Libraries Transform Notecards

Tamika has left a stack of notecards from ALA's Libraries Transform campaign on the ref desk. Feel free to use as fancy notepaper.

Access Science

There are promotional brochures at the desk for Access Science, one of our newest licensed databases.  You can find it in the A-Z index in GALILEO or here is a direct link:http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=accq-dek1

The database has the content of the multi-volume print McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science, plus some enhancements that are possible in the digital format such as digital animations and hyperlinks to cited and supplemental material.

This license was requested by science faculty from Alpharetta as part of a grant proposal, so you might have students inquiring about it. 

Please try it out and feel free to record any comments or tips in the comments section.

New ProQuest Databases

As part of the GSU consolidation, GPC students will gain access to some new databases.

The first to arrive are from ProQuest, which can be accessed as individual databases or collectively under the ProQuest Central platform. We already have Nursing and Allied Health Sources, which is a favorite of our Dental Hygiene students. Articles are already loaded into Discover GALILEO and can be accessed with the Find It button. New titles for us are listed below.

ABI/INFORM Complete

Banking Information Source

Biology Journals (ProQuest)

Canadian Business and Current Affairs Complete (CBCA)

Canadian Newsstand (ProQuest)

Criminal Justice (ProQuest)

Environmental Science Collection (ProQuest)

Family Health (ProQuest)

Health and Medical Complete (ProQuest)

Health Management (ProQuest)

Hoover's Company Profiles

OxResearch (ProQuest)

Pharmaceutical News Index

Political Science (ProQuest)

ProQuest Asian Business & Reference

ProQuest Career and Technical Education

ProQuest Computing

ProQuest Education Journals

ProQuest European Business

ProQuest Military Collection

ProQuest Newsstand

ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source

ProQuest Religion

ProQuest Research Library

ProQuest Social Science Journals

ProQuest Telecommunications

Psychology Journals (ProQuest)

Science Journals (ProQuest)

Snapshot Series (ProQuest)

Sociology (ProQuest)

ProQuest does a great job with training materials. Here are some options for webinars: http://bit.ly/1JQcpcU Scroll down the page to see the recorded training from October 6th.

Have fun exploring the new resources and feel free to add any tips and tricks you discover in the comments below.

 

Equipment Checkout for Faculty Available

Faculty are now available to check out equipment such as digital cameras, iPads and more. The link below will give you more information about how to reserve the items and when you can pick them up.

http://technology.gpc.edu/teaching-learning/services-programs/equipment-checkout/

American History Assignment

As usual Will Simson has assigned a fascinating and creative research topic for his students.  They are to start with their own families, ask questions, and discover family history as far back as the 1920's, if possible. Then they will do library research to connect the personal stories of the four most interesting people in their families to major events in American history. There are two copies of the assignment at the Ref. Desk.

Students are able to use Ancestry Library Edition to find more info on their relatives.  (Play around with this resources, if you aren't already familiar. It is only available ON CAMPUS.) Then they can use the typical primary and secondary source books and articles to make links to U.S. history.

There are about 100 students doing this project, and each one will have a very different focus, but here's an example of one investigation.  A student knew that his grandfather fought in WW II and was able to find a picture of his draft card in Ancestry.  He can then look for other primary documents related to that war. (See the LibGuide for help guides.gpc.edu/HIST2112Simson . Milestone documents and Annals of America will be sufficient, but Academic Search Complete will also limit to primary sources.) He can find local news about the war in Historic Atlanta Constitution. (For more recent events, LexisNexis is better.) He can find general information in a plethora of books we have on the war. He can find academic articles about a battle (or country or branch of the armed forces) where his grandfather served. (Will will also accept articles from National Geographic and Smithsonian.)  As you can see, this is a very rich and interesting assignment.

However, it's also a tough one for students whose families have recently immigrated to the US. In their case, they are to research what was happening in relations between their home country and the US at the time of, or leading up to their move. There has to be some tie-in to US history.

Please add your thoughts to this post.  Thanks for helping the students.

Splitters Available

We now have two splitters available for checkout at the Circulation Desk. The splitter will allow two users to share a computer/laptop and watch a video/movie together.

Scanning Documents

The Business Spot (Jcard Office) no longer offer the option to scan documents. If students need to scan documents please refer them to the Jag Spot (Computer Lab), Room E160.