"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!