Monday, March 23, 2009

DVD player software

Faculty, staff, and library computer users can follow the DVD player software instructions at http://library.bloomu.edu/dvd.pdf to help play DVD's on the computer you are using.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Intro to Library Research (09-130) not offered Fall 2009

Introduction to Library Research (09-130) will not be offered Fall 2009 or Spring 2010. Instead, librarians will be developing learning modules with an assessment piece which may be adopted by faculty for use in their upper and lower level courses.

Faculty who are interested in using and/or developing information literacy learning modules for their courses are encouraged to contact one of the librarians who will be working on this project for more information:
Linda Neyer, Health Sciences/Science Librarian, x4801, lneyer@bloomu.edu
Michael Coffta, Business Librarian, x4124, mcoffta@bloomu.edu
Darla Bressler, Education Librarian, x4656, dbressle@bloomu.edu
David Magolis, Social Sciences Librarian, x4921, dmagolis@bloomu.edu
Katie Yelinek, Gov’t Documents, x4228, kyelinek@bloomu.edu
Following is a list of topics that have been taught in the 1-credit “Intro to Library Research” in the past:
  1. Library Research and Academic Integrity
    Introduction – Value of library research
    Academic Integrity - Bloomsburg University's Academic Integrity Policy
  2. Introduction to media and formats (including print and electronic)
    Periodicals (scholarly, popular, trade, newspapers, other)
    Primary vs. secondary sources
    Evaluating sources
  3. Topic Formation
    Selecting a topic
    Narrowing a topic
    Writing a thesis statement
  4. Search Strategies
    Controlled vocabulary vs. natural language
    Using natural language
    Using Boolean operators
    Truncation and wildcards
  5. Online Catalog Searching
    Library Collections
    Using the Andruss Library catalog
    Finding Course Reserve materials
    Setting search limits
    Printing, saving, and emailing search results
    Other catalogs
  6. Database Searching
    What is a database?
    Searching the ‘Periodical Title List’
    Research databases (interdisciplinary vs. discipline-specific)
    Discipline-specific modules (identifying and using essential databases, print sources, and Web sites)
  7. Citation Guides
    Citing sources - general information
    Reading a citation
    APA Style
    MLA Style
    Using bibliographic management software, e.g., RefWorks
  8. Evaluating Internet Sites
    Criteria for evaluating Web sites
    Conspicuous bias
    Authoritative collections of Web sites
    Using site maps and other navigation tools
  9. Assessment:
    Quizzes for each learning unit
    15-item annotated bibliography researching a pre-approved topic

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Sunshine Week Essay Contest Winners

Congratulations to the winners of the 2009 Sunshine Week Essay contest!

In the university student category...
  • First prize: Marissa Eby, Junior Accounting Major
  • Second prize: Tarah Moore, Senior Computer Forensics Major
  • Third prize: Robert Mark, Junior Finance Major
No prizes were awarded in the high school student category, due to a lack of entries. However, the judges awarded an honorarium to the one student who entered. Congratulations to Brandon Stanton from Honesdale High School.

Look for the first prize essay to be published in the Press Enterprise during Sunshine Week, March 15-21. For more information, go to http://library.bloomu.edu/pages/govinfo/sunshine.html.