The Inside Cover

Faculty and Staff Edition of Library Newsletter

January 2008

Volume 1, Number 5

A book is the only place in which you can examine a fragile thought without breaking it, or explore an explosive idea without fear it will go off in your face.  ~Edward P. Morgan

 

 

 

 Get ready @ your library

 

Welcome back!  Are you ready for the new semester?  ‘Cause the library is ready for you!  So is this month’s edition of the The Inside Cover.  Enjoy the new year!

 

—The Library Staff

 

It’s ready!

 

Unless you’re living in an igloo, you must know about the library’s new homepage. If you are living in an igloo, time to come out of hibernation and go to:

 

http://eagles.midway.edu/library/default.htm .

 

 

She’s ready for reference

 

She can wield unfathomable power over databases and catalogs, create order out of chaos, and bring wisdom to the masses. Her reference skills are as potent as… some of that eggnog you had for the holidays????  Please welcome Carrie, former circulation supervisor, to her new job as reference librarian.

 

 

We’re ready to take orders from you

 

The library’s next book order goes out March 1 so get your list and check it twice. Requests will be considered based on quality of material and pertinence to the college’s curriculum.

 

 

Information literacy without sacrificing class time

 

13 short exercises to make your students smarter—library smart! Get students thinking about how to approach research, how to evaluate information, and even how to stop procrastinating and get moving. Many exercises include detailed answer keys for instructors. The exercises were sent via email in December. Carrie can resend them for anyone who “accidentally” hit the delete key. They are also stocked in the library’s faculty resource office.

 

 

Students still caught in a World Wide Wikipedia Web?

 

That’s probably because they don’t know about subject encyclopedias. If you cringe anytime you see Wikipedia in a bibliography, then print this list out to give to students. Send them on their way to reference euphoria. There’s something for everyone in the world of encyclopedias:

 

All subjects

 

  1. Encyclopedia Britannica, call number REF 031 B777 2005 -- Also online at http://search.eb.com/

 

Science, technology, and medical

 

  1. Encyclopedia health care management, REF 362.1068
  2. Encyclopedia science and technology, REF 503 M178 2002
  3. Encyclopedia of chemistry, REF 540 M178p
  4. Encyclopedia of genetics, REF 576.503 En 19 2004
  5. Encyclopedia of evolution, 576.803 En 19o 2002
  6. Encyclopedia of sports science, 613.71 En 19z

 

Business

 

  1. International encyclopedia of business and management, REF 650.03 In8w
  2. Encyclopedia of business, REF 650.103 En 19m

 

Social sciences

 

  1. Encyclopedia of educational research, REF 370.3 En 19
  2. International encyclopedia of the social sciences, REF 300.3 In8
  3. Encyclopedia of the social sciences, REF 300.03 En 19
  4. Encyclopedia of American social history, REF 301.0973 En 19
  5. International encyclopedia of communications, REF 302.203 In7
  6. Women’s studies encyclopedia, REF 305.4 W842
  7. Encyclopedia of world cultures, REF 306.097 En 19
  8. Encyclopedia of marriage and the family, REF 306.803 En 19m
  9. Encyclopedia of U.S. national security, REF 355.033073 En19s 2006
  10. Encyclopedia of environmental issues, REF 363.7 Ency19 2000

 

Humanities

 

  1. Encyclopedia of religion, REF 200.3 In8
  2. Student encyclopedia of music, REF 780.3 B178
  3. Encyclopedia of popular music, REF 781.63 G947L
  4. Encyclopedia of world literature, REF 803 En19
  5. Encyclopedia of world authors, REF 809 C992
  6. Encyclopedia of American literature, REF 810.3 Ox2am
  7. Current biography, REF 920 C936

 

There are many more encyclopedias and other reference resources. These are just the ones we chose to highlight.

 

 

Googling yourself to death?

 

No fret, no flips, with Google’s search tips (now available online from the library homepage). With billions of pages out there, how do you find the best ones? By narrowing, refining, and using advanced search features. Did you know Google will even do your math for you? Just type in your equation and press enter. You can also learn how to:

  • Search a date range

  • Eliminate terms or indicate essential terms

  • Proximity searching

  • Tell Google to look for synonyms of your terms

  • Search the full text of books or scholarly papers

  • “get lucky”

 

Full text journals on the web

 

DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals

People demand them; the Web increasingly supplies them. The Directory of Open Access Journals www.doaj.org is a multi-disciplinary database with 2,897 journals in full text. 

 

Ignore the message about becoming a member. You can get free access without registering. Click on “Find Articles” and just start searching.  Or, scroll down the page to get a list of journals by subject—biology, nursing (under “health sciences”), education and psychology (both under “social sciences”), business and economics, and several others.

 

This site originates in Sweden, so some of the journals are in foreign languages, but many are in English.

 

 

Helpful handouts available from the library…

 

Email Carrie or visit the library to get a copy of any of these handouts:

 

  • Overview of library resources and services
  • Avoiding plagiarism handout
  • 100 unique research topics
  • Database search tips
  • Google in-depth search tips
  • EBSCO databases handout
  • Research project checklist
  • APA, MLA, and CBE handouts
  • Overview of CINAHL—nursing database
  • Nursing resources overview – books, articles, websites
  • Information literacy exercises