Are they reading my blog?

Just got this from EBSCO. Please do go and watch the flash promo, check out the Beta site:

We have some very exciting news about EBSCOhost. This summer (July 2008), EBSCOhost will receive a brand new look and feel, based on extensive user testing and feedback, to provide you with the most powerful, clean and intuitive interface available.

This is the first redesign of the EBSCOhost interface since 2002, and its functionality incorporates the latest technological advances.

In future email messages, we will notify you about the wide range of tools and information available to help you learn about the new interface and its many features, and to streamline the transition in July 2008. An overview of EBSCOhost 2.0 is provided in the Flash demonstration here.

(If you cannot open this link, paste this URL into your browser: http://www.ebscohost.com/2.0_flash).

To view the EBSCOhost 2.0 web pages and learn more about its key features, click here. (If you cannot open the link, paste this URL into your browser: http://www.ebscohost.com/thisTopic.php?marketID=1&topicID=969).

Stay tuned for additional information about the exciting new EBSCOhost 2.0!

Notice the colors and pictures - I am so pleased. Since they refer to extensive testing, I must not be the only one who was disgruntled with the orange and green interface.

Carmen Agra Deedy

A post from the Georgia Library Association list:

Award- winning author Carmen Agra Deedy whose works include the Library Dragon and Growing up Cuban in Decatur Georgia, has been named spokesperson for School Library Media Month by the American Association of School Librarians, a division of ALA. For more information, see the following ALA link:
http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2008/february2008/deedy08.htm

NoveList in GALILEO provides information (reviews, reading levels, etc)and ideas for Teaching with Fiction. NoveList has 6 of Ms. Deedy's books listed. The link to WorldCat appears after you've selected the title from the list.

Book Index with Reviews (also through GALILEO) notes 38 titles by Ms. Deedy. BIR has a link to WorldCat right next to the title in the list.

The WorldCat link is very handy for finding the closest library that has the title you're looking for!

You know who can give you the password to use GALILEO at home - your Georgia librarian.

Well, ahem, well

Yesterday I was a bit miffed that I was paying for Magill and yet I could access it through Student Research Center- well, ahem, well - after phones calls and e-mails with other librarians who share GALILEO - it seems if one pays for Magill it is automatically routed through Student Research Center by EBSCO.

Which brings up the question- why aren't all the EBSCO databases routed through Student Research Center? I don't think of Magill as necessarily appropriate for Middle and High School researchers - more High School than Middle. Auto Repair Reference Center would surely appeal to High School students. I just did a quick look for an "administrator" control. That might be handy. The Librarian could add EBSCO databases to the Student Research Center.

EBSCO can create a colorful interface for their document search. I wonder if they leave the Academic Search Complete interface plain for a reason? Do "serious" researchers prefer the austere look? Probably - because it's not as distracting. Obviously, I'm not a serious researcher since I would like pictures and colors!

You can explore the resources in GALILEO by getting the password for home use from your Georgia librarian!

Hidden resource

Pictures do help with searches. We've gotten accustomed to icons rather than text as a way to communicate information quickly and easily. The red stop sign is a universal symbol, a house for home, you can think of other symbols used regularly to note directions.

I've mumbled about Ebsco's plain and simple text portal to the databases but they can make it "pretty". Check out Student Research Center - aimed at middle and high school. Look at the pictures that help you decide what you want to select.

Most amazing is what I found when I was looking through the titles included to see what was included - and look at what I found :

MagillOnLiterature Plus

MagillOnLiterature Plus, produced by Salem Press, is the premier literary database, combining MagillOnLiterature and MagillOnAuthors. This database includes all the literary works, reviewed critical analyses and brief plot summaries that are included in MagillOnLiterature, as well as all the biographies and author essays included in MagillOnAuthors.

That is amazing. In Advanced Search you can use the special limiters just for Magill - . And I'm paying for the MagillOnLiterature Plus - harumph. Not next year.

Don't be put off by a title like Student Research Center- there is more in there than the title indicates!

Get the password to access GALILEO from your Georgia Librarian!

Search tool

At first glance, I wasn't sure what the benefit of E-Books Index by First Search would be-

provides records for more than 450,000 eBooks that have been cataloged by OCLC member libraries, including titles available from NetLibrary and other providers.

Key features:

.....Links to full-text content: Users can access Web links to full-text electronic book collections licensed by their libraries from NetLibrary and other providers and free resources that are available in the public domain from education, government and commercial Web sites.
.....Links to library holdings in WorldCat. Within E-Books, you can view a list of libraries (or library groups) in your region or state that own specific titles.
.....Searches can be limited to NetLibrary titles.

yes, it's a catalog of electronic books but I can search through the NMTC OPAC to find the electronic books we have access to....

Then I did a search and noticed- the URL's gave me clues- for example- Heritage Quest. I don't have access to Heritage Quest from my school GALILEO but I do have access through the public library GALILEO.

What a treat - I can look in one place and figure out where to go next for an online book.

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

Green or Blue

On As Time Goes By (a British Comedy on PBS in Atlanta) , Lionel is reading Winnie the Pooh. I plucked my copy off the shelf and began to enjoy again the tale of friends who accept each other- foibles and failings and all.

Each chapter is a story in itself which makes the book a delightful read aloud (for children and adults) . I can't decide if my favorite story is Winnie the Pooh getting stuck in Rabbit's hole and having to diet for a week while Rabbit used Pooh's feet as a towel rack or the process used to decide whether a green or blue balloon would be best to float up to get the honey from the top of the tree?

We don't have a copy at North Metro. I think I'll add it to my wish list. We do have a Children's Literature collection so purchasing the A. A. Milne classic will meet the criteria for collection development (supports the program area).

TV can inspire one to read!

Who told you?

Writing citations becomes the bane of any student.

• Getting the correct information (author, tittle, publisher, pages, URL if an electronic source).
• Putting those facts in the right order with punctuation that matches the citation format (MLA, APA, etc.)
• Alphabetizing the sources for the bibliography

It is important to know who told you the information so you can judge if the information is likely to be accurate.

I learned about Answer Boards yesterday - places where you can ask a question and strangers will post a response. Yahoo!Answers and Wiki Answers are two sources students have been using for their "research". Here's a list of other Answer Boards.

Did you know your Librarian will assist you in finding the answers? Some large libraries have teams of Reference Librarians who will find the answers for you. Librarians are concerned that inaccurate (wrong) information is being posted online.

Ask your Librarian - they do have access to authoritative resources- and they'll tell you where the information came from!

Easy as pie

There is that colloquilism- "easy as pie" - meaning doing something isn't very difficult- though there are those who would say making a pie is extremely complicated and simple to do incorrectly. I digress.

I enjoy listening to NPR in the morning. Unfortunately (or fortunately) my drive to work isn't quite long enough to hear the entire Morning Edition. I used to find the transcripts in Lexis Nexis by searching from the first page.

With the new LexisNexis Academic I couldn't find the NPR transcripts at all. However - the LexisNexis wiki had tips on finding the CNN transcripts. I thought- "bling" - if CNN is there - surely NPR is too.

Yes, the NPR transcripts are in Lexis Nexis.

Here are the steps (not quite as easy as pie):
GALILEO
...Databases A-Z, Jump to L
.....LexisNexis
........Select the Tab Sources (don't get sucked in by the bottom box with News Wire Services- that doesn't seem to quite do it)
1. Publication type button clicked
2. Country - United States
3. News folder
....3a. News transcripts
.......3a.b.Scroll down - National Public Radio

Click on OK continue (red rectangle upper right side)
at the Search box - type in the program name
Specify date - takes a few hours to get the current days transcripts up
The articles appear!

It could be harder to do........

NMTC patrons are able to access Lexis Nexis off campus through GALILEO. The password to use GALILEO at home is available from your Georgia librarian.

Where to turn when you need help?

Lexis Nexis Academic has a wiki with hints and tips -

The purpose of this site is to facilitate Academic research in the social sciences using primary sources, news, government information, statistics, business, and legal sources. The wiki is accessible to all, but can only be edited by registered and approved contributors.

NMTC users of GALILEO do have access to Lexis Nexis Academic off campus!

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

Georgia Advance Legislative Service Reports

I attended a Lexis Nexis online seminar and learned about a resource I thought the folks following Georgia legislative “stuff” might find helpful:

1. GALILEO
2. Database A-Z- jump to L
3. Select Lexis Nexis
...a. Select Legal (3rd red tab in)
...b. Federal & State Cases (right side column)
...c. Select Sources (tab at top)
......i. 1. Click on button for Area of Law
......ii. 2. Filter by United States – Georgia
......iii. 3. Trail- select folder - General Legal Services
......iv. Scroll down to 12th link- Georgia Advance Legislative Service Reports, select it
......v. Click on the red box on the far right side toward the top that says OK
......vi. This takes you to a Power Search screen
.........1. Notice the date limiter- you can search by today, last week, last couple of months (I limited to previous three months)
.........2. Type in your search term ( I typed in college with the three month limiter) and voila-

GEORGIA 149TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY -- 2007-08 REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 529 2007 Ga. HB 529

Lexis Nexis is available to Academic users of GALILEO. You need the current password for GALILEO to access Lexis Nexis. Your Academic librarian can give you the current password.

Hear ye, Hear ye, Hear ye

Talk, talk, talk, blah, blah, blah - If there is no link between speaker and listener the sound becomes white noise in the background of life.

Teachers attend workshops promoting moving around, asking questions, changing the pitch or tone of the voice. I attended one workshop where the presenter encouraged throwing things at students to keep them awake and attentive (playing catch, throwing rewards - not just "throwing" things- though I have been in classes where - well....)

Preachers attend seminars on how best to share the word of God- you've probably experienced the classic preaching style- they tell you what they're going to tell you, they tell you, then they tell you what they told you. It is an effective strategy. The listener can't miss the message.

Lobbyists are given the secret for success- the elevator speech. If you can't sell your program, thought, project in a 1 minute elevator speech, it's doomed. You've got a politicians ear for less than sixty seconds - be prepared to lay out your case quickly, succinctly and memorably.

How do you collect hints, tips, and strategies for making the best speech in your life? You can take classes or you can read books on the topic or listen to speakers with a critical ear.

Speaking of books- we have a shelf full of print material offering suggestions to prepare one to be a successful business or marketing person- helping you formulate what needs to be said without missing an important concept.

One such title is : How to Talk so People Listen : Connecting in Today's workplace (HF 5718 .H284 2006) by Sonya Hamlin
Amazon.com offers a description of the book:

Our super-speed, electronically driven workplace has begun eroding our ability to talk and, what's more, to listen. Yet we must all keep presenting ourselves and our ideas verbally, in person, to make that final sale or get ahead. That means you need new verbal and visual approaches to everything from giving a presentation, handling a client, making an impact at a meeting, or just selling yourself...

Prepare for the occasion when you need to say what needs to be heard.

Hearts and Flowers

Little kids love this holiday almost as much as Halloween. Candy galore!

Do you know why we celebrate this day? Encyclopedia Britannica has a short article on Valentine's Day with a plethora of tidbits!

I'll bet folks were just tired of cold weather and were feeling house bound. This day gives one a chance to prepare for Spring.

Happy Valentines Day. If you're near the North Metro Library, we have a heart shaped dish filled with chocolate for our visitors.

Numbers tell a story

Scanning the links in GALILEO, I noticed the Census Data link. The census site is available through the "regular" web. Having the link in GALILEO makes it easier to remember to use the resource.

I tell folks that GALILEO is a library - just like the name tells us - GeorgiA LIbrary LEarning Online. Libraries offer a variety of resources!

Back to the Census Data - they offer links to PDF files with row after row of numbers. It reminds me of the Almanac- you are surprised by the esoteric statistic. Who would have thought they counted or measured or tallied "that"?

The numbers do a tell a story!

Playing

Going to a workshop off campus exposes one to new sights, sounds and ideas! Last week I attended a workshop at Macon State - I came back with several ideas.

One idea I began implementing over the past few days - but I'm not finished yet. Macon State librarians have highlighted on their list of resources in GALILEO those they have purchased. The databases leap out on the list and you notice they have been selected for Macon State.

On our list in GALILEO I have added the NMTC icon that notes the resource was selected for NMTC. The difficulty is - the icon is black and blue and doesn't POP!

You know where I'm going with this.....for the past two days I've been editing our list so the text POPS when you scroll down the list. I have a bit more tweaking to do. I had changed the program text but that color doesn't stand out as well amidst the black and blue of GALILEO text. Today, I'll try a different text color.

It is fun.

Getting the info where you'll read it

At a ProQuest workshop last week the question was posed - what's the difference between Journal Alerts and RSS? Why use one over the other?

ProQuest Nursing and Allied Health Source now has RSS limited to specific topics.

I thought about this over the weekend. What is the difference? For me- e-mail can get cluttered, too much "stuff", too much information that gets overlooked in the hurry to get through the in basket.

The RSS feed sits there and you know what is in the folder and why. I have subscribed to blogs and to Ebsco searches. I created a folder for topics to get sent to. At a glance I can determine if there is new information on my topic.

Yes, I know I could create folders in Outlook to funnel certain addresses to but...somehow that seems unwieldy.

RSS helps me organize the information I'm looking for without being overwhelmed. I'm glad ProQuest has begun to add RSS feeds.

Where are the RSS feeds in ProQuest Nursing and Allied Health Source ?
Do a search (for anything).
...When the results appear, on the right hand side of the screen will be an RSS icon and the text Health Science RSS feeds.
......Click on the link
....There is a list of broad topics
.......Click on the topic you're interested in and there are the feed options (narrowing the topic)

I looked in the ProQuest databases and did not see the RSS icon after a search. Hopefully, RSS will come to all of the ProQuest offerings.

To use the ProQuest materials at home- you'll need the current GALILEO password- which you can get from your Georgia librarian!

A picture is worth....

(you know how much)...so check these out!

Community Art in Atlanta, 1977-1987: Jim Alexander's Photographs of the Neighborhood Arts Center from the Auburn Avenue Research Library consists of fifty-five documentary photographs of the Neighborhood Arts Center (1975-1989) that capture significant African American-centered cultural and community events in and around the Atlanta-based organization, a brainchild of the late mayor Maynard Jackson.

This body of images documents a visit to the Center from the legendary Romare Bearden, as well as Atlanta-area outreach projects, arts festivals, and social demonstrations that took place during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Taken by photographer, community activist, and Neighborhood Arts Center staff member Jim Alexander, these photographs demonstrate the Center's service commitment and its promotion of urban community arts.

This collection is part of the Digital Library of Georgia.

Does anything really change?

Through GALILEO the Baldy Editorial Cartoons: The Clifford H. Baldowski Collection can be accessed:

The collection at the Richard B. Russell Library contains 6,740 pen and ink drawings and 2,460 velox. The digital database opens with approximately 2,500 cartoons from the collection. Clifford H. Baldowski, known by the pen-name "Baldy," depicted the local, national, and international news of his day in the editorial pages of the Augusta Chronicle, Miami Herald, and Atlanta Constitution. His work is a rich source for those studying political reorganization in Georgia and the growth of Atlanta as well as the Civil Rights Movement, the Cold War, the Vietnam conflict, Middle East tensions, and Watergate.

I did a search for elections and went down memory lane! Things really never do change.

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

Voting is a priviledge

Georgians are voting today as part of the Super Tuesday primaries. I was there at 7:05 standing in line to excercise my right to vote.

What resources are in GALILEO that might shed light on the election process from the African-American perspective?

The Auburn Avenue Research Library Finding Aids

database consists of guides to archival and manuscript collections held by the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African-American Culture and History, a special library of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System. The library's primary source materials document the experiences of African-Americans in Atlanta, the Southeastern region, and throughout the nation.

Using the advanced search boxes, with the terms elections and voting brought up two items.

One is the Julian Bond collection:

The collection covers the period from 1969 to 1996 and contains correspondence, organizational and institutional material related to the Voter Education Project, Political Associates, and The Southern Elections Fund, stationery, clippings, newsletters, political ephemera, articles and a book written by Julian Bond as well as items relating to the African American political life and Constance Curry's history of race relations and integration in Sunflower County (Miss.), Silver rights.

This is part of the deep web- finding out where this collection is housed is near about impossible on Google. I used "inventory of the Julian Bond papers" (which is the exact title)- zip, nada. I used Julian Bond collection Georgia - lots came up but not this specific resource.

Knowing where to search for information is sometimes harder than actually finding the facts!

Your Georgia Librarian can give you the current password to use GALILEO at home.

Let me entertain you

GALILEO offers links to the Digital Library of Georgia, where you can find this treasure:

The Blues, Black Vaudeville, and the Silver Screen, 1912-1930s

consists of selected correspondence, financial records, contracts, and advertising materials from the theater's records found in the Charles Henry Douglass, Jr. business records at the Middle Georgia Archives, which document the amusements available to Macon's African American population, and the business dealings of this African American entrepreneur from 1912 to the 1930s.

The bulk of these selected records feature the period between 1920 and 1929, and describe the sporting events, vaudeville, and films brought to the theater, as well as the efforts to ensure its financial success. Handbills and booking correspondence document Georgia-based fighters such as Tiger Flowers and Texas Tanner who sought to fight at the venue in 1927.

Douglass and Ben Stein, a white businessman who assumed ownership of the theater between 1927 and 1929, were affiliated with the Theatre Owners Booking Association (T.O.B.A.), a vaudeville circuit. This gave them access to bring prominent acts to Macon's African American community, such as well-known blues musicians Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith, comedians Butterbeans and Susie, as well as musicals, revues, and sacred theater.

When not hosting live acts, the Douglass also exhibited a wide variety of sound and silent motion pictures. Selected records feature race films (movies made specifically for African American audiences) of producers such as the Norman Film Manufacturing Company and Oscar Micheaux.

The selections highlight other Southern African American theaters, such as the Palace Theatre in Valdosta, Georgia, Liberty Theatre in Columbus, Georgia, and the Liberty Theatre in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The most fun is to browse through the authors list and find the circulars used to advertise upcoming productions!

And the groundhog saw....

The Non Sequitur comic strip says it all!

But if you'd like to read a bit of history - a Quick Search in GALILEO brought up this article in Ebsco's Academic Search Complete. The abstract teases us with:

The article focuses on the tradition of Groundhog Day, celebrated every February 2 in the U.S. While the origin of Groundhog Day remains uncertain, one explanation is that the tradition derives from the European celebration of Candlemas, which falls roughly halfway between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal equinox. It asserts that the most celebrated Groundhog Day ceremony occurs just outside the small town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania

Georgia does have their prognosticator in General Beau Lee, Ph.D., Georgia’s Official Weather Prognosticator. See what he says for those of us in Georgia!

Bundle up, get ready, it may not end soon.