Top Ten Study Tips

1. Review class discussion and notes as soon as possible.
2. Don't cram the night before a test. Study the materials each night and then review before the test.
3. Study the most important information first.
4. Take notes and write down a summary of the important information as you read through the materials.
5. Make sure you understand the information; don’t just memorize the information.
6. Find a quiet place to study; don’t study in bed because you could easily fall asleep.
7. Use flashcards.
8. Study for 30-50 minutes and then take a 10 minute break.
9. Get plenty of sleep.
10. Ask for help! Talk to your professor, attend departmental study sessions, study with a classmate.......COME TO THE LIBRARY!

National Parks

On this day in history two of our national parks were created 10 years apart.  On February 26, 1919, the Grand Canyon was named a national park, and on the same date in 1929, the Grand Tetons National Park was established.

It has always been a lifetime goal of mine to visit all the national parks.  These two are really spectacular to visit!  Thanks to U. S. Presidents T. Roosevelt, W. Wilson, and C. Coolidge for preserving them for all time.

Twitter and Libraries

"Multiple Tweets Plain" by mkhmarketing on Flickr.com

If you follow our Twitter account, you may have noticed that our follower count has increased from 209 followers in July of 2012 to over 900 followers in January of 2014. Two of our librarians will give tips on Twitter during the online Handheld Librarian conference on Wednesday, February 26 at 10:30 a.m. This conference discusses topics pertinent to mobile technology in libraries.  You can register here.

Wish them luck!

Grassburrs from 1970 through 2012 Now Online!

You can now view the 1970 through 2012 Grassburr yearbooks on the Portal to Texas History!

You can use the search box at the top of the page to look for a particular organization or name (try your own!), or you can click on the title of a yearbook and browse through it page by page.

Grassburrs going back to the first one in 1916 are in the process of being added. It is taking a bit longer with these older yearbooks as many of them are more fragile and must be scanned using a different process.  We will also continue to add the yearbooks from more recent years (2013 and onward).

New Database: Garland Encyclopedia of World Music

Are you a Music major? Maybe you're a music fan? 

Tarleton Libraries has a new database called Garland Encyclopedia of World Music located on the A-Z Database List. 

Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Volume 8: Europe ed. Rice, Timothy, Porter, James & Goertzen, Chris

With this database, you can explore several types of music from all over the world.

You can also create "play lists" which are themed collections of materials and can be created by any user of the database.

Users can create play lists containing various types of documents, images, whole videos, tracks, segments (clips) and/or other items such as links to any URL.

Play lists can be annotated, edited, copied, shared, and all play lists contain their own unique static URL. Play lists can be used as lists of personal favorites, class viewing/listening assignments, or as a teaching resource for in-class use.

Check it out and let us know what you think! 

Need assistance? 

Contact us: 

(254)968-9249 or reference@tarleton.edu 

Today in History... Huckleberry Finn came to life

Photo of Mark Twain

On this day in 1885, Mark Twain published The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This was a very controversial story for its time because it focused on slavery and life in the South. Twain first introduced Huck Finn as Tom Sawyer's best friend in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

The library has several books by and about Mark Twain, including the two mentioned above. Take some time to look over the article at history dot com.

If you need assistance looking for any of Mark Twain's publications or any other materials, please contact (254)968-9249 or email reference@tarleton.edu. 

The Passing of an Icon - Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple is one of the most iconic child actresses of Hollywood.  A shining star in the 1930s box-office, she starred in hits like Bright Eyes (1934), The Little Colonel (1935), Curly Top (1935), Heidi (1937) and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938).  Even 80 years later, children are still familiar with her bouncing curls.

While her acting career was mostly limited to her childhood, Shirley Temple continued to be an outstanding role model in her later life.  She turned her interest to politics after retiring from acting in 1950.  She served in positions such as a delegate to the UN General Assembly, ambassador to Ghana and later as ambassador to Czechoslovakia.   

After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1972, Temple was one of the first celebrities to publicly discuss her diagnosis.  According to the Shirley Temple website, she received over 50,000 cards and letters from women who were thankful to her for making it more acceptable for women to seek medical attention.  

On February 10, 2014 Ambassador Shirley Temple Black passed away at the age of 85.

To learn more about Shirley Temple, check out this article from the Encyclopedia Britannica or stop by the library to look through books in our collection.

Glamour in a golden age : movie stars of the 1930s 

Call Number: PN1998.2 .G59 2011

Location: Stack

 

Political women : language and leadership

Call Number:  HQ1236.5 .U6 P653 2013

Location: Stacks

Precocious Charms : stars performing girlhood in classical Hollywood cinema

Call Number: PN1995.9 .G57 S65 2013   

Location: Stacks

Library Lovers Day is Friday

Library Lovers Day is Friday, February 14!

 

Help us celebrate by stopping by and getting your free button and chocolate. 
You can find them Friday on all three floors:

at the desk on the lower level, at the circulation desk on the main level,

and at the information desk on the upper level.

The upper level will also have a drawing box and slips where you can
enter to win some library swag.

 

Library Lovers Day is all day Friday so we'll have stuff out until it's gone!



New Software!

Do you need to use Dreamweaver to make a website for your cat? Design graphics for your latest candy smashing iPhone game with Fireworks? Put Lebron James's head on the Hulk's body with Photoshop?

 © DamageCarnag3 @ DeviantArt.  Some rights reserved. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Now you can do all of that and more with the Adobe Creative Cloud software on the library computers. We've added Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Photoshop to all of the library's desktop computers. Come on by and create something amazing!

Autographed Books

Something you may not know: the Dick Smith Library owns quite a few autographed books. I've included a selection of them below, but click here if you'd like to see a more complete list.

Vigilantes to verdicts : stories from a Texas district court by Sherri Knight - Sherri Knight's books have been featured in several Dick Smith Library "Dinner in the Stacks" events.

An excerpt from the publisher's description: "From the quick dispatch of horse thieves, an overturned stagecoach driven by a drunken teamster, the trial of John Wesley Hardin to the hanging of Tom Wright, the pages of Vigilantes to Verdicts: Stories from a Texas District Court will keep you riveted to the events of the nineteenth century. Travel with frontier men and women whose stories built the judicial history of a Texas district court. Sit alongside the judges on the bench who served to bring order to a turbulent and chaotic time."

The dog of my nightmares : stories by Texas columnist Dave Lieber - Dave Lieber visited Tarleton a few years ago and spoke about Watchdog Nation, Texas, and more.

Most of the stories in this book were originally published in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Kylie Jean, football queen by Marci Peschke - This is a children's book written by an author who lives in Texas.

"Kylie Jean Carter has been waiting for three years to become a Little Dazzler--a junior cheerleader for the high school's Dancing Dazzlers--so she can cheer for her brother's high school football team."

Bad Weather and Safe Driving Tips

Punxsutawney Phil reports we will have 6 more weeks of winter so be careful out there!

Since most of us are not used to driving in wintery weather, I found in our Films on Demand collection a video that provides some life saving tips:

Happy Birthday Facebook

Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the launch of Facebook. Facebook even had a cool link were you could create a retrospective movie of your highlights from the past. That leads me to ask - do you still use Facebook? How do you use it? For communication, for news,  the latest trends? Below are some of the top uses of Facebook (in no particular order). Please post a comment and share your thoughts on the topic, and let us know if you still use Facebook!

• To keep up with friends and family  
• View pictures
• Send private messages or chat with others
• Post and view funny videos
• To locate friends from your past
• Recipes
• Games
• To be aware of political and social views
• To learn about breaking news and events
• As a distraction or to relieve boredom

Don't forget your flash drive!

"Gatorade USB Drive 2" by molotalk on Flickr.

Students sometimes forget their flash* drives, or other items, while at the library. 

Missing something? Stop by the Circulation Desk on the main floor so we can check our Lost and Found area for you. 

You can also call us at (254) 968-9450 to inquire about lost items.

In the meantime, don't forget to use a backup system for important documents:
1) email yourself a copy, 
2) save it in the "cloud" (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc),
3) use our scanner, and/or
3) use your Tarleton T:drive.


*also known as thumb, USB, or jump drives.