Off-campus library services

Did you know that the Dick Smith Library offers a variety of services for off-campus Tarleton students, faculty, and staff?

Just because you are taking classes online or are located at another campus, the library can assist you with your research needs.
We offer:

• Reference assistance online, by phone (254-968-9249), or by fax (254-968-9467).
• Access to online resources, many with full-text articles.
• TexShare Cards
• Interlibrary Loan (ILLiad) for requesting books, articles, videos, etc.
• Courier service of library materials to Fort Worth, Killeen, Waco, and Weatherford (every Tuesday and Thursday).
• Qualified users can register with the library to receive home/office delivery of library materials.

Visit the Library's Off-Campus Services page for more information.

Coming soon to the library!

Thanks for telling us...that you wanted more student computers in the library! WE HEARD YOU!

Now, what else can the library do for you?

Mindset

The Beloit College Mindset List "provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college" each August for the last 12 years. This year's list is "an effort to identify the worldview of 18-year-olds in the fall of 2009" - and to help college professors and staff to avoid using cultural references these students might not understand!

For these new students, most of whom were born in 1991, it was most interesting for me (particularly as a librarian) to read that:

• They have never used a card catalog to find a book;
• Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream [my favorite!] has always been a flavor choice;
• They have always been able to read books on an electronic screen.

Check the link above for the other 72 items on this year's list.

Top Ten Tuesday – 10 tips to get the Semester Started Right

Wow, it's a new semester already! I want to help you start the academic year off by giving you 10 things/ways you can set yourself up to have a great semester. Most of these are applications or usernames and passwords that give you access to some of the many resources Tarleton has to offer its students. This information is provided as a guide to get you started.

• NTNET account - this is an important account! Not only does it get you access to campus computers, but also to mygateway, library databases, and ILLiad. Claim your NTNET account at http://www.tarleton.edu/userclaim. This is commonly referred to as your "ST_ account".
  
• UID - this is a unique nine-digit number provided to you upon your admission to Tarleton. This number is used frequently to confirm your identity - so it is a good idea to have it memorized. If you don't know your UID, you may look it up at http://www.tarleton.edu/uidlookup
  
• TARLETON Email - your "firstname.lastname@go.tarleton.edu" account is your official university issued email address. Please check it frequently at http://outlook.com for important university information. This account is yours to keep for life. For detailed information on email options and configurations, see http://outlook.com/help
  
• myGateway - this is Tarleton's web portal where many resources have been assembled for your convenience. If you have claimed your NTNET ID (number 1 above), login at http://gateway01.tarleton.edu or click the myGateway link at the top of the Tarleton homepage.
  
• Library Catalog – My Account – Not only can you use the library catalog to locate materials available from the Tarleton Libraries, our online catalog provides access to your library account. You can view a list of items currently borrowed, extend loan periods, update your contact information, change your PIN number, and place holds on needed materials. Go to Catalog: My Account - http://lib01.tarleton.edu/uhtbin/cgisirsi.exe/x/x/0/1/1166/X/
  
• Ducktrax - you can access your personal course schedules, grades, unofficial transcripts, and other information. You can also use it to manage personal information and user preferences. Log on to Ducktrax with your UID and PIN at https://web01.tarleton.edu:85/
  
• ILLiad – The library's interlibrary Loan system let you request items not available to you locally http://lib01.tarleton.edu/scripts/lib_redirect.pl?ill
  
• Blackboard – the web-based course-management system used to participate in classes delivered online or use online materials and activities used to complement face-to-face teaching. If you're enrolled in a course that uses Blackboard, be sure to ask your instructor how Blackboard will be used in that course. Login at http://online.tarleton.edu/Dual/DualLoginPage.htm with the same UID and PIN used for Ducktrax.
  
• ITS - http://www.tarleton.edu/library - This website has information about from the Information Technology Services department, including accounts, acceptable use, network storage, etc.
  
• Library Usernames and Passwords - http://www.tarleton.edu/library/offcampus.html - This webpage provides information about library applications that require usernames. It gives you information about who to call to get help from the library.
  

I hope you find these links helpful. If you get all your access set up early, then you are already ahead of the game once assignments start stacking up! And remember, Dick Smith Library is here to help. We have lots of resources available for you. The reference desk of the Library is staffed with professional librarians who provide personalized service to assist with learning and research needs. You may get help and ask questions in person at the library, by phone at 254-968-9249, by email, or via the web at http://www.tarleton.edu/~library/askaref.html. We hope to see you in the library soon!

Facebook Vs. MySpace

Tarleton's MySpace and Facebook pages.

According to TechCrunch, in January of 2009 the amount of Facebook users was nearly double the amount of MySpace users.¹ As Facebook grows in popularity, more and more related studies are being conducted :

• Viewing American Class Divisions in Facebook and MySpace June 2007
• Study Finds Link Between Facebook Use, Lower Grades in College April 2009
• Study: Facebook use cuts productivity at work July 2009
• Could Facebook Be Sowing Seeds of Jealousy? August 2009
• Popularity Fuels Disclosure on Facebook, Study Finds August 2009

What do you think? Leave us a comment; we'd love to hear from you.

¹1Arlington, Michael. "Facebook Now Nearly Twice the Size of MySpace Worldwide." TechCrunch. Retrieved on August 25, 2009 at http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/22/facebook-now-nearly-twice-the-size-of-myspace-worldwide/

Children's Books

If you are a parent, does your child have some summer reading s/he needs to finish up before back-to-school? Perhaps they have some required reading for a class, AR (Accelerated Reader) books to complete, or want to get ahead on the Texas Bluebonnet Award (grades 3-6), Lone Star (grades 6-8), or Tayshas (high school) reading lists. If so, the Dick Smith Library can help!

The lower level of the library has our Curriculum Collection, with thousands of children's and young adult books, fiction and nonfiction. Students (those already registered for next fall), faculty, staff, Tarleton Alumni Society, and Dick Smith Friends of the Library members can all check out books for their children using their Texan cards. Children's books check out for a week, and a book may be renewed online if there are no requests for the book from others.

We have all of this year's Bluebonnet Award nominees and all the previous winners. We also have all of the Newbery Medal winners (awarded each year "to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children") and Caldecott Medal Winners (awarded each year "to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children"), as well as most of the Honor Books (runners-up) and many other award-winning books too. We also have a number of Newbery Medal winners and some young adult award winners available in audiobook format.

Most schools have their AR quiz lists online, and we can help you check to see if your school has a quiz for the book you want to read. Come by the lower level of the library for help finding children's books Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM, from Special Services Librarian Amanda Pape or Special Services Assistant Vickie Sowell.

Top Ten Tuesday - Gobbledygook

An article in this past Sunday's Fort Worth Star-Telegram, in the "Work & Money" section, quoted recruiter and resume expert Dirk Spencer on "kisses of death" "fluff-filled phrases" to avoid in resumes because "We never search on these words, and they waste space you need." Here, in no particular order, are ten that recent college graduates might want to avoid in their resumes:

• results-oriented
• team player
• hands-on technician
• strategic thinker
• tactical thinker
• utilize
• duties
• decisive
• dynamic
• high energy
• powerful

Gobbledygook Grader can help you find other jargon and overused words and phrases that often lack specific meaning. [Hint: you don't have to enter an e-mail address to have the gobbledygook identified in the text you enter.] It's based on a study done by marketing strategist David Meerman Scott of over 700,000 press releases done by businesses in 2008. See this report from Dow Jones Insight.

Grassburrs

Did you know the Dick Smith Library has a complete set of Grassburr yearbooks? They go back to the first issue in 1916 (but we are missing 1932). This set is available in the library's Special Collections Suite on the lower level. The Suite is open Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM, and the books must be used in house - but we do have a copy machine available for your use. We also have a circulating collection of Grassburrs, also on the lower level, that may be checked out by eligible borrowers for a one-week period.

We will also honor requests to copy and mail or scan and e-mail a reasonable number of pages from yearbooks, with sufficient lead time. Just e-mail Special Services Librarian Amanda Pape at pape@tarleton.edu or leave a message for her at 254-968-9251.

We don't have any yearbooks to sell or give away, but the Grassburr office might. Contact them first for rates and availability at 254-968-9056 or email them at Grassburr@tarleton.edu. Shipping is $5.00 per copy for the back issues.

Top Ten Tuesday – 10 New Library Resources

The Library has been busy this summer adding new resources to help you do your research! I thought I would give a list of ten new resources, most of them available online, added this summer!

• Agricola from ProQuest - Database
  
• Agriculture journals - Database
  
• APA – Concise rules of the APA style - @ the Reference Desk
  
• Credo Reference – Database
  
• DSM IV - Online – Ebooks/Resource
• The Educator's Guide to Texas School Law - Ebook
• Encyclopedia of the History of American Management – Ebook
• Morningstar Investment Research Center - Database
  
• PsychiatryOnline - Database
  
• Publishing Opportunities Database - Database
  

Remember the library is constantly adding new books, periodicals, AV materials, etc., all year long. A list of the new resources added each month is available from the New Books List. If you have a suggestion for something the library could purchase, we encourage you to use our Suggest a Purchase form.

How well do you...?

Lately, my Facebook friends are particularly into How Well Do You... quizzies. So, here is mine for you, my Blogger Buddies:
How Well do you do on How Fit Are You???

Actually, it is a tiny piece of another site, Exercise and Physical Fitness, a service of NLM and NIH. And they toss the gauntlet with this: There are 1,440 minutes in every day. Schedule 30 of them for physical activity! Ow!

I have been sitting in the library, working sin cesar at the computer ALL DAY, and still have two more hours. I retreated to my office for a little Yoga Trance Dance with Shiva Rea. Maybe I should lead everyone out of here with a trance dance conga line. I bet we could all concentrate better afterwards!

How well do you....?

20 Facebook Tips/Tricks

20 Facebook Tips/Tricks You Might Not Know at Hongkiat.com offers a quick guide and instructions to some Facebook features that you might find useful. The features include how to

• Download Facebook Photo Albums
• Share Flickr Photos to Facebook
• Schedule Facebook Messages
• Hide Facebook Status Updates
• Know When Facebook Friends Secretly Delete or Block You
• Remove Facebook Advertisements
• Sync Photos of Facebook Friends with Contacts in Microsoft Outlook
• Get Facebook Updates on Email

Check out the article to learn about these features and 12 more.