JDUB, the JWCC Library blog

Mark Twain and politics

2008-09-18T09:53:00.003-05:00

Mark Twain, known for his humorous political commentary, may tempt the current political rivals to debate in Hannibal. The news reported that the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum has invited Senators McCain and Obama to debate in the river city. They have also suggested that Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert act as the moderator.

What a delightful exposition, during these pre-election days, could occur if the invitation is realized. Humor can often reveal insights concerning a person's real self which, in today's political culture, could prove enlightening.

NEW HOURS

2008-08-27T08:17:00.002-05:00

The Academic Support Center/Library is beginning the fall semester with new hours. Starting September 6, the library will be open Noon - 4 PM. Students along with the College's administration and library staff decided to move to the new hours to improve usage of the library and its services. The Testing Center will be open on Saturday beginning September 20 from 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM.

How to survive the semester

2008-08-21T08:05:00.004-05:00

Think of your college career as a fulltime job. Your success will be determined by regular attendance, punctuality, completing assignments in a timely manner and ASKING for help when needed.

Student Support Services offers free tutoring; call 217-641-4343 for assistance. There is also open tutoring in the Academic Support Center for writing, math, and science.

The Library is offering several workshops that will introduce you to our electronic databases. Please plan to attend one or all of the sessions. For more information, click
here.

.....and the fall semester begins!

2008-08-15T15:20:00.003-05:00

Welcome to all the new and returning students. We hope you enjoyed your summer. The Library has a new evening specialist. His name is Shawn Thomas. He will be working Monday-Thursday 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Friday Noon to 4:00 p.m. Come in and meet him!

We have a gift for the first 100 students who pick up their ID's and register as a Library Patron. Sign up while the supply lasts!

Sarah Laaker, the Assistant Library Director, will be hosting informational workshops this fall. The schedule is posted on our homepage. Register for one or all. The topics will help you achieve your goals.

Textbook Piracy

2008-07-10T08:49:00.002-05:00

Illegal copies of textbooks are appearing online at an alarming rate. The Association of American Publishers hired lawyers to search online sites for pirated copies. In the July 1, 2008 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education, Jeffrey R. Young wrote a thought provoking article. We invite you to read this article and submit comments on our Blog.

Libraries are not obsolete

2008-07-09T10:46:00.001-05:00

“For all the talk about how the Internet might lead students and others to abandon libraries, there’s new evidence that any decline has been minimal. In a typical week in the fall of 2006, “gate count” at academic libraries was 18,765,712 — or an average of 5,188 per college or university library. The term refers to the number who physically enter and individuals who enter repeatedly are counted more than once. The figures come from “Academic Libraries 2006,” released Tuesday by the National Center for Education Statistics. The average gate count per week per library is down 2 percent since 2004, the last time the agency conducted the survey. Other highlights of the new survey: The 3,600 academic libraries in the United States collectively hold 1 billion books and other paper materials; there were 221 libraries holding at least 1 million books and other paper materials; total expenditures were $6.2 billion — about half of that sum on salaries.”

From http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/07/09/qt

Baby Boomers

2008-07-01T09:25:00.003-05:00

[OCLC Abstracts June 30, 2008, Vol.11, No.26]

According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in January & February, Baby Boomers (those born 1946-1964) have a gloomy outlook on life. They tend to worry about their finances even though their incomes are higher than other groups.

Read more of the article by clicking on the title.

More Net LIngo

2008-06-23T08:40:00.003-05:00

Navigate is the "act of moving around the Web by clicking on hypertext links that take you from one Web page to another." When you navigate, you are moving "from one computer to another and from one server to another." This navigation is seamless.

The Invisible Web is "information that search engines and directories don't have direct access to, such as databases." It is estimated to be 500 times larger than the visible Web. Dynamic pages within databases reside on the invisible web.

Is it any wonder that older users (defined as people over 50) may become confused? For them, the word navigation, has primarily been a nautical term. The word seamless referred to a piece of fabric that was not joined to another piece by a sewing machine. A mouse was a small rodent. The term monitor was a verb not a noun.

When did we become accustomed to words such as online, virtual, dot.com, Yahoo, Google, and Dogpile? When did research leave the book stacks in the library and move to sitting before a computer?

Internet Lingo

2008-06-09T15:06:00.004-05:00

NetLingo is a website that explains the online world of business, technology, and communication. It also provides informative articles related to the Internet. They offer a service "Word of the Day." You can sign up to receive daily definitions for words used online.

Here is a sampling of recent words:

pagejacking-using the source code from a web page and publish them on another web site; digital plagiarism. This is comparable to copyright infringement and should not be practiced.
infosnacking-time spent on your work computer doing things that aren't work-related. It also describes the practice of online use for short periods of time.

A blog is a website that is regularly updated with new articles, thoughts, opinions, etc. It seems there are new words associated with blogging. Here are a few:

blogroll-webcitations for bloggers who cite every blog they read
crog-"carefully researched blog"
microblog-a form of blogging that allows users to write brief text and publish them
sideblog-a blog within a blog; used to recommend links, write short commentaries, etc.

Recent articles include "Blogging for business" and "Everything you always wanted to know about blogging." Go to the website for more information and enjoy.

OCLC and Google

2008-05-20T13:13:00.002-05:00

[OCLC Abstracts: May 19, 2008 Vol.11,No.20]
Soon people who Google will be able to search digitized library collections!

OCLC and Google will soon link library collections via their search engine. "OCLC member libraries participating in the Google Book Search program, which makes the full text of more than one million books searchable, may share their ........ records with Google .........Google will link from Google Book Search to WorldCat.org, which will drive traffic to library OPACs......"

WorldCat is an extensive database of more than 9,000 worldwide librarys' material collections. The number of holdings is currently 1,276,919,634 with 105,528,717 records. This database grows with a new record every 10 seconds.

Clinton wins but Obama still leads!

2008-04-23T10:03:00.006-05:00

The battle to seek the Democratic nomination for President continues. Senator Clinton's win in Pennsylvania seems to have saved her campaign. Senator Obama still leads with 1714 of the delegates compared to Senator Clinton's 1584. For more information go to CNN.

The next primaries on May 6th are in Indiana and North Carolina. The excitement builds as the Democratic Convention looms August 25-28 in Denver.

Where did February and March go?

2008-04-21T15:00:00.001-05:00

No excuses. Our blog became a second class citizen at best. We will try to publish more frequently.

An unusual Midwest earthquake occurred last Friday, April 18, 2008 about 4:40 a.m. It registered 5.2 on the Richter scale. Many people slept through it but those that experienced the movement, felt their beds shake. The epicenter was in the southeastern section of the state (Illinois). As of this morning, Monday, April 21st at 12:38 a.m. there have been 18 aftershocks.

We are in the midst of redesigning our new (now old) web page. We hope to have the newly designed website published within the next few weeks.

As February Approaches

2008-01-29T10:50:00.000-06:00

The wind is voracious, the temps are dropping, and snow is predicted. It might be a great time to check out our paperbacks. Please browse through the collection in the twin towers near the Circulation Desk. When you find one of interest, please borrow it. NO NEED TO CHARGE IT OUT at the Circulation Desk. It is an exchange program; add one to the towers, remove one to read. It's easy and quick.
February is Black History month. Watch for more information. March is Women's History month. We'll have more information later.

Welcome to the spring semester

2008-01-15T11:11:00.000-06:00

January arrived with blustery winds. Students returned yesterday, January 14th, for the spring semester. All is well. Snow and much colder temps are forecast later in the week.
The Library staff are ready and willing to give assistance at the Circulation Desk. Our hours are Monday-Thursday 7:30 am - 8:30 pm; Friday 7:30 am - 4:00 pm; Saturday 9:00 am - Noon. The Circulation Desk's telephone is 217.641.4537; e-mail is circdesk@jwcc.edu.

December brings Finals and winter break

2007-12-05T08:57:00.000-06:00

Greetings from the Library Staff!

December arrived with colder temperatures. Many took advantage of the warmer temps in November to decorate early for the Holidays. With the temps more seasonal, the decorations are a timely reminder of the Holidays. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa we wish you a happy Holiday filled with family and friends.

The Library's website continues to grow. Please take a moment to visit our homepage. Recently we added information concerning the Philanthropy Center. John Wood Community College Library was chosen to be the first downstate center for Donors Forum. To integrate the Donors Forum with the Foundation Center, the West Central Illinois Philanthropy Center (WCIPC) was established. It provides access to quality funding research materials, and opportunities to network, exchange information and collaborate among nonprofit organizations and the nonprofit community. We are a community resource at a community college.

November brings a frost

2007-11-06T09:02:00.000-06:00

We are finally experiencing cooler temperatures that represent fall. The 80's and 90's that we experienced in September and October should be gone. As the temps become cooler, Library use continues to be hot! Our statistics for database usage continues to rise.

If you haven't checked out our newest database, CREDO REFERENCE, you should. Credo is an electronic resource with 2+ million citations; more are added monthly! Credo has titles that cover every major subject.

The countdown begins today, November 6th. Thanksgiving will be here in 16 days. The fall semester ends with Finals Week, December 10-14; a mere 34 days. These dates raise anticipation for our winter recess and Christmas Day which arrives in 49 days!

Google searches worldwide

2007-10-17T10:35:00.000-05:00

"A new study by comScore found that more than 750 million people age 15 and older—or 95 percent of the worldwide Internet audience—conducted 61 billion searches worldwide in August, an average of more than 80 searches per searcher.

The Asia-Pacific region saw 258 million unique searchers conduct 20.3 billion searches. Europe reported the second-most searchers (210 million) and searches (18 billion), followed by North America, with 206 million searchers and 16 billion searches. The Latin American region demonstrated the heaviest search activity per person, with more than 95 searches per searcher in August.

Google sites ranked as the top worldwide search property with 37.1 billion searches conducted. Of that total number, 31 billion occurred at the Google search engine and 5 billion occurred at YouTube.com. Yahoo! sites ranked second with 8.5 billion searches, while Baidu.com, a Chinese language search engine, followed in third place with more than 3.2 billion searches. Microsoft sites ranked in fourth place worldwide, while Korea’s NHN Corporation, which owns Naver.com, ranked fifth with 2 billion searches worldwide."
[Source: OCLC Abstracts, October 15, 2007 Vol. 10 No.40]

CREDO REFERENCE

2007-10-05T10:42:00.000-05:00

Students, Faculty & Staff: ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS

Do you need to check a definition?
Do you need a clearer understanding of a literary reference or a scientific term?
Do I need quick and accurate answers to my questions?
Do I need trusted reference information that includes MLA or APA formatted citations for a works cited page or footnotes?

If you answered yes to the above questions, let me direct you to a new online reference collection available on the library's web page, CREDO REFERENCE. The resource features full-text content from over 250 credible reference books that cover a broad range of subjects.

Searching CREDO REFERENCE is much like searching Google, but instead of searching the entire Internet, your results come from a comprehensive library of trusted reference sources without advertisements or irrelevant hits. Students, faculty and staff have access 24/7 from anywhere on campus and off campus as well.

CREDO Reference content contains over 2.5 million entries, 65,000+ art images, diagrams, maps and photos. In addition, 93,000 audio pronounciation files are available. Remember, if you answered YES to any of the above questions - go to CREDO REFERENCE.

Health Care in America

2007-10-05T09:47:00.000-05:00

Annual Impact of Chronic Diseases on U.S. Economy Exceeds $1 Trillion, Study Finds
The annual economic impact on the U.S. economy of the most common chronic diseases that go untreated is calculated to be more than $1 trillion and could balloon to $6 trillion by mid-century, a new study released by the Milken Institute in Santa Monica, California, finds.
The report, An Unhealthy America: The Economic Burden of Chronic Disease (252 pages, PDF), examines the economic burden associated with preventable illness in terms of the cost to the nation's gross domestic product and lost business growth. According to the study, seven chronic diseases — cancer, diabetes, hypertension, stroke, heart disease, pulmonary conditions, and mental illness — have a total impact on the economy of $1.3 trillion annually. Of that amount, $1.1 trillion represents the cost of lost productivity.
Assuming modest improvements in prevention and treatment, Milken Institute researchers project that by 2023 the nation could avoid forty million cases of chronic disease and reduce the economic impact of chronic disease by 27 percent, or $1.1 trillion annually. The most important factor is obesity, which — if rates declined — could lead to $60 billion less in treatment costs and $254 billion in increased productivity.
The report, which was supported with a grant from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, also measures the possible cost to future generations if escalating disease leads to lower investments in education and training. It warns that the loss of human capital and skill-building could reduce the nation's economic output by as much as $5.7 trillion in real GDP by the year 2050. To reduce the human and economic cost of disease, the report calls for more incentives to promote prevention and early intervention, and a renewed national commitment to achieve a "healthy body weight."
"By investing in good health, we can add billions of dollars in economic growth in the coming decades," said Ross DeVol, director of Health Economics and Regional Economics at the Milken Institute and principal author of the report. "The good news is that with moderate improvements in prevention and early intervention such as reducing the rate of obesity, the savings to the economy would be enormous."
“Annual Economic Impact of Chronic Disease on U.S. Economy is $1 Trillion.” Milken Institute Press Release 10/02/07.

Welcome October

2007-10-03T10:16:00.000-05:00

Our new staff member, Ann Schaller, will begin employment at JWCC on October 16th. This change brings much anticipation. Our small staff will be more complete. It will allow us to make internal modifications. The changes will be immense for our staff but ultimately our patrons will receive the benefits.

Ann will become our library tech. Sarah will leave Tech Services to undertake the challenging position as Circulation Desk manager and Reference Librarian. These changes should be seamless to patrons. However, we ask that patience be extended while we perform this transformation.

The transition from Office 2003 to 2007 continues to challenge some students. The Library's staff assists when asked. The JWCC community---- students, staff and faculty----are learning in a cooperative effort. There is one tip that seems to solve many circumstances; when in doubt, right click!

As Fall Approaches Library Experiences Change

2007-09-20T13:14:00.000-05:00

Following a long hot summer, fall approaches. It brings the arrival of crisp cool temperatures, leaves change color, and daylight hours decrease. Fall also brings changes to the Library. We experience a new group of students, changes in personnel, new procedures, and more.

We noticed a marked difference in students this fall. The Library was predictably the hub for emailing and Internet surfing but, beginning the first week of classes, the students were using the computers for assignments. Each day presents more challenges. We anticipated questions concerning Office 2007. For the most part, they have been patiently handled by the staff and students.

We have been impressed with the responsible use of cell phones in the Library. We were also surprised at the number of personal laptop computers in use. Nearly the entire campus offers wireless Internet access. This appears to be the newest technology sought by our students. Yesterday we witnessed a student finishing his document on his laptop. He then accessed one of the PC's in the reference area. He saved his document to a flash drive USB device, transferred it to the PC, and printed his assignment. Our students demonstrate their adaptability every day.

We should have our new staff member by the middle of October. This will be very welcome indeed. We've all been carrying an extra load since Melissa left our team in July. We again wish her our best while we wait with anticipation for our new staff member to complete our team. More on this soon!

The most problematic procedure is helping new students initially login to their computer accounts. They aren't allowed access to a campus computer without activating their email account. Each student is assigned a login that has 3 letters, 3 numbers, and 1 letter such as xxx111z. Their assigned password is their birthdate in 6 number format (mmddyr) followed by a hyphen (-) jwcc. So the password would be 092089-jwcc. Problems logging in occurs when these letters and numbers are not typed EXACTLY. When we show them how to enter the information, we hear, "Oh, I didn't know I needed the -jwcc" or "I didn't know my login was 3 letters, 3 numbers, and 1 letter."

It has been slightly stressful this fall semester without one of our staff members. It has also been rewarding, fun, and surprisingly uneventful. We hope the positives continue to outweigh the negatives.

Revving up for the fall semester

2007-08-09T09:01:00.000-05:00

We're busy preparing for the influx of students beginning August 20th. The Library is slightly understaffed due to Melissa Brown's resignation. We are sorry to report that some services will be curtailed until her replacement is hired. This will include specific reference hours and bibliographic instruction. We apologize for this inconvenience. These services will be reinstated as soon as possible.

Information Services (IS) department continues to upgrade all campus computers with Office 2007. They are also adding wireless Internet capability to the campus. The Library has two routers that provide wireless connection. When the project is completed, laptop users will be able to connect to the Internet from any campus location. This will include the capability of using laptops outside or in the privacy of a car during pleasant weather.

More on Office 2007

2007-07-16T09:29:00.000-05:00

Most of the college staff have had Office 2007 loaded on their computers. We in the Library received it last week. Monday was hectic locating functions that appeared to be hidden. By Thursday the "lost" functions had been found, and the hectic feeling had been replaced with a calmer relaxed sense of being.

I've created a wiki for use within the college. I plan to update it with hints and suggestions for survival as we become accustomed to Office 2007. I hope others will add information to help us through the transition time.

2007-07-09T15:52:00.000-05:00

We're back after taking a couple of days vacation after the 4th of July celebration last Wednesday. Wouldn't it be nice if we only celebrated Independence Day on Fridays or Saturdays?

We have a "Word for the week" feature on our homepage. This week's word is FOOFARAW; a fuss over a matter of little importance. I imagine the colloquialism FOO-FOO emerged from FOOFARAW. I had no idea! Did you?

Have a great week. We'll "type" more later.

Library grants and more on social technology

2007-07-03T14:55:00.000-05:00

Did you read the latest OCLC Abstract, dated July 2, 2007? The Gates Foundation awarded a grant for $12.6 million over the next four years. It was given to "WebJunction, the online community for library staff to meet to share ideas, solve problems and do online coursework."

The grant will supply support and "allow OCLC to replace and add software ........... (to) provide added functionality and flexibility for WebJunction members......" whose mission is to "help libraries thrive in changing and challenging technological environments today....."

In the same issue, an article told about a Cincinnati newspaper ".....allowing readers to contribute content online....." The newspaper, The Enquirer, hopes to attract both readers and advertisers. The newspaper industry is trying to survive. Some have been forced to reduce personnel due to "declining revenue even as they search for a workable online business model." Social technology may be their answer.

For more information go to http://www5.oclc.org/downloads/design/abstracts/ .
[Source: OCLC Abstracts, July 2, 2007 Vol. 10, No. 25]

Have a fun and safe 4th of July. This blog will continue the week of July 9th.

Thoughts on a wiki

2007-06-28T15:28:00.000-05:00

I've been converted to a wiki believer!

I admit I was slow to be convinced for the need of yet another form of communication. After experiencing the wiki, that dear Melissa created for our Library, I have seen the light. I justify my slow compliance to being born in Missouri. They don't call it the "Show Me State" for nothing.

As we move our communication, files, and collaborative works to the wiki, I envision a more cohesive group. A group that will continue to learn, grow, and help each other.

Long live WIKIS!

Library Thing or WorldCat List?

2007-06-21T15:04:00.000-05:00

Is anyone utilizing a social technology

to track their reading material?

About 18 months ago I purchased a MP3 player. Our library system, Alliance of Illinois, has been offering a service called My Media Mall. It has hundreds of books (audiobooks and e-books) and videos, that are downloadable free of charge to a personal computer. Once downloaded, most of the books may be burned to a CD or transferred to a portable digital MP3 device (not iPod).

I am hooked on this format. I "read" books while riding or waiting in the car, gardening, vacuuming, cooking, or loading the dishwasher. It is great! I have discovered new authors. I read so many titles that I mistakenly began to select books that I had previously read. This was done accidently--not by choice. I needed a method to track the titles previously read.

I began entering titles on an Excel worksheet. This became too cumbersome. Since that attempt, I have tried entering titles in Library Thing (LT) and WorldCat's (WCat) personalized lists. After using both, I have determined that LT is better suited for my needs. There are options in WCat that are certainly attractive (when searching you are notified if the title is held locally in your own Library) but for ease of use, I will remain with LT.

It would be interesting to read comments from other avid readers. Am I the only reader that wishes they had a record of all the books read in their lifetime? If you laugh, you must not work in a Library. Please enter comments or try our Chat feature. I will attempt to reply as soon as possible. Thanks and happy reading, or in my case, happy listening!

Social technologies

2007-06-18T08:38:00.000-05:00

Hello again! I just returned from a CARLI forum and workshop on "Social Technologies and academic libraries." During the morning we heard an overview on the subject. We also learned about Bradley University's successful applications.

We attended breakout sessions during the afternoon. We had a chance to learn about Second Life, MySpace, Blogging in academic libraries, Building a wiki for your library, Exploring wikis, and Safety and privacy issues with social technologies.

Experiencing Second Life was totally astonishing. I have never experienced the new gaming genera. I hate to admit the fact that my experience with computer games is more related to Pacman and Tetris than the 3-D games of today. I understand the addicting quality but am not convinced the time required balances the return of benefits. The use of bandwidth is also a concern. Any thoughts out there?

On the other hand, blogging and wikis may replace or supplement my use of e-mail. The collaboration capability combined with the nearly instantaneous editing with co-workers is appealing. I'd like to hear from other interested people on the subject. Please leave comments.

Goodbye Michelle!

2007-06-13T14:40:00.000-05:00

It was gratifying when our director requested I assume responsibility for the Library's website. It was also terrifying! I had some experience with design but I knew virtually nothing concerning website development. I was totally unaware of HTML, CSS, Javascript, FrontPage, Deamweaver, etc. After accessing the situation, I immediately sought an online course to assist my transformation into "the webmaster." Where did that term originate? It has always implied something on the SciFi Channel or something in cyberspace.

I completed an online web design course through ACRL (Association of College & Research Libraries). My confidence soared after completing a second online course. I began searching for websites that were pleasing to the eye but informative. Educational but not boring. Interesting but not too busy. Engaging but pleasant. These were traits important to our Library.

Our college's "webmaster" was very helpful and supportive. She gave me the confidence I lacked because she could "fix" whatever I "broke" (as other fledgling web designers will appreciate). She taught, encouraged, suggested and helped me create this website. I will be forever in debt to her. She left last week for a better opportunity in North Carolina. She will be missed.

If you read this and have a favorite website (maybe your own?), please forward me the URL by commenting to this posting. I would appreciate the input. TIA!

Summer tranquility

2007-06-11T11:08:00.000-05:00

We have become accustomed to lower demands during the summer months at our Library. Due to this quietude, we plan activities such as cleaning, inventory, making plans for the upcoming school year, self-improvement, etc.

My plans include small revisions and additions to our website. I will also continue reading the library of web related books I have accumulated. Please don't hesitate to comment with remarks, suggestions, and hopefully a few encouraging words about our website.

Blog members

2007-06-07T14:31:00.000-05:00

Our Library personnel have been invited to become Team Members of the blog. After acceptance, they will be allowed to publish their own blog posts (journal entries). As you bloggers know, only "members" may contribute posts.
However, we have enabled all visitors to leave comments. We welcome the communication and look forward to reading them.

Office 2007

2007-06-06T08:28:00.000-05:00

The Library has received frantic pleas for help from several patrons. These patrons created files using Office 2007 but have had difficulty opening their files since our computers have Office 2003.

Please don't panic! Go to the Library's friendly and helpful staff. They will be glad to assist you by allowing access to B108. The computers in B108 and B133 are running Office 2007. The college will be loading Office 2007 on all the Library's computers around July 28th.

Blog debut!

2007-06-05T10:49:00.000-05:00

Blog debut, June 5, 2007

Today is our blog's debut. We invite you to write comments, suggestions and journal library experiences (good and bad).

Questions? No question is too insignificant. Librarians may not have all the answers, but they do know where to find them. They have been asked things such as:

Where can I find the 10W40 tax form? The polite reply was, "The W1040's may be found at the public library."
You can imagine the surprise when a Reference Librarian was presented a live snake as it was dumped on the desk! The young boy wanted to know the type of snake.
What does it feel like to be eaten by cannibals?

TIA for participating. Our journaling experience should be enjoyable. We look forward to collaborating.