Using mobile devices for library research

Armacost Library's mobile website

At Armacost Library, we've been working hard to make our virtual library more inviting to you if you use a mobile device like a smartphone or tablet. If you've used Armacost Library's mobile site recently, you probably already know you can use it to find out when the library is open or quickly look up a call number or course reserve reading in the library catalog. But did you know that you can use mobile devices in various ways throughout the entire research process? Based on my work as a librarian and experience using a tablet as my primary non-work computer, here are some ideas for how you could take advantage of a mobile device while working on an assignment involving a research paper or presentation:

• When you are picking out your topic, try finding background information by looking up books, encyclopedias and other trustworthy sources in the library catalog. If you find something useful, click the Save icon in the catalog record to add it to a list, which you can email to yourself for the next time you're visiting the library. 

• Use outlining or mind mapping apps to organize your thoughts into an outline or cluster. This can help you develop your topic into a focused research question, and figure out where you need additional sources to add evidence and strengthen your argument.

• As you're reading a source, you can use popular note taking programs like Evernote to take notes and organize your thoughts on your research project. You can add PDF articles found from a library database, maintain a running list of subject terms, scan handwritten notes, or perhaps take a photo of a whiteboard during a brainstorming session for a group project. Evernote offers more suggestions for college students on their blog.

• You may prefer to type your paper at a desktop or laptop computer with a full sized keyboard and mouse. Some word processing apps allow document syncing so you can write parts of your document on your mobile device at a convenient place, then pick up where you left off when you return to your traditional computer.

• As you continue to find sources, it's important to keep them organized so you can easily cite them and create your bibliography. Zotero, Endnote, Mendeley and Refworks are well known tools for managing citations that you may already use. With these programs, you can automatically gather citations from a library catalog, article database or Google Scholar and export them to a bibliography (though you still must proofread the results using an official style guide). Depending on the citation management program that you choose, you may be able to interact with your citation library on a mobile device by logging into a website, or via an app natively written for your device's operating system.

Hopefully you will find some of these tips helpful. In a follow up post, I'll share more tips for using specific apps and Armacost Library databases on a mobile device.

In the meantime, I have a question for you. Do you use your mobile device for research? Why or why not? Share your comments below!

Sanjeet Mann
Electronic Resources Librarian, Armacost Library

February is Library Lovers' Month

Join us in a celebration of libraries! February is Library Lovers' Month designed to recognize the value of all types libraries. You can visit the Library Lovers' website to get ideas on how to appreciate your favorite library and even find some free Bookmarks to share with your Valentine:

One of the materials available on the Library Lovers' page is a link to an impressive list of Librarians in the Movies: An Annotated Filmography compiled by Martin Rarish. Here's just a few of the movies with library scenes that are available to check-out from the Armacost Library DVD collection:

The Music Man

Harry Potter

A Beautiful Mind

Let's Talk About It: Muslim Journeys Film Series: Reel Bad Arabs

Armacost Library, Campus Diversity & Inclusion, Redlands Peace Academy, and A.K. Smiley Public Library have received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association to host events that highlight Islam and the cultures, histories, and stories of Muslims in the United States and around the world.

The third film screening for our Let's Talk About It: Muslim Journeys Film Series will be of the documentary film Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People. The documentary film is based on the scholarship of Dr. Jack Shaheen, Professor Emeritus of Mass Communications at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. The 2006 documentary film is based on Dr. Shaheen's book with the same title. Dr. Patrick Wing, Assistant Professor of History at University of Redlands, will introduce the film and facilitate a question-and-answer session following the screening. This event will be held on Thursday, February 20, 2014 at Gregory Hall, Room 161, from 7 to 9 p.m.

For more detailed information and online pre-registration, please visit the project website: http://library.redlands.edu/muslimjourneys.

For inquiries, questions, and suggestions, please contact Melissa Cardenas-Dow, in person at Armacost Library, at Melissa_Cardenasdow@redlands.edu or x8089.

Let's Talk About It: Muslim Journeys, a reading and discussion series, has been made possible through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in cooperation with the American Library Association.

Bridging Cultures: Muslim Journeys: Prince Among Slaves

Armacost Library, Campus Diversity & Inclusion, Redlands Peace Academy, and A.K. Smiley Public Library have received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association to host events that highlight Islam and the cultures, histories, and stories of Muslims in the United States and around the world.

To mark Black History Month 2014, our Bridging Cultures: Muslim Journeys programming will re-screen Prince Among Slaves, a historical documentary based on Terry Alford's 1977 biography of 'Abd al-Rahman, a prince of a West African Muslim nation who was brought to Mississippi as a slave in the late 1780s. The film chronicles 'Abd al-Rahman's journey from enslavement to liberation. Against the backdrop of American slavery, 'Abd al-Rahman's quests to free his wife and children and to return to his African home provide us with significant focal points to think and talk about race and religion in America's past and present. Dr. Patrick Wing, Assistant Professor of History at University of Redlands, will introduce the film and facilitate a question-and-answer session following the screening. This event will be held on Thursday, February 13, 2014 at Gregory Hall, Room 161, from 7 to 9 p.m.

For more detailed information and online pre-registration, please visit the project website: http://library.redlands.edu/muslimjourneys.

For inquiries, questions, and suggestions, please contact Melissa Cardenas-Dow, in person at Armacost Library, at Melissa_Cardenasdow@redlands.edu or x8089.

The programs hosted by University of Redlands Armacost Library, Campus Diversity & Inclusion, Redlands Peace Academy, and A.K. Smiley Public Library for Bridging Cultures: Muslim Journeys has been made possible through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in cooperation with the American Library Association (ALA).

Johnston Renewal in the Library's Collections

The 45th Johnston Renewal is almost here!

It's time to brush up on some Johnston Center history and also browse selected scholarship penned by Johnston faculty and alumni.

To learn more about the origins of the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies, try checking out the following from the Armacost Library:

• A History of Johnston College: 1969-1979 / William McDonald & Kevin O'Neill
• Hard travelin' and still havin' agood time: Innovative learning and living at the Johnston Center, 1979-2004 / Kathy Ogren and Bill McDonald

Our Johnston Center faculty and alumni, including Johnston Center affiliated faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences, are quite prolific. Please enjoy the following selected titles from the Armacost Library collection:

• Irrepressible: The life and times of Jessica Mitford / Leslie Brody
• Guru cigarettes / Patricia Geary
• The girls in the back room: Looking at the lesbian bar / Kelly Hankin
• Encountering Disgrace: Reading and teaching Coetzee's novel / edited by Bill McDonald. The 18 contributions in this collection are from Johnston faculty and alumni, including contributions from current faculty such as Daniel Kiefer, Kevin O’Neill and Kathy Ogren. 
• Deepening psychotherapy with men / Fredric E. Rabinowitz and Sam V. Cochran 
• The choreography of modernism in France: La danseuse, 1830-1930 / Julie Townsend

Senior Art --- Ceramics Exhibit Announcement

The Armacost Library is pleased to host it's second annual Senior Art Exhibition.

The Ceramics works of Antonio Argenis Gutierrez '14 are displayed throughout the second floor lobby area of the library. You may view these one of a kind ceramic pieces during regular library hours. This Senior Art Exhibition is scheduled to run from Friday, January 31 to Tuesday, March 11, 2014.

An Artist's Reception will be held in the Armacost Library on Friday, February 7 from 3:00-5:00 p.m.

Please contact Antonio at Antoniogutierrez50@gmail.com if you are interested in purchasing an item.

A price list is available at the library One-Stop Desk.