“Green” Databases for Earth Day

Appropriate for Earth Day and really any time you need quality information pertaining to environmental or gardening topics are three databases from EBSCOhost:

Environment Complete (EBSCO)
Covers applicable areas of agriculture, ecosystem ecology, energy, natural resources, marine & freshwater science, geography, pollution & waste management, environmental technology, environmental law, public policy, social impacts, urban planning, and more.

Garden, Landscape, and Horticulture Index (EBSCO)
A resource for access to articles about gardens and plants. Topics include horticulture, botany, garden and landscape design & history, ecology, plant and garden conservation, garden management, and horticultural therapy.

GreenFILE (EBSCO)
Offers well-researched but accessible information covering all aspects of human impact on the environment.

If you have questions about these databases, our research librarians are available to consult with you and can offer search strategies and tips.

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Library Services in the Digital Age

As we celebrate National Library Week, “Library Services in the Digital Age,” a study published by the Pew Internet  & American Life Project in January 2013, is a good reminder of the continued important role libraries have in promoting life-long learning skills and providing researchers access to a variety of quality resources.  Here’s how those surveyed in the Pew study responded when asked what services are important to them and why they visit a library:

• 80% of Americans say borrowing books is a “very important” service libraries provide.
• 80% say reference librarians are a “very important” service of libraries.
• 77% say free access to computers and the internet is a “very important” service of libraries.
• 49% say they visit to sit, read, and study, or watch or listen to media.
• 46% say they visit to use a research database.
• 54% say they visit to research topics that interest them.
• 50% say they visit to get help from a librarian.
• Having more comfortable spaces for reading, working, and relaxing: 59% of Americans ages 16 and older say libraries should “definitely do” this.
• Offering a broader selection of e-books: 53% of Americans ages 16 and older say libraries should “definitely do” this.

To read the full results and analysis, go to “Library Services in the Digital Age.”

Equally interesting, is the recent “State of America’s Libraries Report 2013″ from the American Library Association.

Let us know what your favorite services are at the MSJ Library, as well as what educational services you’d like us to expand upon.

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What WorldCat Can Do For You

Are you familiar with WorldCat?   All libraries have catalogs ( e.g., MSJ’s library catalog= FOCUS focus.msj.edu). Library catalogs show patrons what items a library holds in its print and digital collections. WorldCat, though, is unique in that it aggregates library holdings world-wide.  That means if you want to know if a library in Canada has a copy of Moby Dick, or  if your local library has a copy, WordCat helps you find it.

Other cool things WordCat offers includes a mobile app and a citation tool which will format book and film titles in a number of formats including APA, MLA, Turabian, and Chicago style.   The citation tool is something that our research librarians frequently recommend to student researchers, as the built-in citation generator makes constructing works cited pages easier.

Use worldcat.org’s built-in Cite/Export tool.

To learn more, visit:

WorldCat http://www.wordcat.org

WorldCat Mobile http://www.worldcat.org/mobile/

How to use WorldCat Citations (video tutorial) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8W7kWMrVNk

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Perfect Resources for Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month, and what better way to celebrate than by highlighting our Aaron R. Levine Poetry Collection?  Mr. Levine donated his collection to us a number of years ago, and since then these items have proved to be valuable resources for not only our literature students and faculty, but also the casual reader of poetry. While researchers will find books of poetry in the collection, also included are handbooks on poetic styles, literary theory, journals of poets, and anthologies.

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In addition to the Levine Collection, we also offer a number of “e-text” subscription databases dedicated to poetry and literature:

• Learn about Poets:
  Literary Reference Center
  
• Read full text of poems:
  African-American Poetry 1760-1900
  American Poetry Database 1600-1900
  English Poetry 600-1900
  20th Century African-American Poetry
  20th Century American Poetry
  20th Century English Poetry
  William Butler Yeats Collection

National Poetry Month _ April 2013

And if that’s not enough for your poetic curiosity, there are a number of free websites that can guide you to further resources:

–National Academy of American Poets http://www.poets.org/
–30 Poets, 30 Days http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/22934
–The Writer’s Almanac http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/
–Poets & Poetry (from the Bill Moyers Journal) http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/poetry/

Do you have a favorite poet or poem? Do you know of a great poetry website?  Let us know and we’ll add it to our site.  Enjoy!

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Lunch @ the Library Series

We’re partnering with the MSJ Music Department to bring you the “Lunch at the Library” series.

Bring your lunch to the Library and enjoy good music and free coffee in a relaxing atmosphere.

Concerts start at 12:15 on these dates:
March 5 – Daniel Wilson, Classical Guitar (student)
March 27 – Travis Pearce, Waldo Potgieter, Vocal and Piano (students)
April 16 – Melissa Walding, Lauren Picarillo, Oboe and Bassoon (faculty)

To learn more: http://www.msjmusic.org/lunch-at-the-library/

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Closed Easter Break, March 29-April 1

Well wishes to students, staff, and faculty for a fun and safe Easter Break!

The Library will be open until 10pm, Thursday, March 28th. 

However, we will be CLOSED Friday, March 29th through Monday, April 1st.

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Evidence-Based Care Sheets for Nursing Students!

Nursing students, take note that the CINAHL Plus research database offers Full Text–Evidence-Based Care Sheets!

To search these you will need to be within CINAHL.  Here’s how to access:

1. Go to library.msj.edu and look for the “Find Articles” section of our site.
2. Under “Find Articles” look for Databases A-Z or Databases listed by Subject. In both places you will find the CINAHL database.
3. If you are off-campus, use your MSJ AllCard to login.
4. Once inside CINAHL, look for the “Evidence-Based Care Sheets” section at the top of your browser screen.

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