Check Your Bozone at the Door

The Washington Post recently announced the annual winners of its Mensa Invitational in which readers are asked to take any word from the dictionary and alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter. Entries must also supply the new word's definition. Some of the winners include:

Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly
Bozone: The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately shows little signs of breaking down in the near future
Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
Decafalon: The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
Hipatitis: Terminal coolness
Caterpallor: The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you've been eating.

Any takers?

The Envelope, Please...

A searchable Academy Awards database from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

Did you know you can search Google for movies? As in the following example: "movie:female boxer".... to find other movies about women and boxing. Or "movie:wine country" ... you get the idea.

The Tale of the Iraqi Librarian...

This story from the Christian Science Monitor discusses the new children's book about an Iraqi librarian who saves the books she loves.

And another heartwarming story about a small library in the United States. (from Jessamyn, famous library blogger)

And while we are on the topic, read how a Microsoft executive abandoned his lucrative career to found Room to Read, a charity responsible for creating libraries in remote corners of the world--beginning with a village in Nepal. (from Mesoj, education librarian blog)

New Trial Database...

A trial of the new American Psychological Association (APA) database, PsycBOOKS, is now available on the Bailey Library website through March 17, 2005. This full text database of books and chapters from the APA features over 600 books: more than 500 APA books with copyright dates from 1950 - 2003, including 100 out-of-print books; 75 archival resources in psychology; and the exclusive electronic release of more than 1,500 entries from the APA/Oxford University Press Encyclopedia of Psychology. For the entire list of books included in PsycBOOKS, visit the APA website: http://www.apa.org/psycbooks/covlist.html.

To access PsycBooks go to the library website, www.sru.edu/library, select Journal Articles/Databases, then chose Databases by Trial Subscription.

Contact Lynn Hoffmann with questions or comments.

Overheard in the Library...

It is not uncommon to hear students proudly proclaiming that they find "everything I need" on the internet. In fact, a recent Pew study states that 82% of internet searchers feel completely confident in their ability to find information online. The same study, however, demonstrated that only 18% of respondents knew the difference between a sponsored link and regular search engine results.

It's not just a student problem. The BBC was fooled by a false web site into interviewing an environmentalist posing as a Dow Chemical spokesperson. Total reliance on internet sources caused a death in a Johns Hopkins research study. Thanks to reference librarian Jessica Marshall for pointing out this New York Times article that stresses the importance of being information literate.

Book Quiz!

Take this fun book quiz to determine which title best expresses your personality. Turns out I am The Guns of August! Who knew? What book are you? Click on Comments below to reply.

Something Cool for Music and Literature Lovers...

Artists for Literacy offer some excellent resources for educators including their famous cd's written by for them by artists like Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, Tom Waits, and Roseanne Cash. They have a web page with a couple of hundred songs inspired by literature and they even offer Theme Studies and lesson plans to use with many songs including this one inspired by Elie Wiesel's Night.

From the Endless Faculty Meeting blog

More Books!

Take a look at the BOOKPAGE web site, which provides reviews and recommendations, author interviews, and themed bibliographies. It's aimed at librarians, but you can look too.

Let's Talk Taxes...

Find all the forms (and instructions) you need on the library's home page here and here. Commonly used forms are available in paper on a table in the hallway outside of the reference room.

Enjoy cartoonists' takes on taxes here...

Read a Cnet comparison of the two top tax preparation software packages here...

Coming Attractions....

Need a peek at a user guide for Photoshop? Need an XML assist? The Safari ebook collection will be expanding in March to cover ALL titles and records will also appear in the online catalog for this useful collection of computer and technology related ebooks. Take a look....

Bravo, Kim Dishler!

Slippery Rock student Kim Dishler points out that February is also Library Lovers month in her Rocket opinion piece (may require registration) on the love of reading for pleasure. The library loves you back, Kim.

It's Friday....

Time for Internet fun (from the Librarians' Index to the Internet)!

Ian's Shoelace Site
"How many possible ways are there to lace an average shoe?" The author presents nearly two dozen methods he considers "worthy of devoting the time required to create instructions" Includes illustrations, and information about shoelace knots, aiglet ("the plastic or metal sleeves at the ends of shoelaces") repair, and shoelace length formulas.

Palaeography: Reading Old Handwriting, 1500-1800: A Practical Online Tutorial
"Palaeography is the study of old handwriting. This web tutorial will help you learn to read the handwriting found in documents written in English between 1500 and 1800." Practice documents include wills, petitions, estate inventories, and fun material such as "Recipe for mince pies. Early 17th century." From the National Archives (Surrey, United Kingdom) in partnership with University College London.

Also....

A favorite for organizing information feeds and creating an online, customized newspaper--Bloglines.com. Also FREE.

From the All Things Google Dept.....

One of the workshops offered yesterday, Saving Time on the Internet, provided some very useful information for searchers. Leighann Forbes, from Secondary Education, demonstrated advanced search features for Altavista and Google, as well as other good sites for managing online resources. Here are some highlights:

Google has just announced a new map resource, Google Maps, which many find very easy to use. Other Google features -- Blogger.com (powering this one), Picassa Online Photo Organizer, and Keyhole, an up-to-date version of the Terra server site.

IKeepBookmarks.com is way cool--allowing you to upload home and office bookmarks and favorites and organize and maintain all of your links online--accessible anywhere you have 'net.

Best of all--these resources are FREE.

Love in the Air...

Check out these love letters of the famous... no plagiarizing, please!

Be the First With the Facts...

New site, Facster.com, is designed to let you keyword search the Statistical Abstract of the United States and plumb its depths to retrieve "fast, easy, and reliable" facts. Another nice feature--facts and statistics on current topics.

from Jack Fox

Overdue!

Check out this funny library parody of Cops.... (you need Flash player). And by the way, you can renew your own books through the online catalog... sign in to "My Account" and avoid hearing those sirens.

Be Still, My Beating Heart...

Attention! Valentines Day is just around the corner! Be warned and informed....

The History of Valentines Day, from the History Channel
Make Your Own Popup Valentine, from Robert Sabuda (popup genius)
Valentine Facts, fascinating stuff from the Census Bureau!

Chocolates for Valentines Day
Everything Valentines
The Heart Truth, a site promoting heart health for women

A Library with Living Quarters....

Seems that the old Brooklyn Library had an apartment for the librarian... and it was only open nine hours a week!

Also...

Chinese New Year (February 9)
Lunar New Year Vietnam Style (February 11-13)

Speculation is Rife... (Again)

Concerning the identity of "Deep Throat", the government insider who confided in Washington Post reporters Woodward and Bernstein and was instrumental in bringing about the Watergate scandal of the 1970's and the subsequent resignation of President Richard Nixon (exposition for those of you not yet born at the time). Apparently, this mysterious figure is very ill and his/her identify will be revealed upon his/her death. For background information, view the Woodward and Bernstein virtual exhibit from the University of Texas at Austin.

Apply for a Marjorie Stephenson Scholarship....

Marjorie Stephenson was a librarian and professor at Slippery Rock from 1971-1978. In her will, she made provision for a scholarship for African-American students majoring in library science. Since Slippery Rock no longer offers a degree in library science, priority is given to African-American students and students majoring in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and education. Scholarships have been awarded annually since 1987 in the amount of $500-$1,000.

Learn more about the application process here.... and pick up an application in Academic Support, 009 Bailey Library, or contact Melba Tomeo or Sherry Wilson in the IMC.

Secrets of the Library Revealed, Part II...

Some of you may not be aware of our cozy reading room on the first floor--walk to the back of the reference room and hang a right past the vending machines. Here you will find comfortable chairs, current best sellers, newspapers from around the world, popular magazines, and books on tape and CD.

A couple of good listens from a recent road trip....

The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place by E. L. Konigsberg is an entertaining story of eccentricity, resolve, and individuality. Margaret Rose is a unique young girl who survives the suffocating conformity of summer camp, only to become embroiled in an effort to preserve the "outsider art" towers created by her two elderly uncles from the attack of the gentrifying suburbanites.

The Teacher's Funeral: A Comedy in Three Acts by Richard Peck is quaint, amusing, and folksy, graced with a reader who is vaguely reminiscent of Henry Fonda. "If your teacher has to die, August isn't a bad time of year for it" starts a story that recalls a more innocent, rural way of life with humor and charm.

Both are young adult novels.

Getting HAPI...

Graduate students (and others) will be happy to know that HAPI (Health and Psychosocial Instruments) is now available online from the Library's Journal Articles/Databases page. And what does HAPI do? The HAPI database provides information about research and survey instruments, such as questionnaires, rating scales, checklists, interview forms, and references to books and journal articles that discuss these instruments. Topics covered include public health, communication, psychology, nursing, organizational behavior, sociology, medicine, physical education, psychiatry, gerontology, and human resources.

from Lynn Hoffmann

Try the Oral History database...

Access to Oral History Online is completely free now through February 15. No passwords are required. Oral History Online is the first and only index to thousands of English-language oral history collections around the world. Users link directly to the narratives of individuals from all walks of life, from the 1930s to the present, from all over the world. "From 11 full-text interviews in 1930 of people who remember Crazy Horse, to the 2004 audio and video interviews of Karl Lyon in the ‘Oral History of the Holocaust’ project, users will find history come alive through these voices.”

from Lynn Hoffmann

Happy Birthday, Langston Hughes...

Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri and grew to become a world-renown poet, playwright, and author of short stories. He is best known for his "colorful portrayals of black life in America from the twenties through the sixties." Jazz was very important to his writing and his writing was very important to the Harlem Renaissance movement of the 1920's. Read more about Langston Hughes, his life, and his art here... or here... or here... And check out the following materials available at Bailey Library...

In the Stacks:
Let America be America again and other poems (Reading Room, 1st floor)
Langston Hughes: a study of the short fiction (PS 3515 U274 Z689 1993)
Langston Hughes: critical perspectives past and present (PS 3515 U274 Z672 1993)

Ebooks:
The collected works of Langston Hughes (online through the catalog)

Children's Books (IMC):
Langston Hughes, American poet (Bio H893w2)
Love to Langston (811.54 M491L)
The block, illustrated by Romare Bearden (811 H893b)
Coming Home: from the life of Langston Hughes (Bio H893c)
The dream keeper and other poems (811.52 H893d)
The sweet and sour animal book (811.52 H893s)


Another place to find authoritative information on Langston Hughes... The Literature Resource Center, an excellent database for author and critical information.