And the Winners Are: Library Research Contest Results

Friday Challenge Winner:
Madhavun Candadai

Madhavun used the library catalog to find the book and searched its contents to find the answer to the question.

Grand Prize Winner:
Raj Kapadia

librarian_action_figure

Our virtual Oscar: a librarian action figure

Throughout the week Raj demonstrated proficiency with the library catalog as his preferred search tool. Indeed, if used efficiently, the catalog can provide you with a lot of information and unlock many useful sources.
Raj also used Google Books to search for the text in the book. This is a wonderful research tool for finding text fragments, especially for books not available electronically in the UC collection.

See the names of other winners in our earlier post.

Congratulations, winners!

Many thanks to all the students who took part in the contest!

Good luck with your exams and have a great summer!

 

Procrastination? Trouble finding just what you need? We have a book for that!

During the Information Literacy Awareness Month we used chalkboards in Langsam to learn more about our patrons and how they use the library and information sources. A couple of weeks ago we asked you to tell us what your biggest challenge is when doing research.

We got a variety of responses ranging from difficulty getting organized and pulling yourself away from Facebook or Pinterest to problems related to putting the results on paper and getting the research findings published.

   

To help our patrons to address some of these problems we put together a virtual exhibit Tips for Effective and Efficient Library Research. The exhibit features current e-books and print books from the UC Libraries’ collections related to various aspects of library research projects, from finding and evaluating sources to presenting your research results and getting them published. It also includes resources on successful management of your research projects.

While the books on finding sources are targeted primarily to undergraduates, books in other categories might be useful to broader audiences, including graduate and doctoral students and faculty.

We hope to expand this exhibit in the future by adding more online resources in a variety of formats. Please help us by using the Comments link to to share tutotials, books, and websites that helped you to improve your research skills. Let us know what libraries can do to help you to find, evaluate, and use information more effectively.

The Power Which Knowledge Gives

“The Power Which Knowledge Gives”:
Go to The Polls Armed With Reliable Information

Recently I came across this stunning quote from James Madison in a fellow librarian’s blog post:

“A popular Government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy, or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”

On November 6 UC students along with the all voters will be casting their votes in the General Election. Do you have all the information you need to make the important decisions?

Earlier this month we asked the students who visit Langsam library to share the sources of information they use in order to decide how to vote.

Tumblr was the most popular source followed by Facebook and reddit.  The responses featured online news sources, TV and radio channels and talk shows, newspapers and magazine titles ranging from The New Republic to Huffington Post, and a broad range of websites, including RealClearPolitics , League of Women Voters, and predictably Wikipedia.

Thank you for sharing your favorite sources of information. Here are some resources recommended by librarians.

The following premium library resources require off-campus access.

Stay informed and make great decisions!

Library workshops the week of February 13

UC Libraries have a few openings for the following workshops next week:

Monday, February 13

Basics of Outlook 2010: Beyond E-mail 1:00PM – 2:30PM HSL Electronic Classroom G005G

This class is for the student who wants to use Outlook to the fullest extent! Students will learn how to 1) set up appointments and meetings using the Calendar, 2) add people to their Contact list 3) Add and assign Tasks 4) use the Journal to keep track of activities, and 5) use the Notes function to keep reminders for themselves. (Note – the e-mail function of Outlook is not covered in this class). Prerequisite: Basics of Outlook E-mail.

Tuesday, February 14

Intermediate Outlook 2010 9:00AM – 10:30AM HSL Electronic Classroom G005G

This workshop is designed for people who have a basic knowledge of Outlook . Students will learn advanced messaging features as well as how to customize many of Outlook’s functions. Prerequisite: Basics of Outlook 2010.

Wednesday, February 15

Basics of PowerPoint 2010 11:00AM – 12:30PM HSL Electronic Classroom G005G

This is a beginning level workshop that will take participants through the basics of creating a graphical computer presentation using PowerPoint. Advanced features such as transformations, slide builds, hidden slides, and timed rehearsals will also be covered. Prerequisite: Basic Computer Training or equivalent experience.

RefWorks 2.0 for Engineers 2:00PM-3:00PM 850D Baldwin (CEAS Library)

The new RefWorks 2.0 platform is now available. Learn how to use this bibliographic management tool to build and manage citations retrieved while conducting your literature reviews. If you have your own laptop, please bring it to the workshop.

To register for the workshops please go to http://webcentral.uc.edu/hslclass/ and click on “Register or cancel registration” next to the workshop title. You will find links to classroom directions at the bottom of the page.

If you have any questions about the classes, please call Lauren Mills at 558-6019 or e-mail her at Lauren.Mills@uc.edu

The New York Times is still free for the UC community!

As many of us have already found out, The New York Times started charging frequent users for online access starting March 28th, 2011. (Non-subscribers are limited to 20 articles per month).

However, there is good news for those of us who love to start the day with browsing The New York Times online or checking on the news over lunch break.  The University of Cincinnati Libraries are continuing to provide access to The New York Times online content through the ProQuest database.  Select content from 1980 to present is also available through Factiva and Lexis-Nexis Academic.  Historical content, from January 1923 to five years ago, is available online via ProQuest Historical Newspapers.

Fall: Literary Prize Season

What do Sir Winston Churchill, Ernest Hemingway and Toni Morrison have in common? They were all winners of the Nobel Prize in Literature! This prize awarded by the Swedish Academy since 1901 is featured in the University of Cincinnati Libraries’ exhibit in the lobby of Langsam Library. The name of the 2010 winner, Mario Vargas Llosa, was just announced, and he is highlighted  in the exhibit along with other laureates, including the first one, the oldest and youngest laureate, and other representatives of this glorious cohort.  A selected bibliography of works by and about the Nobel Prize in Literature laureates held by the University of Cincinnati Libraries is available next to the display case. Continue reading →

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