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While working on updating our print atlas collection, I discovered that a few countries are beginning to publish their national atlases free online, so I have happily added these to the Maps & Maps Services page of the online reference collection. I put them in their own category. So far, we have Canada, U.S. and Sweden.
6 new sites about the Israeli/Lebanese confict have been added to the online reference collection.
Middle East Crisis
The Middle East 1961-2001: A Documentary Record
Israel Defense Forces
Lebanese Security and the Hezbollah
Israel Insider
Lebanese Global Information Center
The Science Resources blog is now linked from the University Library Reference blog sidebar, top right hand corner. Thanks to Mike Knee for the suggestion.
OPIC has created a page to highlight leisure reading opportunities at the University Libraries. The page is available as a link on the Catalogs page and also under the online Reference collection page "Books, Book Reviews, Publishers."
Here's the url for the page:
http://library.albany.edu/reference/services/leisurereading.htm
This is now available online via the Manuscripts Catalogue at the British Library Web site (http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/manuscripts) so I will be removing these volumes from Reference and sending to storage. I will have the URL added to the bib record
I have changed the annotation for Wikipedia on the Encyclopedias page of the online reference collection. Previously it was a blurb provided by Wikipedia, and consquently, offered no caveats about the dangers of using information from an encyclopedia where anyone may contribute.
The new annotation reads "Wikipedia is a Web-based, multi-language, free-content encyclopedia written collaboratively by volunteers and sponsored by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Users should remember that because anyone may contribute, the information provided may be incorrect, biased, or intentionally misleading. The University Libraries do not recommend using Wikipedia as a source for class assignments or papers."
Kay kindly shared an interesting blog entry in which a professor of English at UC Santa Barbara provides some guidelines on when it is okay for students to cite Wikipedia in their work:
Some professors might wish the Web site's name never turned up in students' papers, but Mr. Liu argues that Wikipedia can be a useful, if limited source:
"Wikipedia citation can be an appropriate convenience when the point being supported is minor, noncontroversial, or also supported by other evidence. In addition, Wikipedia is an appropriate source for some extremely recent topics (especially in popular culture or technology) for which it provides the sole or best available synthetic, analytical, or historical discussion."
But that should be about the extent of it, Mr. Liu suggests. Wikipedia should never be used as the primary source for information on "anything that is central to an argument, complex, or controversial," he says.
And he makes a good point about the ephemerality of the site: Since articles are continually contested and changed, citing a Wikipedia entry without noting the date on which it was viewed is "meaningless," he argues.
The contents of the circular Rolodex file at the ref desk are now available on the Reference Blog sidebar, thanks to Emily Houk. To see, click on the link that says "Frequently Used Reference Sources."
**Phone Numbers for New York State Flood Recovery Information**
Make 2 Calls for Assistance:
FEMA: 1-800-621-FEMA (1-800-621-3362); (TTY:1-800-462-7585)
New York State: 1-888-7-NYS-AID (1-888-769-7243); (TTY:NYS Relay 711) (State Individual and Family Grant Program)
Applications may also be filed online at www.fema.gov and www.labor.state.ny.us
For more information on New York State's flood recovery efforts and libraries, NYS Disaster Recovery Centers and information on salvaging water damaged collections, please visit the New York State Library's Division of Library Development Home Page at:
http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/flooding.htm
Please also alert the State Library if your library has been impacted by flooding, as expert assistance is available to help your library with recovery efforts. Please email Lynn Quinn, Education Program Assistant, New York State Library, Division of Library Development at lquinn@mail.nysed.gov or call 518-486-2197.
This is a catalogue from the British Museum. Dept. of Printed Books. I have verified with the British Museum that the contents of these volumes are included in their online "Integrated Catalogue" at http://catalogue.bl.uk/F/?func=file&file_name=login-bl-list , so I will be sending these volumes to storage over the summer.
I spoke with David Waters, Account Executive for xreferplus, while at ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans. He says that our use of xreferplus and how the various sources are linked and highlighted serves as a model for other libraries. In fact, he uses our website as a demo in their booth to show librarians how they may increase use of this resource. Consider yourselves congratulated AND famous! Carol Anderson
recently at the reference desk, carol was asked for old copies of comprehensive exams. of course the patron did not request them in quite that way and while carol did find them they are not where i would think to look. so rather then have each of us reinvent the wheel:
search the reserve book room in minerva
use keywords
course name
enter "comprehensive exam" as your keywords
if you know the department you can enter that as well. for example:
keywords
course name
"economics comprehensive exam"
cathy