Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Thursday, December 04, 2008
electronic books
Please note that some of the ebooks in the the online catalog do not have "eb" or "eab" in the call number. It's because they are missing Year of publication, or no call number is available for the record.
Examples:
Scarecrow of Oz [electronic resource] / by L. Frank Baum.
Baum, L. Frank, (Lyman Frank), 1856-1919.
199u
Library Location: Electronic Book
Call Number:
Status: Not Checked Out
Love and the witches [electronic resource] / Mary E. Wilkins.
Freeman, Mary Eleanor Wilkins, 1852-1930.
1995
Library Location: Electronic Book
Call Number: PS1710 .L68
Status: Not Checked Out
Examples:
Scarecrow of Oz [electronic resource] / by L. Frank Baum.
Baum, L. Frank, (Lyman Frank), 1856-1919.
199u
Library Location: Electronic Book
Call Number:
Status: Not Checked Out
Love and the witches [electronic resource] / Mary E. Wilkins.
Freeman, Mary Eleanor Wilkins, 1852-1930.
1995
Library Location: Electronic Book
Call Number: PS1710 .L68
Status: Not Checked Out
Friday, October 24, 2008
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Database Trial
I got a call from a new database vendor Global Road Warrior. The price is really reasonable. Here is a link to the preview.
http://www.globalroadwarrior.com/
user name: grw
password: able
Info from Global Road Warrior:
So, hop on the site and visit any country of your choice. As you examine the country content, please note that the information for each of our 175 countries is consistent in topics covered and depth of coverage.
Please note:1. We have a food section, with 6-10 recipes for each country, finishing up in development. It will be in GRW in a few months.2. A sports section will be added in Fall 08.3. We are in the process of adding 6,500 photos and points of interest. of the countries will say "reserved" in the Photo and Points of interest sections. Please look at: Argentina, Australia,China,Belguim, or India, which have the information and pictures.
We now offer our country-based e-content for libraries, universities and secondary schools on a subscription and license basis for modest fees (includes UNLIMITED site and REMOTE access). Our "Global Road Warrior," "Best Country Reports," and "AtoZ" Series e-content products provide, according to many client librarians, the world's most comprehensive country data related to:
*Society and Culture (about 10 x the content of CultureGrams)Also,within the next few months we will have a sports and food section (which includes 6-10 recipes for each of the 175 countries)!*Communications (the world's most comprehensive)*Media (details on thousands of media outlets worldwide)*Travel (with more of a business perspective, but equally usable forpersonal travel)*Trade (our forte)*Business*Money and Banking (scans of all banknotes and coinage in worldwidecirculation)*Country Maps (9 proprietary downloadable maps per country)and more than 20 other topics.
Our experience is that students and library clients find our content to be extremely helpful in their research. Many institutions find that our content takes the place of as many as five reference books and six subscriber databases; saving a substantial amount of money.
http://www.globalroadwarrior.com/
user name: grw
password: able
Info from Global Road Warrior:
So, hop on the site and visit any country of your choice. As you examine the country content, please note that the information for each of our 175 countries is consistent in topics covered and depth of coverage.
Please note:1. We have a food section, with 6-10 recipes for each country, finishing up in development. It will be in GRW in a few months.2. A sports section will be added in Fall 08.3. We are in the process of adding 6,500 photos and points of interest. of the countries will say "reserved" in the Photo and Points of interest sections. Please look at: Argentina, Australia,China,Belguim, or India, which have the information and pictures.
We now offer our country-based e-content for libraries, universities and secondary schools on a subscription and license basis for modest fees (includes UNLIMITED site and REMOTE access). Our "Global Road Warrior," "Best Country Reports," and "AtoZ" Series e-content products provide, according to many client librarians, the world's most comprehensive country data related to:
*Society and Culture (about 10 x the content of CultureGrams)Also,within the next few months we will have a sports and food section (which includes 6-10 recipes for each of the 175 countries)!*Communications (the world's most comprehensive)*Media (details on thousands of media outlets worldwide)*Travel (with more of a business perspective, but equally usable forpersonal travel)*Trade (our forte)*Business*Money and Banking (scans of all banknotes and coinage in worldwidecirculation)*Country Maps (9 proprietary downloadable maps per country)and more than 20 other topics.
Our experience is that students and library clients find our content to be extremely helpful in their research. Many institutions find that our content takes the place of as many as five reference books and six subscriber databases; saving a substantial amount of money.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Message from Shuk
I would like to give away the floppy disks effective immediately. The floppy disks I have been using in the past few years did not work at least 50% of the time.
We should not charge students 50cents for something that unreliable.
Once we give away our supply, DO NOT buy more. Agree? -shuk
We should not charge students 50cents for something that unreliable.
Once we give away our supply, DO NOT buy more. Agree? -shuk
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Local Subject Entries
Good Morning all!
I just wanted to let you know of a few additions to our collection and in our cataloging. As you know, we have been building our collection of children's literature. Cris has added a subject heading to all the Caldecott and Newbery Medal and Honor books.
Caldecott Medal
Newbery Medal
Caldecott Honor Book
Newbery Honor Book
You can still do a keyword search for caldecott or newbery but if you want to differentiate between winners and runners up...
In addition, we now have a collection of stage play scripts. When they are all cataloged there will be more than 60 stage play scripts in the collection. Cris has added a subject tag of playscripts so we can find them in the catalog. You can find them by doing a keyword or subject search for playscripts.
I just wanted to let you know of a few additions to our collection and in our cataloging. As you know, we have been building our collection of children's literature. Cris has added a subject heading to all the Caldecott and Newbery Medal and Honor books.
Caldecott Medal
Newbery Medal
Caldecott Honor Book
Newbery Honor Book
You can still do a keyword search for caldecott or newbery but if you want to differentiate between winners and runners up...
In addition, we now have a collection of stage play scripts. When they are all cataloged there will be more than 60 stage play scripts in the collection. Cris has added a subject tag of playscripts so we can find them in the catalog. You can find them by doing a keyword or subject search for playscripts.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
ALA RUSA Outstanding Reference Sources 2008
Once again RUSA has named the outstanding Reference Sources for the year. We have several of these titles already. Way to go Don the Outstanding Selector!
The Selections for Year 2008
APA dictionary of psychology. ed. by Gary R. VandenBos. American Psychological Association, 2007. 1591473802. $49.95 (Gav Has)
Encyclopaedia Judaica. ed. by Staff, Macmillan Reference U. S. A. 22 vols. Rev. ed. Gale, 2006. 0028659287. $1995 (Gav Has)
Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology. ed. by George Ritzer. 11 vols. Blackwell, 2007. 1405124334. $2,695 (Gav Has)
Encyclopedia of Body Adornment. by Margo Demello. Greenwood, 2007. 313336954. $79.95
Encyclopedia of Race & Racism. ed. by John Hartwell Moore. 4 vols. Gale, 2008. 9780028660202. $345
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Maritime History. ed by John B. Hattendorf. 4 vols. Oxford, 2007. 9780195130751. $550
Schirmer Encyclopedia of Film. ed. by Barry Keith Grant. 4 vols. Gale, 2006. 0028657912. $425 (Gav Has)
Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre. ed. by Samuel L. Leiter. 2 vols. Greenwood, 2007. 03133529x. $225
Brave New Words: the oxford dictionary of science fiction. ed. by Jeff Prucher. Oxford, 2007. 0195305671. $29.95 (Gav has On Order)
Postwar America: An Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural and Economic History. by James Ciment. 4 vols. ME Sharpe, 2007. 079568067x. $399
Oxford companion to world exploration. ed. by David Buisseret. 2 vols. Oxford, 2007. 019514922X. $250
The Selections for Year 2008
APA dictionary of psychology. ed. by Gary R. VandenBos. American Psychological Association, 2007. 1591473802. $49.95 (Gav Has)
Encyclopaedia Judaica. ed. by Staff, Macmillan Reference U. S. A. 22 vols. Rev. ed. Gale, 2006. 0028659287. $1995 (Gav Has)
Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology. ed. by George Ritzer. 11 vols. Blackwell, 2007. 1405124334. $2,695 (Gav Has)
Encyclopedia of Body Adornment. by Margo Demello. Greenwood, 2007. 313336954. $79.95
Encyclopedia of Race & Racism. ed. by John Hartwell Moore. 4 vols. Gale, 2008. 9780028660202. $345
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Maritime History. ed by John B. Hattendorf. 4 vols. Oxford, 2007. 9780195130751. $550
Schirmer Encyclopedia of Film. ed. by Barry Keith Grant. 4 vols. Gale, 2006. 0028657912. $425 (Gav Has)
Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre. ed. by Samuel L. Leiter. 2 vols. Greenwood, 2007. 03133529x. $225
Brave New Words: the oxford dictionary of science fiction. ed. by Jeff Prucher. Oxford, 2007. 0195305671. $29.95 (Gav has On Order)
Postwar America: An Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural and Economic History. by James Ciment. 4 vols. ME Sharpe, 2007. 079568067x. $399
Oxford companion to world exploration. ed. by David Buisseret. 2 vols. Oxford, 2007. 019514922X. $250
Monday, May 05, 2008
Banner Registration System
Today was the first day of registration on the new Banner system. Students will be asking us for help. Here are some notes about the process:
1) Start by clicking on the Self Service Banner logo on the Gavilan homepage (www.gavilan.edu)
2) Students will first need to Get Your Gav ID and Pin (GavIDs begin with G00)
3) Once they have their numbers they will click on Enter Secure Area (this is code for Login)
4) Login with their GavID and Pin, they will be prompted to set a new pin (must be 6 or more digits)
5) Click on the Student and Financial Aid link/tab
6) Click on Registration
7) Select the semester they want to register for
8) Select Add or Drop Classes
9) Enter the CRNs for the classes they want to register for
10) Click on Submit Changes
11) Click on the Pay tabs (I don't remember what the link or tab is)
Don't click on Complete Registration --
I hope this helps
Dana
1) Start by clicking on the Self Service Banner logo on the Gavilan homepage (www.gavilan.edu)
2) Students will first need to Get Your Gav ID and Pin (GavIDs begin with G00)
3) Once they have their numbers they will click on Enter Secure Area (this is code for Login)
4) Login with their GavID and Pin, they will be prompted to set a new pin (must be 6 or more digits)
5) Click on the Student and Financial Aid link/tab
6) Click on Registration
7) Select the semester they want to register for
8) Select Add or Drop Classes
9) Enter the CRNs for the classes they want to register for
10) Click on Submit Changes
11) Click on the Pay tabs (I don't remember what the link or tab is)
Don't click on Complete Registration --
I hope this helps
Dana
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Friday, April 04, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Other CQ Products - reviewed by Don
CQ Historic Documents is a must purchase at 128 bucks for the 2007 update. ( We made a onetime purchase of the entire document run from 1972 onwards and simply need to update it.) It is a pity it is not used more, it is a terrific source of primary documents.
CQ Public Affairs This seems to be mostly re-indexing stuff we already can access from other means, e.g. if you search phone privacy it lists the CQ Researcher publication on that subject, as well as other sources we may or may not have. I don’t think it can earn its keep at 733 bucks, and I suggest we drop it.
CQ Encyclopedia of American Government. While it is true that this is a good and current general encyclopedia on the US Government, it is by far from comprehensive. I would give it a C as far as coverage, a very bad grade for the usually outstanding CQ products, but for online students, it would be particularly helpful. Thus, I believe we ought to keep it at 502 bucks a year.
Don
CQ Public Affairs This seems to be mostly re-indexing stuff we already can access from other means, e.g. if you search phone privacy it lists the CQ Researcher publication on that subject, as well as other sources we may or may not have. I don’t think it can earn its keep at 733 bucks, and I suggest we drop it.
CQ Encyclopedia of American Government. While it is true that this is a good and current general encyclopedia on the US Government, it is by far from comprehensive. I would give it a C as far as coverage, a very bad grade for the usually outstanding CQ products, but for online students, it would be particularly helpful. Thus, I believe we ought to keep it at 502 bucks a year.
Don
What should we acquire from CQ Press?
CQ Researcher
At 929 bucks, the CQ Researcher is one of the best bargains in the reference field. Besides its remarkable job in discussing a spectrum of current problems, it has improved its usefulness. By clicking on a footnote, you find a citation to the article, and occasionally a hyperlink to the document itself… particularly if the document has been issued by a think tank or government entity. The same holds true for its bibliography, and since the issues discussed are often best discussed by commissions, think tanks or congressional committees, this provides easy access to documentation that was often beyond the ken of our students to retrieve or beyond their energy level to pursue. (You know the old info science law that states “people will not use information that they perceive to be too difficult to access”).
FYI, I routinely review the bibliographies of CQ to locate good titles for the Gavilan book collection.
CQ Global Researcher
This new product is even better than CQ Researcher and a fantastic bargain at 354 bucks. (You get 52 weekly issues) It is not threatened by any competitor – it is very different in construct and focus than Opposing Viewpoints. That is because it focuses on issues that are less cut and dried, such as Turkey and its relationship to the EU. The bibliography and foot notes are hyperlinked to the article or a citation for the article, but since so much of this material comes from various non-commercial sources, the article tends to provide the same rich backup of readings that Opposing Viewpoints provides for its discussions. It still provides the pro and con debates on key points. For example, admission of Turkey to the EU has a pro and con contribution. It also provides a chronology on the topic, followed by short features for expanded discussion; a sampling of related international perspectives; maps and graphs; bibliographies of key sources; next steps for additional reading; and author profiles. There are bells and whistles I like. It tracks what you looked at including footnotes you have clicked, listing your readings, much like Amazon remembers what you last looked for in their database. It has a wonderful idea that is particularly useful for our students, a global map. By clicking on say, Australia, it brings up any and all recent articles that reference Australia. This is a non-verbal method of finding information, of course, and frees the student unsure as to what search terms to use, or even how to spell Australia. It may be my imagination, but I think CQ is also attempting to make the document more graphically appealing. There are lots of color shots and color graphics. Of course, given its focus, the product will not be used as much as CQ Researcher or Opposing Viewpoints, but as the campus moves to a more “global” curriculum, it will be increasingly valuable. In that regard, CQ Global Researcher adds a new feature, “voices from abroad.”
Given their price, and the focus of the other electronic products offered by CQ, I think we can survive on just these two online products; CQ Researcher and CQ Global Researcher.
Don
At 929 bucks, the CQ Researcher is one of the best bargains in the reference field. Besides its remarkable job in discussing a spectrum of current problems, it has improved its usefulness. By clicking on a footnote, you find a citation to the article, and occasionally a hyperlink to the document itself… particularly if the document has been issued by a think tank or government entity. The same holds true for its bibliography, and since the issues discussed are often best discussed by commissions, think tanks or congressional committees, this provides easy access to documentation that was often beyond the ken of our students to retrieve or beyond their energy level to pursue. (You know the old info science law that states “people will not use information that they perceive to be too difficult to access”).
FYI, I routinely review the bibliographies of CQ to locate good titles for the Gavilan book collection.
CQ Global Researcher
This new product is even better than CQ Researcher and a fantastic bargain at 354 bucks. (You get 52 weekly issues) It is not threatened by any competitor – it is very different in construct and focus than Opposing Viewpoints. That is because it focuses on issues that are less cut and dried, such as Turkey and its relationship to the EU. The bibliography and foot notes are hyperlinked to the article or a citation for the article, but since so much of this material comes from various non-commercial sources, the article tends to provide the same rich backup of readings that Opposing Viewpoints provides for its discussions. It still provides the pro and con debates on key points. For example, admission of Turkey to the EU has a pro and con contribution. It also provides a chronology on the topic, followed by short features for expanded discussion; a sampling of related international perspectives; maps and graphs; bibliographies of key sources; next steps for additional reading; and author profiles. There are bells and whistles I like. It tracks what you looked at including footnotes you have clicked, listing your readings, much like Amazon remembers what you last looked for in their database. It has a wonderful idea that is particularly useful for our students, a global map. By clicking on say, Australia, it brings up any and all recent articles that reference Australia. This is a non-verbal method of finding information, of course, and frees the student unsure as to what search terms to use, or even how to spell Australia. It may be my imagination, but I think CQ is also attempting to make the document more graphically appealing. There are lots of color shots and color graphics. Of course, given its focus, the product will not be used as much as CQ Researcher or Opposing Viewpoints, but as the campus moves to a more “global” curriculum, it will be increasingly valuable. In that regard, CQ Global Researcher adds a new feature, “voices from abroad.”
Given their price, and the focus of the other electronic products offered by CQ, I think we can survive on just these two online products; CQ Researcher and CQ Global Researcher.
Don
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
EBSCO or ProQuest?
I vote to change from ProQuest to EBSCO
Here is my reasoning
1. Why move to EBSCO from Proquest?
Of the two candidates, one consolidator is growing in holdings and one is decreasing. A 2006 study showed that EBSCO had almost 20% more full text title holdings than ProQuest. Those of us using ProQuest have noted the loss of useful titles over the past few years. However, it is more useful to look at the central titles judged essential by Katz et. al, for a community college library. I have my own list of essential titles, based on Katz and my own experience, and compared the holdings of the two candidates in 8 topics. The winner of the most holdings of relevant titles was EBSCO.
2. Findings: Scores (in percentage of key holdings)
Topic E Score ,P score
General Books & Reading 100 ,100
Humanities 93.7, 75
American Studies 100, 80
Visual Arts 100, 37.5
American History 100 ,50
American Literature and English 94.4, 77.7
Economics /Global issues 77.7 ,77.7
Business 77.7 ,60
3. Summary of my review
Given these scores, and the trend line, of one consolidator increasing coverage and the other decreasing, I suggest that the selection arrow is pointing at EBSCO. In fact, there are a few major titles that one finds now only in EBSCO. These include Forbes, PMLA, and several major Art journals ( even though our paper copies are more valuable, we need to maintain an electronic index to articles).
4. Ease of use
But how about user friendliness and the quality of the search engine? Our colleagues at the California Community College Library Consortium compared the two rivals in 2005. They compared database functionality, appropriateness of format ( bibliographic vs full text), information content, search interface, user support service and cost, and came up with an overall assessment. They concluded the Expanded Academic ASAP database of the highest quality due to the superior indexing structure and search interface.” My own view is that the search engine on EBSCO often picks up more chaff along with the wheat, but given the fact that one is a database with a more dynamic collection maintenance, I suggest it is a good time to bite the bullet and move to EBSCO. There is a cost of course, in changing all our online modules and many instructor work sheets. But many modules could be revised, I assume, by the reference librarians when we are not busy helping students.
5. The added support of Opposing Viewpoints and CQ Researcher
One of the major uses of our periodical collection is to support English and Social Science classes where students must defend on paper a point of view by “researching” the topic using library materials. The addition of the enormously rich collection of magazine articles that are supplied full text in the Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center provides a “utility outfielder” that can handle almost any central topic that is likely to be addressed. I hasten to add that CQ Researcher provides good to excellent support as well, but the design of Opposing Viewpoints allows a rich source of full-text magazine articles not available in CQ. Another factor that is important for our ESL students is that Opposing Viewpoints has in fact, “graded” the readability of their resources, using the Lexile scale. It is likely too complicated to get a student to fix a readability level in a library research project, but it can be reassuring to an instructor to know that there are selections that can be read and comprehended at the 10th or 11th grade level. For example, Foreign Policy and Wilson Quarterly articles often fall in the 10th grade reading level.
6. Suggested package.
The California Premier Package sells for 21,455 dollars. It seems useful to include the CINAHL Plus since a review by Dana and me of about 80 full text serials included showed they had, in fact, included the essential journals such as Am J or Nursing, J of Nursing Education, J of Practical Nuring, Nursing, Nursing outlook, International Nursing Review, and RN. The add-on cost of CINAHL Plus if ordered with the California Premier Package is 1806 dollars. The add-on cost for the essential Newspaper Source Plus is $3371.
Here is my reasoning
1. Why move to EBSCO from Proquest?
Of the two candidates, one consolidator is growing in holdings and one is decreasing. A 2006 study showed that EBSCO had almost 20% more full text title holdings than ProQuest. Those of us using ProQuest have noted the loss of useful titles over the past few years. However, it is more useful to look at the central titles judged essential by Katz et. al, for a community college library. I have my own list of essential titles, based on Katz and my own experience, and compared the holdings of the two candidates in 8 topics. The winner of the most holdings of relevant titles was EBSCO.
2. Findings: Scores (in percentage of key holdings)
Topic E Score ,P score
General Books & Reading 100 ,100
Humanities 93.7, 75
American Studies 100, 80
Visual Arts 100, 37.5
American History 100 ,50
American Literature and English 94.4, 77.7
Economics /Global issues 77.7 ,77.7
Business 77.7 ,60
3. Summary of my review
Given these scores, and the trend line, of one consolidator increasing coverage and the other decreasing, I suggest that the selection arrow is pointing at EBSCO. In fact, there are a few major titles that one finds now only in EBSCO. These include Forbes, PMLA, and several major Art journals ( even though our paper copies are more valuable, we need to maintain an electronic index to articles).
4. Ease of use
But how about user friendliness and the quality of the search engine? Our colleagues at the California Community College Library Consortium compared the two rivals in 2005. They compared database functionality, appropriateness of format ( bibliographic vs full text), information content, search interface, user support service and cost, and came up with an overall assessment. They concluded the Expanded Academic ASAP database of the highest quality due to the superior indexing structure and search interface.” My own view is that the search engine on EBSCO often picks up more chaff along with the wheat, but given the fact that one is a database with a more dynamic collection maintenance, I suggest it is a good time to bite the bullet and move to EBSCO. There is a cost of course, in changing all our online modules and many instructor work sheets. But many modules could be revised, I assume, by the reference librarians when we are not busy helping students.
5. The added support of Opposing Viewpoints and CQ Researcher
One of the major uses of our periodical collection is to support English and Social Science classes where students must defend on paper a point of view by “researching” the topic using library materials. The addition of the enormously rich collection of magazine articles that are supplied full text in the Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center provides a “utility outfielder” that can handle almost any central topic that is likely to be addressed. I hasten to add that CQ Researcher provides good to excellent support as well, but the design of Opposing Viewpoints allows a rich source of full-text magazine articles not available in CQ. Another factor that is important for our ESL students is that Opposing Viewpoints has in fact, “graded” the readability of their resources, using the Lexile scale. It is likely too complicated to get a student to fix a readability level in a library research project, but it can be reassuring to an instructor to know that there are selections that can be read and comprehended at the 10th or 11th grade level. For example, Foreign Policy and Wilson Quarterly articles often fall in the 10th grade reading level.
6. Suggested package.
The California Premier Package sells for 21,455 dollars. It seems useful to include the CINAHL Plus since a review by Dana and me of about 80 full text serials included showed they had, in fact, included the essential journals such as Am J or Nursing, J of Nursing Education, J of Practical Nuring, Nursing, Nursing outlook, International Nursing Review, and RN. The add-on cost of CINAHL Plus if ordered with the California Premier Package is 1806 dollars. The add-on cost for the essential Newspaper Source Plus is $3371.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Use of Google Alert to track Gavilan College items
One of the ongoing problems at the Gavilan Library is that we are supposed to be keeping the archives of the college, but are not really staffed to do that, nor do we have the space to store much less to organize the historical documents of the college. We do maintain what we are required by law to maintain; board and senate records. However, to at least maintain a quick-and-dirty history of the college that does not require space and not much librarian input would be the following suggestion.
Create a Google "Alert" of the term "Gavilan College" with instructions to report it weekly. Have the reference librarian each Friday download the week's associated documents , saving it in some manner --either online or on disc. Would this work? Are any other colleges doing this? I am uncertain as to what would be the most effective method of retrieval of these saved items, maybe simply a keyword search. Comments?
Don
Create a Google "Alert" of the term "Gavilan College" with instructions to report it weekly. Have the reference librarian each Friday download the week's associated documents , saving it in some manner --either online or on disc. Would this work? Are any other colleges doing this? I am uncertain as to what would be the most effective method of retrieval of these saved items, maybe simply a keyword search. Comments?
Don
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)