Happy Thanksgiving!

A Cornucopia of Thanks - made by Dick Smith Library staff

The Dick Smith Library will be closing at 5 PM on Wednesday, November 26, for the Thanksgiving holiday.  We will reopen at noon on Sunday, November 30.  Have a wonderful holiday and safe travels!

What are you thankful for?

It's that time of year again! Many people spend the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends. They share stories of the past year over turkey and dressing. Some even put up their Christmas trees and decorations, if they haven't already. Many will go shopping for early Black Friday deals. We want to know what you'll be doing this year on Thanksgiving and what you are thankful for.

www.prettyorganized.com/organizing/free-fall-printables-favorite-quote

We will be closed Thanksgiving Day and reopen on Sunday, November 30th at noon. Feel free to send us an email or leave a voice mail, if you have questions and we will respond at the earliest possible time.

254-968-9249 

reference@tarleton.edu

International Week Trivia

How much do you know about International Trivia?

Here's just a few questions to see how well you can do:

Q1. Where is Papiamentu spoken?

Q2. Which bird appears on the flag of American Somoa?

Q3. What does the word “Zimbabwe” mean?

Q4. Who is the confined Chinese artist who currently has an exhibit at Altcatraz?

Q5. In which country will women finally gain the right to vote in 2015?

Q6. While some countries use GNP as a measure of the status of a country, what does Bhutan measure?

How well did you do?

Scroll down to see answers.

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Answers:

1. On the islands of the Netherlands Antilles: Curacao, Bonaire, and Aruba.

2. Bald eagle

3. House of stone

4. Ai Weiwei

5. Saudi Arabia

6. GNH: Gross National Happiness

Accessible Emails Lessons @ Lunch November 18

Join us in the Library Multipurpose Room on November 18th at Noon

for Lessons @ Lunch Accessible Emails.

 

 

 

 

Learn what techniques other universities are adopting for making our message

accessible to all audiences, ways to keep your email accessible,

and what an inaccessible email is.

 

Presented by Karole Schroeder.

Sponsored by the Dick Smith Library.

International Games Day - November 14-15, 2014

We are celebrating International Games Day in the library today, November 14th and tomorrow the 15th. We will have board games and a Wii console set up in the multi-purpose room for anyone to come and enjoy. Games Day is being celebrated all over the world in libraries today and is a great opportunity to just relax and have some fun! We posted fliers all over campus and invited the Gamers Club on campus to attend the event. Here are some photos of what we had set up for the two days.

Do you know the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day?

Veterans Day is often confused with Memorial Day. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs:

Many people confuse Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Memorial Day is a day for remembering and honoring military personnel who died in the service of their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle. While those who died are also remembered, Veterans Day is the day set aside to thank and honor ALL those who served honorably in the military – in wartime or peacetime. In fact, Veterans Day is largely intended to thank LIVING veterans for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to our national security are appreciated, and to underscore the fact that all those who served – not only those who died – have sacrificed and done their duty.

Do you know any veterans?  Thank them today!

National Novel Writing Month

It's not too late to write a novel by the end of the month.

No, really.

National Novel Writing Month was started in 1999 by Chris Baty.  It's often abbreviated to NaNoWriMo, which is pronounced Na-No-RHY-mo.  From the website:

"National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30."

Here are some print books at the (Stephenville campus) library to help you out.
You may also find some of these electronic books helpful (be sure to log on with your UID & password when prompted if you are off-campus).

Don't fancy yourself a novelist?  There are other creativity-fueled events inspired by NaNoWriMo that take place throughout the year.  You can find them at this link.

creative commons licensed (BY-ND) flickr photo by hjconti: http://flickr.com/photos/hjconti/5148810423

Laptop Lending Machine

In case you missed the big surprise unveiling yesterday, here's a look at something new the library has to offer: a Laptop Lending Machine!

Dr. Dottavio and SGA President Jay Johnson were the first two people to swipe their Texan Cards and try out the new laptop loan vending machine.

The process is simple, and you no longer have to wait in line at the Circulation Desk to check out a laptop.

All you need is your Texan Card and your NTNET password to check out a fully charged laptop for four hours. You will also receive a receipt in your Tarleton email inbox to show when the transaction was completed after you return the laptop.  

Come by the library and try it out for yourself!

Need assistance?

Stop by the Reference Desk located nearby or call (254)968-9249.

Halloween in the Library's Catalog

With Halloween in just a few days, I thought it would be interesting to see what I would find if I just searched "Halloween" in the library's catalog.  The result is 72 hits with various items such as cookbooks, videos, films, histories of hoaxes and other historical accounts of gruesome happenings, as well as children's books and math exercises using literature.  One particular hit is that of a musical offering: Sabla Tolo II by Hossam Ramz which includes a piece called, "Halloween".

This item is streaming sound file through which patrons may simply open up the record and listen to a song by clicking on the name of the piece. 

The song, "Halloween", is nothing like we would imagine a song entitled "Halloween" to sound like - no screeching cats, claps of thunder, or howling ghosts.
Give it try; click here to listen.

Have you tried Interlibrary Loan?

Interlibrary Loan is a service that we offer to current students, faculty, and staff at Tarleton. If there is a book article, video, or even music score that we don’t have, we can request it from other libraries across the nation. There are hundreds of libraries that will share their collections with us. You can search the World Cat database to see which libraries may own the item for which you are searching.

Useful Links:

InterlibraryLoan Login screen

World Cat

Discovery @Tarleton

Best practices for inputting a request:

1.  Look in World Cat for the Accession number (also known as the OCLC number).
2. Provide the ISBN/ISSN.
3. If you are requesting an article include the journal title, article title, volume number, issue number, and page numbers (most of this information can be found in Discovery, even if we don't own the article).
4. The more information you can give the better.

Things you need to know:

1. We can’t always get the item that you are wanting. Newer items or obscure items are very difficult to obtain.
2. On occasion there is a lending fee. This means that they will lend it, but only if you are willing to pay a fee. The majority of libraries will lend for free though.
3. If you wait to the last minute, you may not get the book or article that you need when you need it. Don’t wait until the last minute to make a request. Many things we can get pretty quickly, but if you are writing a research paper, and you need one more resource and your paper is due in 3 days, it’s probably not going to get here in time.

What does the library mean to you?

This year the library is going to participate in the Texas Library Association (TxLA) Snapshot Day.  It allows libraries and library users to showcase library activities.  It is a "snapshot" of a day in the life of our library.

On October 30 & 31, help showcase the new Library Learning Commons and show the importance of the library by telling us why you come to the library and giving us feedback.  Have your picture taken, too!

Find out about the annual event held by TxLA:  http://www.texaslibrarysnapshotday.org/

To view pictures from past Library Snapshot Days visit the TxLA Flickr page -  https://www.flickr.com/groups/librarysnapshotday

Heritage Quest Census Maps

It's still Family History Month, so here's a little tip I learned about the library's Heritage Quest Online database in a recent online webinar:

After logging in, choose Census and Browse.  After you choose a census year and state, a link will appear that says "View State Map."

When you click on the link, it opens a new window with a map of that state.  Current counties are outlined in white; counties for the census year are outlined in black.

Texas in 1860

In 1850 (pictured at left), Erath county (of which Stephenville is the county seat) didn't exist.  It - and part or all of many of today's surrounding counties - were part of a then-huge Milam county.

By 1860 (pictured below), some boundaries had changed.  Erath County's boundaries are close to what they are now.  Adjacent Hood and Somerville counties were part of Johnson County in 1860.  The maps also note information such as the fact that all census records for Tarrant County (Fort Worth) were lost for 1860.

Texas in 1860

Texas in 1870

For the 1870 census (pictured below), Erath County has the shape it has today.  However, apparently there are no records for adjacent Palo Pinto County - indications are that it was not enumerated separately, and perhaps was not enumerated at all.

These handy maps can help the researcher figure out where to look for ancestors.

Library Learning Commons Website

As most of you know, the Library Learning Commons (LLC) is now complete. You can enjoy a nice cup of coffee, get tech help, and even setup tutoring sessions, to name a few amenities. The new space is comfortable and inviting. If you haven't had the opportunity to check it out, you are missing out on some of the most state of the art technologies on campus. There are collaboration stations, KIC scanners, and charging stations. In the near future, you can expect to find a laptop vending machine. The easiest way to access any information about the LLC is to use our LLC website.

Need assistance? Call 254-968-9249 or email reference@tarleton.edu

Follow Tarleton Libraries

Tarleton Lib Mobile App

Tarleton Libraries has a new app for iPhones and iPads! You can find it in the App Store by searching for "Tarleton Lib" or use the QR code below to download the app:

From the app you can search the library catalog, make book lists and even read e-books and online journals. You can also see what books you have checked out and manage your holds. 

Want directions to the library? Need to call or e-mail us? You can do that from the app! You can find out more about library events and new library equipment under Library Events, and read this very blog under Library Blog. 

Screenshots from iTunes.

Have fun with the app and, as always, if you have questions, ask a librarian!