Writing Studies Department Resources http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/ For students and faculty in composition, journalism, linguistics, information design, and professional writing and communication. en Copyright 2008 Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:35:55 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.33.uthink http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Fancy Linking Guide This is for faculty....

I have been working on a collection of web pages on the UMD Library website that give instructions on some fancy ways to link to library resources. We have a lot of things you might want to link to in your course web pages or course WebCT or Moodle sites that require a bit more than copying and pasting a link. To explore what those are and get the instructions, visit my Guide to Linking to Library Resources. I'd appreciate any feedback you have to offer.

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2008/07/fancy_linking_guide.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2008/07/fancy_linking_guide.html Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:35:55 -0600 Recent Acquisitions The Library has added a web page listing our new acquisitions from the previous month. The list includes regular books, children's literature, teaching materials, reference books, bestsellers, and multimedia items. There will be a new list each month at the same location on the website. It's a very nice way to get a sense of what we are buying to support the University's needs.

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2008/04/recent_acquisitions_1.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2008/04/recent_acquisitions_1.html Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:08:56 -0600 UMD Library Connection Newsletter The new issue of the UMD Library Connection newsletter is out. It includes items on the upcoming Northeast Minnesota Book Awards (NEMBA), the kids from the Children's Place who come in and use the library on Tuesdays, the new statewide 24-hour online reference service AskMN, profiles of three of our student employees, and other interesting news.

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2008/04/umd_library_connection_newslet.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2008/04/umd_library_connection_newslet.html Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:13:38 -0600 New Library Newsletter The new issue of the UMD Library's Newsletter, the Library Connection, is out. It's out in print and online as well. This issue has items about this semester's Student Video Contest, the transfer of the Media Hub to the library, the call for nominations for next year's Northeast Minnesota Book Awards, an article on the David Berman exhibit and event, and other news.

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2007/11/new_library_newsletter.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2007/11/new_library_newsletter.html Tue, 20 Nov 2007 14:01:10 -0600 Library Collections page The library website has an updated section about the various collections in the library. There is a page for each collection, and the majority of these collections can be searched separately from those pages.

The collections you'll find there include:

Archives
Audiobooks
Bestsellers
Books
Center for Economic Development
Children's Literature
DVD/Video
E-Books
Government Documents
Microform
Music Recordings
NRRI
Northeast Minnesota Historical Center
Plays
Ramseyer-Northern Bible Society Museum
Reference Collection
Special Collections
Teaching Materials
Tweed Museum Library
Voyageur Collection

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2007/11/library_collections_page.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2007/11/library_collections_page.html Wed, 14 Nov 2007 14:05:35 -0600 Instant Messaging update The reference department has set up a "chat widget," which allows anyone to chat with a librarian at the reference desk by going to the "Ask Us" page. This chat doesn't require the user to have any kind of account with any instant messaging service. I think this is pretty nifty.

Additionally, I offer chat service from my office to students and faculty in my subject areas. My IM accounts:


  • AIM: umdlibraryrory

  • MSN: umdlibraryrory@hotmail.com

  • GTalk: umdlibraryrory@gmail.com

  • ICQ: 347078118

I hope some folks find these services useful.

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2007/10/instant_messaging_update.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2007/10/instant_messaging_update.html Wed, 31 Oct 2007 11:16:51 -0600 Library Acquisitions, 2006-2007 Here is an Excel file listing all of the books we acquired for Composition last year.

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2007/08/library_acquisitions_20062007.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2007/08/library_acquisitions_20062007.html Fri, 31 Aug 2007 14:32:51 -0600 Electronic reference books from Oxford University Press We have a nice collection of electronic reference books from Oxford University Press that are kind of hidden away within our databases. Among them are a good number of reference books of interest to the Composition program.

There is a collection of English dictionaries and thesauruses that includes:


  • The New Oxford American Dictionary
  • The Canadian Oxford Dictionary
  • The Oxford American Dictionary of Current English
  • The Concise Oxford English Dictionary
  • The Oxford Dictionary of English (2nd edition revised)
  • The Oxford American Thesaurus of Current English
  • The Oxford Paperback Thesaurus

There is a collection of other English language reference books that includes:

  • The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations
  • The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology
  • The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar
  • Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language
  • A New Dictionary of Eponyms
  • The Oxford Essential Dictionary of Foreign Terms in English
  • The Oxford Dictionary of Idioms
  • The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics
  • Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes
  • The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style
  • Pocket Fowler's Modern English Usage

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2007/08/electronic_reference_books_fro.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2007/08/electronic_reference_books_fro.html Mon, 27 Aug 2007 12:48:39 -0600 Spring 2007 UMD Library Newsletter The Spring issue of The Library Connection, the UMD Library's newsletter, has been sent out in print form and uploaded to the web. Enjoy the news from the library....

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2007/04/spring_2007_umd_library_newsle.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2007/04/spring_2007_umd_library_newsle.html Mon, 30 Apr 2007 13:49:21 -0600 UMD Library Newsletter Fall 2006 UMD Library Newsletter Fall 2006: The Library Connection: A Newsletter for Friends of the UMD Library.

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2006/11/umd_library_newsletter_fall_20.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2006/11/umd_library_newsletter_fall_20.html Tue, 14 Nov 2006 10:20:10 -0600 Citation Linker I want to just mention a little-known service of the library website: the Citation Linker. This allows you to put in a citation to an article, and the system will attempt to link you directly to that article in one of our databases. Take it for a spin...

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2006/11/citation_linker.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2006/11/citation_linker.html Thu, 09 Nov 2006 10:10:35 -0600 Google Scholar and Find-It! We now have Google Scholar working with our Find-It system, which is very very nice!

Google Scholar is Google's effort to provide access to scholarly resources of the kind needed in college. It's searchable like regular Google, but what it comes up with is (mainly) all scholarly and reliable.

Among the results in Google Scholar are a lot of things that we only have access to through our subscription databases. But in order to get from Google Scholar to the full text of these articles via our databases, you have to set up some settings in Google Scholar to connect it with us. This page explains the steps, but I will repeat them here:

1. Go to http://scholar.google.com/

2. Click on Scholar Preferencesto the right of the search box.

3. In the Library Links field type in UMD.

4. Click on Find Library.

5. Put a check next to the University of Minnesota Duluth.

6. Click on Save Preferences.

Once you have done that, when you search Google Scholar you will often see a Find-It link next to a citation. If the link is in large type, it will lead you directly to the full text of that article in one of our databases. If it's in small type, it will lead you to the other steps you can take for getting the article (e-journal locator, library catalog, ILL form).

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2006/10/google_scholar_and_findit.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2006/10/google_scholar_and_findit.html Wed, 04 Oct 2006 12:01:48 -0600 RefWorks Ad For a while now the library has been offering access to RefWorks, which is an online bibliography manager similar to Procite and Endnote, but web-based. We have a campus-wide subscription to it. Students in Advanced Comp may find it especially useful for managing their citations and creating their bibliographies. (It automatically formats your references according to the citation format you're supposed to use.)

Anyway, I ran across something rather amusing related to RefWorks, this YouTube video advertising the service at Arizona State. I think it's kind of cute.

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2006/09/refworks_ad.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2006/09/refworks_ad.html Tue, 05 Sep 2006 10:03:57 -0600 Research help by instant messaging In mid-April we announced an instant-messaging IM service, where you can chat with the librarian who is working at the reference desk during the times that the desk is staffed.

I have decided to offer research help by instant messaging from my office as well. So if you are working on a writing project or a project in journalism, linguistics, or information design that requires some kind of research, or if you want to recommend a book or a database or ask a question that I might know the answer to, you can IM me in my office as long as I'm here.

My IM screennames at work are:

AIM: umdlibraryrory
MSN: umdlibraryrory
YM: umdlibraryrory
GTalk: rlitwin@gmail.com

Pop me a message just to let me know you are reading this.... I don't know if anybody is reading this blog at this point....

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2006/08/research_help_by_instant_messa.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2006/08/research_help_by_instant_messa.html Thu, 10 Aug 2006 15:36:44 -0600 Recent Acquisitions Here is an Excel spreadsheet listing books of interest to the Composition Department acquired by the library in the 2005-06 fiscal year:

Acquisitions for Composition, 2005-06

This includes all the books requested by Composition faculty as well as some other books selected by the librarian for Composition (Rory Litwin) and purchased using a mix of funds, including library funds devoted to developing the collection to support the Composition curriculum, funds for some other subjects where titles cross over into Comp, and funds for replacing missing books. There may be some books of interest to Composition faculty that were ordered by other librarians (particularly to support the Communications and English curricula), and those would not be on this list.

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2006/07/recent_acquisitions.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/rlitwin/comp/2006/07/recent_acquisitions.html Mon, 17 Jul 2006 10:39:46 -0600