Filed on Mar 18th 2008 in Tips & Tools
When you are looking for books on a topics in a library catalog, your first attempt will probably be a keyword search. After all, that is the way you do it using a web search tool like Google, and it is natural to think that keywords would bring up the best results. A keyword search does work in the online library catalog, but with varying degrees of effectiveness depending on the topic. This...
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Filed on Mar 14th 2008 in Fun
Spring break is almost upon us, and many students will be traveling. But for those of you too busy to travel, a brief periodic respite from your studies is recommended. To partially satisfy your longing to visit "far away places with strange sounding names," the web provides some stunning interactive panoramas for the armchair traveler. Full screen virtual reality sites feature...
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Filed on Mar 05th 2008 in Staff Picks
You might be aware that there are thousands of copyright free books available online for reading. (If not, see this recent post.) There are even many open source journal sites (as mentioned in an earlier post) and open courseware pages (mentioned in yet another another post). But did you know that there are some sites that allow you to read the full text of relatively recent, popular...
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Filed on Feb 29th 2008 in Fun
They might not be as riveting as Guitar Hero, but the games in the Library Arcade can actually help you develop your library skills. The first game is "I'll Get It," where you take the role of a librarian helping students find the right research materials. In the second game, "Within Range," you must shelve books according to their LC call numbers, but hurry - the clock...
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Filed on Feb 25th 2008 in Tips & Tools
At some point in your academic career, you will likely have to write a research paper. Although the task can seem daunting, once you break the process down into smaller objectives it is really not so bad. Here's a basic checklist to get you started:
First Steps
Choose a topic (advice on choosing a topic)
Begin preliminary reading - browse our collection of subject...
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