An exploding star

I'm working my way through the Library Journals that have stacked up on my desk. The Feb 15 issue with the Reference Backtalk article Bibliographic Supernova by Steve Ostrem caught my eye. (I like how I could create a persistent link through Ebsco's Academic Search Complete in GALILEO).

Mr. Ostrem shares examples of "Ranganathan's Fourth Law (i.e., save the time of the reader)" with pithy stories of how GBS tied online resources to his own library.

The linkability of Google Books Search with WorldCat with a library catalog offers the book lover a way to find something interesting and find out where it is!

Easy reading

A note from Karen Minton at GALILEO:

New interfaces for NoveList and NoveList K-8 are now in production. The new interfaces feature direct access to much of the collateral content that was previously deeper in the site and often overlooked, in addition to more intuitive navigation. Below are some of the new features.

* A single search box where users will be able to enter the author name, title, genre or topic all at once, combining search types for convenience and efficiency
* BookTalks, Recommended Reads reading lists, Author Read-alikes, Book Discussion Guides, and other editorial features are directly accessible from the homepage. These features are also easily accessible through tabbed results after a search.
* A browse feature allows browsing for subjects, titles, authors, series, and Dewey numbers
* A revamped and expanded readers' advisory section includes Genre Outlines designed for librarians and a five-unit training series
* Expanded result lists include book jacket images, links to feature content, and more.
* Author nationality, gender, cultural identity, and pseudonyms for key authors in a new author information field
* RSS feeds, easier persistent linking and simplified alerts for keeping current on newly-added titles and content

Go and play- you will need to get the password for home use of GALILEO from your Georgia librarian!

I smiled when I opened this e-mail- the new rep for Ebsco had just been in to visit. Timing.

A birds eye view

Gas prices keep rising - wouldn't it be nice to lift off like a bird to get from here to there?

If you'd like to see what Georgia looks like from the air without spending oodles on gasoline....try the Georgia Aerial Photographs from the Digital Library of Georgia.

The Georgia Aerial Photographs database provides online access to approximately 50,000 black and white aerial photographs and indexes of selected counties from the State of Georgia.

It won't be quite the same as seeing the landscape from the air but still - you can imagine the flight!

Armchair traveler

Spring break begins in a week.

The Times Atlas of World History [G 1030 T54 1993] rests on the map stand beckoning the casual browser. One can imagine a trip through time as well as space by running ones fingers across the pages.

Amazon notes a review from Booklist that begins:

First published to considerable acclaim in 1978 (revised editions followed in 1984 and 1989), this atlas contains 600 visually exciting maps, 300,000 words of text, and 128 double-page spreads on major themes in world history. This fourth edition is the most radically revised, according to the publisher. Thirty maps have been replaced, and another 29 have been substantially changed. All the drawings that appeared in the last edition have been replaced by photographs.

Rest a bit and let your mind wander while you save on gasoline costs!

Three leaves on a stem

Leland Meitzler at Everton Publishers Genealogy Blog - found statistics on places in the United States named Shamrock!

My first thought was to use the Geographical Dictionary (my 1977 Websters Geographical Dictionary only lists 1 place in the US named Shamrock) but how many folks can lay their hands on a print edition - at home no less.

Then I thought about the World Almanac in GALILEO - no luck there noting locations in the US named Shamrock.

So I skimmed the rest of Leiland's entry- and (well, go read for yourself the sources he used). See if you would have thought to use those sites!

Where is a library or bookstore?

If you are a lover of books- when you travel, you might like to stop in and visit with the local librarian or visit the local bookstore. How do you find the local purveyor of books?

The Librarian In Black noted Library Thing Local. This tool gives you the chance to note your favorite venue and see what's available in an area.

Yes, I posted the NMTC Library.

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

Just in from GALILEO

We are delighted to announce the planned production launch date of the new GALILEO user views currently in beta: Monday, March 17th. As you know, this has been a major effort involving the Community Customizations Working Groups, users, the library staff of all of the libraries, and the GALILEO staff. Thank you to everyone who has contributed -- overall, the feedback has been very positive, and all deserve appreciation!

Yes, I am looking forward to the launch! The Beta looks great.

You do need the password that your Georgia librarian can give you!

It's up!

Not GALILEO-beta (soon...) but NoveList...it did take a bit longer than a few hours but frequently technology changes take longer than anticipated.

NoveList offers a A short video tour to assist you in navigating NoveList. This tour covers the basic features of the database. This file may take a minute to load. We recommend that you view this presentation in full screen mode; use the F11 key in Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox to toggle between regular view and full screen view.

I do like the intuitive ease of use. It seems like interface designers are talking to each other so there are commonalities that make going from one vendor to another seamless.

The password to access GALILEO and then get to NoveList is available from your Georgia Librarian

Anticipation

Earlier in the week- EBSCO sent an announcement that the interface for NoveList would change in a few days. Today is the day. I looked in on NoveList and was greeted with this message:

Announcement to NoveList and NoveList K-8 Customers

Dear NoveList Customer –

We apologize for the inconvenience but NoveList and NoveList K-8 are not available right now while we upgrade our servers to the new version. The product will be unavailable for a few hours.

You should be able to access NoveList or NoveList K-8 again very soon and when you do, you will have access to our newest version with an exciting new interface.

I'll check back after lunch. If you're very curious, they offer a beta page.

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.