End of Quarter Crunch Help is Here!

Hello Students! As finals week approaches quickly, you may be struggling to wrap up those final papers and presentations and we want you to know librarians are here to help you!

• Do you need a couple more articles or reference sources?
• Do you have questions on how to cite your sources in MLA or APA format?
• Do you need to locate a particular book?
• Or, __________________?

For help, Ask a Librarian! using the 24/7 live chat reference service QuestionPoint or call an Olympic College librarian at the reference desk at 360-475-7252.

Library Hours:
Monday-Thursday 8am-9pm
Friday 8am-5pm
Saturday 10am-4pm
Sunday Noon-6pm

If you need a quiet place to study up for exams, the library has some wonderful spaces. Group study rooms are available in the Haselwood Library basement.

"Unfriend" - Arguable choice for Word of the Year

Should "unfriend" have been chosen by the New Oxford American Dictionary as the Word of the Year? Should other words such as "sexting", "tweet", "intexticated", "teabagger", or "tramp stamp" have won out? How about this as an argumentative or pro/con paper topic!

You could argue that "unfriend" is a great choice because this word has been around for centuries. The term can be traced back to 1659 when it was first included in the dictionary. Christine Lindberg, senior lexicographer of U.S. dictionaries for Oxford University Press, in a CRM Daily story said "It is a very old word that has been adopted by a new generation..." "Now it has a very explicit designation as a verb used for social networking." Lindberg further supports the choice by saying "Unfriend represents an entire social-networking culture."

The New Oxford American Dictionary defines unfriend as:

(verb) – To remove someone as a “friend” on a social networking site such as Facebook. As in, “I decided to unfriend my roommate on Facebook after we had a fight."

On the other hand, blogger Angie Pascale, a communications specialist at Location3 Media, Inc. bemoans the choice of "unfriend" as Word of the Year in her post on expertSEM blog. Angie believes the word does not represent an entire culture but rather is specific to Facebook. Besides, she says, it should be defriend, not unfriend!

Decide for yourself on the merits of this Word of the Year but like it or not... unfriend is the "it word" of 2009!

(by Leslie Hassett, Adjunct Librarian, Olympic College)

Flu Facts and Info - Up to Date and Evidence Based

A wealth of quality, reliable, well-organized information regarding the seasonal flu and the H1N1 "Swine Flu" is available from Federal government and Ebsco Publishing websites.

1) http://www.ebscohost.com/flu/ - Ebsco Publishing has collected Evidence-based information from their clinical reference databases and scholarly literature and made it available from one convenient website.

2) Flu.gov - Health and Human Services Department from the Federal government provides comprehensive government-wide information on pandemic influenza and avian influenza for the general public, health and emergency preparedness professionals, policy makers, government and business leaders, school systems, and local communities.

At these websites you can find the below listed features and more:

• An interactive map - with links to states with YouTube videos and Twitter sites
  
• A "newsroom" for up-to-the-minute information


• Consumer education guides - lists definitions, causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, prevention

National Information Literacy Awareness Month

President Obama has declared October as National Information Literacy Awareness Month. He states in part, "Rather than merely possessing data, we must also learn the skills necessary to acquire, collate, and evaluate information for any situation. This new type of literacy also requires competency with communication technologies, including computers and mobile devices that can help in our day-to-day decision making. National Information Literacy Awareness Month highlights the need for all Americans to be adept in the skills necessary to effectively navigate the Information Age." Click here to view a copy of declaration in its entirety.

New Online Encyclopedia on Social Issues!

Social Issues In America: An Encyclopedia is a new online encylopedia purchased by Olympic College libraries. The Encyclopedia can be accessed 24/7 online from any internet capable computer. This reference work adresses nearly 170 timely American issues in breadth and detail, providing an introduction to the basic concepts, terminology, historical background, competing points of view, statistics, and research materials associated with each one.

This online encyclopedia can be accessed from the Haselwood Library Website by clicking on the Finding Articles link and scrolling down alphabetically under the "Reference Works" heading.

Welcome Students to Fall Quarter!

Welcome or Welcome Back to all OC Students! The library staff and librarians are glad you are here and we are here to help.

The librarians and library staff are ready to help you access, find, and organize the library information you need for your class assignments.

From the Library homepage look for this icon. Then, click on "Chat", "Email", or "Phone" to get help from a librarian. The librarians at the Haselwood Library can provide you one-on-one personal assistance by phone, by email, or you can use the "Chat" service to get immediate live online help. If you login to this 24/7 Ask-A-Librarian service at 2:00 am, you will get a librarian from another part of the country, but your question will always be reviewed by an Olympic College Librarian for follow-up.

Of course you may come into the Haselwood Library in person... the old fashioned way! We're here to help and we look forward to seeing you!

If you want to give the Reference Librarians a call now, call (360) 475-7252. Librarians at Haselwood Library in Bremerton are available most of the hours the library is open.

Closed until Fall quarter!

The OC Libraries are closed from Aug. 14th through Sept. 20th. If you need immediate help from a librarian, you can still utilize our "Chat" feature (click here) to chat with an academic librarian *somewhere* around the country!

And don't forget about Kitsap Regional Library locations, which remain open all summer long.

See you in September...

Midterm help!

We're halfway through summer quarter! Although the libraries have shorter hours during the summer, you can still receive help from a librarian when the library is closed! From our website, simply click the "chat" link under the "Ask A Librarian" logo, and you will be connected with a college or university librarian, 24/7/365!

OC Shelton library hours adjusted

The Johnson Library at the Shelton campus has adjusted its summer hours to better serve students at that campus. The hours are now 9am-2:30pm on Mon, Tues, and Wed, and 9am-2pm on Thursdays. The library remains closed on Fri, Sat, and Sun.

Summer Library Hours

Well, this quarter is over and summer is here. We hope you all have a great break! Please see our website for library summer hours. Librarians will be here to assist your during most of the hours the library is open during summer.

End of Quarter Crunch? Librarians can Help!

Hello Students! Here we are again... so soon... at the end of another quarter. We at the library want to help you finish up the quarter successfully! If you are struggling to wrap up those final papers and presentations, or need just a couple more articles or reference sources to cite, librarians can assist you! We can help you with using software like PowerPoint, "tweaking" your search strategies in ProQuest or EbscoHost, or suggesting other databases that match your topic or assignment. Also, if you need a quiet place to study up for exams, the library has some wonderful spaces for individual and group study.

• Call a librarian at the reference desk at 360-475-7252.
  
Monday-Thursday 8am-9pm
Friday 8am-5pm
Saturday 10am-4pm
Sunday Noon-6pm


• Chat with a librarian 24/7 via the link to QuestionPoint on the library website!

Please note: You may be chatting with a librarian from another academic library within our national 24/7 cooperative reference service. OC librarians may follow up on those chats with additional information.

• Study Rooms are available in the Haselwood Library basement.
  
  

I Love Our New Books! And You Will Too!!

There are so many wonderful new books just acquired by the Haselwood Library that I’m giddy… trying to figure out which one to read first! They are all so interesting and many are spot on regarding today’s economic issues. Here's the list of ALL our new books, and below is a small sample… in no particular order.

Compelling Covers:

Tantalizing Titles and Necessary Numbers:

Passport to Success: The Essential Guide to Business Culture and Customs in America's Largest Trading Partners

Call Number: 395.52 Ma364p 2009

Mindful Economics: How the U.S. Economy Works, Why it Matters, and How it Could be Different

Call Number: 339.973 Na275m 2008

The Subprime Solution: How Today's Global Financial Crisis Happened, and What to Do about it Call Number: 332.722 Sh62s 2008

Tagging: People-Powered Metadata for the Social Web

Call Number: 004.678 Sm57t

The Machine in America: A Social History of Technology

2nd ed. Call Number: 303.483 Pu976m 2007

Food Culture in Southeast Asia

Call Number: 394.12 Va289f 2008

Controversies in Science and Technology: From Climate to Chromosomes

Call Number: 303.483 Co768k 2008

Game Development Essentials: Gameplay Mechanics

Call Number: 794.8152 Du922g 2008

Poisons on our Plates: The Real Food Safety Problem in the United States

Call Number: 363.1926 Mo834p 2008

The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide

Call Number: 641.3372 He365s 2007

Happy Reading!

by: Leslie Hassett, Adjunct Librarian

Dedication & Grand Opening of the THOMAS GRAHAM COLLECTION

Welcome to a celebration of Tom’s love of exploration and points unknown! Tomorrow, Friday, May 15, 2009 in the Haselwood Library.

Open House 4:00—6:00 pm
Dedication Remarks 4:30 pm
Refreshments Served 5:00 pm

A special book collection has been dedicated to Tom and is located in Room 5 downstairs. The Thomas Graham Collection is a gathering of important books covering the history, geology and geography of the Pacific Northwest together with a collection of noted journals and histories of travel and exploration, to honor a man who exemplified the love of travel and the mystery of life on the edge.
Permanent scholarships have been established in Thomas Graham’s name at Olympic College and Western Washington University, Huxley College.

Sample of books in the Collection:
Encyclopedia of Tidepools and Rocky Shores (Encyclopedias of the Natural World)
This comprehensive encyclopedia is an authoritative, one-stop reference for everyone interested in the biology and ecology of this fascinating and uniquely accessible environment.



Earth as Art: Views from Heaven
This beautifully illustrated large format book presents hundreds of stunning aerial photographs of landscapes from around the world.


Whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals of the world
This breathtakingly beautiful book brings readers nose-to-nose with all of the world's marine mammals-a comprehensive line-up of remarkable whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, walruses, otters, polar bears, dugongs, and manatees. A highly practical field guide, it combines state-of-the-art illustrations with superb color photographs and detailed maps. The book highlights key field marks and clearly summarizes the types of behaviors that marine-mammal watchers may observe.

New! Electronic Subject Encyclopedias on Social Problems and Business Ethics

The Library has subscribed to two additional electronic subject encyclopedias which are now available for searching both on and off campus via the library website listing of reference works!

Search Features:
1) Browsable "Readers Guide" - This groups subject entries by broad categories under which the specific articles will be found such as: Aging, Crime, Education, Gender, Health, Politics, Poverty, Race, Social Movements and more.
2) A-Z topic list - Alphabetical index of all 600+ topic entries
3) Subject Index - Alphabetical list of words that will lead you to the most relevant topic entries. For example, the index may have the word "Alzheimer's" but the heading for the entry itself is "Dementia".

Brief descriptions:
Encyclopedia of Social Problems New!
This encyclopedia contains articles on over 600 social issues and discusses how these issues get defined as “social problems” as well as the ways different people and organizations view and try to solve them. Articles cover issues such as child neglect, euthanasia, genetic engineering, hate groups, human trafficking, racial profiling, smoking and many more.

Encyclopedia of Business Ethics and Society New!
Covers ethical issues of social and political relevance such as corporate accountability, deceptive advertising, environmental ethics, executive compensation, workplace privacy, and much more.

Student Entry and Advising Center Access

The sidewalk out front of the Student Entry and Advising Center (SEAC) will be torn up and rebuilt which means for a month or so, all entry to SEAC will be through the library.

May 1 - May 30 All Access to SEAC will be through the Library. The external door to SEAC will be blocked. The internal access door to SEAC in the Library basement will be open. There is signage in the lobby and in the basement of the library as well as map handouts (click the above image to print your own map). When SEAC closes, librarians will lock down the Library entry to SEAC.

June 1 - ? Anyone in a wheelchair or walker will still need to access SEAC via the library. Access by stairs to SEAC will be available for all who can manage them. During this time, the intervening door between the Library and SEAC will be locked. A staff person will escort those who need elevator access downstairs and let them into SEAC and will lock the door behind them. When the student’s appt. is over, SEAC folks will call up to either the reference desk [7252] or circulation desk [7266] for someone to unlock the door and allow the person to exit via the library.

Google Documents

Google Documents. A common problem for students is communicating electronically with their professors. Specifically, many professors want written work turned in to them In Microsoft Word (.doc) format. Microsoft Word is a robust word processing program that’s also got a robust price tag, so most students are facing a big hurdle -- How to comply with professors’ demands without shelling out even more money? You’ve paid tuition, been exploited by textbook publishers, and now you need $250 for software? NOT! Google Documents might be your best solution!

Google Documents is a free Web-based software suite that gives you tools to create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. And if you download them correctly, your documents will be compatible with Microsoft Word, creating harmony between you and your professor. Google Documents was initially created as a collaboration tool, but it will also work as your personal document editor and storage space on the Web.

http://docs.google.com/

--Kent Mercer,MLIS

BookShill #2 - Obesity

The subject for the second issue of BookShill is obesity. This is a significant problem in the United States and is becoming moreso, especially in children. The books covered in BookShill are now on display near the Haselwood Library Reference Desk and are available for checkout. The BookShill is produced by our librarian Kent Mercer.

View BookShill #2!

Library Resources for Hard Times

The Washington State Library has created a website with helpful resources for these economic hard times that so many of us are experiencing. The State Library explains:

"These resources are for library users to help them find jobs, develop their resumes and interview skills, file for unemployment, and find economic and technological information and resources. Please feel free to share these links with your patrons, to take these lists and post them on your own web pages, and to distribute this information as you see fit."

Link to Hard Times: Resources for Library Users

Welcome to Spring Quarter... Ask a Librarian!

Welcome to new and returning students! The librarians and library staff are ready to help you access, find, and organize the library information you need for your class assignments.

From the Library homepage look for this icon. Then, click on "Chat", "Email", or "Phone" to get help from a librarian. The librarians at the Haselwood Library can provide you one-on-one personal assistance by phone, by email, or you can use the "Chat" service to get immediate live online help. If you login to this 24/7 Ask-A-Librarian service at 2:00 am, you will get a librarian from another part of the country, but your question will always be reviewed by an Olympic College Librarian for follow-up.

Of course you may come into the Haselwood Library in person... the old fashioned way! We're here to help and we look forward to seeing you!

Have a Great Break! See You Next Quarter...

We hope your final exams went very well and look forward to assisting you again next quarter with all your information needs. Enjoy your Spring Break!

The budget ax begins to fall

The budget ax begins to fall as information services come up for renewal and there's no money to continue them. These two services are some of the first to go...

from Washington State Library:
Find-It! Washington and Find-It! Consumer will be discontinued

"Due to budget cut-backs WSL will be discontinuing the Find-It! Washington and Find-It! Consumer search services effective May 1, 2009. Our license from Google expires then and we will not be able to renew it. We know that some of you depend on Find-It! for finding Washington State government information. We are very sorry that we have to do this, but the financial situation has made necessary many cuts we would not otherwise have contemplated."--Washington State Library

from Kitsap Regional Library:
Popular Online Tutoring Service a Victim of Library Budget Cuts
"Due to budget reductions, Kitsap Regional Library will no longer provide free online tutoring Live Homework Help beginning April 1. The library chain's Live Homework Help service has been helping some 400 students a month in a variety of subjects. But Homework Help costs the library $40,000 a year, and with the KRL already shortening hours and cutting materials, the service was deemed too expensive to continue. "It's gotten a lot of positive comments, but when you have cuts ... this is one thing that we cannot afford," said Carol Schuyler. the library chain's director of support services. The library began offering the service in April 2006. Just eight students used it that first month, but the program grew quickly. Students from kindergarten through 12th grade can access Homework Help between 3 p.m. and 10 p.m. on weekdays from the KRL Web site by using their library card number to get free service. Once on the site, students are connected to a live tutor who can help them do math problems, proofread essays and answer questions. "We are extremely sorry to have to cut it, but in tough budgetary times you have to make choices," Schuyler said. "We didn't feel that we could maintain this service this year.""-- Angela Lu, Friday, March 13, 2009 (Kitsap Sun)

End of Quarter Crunch? Librarians can Help!

Hello Students! There's only a few more days until the end of the quarter. If you are struggling to wrap up those final papers and presentations, or need just a couple more articles or reference sources to cite, librarians are here to help you! If you need a quiet place to study up for exams, the library as some wonderful spaces for individual and group study.

• Call a librarian at the reference desk at 360-475-7252.
  
Monday-Thursday 8am-9pm
Friday 8am-5pm
Saturday 10am-4pm
Sunday Noon-6pm


• Chat with a librarian 24/7 via the link to QuestionPoint on the library website!

Please note: You may be chatting with a librarian from another academic library within our national 24/7 cooperative reference service. OC librarians may follow up on those chats with additional information.

• Study Rooms are available in the Haselwood Library basement.
  
  

New Book Highlights

Compare and contrast the content and issues of the following two new books: the beginning of a newly created wire service in 1846 which delivered breaking news by Pony Express and the transformation to today's lone "journalist" bloggers and what some call the demise of the news and journalism industry as we have known it.


The Rise of the Blogosphere
By Aaron Barlow

“[B]arlow here examines blogs--interactive Web journals through which users share information and opinions. His perspective is that of both an academic researcher and longtime blogger. He looks at blogs in the historical context of the American press, the tradition of alternative journalism, and the position of mainstream media, citing blogs as evidence of the increasing power of citizen journalism. He discusses the social, political, and technological contexts that led to the current popularity of blogging. Complete with chapter notes, a selected bibliography, and a thorough index, this accessible book will be of particular value to those interested in contemporary mass communications, journalism, and media studies. Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty.”–Choice

Haselwood Library

2nd Floor – circulating collection
070.4Ba249r

______________________

Breaking News: How the Associated Press Has Covered War, Peace, and Everything Else
By reporters of the Associated Press

The Associated Press wire service has been reporting breaking news since 1846. That year five New York City newspapers got together to fund a pony express route through Alabama in order to bring news of the Mexican War north faster than the U.S. Post Office could deliver it! This 432 page volume chronicles and fully documents AP's coverage of historical moments and also how those reporters got the "scoop" first which is just as interesting! The authors of this volume have consulted a variety of primary and secondary sources including the personal papers of AP journalists, oral history interviews, annual reports, in-house bulletins, and never published manuscripts about the AP written by previous historians.

For instructors at OC who want their students to find and analyze significant images in history, this is a fantastic resource.

Haselwood Library

2nd Floor – circulating collection
070.435 Br740h

The BookShill Comes to Town!

The Olympic College BookShill is a new publication which highlights Haselwood Library books on "hot topics". The books will be on display near the Haselwood Library Reference Desk and are available for checkout. The BookShill is produced by our librarian Kent Mercer. The premier Issue #1 covers the "burning" topic of global warming.

Click on the image below to read BookShill #1!

Welcome to OC Libraries' New Blog!

The Olympic College Libraries have a new blog where we will post information such as:

Hours changes
New databases (The most recent is The American Indian Experience)
Tips for database searching
New Books
New library subject guides
Special collections guides

and more!

Please comment on our posts, make suggestions, and most of all contact us for assistance with your library research and assignments!