Reference Outreach & Instruction

Posted by meye0539 at 4:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sue's Podcast:  Download file

Posted by meye0539 at 4:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

EBSCO has released EBSCOhost 2.0 today.  When accessing EBSCO you will now be searching the EBSCOhost 2.0 interface which is more user-friendly and intuitive.  MINITEX Reference Services staff are offering webinars to introduce you to the changes.  For more information or to register click here.  EBSCO also offers tutorials and information on the new interface here.

Posted by fried004 at 1:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

• An overview of EBSCOhost 2.0 is provided in the Flash demonstration here. (www.ebscohost.com/2.0_flash)
• The EBSCOhost 2.0 Support Center is available here. (http://support.epnet.com/ebscohost2)
• Our marketing web site also features new EBSCOhost 2.0 web pages, where you can learn more about its key features, here. (http://www.ebscohost.com/2.0)

Visit EBSCO's Support Site (http://support.ebsco.com) to learn about new features, search among thousands of FAQs, download Flash tutorials, Help Sheets or User Guides, or communicate with Technical Support at any time, using the EBSCO Support Form (http://support.epnet.com/contact/askus.php).

Posted by meye0539 at 4:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Do-It-Yourself Projects Enhance Learning by Geoff Butterfield has several inexpensive tech tricks that yield big classroom dividends.  A sample of some, include a $15 steady cam and the Soda Bottle Rocket (from Make).  The author suggests several websites that give step-by-step instructions for hands-on projects.  The websites include: Howtoons, Instructables, Tech Savvy Teachers, and many others. 

Posted by meye0539 at 4:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As readers’ advisory has grown, so has the number of resources providing advice to the advisors. While many of them, such as the landmark Genreflecting (first published in 1982), serve as practical tools for librarians who are helping patrons find something to read, others concentrate more on theory and method. Libraries that provide RA services need to have both kinds of guides on hand. For this core collection, we’ve included two must-have classics, plus a representative selection of other current titles, several of which focus on a major genre or a specific audience. For electronic RA resources, see Jessica Moyer’s “Core Collection: Electronic Readers’-Advisory Tools.” >>read more

-From Booklist Online, July 9, 2008 by Mary Ellen Quinn

Posted by meye0539 at 3:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From LIS News- 100 Unbelievably Useful Reference Sites You’ve Never Heard Of: Beyond Google, Wikipedia and other generic reference sites, the Internet boasts a multitude of search engines, dictionaries, reference desks and databases that have organized and archived information for quick and easy searches. In this list, we’ve compiled just 100 of our favorites, for teachers, students, hypochondriacs, procrastinators, bookworms, sports nuts and more.

Read more, at: http://www.teachingtips.com/blog/2008/07/07/100-unbelievably-useful-reference-sites-youve-never-heard-of/

Posted by meye0539 at 9:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From OCLC:

The OCLC WorldMap is a prototype system that provides an interactive visual tool for selecting and displaying international library holdings represented in WorldCat, and publishing, library, cultural heritage, and collection data.

The OCLC WorldMap allows users to select countries of interest, then to compare various library and cultural heritage data by country.

WorldMap will generate interactive graphs that compare several different kinds of data for up to four countries at a time. The data includes the number of:

* Holdings in WorldCat for titles published in each country,
* Languages represented in WorldCat for titles published in each country,
* Titles in WorldCat published in each country; or
* Libraries in each country (broken down by type of library),
* Library volumes in each country (broken down by type of library),
* Certified/degreed librarians in each country (broken down by type of library),
* Registered library users in each country (broken down by type of library),
* Library expenditures (in US $), for each country (broken down type of library),
* Cultural heritage institutions (museums and archives) in each country, and
* Publishers in each country.

Results are displayed on a new screen. In addition, the tabs for each country on the new screen allow viewing of the complete dataset for each country, and the sources for the data (N/A indicates no data are available). A key to the display (.pdf: 607K/6 pp.) is available.

The data for the map were generated from WorldCat and more than forty other sources. The non-WorldCat data in the prototype, however, may not be complete. OCLC is not responsible for incomplete or inaccurate data. If you know of other data sources that can be used to update our data, please let us know.

For more information on OCLC WorldMap

Posted by Jennifer Hootman at 5:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Connie's Podcast:  Download file

During April, I had the opportunity to interview Connie Van Blarcum, media specialist at Jefferson High School in Bloomington, MN. During our conversation she commented on how she communicates with students and staff, partnerships she has developed, how she uses MINITEX Reference Services and other wonderful programs she has initiated at her school. One thing that Connie brought up was on how libraries need a prompt turn-around time; it is how we will stay in existence in the age of Google. 

Posted by meye0539 at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

      New Archived Webinar Announced: Podcasting Update

In this webinar I will discuss some one-stop websites for creating and hosting your podcast, if you haven’t begun podcasting already. I will also talk about some new resources that you may want to use to enhance your current podcasts, such as using Skype for long-distance interviews or a transcription service. It’s not to late to begin podcasting! 

To view the recording, visit: http://www.minitex.umn.edu/events/training/archived.asp#195 

Posted by meye0539 at 8:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An interesting article on June 29, 2008, The Oracle Collective, in the NYT about Yahoo Answers. 

"In fact, people ask the Web all kinds of crazy things, including “Does he love me?” (Mamay: “He’s 13, he doesn’t know what love is.”) Look over your own Google search history, if you can bear it. Embarrassment does not inhibit us, as it must have inhibited callers to the public library. "

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/magazine/29wwln-medium-t.html?ex=1372305600&en=117592c81c8d8a80&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Posted by meye0539 at 7:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

  If you can't attend ALA here are some sites I found that contain some highlights, videos, blog posts, etc.:

• American Library Association Conference 2008, Anaheim, CA: Complete Coverage from Library Journal http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6571488.html
• Daily newspaper of the conference, Cognotes: http://www.ala.org/ala/eventsandconferencesb/annual/2008a/cognotes.cfm
• Also, many individuals that have library blogs are discussing the conference on their sites.

Posted by meye0539 at 9:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)