The Information Exchange

New Books in the Grand View Library

2011-03-21T12:37:00.000-07:00

Come visit the library and check out a fresh book. We have many new arrivals, including these:

Scholarly Journals, Vaccines, and & Andrew Wakefield

2011-01-07T13:44:00.001-08:00

The year 2011 has already gotten off to an interesting start, especially in the area of scholarly journal publications.

Andrew Wakefield, a medical researcher, published a famous study in 1997 in which he claimed he had found a connection between the administration of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR) and the development of autism in children. This study was published in the famous British medical journal, the Lancet. It caused a huge stir worldwide and led to countless numbers of unvaccinated children.

The Lancet has retracted the study. Andrew Wakefield has been investigated by journalists and medical boards and found to have committed fraudulent actions when performing the study. No other scientists have been able to replicate any of his data, thus suggesting that his study was incorrect and there is no connection between MMR vaccine and autism.

You can read more about this here and here.

Science News

2010-12-02T12:50:00.000-08:00

If you visit the Grand View Library, you will find that we have a great collection of science books. You can learn quite a bit about biology, chemistry, and physics from our collection. Pulling one of the biology books off the shelf, you would be able to learn that all living things on the Earth are composed of six base elements (carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus). It has been this way for a long time and is considered one of the backbones of biological history.

Today, that all changed.

Scientists with NASA's Astrobiology Institute announced that through intensive research, they have discovered a new form of life, a microbe, living in a lake in California. The Mono Lake microbe contains five of the six elements, but is missing phosphorus. In its place, scientists discovered that the cells were using arsenic instead.

This is a major announcement and rewrites some of the basic ideas that we have about biology on our planet.

Take a look at some of the information that's been posted about this historic announcement:

"Bacterium Grows with Arsenic"
"Bacteria Use Arsenic As Basic Building Block In A Pinch"

Thanksgiving Read-In

2010-11-22T13:12:00.000-08:00

Every month we try to hold a read-in with a theme that corresponds to that time of year. Our read-in tomorrow will be focused on the concept of giving thanks to those things around us that we feel are the most important things in our lives. You can bring a poem, a play, a novel, an essay, or whatever story you might have in your memories. The main idea here is to share it with others and discover what is important to them. This is the season to remember those things we hold dear.

We'll be in the coffee shop in the library from 11:30-12:30 tomorrow November 23rd.

Halloween Read-In

2010-10-28T07:43:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been to one of the library's read-ins? Well, if you haven't, then you might want to consider coming to the Halloween Read-In tomorrow at 10:00-11:30. Every read-in has a theme and this year we are asking people to bring scary, spooky, or haunting stories that they have enjoyed over the years. It's always best to bring a book, an article, or a poem, but if you have a personal story to tell, that is a great way to share as well.

So if you enjoy spooky stories come on by and see what we're discussing. We'll be in the @ the Library coffee shop from 10-11:30 on Friday October 29th.

New Library Website

2010-10-19T06:43:00.001-07:00

Have you visited our website lately? If you have then you will notice some major changes to the layout.

We now have drop-down menus! The resources are all still available, but instead of having their own pages they now exist in drop-down menus. It's easier to find things because you can simply click on a menu and see what's underneath. You can't get lost in a flurry of pages because the menus will help you find what you need.

You will also notice easy quick links on the right-hand side of the page. These quick links will help you find other resources on campus such as the campus directory, bookstore, admissions, and the career center.

So if you haven't been to http://library.grandview.edu lately, check it out. It's a whole new experience.

Library Book Sale!

2010-10-04T15:45:00.000-07:00

Come one, come all to the Fall Library Book Sale!

We have tons of books for sale and each one will only cost you $1.00. We have books of all shapes, sizes, and subjects.

Also, we will be adding books every morning, so if you come only once, you'll want to come again and browse the new materials as well.

Our sale will continue until October 15th.

Banned Books Week 2010

2010-09-28T06:51:00.001-07:00

Welcome to Banned Books Week 2010!

The purpose of Banned Books Week is to remind people everywhere of the dangers of censorship, our history of censorship, and the promise of reading a variety of books for educational and recreational purposes.

Libraries across the country will often display books that have been challenged or banned in the past so that the public can see for themselves and think about why that book was challenged or banned. Banned Books Week gives everyone time to think about what they choose to read and why they choose to read the books they do. It's an important time to reflect on the choices we make and provides us with an opportunity to consider reading something new in the future that we may not have considered before.

At the Grand View Library we have put together a small display as well. Please come by and take a look. The books are available for checkout, so pick one up today. There are some really good ones in this batch as well.

Portfolio Drive & Laptop Printing

2010-09-22T07:33:00.000-07:00

When you think of the library, you probably have an image of lots of books in your mind. And yes, we do have over 90,000 volumes. However, the library is not just about books anymore. We are also a place that you can go to ask questions about technology and computer help.

For example, have you recently had a professor tell you that you needed to start saving your documents to your portfolio drive? You might have been thinking to yourself, "Where is my portfolio drive? How do I access it? Who can see my files?" One of the questions we get most often at the library has to do with the portfolio drive, so we decided to make a video showing you, the user, how to save documents to your portfolio drive. Once you learn how, it's a tool you will find yourself using again and again.

Another issue you might encounter is trying to print from your personal laptop to a Grand View printer. How do you set that up? How do you know which printer it's going to go to? Well, we've made a helpful video about that too. It's called the "Web Print Feature" and anyone can do it from their own laptop on campus. So the next time you need help printing from your laptop, check out our new video showing you how to do it.

We have plenty of other videos where those came from as well. They are an easy way to remind yourself how to do certain tasks associated with the library and the research process.

Grand View Library Web Directory: High Quality Websites

2010-09-14T13:46:00.000-07:00

We use the web every day and we do quite a bit of searching. We all know that there are some really bad websites out there and just as many mediocre ones as well. Where are all the high-quality websites? If you're working on a project for class and need a variety of good websites, how do you know which ones to choose?

One suggestion is to critically evaluate each website you visit. Find out who the author is, how accurate the information is (compare it to another site), and determine how much bias exists on the site.

Another suggestion is to try out our new Grand View Library Web Directory. This site has dozens of good websites that you can choose from when researching a topic. If you like one of the sites that you find there, let us know and we'll make sure to keep it in the future.

Good luck searching and browsing!

Collaboration Cart

2010-09-07T06:55:00.000-07:00

One of our newest additions this fall is the Collaboration Cart. This new device is a compilation of a flat-screen tv, a laptop computer, a wireless keyboard, and a wireless mouse. Plus, the whole thing is on wheels so you can move it around a little for better viewing.

So now you're asking the question: Why do we have this big cart?

The Collaboration Cart exists to help groups work on projects together. The flat-screen allows for optimal viewing by all members of the group. The wireless keyboard and mouse allow for any group member to take control and show an example on the screen. Plus you can take turns working on the project by sharing the keyboard and mouse. The laptop gives you wireless web access and access to all of Grand View Library's resources.

So as you can see, this new set of tools really helps you work together on projects in ways you've never tried before.

Come try it out!

Welcome Back!

2010-08-31T06:33:00.001-07:00

Welcome back to Grand View! We hope your summer went well. If you are a new student, welcome to the library's blog. You'll find research tips, announcements, new resources, and other miscellaneous information from around the web.

Make sure to bookmark this page and visit the library when you get a chance. We have all new computers and some other new resources which we'll tell you about in future posts.

Good luck getting started this semester.

New Hours Until August 30th

2010-08-17T09:17:00.001-07:00

If you need to visit the library in the next couple of weeks, make sure that you come before 4:00. We will be closing at 4:00 until classes start on August 30th.

Good luck preparing for the semester!

New Videos!

2010-07-16T07:51:00.000-07:00

Last fall, the library designed a series of new videos that help you to find our resources and to use them better. These videos were a big success thanks to the fact that they are easily accessible, easy to watch, and show you exactly how to find what you are looking for. Each video is a screencast so it shows you exactly what to look for on the page, where to click, and where useful resources are.

This summer we have added eight new videos to the mix and we hope that they are just as helpful as last year's batch.

Check out our new videos here.

You can also locate them on the library's homepage. Just click on Video Help Page.

Have a good summer!

Summer Hiatus

2010-06-28T16:03:00.000-07:00

Hello, blog reader! Have you been wondering why the blog has been so quiet? Well, we have taken a summer hiatus. We'll be back in August when classes start. Until then, enjoy your summer!

What Can We Do For You in the Future?

2010-04-12T06:34:00.001-07:00

As summer approaches, we will be working on many projects here in the library. Are there certain tools, services, or areas that you want to see addressed? Please send us your suggestions or ideas for making the library a better place for students and faculty. For example, one of our more popular tools lately has been our set of online videos. Are there new topics you would like to see covered in the videos? Feel free to leave us a comment with suggestions for the future.

Paperless Information Literacy

2010-04-12T06:31:00.001-07:00

The following assignments were presented at the Grand View University Library Information Session on Wednesday April 7th. Please feel free to contact us if you have questions about these assignment ideas.

Concept Mapping
Students create a visual representation of all the aspects of a topic. Concept maps can be drawn freehand or structure can be provided by using a template. This could stand alone as an assignment, or be used to help students develop more focused topics to research. An example concept map can be found at:
http://library.uvic.ca/site/lib/instruction/research/devtopic.html

Research Logs
Students keep track of their research process in a journal. Have them include dates, places they looked, search terms used, what resources they found, what they’re currently thinking about their topic, and any frustrations they’ve encountered. This encourages students to think of research as an ongoing process.

Annotated Bibliographies
Students find different types of resources, provide accurate citations, evaluate the information based on accuracy, authority, currency, relevance and bias, and explain how each source would be helpful in researching their topic. Annotated bibliographies could stand alone as an assignment, or, if used in conjunction with a traditional research paper, they are an excellent tool for identifying issues with poor source selection before the final paper is due.

Pathfinders
Students create a topic guide, or “pathfinder,” to show others where to begin research on a specific subject. Pathfinders typically include a brief summary of the importance of the topic, advice on where to find basic background information, searching tips, and various resources representing a wide range of perspectives. An example pathfinder can be found at:
http://www.ipl.org/div/pf/entry/48493

Comparing Resources
Students must find at least 2 different kinds of resources (i.e. newspaper articles, academic journal articles, books, websites, etc.) that would be helpful for their topics. They must then compare the kinds of information found in each source. This familiarizes students with different types of sources and helps them determine the most appropriate type depending on their topics.

Poster Presentations
Rather than writing a paper about their research projects, students create a poster to present to their classmates. Students must be able to display their information in a visually appealing way while answering any questions asked by the rest of the class. An example poster can be found at:
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~ugar/pdfs/Eichlin.pdf

Class Debate
Students are divided into teams and assigned a position to defend on a controversial topic. During class time, the teams then have a formal debate on the issue. Students prepare by researching arguments to support their position and developing counter-arguments to refute the opposition. An example class debate can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/yadabrv

Evaluating Editorials
Students find or are assigned an editorial to evaluate. Students must identify the main points, analyze the arguments presented in the editorial, and provide research to back up their position on whether or not the information provided in the editorial is sound.

Research Over the Years
Students take a topic that has been researched over the decades and examine how that topic has been viewed, used, and debated in the past. This assignment helps students to see the topic from many different angles and has the added bonus of helping them realize that just because we think we’re on the cusp of understanding something in 2010, much more will be discovered about it in the coming decades.

Reading References
Students read an article that includes various citations. They then find a few of the articles listed in the references and read those as well. Students should then be asked to make connections between the articles. This assignment helps students see the importance of citing sources. For a variation, students could be required to read a Wikipedia article and a few of the sources to compare the information provided in each.

Researching the Researchers
Students research to find out who the big names are in their particular field of study or in the field of their topic. They then go out and find articles, books, websites, etc. that those authors have written and present them to the class as a body of work. Or you could have the students require all of the other students to read an article by their author and have a class discussion on it.

Displaying Data
While researching a topic, students must find related statistical data. They could then be required to create multiple types of graphs using Excel or a similar program to show how the data is relevant to the research topic. This would give students a chance to see how some data can be misused or skewed. It also has the benefit of teaching students that there are statistics for every subject area and not just the sciences and social sciences.

Looking for New Assignments?

2010-04-08T12:48:00.001-07:00

A heads-up for faculty members:

We'll be featuring some innovative assignment ideas here in the next couple of days. Stay tuned!

"Paperless" Information Literacy Assignments

2010-04-05T07:50:00.001-07:00

Don't forget to sign up for our next information session tomorrow and Wednesday.

“Paperless” Information Literacy Assignments
Tuesday, April 6: 2:30-3:20
Wednesday, April 7: 3:00-3:50

Starting to plan for Fall classes? How about a new approach to information literacy assignments? While the research paper is a classic approach, it isn’t the only option. We’ll explore ideas for other types of assignments that require students to demonstrate research and evaluation skills. We’ll also spend part of this session brainstorming possible assignments to help meet your specific needs, so you should walk away from this session with new ideas to try in the Fall.

Library Party Today!

2010-03-25T06:50:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to come over to the Grand View Library Spring Party at 11:30 today. We'll have all kinds of food to eat and great company. Plus, you can check out a book while you are here.

Also, there are some pretty tasty desserts. Come early!

Plagiarism!

2010-03-22T07:09:00.001-07:00

We're discussing plagiarism and prevention methods here on the blog. What do you think are some interesting and effective ways of preventing plagiarism in the future? Do we need to create more assignments that focus on citation methods and attribution? Or are there other lessons we can teach?

We would like to hear your thoughts on the subject.

National Reading Month

2010-03-15T10:48:00.001-07:00

(courtesy of Patrick Gage)

Don't forget that even though it's Spring Break, it's also National Reading Month. March is the month to finally read those books you've always wanted to read! So find some time to sit down and open a great book.

Spring Break

2010-03-12T07:12:00.001-08:00

Spring Break is upon us! Enjoy your time off, but remember too that this time is also good for catching up on projects and papers. The library will always be available online and we will be open during the day.

Our hours for Spring Break:
Saturday March 13th & Sunday March 14th - Closed
Monday March 15th-Friday March 19th - 7:45AM - 4:30PM
Saturday March 20th & Sunday March 21st - Closed

Our regular hours will resume on Monday March 22nd.

Have a great break!

African American Read In

2010-02-23T11:28:00.001-08:00

February is African American history month! It's a time when we remember the great men and women in American history who changed things for the better. In past years we have heard from such voices as Alice Walker, Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and Martin Luther King, Jr. This year we'll hopefully hear from some new voices as well, including from Haiti.

The earthquake that ravaged the nation of Haiti turned our eyes to a country that has experienced misfortune for centuries. At our read-in on Thursday at 11:30 we hope to hear some voices from Haiti's past and present. Haiti has a rich history and has produced some great authors and artists.

So if you're interested, come on by Holy Grounds from 11:30-12:30 and share in the experience.

The Embedded Librarian

2010-02-04T07:03:00.001-08:00

In the library, we have noticed that students are easily overloaded when their classes come in for an orientation session since there’s so much to cover in such a short amount of time. We have also noticed that students don’t always realize all the legwork that goes into a research assignment until it’s too late. All too often, we see students hurriedly pulling together a few websites to throw a paper together the night before it’s due. To help ameliorate these problems we have been piloting a new program in which we embed a librarian within a class.

In the fall of 2009, I worked closely with Carolyn Pauling’s Professionalism I class and Avilah Getzler’s English 101 class to test the embedded model. Currently, Carolyn Pauling and I are refining the model with her spring Professionalism I students, and I’m also working with 2 sections of Kathy Peterson’s Abnormal Psychology class to help them get through their intensive portfolio project.

Rather than just scheduling one library visit for each of the classes, we have broken up my portion of the instruction over the course of the semester to place it where it makes the most sense to students. In addition to having more than one library visit, I have also gone into the classroom to work with students on their own turf.

Since I’ve become a part of the classes, I’ve been identified as a personal contact for the students; rather than having students come over to get help from “the library,” they have a name and face that they are already familiar with when they need extra help. I have also been able to provide more meaningful feedback to students about their preliminary bibliographies and other assignments. Overall, having an embedded librarian has helped students develop more meaningful contact with library resources while practicing important research skills. I’ve had lots of fun getting to know the students better and working with them more closely on their research projects too!

-Megan

Salinger and Zinn

2010-02-01T17:28:00.001-08:00

The world lost two great writers this past weekend. J.D. Salinger, author of Catcher in the Rye, passed away. Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States, also passed away. Salinger changed writing and people's perceptions of others around them with the legendary Catcher. Zinn changed the way people saw history, particularly American history. Zinn wanted people to see that great changes in human history came from the bottom up, not from the top down.

The Grand View Library has plenty of books by both authors. Come over and take a look at some of them and find out why people are mourning the losses of these two men.

Books by Salinger:
Catcher in the Rye
Franny and Zooey
Nine Stories

Books by Zinn:
Passionate Declarations: Essays on War and Justice
People's History of the United States: 1492-Present
SNCC: The New Abolitionists
Vietnam: The Logic of Withdrawal

New Student Study Space

2010-01-22T12:51:00.000-08:00

If you've been in the library lately, you probably have noticed some missing shelves. We made some changes over the Christmas break, including taking some of our reference materials in front of the study rooms and moving them to the basement classroom. Those materials are still accessible, but the space leftover from their removal has now become a large student study space.

You will find three extra-long tables with plenty of chairs back by the study rooms. There are also three large dry-erase whiteboards for student use. We've also made a little more room for our comfy blue furniture near the big window that faces E. 14th street.

We've also added some popular reading material on the long shelf in front of the study tables. Here you will find plenty of popular fiction arranged alphabetically by author. These books are on the honor system so you don't need an ID to check them out.

So if you're looking for a good place to study or a good book, come check out our changes on the 1st floor!

Orientation Sessions

2010-01-12T14:03:00.001-08:00

Professor Judge from the English department shares her thoughts with us on library orientations.

"In fall 2009 my First Year Composition class met in the library three times. Usually, I introduce English Composition students to the library with one visit with instruction from librarians that is designed to help students with research projects.

In the future, I will continue to schedule multiple classes with a librarian for First Year Composition students. The reasons? Multiple visits benefit students by giving them customized help with their research projects and greater familiarity with our library’s systems and resources. Typically, students complain that they can’t find enough material for their research papers, but not one student ran into that problem last fall because of the extra help they had in locating material. Also, students found better sources because they received three times as much instruction on how to do this.

I think that visiting the library more than once also helped students to be comfortable in that space because I know that a number of them routinely use the library as their place to study."

Therese

Feel free to leave a comment or email us with any thoughts.

Access

2009-11-30T06:32:00.001-08:00

It's a situation you are probably familiar with: you find an article or a book that you need for your work, but it's nowhere to be found in the Grand View library. What do you do?

One of our goals at the GV library is to make sure you have access to lots of resources and not just the ones that we have here. In other words, if you need an article you can ask us to get it for you. If you need a book, we can get that for you too. Just send us an email to library[at]grandview.edu and give us the citation for your item. If you need further help asking for an interlibrary loan, watch our videos on how to do one.

You should have as many resources as you need. Take advantage of our interlibrary loan services as often as you need them.

New Books!

2009-11-06T06:52:00.000-08:00

Our library is always ordering new books. We display all of our new material on the 1st floor of the building so people can peruse them as they casually walk by our low shelves. What new books have come in lately? Here's a sample of some of our new ones:

How Life Began: Evolution's Three Geneses

America's Food: What You Don't Know About What You Eat

Why History Matters

Last Great Wilderness: The Campaign to Establish the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

From Colony to Superpower: U.S. Foreign Relations Since 1776

Come check them out and look for other books in our catalog.

Are You Preparing to Write?

2009-10-29T09:12:00.001-07:00

November is just around the corner. You probably have a number of different papers or projects to finish for your classes. Have you started working on them yet? If you have, great! If you haven't, it's time to get started.

The Grand View Library can help you to get started with your work. You will probably need books for your research, so go find some here. Your professor mentioned something about using scholarly journals too, right? Take your pick from any number of databases that we have. These will help you search for everything you need. Do you need to cite your information? Of course you do! Take a look at some of these resources to help you with that.

The best thing you can do, though, is come visit us at the library. We're open until Midnight Sunday-Thursday and we're right in the middle of campus.

Good luck!

National Information Literacy Awareness Month

2009-10-15T13:55:00.000-07:00

On October 1st, President Obama signed a proclamation officially making October "National Information Literacy Awareness Month."

What does that mean, exactly?

The proclamation explains it thusly,

"Though we may know how to find the information we need, we must also know how to evaluate it. Over the past decade, we have seen a crisis of authenticity emerge. We now live in a world where anyone can publish an opinion or perspective, whether true or not, and have that opinion amplified within the information marketplace. At the same time, Americans have unprecedented access to the diverse and independent sources of information, as well as institutions such as libraries and universities, that can help separate truth from fiction and signal from noise."

In a nutshell a person is information literate when they have the tools and the skills to evaluate information effectively for some purpose. We cannot simply assume everything we read is true or that all information is created equally. We need skills to determine what information has value and what we can do with that information in our daily lives.

Information literacy skills are important for students in their research projects, but they are also helpful to regular everyday citizens as well. For example, if you're about to buy a house, send a child to college, create a retirement plan, or start a small business, you're going to need quite a bit of information to get you started.

Who, what, and where do you turn for help? Slowly sift through the information you have and evaluate it carefully. Ask a librarian for help. We enjoy helping people develop the skills necessary to become life-long learners.

So the next time you read something that makes you raise an eyebrow, consider your information literacy skills and get to the bottom of the issue.

What Did We Read?

2009-10-07T09:20:00.001-07:00

At last week's read-in, we had a number of students, staff, and faculty share some of the books that had impacts on their lives. Here's a list of some of the books they brought last Wednesday:

The Color Purple by Alice Walker
The Diary of Anne Frank
The Collected Works of Immanuel Kant
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
There's No Such Place as Far Away by Richard Bach
Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey

Watch for emails for our next read-in this October!

September Read-In

2009-09-21T12:43:00.000-07:00

The Grand View Library will host its first Read-In of the semester on Wednesday September 30^th from 11:30-1:30 in Holy Grounds Coffee Shop.

For this event, bring a book that has had a unique impact on your life. Why is this book so important to you? How did it help you or change you? We will share passages from our books and discuss.

This is a Humanities Passport Event.

If you have not been to a read-in before, come try it. We're simply sharing our books and our thoughts on particular writings and authors. We try to have one read-in each semester and future read-ins will have particular themes, such as poetry, African-American history, and Shakespeare.

Welcome Back!

2009-08-24T13:39:00.000-07:00

I hope all of you had a great summer. We had a good summer in the library as well. Here are a few new things for you to check out at our website, http://library.grandview.edu:

We now have video tutorials! There are nine videos available to teach you, in four minutes or less, how to find books, articles, interlibrary loan materials, and other important tasks. Check out our link and see what you think.

The Wall Street Journal is now available, online and in full-text, through the Grand View Library! Even if you're not a Business major this newspaper is still one of the best sources of news in the country.

Also, if you ever need to know when the library computer lab is booked, check out our online calendar. This will tell you when a class will be in there so you can plan ahead.

We'll post again soon.

Good luck this semester!

Summer Hiatus

2009-05-12T06:46:00.000-07:00

We're going to take a summer break here on the blog. We'll see you again in August when everyone returns to campus.

Enjoy your summer!

Finals!

2009-04-20T09:23:00.000-07:00

The school year is almost over, but there's still one thing standing between you and the summer:

FINALS!

Do you need a quiet place to study?

Do you need a computer to finish working on that last paper?

Do you have nagging questions about that bibliography you almost finished?

Come over to the Grand View Library and we'll help you out. Remember, this is one of the most important times of the year to focus on your work, so make sure you have a quiet place to go to. If you need help, call us at 263.2877.

Good luck!

Earthquakes & Volcanoes

2009-04-08T07:20:00.000-07:00

Have you been following the news of the Italian earthquake? A 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit central Italy and people are still searching for survivors. The quake destroyed over 10,000 homes and left over 28,000 people homeless.

With the digital technology that we have today, we can learn more about these events as they happen. The most recent newspaper articles are available through our NewsBank database as they are published. One of the most recent articles noted that the Vatican has sent in its fire brigade to help out the other Italian emergency services. People pull together in times like this.

There's also a scientific side to this story as well. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has been monitoring the quake as well as the aftershocks. Of course the USGS has also been paying very close attention to another geological event here in the U.S.: the earthquakes and ash eruptions from Alaska's Mount Redoubt. You might think that Alaska is mainly wilderness, but Mt. Redoubt is very close to Anchorage, one of the largest cities in Alaska.

Remember that the next time an event like this happens, you have many resources to draw upon. They will give you up to the minute information when you need it.

Finding Articles

2009-04-01T08:52:00.000-07:00

It's the beginning of April. Our last month of the term is here. You know what that means.

Everything will be due soon!

Finals will be approaching, papers will be assigned, and projects will look like gargantuan tasks. Where to begin?

Remember: the library's website is one of the best places to start your research. One of the best places to start looking is in one of our electronic databases. So get started right now and use some journals!

Staff & Faculty Party

2009-03-26T07:46:00.000-07:00

All staff and faculty are invited to our Spring Party today at the Grand View Library. We'll have plenty of food and drinks for everyone.

Come eat, chat, and enjoy the beginning of spring!

Twilight Discussion Tomorrow

2009-03-23T07:52:00.000-07:00

This is a friendly reminder that we will be discussing the Stephanie Meyer book Twilight tomorrow at 3:00 in Holy Grounds Coffee Shop. This is open to all students. Even if you haven't finished the book, you should consider stopping by to listen to the discussion.

If you plan to attend, make sure you bring a couple of discussion questions to get us started.

See you tomorrow!

Today in History

2009-03-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

159 years ago today, Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic The Scarlet Letter was published.

Hawthorne was in financial straits when he took a job at a customs house. It was during this time that he started writing the book. When it was published, the book made him famous. Hawthorne went on to write other books as well, including The House of the Seven Gables.

However, one of Hawthorne's most famous short stories, the tale of Young Goodman Brown, was published before Letter. It is perhaps his most chilling tale. You can read it online here.

If you're interested in reading The Scarlet Letter, stop by the library and pick up a copy. Or try it online first and, if you like, come pick up a copy after that.

Women's History Read-In

2009-03-09T12:55:00.000-07:00

Join us this Thursday, March 12th at 11:30 in Holy Grounds Coffee Shop for our March Read-In. We will be celebrating Women's History Month. In the past, people have brought essays, poems, short excerpts from novels & plays, as well as letters from famous women authors. If you choose to share your text with us, that would be great! If you just want to come and listen, that's fine too.

If you don't know what to bring, contact us and we'll help you find something here in the library.

See you on Thursday!

Finance & Photos

2009-03-06T08:54:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday, everyone.

Have you been trying to make sense of the entire financial crisis? It's a twisted system and money seems to be flying left and right. Thankfully the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has put together a timeline of the financial crisis. It's an engaging website with documents and other information pertaining to the nation's continuing efforts to control the economic swings.

Also, do you like old photographs? Do you need old photographs for a project in one of your classes? If so, the Library of Congress now has a huge archive of photos on its Flickr account online. You can see color photos from the Great Depression in one of their collections.

They also have a new collection of photos of Abraham Lincoln, from when he was a young lawyer all the way up to the days before his assassination.

March: Women's History Month

2009-03-04T06:52:00.000-08:00

March is Women's History Month. Pictured on the left is Susan B. Anthony, one of the most famous women in American History. Why is she so famous? She worked for decades to ensure women had the same rights as men, especially the right to vote.

Her work eventually led to the adoption of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote. Amazingly, it was adopted in 1920, over 130 years since the founding of the Republic.

If you care to know more about Ms. Anthony or any of the other famous American women we celebrate this month, check out one of our books, American Women Activists' Writings: An Anthology, 1637-2002, in the GV library.

Also, take a look at this interesting article Anthony's niece wrote about the women's rights movement in the late 1940's.

What Are You Reading?

2009-02-23T13:55:00.001-08:00

Winter is a great season for reading. It's hard to stay outside for too long with the cold blasts of arctic air and the thick snow and ice, so staying inside by a warm fire with a book can be a great experience.

So what have the library staff been reading lately?

I (Dan) have been reading The Best American Short Stories, 2007. Yes, I know I'm a little behind, but I'm almost finished with it. It's an excellent collection of short stories and I attribute part of that to the guest editor, Stephen King. He picked out a few real gems for this edition. I thoroughly enjoy having a collection of short stories or essays around at all times. They give you a variety of ideas and narratives to think about, but they are also helpful for when you only have 30 minutes to read something. Collections of stories and essays are also a great way to discover new authors too. I've picked up many new books by fresh authors after finishing a short story.

Megan, our Access and Instruction Librarian, has been reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. She has this to say about it:

"I picked it up because I enjoyed his other novel, The Kite Runner, and my friends and family have been bugging me to read this one too so we can talk about it. So far, I’m liking it even more than The Kite Runner because it focuses on a female perspective of life in Afghanistan. The novel made me curious about the state of women’s rights in Afghanistan, so I learned more here. So far in my reading, nothing too terrible has happened yet, but there’s a definite sense of impending doom…"

So now that we've shared something with you, what can you share with us? What have you been reading lately? Leave us a comment to let us know.

Student Book Club

2009-02-18T06:55:00.000-08:00

Are you interested in reading a book or two outside of class? Would you like to meet once a month and discuss books with fellow students?

If so, plan on coming to the March 24^th meeting of the Student Book Club. We’ll be meeting at Holy Grounds in the library to discuss the popular book Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.

At that time, we can discuss a possible book to read for April as well.

I hope to see you on March 24^th at 3:00 in Holy Grounds. Contact the library if you have any questions.

Tracking Information: Our National Stimulus

2009-02-17T11:58:00.001-08:00

Have you been following the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act? Well, you probably are but you know it by a different name: the stimulus.

Yes, we are in rough economic times, and that means colleges and universities all across the nation will feel the pinch as well.

How will the new stimulus affect colleges and universities? Well, you could read a news article about it from our database Access World News.

Or you could follow the money by visiting the government's new website, Recovery.gov.

You can also find out how the stimulus package is going to directly affect Iowa. The Democratic Policy Committee has put together fact sheets for each state in the Union, showing how the money will impact our state. Check it out.

So test out your research skills and follow that money! Find out how it will impact you, your friends, your family, your school, and your community.

Darwin & Lincoln

2009-02-12T07:06:00.000-08:00

Today we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln.

These two men impacted history in unique ways. Without their efforts, we would certainly be living in a very different world with different perceptions of the people around us.

Lincoln and Darwin helped us to see ourselves in a new way. Darwin's theory of evolution gave us a glimpse of ourselves as being part of nature and the product of millions of years of evolution. No one human being is genetically superior or inferior to another. We are all alike.

Lincoln changed the United States like no one before or after him. His efforts as the 16th president of our republic helped secure the freedom that American slaves had wished for. He was a man of his time with faults and failings, but he was also ahead of his time, especially in his writing ability. His ultimate goal was to preserve the union, but in the process he helped lay the foundation for a multicultural America in which people are treated equally.

Lincoln and Darwin helped us to see that we are all equal. Let's remember that on this day in history.

For more information about Darwin and Lincoln, check out some of the many books we have here at the Grand View library. Also, take a look at some of these excellent websites devoted to the lives of these men:

The Learning Page @ the Library of Congress: Abraham Lincoln

The Abraham Lincoln Papers @ the Library of Congress

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Illinois

The Complete Works of Charles Darwin, Online

The Darwin Correspondence Project

Almost Time!

2009-02-10T06:48:00.000-08:00

Remember, tomorrow is the last day to participate in the trivia contest. Submit your answers, even if you don't have all of them.

Also, stay tuned for our upcoming post on February 12th in honor of Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin.

"Lost" Books

2009-02-05T07:56:00.000-08:00

Are you a fan of the television show Lost on ABC? Have you ever noticed that some of the characters show up from time to time reading different books?

Have you ever wondered, "Hmmm, why are they reading that book? Could it have something to do with the overall story of the show?"

Well, there's one way to find out. Read those books and make the connections! We have a number of the books here in our library that have appeared on the show.

Come over to the library, take a look, and see what you can learn. Plus, there are some excellent books on this list.

Here are a few of them that we have:

Dune by Frank Herbert

The Epic of Gilgamesh by author unknown

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Island by Aldous Huxley

The Odyssey by Homer

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Happy Groundhog Day!

2009-02-02T17:11:00.000-08:00

Happy Groundhog Day! Why do we rely on a little mammal like this to tell us what our weather is going to be like? Well, that's a story that's about 110-years old.

There is an old tradition from Europe, called Candlemas, which some historians believe is the root of Groundhog Day. Candlemas falls roughly halfway between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox. In other words, it's the mid-point of winter. According to ancient German stories, this was the day that animals like badgers, bears, and, oh yes, groundhogs, came out of their little dens to see if it was warm enough to come out permanently.

In the United States, the tradition has been going on for about 110 years. Punxsutawney Phil, the modern groundhog who we celebrate, saw his shadow today, which means another 6 weeks of winter. In the past 110 years, the ancestors of Phil have seen their shadows 96 times and not seen it 14 times.

If you're interested in an article from one of our databases on the history of it, check out this link.

Last Week for Trivia Contest!

2009-01-30T09:05:00.001-08:00

This is the last week for our trivia contest. Make sure to finish up your answer keys and submit them to us by the end of next week!

Winter Read-In Tomorrow

2009-01-26T12:01:00.000-08:00

Do you like to share what you read? Each semester the library hosts a small gathering of students, staff, or faculty at the Holy Grounds Coffee Shop to discuss what we like to read. We call them "read-ins" and we share poems, essays, paragraphs from favorite stories, etc. Basically, if you enjoy it, come share it with us.

This month's theme is winter. Do you embrace winter? Do you love running around in the snow? Or are you yearning for spring and summer? Either way, bring a text that shows how much you love or loathe winter. You could bring a poem about how beautiful spring is, or perhaps a character's recollection of the beauty of a snowfall. It's your choice.

Come on over tomorrow, January 27th, at 11:30 and share your text. Grab a coffee while you're at it. We'll be there until 1:00. Also, it's a Humanities Passport event, so you can get extra credit.

Need More News?

2009-01-24T11:05:00.000-08:00

There are more sources for news now than ever before in human history. We receive information from radio, television, newspapers, and the web, just to name a few. How do you organize all of that stuff? Do you feel overwhelmed?

Use our database Access World News to follow news without feeling overwhelmed. It's free for you to use and allows you access to over 2,000 newspapers worldwide. What else makes it special?

*Full-text for almost all the articles
*Ability to create a personal account to save articles for later
*Interactive world map to choose the location of your news
*Access to archives of newspapers
*Easy ability to limit your search to a particular date, newspaper, or location

So if you've been looking for a new perspective or you just want to start reading the news again, start with Access World News. It's easy to use and can be quite fun once you get the hang of it.

Plus, where else can you find articles for that paper you're writing on the volatility of gas prices? We've got them from the United States, England, India, Japan, and many more places around the globe.

Week 3 Trivia

2009-01-23T07:43:00.001-08:00

The new trivia questions are up! Find the link on the right side of this page. Remember to download an answer sheet and fill in your answers. Turn that in to us at the library after the last week of questions.

MLK Display

2009-01-21T11:26:00.001-08:00

Come over to the library and check out our book display on Martin Luther King, Jr. Taylor Branch's Pillar of Fire is an especially good book.

How Will You Remember Inauguration Day 2009?

2009-01-20T13:59:00.000-08:00

President Barack Obama was sworn-in today as the 44th President of the United States of America. The Library of Congress permitted President Obama to be sworn in on the same bible President Lincoln used. After taking the oath, the President delivered his inaugural address and promising a new era of change for our country. The President declared that government can only do so much and that we, as citizens, must be responsible and help others.

On this historic day, where were you when the President was sworn-in? Did you watch it on campus? What will you remember most about today? Will you answer the President's call to service? We would like to hear from you on this important occasion. Feel free to leave us a comment below.

Also, for more information about the inauguration and the history of the inauguration, scroll down the page and see our post on that topic.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

2009-01-19T15:47:00.000-08:00

Today we celebrate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King worked tirelessly throughout his life seeking social justice for African-Americans and the impoverished in the United States.

Dr. King did much of his early work in the American South, but moved on into Northern states and the nation's capital to preach his message. His "I Have a Dream" speech is one of the most famous speeches of the past 50 years and is often quoted by freedom fighters and civil disobedience groups today.

Sadly, Dr. King's life came to a shocking end in Memphis, TN when he was assassinated. However, his work continues to this day, all over the globe. If you want to learn more about his work and how you can be a part of it, visit the King Center's website.

If you wish to learn more about the man and his life's work, visit the Grand View Library. We have a number of books on the life of Dr. King, including At Canaan's Edge and God and human dignity : the personalism, theology, and ethics of Martin Luther King, Jr.

There is also an excellent newspaper archive in which you can relive Dr. King's life, day by day.

Finally, if you're interested in the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, check out some of the resources available at the website of the Library of Congress.

Week 2: Trivia!

2009-01-18T20:14:00.000-08:00

The next three questions in our trivia contest are up! Click on the link at the right to download the next three questions.

Inauguration Day 2009

2009-01-13T12:26:00.000-08:00

It's been four years and another inauguration is just around the corner. One week from today President-Elect Barack Obama will take the oath of office at noon, making him the 44th president of the United States of America. Huge crowds of people are expected in Washington, D.C. and people from all over the world will tune in to see the new president.

But why January 20th? And what else is going to happen that day? It's time to answer a few questions with some excellent websites.

Inauguration Day is an American tradition dating back to George Washington's inauguration on April 30th, 1789. It was then that President Washington added the words "so help me god" to the end of his oath, and kissed the Bible afterwards.

President Lincoln's 2nd inaugural (pictured here) gave the country one of the finest speeches and a time to heal after the Civil War.

The 20th amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1933, stipulated that the President would take office on January 20th. Before that, almost all inaugurations took place on March 4th. Imagine all that time between the election and the inauguration!

If you want to read more about the inauguration, check out the Library of Congress' special digital collection. It's filled with documents from Washington to Bush.

If you want to learn more about the schedule of events for inauguration day or more about the new first family, check out the government's USA.gov site. They have a one-stop-shop for everything you need to know, from all the musical acts, to when the speeches will be given.

We'll have more posts in the future on current events and library resources and/or websites that feature those topics.

Trivia Contest

2009-01-09T13:49:00.000-08:00

Would you like to take part in our University Trivia Contest? The grand prize is a $50 gift card to the GVU bookstore. If you're interested, here's what you need to do:

1. Keep reading the blog. Each week until February 6th we will post three new questions in a document linked over on the right-hand side of the page (Trivia Questions: Week 1).

2. Download the questions and an answer sheet by clicking on the links.

3. Answer the questions each week. When all the questions have been answered, turn in your answer sheet to our director via email, campus mail, or in person.

Remember, the questions will only be up for one week at a time, so you won't be able to see Week 1's questions once Week 2 begins.

Good luck! Email us if you have questions.

Welcome!

2009-01-09T13:47:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Grand View Library's blog! Before you continue reading, make sure you bookmark our site or subscribe to our RSS feed.

Why do we have a blog for our library? There are a multitude of reasons, but the most important one of all is to communicate with you, our users. We want you to know what we are working on, what we offer, and how you can use our resources for all of your needs. We also started our blog as a means to get feedback from you. We have comments on the bottom of every post, so when you have something to say about a topic, leave a note or start a discussion.

We will update our blog frequently, so make sure to visit us often. What kinds of things can you expect to see? Here's a list of just a few future post topics:

*Ask the Director Q & A
*What books are you reading?
*New books in the library
*How-to guides for our resources
*New websites to assist you with research or work
*Events & displays in the library
*Book recommendations
*Lists of materials we have related to current events

Plus, we'll take your suggestions for future post topics.

Check back with us soon. Remember, bookmark us or subscribe to our RSS feed.

New Databases!

2009-01-05T15:32:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year. It's 2009 and the Grand View Library has some exciting news to share.

We have three new databases to offer you!

These databases will give you access to more journals and more full-text so you can complete whatever project, assignment, or paper you are working on. Here's what we have:

CINAHL Full-Text gives you the same friendly interface you are used to seeing, but now with more journals, more articles, and more full-text. There are over 600 journals in this database with full-text going back to 1981 for some of them.

PsycARTICLES provides you with access to over 137,000 articles from 66 journals, most of which are published by the American Psychological Association.

SocINDEX features over 700 journals going back as far as 1908. Plus, this database has almost 2 million records, which means you will never run out of things to read or search for.

Try out our new databases and let us know what you think. We'll feature them again at a future date and talk about some of their more intricate details.

Helpful Tools

2008-12-23T07:21:00.000-08:00

Our blog is about more than just reporting what's going on in the library. This is also a great place to visit to find out about new resources on the web as well. Here are a few examples:

Grand View Library Toolbar

Our library website contains dozens of links to our catalog, various databases, online resources, and email contacts. Visiting our website and bookmarking it is an excellent idea. However, sometimes you need a resource quickly and you don't want to follow the bookmark and click through to the proper page. That's where our new browser toolbar comes in handy. You can download it quickly to your Internet Explorer or Firefox browser. It will then allow you to access all of our resources with one click! Try it out.

Library Computer Lab Calendar

Do you use the library computer lab frequently? If so, you'll want to keep your eye on our calendar for the lab. As you probably know we teach classes in the lab from time to time. Now you can know exactly when the lab will be open and when a class might be using it. Bookmark this link and check the calendar whenever you plan to use our lab. Remember: this calendar is on MyGVC, so it will prompt you for your username and password if you click on it from off-campus.

We know you have questions about your class work and your research. Our job is to help you answer those questions. We check our email all the time, so feel free to send us a question and we'll get right back to you.

Check back here to see our next blog post. We'll have more resource links like this from time to time, including what's new on the web.

New Books in the Library

2008-12-16T10:56:00.000-08:00

It's snowing pretty hard today. What's a good way to spend a snowy day? Well, I'm working right now, but if you have some free time, snowy days are perfect for reading. Here are a few of our many new books for December.

What Makes Us Human? edited by Charles Pasternak

This book contains essays by some of the world's greatest thinkers. They try to tackle that eternal question: what makes humans different than other creatures? They explore anthropology, philosophy, and other areas of human thought to try and answer the question.

A Surgeon in the Army of the Potomac by Francis M. Wafer, edited by Cheryl A. Wells

Cheryl Wells helps edit the writings, letters, and documents of an assistant surgeon in the American Civil War. Mr. Wafer writes about all of the things he sees as a doctor during America's darkest war. It truly is a view of the war you have never seen before.

The Tyranny of the Market by Joel Waldfogel

We are in some rough economic times right now and this book can help explain part of that. Our system supposedly provides products and services to satisfy the desire of any consumer. But what about the things the economy can't provide? Waldfogel tells us about the limits of our economy.

James Van Allen: The First Eight Billion Miles by Abigail Foerstner

Do you like to read about space and the cosmos? This book is about one of Iowa's greatest scientists who helped revolutionize the way all humans look at space. James Van Allen was born and raised in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa and became one of the greatest space scientists of the 20th century, helping us learn about the sun, the solar system, and how to explore it all with missions from Pioneer to the Mariner.

So come on over to the library and check one out. We have many new books to choose from!