Snap, Click, Vote!

Vote in UoR Open Sound 2010!

To mark International Open Access Week 2010, Armacost Library is holding a poll to select which freely available music tracks will be included in the first ever UoR Open Sound 2010 compilation CD.

The entire university community is encouraged to participate! UoR students, faculty, staff, alumni, family and friends are welcome. Vote as many times as you want, for as many tracks as you want. Music tracks that receive at least 50 votes will be included in the compilation CD. We'll also include some bonus tracks from the artists whose music tracks make the 50-vote cut.

UoR Open Sound 2010 CDs will be distributed at various locations during Open Access Week, starting Monday, October 18th till Sunday, October 24th. Look for them at Armacost Library’s circulation desk, the Fletcher Jones Foundation Computer Center main lab, the Campus Diversity and Inclusion main offices, and the information tables Armacost Library will have around Hunsaker Plaza during Open Access Week.

Voting will close on Sunday, October 10th at 11:59 p.m. Cast your vote below.

Sample each music track by clicking on the big orange Play button that each track has. If you like what you hear or think a track should be part of UoR Open Sound 2010, click on the little box at the left of the track title to select it. Select as many as you deem worthy. One vote can have many selections. When you are finished making your selections, click the Vote! button at the bottom of the poll. Doing this will submit your vote to us.

We want to know what you think. Post a comment to this blog post. Post a comment using Polldaddy, our poll site. Email or call us. Come visit us at Armacost Library. Leave a post on our Facebook wall. We want to hear from you!

To E-Book or Not E-Book?

Considering whether or not to buy a e-book reader? The Wall Street Journal has a great article weighing the pros and cons. Their main points are spelled out below.

1. Casual readers probably shouldn't bother.
2. The books aren't as cheap as they should be.
3. Savvy readers read the classics anyway.
4. Be aware of the potential costs of buying a Kindle.
5. Be aware of the costs of the rivals.
6. And if you're thinking of buying a book reader–wait!

Read the full article "Are E-Books Worth the Money?" by Brett Arends.

Tutorials: PsycINFO changes

For those of you already familiar with PsycINFO, you might be surprised to see how different it looks. That's because we've changed from the FirstSearch platform to ProQuest's CSA platform.

What used to look like something like this:


Now looks like this: (advanced search)


To familiarize yourself with a few of the enhancements, check out these PsycINFO video tutorials.

Free Textbooks

The Open Culture blog posts a growing list of freely available textbooks on the web. If it has the textbook you need, great! If it doesn't, browse the list for titles that could help support your learning in other classes. Need to brush up your algebra skills? Want help understanding the main points of international finance? Topics covered include mathematics, business and management, physics, history, computer science, and biology.

You may also want to check out the blog's listing of free online courses, free language lessons, and more.

Mobile Apps

Here's a list of mobile apps and websites you may be interested in.

• MedlinePlus--downloads an app
• PubMed--mobile web
  
• U.S. Gov't mobile apps & websites--18 mobile tools to help you with travel, the environment, government information, and more.
  
• Library of Congress tour--app for the iPhone
• Museum of Modern Art in NY for the iPhone for the iPhone
• The Man Booker Prize for Fiction for the iPhone
  

Interruption in Service: EconLit, Alternative Press Index, ATLA Religion Databases

Some may have noticed the interruption in service to Alternative Press Index, ATLA Religion, and EconLit databases. The extended interruption in service is due to a change in database vendors. Formerly hosted by OCLC, these three databases will soon be hosted by EBSCO. We greatly appreciate your patience as we work out licensing and set up access.

Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience.

Questions can be directed to Sanjeet Mann, Electronic Resources Librarian and our other librarians.

Library catalog and circulation system downtime on Monday, August 9

We have one last upgrade/outage to announce. The library catalog will be unavailable for up to two hours starting at approximately 5:30 PM on the evening of Monday, August 9, 2010 as our library systems receive an upgrade. During this time we will also be unable to check out books or interact with patron records. As soon as the upgrade is complete, you should be able to search the catalog and view your record as usual.

New LexisNexis interface debuts tomorrow!

In addition to the new Wiley Online Library reported earlier, we can also announce that Lexis-Nexis is completing their migration to a new interface this weekend. Lexis-Nexis will be unavailable for up to three hours, beginning Saturday, August 7 at 9 AM PST, as part of the migration.

The new LexisNexis interface makes it easier to pick particular sources and search for data on businesses, individuals, legal cases, and much more. Try the new interface out by visiting http://0-www.lexisnexis.com.library.uor.edu/hottopics/lnacademic!

New Wiley Online Library debuts this weekend

Wiley Interscience, home to over 1,000 of Armacost Library's electronic journals, will be unavailable this weekend between 1 AM on Saturday, August 7 and 9 AM on Sunday, August 8. The downtime will allow Wiley to implement their new e-journal platform, the Wiley Online Library.

On Saturday, you will be unable to access Wiley journals from the "Wiley Interscience" links on our lists of databases by title and subject, the Index List of Full Text Journals, Citation Finder, or Article Linker. Once the upgrade is completed Sunday morning, you should have normal access to all Wiley journals.

For more information about the upgrade, visit http://info.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/view/0/index.html.

World Bank data now freely available

For several years, Armacost Library has held a subscription to the World Bank's Global Development Finance and World Development Indicators databases. We are pleased to announce that the World Bank has now added these two datasets to their growing library of data freely available to the public!

Visit http://data.worldbank.org/ to view the wealth of World Bank-gathered statistics for countries around the world. Topics covered include agriculture, debt service, public- and private-sector economic data, scientific and technological capacity, health and education indicators, energy and environmental impact, and much more.

Data can be downloaded in Excel or CSV format and visualized through "Change Indicator" maps. World Bank statistics are a valuable resource for anyone researching economic or social issues of international scope, or simply curious to find hard data to better understand the international news we read in newspapers or online everyday. Check them out!

Why The Next Big Pop-Culture Wave After Cupcakes Might Be Libraries

The cultural rise of the geek, in this story from NPR's Monkey See blogger Linda Holmes.

Government Statistics

Find your way around government statistics with this pathfinder created by the Government Documents Roundtable of the American Library Association.

Google Scholar: Make it work better for you

Set your preferences to better connect with Armacost Library resources, search more efficiently, stay current, and follow the research trail with Google Scholar.

University of California v. Nature Publishing Group

The University of California system has said "enough" to the Nature Publishing Group, one of the leading commercial scientific publishers, over a big proposed jump in the cost of the group's journals. Read more in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

2nd Annual Armacost Library Undergraduate Research Award Reception

The 2nd Annual Armacost Library Undergraduate Research Award Reception was a wonderful success. College of Arts & Sciences students, staff, and faculty members gathered to honor the ambitious research and writing efforts of the award finalists. The faculty mentors of each finalist introduced the students and their work.

ALURA Finalists:
Jaclyn Cooperrider, “Role of Progesterone Receptor on Ripening of the Cervix and Parturition.”
Kelly Lecko, “Wildlife Sanctuaries as Potential Migratory Routes and Dispersal Areas in the Tsavo-Amboseli Ecosystem.”
Ruby Secrist, “Local Foreign Policy in the 1930s: FDR the Eternal Pragmatist.”
Laura Tolle, “Manifestations of Male Depression: Theories of (Under)Diagnosis.”
Fiona Wilhelm, “Reading John the Baptist as Messiah.”
Caitlin Wolf, “To Be or Not to Be: What is a Screwball Comedy?”

ALURA Recipient:
Sommer DiSante, "From Hell, With Love: An Analysis of the Literary Biographical Tradition of Delogs in Tantric Buddhism."




Professor Bryce Ryan (Biology) introduced the advanced research his student Jaclyn Cooperrider, a finalist for the Armacost Library Undergraduate Research Award, performed for her paper.



Student finalist Jaclyn Cooperrider listening to praise from her professor, Professor Bryce Ryan.



Students, staff, and faculty listen to Professor Kathleen Feeley (History) introduce one of her two students recognized as finalists for the Armacost Library Undergraduate Research Award.

Ruby Secrist (standing) and Caitlin Wolf (sitting), both honored for their research papers, and both History majors mentored by Professor Kathleen Feeley.

Fiona Wilhelm, another ALURA finalist, mentored by Professor Lillian Larsen (Religious Studies) and introduced at the reception by Professor Bill Huntley (Religious Studies).

Sommer DiSante, the 2nd Annual Armacost Library Undergraduate Research Award recipient, and her faculty mentor Professor Karen Derris (Religious Studies).

Sommer DiSante posing with Interim Library Director Les Canterbury and Instructional Services Librarian Shana Higgins.

Laura Tolle, a student finalist mentored by Professors Celine Ko and Fred Rabinowitz (Psychology), chatting with ALURA selection committee member Amy Wilms (Assistant Dean, Student Life).



Former Armacost Library intern, Janelle Julagay and Technical Services Librarian, Melissa Cardenas-Dow.



Students and friends of finalists.



Stella Rivera (Religious Studies) chats with Denise Cline (Library).



Professors Kathleen Feeley (History) and Bill Huntley (Religious Studies).

Electronic Services Librarian, Sanjeet Mann talks with Professor Pete Sherman (Environmental Studies).

National Library Week 2010 (April 11-17)

This year's Honorary Chair of National Library Week, author Neil Gaiman, will be holding a live internet. Mr. Gaiman will be speaking about libraries on Monday, April 12, from 6-8 p.m. EDT. For more info, please visit: http://www.atyourlibrary.org/join-neil-gaiman-live-internet-event

Want $500? Submit for the Undergraduate Research Award!

Dear students,

February 8, 2010 is the deadline for submitting your work for consideration for the Armacost Library Undergraduate Summer Research Award.

If you have a research paper from Spring, May or Fall 2009 you're proud of, consider applying for the award. You could win $500 and be honored at a reception in the library in March!

All you need to do is get a letter/email of support from your instructor, write a short 500-750 word essay describing how you approached your library research, and submit the final version of your paper.

For complete details, including information on how the faculty selection committee will evaluate your work, see http://libguides.redlands.edu/ALURA.

January: National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month

On January 4, 2010 President Barack Obama proclaimed January 2010 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, culminating in the annual celebration of National Freedom Day on February 1.

To learn more about still existing modern forms of slavery and human trafficking, take a look at some of these resources.

Siddharth, Kara. Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009.
HQ281 .K37 2009 (3rd Floor)

Bales, Kevin. Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999.
HT867 .B35 1999 (3rd Floor)

Cameron, Sally and Edward Newman, eds. Trafficking in Humans: Social, Cultural and Political Dimensions. New York: United Nations University Press, 2008.
HQ281 .T717 2008

U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
http://www.state.gov/g/tip/

UN.GIFT: Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking
http://www.ungift.org/


Human Trafficking Awareness / Video PSA by Emma Thompson, rosaryfilms @ YouTube

Welcome Back!

A few reminders as we start the new term.

You can look up course reserves for your classes through the library catalog:
http://library.uor.edu/screens/course.html

Need help finding an book? An article? Maps of the Jewish diaspora? Ask a librarian:
http://www.redlands.edu/x31116.asp

Not sure which database is best for your research question? Try our course and subject research guides:
http://libguides.redlands.edu/index.php

Let us know what you think. Talk to us in the library, or leave a comment here:
http://library.uor.edu/suggest

Good luck with your semester!