David Adler.

This book examines, primarily through the medium of finances, how humans tend to make decisions based more on emotion than on empirical evidence. This explains the level of gambling consumers apply to the rise and fall of stocks on the open market. The book points out that we, as humans, need to slow down with our decisions and apply empirical knowledge and evidence to our choices before we make a decision.

JF

You can find more audio titles by going to the CTC Library catalog
...select the Power Search tab
.....type in your topic
.......look down at the search options - select itemtype
.......select cd or cassette tape

Learning tips

A co-worker shared:

I took a webinar this morning that gave instructions on how to access and use Credo Reference,located both on our main website and on GALILEO. Credo has a huge database (400+) of reference resources focused on a wide selection of topics.

The organizers enjoy receiving feedback on ways to add or improve their title selection in case you notice something lacking in a certain area.

A couple of interesting tips I learned:

 Credo is linked to our online catalogue and Encyclopedia Britannica.
.....To access this tab, type in a search word into Credo .
.....After reviewing the Credo hits, you may browse our catalogue or Britannica by selecting the search box on the right called “Continue searching in…”

 At the bottom of each article, students will find how to cite the material using the APA, Chicago, Harvard, or MLA format.

 Medical students would be interested in the Taber Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, which has a pronunciation feature.

I hope you find the information useful!

- LM

The password to access GALILEO from home is available from your Georgia librarian.

Scouting turns 100

Robert McHenry wrote

Today is the 100th anniversary of the chartering of the Boy Scouts of America. The scouting movement had begun in England in 1907, when Robert S.S. Baden-Powell, hero of the siege of Mafeking in the Boer War, organized a camp for boys on an island off the Dorset coast. The next year he published Scouting for Boys, based in part on Aids to Scouting, a handbook he had written some years earlier for use in the army.

...to read the rest of the story

Robert McHenry does ask a valid question - is scouting still relevant? Check the official Boy Scouts of America site to see what you think!

Happy Birthday- and Be Prepared!

-kls

Encyclopedia Britannica online is a resource subscribed to by Chattahoochee Technical College Library. There is a link to EB from our library page.

Who is free to vote

Reading The First Emancipator by Andrew Levy [F229 .C34 L48 2005] has made me wonder a bit about what I really know concerning black history. The concluding sentence of the introduction intrigues me - "The mystery of Robert Carter, then is really two mysteries: why he freed his slaves, and why we couldn't care less."

I went to GALILEO, selected Databases A-Z, selected show all and began to scroll through, looking for a database that might tell me more about emancipation. The Annals of American History which
includes the full text of primary documents in American history, including historical accounts, speeches, memoirs, poems, editorials, landmark court decisions, and cultural criticism seemed like a great place to start.

Searching for emancipation brought up 100 articles. The difficulty with using this database is I can't see how to sort the articles by time/date, author, title, or something. I just get a list of articles. The Help menu notes there should be a Sort By link - I'm not seeing that option after the results come up from a search.

Letting serendipity guide me by scrolling through I noticed an article that refers to African Americans right to vote in Pennsylvania being denied in 1838 ["Appeal of Forty Thousand African Americans, Threatened with Disfranchisement"].
The document is quite clear- African Americans had been voting in Pennsylvania since the Revolution- not all blacks, not everywhere in Pennsylvania but enough to warrant a protest with 40,000 people. Free blacks voting in a northern state prior to the Civil War. Why don't we know about this?

A Google search on Black voting rights turned up the 15th Amendment and the Voting Rights Act and an ACLU voting rights timeline. None of these sites noted blacks voting in
Pennsylvania pre-1838. This article from the Historical Society of Pensylvania shed a bit of light on who was voting and what happened in 1838.

I did get distracted didn't I? Started out looking for emancipation- ended up with voting.

Following a trail can lead you to a destination unthought of- get the password to use GALILEO at home from your Georgia librarian.


-kls