What's New Library Blog - LaGuardia Community College Library Media Resources Center

Election Information

There are a lot of helpful election sites out there. The Times has a nice one, as does the Washington Post.
Now, you can add LexisNexis to the list. They set-up a wiki to help with election research. It's very in-depth and worth checking out -- especially if you're an election junkie.

posted by Steve in the Library on Wednesday, September 24, 2008

New EBSCO

All of the EBSCO databases now have a new look. It's most cosmetic, but if you need some help navigating the new interface, EBSCO has some helpful documents here: support.ebsco.com/ebscohost2/

posted by Steve in the Library on Wednesday, July 16, 2008

One Less Password

I'm not sure if this interests anyone other than librarians, but the Queens Library now lets you request books using just your barcode, which I find much quicker than having to enter a barcode followed by a password.
The downside is if anyone ever learns my barcode they can request books on my behalf. That could be fun, too, though. It would almost be like a book club.
Here are a bunch of Queens Public Library links: http://www.lagcc.cuny.edu/library/lib_othrlink.htm.
I hope CUNY+, LaGuardia's catalog, allows this as an option one day. There's something about entering a password that makes something as simple as requesting a book feel a little chore-like.

posted by Steve in the Library on Monday, July 07, 2008

Copyright in an Electronic World

Copyright is an important idea in libraries. Copyright dictates what can be done with a work.
David Pogue of the New York Times gives his take on copyright and electronic versions of items like books from the point of view of an author:

Unfortunately, I've had terrible experiences releasing my books in electronic form. Twice in my career, 'blind' people e-mailed me, requesting a PDF of one of my books. Both times, I sent one over–and both times, it was all over the piracy sites within 48 hours, free for anyone to download.
I've got a mortgage and three kids to put through college, and it broke my heart! Unfortunately, the bad apples have once again spoiled it for everyone else.

The Library has a lot of electronic books, but they're not always easy to use and access because the vendors need to institute certain practices to make sure the material's copyright isn't violated (like no printing!). It's tough because it assumes the user is a thief, rather than just someone trying to do research. But as Pogue reminds us, there are financial implications for the author when these precautions aren't put in place.

posted by Steve in the Library on Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Upcoming Workshops

The Library will be holding some workshops for students. The workshops all center around citation, which is pretty important this time of year. Details on the workshops are here: http://www.lagcc.cuny.edu/library/programs.htm

We've also added one more Library workshop to our Spring series for faculty:

Second Life: An Introduction

Second Life is a 3-dimensional online environment populated by graphical representations (avatars) of over 1 million people.
The virtual environment of Second Life offers new opportunities for teaching and library services.

DATE: Wednesday, May 14th, 2008
LOCATION: Library Classroom
TIME: 2:30- 3:00 PM

Steve Ovadia will provide a brief overview of the world of Second Life, explaining what it is and showing how it works.

Coffee will be served. For further information contact Steve Ovadia sovadia@lagcc.cuny.edu, Catherine Stern castern@lagcc.cuny.edu, Alexandra Rojas arojas@lagcc.cuny.edu or Charles Keyes ckeyes@lagcc.cuny.edu

posted by Steve in the Library on Wednesday, April 30, 2008

The Importance of Paper

Katie Couric, who anchors the CBS Evening News, had a sad essay in Newsweek about the 10-year anniverary of her husband's death. The essay discusses the letters about her husband that she finally shared with her daughters.
I found her last paragraph very interesting:

"These letters are a gift, in boxes and bundles still to be put in some orderly, sensible chronology. For me, they ignite memories that have long receded. For Ellie and Carrie, who were just 2 and 6 when their father died, reading about those moments from his childhood, college years and career, recounted through so many different prisms, will allow them to know Jay's life story. And, in this era of e-mail, long after the glue has worn off the envelopes, they will have that story at their fingertips, as well as tangible evidence of the love, care and effort that went into writing every one."

We tend to put a lot of emphasis on getting everything digitized (books, articles, videos, etc.), but as Katie Couric shows, there's still a lot of value in paper.

posted by Steve in the Library on Thursday, April 17, 2008

LaGuardia Library Toolbar

The Library is pleased to announce the creation of a browser toolbar that interacts between the Firefox web browser, many web sites you regularly visit (like Amazon.com), and the Library's catalog.

Basically, the toolbar detects ISBNs and gives you a little apple target to click. Clicking the apple takes you from a book-selling site like Amazon, Alibris, or even Google, and into the LaGuardia catalog.

It also lets you search LaGuardia holdings (and CUNY-wide holdings) from the toolbar, without having to visit the LaGuardia Library web site (not that visiting is a bad thing...).

This is third-party software that's been configured to work with LaGuardia's resources, so it's not a seamless experience, but if you find yourself constantly toggling between the CUNY+ catalog and book sites, this can be a pretty handy tool.

Details on the toolbar are here: http://www.lagcc.cuny.edu/library/toolbar/. You'll find installation instructions, usage details, and frequently asked questions.

posted by Steve in the Library on Wednesday, March 26, 2008

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		Election Information There are a lot of helpful election sites out there. The Times has a nice one, as does the Washington Post. Now, you can add LexisNexis to the list. They set-up a wiki to help with election research. It's very in-depth and worth checking out -- especially if you're an election junkie. posted by Steve in the Library on Wednesday, September 24, 2008 New EBSCO All of the EBSCO databases now have a new look. It's most cosmetic, but if you need some help navigating the new interface, EBSCO has some helpful documents here: support.ebsco.com/ebscohost2/ posted by Steve in the Library on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 One Less Password I'm not sure if this interests anyone other than librarians, but the Queens Library now lets you request books using just your barcode, which I find much quicker than having to enter a barcode followed by a password. The downside is if anyone ever learns my barcode they can request books on my behalf. That could be fun, too, though. It would almost be like a book club. Here are a bunch of Queens Public Library links: http://www.lagcc.cuny.edu/library/lib_othrlink.htm. I hope CUNY+, LaGuardia's catalog, allows this as an option one day. There's something about entering a password that makes something as simple as requesting a book feel a little chore-like. posted by Steve in the Library on Monday, July 07, 2008 Copyright in an Electronic World Copyright is an important idea in libraries. Copyright dictates what can be done with a work. David Pogue of the New York Times gives his take on copyright and electronic versions of items like books from the point of view of an author: Unfortunately, I've had terrible experiences releasing my books in electronic form. Twice in my career, 'blind' people e-mailed me, requesting a PDF of one of my books. Both times, I sent one over–and both times, it was all over the piracy sites within 48 hours, free for anyone to download. I've got a mortgage and three kids to put through college, and it broke my heart! Unfortunately, the bad apples have once again spoiled it for everyone else. The Library has a lot of electronic books, but they're not always easy to use and access because the vendors need to institute certain practices to make sure the material's copyright isn't violated (like no printing!). It's tough because it assumes the user is a thief, rather than just someone trying to do research. But as Pogue reminds us, there are financial implications for the author when these precautions aren't put in place. posted by Steve in the Library on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 Upcoming Workshops The Library will be holding some workshops for students. The workshops all center around citation, which is pretty important this time of year. Details on the workshops are here: http://www.lagcc.cuny.edu/library/programs.htm We've also added one more Library workshop to our Spring series for faculty: Second Life: An Introduction Second Life is a 3-dimensional online environment populated by graphical representations (avatars) of over 1 million people. The virtual environment of Second Life offers new opportunities for teaching and library services. DATE: Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 LOCATION: Library Classroom TIME: 2:30- 3:00 PM Steve Ovadia will provide a brief overview of the world of Second Life, explaining what it is and showing how it works. Coffee will be served. For further information contact Steve Ovadia sovadia@lagcc.cuny.edu, Catherine Stern castern@lagcc.cuny.edu, Alexandra Rojas arojas@lagcc.cuny.edu or Charles Keyes ckeyes@lagcc.cuny.edu posted by Steve in the Library on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 The Importance of Paper Katie Couric, who anchors the CBS Evening News, had a sad essay in Newsweek about the 10-year anniverary of her husband's death. The essay discusses the letters about her husband that she finally shared with her daughters. I found her last paragraph very interesting: "These letters are a gift, in boxes and bundles still to be put in some orderly, sensible chronology. For me, they ignite memories that have long receded. For Ellie and Carrie, who were just 2 and 6 when their father died, reading about those moments from his childhood, college years and career, recounted through so many different prisms, will allow them to know Jay's life story. And, in this era of e-mail, long after the glue has worn off the envelopes, they will have that story at their fingertips, as well as tangible evidence of the love, care and effort that went into writing every one." We tend to put a lot of emphasis on getting everything digitized (books, articles, videos, etc.), but as Katie Couric shows, there's still a lot of value in paper. posted by Steve in the Library on Thursday, April 17, 2008 LaGuardia Library Toolbar The Library is pleased to announce the creation of a browser toolbar that interacts between the Firefox web browser, many web sites you regularly visit (like Amazon.com), and the Library's catalog. Basically, the toolbar detects ISBNs and gives you a little apple target to click. Clicking the apple takes you from a book-selling site like Amazon, Alibris, or even Google, and into the LaGuardia catalog. It also lets you search LaGuardia holdings (and CUNY-wide holdings) from the toolbar, without having to visit the LaGuardia Library web site (not that visiting is a bad thing...). This is third-party software that's been configured to work with LaGuardia's resources, so it's not a seamless experience, but if you find yourself constantly toggling between the CUNY+ catalog and book sites, this can be a pretty handy tool. Details on the toolbar are here: http://www.lagcc.cuny.edu/library/toolbar/. You'll find installation instructions, usage details, and frequently asked questions. posted by Steve in the Library on Wednesday, March 26, 2008