Christmas brainteaser

This week's Credo brainteaser is about things connected with Christmas.

1. The three gifts that the Wise Men brought to the infant Jesus were traditionally gold, frankincense, and what else?

2. What is the date of the first day of the Twelve Days of Christmas?

3. When drilling for oil or gas, what is a Christmas tree?

4. What phrase is used for a late-night church service on Christmas Eve?

5. In Charles Dickens's novel "A Christmas Carol", what was the name of Tiny Tim's father?

6. A yule log is a large log which used to be put on the hearth as the foundation for the fire - on which day?

7. In which book by Louisa May Alcott did someone say "Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents"?

8. What is the English title of the Christmas carol which is "Adeste Fideles" in Latin?

9. In the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" ("On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me..."), what total of gifts was given over the whole twelve days: 78, 280, or 364?

10. According to Clement C. Moore's "The Night Before Christmas", Father Christmas had eight reindeer. Can you name six of them?

Questions set by Tony Augarde (www.augardebooks.co.uk)
________________________________________
Answers
Find out the answers here, or copy and paste this link into your browser address bar: http://blog.credoreference.com/2011/12/credo-reference-brainteaser-christmas/

It is fun to have Credo provide the weekly trivia! We have access to the complete Reference collection in Credo- 579 titles.

Credo is accessible through GALILEO. If you use your CTC library account, the passwords are in the My Account information!
...Databases A-Z.
.....C.
.......Credo.

I'll blog sporadically till January 3rd when we start up again for our second semester.

Merry Christmas.


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American Political Rhetoric

The day began with a commendable commencement speech by a local politician. An e-mail from Facts on File reminded us about using Issues and Controversies to keep up with the campaign season. Both events segue nicely into considering the electronic book American Political Rhetoric 6th edition. Speeches and politics with history thrown in. Perfect for this time in the political cycle. The book description on Amazon notes that the book

explores fundamental political principles through classic examples of political rhetoric, from the Declaration of Independence to today. Selections include the entire political spectrum and contributors range from the founders to elected public officials, Supreme Court opinions, and representatives of historic movements for social change. Organized thematically, American Political Rhetoric allows students to explore the institutions of government and current controversies in civil rights, race, gender, and America's role in the world as the issues have evolved over time.

The 6th edition includes several speeches by President Obama. This volume offers a timely opportunity to compare and contrast current political speech with past offerings, all tied together with the United States Constitution.

The author, Peter Augustine Lawler , is Dana Professor of Government at Berry College in Georgia.

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Use your student ID to access this book off campus.

Are you ready?

The official 2012 campaign season begins in a few weeks. Facts on File sent out a reminder.

As the 2012 election year nears, we want to remind you of Issues and Controversies invaluable election-related content. Don't forget to direct your students and patrons to the comprehensive background on all presidential races since 1996--including lengthy articles about the candidates' views on major campaign issues, party platforms, excerpts from convention speeches, and more.

Plus, our ongoing in-depth coverage of key 2012 campaign issues will culminate in a full-scale examination of the entire presidential race, including maps, charts, and discussion questions, which will be published a few weeks before the November 2012 election.

Issues and Controversies is used by our English classes when they are researching their argumentative, persuasive, pro&con paper. Issues and Controversies has a quick overview of both sides of a topic.

Go to the section under Curriculum Tools, Student tools, select the More link.
On this screen Select Issues Pro and Con in the Tools for Students box.
Now you can scroll through the list or use the alphabetical tool to hop to your topic.

In three sentences they give you both sides of a topic. It is a very handy way to see that, yes, there could be another side to this subject.

Keep up with current issues by using Facts.Com, Issues and Controversies!


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Galileo
...Databases A-Z
....F
......Facts.com
Notice the link to the login/password which you'll need to use even though you're in GALILEO.
Select Issues and Controversies

Commencement

The December CTC Graduation ceremony was held this morning at the Cobb Performing Arts Center.

The speaker was Senator Chip Rogers. The three points he gave the graduates will work for anyone. Here's my take on what he said- Look forward to Monday morning because when you're doing a job you enjoy, you'll do it well. Ask when you need or want something. If you don't ask for it how will you ever get it. Last but not least, give back to the community, service to others makes life worthwhile.

Sometimes commencement speeches are just dreadful. It was good to hear one with a clear and useful message.

Congratulations to the current crop of graduates. May you love Monday morning, remember to ask for what you need, and  always serve others.


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Compare and Contrast

MasterFILE Premier is a "general database created for a public library audience. It provides abstracts and indexing for over 2,690 titles as well as full text for over 1,800 journals and general magazines covering nearly all subjects including general reference, business, consumer health, general science, and multicultural periodicals.". It is not a resource usually used by students for their research. One of the EBSCO standards for college students is Academic Search Complete with over 6000 periodicals.

Since both databases are produced by EBSCO, I wondered if there was that great a difference in content? Comparing the two Publications lists, it became very apparent that MasterFILE Premier is not a watered down version of Academic Search Complete.  MasterFILE Premier starts with 1931. Academic Search Complete starts with 1911. Scrolling through the A's, I noticed MasterFILE has AARP, Academic Search Complete does not. They are aiming at different audiences. Yet, I can see some Health programs that would use the AARP information. I'll remind students to check both resources!


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GALILEO you may get the current password from your Georgia librarian
...Databases A -Z
.....Select M for MasterFILE Premier
.....Select A for Academic Search Complete

What do we have?

We are blessed with multiple resources in GALILEO. Regularly users say to me that they can't find anything in GALILEO. GALILEO is a library. It's not a single source. Just like in the physical library there are many places to look for information.

The physical library has a catalog that serves as the index for the collection. The Databases A-Z tab is the closest thing to a catalog for GALILEO.

- You may select the all databases link and scroll through the list. I do that a lot. I like stumbling upon a new resource. It reminds me of browsing through a shelf of books. This doesn't work well when you absolutely, positively need an article!
- You may click on letters to see the resources that start with that letter. You do have to have an idea of what you might be looking for.
- There's a search box where you can use keywords to search through the list. This is the closest to a catalog tool. It searches through the list and pulls up various resources for you to choose from.

If you're not sure which resource will suit your needs, there's a more >> link which opens a description of the resource. When I describe a resource in the blog, I'll use the GALILEO description.

There is a plethora of information in GALILEO. It can be overwhelming at first glance. The Databases A-Z tab will help you find the best resource to use for your information needs.


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Online Dictionaries

Obviously, Today in Georgia History has set off a dictionary stream of consciousness.

On the books tab, the Fundamentals of English Library Guide has a search box for the Credo Reference English Dictionaries. A search for one of the vocabulary words pulled up 51 entries . The first few were the strict definition in a 'regular' dictionary.

A click on the definition opens the screen and shows links to related entries on the left. Those related entries pull from reference sources that you might not consider using when looking for the meaning of a word. It's not the same historic perspective of the OED but it definitely broadens your horizon on the use of a particular word.

Talk to your CTC librarian about how to access Credo Reference off campus.


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What does that mean?

Today in Georgia History has a vocabulary work sheet. They suggest looking up the words in a dictionary. We have a dictionary that not only provides the definition but the history behind a word. The 20 volume Oxford English Dictionary in our Reference section is a treasure of information about single words.
From Amazon: The key feature of the OED, of course, is its unique historical focus. Accompanying each definition is a chronologically arranged group of quotations that illustrate the evolution of meaning from the word's first recorded usage and show the contexts in which it can be used. The quotations are drawn from a huge variety of sources--literary, scholarly, technical, popular-and represent authors as disparate as Geoffrey Chaucer and Erica Jong, William Shakespeare and Raymond Chandler, Charles Darwin and John Le Carre. In all, nearly 2.5 million quotations--illustrating over a half-million words--can be found in the OED. [More]

The English teachers have an assignment where students must come to the physical library and use the physical OED. I bless them for this task.

The OED is available online via a subscription.  GALILEO used to offer the subscription. When the online OED was dropped, we purchased the print edition. You don't have to worry about a subscription being canceled when you own the hard copy. Stop by the North Metro campus library (Room 103) and read all about it.



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What happened?

My scroll through the list of Databases A-Z in GALILEO revealed a link to Today in Georgia History. It is a 'public' site available on the free web. The link in GALILEO is a service to Georgia residents.

Today in Georgia History is an educational program that includes daily television and radio segments focusing on significant people and events associated with a particular day in Georgia history. A joint collaboration of the Georgia Historical Society and Georgia Public Broadcasting, this interactive website allows you to access streaming audio and video of the episodes, as well as transcripts, tips for teachers, curriculum, writing prompts, review questions and discussion topics, classroom exercises, follow-up research topics and selected primary-source material. Together, these resources will reach students of all grade levels, cover all subject areas based on content, and will align with Georgia's social studies curriculum and performance standards.

On the right side of the screen under the Audio Player button is a link for a Daily Activity. The activity is geared to the 8th grade curriculum. As a parent, I can see this Daily Activity being used by the family during the holiday break. Homeschoolers might find it a very handy way to cover Georgia History!

I'm going to get a dictionary and go through the vocabulary words for today. Another way to keep my brain active.


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Exam week

Today is the first day of final exams. Students are studying earnestly. Some are looking forward to graduation from CTC. They are asking about standardized tests to enter the next phase of their education. We have a Library Guide just for this purpose.

The Study / Test Prep Guides Library Guide has tabs for books, articles and internet sources. The internet sources page has boxes for Health Sciences, General Tests, Personal and Public Service. The test prep areas that charge a fee have the $ sign after the title.

The Library Guide is a handy tool to get ready for the next step now that this first tier of higher education has been mastered.

Our Library Guides can be found through the CTC Library page.
..Look on the right side, on the scrap of notepaper for Library Guides.
.....Select All Library Guides to get to the main page.
........The Study / Test Prep Guides is in the Program and Special Topic Guides area.


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Where are the ebooks?

In our catalog there is a drop down link to search our Electronic Book Library. We have electronic books through ebrary, Ebsco, Ovid, Credo, and Project Gutenberg. We don't have everything these vendors make available. If we don't have an electronic version of a title you'd like to use, how might you search for an electronic book without going to each vendor?

In GALILEO, E-Books Index (Electronic Books) includes records for more than 675,000 eBooks that have been cataloged by OCLC member libraries, including titles available from NetLibrary [now Ebsco]and other providers. They include Project Gutenberg titles that have been cataloged.

The difficulty with electronic books is you can't 'borrow' them from other libraries (as far as I know). This index lets you know which vendor produces the title and which library has access. Some public libraries will let you pay for an annual library card which would give you access to their electronic books.

Our library shows up often enough in the list. We do have an extensive e-book collection. The Ebsco, ebrary and Project Gutenberg titles can be downloaded. Get ready for break by 'borrowing' electronic books to read (and not misplace) while traveling.

You will need a CTC login to use our ebrary, Credo and Ebsco electronic books. Check with your CTC librarian for the access information.


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To access the E-Books Index
Go to GALILEO (get the current password from your Georgia librarian)
..Select Databases A-Z
....Select E
......Then select E-Books Index

Knowledge is power

So you've checked out the ConsumerEd.gov page. You've searched through Encyclopedia of contemporary American social issues [HN59.2 ONLINE RESOURCE 2011]. What else can you do to make sure your shopping adventures are more fun and less traumatic?

Knowledge is power. If you know how advertisers and businesses place products to catch your eye,  then you can make a less emotional  decision to buy or not to buy. Our Marketing program " is designed to prepare students for employment in a variety of positions in today’s marketing and management fields. The Marketing Management program provides learning opportunities that introduce, develop, and reinforce academic and occupational knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for job acquisition, retention, and advancement."

How does that help you right now? We have created 9 Library Guides for Marketing classes. Check out the Intro to marketing for clues to arm yourself to withstand the onslaught of temptations this shopping season.

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Consumer rights

After thinking about shopping and consumer rights, I did a search in our catalog for the words "consumer rights". This pulled up 23 titles. I sorted by newest to oldest.

Do you know how to sort in our catalog?
- You can sort before you search by selecting 'Power Search'. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and see the drop down box for "Sort" options.
- If you've already searched and you'd like to organize your results, you can select the 'Limit search' link in the yellow bar. This opens the same screen you see with 'Power Search'. Leave your search term alone, scroll to the bottom of the screen and change the 'Sort' option. Click the blue 'search' button in the middle of the screen to arrange your search.

Encyclopedia of contemporary American social issues [HN59.2 ONLINE RESOURCE 2011] is the newest title in our collection after a quick search on the topic of consumer rights. By rights, I mean protection by the law against individuals or businesses who just might like to use my buying power for their advantage.

I figured a current encyclopedia would have both brief articles and timely information. My hunch was correct. Encyclopedias offer  the right amount of information. The 2011 copyright date implies current information. After you've opened the book (use the 'ebook full text' link on the left to open the book), you may search within the book by using the search tool that looks like a magnifying glass on the right side at the top of the column.

To use the ebook off campus you'll need to login. Ask your CTC librarian about the login information for our electronic books.


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Shopping season

It's the shopping season. Do you know how your purchases may affect your buying power? ConsumerEd.com was created by the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs to help Georgians be more informed consumers by learning to make wise purchasing and financial decisions, knowing their rights, and avoiding becoming victims of scams or deceptive practices in the marketplace.

This is an 'open' site available to everyone on the web. I discovered it by scrolling through GALILEO.

The nice thing about the Georgia online library is GALILEO links to sites like the ConsumerEd.com which was created by The Governor’s Office of Consumer Protection for Georgia residents.

Using the Georgia online library is very easy.
Get the current password from your Georgia librarian.
...Log in.
......Select Databases A-Z.
.........Select all databases.
............Scroll through the list to see what treasures are 'on the shelf' at your Georgia online library .

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Where is it?

All this talk about Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Japan, Hawaii made me aware that geography is not my strong suit. There are no classes at CTC specifically for geography. Yet, it seems that the knowledge of geography is integral to understanding why an event took place. The Library provides a Geography Library Guide to supplement the courses in History, Humanities, Political Science, and even Allied Health.

The Books tab has several subject searches ready to go. The one for 'human geography' surprised me with 143 titles. Scrolling through that list revealed a Dictionary of Human Geography available in two electronic collections (one could be downloaded into an e-reader).

The Articles tab points to Global Road Warrior. Practical information about many countries is readily available through this resource.

Internet tab, of course lists sites that deal with geography, including links to Google Earth, Google Moon, and Google Mars.

The Geography News tab includes RSS feeds  for news and views about the planet.

My favorite tab in the guide is the Atlas Stand. Here you can see which physical books are located on the atlas stands of each campus. The over sized atlas' are a tactile delight to peruse.

The steps to find the Geography guide seem lengthy but the destination is worth it:

Go to the CTC main page
...Select Quicklinks
.....Scroll and select Library
.......On the far right on the 'scrap of notepaper' select Library Guides
...Select Library Guide
.....Select Program and Special Topic Guides
.......Scroll down to Geography

You'll discover how important the knowledge of geography can be to just about any topic!


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70 years

Today is the 70th anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor. In Annals of American History you can hear FDR tell the country what happened on December 7, 1941. For the 5oth anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor , Robert S. LaForte collected the 'eyewitness accounts by U.S. military men and women'
for Remembering Pearl Harbor.

The seven chapters cover the areas of Oahu that were attacked. The interviews are in the words of the military personnel remembering where they were and what happened. Mr. LaForte included information about what happened to the military person after the war. This makes it a genealogical treasure as well as a historical find.

Remembering Pearl Harbor is an electronic book that can be downloaded onto your reader. The index has the name of each person mentioned in a story. By any chance is one of them kin to you or from an area you're familiar with?

When you are in the book, use the search tool, which is on the far right at the top of the column, to look for a word or phrase. I didn't find any family names that I'm familiar with but I did find people from Georgia.

First person history brings an event to life. Your CTC librarian can give you the access information to use this e-book off campus.

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Date that will live in infamy

Franklin D Roosevelt's radio address to the country following the attack on Pearl Harbor is available through Annals of American History in GALILEO.

There are two ways to find the speech. A straight search for 'Pearl Harbor' brought the 1941 speech up first on the results list. Using the index for authors, click on R, select Franklin D Roosevelt, and scroll through the articles in date order till you get to 1941.

The audio of the speech may be downloaded. The full text may be printed. The speech is more than it's most famous phrase. Listen or read the entire speech to get a feeling for what our country was going through.

Have you listened  to any members of your family talk  about their memory of December 7, 1941? Consider taking this person to a Story Corps location and interviewing them about that "date that will live in infamy". Remembering is one thing, making sure the story is not forgotten is another!


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The password to use GALILEO is available from your Georgia librarian
...Select Databases A-Z
.....Select A
.......Select Annals of American History

Shoes full?

Were your shoes filled with treats this morning? Do you know who should have come by and filled them? I know who should have visited, which gives me a head start in my search.

But what if I wasn't sure what should be remembered on December 6th. A search for December 6 in Credo Reference turned up over 7000 entries. Credo makes it easy to narrow the search using the links on the left side. Select event, then select celebration. The first entry is for St. Nicholas's Day. The basic info on the day is there.

A search for Saint Nicholas, in quotes, gives me information about the man himself. Again, I do need to narrow my search using the column on the left. Selecting entry type, biography, and then religion, narrowed the search to one entry for Nicholas (? fourth century) from Who's Who in Christianity, Routledge

Resembling the game of telephone, the Bishop of Myra has morphed into our Santa Claus!

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You may access Credo through GALILEO. Ask your CTC librarian for the login.

Second Star to the Right

While searching for Peter Pan in our catalog, I noticed that we have 2 copies of "Second star to the right [electronic resource] : Peter Pan in the popular imagination" by Allison Kavey, available as e-books. Both e-books may be downloaded to a reader. The Choice review, from the MARC record,notes:

Perhaps responding to the modern phenomenon known as Peter Pan syndrome, Kavey (history, CUNY, John Jay College) and Friedman (media studies, Hobart and William Smith Colleges) collect nine excellent essays that explore the social and artistic impacts of J. M. Barrie's classic tale over the past century. The contributors treat subjects ranging from the Disney versions of Peter Pan and Steven Spielberg's Hook to what constitutes children's literature. Among the questions addressed: Is the Peter Pan story suitable for children (a lot of not-so-buried sexual tension)? Do children even read Peter Pan anymore? How does content determine the categorization of a book as children's literature or adult literature? And, perhaps most important, how does a work like Peter Pan address the shifting boundary between adult- and child-appropriate reading? [More].

The third essay, "I do believe in fairies, I do, I do", caught my attention. I found myself pulled into the relationship between Peter Pan and the Greek Pan. In the TV movie, Neverland, Peter used his flute to give directions to his band of Lost Boys. I hadn't tied the flute playing of Peter Pan to the Greek Pan!

I'm going back to read the other essays. Who knows what other insights I will pick up.

Check with your CTC Librarian for information on how to access the e-books off campus.


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If you believe

...clap your hands. Do you remember Peter Pan? From Chapter 13, pg 216 in J. M. Barrie's story

Her voice was so low that at first he could not make out what she said. Then he made it out. She was saying that she thought she could get well again if children believed in fairies.

Peter flung out his arms. There were no children there, and it was night time; but he addressed all who might be dreaming of the Neverland, and who were therefore nearer to him than you think: boys and girls in their nighties, and naked papooses in their baskets hung from trees.

"Do you believe?" he cried.

Tink sat up in bed almost briskly to listen to her fate.

She fancied she heard answers in the affirmative, and then again she wasn't sure.

"What do you think?" she asked Peter.

"If you believe," he shouted to them, "clap your hands; don't let Tink die."

Many clapped.

Some didn't.

A few beasts hissed.

The clapping stopped suddenly; as if countless mothers had rushed to their nurseries to see what on earth was happening; but already Tink was saved. First her voice grew strong, then she popped out of bed, then she was flashing through the room more merry and impudent than ever. She never thought of thanking those who believed, but she would have like to get at the ones who had hissed.

Did you clap when you heard the request from Peter?

I was reminded of this classic when I watched Neverland the past few nights. We have two copies of the story in our collection. I've borrowed the print edition to read aloud! Cold winter nights are the perfect time to read aloud to the family. Do you have a favorite read aloud?

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