Because we, the Librarians of the J.E. Cobb Library, always adhere to our faculty's requests, we've recently added the Emerald ManagementXtra database on a 30-day trial basis.
The database comprises full-text articles from journals covering all management disciplines, independent reviews from management journals and a selection of user resources. Emerald Management Xtra acts as a gateway to management literature, offering current content. This is a great online resource for business students and researchers . The link for the database can be found HERE but you can only view it if you are on campus. Let us know what you think!!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
The beauty of Amazon
Continuing in the same vein of the last post, i.e. online resources that we love, a word or two or forty-seven must be said about Amazon. Because we can not say enough good things about Amazon.com. And if you think it's just a Web site where you can buy books, you are woefully and greatly understating it's importance. Yes, you can buy books; you can also buy toys, clothes, shoes, jewelry, food, furniture...but that is not the point. The point is that Amazon.com has one of the most sophisticated information retrieval searches in the whole wide world. Second only to Google, Amazon's retrieval capabilities are astounding. For example, a registered user can type in the title of the book and get not only what they were searching for -- but also 20 recommendations for other titles they might be interested in. The way Amazon thinks for itself is almost scary.
So what does this have to do with Libraries? And why would a librarian be in agog of what is basically a giant online store? Because libraries are in the business of information retrieval and because we only wish our library online card catalog could be as efficient as Amazon's. We wish that when you come into our library and search for materials, that our system could not only retrieve what you were looking for, but that it would also retrieve other resources that might help you. We wish we could keep track of everything you've ever looked for that so that we can know our patrons as well as Amazon knows that we love British mystery novels. Unfortunately, such information retrieval systems are quite expensive. So, we will strive to use what we do have to the best of our abilities and hope that when you are looking for something, you will come and ask us.
It also might surprise you to know that we use Amazon in cataloging and acquisitions (purchasing materials) behind-the-scenes in the CBC library. If we have an obscure title with a questionable copyright date, we've been known to go to Amazon.com to look for other editions in an effort to sort out which one we've got. We've also used customer reviews to find out more about a book and decide whether it should be purchased for the library.
We can't help it. We're librarians and this is how we are!
So what does this have to do with Libraries? And why would a librarian be in agog of what is basically a giant online store? Because libraries are in the business of information retrieval and because we only wish our library online card catalog could be as efficient as Amazon's. We wish that when you come into our library and search for materials, that our system could not only retrieve what you were looking for, but that it would also retrieve other resources that might help you. We wish we could keep track of everything you've ever looked for that so that we can know our patrons as well as Amazon knows that we love British mystery novels. Unfortunately, such information retrieval systems are quite expensive. So, we will strive to use what we do have to the best of our abilities and hope that when you are looking for something, you will come and ask us.
It also might surprise you to know that we use Amazon in cataloging and acquisitions (purchasing materials) behind-the-scenes in the CBC library. If we have an obscure title with a questionable copyright date, we've been known to go to Amazon.com to look for other editions in an effort to sort out which one we've got. We've also used customer reviews to find out more about a book and decide whether it should be purchased for the library.
We can't help it. We're librarians and this is how we are!
Friday, September 5, 2008
Confessions of the CBC Librarians
As much as it pains us to admit this, we're going to say it anyway: Lots of good research ideas can be found online. This is how we roll at the CBC Library -- 100% honesty, 100% of the time. And so while we are reluctant to admit that not all good ideas come from the library, we're women enough to embrace those ideas found elsewhere.
You may have noticed a list of links posted on the right-hand side of this page. These are links we use here in the library and that we think will be helpful for you as well. One of them is Bible Gateway.com. This wasn't something we discovered ourselves (a family member pointed it out to us), but we think it's great! It's basically a searchable online Bible in a 100 different versions and 50 different languages. The database is searchable by keyword, text, book of the Bible, etc. and one of the best parts is that it will show you any version you desire. The other best part is that it's free.
Because we support a religious school, we want to find things especially like this for our patrons. It's our job and believe it or not, we like doing it! We hope the Web site will be an invaluable tool for you in your Bible classes.
You may have noticed a list of links posted on the right-hand side of this page. These are links we use here in the library and that we think will be helpful for you as well. One of them is Bible Gateway.com. This wasn't something we discovered ourselves (a family member pointed it out to us), but we think it's great! It's basically a searchable online Bible in a 100 different versions and 50 different languages. The database is searchable by keyword, text, book of the Bible, etc. and one of the best parts is that it will show you any version you desire. The other best part is that it's free.
Because we support a religious school, we want to find things especially like this for our patrons. It's our job and believe it or not, we like doing it! We hope the Web site will be an invaluable tool for you in your Bible classes.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Wiki-Wiki What?
Besides being the latest online rage, a "wiki" is a web page or a collection of web pages designed to allow anyone who accesses it to contribute or edit content. In some cases, it's like a blog that several people post on; in other circumstances, it is used to create collaborative Web sites for businesses or organizations. The best part about wikis is that their use is expanding. Tomorrow's wiki will be unlike yesterday's. One of the most common wikis is one I'm sure many of you have heard of: Wikipedia.
If there is a special club for "only-the-best-librarians," I'm sure I will never be asked to join after this post.
I, a librarian, am in full support of Wikipedia.
There, I've said it, and it's out there and I can't take it back. In actuality, I'm in support of all the Wikimedia projects as I firmly believe they can add to any research project. You may not have known how many there are as they seem to add a new one every few months! So here's a rundown:
Wikipedia
Commonly known as "the free encyclopedia", Wikipedia is a project to build free encyclopedias in all languages of the world. Virtually anyone with Internet access is free to contribute, by contributing neutral, cited information.
Wiktionary
Wiktionary is a project to create a multilingual free content dictionary in every language. It actually aims to be much more extensive than a typical dictionary, including thesauri, rhymes, translations, audio pronunciations, etymologies, and quotations. The project started in December 2002, and as of January 2008 is available in over 100 languages with over 3,000,000 entries in all.
Wikiquote
Wikiquote is a repository of quotations taken from famous people, books, speeches, films or any intellectually interesting materials. Proverbs, mnemonics or slogans are also included in Wikiquote. The project started in July 2003; as of January 2008, it includes over 75,903 pages in almost 50 languages
Wikibooks
Wikibooks aims to build a collection of free e-book resources, including textbooks, language courses, manuals, and annotated public domain books. It aims to help both (self-)instruction of students, and teachers in high-schools and universities. The project started in July 2003 and now has over 84,000 modules from over 5,000 developing books, across over 50 languages.
Wikisource
Wikisource is a multilingual project, started in November 2003, to archive a collection of texts that could be distributed as free and open content. It is not only a useful format for storing classics, laws, and other free works as hypertext, but it also serves as base for translating these texts. At the beginning, source texts in all languages (except Hebrew) were all on one wiki. However, Wikisource now has several editions in many individual languages.
Wikispecies
Wikispecies is an open, wiki-based project to provide a central, more extensive species database for taxonomy. Launched 14 September 2004, Wikispecies is aimed specifically at the needs of scientific users, and as of January 2008, has over 125,000 entries.
Wikinews
The Wikinews project was launched in December 2004 with the mission to report the news on a wide variety of subjects. As of January 2008, 23 language versions of Wikinews have been launched, producing more than 48,000 news articles in total. Contributors from around the world write news articles collaboratively. Reports range from original reporting and interviews to summaries of news from external sources. All of them are required to be written from a neutral point of view.
Wikiversity
Wikiversity is a project dedicated to learning materials and learning communities, as well as research. It was set up as a Wikimedia project, on 15th August, 2006, with the English and German Wikiversities, as well as the multilingual co-ordination hub. Since then, these have been joined by the French, Greek, Italian and Spanish Wikiversities. Despite what its name may suggest, Wikiversity is not limited to university (or tertiary) level materials, but is open to materials and communities of all learner levels.
So, how can I, as a librarian, support the use of Wikis in research? Simple. Read the references in the Wiki articles. Not every article has been written by Joe Schmo who made up a bunch of stuff. Some really useful information can be found at any of the above links; and a lot of it has been written by credible sources. Any Wikimedia Web site is very searchable and easy to use. You don't even need a librarian to show you how.
If there is a special club for "only-the-best-librarians," I'm sure I will never be asked to join after this post.
I, a librarian, am in full support of Wikipedia.
There, I've said it, and it's out there and I can't take it back. In actuality, I'm in support of all the Wikimedia projects as I firmly believe they can add to any research project. You may not have known how many there are as they seem to add a new one every few months! So here's a rundown:
Wikipedia
Commonly known as "the free encyclopedia", Wikipedia is a project to build free encyclopedias in all languages of the world. Virtually anyone with Internet access is free to contribute, by contributing neutral, cited information.
Wiktionary
Wiktionary is a project to create a multilingual free content dictionary in every language. It actually aims to be much more extensive than a typical dictionary, including thesauri, rhymes, translations, audio pronunciations, etymologies, and quotations. The project started in December 2002, and as of January 2008 is available in over 100 languages with over 3,000,000 entries in all.
Wikiquote
Wikiquote is a repository of quotations taken from famous people, books, speeches, films or any intellectually interesting materials. Proverbs, mnemonics or slogans are also included in Wikiquote. The project started in July 2003; as of January 2008, it includes over 75,903 pages in almost 50 languages
Wikibooks
Wikibooks aims to build a collection of free e-book resources, including textbooks, language courses, manuals, and annotated public domain books. It aims to help both (self-)instruction of students, and teachers in high-schools and universities. The project started in July 2003 and now has over 84,000 modules from over 5,000 developing books, across over 50 languages.
Wikisource
Wikisource is a multilingual project, started in November 2003, to archive a collection of texts that could be distributed as free and open content. It is not only a useful format for storing classics, laws, and other free works as hypertext, but it also serves as base for translating these texts. At the beginning, source texts in all languages (except Hebrew) were all on one wiki. However, Wikisource now has several editions in many individual languages.
Wikispecies
Wikispecies is an open, wiki-based project to provide a central, more extensive species database for taxonomy. Launched 14 September 2004, Wikispecies is aimed specifically at the needs of scientific users, and as of January 2008, has over 125,000 entries.
Wikinews
The Wikinews project was launched in December 2004 with the mission to report the news on a wide variety of subjects. As of January 2008, 23 language versions of Wikinews have been launched, producing more than 48,000 news articles in total. Contributors from around the world write news articles collaboratively. Reports range from original reporting and interviews to summaries of news from external sources. All of them are required to be written from a neutral point of view.
Wikiversity
Wikiversity is a project dedicated to learning materials and learning communities, as well as research. It was set up as a Wikimedia project, on 15th August, 2006, with the English and German Wikiversities, as well as the multilingual co-ordination hub. Since then, these have been joined by the French, Greek, Italian and Spanish Wikiversities. Despite what its name may suggest, Wikiversity is not limited to university (or tertiary) level materials, but is open to materials and communities of all learner levels.
So, how can I, as a librarian, support the use of Wikis in research? Simple. Read the references in the Wiki articles. Not every article has been written by Joe Schmo who made up a bunch of stuff. Some really useful information can be found at any of the above links; and a lot of it has been written by credible sources. Any Wikimedia Web site is very searchable and easy to use. You don't even need a librarian to show you how.
The beginning...
Sometime last year, I read an article in the Library Journal by Antoinette Powell that discussed using a blog to disseminate information from your library. I was instantly struck by this idea and have been waiting for other projects to be finished so I could focus on this for our library. This blog will be more than just library news. We'll be posting information on how to get the most out of the CBC Library. Research databases, books, journals, online access trials, you name it -- it will be here. I hope you'll make it part of your daily routine to check back and learn more about the wonders of our library. It really is a great place and there is much for you to discover. Let us help!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
