The Thomas Library Blog

After-Hours Studying

2012-02-02T08:56:00.002-05:00

Looking for a quiet place to practice a presentation or brainstorm a group project? You now have 24/7 access to rooms A103 and A104, located by the auditorium. These rooms each have a projector, giving you the ability to give that Power Point presentation a test run before class.

New Library Books

2012-01-20T15:24:00.000-05:00

Here are a two titles that may be of interest, both for research and non-required reading:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie (2007)

This National Book Award Winner tells the tale of Junior, a boy caught between two worlds. Junior, who is teased mercilessly, decides to attend school outside of the Spokane Indian reservation. Junior loves to draw, and his pictures and cartoons intersperse each short chapter of his story. This is a great, fast read!

Sugar in My Bowl: Real Women Write About Real Sex, edited by Erica Jong (2008)

This collection of essays, short stories, and even a short comic, tells (very) frank tales of sexual encounters, ideals, and societal mores. Included in this anthology are notable figures like Eve Ensler, Jennifer Weiner, Gail Collins, and Liz Smith.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer (2005)

Oskar, a smart and spritely boy of nine, loses his beloved father in the terrorist attacks of September 11th. Soon after his loss, Oskar finds a mysterious key among his fathers possessions, and he is convinced that his puzzle-loving parent left him a final mystery to solve. He embarks on a journey to trace the lost lock, coming across a variety of unique New York personalities along the way.

Stop into the library to check them out today!

Wikipedia's 24 Hour Blackout Starts Tomorrow

2012-01-17T13:22:00.001-05:00

No, you did not break Wikipedia by placing your friend's name in the entry for "vampire" for the fifteenth time.* Wikipedia has joined a host of other websites in protesting the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA), two recently-proposed Congressional bills that seek to resolve issues of copyright infringement.

According to the following blog entry from The New York Times, Wikipedia will be joining Reddit and technology blog Boing Boing in protest by shutting down their servers this Wednesday. Google will also participate, but it will not shut down service; according to Bloomberg Businessweek, they will be posting a link to their dissenting stance on the proposed bills.

SOPA would allow the Department of Justice to block and prosecute foreign websites that violate U.S. copyright laws. According to Reuters, "Internet service providers could be required to block access to foreign sites and U.S. online ad networks could be required to stop ads and search engines barred from directly linking to them."

PIPA allows for similar action. OpenCongress, a subsidiary of Project Sunlight, states that PIPA allows the Justice Department to shut down websites that are alleged of copyright infringement. (OpenCongress also houses a complete list of backers and dissenters of SOPA and PIPA.)

So, when Wikipedia is down, what is a boy or girl to do? You can try these similar library-backed resources to get you through the day:

The Gale Virutal Reference Library houses thousands of entries from definitive subject-based encyclopedias. Log on from the library's website.
The library also houses a number of subject encyclopedias in print. Stop in and browse our reference collection, which is only a few steps away from our computer bank on the first floor.

New York Times' blog post
Full text of SOPA
Full text of PIPA

* This really happened. It was not pretty for all parties involved. Do not do it.

Your ePortfolio: The Perfect Gift to Employers Everywhere

2011-12-06T11:17:00.001-05:00

The holidays are fast approaching, and many of you aretesting just how far you can stretch that dollar to accommodate everyone onyour shopping list. While you search store aisles or wander websites in searchof the perfect gift, you have undoubtedly begun to suppress your own wants insearch of presents for others. How many times have we been told thatgift-giving holidays are not about what you get, but what you give? Rememberthat song “The Christmas Shoes?” If you don’t feel guilty about buying yourselfso much as a stocking stuffer after listening to that song, you’re notlistening to it properly.

While the sentiment behind a selfless holiday is noble, itis unrealistic. Think about some of the questions that run through your head asyou search for a gift. What do I have in common with this person? What giftwill I be proud to give? Will it remind this person of me? In short: what giftbest exemplifies my relationship with this person?

Gift giving requires a bit of give and take. In order togive the perfect gift, you need to include yourself in the process. You mustevaluate your own tastes in tandem with another’s.

This holiday season, you should utilize this festivity andthink about giving a great gift to potential employers. You have undoubtedlyheard about the importance of an ePortfolio; many Thomas professors requirethat you craft one, or that you at least post to it. A portfolio can assist youwith finding a job in any workplace, regardless of your major. It provides youwith an electric platform to place your best work, those pieces that showcaseyour talent, highlight your strengths, and succinctly describe you at your best.Every Thomas student has access to a Google Sites account, which provides youwith an intuitive platform for your portfolio.

While Thomas provides you with the perfect wrapping paper,it is up to you to decide what will fill it. Your assignments and experiencesduring your college years line the aisles of Macys, and potential employers areat the top of your shopping list. When you compile your portfolio, ask yourselfsome of the questions listed above. Keep in mind that the pieces you choose shouldhave a dual reflection; they should show you as much as they reflect the wantsand needs of your potential employer.

Your ePortfolio is all about the most important person inyour life: you! Select topics and assignments for which you are especially proud,and don’t be afraid to post something that is not within your field of study.You may be a criminal justice major who organized a successful bowlingfundraiser. Or perhaps you are studying finance, but thanks to a forensicevidence class, you can now tell the different between peri- and post-mortemwounds. Observations like these may not highlight relevant coursework, but theyshow your ability to be flexible, creative, and marketable. You are not justyour major, and don’t be afraid to show it!

So, this holiday season, be a bit selfish; use the followinglinks to begin crafting your perfect present. Happy shopping!

Your ePortfolio: Getting Started - Learn the basics of setting up your site and view examples of complete portfolios.

Google Sites Help - Google can answer all of your questions.

Extended Library Hours: Dec. 5-11

2011-12-02T12:56:00.001-05:00

As the end of the semester quickly approaches, we have extended our hours to allow more time for working on those final projects.

Our hours are as follows:

Sunday, December 4th: 1:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Monday, December 5th - Thursday, December 8th: 7:30 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Friday, December 9th: 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, December 10th: 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, December 11th: 1:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.

Happy studying, everyone! As always, please contact us with your research or computer needs.

Free Resource Friday: The CIA World Factbook

2011-11-18T15:33:00.001-05:00

If you believe everything you see on television, youprobably picture the CIA to be full of trendy, technology savvy individuals whocan speak fluent Russian while kickboxing a room full of bad guys.

When I think of the CIA, I think of individuals justlike me, information professionals who break into a sweat after going up a flight of stairs, whose pantsnever quite match their shoes, and whose foreign language skills do not exceed thosefrom high school. While they may not be glamorous or defy death on a dailybasis, these are the people who gather information that is integral to theoperation and function of the organization. After all, how else will thosetrendy kickboxing spies learn about the countries to which they are headed?

The CIA World Factbook is a resource that is packedwith information about the nations of the world. Here, you can find anythingfrom population growth rates to main natural resources, from national anthemsto national conflicts. Is Japan involved in international environmentalagreements?¹ Are Belgian parents having more boys or girls?² And just what DO you call someone from theNetherlands?³ The World Factbook can answer all of these questions.

While the Factbook was traditionally released as aprint resource every year or so, the online version is updated on a biweeklybasis, depending upon when they receive new pertinent information. Therefore,you are guaranteed to get the most current information on any country.

Besides having access to detailed country profiles,you can view country comparisons, which automatically generate country rankingsregarding different topics. Which country has suffered the most deaths fromHIV/AIDS?⁴Who has the lowest rate of unemployment?⁵You can find these statistics here as well.

Whether you are settling a bet or conductingresearch, this site is definitely a keeper. Take that, trendy spies; the people who update this site are the real trendsetters,even if they occasionally do it with their shirts inside out and backwards.

1: Tons - Antarctic-EnvironmentalProtocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty,Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification,Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of theSea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling

2: For every female born, thereare 1.045 males born. Don’t ask me what that means.

3: Dutchmen or Dutchwomen, orjust Dutch.

4: South Africa: In 2009,approximately 310,000 deaths were attributed to HIV or AIDS.

5: Monaco, with 0% unemployment.But that was back in 2005, so they could be lying.

Allof the above facts were taken from the World Factbook.

Popular magazines are coming to the library! (But only with your help.)

2011-11-02T14:25:00.000-04:00

We hate to bring this up, but finals are just aroundthe corner. You probably have more papers and presentations than you care tothink about. It’s time to pick up the pen and get to work, but it is also timeto organize some recreational activities. Contrary to popular belief, goodgrades do not arise from constant concentration. Every once in a while, youneed to turn on that video game console, pick up those knitting needles, or getpelted by mass quantities of dodge balls. You need downtime during the day,especially toward the end of the semester.

One way to unwind after a particularly stressful dayis to do some recreational reading. Some may cluck disapprovingly at the personperusing the grocery store’s magazine aisle, but we would bet money that evenBill Gates picks up a GQ once in awhile. Of course, not all of us have thefunds to drop six dollars on a magazine that we will read once and throw intothe recycling bin. Therefore, we are looking to help you expand your list ofconstructive distractions for no additional cost by moving our magazinecollections into realms outside of the Newsweekworld.

We would like to add 10-15 new titles to ourcollection, and we need your help. We have set up a ballot box near our servicedesk so you can cast a vote for your favorite popular magazines. Choose yourtop ten magazines from our list of 25; those with the most votes will be addedto our collection. We will begin these new subscriptions in time for the springsemester.

So whether you bow at Oprah’s altar or enjoy Maxim for, you know, the jokes, stop inand cast a ballot today! Your brain will thank you for the break.

Hobbies, Crafts, and Halloween

2011-10-26T08:15:00.000-04:00

Did you know that Halloween is less than one week away? You have exactly five days to devise a costume that does not consist of holes torn into your bedsheets.

Luckily, the library is here to help.

Librarians love our hobbies almost as much as we love our books. We hike, knit, bake, and participate in roller derby. We firmly believe that a happy world is one that is full of the fruits of the hobbyist's labors. Therefore, it is only natural that we encourage others to explore their own
extracurricular interests.

To help you down the path of craftdom, we currently subscribe to a database called Hobbies and Crafts. This resource provides magazine and newspaper articles from a variety of trade and collector magazines. With this database, you can learn how to research your family tree, get tips for packing lightly before an extended trip outdoors, or read the latest news from the snowboarding world. And, of course, there's more knitting tips and tricks than you ever cared to know.

Hobbies can also make great small businesses. If you are looking to turn a hobby into a business venture, Hobbies and Crafts is a great resource to help you keep abreast of the newest trends in your chosen diversion.

Be sure to visit this database for new Halloween ideas. Here, you can get step-by-step instructions on how to create the perfect medieval hat or magic wand. Learn how to carve a pumpkin before you smash it, or how to decorate those eggs before you toss them.

So, go to our list of databases to find it, and leave those sheets on your bed. The cold weather is just around the corner, and you'll be glad you did.

LexisNexis Academic Beta Mobile Interface is now Live!

2011-06-24T14:25:00.002-04:00

Good News for our library's mobile visitors! Lexis Nexis has released a Beta Mobile interface for their Academic product. This web app allows our users to now search for news, legal and business on an interface that has been optimized for those small mobile screens.

Be sure to give it a try on our new Mobile library page: www.thomas.edu/library/mobile and look for the Mobile Research Apps link.

Also remember, as always remote users will need to login into our subscriptions through our single sign-on using their Thomas credentials.

If you have any questions or comments please let us know!

Films on Demand for Thomas College - This Week's Top 10 Videos

2011-04-14T10:31:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wondered what our most popular Films on Demand videos are in a given week?

Well...

Here's the 10 Most viewed titles for this past week. Sorted by rank.

1 . Cybercrime: World Wide War 3.0
2 . Accepting Life's Transitions
3 . The Brain Fitness Program
4 . The Baby's Brain: Wider Than the Sky
5 . Do I Drink Too Much? Human Biology, Genetics, and Alcohol
6 . The Brain
7 . The Child's Brain: Syllable from Sound
8 . Finding My Mind
9 . How We Study Children: Observation and Experimentation
10 . Lost in the Mirror: Women with Multiple Personalities

To view streaming videos from Films on Demand please visit: http://www.thomas.edu/library/

Did you know the library is on Facebook?

2011-04-11T13:15:00.001-04:00

Are you a Facebook user? If you are, we invite you to become a fan of the Thomas College Library on Facebook.

Visit us on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Thomas-College-Library/176924112476

Spring Student Faculty and Staff Art Show

2011-03-09T15:26:00.000-05:00

Featured Resource: Hoover's First Research

2011-02-24T15:19:00.000-05:00

Hoover’s First Research, a new addition to our collection of online business resources this year offers users a streamlined approach to gathering current industry data. First Research data is compiled in a compact form aimed at getting the researcher up to date on industry matters by the most efficient means.

Below are some key components to Hoover's First Research:
INDUSTRY PROFILES.
Reader friendly and updated monthly, Industry Profiles offer a guide to over 900 industry segments. These in-depth summaries are carefully organized and easily customizable, providing current information about your target markets’ challenges, opportunities, critical industry statistics, issues and changes.
CALL PREP SHEETS.
First Research Call Prep Sheets help you understand the issues for your chosen industry. These one-page industry overviews provide key information to current issues and topics within your industry.

INDUSTRY PROSPECTOR.
Industry Prospector allows you to select and rank industries based on industry drivers and key economic metrics.
STATE and PROVINCE PROFILES.
First Research State and Province Profiles help you bring regional insight to industry and consumers. Updated monthly, they offer a concise view of shifting economic and business issues using state and province specific employment data, real estate insight, business news updates and Web resources.

For online access to Hoover's First Research please visit: www.thomas.edu/library

Source: First Research Toolkit: a Guide for New Users. http://www.firstresearch.com/PDF/Toolkit.pdf

Featured Resource: Business & Company Resource Center

2011-02-16T14:43:00.000-05:00

Business and Company Resource Center (BCRC) offers a fully integrated company research experience. Containing a wealth of resources, BCRC offers access to company profiles, histories, and brand information as well as brand rankings and investment reports. Search this database to find detailed company and industry news and information.

The Business & Company Resource Center provides business, company, and industry content in the following areas:

Periodical articles, news articles, and press releases
Detailed information for domestic and international companies and associations, including information on corporate hierarchical structures
Company financials and earnings estimates
Investment reports
Corporate chronologies and company histories
Brands and product information
Industry and company rankings
Market Share data
Industry Overviews
HR Law Case Digests
PDF reports on the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) for select companies -- can be searched for via the Company Search page

For online access to the Business and Company Resource Center please visit http://www.thomas.edu/library

Featured Resource: Points of View Reference Center

2011-01-24T14:20:00.000-05:00

Students, have you been assigned an opinion paper? Faculty, do you have your students research various points of view on hot topics?

If so, you may be interested in using Points of View Reference Center.

EBSCOhost's Points of View Reference Center

Points of View Reference Center Overview

What type of sources will I find in this Points of View Reference Center?

Points of View Reference Center contains a balance of materials from all viewpoints, including more than 1,300 main essays, leading political magazines from both sides of the aisle, newspapers, radio & TV news transcripts, primary source documents and reference books.

What topics are covered in this database?

The database offers more than 280 topics, each with an overview (objective background/description), point (argument), counterpoint (opposing argument), as well as a Critical Thinking Guide.

Does Points of View Reference Center offer anything else to help my research?

The database also offers guides to debate, developing arguments and writing position papers. Additionally, this database contains the Video Encyclopedia of the 20th Century, providing students with a searchable collection of some of the most important social, political, and cultural moments of the 20th century.

What's New in the Library - Spring 2011

2011-01-05T11:24:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year and Welcome Back Students and Faculty!

Over winter break the library made some changes to a few resources as well as introduced several new tools. So the next time you use library resources we hope you will be pleasantly surprised.

So What's New at the Library:

We've introduced ThomasLINK and off-campus single sign-on for databases.

What is ThomasLINK you may ask?

ThomasLINK is a federated search engine that allows users to simultaneously search many of the library's databases and electronic resources using the familiar EBSCO 2.0 search interface. In addition to using the familiar EBSCO 2.0 search interface, users will now be able to utilize their myEBSCO accounts with the non-EBSCO databases.

What Databases are searched by ThomasLINK?
40+ databases are currently searched by ThomasLINK including:

Access Science Encyclopedia
All EBSCOhost databases
All Gale/Cengage/Infotrac databases
LexisNexis Academic
Minerva Library Catalog
NetLibrary
Proquest Newspapers

For an more indepth overview of ThomasLINK please click here.

Off-campus Access to Library Databases through Single Sign-on:

Through the implementation of proxy access to library databases from off-campus, Library users will now be able to authenticate into databases from off-campus using their Thomas College username and passwords. If you have forgotten these or need additional assistance please contact the Thomas College Service Desk.

We hope you will enjoy these new services and as always we welcome your feedback.

Please Join Us For Our Next Sixty-Minute Seminar: Using Google Apps for ePortfolios

2010-11-29T09:11:00.000-05:00

Please join us for our next library workshop on Thursday, December 2nd at 3:20 pm in Room 225.

WORKSHOP TOPIC:

Using Google Apps for ePortfolio

If you are interested in attending please RSVP

Space is limited.

Please Contact Brian Richards, Reference & Instructional Librarian at richardsb@thomas.edu if you are interested in attending the workshop.

Workshop Outcome:

This seminar offers an overview of using Google Apps to build the Thomas College ePortfolio.

New Subscription To Films On Demand

2010-11-03T14:10:00.004-04:00

I am happy to announce that the library has purchased a years subscription to the Films on Demand academic streaming video collection. This subscription will make over 7000 digital educational videos available to Thomas users from any computer on a 24/7 basis.

Subjects covered in the collection include Humanities & Social Sciences, Business & Economics, Science & Mathematics, Health & Medicine and Archival & Newsreel.

These high quality educational videos can be linked to your Moodle courses or accessed directly from the link on our library page. Users can create a personal account to make playlists, organize a list of titles used regularly or customize your search experience.

If you have previously created a personal account on the Film on Demand webpage during one of our trials and cannot access it please contact me so I can reactivate it for you.

Here is a link to some online tutorials if you would like to get started using this new resource http://digital.films.com/portalTutorial.aspx

Thank you and have a great day,

Lisa A.

Maine InfoNet Download Library expanded to include eBooks

2010-10-25T13:30:00.000-04:00

I am excited to report that our collection of downloadable books has just got a little larger, thanks to the addition of approximately 1,400 downloadable eBooks.

Please see the original Maine InfoNet press release for more details.

Thomas College Faculty, Staff and Students may access these books by clicking on the Download Library icon on our library website www.thomas.edu/library or by visiting: http://download.maineinfonet.org/ directly.

_______________________________________

October 25, 2010

Maine State Library
James Jackson Sanborn
Executive Director Maine InfoNet

The Maine InfoNet Download Library has expanded to include a downloadable eBook collection, thanks to a grant from Davis Family Foundation and the financial support of member libraries.

Nearly 1,400 books spanning best-selling Fiction, Non-Fiction, YA and Children's content are now available as downloadable eBooks. This is in addition to the ever-growing collection of downloadable audiobooks.

Both the eBooks and audio books can be checked out and downloaded by patrons of participating libraries across Maine. Once the eBooks are checked out, they can be read on a computer or transferred to popular eReaders such as the Sony eReader, the Nook and the Kobo. Unfortunately, the Kindle eReader does not support this service and the eBooks cannot be transferred to that device. An app for transferring eBooks to the iPad is currently in development and is expected soon.

Suggestions for titles to add to both the eBook and audio book collections can be made at participating public libraries, or emailing Maine InfoNet directly by following the Help or Support links on the Download Library website.
_____________________________________

Please feel free to send me your questions or title suggestions to pass along to Maine InfoNet.

Please Join Us for Our Next Sixty Minute Seminar - Building an ePortfolio with Google Apps

2010-09-24T15:09:00.002-04:00

Please join us for our next library workshop on Friday October 1, 2010 at 3:00pm in Room 126.

WORKSHOP TOPIC:

Using Google Apps for ePortfolio

If you are interested in attending please RSVP

Space is limited to 26 Attendees

Please Contact Brian Richards, Assistant Librarian at richardsb AT thomas.edu if you are interested in attending either the workshop.

Workshop Outcome:

This seminar offers an overview of using Google Apps to build the Thomas College ePortfolio.

LexisNexis Academic QuizWhiz Competition

2010-09-14T08:23:00.000-04:00

Students, are you Trivia Fans? Do you like to earn Prizes? Do you have access to the Internet? If you do, consider participating in the LexisNexis QuizWhiz Competition.

REGISTER TODAY!

Answer trivia questions to earn prize points.

Contest runs September 13 – November 15

www.lexisnexis.com/quizwhiz

Links to this week's question can be accessed by going to www.thomas.edu/library and choosing LexisNexis Academic from the list of databases. Once inside LexisNexis, look to the top of the screen for the QuizWhiz link.

Good Luck and Have Fun!

Please Join the Library Staff for our next Sixty Minute Seminar

2010-09-10T09:02:00.000-04:00

The Library will be hosting a student oriented workshop on Wednesday, September 15, 2010 at 12:00pm in Computer Lab 225.

Double Topic Workshop:

Topic 1: The Library Resource Starter Guide
Topic 2: Help, I need 3 Articles!

This is a hands-on workshop; so please bring your questions.

If you are attending please RSVP.

Please Contact Brian Richards, Assistant Librarian at richardsb@thomas.edu if you are interested in attending this seminar.

Workshop Outcomes:

The Library Resource Starter Guide

Learn how to effectively navigate the Library's Web site, search Library catalogs to find books, and discover the best databases for articles on a given topic.

Help, I need 3 Articles!

Learn how to discover the best databases for articles on a given topic.

Thank you, and we hope to see you there!

Creating your ePortfolio with Google Apps

2010-09-07T12:33:00.000-04:00

Do you have an ePortfolio? Do you use your ePortfolio? These are questions that students commonly hear from me. Well, beginning this year, you'll be seeing more of me in your class (provided your instructor invites me) to explain and demonstrate Thomas College's new ePortfolio platform - Google Sites.

Over the summer the IT department set up Google Apps for Thomas College. This suite of web based applications will allow students to create a more visually appealing ePortfolio experience. Google Apps for Education includes a number of useful tools that allow students to incorporate images, videos, presentations and more within their Google Sites ePortfolio. Perhaps, best of all though, is students are able to share this site with external viewers and even take the site with them after they graduate.

Be sure to check out the ePortfolio Starter Guide and as always, if you have any questions you can always contact us in the library.

Welcome Back Students and Faculty- Fall 2010

2010-08-17T10:19:00.000-04:00

Greetings New Students and Faculty! Welcome Back to our returning Faculty and Students!

Coming back to campus you may notice some of the exciting changes that took place over the summer (e.g. the new entrance to the administration building, the removal of the circle, the addition of an elevator, etc). The library was not left out of the excitement over the summer and I would like to take this opportunity to highlight some of the apparent and not so apparent additions to our resources and services.

Room changes within the library:

The Quiet/Group Study Room on the 1st floor has been changed to the Student Conference Room and is now bookable.
A new Quiet/Group Study Room has been built on the second floor of the library and is available on a first come, first serve basis.

New Databases added this summer:

Academic Search Complete - MARVEL upgraded their subscription to Academic Search Premier to Academic Search Complete increasing access from 4,600 full-text titles to 7,100 full-text titles.
Business Source Complete - MARVEL upgraded their subscription to Business Source Premier to Business Source Complete adding an additional 200 full-text titles to the collection which now stands at 1,300 full-text titles.
Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center - MARVEL added the Hobbies & Crafts Reference Center to its collection offering full text for more than 960 magazines and books, as well as access to more than 720 videos and more than 140 hobby profiles. Subject areas include arts & crafts; collecting; games & electronics; model building; home & leisure; needlework; outdoors & nature; and scrapbooking & papercraft. I see some potential in the database for education students in need of ideas for classroom projects.
Hoover's First Research - The Thomas College Library has recently added this business database providing access to 700 key industry profiles including: industry overviews, the competitive landscape, products, operations and technology and many more.
Literary Reference Center - Another MARVEL addition the Literary Reference Center is a full-text database that provides information on thousands of authors and their works across literary disciplines and time frames.
Points of View Reference Center - An exciting MARVEL addition that gives students access to a series of essays that present multiple sides of current issues (a great resource for supporting those opinion/current issue papers). The database provides more than 270 topics, each with an overview (objective background/description), point (argument), counterpoint (opposing argument), and Critical Thinking Guide.

New Equipment in the Library Collection:

The library continues to build up its collection of instructional equipment for our students and faculty. This summer we added several new items to increase availability for high demand and popular pieces of equipment.

Equipment Addition Highlights:

Added 2 HD Flip Camera's to bring our complement to 3. (These little cameras are popular with our public speaking classes).
Added a loanable Macbook Pro in addition to our collection of 18 Dell laptops.
Added a Sony Multi-Function DVD Recorder - allows users to record to a DVD from a number of devices without the need of a computer.
Added a Kangaroo Solutions DVD Duplicator for Duplicating DVD's without a computer.

These are just the latest additions to our collection of resources, for a complete tour of our collection please visit the library. In the meantime if you have any questions please contact us. We look forward to assisting you throughout the 2010/2011 school year.

New Post on Moodle Musings

2010-07-08T11:28:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wondered about the calendar in Moodle? If so check out this new article on Moodle Musings: http://moodlemusings.blogspot.com/2010/07/beyond-basics-moodle-calendar.html.

Important News Items relating to Library Resources

2010-06-01T12:53:00.014-04:00

The summer is upon us and many vendors take this opportunity to implement updates and changes to their products. Listed below are some of the news releases concerning these changes.

EBSCOhost:
Enhanced PDF Viewer:
EBSCOhost features a special viewer designed to streamline the browsing of an entire issue, or all available volumes and issues, from one screen.
There are also several helpful features to enable users to easily navigate and manage open PDFs, including:

Table of Contents column with instant access to citations with title, author and subject detail
Hyperlinked access to full text issue contents, by article or chapter titles
A convenient list of hyperlinked thumbnails to illustrations
Expand/collapse arrow to control open PDF view

To view a short demonstration of this new feature, click here.
Subjects on Result List ItemsDue to customer feedback, individual records within the EBSCOhost Result List now display subject headings for all applicable databases and libraries.
EBSCO Publishing Acquires NetLibrary Division from OCLC
For More Information Please Visit: http://support.epnet.com/support_news/detail.php?id=596&page=1

Gale:
MLA 7 is Now available in Many Gale Products
The list of Gale resources with MLA 7 keeps on growing! You’ll now find this added functionality on Global Issues in Context, Gale Virtual Reference Library and Gale Literature Databases.
The most visible changes include:

No more underlining — publication titles and the name of the online product accessed are now italicized.
No more URLs — MLA no longer requires URLs, but Gale is adding a document URL below the citation to easily lead readers back to the original source
Continuous pagination — this is no longer an issue for scholarly journal citations; both volume and issue numbers are required, regardless of pagination.
Publication medium — since all documents are accessed from an online Gale resource, the citation will always include the medium “Web.” In addition, MLA has eliminated the requirement to include the name of the service (“Gale”) and the name of the subscribing institution
New abbreviations — when certain metadata is missing, such as publisher or page numbers, there are suggested abbreviations to display denoting that fact

LexisNexis Academic:
New Interface for LNA
In January 2010, LexisNexis released a new interface for LexisNexis Academic. This was done as a soft release, meaning that subscribers could move onto the new interface at their own pace provided they complete the process by the end of the migration period (Migration Date is July 30, 2010). At the end of the migration period, all URLs that point to the old interface will be automatically redirected to the new interface.
Time Inc. Publications are no Longer Available on LexisNexis
Time Inc. has decided to withdraw its publications from all LexisNexis services effective June 1, 2010.
The affected titles are:
People, Fortune, Time, Entertainment Weekly, Sports Illustrated, In Style, Money, Business 2.0, Field & Stream, Time Inc. – Last 2 Years, Time Publications
[To see which databases continue to carry these titles please click here.]

As always, please contact us if you have any questions.

New Trial - Films on Demand

2010-04-28T14:11:00.003-04:00

The Thomas College Library has initiated a trial of Films on Demand.

This Trial Ends May 28th.

Films on Demand offers streaming video of many educational programs from the Films Media Group.

Films on Demand allows users to search for and organize videos, and video segments into custom folders and playlists.

The following is a list of video topic collections that are included in our trial:

Humanities & Social Sciences Collection
Science Collection
Business & Economics Collection
Health Collection
Technical Education Collection
Careers & Job Search Collection
Guidance & Counseling Collection
Family & Consumer Sciences Collection

For more information on this trial please visit: http://www.thomas.edu/internal/library/Trials/trials.asp

As always, we hope you enjoy this trial and would appreciate your feedback.

Brian Vanden Brink Photographs & Book Signing

2010-04-13T14:58:00.005-04:00

Join us for an evening with Brian Vanden Brink
Artist Reception and Book Signing
Friday, April 23, 2010
5 - 7 p.m.
Thomas College Library

Photos from Ruin will be on display in the Thomas College Art Gallery April 23-June 4, 2010.

Mr. Vanden Brink will be available on April 23rd to sign copies of his book.

Brian Vanden Brink is often chosen as an architectural photographer by those in the design world. He has been photographing award-winning architecture for three decades. Vanden Brink’s name is synonymous with a respect for design and a passion for light. His work has been featured widely in a variety of design and consumer publications such as Architectural Digest, Architectural Record, Boston Globe Magazine, Coastal Living, Design New England, Down East, La Vie Claire, Maine Home & Design, Metropolitan Home, New England Home, New York Times Magazine, Photo District News, Residential Architect, and View Camera Magazine. His photographs grace many books including his own At Home by the Sea: Houses Designed for Living at the Water’s Edge and At Home In Maine: Houses Designed to Fit the Land. Vanden Brink’s new book RUIN: Photographs of a Vanishing America is a photographic study of abandoned architecture throughout the United States.

For more information, please visit http://www.thomas.edu/

Basic's of Moodle - Our Next Sixty-Minute Seminar

2010-04-06T14:36:00.001-04:00

The Library will be hosting a workshop for students on Thursday April 8, 2010 at 1:00 pm and again at 4:45 pm in Computer Lab 225 to explain the

Basics of Moodle

If you are Interested in attending please RSVP.

Please Contact Brian Richards, Assistant Librarian at richardsb@thomas.edu for more information.

Workshop Topics:

Logging into Moodle
Editing Your Moodle Profile
Changing your Moodle Password
Finding your Grades in Moodle

RefWorks Trial

2010-03-19T15:36:00.004-04:00

The Thomas College library has initiated an evaluation trial for the RefWorks with RefShare web-based reference management software.

During this trial please feel free to compare Refworks to our current reference management software NoodleBib.

This Trial will run from March 12, 2010 to April 30, 2010
Please send feedback or questions to Brian Richards at richardsb@thomas.edu

What is RefWorks?
RefWorks is a web-based bibliography and database manager that allows you to create your own personal database by importing references from text files, online databases and other various sources (PDFs, Websites, and RSS feeds). You can use these references in writing papers and automatically format the paper and the bibliography in seconds.

How to create an Account:

To create an account, users need to:

Click on the library's RefWorks link or go to www.refworks.com/refworks from an IP authenticated computer.
Click on Sign Up for an Individual Account.
Enter the appropriate information and click on Register.

Getting Started:

Quick Start Guide: http://www.refworks.com/Refworks/help/Refworks.htm

RefWorks Highlights:

Manual and Global editing capabilities of references.
Export or Share your references with students, professors or teammates.
Direct export from research databases and search engines.
Write-N-Cite: A plug-in utility for Microsoft Word (and other programs) that allows the users to cite references in their papers with the click of a button.
RefGrab-It: Feature for capturing bibliographic information from a webpage through the utilization of an IE or Firefox browser plug-in or bookmarklet.

Your participation and feedback in this trial is important to us.
Please contact us with your questions and we hope you enjoy this trial.

LexisNexis Academic Scheduled Maintenance Outage - Sunday, March 13th

2010-03-11T10:21:00.002-05:00

LexisNexis Academic will be unavailable during a scheduled maintenance outage related to the beginning of Daylight Savings Time.

Daylight Saving Time begins at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday of March, 2010.

LexisNexis online products will be unavailable to users from:

Saturday, March 13, 11:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) to Sunday, March 14, 6:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

CITEme: Reference & Citation Management with NoodleBib - Topic of our next 60 minute Seminar

2010-02-23T15:16:00.006-05:00

The Library will be hosting a student oriented workshop on Thursday February 25, 2010 at 1:00pm and 4:45pm in Computer Lab 225.

Workshop Title:
CITEme: Reference & Citation Management with NoodleBib

This is a hands-on workshop; please bring your citation questions.

Due to the Limited Space Available we encourage you to RSVP.

Please Contact Brian Richards, Assistant Librarian at richardsb@thomas.edu if you are interested in attending either the 1:00pm or 4:45pm session.

Workshop Outcome:
The NoodleBib citation management software provides guided bibliographic composition and integrated note taking capabilities to students and researchers.
Attendees of this workshop will come away with an understanding of what valuable tools NoodleBib has to offer.

Help, I need 3 Articles -- Topic of Our Next Sixty-Minute Seminar

2010-02-09T15:36:00.002-05:00

The Library will be hosting a student oriented workshop on Thursday February 11, 2010 at 1:00pm and 4:45pm in Computer Lab 225.

Workshop Title:
Help, I need 3 Articles!

This is a hands-on workshop; please bring your assignments and your questions.

Due to the Limited Space Available we encourage you to RSVP.

Please Contact Brian Richards, Assistant Librarian at richardsb@thomas.edu if you are interested in attending either the 1:00pm or 4:45pm session.

Workshop Outcome:
This workshop focuses on discovering the best databases for articles on a given topic.

Discover America's Story, an Electronic Resource Content Spotlight

2010-01-27T10:31:00.004-05:00

LexisNexis Academic has recently added a collection of Small Town newspapers articles as a designated source within the database.

The Direct Link for this Source is:http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/api/version1/sf?shr=t&sfi=AC00NBGenSrch&csi=355584

To add this source manually to a search click the “Browse Sources” tab and type “Discover America’s Story” in the blue Find a Source box.

Publisher's description:

Discover America's Story focuses on small-town, rural, and "LOCAL" articles and
reports on what is happening in-town and in-county while providing a local point
of view on bigger issues such as state, regional, national politics and world
affairs. The product is rich with articles relevant to geographic locations
often under-reported or overlooked by mainstream news coverage such as natural
resources, agriculture, land use, water rights and farming. "Small-town" news,
op-ed, business, arts, government and life in general are covered well, plus
published legal notices and obituaries are included.

A full list of publications included in the collection, is available by clicking the “Browse Sources” tab and type “Discover America’s Story” in the blue Find a Source box. Click the “I” icon next to the source title for more information.

Sixty-Minute Seminar: The Library Resources Starter Guide

2010-01-22T10:34:00.002-05:00

The Library will be hosting a student oriented workshop on Thursday January 28, 2010 at 1:00pm and 4:45pm in Computer Lab 225.

Workshop Title:
The Library Resources Starter Guide

Due to the Limited Space Available we encourage you to RSVP.

Please Contact Brian Richards, Assistant Librarian at richardsb@thomas.edu if you are interested in attending either the 1:00pm or 4:45pm session.

Workshop Outcome:

Learn how to effectively navigate the Library's Web site, search Library catalogs to find books, and discover the best databases for articles on a given topic.

Students, Understand Moodle? NO. Consider attending THIS 60 MINUTE WORKSHOP!

2010-01-11T13:52:00.005-05:00

The Library will be hosting student oriented workshops on Thursday January 14, 2010 at 1:00pm and 4:45pm in Computer Lab 225 to explain the
Basics of Moodle

Due to the Limited Space Available we encourage you to RSVP.

Please Contact Brian Richards, Assistant Librarian at richardsb@thomas.edu if you are interested in Attending.

Workshop Outcomes:
 Logging into Moodle
 Your Moodle Profile
 Add a picture to your Profile
 Changing your Moodle Password
 Find your Grades in Moodle
 Send Messages in Moodle
 Managing Your Classes

Marvel Service Restored

2009-12-29T14:58:00.002-05:00

Service to the Marvel Databases and University of Maine Library Services has been restored.

Due to the lengthy power outage, restoration of service took longer than usual.

Service Outage - MARVEL Resources - University of Maine Library Servers

2009-12-29T14:31:00.003-05:00

The MARVEL databases and UMO Library servers are currently experiencing a service outage. As of Noon today, there was not an estimated time to service restoration. The cause of this outage is believed to be related to an overnight power outage on the UMO campus.

Affected Databases include:

Access Science
Maine Newsstand (Proquest)
NetLibrary
Proquest Newspapers
ValueLine Research Center
The Wall Street Journal (Full-text via Proquest)

EBSCOhost and Gale databases remain accessible. This post will be updated when we receive more information.

The Royal Society's 350th Anniversary - Free Limited Time Access to Digital Journal Archive

2009-11-30T14:24:00.013-05:00

In commemoration of their 350th anniversary the Royal Society has opened up their Digital Journal Archives to the public for a limited time from November 23, 2009 to February 28, 2010.

The development of the digital archive means that the Society's online collection now contains every paper ever published in the Royal Society's journals - from the very first peer-reviewed paper in Philosophical Transactions - to the most recent interdisciplinary article in Interface. (Digital Archives FAQ)

For other fascinating history and information about Royal Society, visit their interactive timeline outlining historic events and scientific papers throughout their 350 year history.

Library Schedule - Thanksgiving Week

2009-11-24T09:07:00.006-05:00

Library Hours - Thanksgiving Week

Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Wednesday – Saturday, November 25-28, 2009 Closed

Sunday, November 29, 2009, 2:30 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.

From all of us at the Thomas College Library,

Have a Safe and Happy Thanksgiving.

October 2009 Volume of Standard & Poor's Industry Survey is Now Available

2009-11-16T10:01:00.006-05:00

The October 2009 volume of Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys is now available at the Service Desk within the Library.

This may or may not be good news for our MG445 Business Policy Students who are completing their policy papers as we speak...

A word about the Industry Surveys from the publisher

All Industry Surveys issues are in the same format that includes recent developments and trends, industry basics, and company data. Each Industry Survey is updated twice annually. This "Index to Surveys" lists the titles of all of the reports we publish, along with the date of the most recent issue for each. We list them below in two ways: alphabetically and by publication date.

It should be noted that the "index" that the publisher speaks of is located on the first page of each volume; the top list of surveys is an alphabetical listing of the industries, the second is a chronological listing of industries.

Most users will want to use the second listing (the chronological list) as this is the actual order that the industry surveys are actually published within this resource.

The following Industries have been updated in this latest volume of S&P Industry Surveys:
(Industrial Survey - Publication date - Volume)

Aerospace and Defense 7/30/2009 October 2009 Vol. 1
Airlines 6/18/2009 October 2009 Vol. 2
Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco 5/7/2009 October 2009 Vol. 2
Apparel & Footwear: Retailers and Brands 9/3/2009 October 2009 Vol. 1
Auto & Auto Parts 6/25/2009 October 2009 Vol. 2
Banking 6/25/2009 October 2009 Vol. 2
Biotechnology 8/13/2009 October 2009 Vol. 1
Broadcasting, Cable and Satellite" 7/30/2009 October 2009 Vol. 1
Chemicals 7/9/2009 October 2009 Vol. 1
Communications Equipment 8/6/2009 October 2009 Vol. 1
Computers: Commercial Services 5/7/2009 October 2009 Vol. 2
Computers: Consumer Services & the Internet 4/9/2009 October 2009 Vol. 2
Computers: Hardware 4/23/2009 October 2009 Vol. 2
Computers: Software 4/23/2009 October 2009 Vol. 2
Computers: Storage and Peripherals 7/16/2009 October 2009 Vol. 1
Electric Utilities 8/13/2009 October 2009 Vol. 1
Environment & Waste Management 4/2/2009 October 2009 Vol. 2
Financial Services: Diversified 4/30/2009 October 2009 Vol. 2
Foods & Nonalcoholic Beverages 6/11/2009 October 2009 Vol. 2
Healthcare facilities 4/16/2009 October 2009 Vol. 2
Healthcare: Managed Care 4/16/2009 October 2009 Vol. 2
Healthcare: Pharmaceuticals 6/4/2009 October 2009 Vol. 2
Healthcare: Products & Supplies 8/27/2009 October 2009 Vol. 1
Heavy Equipment & Trucks 4/9/2009 October 2009 Vol. 2
Homebuilding 7/2/2009 October 2009 Vol. 1
Household Durables 4/16/2009 October 2009 Vol. 2
Household Nondurables 6/4/2009 October 2009 Vol. 2
Industrial machinery 8/20/2009 October 2009 Vol. 1
Insurance: Life & Health 4/30/2009 October 2009 Vol. 2
Insurance: Property-Casualty 7/9/2009 October 2009 Vol. 1
Investment Services 5/28/2009 October 2009 Vol. 2
Lodging & Gaming 5/21/2009 October 2009 Vol. 2
Metals: Industrial 8/6/2009 October 2009 Vol. 1
Movies & Home Entertainment 9/10/2009 October 2009 Vol. 1
Natural Gas Distribution 7/16/2009 October 2009 Vol. 1
Oil & Gas: Equipment & Services 8/27/2008 October 2009 Vol. 1
Oil & Gas: Production and Marketing 8/27/2009 October 2009 Vol. 1
Paper & Forest Products 8/20/2009 October 2009 Vol. 1
Publishing 8/21/2008 October 2009 Vol. 1
Real Estate investment Trusts 6/11/2009 October 2009 Vol. 2
Restaurants 9/3/2009 October 2009 Vol. 1
Retailing: General 5/28/2009 October 2009 Vol. 2
Retailing: Specialty 9/10/2009 October 2009 Vol. 1
Savings & Loans 7/23/2009 October 2009 Vol. 1
Semiconductor Equipment 5/14/2009 October 2009 Vol. 2
Semiconductors 5/14/2009 October 2009 Vol. 2
Supermarkets and Drugstores 9/17/2009 October 2009 Vol. 1
Telecommunications: Wireless 7/23/2009 October 2009 Vol. 1
Telecommunications: Wireline 9/24/2009 October 2009 Vol. 1
Transportation: Commercial 7/2/2009 October 2009 Vol. 1

So What Does The Library Offer Education Students?

2009-11-11T14:13:00.004-05:00

What does the Library Offer Elementary Education Students?
November 2, 2009, in the Stickney room, I was given the pleasure of co-hosting a luncheon for the re-accreditation board for the Education program, and they asked the same question. Several other education majors were present as well and participated in the discussion. The re-accreditation members asked several questions about the program and many pertained to the resources and materials the Library offered educations students individually. As a student in the education program, I know I would like to have a basic knowledge of what these resources are, and how these specific library resources relate to education.

http://www.pedineuropsych.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/children_learning.182174723_std.jpg
Pertaining to the Library Resources some questions included:

1.) What technological skills and equipment does your school offer that will help you have a positive effect on student learning? In what ways do your professors integrate technology in their courses?

2.) Do you have a grasp on Moodle?

3.) What are some of technological materials and resources offered by your school?

Some of the responses included mention of the e-books, the databases including Educators reference complete, and the selection of children’s books located in the Thomas College stacks.

Education Students, check out these resources at: http://www.thomas.edu/library/databases/ for databases and http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=GVRL&u=thomascollib&authCount=1 for e-books

EBSCOhost introduces a Mobile Interface for its Databases

2009-11-11T13:40:00.005-05:00

EBSCOhost recently introduced a mobile search interface for its research databases which has now been made available to Thomas College Users.

To access EBSCOhost databases from your mobile device please visit: http://www.thomas.edu/library/mobile.

Special Note: BlackBerry users will need to enable javascript on their device to take advantage of this interface. (instructions for doing this can be found on the above web page)

UNET Scheduled Maintenance: Sunday November 8, 2009

2009-11-04T10:21:00.002-05:00

Message from Maine Infonet:

There is UNET network maintenance scheduled this Sunday November 8th 2009 from approximately 6:00AM to 10:00AM.

Ursus, Minerva, Solar and Mainecat will all be affected by this work. During the downtime the OPACs and software modules will be inaccessible.

The above time window is an estimate as UNET should start bringing systems back online around 8:00AM.

Featured eBook: EdSpeak: A Glossary of Education Terms, Phrases, Buzzwords, and Jargon.

2009-10-27T13:56:00.013-04:00

This week's featured resource is another eBook that we added at the end of last semester and is also a part of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) collection.

EdSpeak: A Glossary of Education Terms, Phrases, Buzzwords, and Jargon. Diane Ravitch. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2007. 245 pp.

Excerpt from the Book's Preface:

Every profession has its own language. Law, medicine, science, business, economics, psychology, sociology—each of these fields has evolved a specialized vocabulary that its members use to communicate with one another. Perhaps this language is necessary to discuss sophisticated ideas that are beyond the understanding of the average citizen; perhaps not. The result, if not the intent, is to mystify the public.

EdSpeak, as glossaries go, is neatly arranged and offers an efficient e-table of contents for easy access to the definitions of key education terms and phrases. As for myself, I believe that EdSpeak is definitely a book that must be read by education majors and scrabble players.

Featured Resource: Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works (eBook)

2009-10-23T13:40:00.008-04:00

This week's featured resource is an eBook that we added at the end of last semester and that is part of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) collection. Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Howard Pitler, Elizabeth R. Hubbell, Matt Kuhn, and Kim Malenoski. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2007. 242 pp.

Excerpt from the book's foreword:

What’s special about this book is that its authors are fluent in both the research behind the nine categories of instructional strategies presented in the book Classroom Instruction That Works and the ways in which technology can support and integrate these strategies. They know how to teach the strategies and why teachers need to have practical and immediately applicable solutions for their classrooms. They understand adult learning theory and the finesse necessary to teach to learners who have varying comfort levels with technology.

Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works offers readers insight into the changing theories and application of online education complete with learning strategies and resources.

This and other eBook titles may be accessed through the Thomas College Gale Virtual Reference Library.

LexisNexis Scheduled Service Outage October 31, 9:00 p.m. through November 01, 2009, 5:00 a.m. Eastern Time

2009-10-22T08:32:00.000-04:00

Dear Students and Faculty,

All LexisNexis online products will be unavailable during a scheduled maintenance outage related to the end of Daylight Savings Time. Products affected include LexisNexis Academic, Congressional, and Statistical.

LexisNexis online products will be unavailable to users from October 31, 9:00 p.m. through November 01, 2009, 5:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Teacher Portfolio TiPPs:

2009-10-21T10:22:00.003-04:00

For those education students who are steadily creating your portfolios there is a site called TiPPs, that I have referred to many times for ideas and artifacts that should go into the portfolio. For each artifact, be sure to connect it to the MLR-Maine Learning Results and to one of the Ten Standards of Teaching and the options are limitless. Some of the Highlights the site includes:

Some teacher portfolio examples
What is a Teacher Portfolio and Why is it Important
Handouts on teacher portfolios
Books and articles on teacher portfolios
Websites on teacher portfoliosLink to TiPPs Site:

http://www.lll.hawaii.edu/sltcc/tipps/portfolio.html

Featured Resource: Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods

2009-10-19T09:53:00.005-04:00

Have you ever wondered how to conduct a market survey or research interview? If the answer is yes, then we have a resource that can help you.

Located in the Library's Gale Virtual Reference Library; the Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods will provide you with the information you need to know to begin your market survey or research interview.

Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods. Paul J. Lavrakas, ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc., 2008. 494 pp. 2 vols.

Publisher's Description:

Covers all major facets of survey research methodology, from selecting the sample design and the sampling frame, designing and pretesting the questionnaire, data collection, and data coding, to the issues surrounding diminishing response rates, confidentiality, privacy, informed consent and other ethical issues, data weighting, and data analyses.

New Library Tools - Trial - Integrated Searching and E-Journal Locator

2009-10-14T10:50:00.009-04:00

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,

The Library has initiated a limited time trial for EBSCOhost Integrated Search, EBSCOhost LinkSource and EBSCOhost A-Z. Combined, these three products allow further integration of our electronic resources and information with our traditional library services.

EBSCOhost Integrated Search allows for the simultaneous searching of many of our most popular databases no matter the content provider (e.g. EBSCO, LexisNexis, Gale, and Proquest etc.) while utilizing the familiar EBSCO search interface.

EBSCOhost A-Z acts as a searchable electronic journal locator with access links to the databases that contain the Full-Text of the journals if we have access to the title. EBSCOhost A-Z also provides list of Journal Titles for each of our Full-Text Databases arranged by Subject Area (i.e. Business, Education, Computer Science, etc).

EBSCOhost LinkSource plays a behind the scenes role in connecting article citations with their full-text counterparts in our other databases if the article is available. In the Full Version LinkSource would also acts as a known citation locator (not available in our trial); this means that if you have a citation and would like to see if the Thomas Library has access to the full-text of the article you could use LinkSource to check our collection. Also in the full version of LinkSource, Thomas College holdings could be fed to and searched for within Google Scholar.

These trials are expected to run through the end of December. Please take advantage of these trials and provide the library with feedback on your user experience.

New Trial Database - GREENR - Global Reference on the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources

2009-10-05T12:46:00.006-04:00

The Library has initiated a limited time trial for the GREENR Database (Global Reference on the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources). This trial is expected to run through the end of November. Please take advantage of this trial and provide the library with feedback on your experience with this product. We have scheduled the GREENR trial for this time period so that Faculty and Students may utilize this database as an information source for their coursework or research papers. To take part in this Database Trial please visit the library’s Database & Software Trial Page.

*Please note; this is a secure page so you will need to authenticate if you are accessing it from outside of the Thomas College network.

A little about the GREENR Database from the publisher:

A new electronic resource offering authoritative reference content in the area of the environment, energy and natural resources. As green collar jobs are poised for growth, municipalities strive to be environmentally friendly, and corporations develop green working environments, this resource becomes invaluable! As a one-stop site, this resource provides news, background information, video, unique commentaries, primary source documents and statistics in highly accessible, visually appealing research areas, covering relevant categories including energy systems, healthcare, food, climate change, population, and economic development.

Ø GREENR for Academics
Ø Take a Guided Tour
Ø Connecting Undergraduate Level Economics Courses to GREENR
Ø Connecting Undergraduate Level Political Science Courses to GREENR

Some of the Economic/Business Issues covered in GREENR

Agenda 21
Carbon Trading
Consumption
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Discounting
Ecological Economics
Economic Development
Economic Growth
Environmental Economics
Externalities
Globalization
Governance
Green Economy
Impact of Tourism and Recreation
Industrialization
Industrial Disasters

Please contact the library if you have any questions. Thank you and we look forward to receiving your feedback on this product.

Local Education Resource

2009-09-28T10:11:00.004-04:00

“The Learning Results identify the knowledge and skills essential to prepare Maine students for work, for higher education, for citizenship, and for personal fulfillment. This document defines only the core elements of education that should apply to all students without regard to their specific career and academic plans.”

This site has lots of good information that is important to future teachers including a place to find the Ten Standards of Teaching. This site is great for aspiring teachers who are undecided on what grade or subject matter they want to teach. For each subject, the Maine learning results has a description of what is expected to be taught in each grade level. So if you’re interested in teaching fractions, you can just look up in which grade level fractions are taught.
Here is a link to the Maine learning result subject list:

http://www.state.me.us/education/lres/lres.htm

Patent Fridays - Focus Enhancing Blinders - Patent Number 7322693

2009-09-25T15:09:00.008-04:00

As a new addition for our followers, we thought it would be nice to inject a little humor into the blog. So each Friday we are going to choose and highlight a particularly interesting patent (We'll let you determine their value) that we have found using Google's patent search engine "Google Patents".

So for our first Patent we thought we would showcase: Focus Enhancing Blinders, Patent number: 7322693, Filing date: Nov 14, 2005, Issue date: Jan 29, 2008, Application number: 11/273,672. [Click on the Application Number to see the entire Patent]

This Patent's Claim:

Focus enhancing blinders for usage in sporting activities and other activities that require visual focus and concentration. More particularly, the invention is the blinders can be worn by players of tennis and other sports where hand-eye coordination is critical. In one mode, blinders are affixed to a headband or cap worn by the user, and extend to the areas on the outside of each eye, functioning to block off a previously-determined degree of peripheral vision. ... Such blocking of peripheral vision assists the user in the difficult task of keeping his or her visual focus straight ahead and directly on the ball, thus enhancing the user's performance.

As a person who values his peripheral vision while playing sports, I wonder how your partner would feel if you were playing doubles wearing these blinders? I for one would be a little worried about the collision factor...

It would be interesting to hear from our student athletes about their thoughts on eliminating peripheral vision to increase their focus... good idea or bad idea?

By the way, I could not find a store that sold this particular product, but if you find one please let me know.

Thomas College to Host the Maine Humanities Council’s new play “As Maine Grows”

2009-09-18T09:04:00.001-04:00

CONTACT:
Lisa Auriemma: 207- 859-1204
Thomas College Library

Thomas College hosts the Maine Humanities Council’s new play “As Maine Grows” Wednesday, October 7th at 7:00 p.m. in the beautiful Ayotte Auditorium. Admission is free and open to the public.

Many Mainers will remember Taxing Maine, the award-winning play about the history of state taxes that toured 34 Maine sites in 2006. Now The Theater at Monmouth’s David Greenham and Dennis Price are back, this time to tackle the many issues facing our state as we move into the future in an audience-engaging performance/discussion that will surely bring chills and thrills (and perhaps raise hackles) across the state.

Using different historical characters, humor, little known facts, thought-provoking stories and current material gathered from the general public, the play will explore the issues of growth and development in Maine. The performance will encourage the audience to consider how history, customs and attitudes influence the way we think about change and growth in our state, and about individual preferences in relation to the common good.

Following each performance, the actors will engage the audience in a discussion of the ideas raised in the play, giving audience members an opportunity to reflect on and share their thoughts about the issues that were examined in the performance and what they have heard and seen.

As Greenham explained, “We modern Mainers like to think that we’re the first ones who have tried looking ahead to envision the future of Maine. In fact, Mainers have been passionately arguing about these issues of growth and development for about 400 years! As Maine Grows will share some of the great stories of the past in the context of our present challenges. Can all that history be fun? You betcha!”

The play and the discussion will last one hour. The program is flexible enough to work in a wide variety of public settings, and is appropriate for teenagers and adults.

For more information contact the Thomas College Library at 207-859-1204 or visit the Maine Humanities Council at http://mainehumanities.org/special-programs/maine-grows.html

NoodleBib Overview Workshop Thursday Sept. 17

2009-09-16T10:43:00.002-04:00

Dear Faculty,

The Library has purchased a subscription to NoodleTools’ NoodleBib bibliographic citation management software for the 2009/10 school year. We cordially invite you to a general informational overview concerning this software’s functionality on Thursday, September 17th from 3-4 pm in Room 126.

If you have not Registered for this workshop already please do so by responding to the email that you received from the library.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you Thursday.

Brian Richards
Assistant Librarian

EBSCOhost full-text databases + Google Scholar = easier searching

2009-09-04T15:43:00.004-04:00

Thomas College library now participates in Google Scholar Library Links program.

Searches made with Google Scholar can display results found in the library's EBSCOhost full-text databases!

All users have to do to take advantage of this great feature is to: 1) Go to scholar.google.com 2) click on Scholar preferences, 3) scroll down to Library Links, 4) type in Thomas College, 5) select Thomas College, 6) save preferences. 7) Conduct search and look for EBSCOhost Full Text tag beside the citation - this indicates that the item is available in our databases, when you see it click on it and it will take you to our database.

For more complete instructions on the Google Scholar Library links set-up process please see this older post.

Welcome Back Students!

2009-08-28T08:40:00.003-04:00

Greetings! to Our New Students and Faculty. Welcome Back! to our returning students and faculty.

I would like to take this opportunity to invite (remind) you to take advantage of the Thomas College Library and to tell you about some of the great resources we have to offer students and faculty to enrich your courses and ease your study needs.

To access our online resources please visit www.thomas.edu/library

Our New Databases:

Global Issues in Context - Offers perspectives on international news and events (great for Poly Sci work, CJ work or if you are just interested in global current events).
Educator's Reference Complete (ERC) - Offers 1,100 periodicals and 200 reports on education from Pre-K to Higher Ed and a host of educational specialties (bilingual education, health education, testing and technology). Complementing the ERIC database nicely, ERC provides full-text for nearly half of the Journals found in ERIC.
The ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development)e-book collection - An Education Collection of 56 e-book titles ranging from topics of classroom pedagogy, student assessment, learning strategies and even school administration this e-book collection offers a wealth of information to the Thomas education major. These titles can be accessed through Gale Virtual Reference Library or Gale Power Search.
NoodleBIB - NoodleBib is a web-based citation management tool that offers students a consistent and educational approach to documenting their research and crediting their sources.

I would also like to point out a few great databases that make excellent starting points for your research needs.

Academic Search Premier - An excellent general resource database with full text articles, reports, and some media, overall a great starting point for any assignment where you are not sure where to begin.
LexisNexis Academic - An excellent resource for news, laws and business information. LexisNexis Academic will be sure to become a favorite for any Political Science, Criminal Justice or Business major.
Business Source Premier and Business and Company Resource Center - These two databases should be added to a Business major's favorites folder. Both databases offer invaluable information to students including corporate histories, Swot Analysis and financial statistics.
Maine Infonet Download Library - Have an Ipod?, Zune?, or any other mp3 player? Then this is your source for free downloadable audiobooks. Your Library barcode is your key to unlock this resource.

These are just a few of our great resources, for a complete tour of our collection please visit the library. In the meantime if you have any questions please contact us and we look forward to assisting you during the 2009/2010 school year.

Opening Day Introductory Moodle Training

2009-08-26T08:59:00.003-04:00

The Library will be hosting an Introduction to Moodle Basics workshop for faculty on Thursday August 21st in Room 126 at 3:00 p.m.. This workshop will introduce the basics operations of the Moodle course management system.

Faculty should RSVP to the email that they received from the library.

This workshop will be covering only the basics of Moodle operations, there will be additional training opportunities in the future for advanced topics. Private appointments customized to your specific needs are available and encouraged.

We look forward to seeing you at the workshop.

Runner-Up, Records Management Center, snatches the Statewide Delivery Service contract

2009-08-11T14:36:00.005-04:00

We have finally heard some good news regarding the statewide library delivery service. If we are lucky, it is not just noise. (the 3rd time is the charm they say)

According to the Maine State Library's Director of Reader and Information Services, Dean Corner, Records Management Center (RMC) has agreed to the state's contract terms and will begin making deliveries to the busiest 36 public libraries this week, and to the remaining libraries by the week of August 24th.

By August 31st MaineCat and Minerva patron initiated lending will be reinstated.

For those interested in learning more about RMC please visit their website: http://www.rmcmaine.com/.

Now Available. Educator's Reference Complete and Power Search 2.0

2009-07-27T10:34:00.010-04:00

Now Available @your Library: Educator's Reference Complete.

Educator's Reference Complete (ERC) seeks to be a comprehensive resource for Education professionals and students that offers a coverage area spanning from pre-K through Higher Ed.

Providing full-text for almost half of the titles cited in the ERIC bibliographic index ERC contains nearly 1,100 periodicals and 200 U.S. Department of Education reports relevant to the education industry today.

Educator's Reference Complete also incorporates Gale's new Power Search 2.0 interface thereby creating a better user experience. With Power Search 2.0 users will notice a number of cosmetic and functional upgrades over the previous search interface.

In addition to a more visually appealing interface, Gale's Power Search 2.0 brings with it the ability for users to: create individual profiles, journal alerts, listen to audio versions of articles, find multi-media, search within results and much more.

For more information or to view guided tours for either of these products please visit: http://support.gale.com/gale/cat.html?cat=1247.

New Citation Tool Available: NoodleBib

2009-07-20T09:30:00.013-04:00

The Thomas College Library has now added NoodleBib to our collection of online research tools.

NoodleBib is a web-based citation management tool that offers students a consistent and educational approach to documenting their research and crediting their sources.

NoodleBib integrates citations and note cards (notetaking feature) to create a bibliographies according to the latest rules & interpretations as issued by the MLA handbook, APA Publication Manual or Turabian's Manual for Writers.

When students use NoodleBib they not only have access to a bibliographic management software, but they have access to the collective NoodleTools knowledgebase and expert support for style guide rule interpretations and citation questions.

NoodleTools' NoodleBib is available for all Thomas students and faculty. Users must create their own accounts by following the instructions posted on the Thomas College NoodleBib site.

Attention: Interlibrary Loan Borrowing Suspended in MINERVA

2009-07-16T13:40:00.004-04:00

Patron initiated interlibrary requesting and borrowing has been temporarily suspended in MINERVA and will be extended to MaineCat tomorrow due to a disruption in the Statewide Delivery Service.

Patrons will not be able to request materials or place holds at this time.

However, I would like to remind you that our online databases and downloadable audiobook services are not affected by this outage.

If you have any questions please contact the library.

Thank you,
Brian Richards
Assistant Librarian

Fall 2009 Semester Reminders

2009-07-13T12:57:00.007-04:00

Dear Thomas Faculty,

The Fall 2009 semester is rapidly approaching. Below are a few of the library services that we offer. Please keep these services in mind and feel free to utilize any or all of these services when planning for your semester.

Library Assistance with Subject Resources:

The library staff is available year round for course resource consultation. We are available to offer insight and training for electronic databases and subject specific materials. If you would like to schedule a meeting please use the following form: http://www.thomas.edu/library/studentservices/percform.htm.

Class visits or library tours:

We are now taking reservations for classroom visits and library tours, if you would like to have library staff visit your classroom please let us know as soon as you have finalized your schedule. Due to the limited number of library staff, classroom visits are scheduled on a first come first serve basis.

If you would like a library tour, please let us know the date, time and approximate number of students who will be visiting.

Course Reserves:

The library offers faculty traditional course reserve service. All items must be cataloged prior to being made available to students, this process may take up to a week, please plan ahead. For more information on this service please see: http://www.thomas.edu/library/facultyservices/facultyreserves.asp.

Chronicling America : Offering Access to America's Historic Newspapers

2009-07-06T10:42:00.010-04:00

As part of the National Digital Newspaper Program the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for Humanities has launched Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers.

As part of this program a select number of historic newspapers pages are offered from California, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Texas, Utah, and Virginia with coverage from 1880 - 1922.

For historic newspapers not included in the full text collection Chronicling America offers a directory organizaed, publication title, place of publication and time. The directory listing includes information on: date of publication, preceding and succeeding titles, frequency, institutional holdings of the publication (if any still exist) and more.

As I was testing the sites usability (it is really pretty easy) I was surprised to see that my hometown of Belfast has had 33 newspaper publications from 1820 to the present. As an added bonus I found out that some of these publications were even available locally.

As a student of history and someone who follows current events, I find it fascinating to learn how our predecessors dealt with recession, war and cultural change; Chronicling America offers a real perspectives and opinions of Americans and how they dealt with these events around the turn of the century.

New Database Trial: Educator's Reference Complete

2009-06-15T13:12:00.007-04:00

Perhaps you remember Tuesday, March 10th when I wrote about a four week trial we were given for a couple of Gale databases, perhaps you don't remember...

Well in case you don't remember be sure to check out my earlier post: Tuesday, March 10th.

Anyways, after this trial we sent our Gale Representative feedback on our experience using their products which was for the most part very positive, we had just a few suggestions concerning the database interface.

Today, I received a phone call and an offer from our Gale Representative to setup another four week trial of the Educator's Reference Complete, this time to preview and explore their updated interface. I encourage you all to visit the library's Database Trial page to see the improvements Gale has given Educator's Reference Complete and send us your feedback.

As for myself, I really like the look and feel of the new interface.

New Database Trial: EBSCOHost Research Starters - Sociology

2009-06-05T09:27:00.004-04:00

The library once again has a chance to Sample another great EBSCO database product! Research Starters - Sociology follows the same construction as Research Starters - Business and Education offering users guides in discipline specific topics (By the way the Business and Education trial expire June 30th).

Description from EBSCO

Research Starters - Sociology contains Abstracts, a Keyword List of words pertinent to the articles, an Overview to explain various topics' relevance to sociology, Further Insights/Applications to demonstrate how the points discussed in the overview can be applied to everyday or academic issues in sociology, a Viewpoints/Issues/Discourse section to help the reader develop a critical perspective on a topic, a glossary of Terms & Concepts, a Bibliography and a Suggested Reading list.

This is a limited time trial so please take advantage of this trial and send us your feedback.

MARVEL: Statewide database collection additions for 2009-2010

2009-06-01T11:35:00.008-04:00

Announcement from Linda Lord, acting Maine State Librarian:

The only change to MARVEL content for FY10 is the addition of Novelist Plus and Novelist K-8 Plus. These
will start around July 1.

Descriptions:

NoveList Plus is a comprehensive online readers' advisory tool used to search hundreds of thousands of popular fiction and nonfiction titles, and also retrieve author read-alikes, book lists, book discussion guides, and more. It includes genre outlines and online training materials for librarians to familiarize staff with appeal factors, the RA interview, and other aspects of readers' advisory.
NoveList K-8 Plus is a reader's advisory tool designed for librarians, school media specialists, teachers, and parents assisting elementary and middle school students. It includes fiction and nonfiction titles chosen specifically to support the school curriculum as well as the pleasure reading needs of students. It has Recommended Reads book lists, book jacket images, annotations, first chapter excerpts, Lexile scores and popularity ratings. Professional resources include Grab and Go Book Lists (vetted lists of high-interest titles on a variety of curriculum-based topics, segmented by grade level); BookTalks to generate enthusiasm about reading; and Curricular Connections to find resources to help lead kids to books.

These additions were made possible by a $50,000 increase in database funding from the Maine Telecommunications Access Fund (a.k.a. state E-rate). This increase was approved by the Maine Public Utilities Commission.

Many folks have asked for these additions, and we are thrilled to be able to provide them in these challenging economic times.

Best, Linda

Ebsco Database Enhancements - Wildlife and Ecology Studies Worldwide

2009-05-22T12:57:00.004-04:00

EBSCO Publishing recently announced its acquisition of several NISC databases including our own Wildlife and Ecology Studies Worldwide. This acquisition will positively affect users through the standardization of EBSCO and NISC search fields and indexing terms in the acquired databases.

Users will now experience greater consistency in their search experience while searching EBSCO and former NISC products. Other positives aspects of this acquisition include an increase in the frequency that these databases are updated. Wildlife and Ecology Studies Worldwide will now be updated twice a month, up from just a single monthly update.

This is part of EBSCO's ongoing efforts to streamline the controlled vocabulary and improve users search experiences.

Service Announcement: Delays for Interlibrary Loan Service

2009-05-20T10:06:00.004-04:00

If you have requested any items through Minerva or MaineCat interlibrary loan over the last month or so, you have probably noticed the steady increase in the amount of time that it has taken for your books to arrive. We have not received a delivery in about 2 weeks.

This problem is not limited to Thomas College, we are not alone.

Many Maine libraries that participate in the Statewide Delivery Service have experienced a rapid decline in the quality of service provided by the current contract holder, Velocity Express.

This contract expires soon and we will be switching to a new courier service at the end of June. The new company NCS will commence delivering on June 29th.

We apologize for the embarrassing delay in the delivery of your items and ask that you be patient with us as this problem is sorted out at the State level.

Thank you,
Brian Richards
Assistant Librarian
Thomas College

Google for Educators: From Google Earth to Common Sense Media

2009-05-07T12:52:00.008-04:00

The Google for Educators site offers one stop shopping for a wealth of Google web based tools, applications and resources the classroom. Among the resources offered by this site is a "Teacher's Guide" that offers tips and ideas on how to best utilize each resource.

The site appears to be designed primarily for K-12 Educators, however while browsing through the collection of materials offered I have found many resources that could be of great use to higher education. Some of my favorites among these tools are potentially useful for college students and faculty are Google Scholar, Google Book Search, Google Earth and a new tool that looks very interesting Google Notebook (topic for a future post).

Google for Educators offers tremendous potential for education majors who are charged with incorporating technology and Internet resources into their lesson plans.

As always if you would like some help navigating or learning more in depth tricks using these tools stop by or make an appointment and I would be happy to assist you in your endeavor.

End of Semester Reminders

2009-04-29T09:33:00.004-04:00

As the semester comes to a close, I thought I would take care of a few housekeeping items.

General Reminders:

The Library will be switching to our summer Tuesday, Friday interlibrary loan delivery schedule May 1st.
The library will switching to our summer schedule May 9th.

For Students:

Library Staff is available to help with papers and projects.
Please return all library equipment and materials by May 8th or you will be billed replacement cost for non-returned items.
Please pay any fines that you may have incurred throughout the year.
Remember: "Transcripts will not be released unless financial obligations to the College have been met."
Congratulations Graduating Seniors!

For Faculty:

Please remember to collect your materials that you have placed on course reserve.
Faculty interested in Moodle Training should contact the Information Services department as soon as possible to schedule a training session.

Science.Gov : Gateway to government science information

2009-04-28T12:39:00.006-04:00

Science.gov version 5.o offers users access to over 38 government science databases covering fields from agriculture & food to Health & Medicine to Astronomy and Space.

Some Highlights from the about page of science.gov

Accessing over 38 databases and 200 million pages of science information via one query
Clustering of results by subtopics or dates to help you target your search
Wikipedia results related to your search terms
Mark & send option for emailing results to friends and colleagues

In addition to these resources science.gov has a topic section devoted to science education complete with classroom resources for teachers. With information covering a wide range of topics this government website seems to have something for everyone.

Building a better search: optimizing your words

2009-04-22T10:47:00.004-04:00

So you have a research paper due in 2 weeks, and you have no idea how you are going to find enough information to write 10 pages on your topic, what are you going to do?

One of the biggest hurdles students encounter when writing a research paper is locating adequate sources for their topics. Part of the difficulty is their "search" technique, actually many students will begin by searching, and then after their first search switch or morph to a browsing technique. The other difficulty is that students may not be familiar with the language that their topic experts use, creating a virtual language barrier right from the start.

Here are a few tips to hopefully overcome these two difficulties and make your research efforts more productive.

Tip 1: Once you have chosen a topic brush up on the technical language dealing with the topic. Use a dictionary or thesaurus to locate unique terms that illustrate the essentials of your topic.

Tip 2: Ask your professor or librarian for ideas in refining your search terms.

Tip 3: When conducting your search, stick to it. Instead of switching to browsing mode (that is scrolling through page after page of some 2K results) refine your search terms. Use a thesaurus or dictionary to develop a search query that works. In the end searching with a good query is more effective than browsing.

Tip 4: When conducting a search in a database or federated search engine (i.e. Google Scholar) use the provided limiters (date, publication type, subject terms, thesaurus terms) to broaden, narrow or refine your search.

Lastly, remember, a little preparation goes a long way. Before you even begin searching online or in the library for materials you should create an outline with some good focused questions that you want to answer in your paper. Having these questions will aid you in choosing effective search terms and queries.

New Extended Library Hours - Effective Monday April 20th!

2009-04-17T08:35:00.003-04:00

Beginning Monday April 20th the library will have the following hours of operation.

MONDAY - THURSDAY

7:30 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.

FRIDAY

7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

SATURDAY

1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

SUNDAY

2:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m

New Database! Global Issues in Context

2009-04-13T10:40:00.003-04:00

The library has added a new database right in time for Term papers and Finals!

Check it out on the Library's database portal: http://www.thomas.edu/library/databases

Global Issues in Context :

offers global perspectives on issues of international importance and current world events and topics in the news related to these issues. Not a pro and con database, Global Issues in Context ties together a variety of sources to present a rich analysis of issues – social, political, military, economic, environmental, science related, health related, cultural – and headlines in world hot spots. It provides information seekers with a framework to better understand 21st-century issues and events while highlighting global connections and the interdependence of all nations.

Reduce, Reuse, Reblog ~ Best of the Library Blog (part I)

2009-04-09T15:08:00.006-04:00

Recently I have received questions related to previous blog posts, so In Response to this sudden burst of popularity (think feedback) I have pulled posts from the revered blog archives and linked to them here in the hopes that more people will be able to benefit from them.

Library Percs! (Thursday, September 25, 2008)

Transcripts, Dossiers, Obituaries n' More (Monday, October 6, 2008)

So you're addicted to Google, Try Google Scholar! (Friday, November 21, 2008)

books.google.com ~ browse.seek.find (Wednesday, December 3, 2008)

New Quiet/Group Study Room in the Library

2009-04-06T10:27:00.004-04:00

Over the Spring Break the library created a new study room on the first floor for the benefit of students who need a space for quiet or group study. The room seats approximately seven, has power, wireless access, and is in close proximity to the library's coffee cart.

The room is not bookable and is only available on a first come first serve basis, so be sure to get to the library early.

Limited Time Free Access to American History in Video

2009-03-30T13:36:00.006-04:00

Alexander Street Press announced an Open Trial to American History in Video for 1 month beginning March 18th. This collection includes over 420 hours of commercial and government newsreels, historical documentaries, biographies and more.

Sample Newsreel: Universal International NEWSREEL Vol 30 Rel #13 http://ahivfree.alexanderstreet.com/View/510656

American History in Video Free Access

Alexander Street Press Factsheet

IM a librarian

2009-03-23T12:49:00.005-04:00

Have you ever wanted a quick simple means of asking the library a question?

Well you're in luck! Thomas College provides Microsoft Office Communicator (an instant messaging service) to all students, staff and faculty. Office Communicator provides is capable of handling text, voice and video communications, and depending on if you're signed up or not is compatible with three popular public IM services: AOL, Yahoo, MSN.

So what does this have to do with reference? Office Communicator serves as great platform for brief questions that don't involve extensive searching, or require complex explanations.

Good uses of IM (instant messaging) for reference include:

To see if the library has a particular book, video or journal.
To receive help finding books or articles on a topic.
To learn which database might be best for your research.
To get keyword search suggestions for your article or book search.
To receive help navigating Thomas College web pages.

So if IM a Librarian sounds like a solution for your information needs go ahead and add us to your buddy list. Get our contact information at: www.thomas.edu/library/aboutus.

Further instructions on how to set up Office Communicator may be found under general questions on the IT department's FAQ page: http://www.thomas.edu/it/faq/.

New Trial on Education Databases

2009-03-10T10:33:00.008-04:00

Greetings, the Library has arranged another 4 week trial on two sets of Education resources. We would like faculty input on these products to determine if they would be of interest and use to you.

ASCD eBook Collection:

ASCD, an international nonprofit organization representing thousands of professional educators from around the world, has long been known for its superior products and services. These essential professional development titles cover a wide range of issues in education, from teaching methodology and practices to leadership and community initiatives. Now Gale and ASCD have selected 56 best-selling and new titles available to form an eBook special collection through Gale Virtual Reference Library.

Fact Sheet: http://www.gale.cengage.com/pdf/facts/GML13209GVRL_ASCD_Bundle.pdf
Access Link: http://www.thomas.edu/library/databases/trials.asp

Educator's Reference Complete:

The ERC provides full-text results for nearly half of the journal titles found in ERIC. This database covers multiple levels of education from preschool to college, and every educational specialty -- such as technology, bilingual education, health education, and testing. Educator's Reference Complete also focuses on issues in administration, funding and policy.

Fact Sheet: http://www.gale.cengage.com/pdf/facts/ERC.pdf
Access Link: http://www.thomas.edu/library/databases/trials.asp

We look forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences about these products.

NEW! Downloadable Audiobooks

2009-03-09T12:59:00.004-04:00

The Maine InfoNet Download Library (downloadable audiobooks) is now up and running!

Powered by OverDrive, users are able to browse hundreds of fiction and non-fiction titles, once downloaded with the OverDrive media download software users may listen to them on their PC, transfer them to an mp3 player, or in some cases even burn them to a CD!

To learn more about this great new service visit the library's homepage and click on the Downloadable Audiobooks link right below the Catalog search box.

Organizational Spotlight: The National Science Digital Library

2009-03-03T15:05:00.007-05:00

Recently in my travels through the internet seeking out information that would be of some use to the Thomas Community I came across a website that I have not used in quite awhile; The National Science Digital Library.

A quick search or two on climate change reminded me why I liked this site. NSDL sports a clean, easy to use interface that allows users to choose which audience category bests meets their individual need (General, K-12, Higher Ed), and thus provide content that is appropriate to that category. The NSDL site, in essence, acts as a gateway to reliable science literature for educators and learners alike. I will be adding this site in the near future to the Library's Useful Link page, as well as the Minerva catalog, but for now may be accessed by going to http://nsdl.org.

So without further musings I have provided a few key selections from the NSDL's FAQ website on the program (http://nsdl.org/about/).

The Mission:

The National Science Digital Library (NSDL) was created by the National Science Foundation to provide organized access to high quality resources and tools that support innovations in teaching and learning at all levels of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.
NSDL seeks to serve a vital role as STEM educational cyberlearning for the nation, meeting the informational and technological needs of educators and learners at all levels.

The Scope:

As of September 2008, NSDL contained 153 unique collections of resources and over 2 million records, in addition to other supporting user services and content such as NSDL news and exhibits. NSDL contributors include over 200 grant awardees through the NSDL grant program administered by NSF. New resources are added to the Library every week.

The Operators:

Under the support of NSF, the coordination of the Library's development, project management, and daily operations is facilitated though the collaborative efforts of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Cornell University, and Columbia University. The broader NSDL community of resource builders and contributors is composed of a diverse range of institutions including universities, museums, libraries, research labs, federal agencies, professional societies, and commercial content providers.

Openlibrary.org: more full-text online books

2009-02-26T13:44:00.004-05:00

Some time ago I read something about a book digitization project that had just gotten underway that was somehow working in conjunction with the Internet Archive. At the time I went to the site with the intent of seeing what they offered and remembered thinking that the site needed quite a bit of work and had very little content.

So when I paid the site a visit today I was quite surprised at how much progress they have made and how many books they have succeeded in adding in full-text.

The Open Library is an Open Source - Open Project with the mission and intent on scanning and making available as many public domain books as possible available online.

There is still room for improvement (such as adding the ability to zoom in on what you are looking at) but the project is off to a good start and does offer some hard to find books that are within the public domain.

As this site improves it will definitely gain in use and name recognition, so if you are interested pay it a visit and see if you can find your title online: http://openlibrary.org.

New Legal Dictionaries added to LexisNexis Academic

2009-02-25T09:29:00.004-05:00

LexisNexis has announced the addition of 7 legal dictionaries to the legal resources section of their LexisNexis Academic database.

Ballentine's Law Dictionary, 3rd Edition
Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations, 4th Edition
Canadian Legal Words and Phrases
Dahl's French-English Law Dictionary (1995)
Dahl's Spanish-English Law Dictionary (1992)
A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage (1987)
Modern Dictionary for the Legal Profession (2001)

To locate these sources and their descriptions in LexisNexis Academic, choose the “Sources” tab, and look for the “Dictionaries” folder in the default view (browse sources by publication type).

American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals Collection: BETA

2009-02-23T10:38:00.009-05:00

Are you interested in Historical Periodicals Archives? If you are you should try EBSCOhost's New Database The American Antiquarian Society's Historical Periodicals Collection (Beta Version).

This BETA version trial consists of a select group of titles from the Revolutionary War Period, whereas the final product will house the overall collection of materials from the American Antiquarian Society's (AAS) library documenting the life of Americans from Colonial America to the Civil War and Reconstruction.

To read more about the scope and purpose of the AAS Periodicals Collection check out this interview with AAS President Ellen S. Dunlap:

Woloson, Wendy. 2008. "An Overview of the American Antiquarian Society Periodicals Collection with Ellen S. Dunlap, President." Overview of the American Antiquarian Society Periodicals Collection with Ellen S. Dunlap, President : 1-1. American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection (BETA Version), EBSCOhost (accessed February 23, 2009).

Persistent Link to the interview:

http://dasearchpreview.ebscohost.com/login.aspxdirect=true&user=demo&password=dabeta&db=h9b&AN=35567182&site=ehost-live

Accessing this Historical Archives Database is as easy as accessing Academic Search Premier. A link is provided in the blue header on each EBSCOhost database directing users to the BETA version of this database.

EBSCOhost also provides a feedback link for users who wish to make comments about the BETA version of this Digital Archives. So go ahead and give the AAS Historical Periodicals a try and let EBSCOhost know about your experience.

Reminder: Please remember this is a BETA and only contains a small subset of content. Please understand performance may vary.

Two Database Trials from Gale: Academic OneFile & Global Issues in Context

2009-02-09T09:49:00.006-05:00

For a limited time we have trial access to two excellent Gale Databases, so take a minute and please send us your feedback regarding your experience with these two Gale products.

To access these Trial Databases as well as other current trials please visit http://www.thomas.edu/library/databases and click on the Subscription Trials link.

Academic OneFile:

Academic OneFile is the premier source for peer-reviewed, full-text articles
from the world's leading journals and reference sources. With extensive coverage
of the physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts,
theology, literature and other subjects, Academic OneFile is both authoritative
and comprehensive. With millions of articles available in both PDF and HTML
full-text with no restrictions, researchers are able to find accurate
information quickly. (Publisher's Description)

Global Issues in Context:

Global Issues in Context is a new electronic resource that
offers global perspectives on issues of international importance and current
world events and topics in the news related to these issues. Not a pro and con
database, Global Issues in Context ties together a variety of sources to present
a rich analysis of issues – social, political, military, economic,
environmental, science related, health related, cultural – and headlines in
world hot spots. It provides information seekers with a framework to better
understand 21st-century issues and events while highlighting global connections
and the interdependence of all nations. (Publisher's Description)

Database Profile: DOAJ - Directory of Open Access Journals

2009-02-03T14:50:00.011-05:00

A product of the First Nordic Conference on Scholarly Communication and spear headed by Lund University in Sweden the Directory of Open Access Journals embodies the conference's idea of creating a comprehensive directory of open access journals.

DOAJ's aim and scope is directed at the promotion and use of open access scientific and scholarly journals. By gathering the open access journals and by guaranteeing their content through quality control [peer-review & editorial control] the DOAJ creates a single access point for open access journals, thereby eliminating the need to scour the Internet for their individual domains.

What makes a journal an open access journal?

We define open access journals as journals that use a funding model that does not charge readers or their institutions for access. From the BOAI [Budapest Open Access Initiative] definition [1] of "open access" we take the right of users to "read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles" as mandatory for a journal to be included in the directory.

So what is the significance of a large collection of Open Access Journals?

By creating a depository, per se, of open access journals; the DOAJ has created an outlet for journal editors and authors to publish their content in a accessible, reliable and affordable medium.

Not only does the DOAJ offer Open Journals on a wealth of subjects, it also offers access to reputable journals from across the globe. For small institutions this is quite a boon, for buying access to thousands of scholarly journals from across the globe is a logistical nightmare and often cost prohibitive.

For more information on the Directory of Open Access Journals please visit the DOAJ site.
For additional information on other Open Access Initiatives visit the Budapest Open Access Initiatives website.

Database Profile: ERIC - Education Resources Information Center

2009-01-29T09:35:00.010-05:00

Providing information to education researchers, policy makers, teachers, librarians, students, media and administrators ERIC offers unlimited free access to over 1.2+ million records of education journals and documents. Students and Faculty at Thomas College have 2 access points to this Resource, one through Ebscohost, the other through the open web http://eric.ed.gov/.

The Project's Mission Statement:

The ERIC mission is to provide a comprehensive, easy-to-use, searchable,
Internet-based bibliographic and full-text database of education research and
information that also meets the requirements of the Education
Sciences Reform Act of 2002 .

Both offer access to the complete ERIC collection which includes:

journal articles
books
research theses and reports
technical reports
conference proceedings
policy documents
and many more education related documents

Eric for the most part acts simply as an index to this information, but it does offer a growing collection of full-text documents. Currently there are just under 225,000 full-text docments within ERIC.

The benefits of using one interface over another depends on your task at hand.

Using ERIC via EbscoHost will benefit students and faculty whose desired articles are not available in ERIC as full-text. Non full-text documents are easily requested or linked to through Ebscohost via the ArticleLinker or the Thomas College Interlibrary Loan Request form.

The ERIC website is beneficial if you need access to database training documents, web tutorials or would like to submit materials for inclusion in ERIC through the My ERIC service (registration required). Requesting non full-text documents from the ERIC website requires an extra step of the users to find and email the appropriate bibliographic information to library staff.

For more information about ERIC, and to see a few of the BETA projects currently under way visit the Education Resources Information Center today at http://eric.ed.gov/.

Value Line the Investors Bible - a look at the Online Edition

2009-01-22T13:31:00.003-05:00

Many students, staff and faculty are unaware that as residents of Maine and members of the Thomas College Community that we have access to the online version of the Value Line Investment Guide.

At first glance, the online edition of Value Line appears intimidating. Don't fret though, once you see how the basics work, and practice several times it will become as familiar as the print edition, and actually quicker. I know from experience, moving from the print to electronic wasn't easy, however the more I use the online version the more I like it and would recommend it.

So to give you a jump start in using the online version of Value Line I have included links to their online education center and some training videos. In the weeks to come I will even write about some tricks that I have picked up while using the online Value Line.

Value Line Education Center

Value Line video lessons

Ruckus: Free Music for Students - No More!

2009-01-09T15:21:00.005-05:00

As of Friday, February 6, 2009 the Ruckus Music Service will no longer be available. Citing a lack of ad revenue, Ruckus unexpectedly ceased operations. A few Ruckus tracks will continue to play until their scheduled renewal (phone home) dates and then will cease working.

At this time we are unaware of any replacement music services, but we will be sure to let you know should one become available.

Some related News Stories:

The Daily Collegian Online

The Daily Princetonian

Below you will find Mitch's original post on the Ruckus Music Service, just in case you are unfamiliar with this now defunct service.

Begin Original Post:

Have you ever wanted to download a new song or whole album, but don't have an iTunes or Amazon account to do so? Or maybe your just like most college students and simply don't have the extra money to download music? Well there is good news for Thomas students!

Ruckus is a totally-free music download service that is available to college students.

Joining the Ruckus network grants you access to over 3 million songs and even streaming video. Music can be downloaded to your computer--as much and as often as you like.

The downside is that this music is only available on your computer, so no transferring it to your iPod or burning to a cd.

However, considering the benefits of: free, legal and easy, Ruckus can't be beat.

To sign up for Ruckus, head on over to http://www.ruckus.com/.

Welcome Back: a new semester brings a new look for the library

2009-01-09T15:04:00.007-05:00

The Spring semester brings a new look for the library. The library's new look boasts some warmer colors, a new Information Services desk, and a nice conference table for more study space.

I would like to thank the maintenance crew for doing a great job working day and night to finish the project before the end of break. So if you haven't seen the changes yet be sure to stop by and take a look.

Stay tuned there are more changes coming down the pike...

Europeana : think culture

2008-12-24T11:47:00.006-05:00

After a failed launch on November 20th Europeana is back up and running. Now with quadruple the server capacity the European Commission believes they will be able to handle the estimated 10 million hits per hour.

Europeana offers multilingual access to approximately 2 million digitized books and artifacts from over 1,000 institutions from 27 European Union Member States.

Europeana is similar to the United States American Memory project but so far has a friendlier search interface than the American Memory project.

The site offers the following suggestions when searching their collection:

Just ask yourself who, what, where or when you are interested in and type these words into Europeana's search box.
If you are stuck for ideas try:
Who: Names of actors, authors, architects, artists, choreographers, composers, conductors, dancers, film directors, musicians or photographers.
What: Words from titles of books, poems, newspapers, paintings, photographs, films or television programmes.
Where: Names of towns, cities or countries within Europe or around the world.
When: Dates (e.g. 1945) such as the year you were born in or a famous date in history or a period (e.g. Roman or Medieval).

Using the advanced search you can search specifically for words in titles, for names of creators (e.g. authors, artists, musicians etc.) or dates (e.g. 1945).

Europeana is currently in beta, but looks very promising with some new features that have yet to be activated. Among these is the ability to register with the site to create a personal collection of your favorite artifacts or to participate in the communities section of the website where users may "share, discuss, reuse or blog about Europeana content".

This is definitely a site that deserves more exploration and attention, and may be the topic of future articles.

The LOC.gov Wise Guide

2008-12-18T13:20:00.007-05:00

The loc.gov Wise Guide, brought to you by the Library of Congress and the AD council is updated monthly in the spirit of a magazine to bring to you a sampling of online resources from books to videos. The "Wise Guide" offers articles incorporating the use of these digital artifacts with links back to the parent collection in the American Memory Project, with the hope of encouraging further exploration and use of these resources.

Don't forget to Check the "Wise Guide" archives for past editions. You wouldn't want to miss out on articles like: "In God We Trust... Show Me the Money!" and "It's not a Beauty Pageant. It's a Scholarship Program".

New E-Book Available - Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods

2008-12-16T12:20:00.004-05:00

The Thomas College Library has added a new title to its e-book collection in the Gale Virtual Reference Library; Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods. Paul J. Lavrakas, ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc., 2008. 494 pp. 2 vols.

The following is the publishers description of key features for this title:

Key Features

Covers all major facets of survey research methodology, from selecting the sample design and the sampling frame, designing and pretesting the questionnaire, data collection, and data coding, to the thorny issues surrounding diminishing response rates, confidentiality, privacy, informed consent and other ethical issues, data weighting, and data analyses

Presents a Reader’s Guide to organize entries around themes or specific topics and easily guide users to areas of interest

Offers cross-referenced terms, a brief listing of Further Readings, and stable Web site URLs following most entries.

Check out this and other titles in our growing collection of e-books by visiting the Gale Virtual Reference Library on our Library Databases web page.

Attention Education Majors - visit the Learning Page!

2008-12-09T12:34:00.011-05:00

The American Memory Project has a page created the Learning Page especially for K-12 Educators. This site brings together a rich collection of resources for professional development, primary source documents, lesson plans and activities that are easily accessible and free.
The learning page acts a portal to the larger American Memory Project by connecting to over 100 American Memory sub-collections. Resources are offered on subjects ranging from literature to United States history and include high quality digital images of artifacts, original documents, and audio and video files of historical events. The Learning Page also provides information on ordering reproductions, citing resources and search strategies on finding primary source documents.

So if you are in need of some great resources, lesson plans or information on using resources from the American Memory Project visit the Learning Page and discover something new.

books.google.com ~ browse.seek.find

2008-12-03T09:20:00.012-05:00

Google Book Search
Similar to Google Scholar Google Book Search limits your web search to a particular subset of content on the web, in this case millions of books.

Which Books Are Included

If the book is out of copyright, or the publisher has given us permission, you'll be able to see a preview of the book, and in some cases the entire text. If it's in the public domain, you're free to download a PDF copy.

The Different Views available through Google Book Search

Full View is available if the book is out of copyright or the owner of the copyright has given Google permission to scan and make the book fully viewable. For books in the Public Domain, users are able to save or print PDF versions of the book.

Limited View is when copyright holders on grant Google permission to make a limited section of the book viewable by users as a preview to the book.

Snippet View is similar to what users see from an online bookseller. General information about the book and a summary displaying your search terms in context is usually displayed in this view.

No Preview Available is similar to a basic library card catalog. Only basic book information is displayed along with links of where you may find a print copy if it is available.

Will this make libraries obsolete?

Quite the contrary, not all books are able to be made available for full-text scanning and libraries do not have the space or money to buy and house all the books people need. By offering a number of copyrighted and public domain titles Google has given libraries a hand in preserving and making the classics available at the same time as freeing up resources for libraries to use on future titles, or on titles that are unique and specific to their missions.

By working with libraries and bookstores the overall beneficiary is the customer who is searching for a book or some bit of information. Together these institutions with seemingly different ends have made it easier than ever before to access and obtain written works.

So the next time that you are unable to locate a title in our collection give Google Book Search a try, you may be suprised to find it online. If you would like more information about Google Book Search visit http://books.google.com/intl/en/googlebooks/about.html or stop by the library and I would be happy to help you.

So you're addicted to Google, Try Google Scholar!

2008-11-21T08:55:00.020-05:00

So you just can't get away from using Google for your article searches, well truth be known by using Google you are making your work two or three million times less efficient than it needs to be.

There is a Google alternative to Googling. Google Scholar.

So what is Google Scholar you ask? Here is Google's answer.

Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations. Google Scholar helps you identify the most relevant research across the world of scholarly research.

But wait there's more, Google makes it even easier!

Google Scholar's Library Links!!!

Using the library links (located under the Scholar Preferences), the user, that'd be you, has the ability to specify certain libraries that they want to be included in their search.

A few of the local library collections have the ability to be searched by Google Scholar include: MARVEL, University of Maine, Colby College, Bowdoin College, Bates College, as well as a few others. To look for a particular Library type the name, or part of it in the Library Links box and click Find Library, it is that easy. If they do not yet participate in this program, they will either be grayed out, or not show up.

To begin search Google Scholar the same you would Google. To illustrate how easy using Google Scholar is, and how 2-3 million times more efficient than Google, I did a search for Community Corrections in both search engines. Below are the results of this search.

The top half, a normal Google search yielded 4+ million returns from anyone and everyone, Google Scholar, located on the bottom half, yielded 245,000 results taken from Books, Academic Journals, Reports, and Theses, with 90% of the clutter and noise eliminated from your search, making it easier and more efficient to sort through your search results. Remember if you find an article that is not full-text, or requires a fee in Google Scholar, Send us the citation and we will try to get it for free for you through Interlibrary Loan.

If you would like to learn more about using Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com/), stop by the library or drop me an email and I would be happy to show you.

P.S. After the Thanksgiving Break we'll explore Google Books.

Trials to Mitigate Inaccuracies - NoodleBib, Ebsco, Serial Solutions

2008-11-13T09:26:00.005-05:00

Occasionally the library will arrange for campus wide trials of library software, databases, or other products to see if there is enough demand to warrant a subscription in the future.

Presently the library has five such trials active at the moment. These can be viewed at: http://www.thomas.edu/library/databases/trials.asp.

Trial 1: NoodleBib is our latest trial, it is what I call a citation management tool. For those students who write papers that require Works Cited Pages you will want to check this working trial out. But hurry this trial ends December 3rd!

Trial 2 & 3: Ebscohost Research Starters for business and education are two pretty slick databases that offer topic overviews. These are great for students who have have a paper due and are having difficulty choosing a topic. This Trial ends at the end of the academic year.

Trial 4, 5 & 6: Serial Solutions 360 Core, Link, and Search. I know I said there were only five trials, actually we have six, however 360 link works with the other two products in a powerful behind the scenes way, so if you are not paying close attention you wouldn't know its there until its not. 360 Core is a A-Z title list (think index) for our collection of full text journals which can also sort them by subject.

*Special Note* Since these are trials they do not include our entire collection of databases, however the full version of each product would.*End Special Note*

360 Search is a federated search engine that can be tailored to search our databases, website, and other Library recommended sites that we choose. 360 Search offers a dynamic interface that can cluster search results by subject, topic, source, date, journal or author. 360 Search also allows you to mark, save, and export the records that you want to keep and use for a later date.

We encourage you to give these products a try, and send us your feedback, we take all feedback that we receive or do not receive into consideration when making our purchasing consideration.

2008-11-06T13:22:00.003-05:00

The Thomas College Library will be open Veteran's Day weekend. Our hours will be Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. The Library will be open Veteran's Day, Monday, November 10, 2008 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. We will resume our regularly scheduled hours Tuesday morning.

For a list of all our holiday hours visit our website site http://www.thomas.edu/library/ and click on the "About Us" link or go to http://www.thomas.edu/library/AboutUs/HolidaySchedule.pdf

Have a Great holiday weekend!

Tools to Ease Presentation Pain II - Laptops

2008-11-05T14:23:00.004-05:00

The Thomas College Library has a small collection of Laptops that are available for loan to Thomas students, faculty and staff to use on campus.

The laptops are equipped with a wide assortment of Microsoft productivity software, and all have wireless connectivity capabilities.

The Library laptops contain the Thomas College standard software image. Examples of some of the software applications included on these laptops are:

Microsoft Office 2007
Microsoft Office Live Meeting
Microsoft Expression Studio 2
Microsoft Visual Studio
Learning Essentials

The Library laptops are loaned on a first come first serve basis so remember to plan ahead and contact the Information Services Desk to set up your reservation.