Stay Alert! Keeping Your Research Up-to-Date

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Our next Technology on Your Own Terms workshop is coming up on Thursday, October 29, from 11:30am – 12:30pm in WML room 306. If you are a University faculty or staff member doing research–this workshop is for you.

In “Stay Alert! Keeping Your Research Up-to-Date,” Bonnie Oldham will explain how to set up e-mail alerts and use Rss Feeds to gather scholarly information.

Seats are limited, so be sure to register (under Special Events).

Fun Stuff to do this Labor Day Weekend!

Today is First Friday! First Friday art walks are held on the first Friday of every month at galleries and businesses around Downtown Scranton. Get the First Friday map for September at http://firstfridayscranton.com

La Festa Italiana, an annual end-of-summer Italian festival that’s held on Courthouse Square, Scranton. Hours are Saturday and Sunday, 12 noon to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 12 noon to 9 p.m. Featuring delicious Italian food! The University of Scranton Jazz Band will be playing on Saturday from 9:30 to 11:00pm, and there will be fireworks on Sunday at 10:00pm. For a complete schedule of events, go to http://www.lafestaitaliana.org/index.htm

Shuttle transportation will be provided between La Festa and the Steamtown National Historic Site (300 Cliff St.) for Rail Fest, a 1940s themed celebration with Union Pacific “Big Boy” locomotive tours, railway post-office presentations, steam-powered rail excursions to Moscow, trolley rides, behind-the-scenes tours, big-band performances, rail photography and art exhibits, model-train displays and old-time radio comedy sketches by the Dietrich Theater Radio Players., Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information call340-5200 or visit http://nps.gov/stea

Labor Day Weekend Carnival, with amusement rides, food vendors and games. Wachovia Arena parking lot, 255 Highland Park Blvd., Wilkes-Barre Township. Tonight at 6; Saturday through Labor Day, beginning at 2 p.m. Information at http://sandsamusementspa.com

For other fun stuff to do this weekend checkout the Electric City calendar at http://www.ecweekend.com/calendar

Summer Workshops for University Employees

The Library would like to invite all University of Scranton employees to two workshops that will be held in July.

Researching the Moving ImageInternet Movie Database logo
This workshop, presented by Kevin Norris, will look at some of the new developments that Web technology and social networking have brought to researching the moving image and motion pictures on the Internet. Attendees will explore some of the more useful and interesting Web sites and networks.

Light refreshments will be served.

When: July 8 from 2:00pm to 3:00pm
Where: Room 306 in the Weinberg Library

Do you speak Web 2.0

Do you speak Web 2.0?
Presenters Kristen Yarmey-Tylutki and George Aulisio will introduce attendees to the language of Web 2.0. A few of the topics that will be included are photo sharing, Facebook and Twitter.
Light refreshments will be served.

When: July 14 from 2:00pm to 3:30pm
Where: Room 306 in the Weinberg Library

Inauguration Day

The inauguration of President Obama prompted me to do a little research on the customs surrounding this day. So I used a new research tool that can be found on the Library’s A-Z List of Databases. This new tool, called Credo Reference, is a great alternative to using Wikipedia because it allows you to find authoritative answers that it gets from hundreds of reference books in a broad range of subjects.

Here’s a snippet of what I found in the book, Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary:

Inauguration Day


From 1789 until 1933, the day on which the newly elected president of the United States began his term of office was March 4—now known as Old Inauguration Day. The day was changed to January 20 when the 20th Amendment to the Constitution was passed in 1933. When Inauguration Day falls on a Sunday, the oath of office is administered privately, but the public ceremonies are usually postponed until the following day.

The swearing-in of the president had been held on the East Portico of the Capitol building since Andrew Jackson’s 1829 inauguration. Former president Ronald Reagan changed the site for his inauguration in 1981. Since then, the swearing-in has been held on the West Terrace of the Capitol. This site, which faces out onto the Mall where thousands gather for the event, affords greater visibility for spectators. Reagan reportedly also liked the symbolism of the president facing west, out toward the rest of the country.

Inauguration Day. (2005). In Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics, Inc.. Retrieved January 23, 2009, from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/5870131.

In addition to providing me with the basic information for which I was looking, Credo also provided me with links to related resources. By clicking on the Our Catalog link, I get a list of books that are in the Weinberg Memorial Library. By clicking on the Academic Search Elite link, I get a list of results from this database. Wikipedia can’t do that!

Credo automatically created a citation for me in APA format, but I could also get my citation in MLA format. And, I can e-mail the citation to myself, or save it in RefWorks. Wikipedia definitely doesn’t do that for you!

Give Credo a try, and when you do, post a comment to let me know how you like it.

Library Computer Lab

Busy writing that paper, but can’t find a computer in the Library? Well, beginning on Wednesday, November 19th, the Library Computer Lab (WML 306) will be open for student use. The bad news is that there is no printer in this lab. The good news is that you can send your print jobs to the UNIPRINT Station on the 2nd Floor. When the Printer Menu pops up, select ‘WML 2nd FloorQ on UNIPRT2-K3.” Oh, and by the way, there are different containers in the lab as well as throughout the Library, for Recycling paper (these are Green), Recycling plastic and cans (these are Blue), and for trash. Please put your garbage and trash only in the trash cans and remove the plastic caps from plastic bottles and place the empty bottles only in the Recycle bins.

I Love My Librarian!

 

The Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award encourages library users to recognize the accomplishments of exceptional public, school, college, community college, or university librarians. The awards program will demonstrate how librarians are improving the lives of the people in their communities.

Up to ten winners will be selected annually and will receive a $5,000 cash award, a plaque and $500 travel stipend to attend an awards reception in New York hosted by The New York Times at TheTimesCenter on December 9, 2008. In addition, a plaque will be given to each award winner’s library.

The award is administered by the American Library Association with support from Carnegie Corporation of New York and The New York Times.

Eligibility Requirements

Who Can Nominate a Librarian

Nominators of public librarians must be public library users.

Nominators of librarians in college, community college or university libraries must be users of those libraries, e.g. students, faculty, or staff members.

Who Can Be Nominated

Each nominee must be a librarian with a master’s degree from a program accredited by the ALA in library and information studies or a master’s degree with a specialty in school library media from an educational unit accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. Nominees must be currently working in the United States in a public library, a library at an accredited two- or four-year college or university or at an accredited K-12 school.

Timeline for Nominations

Nominations for public libraries are open and must be completed by October 1, 2008. Nominations for college, community college, or university librarian and school library media specialists open September 2 and must be completed by October 15, 2008.

Nominate a Public Librarian | Nominate a College, Community College or University Librarian

Looking for a few good books?

If you are looking for a good read, check out the Book Sale area located across from the Circulation Desk. You will find some good books that you can purchase for $1.00 or less! Paperbacks are 25 cents each. You’ll find all types of books, from romance novels to the classics and everything inbetween. If you don’t find what you’re looking for today, don’t worry, this is an ongoing sale so new books are always being added. The Book Sale will expand to Galvin Terrace, the little park area just outside the Commons Entrance to the Library, for September 2, 3, 4, and 5 from 9:00am to 4:00pm.

Another place that you will find some light reading is in the Quiet Study Room which is located on the 4th floor. Most of the books in that room are fiction, but you might also find some coffee table books. Other than the Quiet Study Room, there isn’t a separate area where you can find fiction. But if there is a particular book for which you are looking or if you have a favorite author, then you can search the Library’s catalog.

Shade for the 24 Hour Room

Workmen have been busy this week installing a sun blocking film on the windows in the ProDeo room. Most people call it the 24 hour room because it is open 24/7.  Officially, it’s known as the “Pro Deo et Universitate” room because it contains a listing of the names of those members of the University community who have received the Pro Deo et Universitate Award for Twenty Years or more Service to the University.