BCL Blog

Emessage Board

2011-06-01T06:06:00.001-07:00

Typical?

2011-03-04T04:50:00.000-08:00

7 Billion: Are You Typical? — National Geographic Magazine @ Yahoo! Video

New focus for this Blog!

2011-02-15T08:34:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking about a new focus for this Blog, moving from general Bloomfield College library news to more specific items about technology and education. Many of these items will be culled from daily news items, feature articles, and periodicals that focus on the intersection of education and technology.

There will still be news about what is happening in the Library, but I also want to include items that readers may find interesting and thought-provoking. Stay tuned!

The Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies

2010-08-23T07:46:00.000-07:00

The Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies

The Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies is a high priority for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. It supports scholarship and publications in the field of Holocaust studies, promotes the growth of Holocaust studies at American universities, seeks to foster strong relationships between American and international scholars, and initiates programs to ensure the ongoing training of future generations of scholars specializing in the Holocaust.

Cite your sources!

2010-05-03T13:11:00.001-07:00

Princeton News: OIT tests Amazon's Kindle e-reader in sustainability effort

2010-04-28T18:27:00.000-07:00

Princeton News: OIT tests Amazon's Kindle e-reader in sustainability effort

New Electronic Message Board!

2010-04-20T10:52:00.001-07:00

Check out the new e-board located on the main floor of the library! New items, news, hours, special events, and more, updated continuously!

Library Hours for the Good Friday Weekend

2010-03-29T06:36:00.001-07:00

Library Hours for the Good Friday Weekend 2010.

Thursday April 1^st: 8:30 AM to 9:00 PM

Friday April 2^nd: Closed

Saturday April 3^rd: 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Sunday April 4^th: Closed

Library Hours During Spring Break 2010

2010-03-03T11:36:00.001-08:00

Library Hours During Spring Break 2010.

March 6^th. Saturday: 9:00 AM to 4:30 PMs

March 7^th. Sunday: Closed

March 8^th to March 12^th: Monday-Friday: 8:30 AM to 4: 30 PM

March 13^th. Saturday: 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM

March 14^th. Sunday: 4 PM to 11 PM

Regular Hours Resume on Monday March 15^th, 2010.

What is going on at the Newark Public Library?

2009-10-05T08:12:00.000-07:00

The Newark Public Library, Newark NJ (NPL) is wonderful place to visit and immerse oneself in a different world. While it is understandably noted for its book collection, NPL also hosts many cultural activities of interest to many.

On Saturday 10 October at 2 p.m., there will be a film screening of Soy Andina, directed and produced by Mitch Teplitsky, who will also provide commentary and take questions from the audience.

Soy Andina is the dazzling story of two women raised in different worlds - an immigrant folk dance from the Andes, and a modern dancer from Queens, NY - who return to their roots and an astonishing world of traditional dance and celebration.

On Thursday 15 October at 5:30 p.m., there will be an evening of Peruvian prose, poetry and music. Enjoy a poetry reading by three contemporary Peruvian poets, the presentation of a new memoir, Las Luces del Retorno, by Tony Escudero, and the vibrant melodies of Pable Canela's guitar.

All programs are free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.npl.org

More books in more places: public domain EPUB downloads on Google Books

2009-09-02T07:20:00.000-07:00

As of 26 August , you can download over one million public domain books from Google Books in an additional format. Google is excited offer downloads in EPUB format, a free and open industry standard for electronic books. It's supported by a wide variety of applications, so once you download a book, you'll be able to read it on any device or through any reading application that supports the format. That means that you will be able to access public domain works that Google has digitized from libraries around the world in more ways, including some that haven't even been built or imagined yet.

But, I got it from the Internet!

2009-05-07T13:14:00.000-07:00

Animated tutorial on finding keywords

2009-04-01T07:49:00.000-07:00

Animated tutorial on finding keywords and advanced online searching developed by California State University at San Bernardino Library. Available click here.

Topics for College Research Papers

2009-04-01T05:49:00.000-07:00

Topics for College Research Papers Information Literacy
Instructors: Mark Jackson, Reference and Online Resources Librarian
John Hinchcliffe, Reference and Information Literacy Librarian

Objectives:

Introduction to "concept mapping"
How to focus a topic, moving from broad to narrow (but not too narrow)
Constructing a research question or thesis statement

What is concept mapping? A concept map is a diagram showing the relationships among concepts. [For more on concept mapping, refer to Wikipedia article]. When narrowing a topic, the central or main topic is in the middle and associated concepts are connected with boxes and connecting lines. When all the concepts have been mapped, you are ready to formulate a question.

Concept Mapping Video

Text 2 Mind Map is a web application that converts texts to mind maps. It takes a structured list of words or sentences, interprets it, and draws a mind map out of them. Text 2 Mind Map available click here.
Instruction video for the mind mapping tool.

OK, I have done all of mapping. Now I need to develop a thesis or question. What do I do?
For advice from the writing center at Indiana University, click here. The Indiana site addresses three areas: how to generate a thesis statement if the topic is assigned; how to generate a thesis statement if the topic is NOT assigned; and, how to tell a strong thesis statement from a weak one. Another excellent site for developing your thesis or statement is the Online Writing Lab OWL of Purdue University. This well-developed writing site introduces you to the thesis or question; provides examples; illustrates the defining features of the statement or question; explains how to construct an effective statement or question; and finally, recommends applying the "so what" test. The Purdue site is here.

Good luck!

ENG107 (sections 9,10) Information Literacy

2009-03-31T06:32:00.000-07:00

ENG107 (sections 9,10) Information Literacy Spring 2009
Instructor: Mark Jackson, Reference and Online Resources Librarian

Objectives:

Understanding, locating and evaluating appropriate information resources for a topic
Using Google Scholar to determine the extent of scholarly writing on a topic
Using databases to find scholarly articles on a topic

Where should I begin my research? Use bibliographies (from books, the Web); where can I find most of my quality information (books, Web sites (.edu .org .com) databases)? I found some stuff on the Web, how do I know if it is appropriate for a college research paper? Evaluate!

How can Google Scholar help me? This search engine provides a search of scholarly [an article that is peer-reviewed (checked over by a group of experts before publication) Most scholarly articles have the following characteristics: written by experts, accompanied with references, formal or technical writing style, and published by a university or association
www.lib.ua.edu/libraries/gorgas/glossary.htm] literature across many disciplines and sources, including theses, books, abstracts and articles.

What is a database? an organized body of related information
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn Can't I find this stuff on the Web? Sometimes, not usually.

The database we will start with is ProQuest. Another database that you may use is Academic Search Premier. Why use more than one database? Each database will provide access to different journals. While one may not contain the full text (from the first word to the last, including references and images) of an article, another may.

ENG107 Academic Writing

2009-03-25T05:50:00.000-07:00

ENG107 Academic Writing - Information Literacy
Mark Jackson, Reference and Online Resources Librarian

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

“The very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts. One’s right to life, liberty, and property, to free speech, a free press, freedom of worship and assembly, and other fundamental rights may not be submitted to vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections.” — Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson

Objectives:

Use an assignment calculator for time management
Use "concept mapping" to develop a topic
Understand the role of books in academic research
Use a search engine more effectively
Evaluation of information

Assignment Calculator
Concept Mapping

Evaluation of information

Residents Information Literacy

2009-03-23T16:02:00.000-07:00

Residents Information Literacy Instruction
Mark Jackson - Reference and Online Resources Librarian

Frustrated, can't print? Don't do this, please!

Objectives:

Using Assignment Calculator as a time-management tool
Learn to evaluate appropriate web sites for college level research
Introduce you to ProQuest, a research database

Assignment Calculator (developed by the University of Minnesota Libraries) Step-by-step time line for writing a research paper.

Evaluating Web Sites (Cornell University) Should I use www.legalizeit.com for my research paper about medical marijuana?

ProQuest Research Database

ENG279 American Literature Survey

2009-03-23T06:11:00.000-07:00

Information Literacy: ENG279 American Literature Survey
Instructor: Mark Jackson, Reference and Online Resources Librarian

Objectives:

Understand the importance of using books for research
To introduce you to two database resources for academic research and scholarly articles (ProQuest & Academic Search Premier)
To introduce you to Google Scholar
Introduce you to "concept mapping"
Introduce you to a time management tool

Time Management is essential to the success of your research paper. Managing our time however, can be difficult. There are many things that compete for our time: work, family, a healthy balance between our social lives and our studies. The University of Minnesota Libraries has developed an online tool for managing a time line for a research paper. Using the Assignment Calculator, you can beat the clock! Click here to access the Assignment Calculator.

Concept maps are graphical tools for organizing and representing knowledge. They include concepts, usually enclosed in circles or boxes of some type, and relationships between concepts indicated by a connecting line linking two concepts. (Novack & Canas)

Google Scholar provides a search of scholarly literature across many disciplines and sources, including theses, books, abstracts and articles. It is useful for answering an important question: How much scholarly writing is there about the topic?

ProQuest Database – for "full text" journal research scholarly articles

Academic Search Premier - another database for finding scholarly material

Information Literacy: Unleashing the Power of ProQuest

2009-03-03T06:13:00.000-08:00

Information Literacy: Unleashing the Power of ProQuest
Instructors: Mark Jackson, Reference and Online Resources Librarian; John Hinchcliffe, Reference & Information Literacy Librarian

This one hour presentation will provide an overview of the ProQuest database. ProQuest is a multidisciplinary database containing thousands of scholarly journals and articles, many of them full text.

The following area are covered in this presentation:

Searching by topic or subject
Searching for publications
Searching for an author
Using the advanced search feature for targeted results
HTML or PDF?
Embedding a permanent link

By default, the opening page of ProQuest opens to a topic search. For example, you may search for CHILDREN and TELEVISION. You can then view the documents combining these two subject terms. In your search results you may notice that some of the articles will indicate abstract only is available and some will indicate abstract and full text. Additionally, you may not know which publications are academic or scholarly journals (sometimes referred to as peer-reviewed) and which ones are general interest publications. You may filter the search results by clicking on "Show only full text" and the "Scholarly Journals" tab. Using the topic search is a simple way for you to find information about a topic. ProQuest has prepared a printable guide to topic search, available here.

ProQuest contains many publications across disciplines. Does ProQuest provide access to the publication you are interested in? You can find out by clicking the "Publications" tab and performing a search. Type one or two words in the search box, for example education or psychology. The results list will indicate full text availability and the date range available. You may search within a publication by clicking on the link and opening access to the publication and using the search box. As an example, the publication Distance Education will probably provide articles concerning successful strategies used in distance learning. Searching within publications is an effective way of discovering relevant information. PorQuest has prepared a printable guide to publication search, available here.

Another way of obtaining relevant search results is by clicking on the author link. This will provide all of the articles in the ProQuest database written by a specific author. By the nature of academic publishing, it is often the case that the author has other articles published pertaining to a similar topic.

While using the topic search provides good results, there is another way of searching that provides more specific and targeted results. By using the Advanced search tab, you can search by document title, author, citation and abstract, publication title, and other ways. Using the advanced method, you may also use a boolean operator. A simple presentation developed by Louisiana State University explaining operators is available here.

Using the advanced search you can construct a search for television OR media AND children OR toddlers OR infants AND psychology selecting the appropriate field in the database. The most commonly used fields are citation and abstract, author, document title, and publication title.

HTML or PDF? Databases often provide full text articles in two formats: HTML or hyper text markup language documents or PDF or portable document file format. The HTML document is ideal for viewing in a web browser, retaining any links embedded in the document. The PDF version is usually the preferred format for final printing of the article, providing an exact duplicate or copy of the original article.

Finally, a permanent link to a document can be embedded into your Blackboard course. In the document view format, select the Copy Link icon in the yellow bar. Follow the instructions and just paste the URL into the appropriate place in your Blackboard course. Voila! That is all there is to it!

Library Schedule for Spring Break 2009

2009-02-26T13:28:00.000-08:00

Library Schedule for Spring Break 2009

Saturday, March 7^th: 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM

Sunday, March 8^th: Closed

Monday – Friday, March 9^th to March 13^th: 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM

Saturday, March 14^th: 9: 00 AM – 4:30 PM

Sunday, March 15^th: 4:00 PM – 11:00 PM

Regular hours begin on Sunday, March 15^th

ENG122 Speech and Oral Communication

2009-02-25T08:39:00.000-08:00

Information Literacy: ENG122 Speech and Oral Communication
Instructors: Mark Jackson, Reference and Online Resources Librarian; John Hinchcliffe, Reference & Information Literacy Librarian

Objectives:

Find a book in the Library catalog
Finding and evaluating Internet resources
Introduction to the ProQuest database

Why do we need books? Even though we can find useful information using the Internet, a huge amount of information is still only available through books. Though a typical website may appear to provide in-depth information, the information it contains can not compare with a book devoted to an entire subject. In addition, many of the books contained in a college library are published by a university press, giving them credibility and authority. The entire book or chapters in such books are written by scholars, or people with advanced degrees who have studied and written about the subject in depth. Books are a crucial and important piece of any first-quality, well-researched paper.

Exercise: After reviewing how to use our Library Catalog, find a book on a topic provided by the instructor.

Finding and evaluating Internet resources: It is not difficult to Google a few words and find information. There are, however, a few things you need to keep in mind. First, not all information is of excellent quality and suitable for college level writing. Google often returns relevant results but not necessarily excellent results. The challenge is not to find information, but to think critically and analytically about what you find.

What guidelines can you use to evaluate websites? Briefly, they are: Accuracy, Authority, Currency, Objectivity, and Coverage. Cornell University has devoted a site to evaluating websites, available click here.

Now you know what to look for when you find a website that appears to be appropriate. As many of you know, Google will usually return a large number of hits, often over 500,000 on any search. Learning to target your search will not only provide more relevant information, but also information of better quality. Having a sense of where to begin your search is important. For example, the best place for statistical information are government websites. We can limit our Google search to governmental agencies by using this example: diabetes statistics site:.gov

If you are looking for a discussion of a particular issue (pros and cons), such as global warming, we can limit our search to organizations: "global warming" site:.org

Investigating the advanced search feature of Google will give you a sense of how you may tailor your search strategy.

Finally, a well-written research paper will usually need to incorporate material from scholarly publications. These may take the form of research studies (how does a person's face give us subtle visual clues, or how do marketers and advertising use subliminal messages) or an in depth analysis of US-Cuban International Relations. These are studies or articles that have been reviewed by a panel of experts or scholars. After this review, the article is published.

An excellent interdisciplinary source of scholarly publication is the ProQuest database. For the most part, the information that you will find here is NOT available for free on the Internet. There are three basic and simple ways of searching this database. First, you can search by topic. Second, you can use the advanced search. Third, you can search by a publication title.

ENG223 Women in Literature

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

Information Literacy: ENG223 Women in Literature
Instructor: Mark Jackson, Reference and Online Resources Librarian

Objectives:

To introduce you to two database resources for academic research and scholarly articles (ProQuest & Academic Search Premier)
To introduce you to Google Scholar
Introduce you to "concept mapping"

Concept maps are graphical tools for organizing and representing knowledge. They include concepts, usually enclosed in circles or boxes of some type, and relationships between concepts indicated by a connecting line linking two concepts. (Novack & Canas)

Google Scholar provides a search of scholarly literature across many disciplines and sources, including theses, books, abstracts and articles. It is useful for answering an important question: How much scholarly writing is there about the topic?

ProQuest Database – for "full text" journal research scholarly articles

Academic Search Premier - another database for finding schlarly material

Library Hours for Spring Semester 2009

2009-01-13T10:35:00.000-08:00

Monday - Friday: 7:30 AM to 11:00PM

Saturday: 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM

Sunday: 4:00 PM to 11:00 PM

Library Hours

2009-01-12T10:31:00.001-08:00

Library Hours for January 12th and 13th, 2008.

Monday, January 12th: 8:30 AM to 9:00 PM
Tuesday, January 13th: 8:30 AM to 9:00 PM

Regular semester hours begin on Wednesday, January 14th,

Monday-Friday: 7:30 AM to 11:00 PM
Saturday: 7:30 AM to 7:00 PM
Sunday: 4:00 PM to 11:00 PM

Library Hours for January 12th and 13th, 2008

2009-01-09T06:40:00.001-08:00

Monday, January 12th: 8:30 AM to 9:00 PM
Tuesday, January 13th: 8:30 AM to 9:00 PM

Regular semester hours begin on Wednesday, January 14th,

Monday-Friday: 7:30 AM to 11:00 PM
Saturday: 7:30 AM to 7:00 PM
Sunday: 4:00 PM to 11:00 PM

Library Hours

2009-01-05T07:34:00.001-08:00

Library Hours January 5th to January 11th , 2009

Monday-Friday: 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM

Saturday-Sunday: Closed

Library Hours After Finals

2008-12-15T10:29:00.001-08:00

Tuesday, December 16th: 8:30 AM to 9:00 PM
Wednesday, December 17th: 8:30 AM to 9:00 PM
Thursday, December 18tH: 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM
Friday, December 19th : 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM
Saturday, December 20th: Closed
Sunday, December 21st: Closed
Monday, December 22nd: 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.
Tuesday, December 23rd: 8:30 AM to 2:00 PM

Library Hours during Finals

2008-12-02T16:48:00.000-08:00

December 9th, Tuesday to December 12th, Friday: 7:30 AM to Midnight.
December 13th, Saturday: 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM.
December 14th, Sunday: 4:00 PM to 11:00 PM
December 15th, Monday: 7:30 AM to Midnight.

Library Hours for Thanksgiving Weekend 2008

2008-11-13T12:34:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, November 26th: 7:30 AM to 9:00 PM
Thursday, November 27th: Closed
Friday, November 28th: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Saturday, November 29th: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Sunday, November 30th: 4:00 PM to 11:00 PM

Regular hours resume on Monday, December 1st 2008.

A little about PLAGIARISM

2008-10-31T07:07:00.000-07:00

This is a very brief post pertaining to plagiarism. I developed it for use during a 30-minute session with 8th grade students.

Plagiarism can take many forms. Some of the more common forms are listed below, however it should be noted that definitions of plagiarism vary somewhat across the disciplines in accordance with differences in knowledge authorship conventions and traditions.

Cheating in an exam either by copying from other students or using unauthorized notes or other aids.
Submitting, as one's own, an assignment that another person has completed.
Downloading information, text, computer code, artwork, graphics or other material from the internet and presenting it as one's own without acknowledgment.
Quoting or paraphrasing material from a source without acknowledgment.
Preparing a correctly cited and referenced assignment from individual research and then handing part or all of that work in twice for separate subjects/grades.

There are also forms of plagiarism that relate directly to student participation in group work.

Copying from other members while working in a group.
Contributing less, little or nothing to a group assignment and then claiming an equal share of the grade.

Citation: Minimising plagiarism. (n.d.). Retrieved October 31, 2008, from Centre for the Study of Higher Education, Australian Universities Teaching Committee Web site: http://www.cshe.unimelb.edu.au/assessinglearning/03/plagMain.html

An EXCELLENT resource: Avoiding Plagiarism (Sponsored by the Online Writing Lab OWL, Purdue University). This site specializes in the research and writing process for academic purposes. It is comprehensive and easily navigated. Topics include: General Academic Writing; Research and citation; Internet literacy; Literary analysis and criticism; Writing for specific disciplines; and more!

ENG362 Shakespeare's Men

2008-10-14T06:32:00.000-07:00

Open a word processor and create a new document to track your research. Copy and paste information into the document as you go along. This will help you to be organized.If you are going to use the Internet, look for high-quality and authoritative sites that will provide first-quality information!

Evaluating what you find: Is it appropriate? Cornell University Library’s Evaluating Web Sites: Criteria and Tools (http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/webeval.html) is an excellent site with plenty of great information. Use it as a guide for determining the quality of information.

What is Google Scholar? We can use Google Scholar to find information from journals: (Shakespeare Macbeth) Keep in mind that Google Scholar will mostly tell you what is out there. The majority of the time though, you will only find the citation and the abstract. What if you find a reference or citation in Google Scholar and you need the full text? You can use BCL Journals to help you locate a journal in either the print or online collection of Bloomfield College.

And now for something completely different.... BREAK

Databases: ProQuest
Academic Search Premier
Literature Resource Center

These databases can be accessed from the main library page, Online Databases [http://www.bloomfield.edu/library/]Why use these databases? They provide authoritative, research articles that are usually NOT available on the Web. These articles are from scholarly journals. A journal is a type of periodical that contains articles written by specialists aimed at other specialists in a particular field. An article in a scholarly journal is usually documented with footnotes and/or a bibliography. For the most part, scholarly journals are published monthly or quarterly and contain little advertising or few, if any, color illustrations. Also referred to as "Peer Reviewed" or "Refereed," a scholarly journal features articles that usually contain original research (qualitative or quantitative) and have been reviewed and selected by other scholars in order to be published. A clue to finding a study is to find this word in the abstract.

Full text articles may usually be printed in two formats. One format is designed to be viewed in a web browser such as Firefox or Internet Explorer. The other format is called PDF. Use the PDF to print out your articles since this format preserves all formatting and charts or graphs.

If you need help, email mark_jackson@bloomfield.edu

NUR215, NUR225, NUR305 Information Literacy Instruction September, 2008

2008-09-29T05:51:00.000-07:00

NUR215, NUR225, NUR305 Information Literacy Instruction September, 2008
Assist. Prof. Mark Jackson

Open a word processor and create a new document to track your research. Copy and paste information into the document as you go along. This will help you to be organized.

Using Google to gather ideas and additional information: Nursing nurses sexual stereotypes
If you are going to use the Internet, look for high-quality and authoritative sites that will provide first-quality information! Evaluating what you find: Is it appropriate? Cornell University Library’s Evaluating Web Sites: Criteria and Tools (http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/webeval.html) is an excellent site with plenty of great information. Use it as a guide for determining the quality of information.

What is Google Scholar? We can use Google Scholar to find information from journals: (nursing nurses “sexual stereotypes”) Keep in mind that Google Scholar will mostly tell you what is out there. The majority of the time though, you will only find the citation and the abstract. What if you find a reference or citation in Google Scholar and you need the full text? You can use BCL Journals to help you locate a journal in either the print or online collection of Bloomfield College.

And now for something completely different.... BREAK

Using databases: CINAHL
ProQuest
Academic Search Premier

These databases can be accessed from the main library page, Online Databases [http://www.bloomfield.edu/library/]

Why use these databases? They provide authoritative, research articles that are usually NOT available on the Web. These articles are from scholarly journals. A journal is a type of periodical that contains articles written by specialists aimed at other specialists in a particular field. An article in a scholarly journal is usually documented with footnotes and/or a bibliography. For the most part, scholarly journals are published monthly or quarterly and contain little advertising or few, if any, color illustrations. Also referred to as "Peer Reviewed" or "Refereed," a scholarly journal features articles that usually contain original research (qualitative or quantitative) and have been reviewed and selected by other scholars in order to be published. A clue to finding a study is to find this word in the abstract.

Full text articles may usually be printed in two formats. One format is designed to be viewed in a web browser such as Firefox or Internet Explorer. The other format is called PDF. Use the PDF to print out your articles since this format preserves all formatting and charts or graphs.

If you need help, email mark_jackson@bloomfield.edu

The Book Sale Final Days!

2008-09-26T07:53:00.000-07:00

The Bloomfield College Library book sale is ending this Saturday, September 27th. Bring your own brown paper shopping grocery bag and fill it up with as many books as it will hold, and you pay only FIVE BUCKS PER BAG! What a deal!

Plenty of great books still available, time to stock up for those long snowy winter nights just ahead!

PSY418 Principles of Psychotherapy

2008-09-08T07:58:00.000-07:00

PSY418 – Information Literacy 2008
Assist. Prof. Mark Jackson

ProQuest:
Topic finder: EXAMPLE behavior therapy
Using ProQuest Database to find publications
Search within a publication
Adding your results to a folder and printing a working bibliography

PsycARTICLES:
Thesaurus: EXAMPLE: psychodynamic
Using PsycARTICLES to find publications
Search within a publication
Adding your results to a folder and printing a working bibliography

PsycINFO:
Thesaurus: EXAMPLE: family systems
ADD family systems theory to your search
ADD the OPERATOR "AND" or else you will not get results
DE "Family Systems Theory" AND study = 218 results
Limit SOURCE TYPE = PEER REVIEWED = 123 results

HTML vs. PDF FULL TEXT? What is the difference and which should you print?

Using NOODLE TOOLS to construct a citation: YOU MUST STILL BE FAMILIAR WITH THE APA MANUAL!! The APA Manual is located behind the front desk of the library, the call number is BF76.7 P83

Library’s Fall Semester Hours 2008

2008-09-02T06:05:00.000-07:00

Monday to Friday: 7:30 AM to 11:00 PM
Saturday: 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM
Sunday: 4:00 PM to 11:00 PM

Library Hours 8/23 to 8/29

2008-08-19T07:44:00.000-07:00

Saturday 23 August: 8:30 am to 5 pm

Sunday 24 August: CLOSED

Monday and Tuesday 25 and 26 August: 8:30 am to 11 pm

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 27, 28, 29 August: 7:30 am to 11 pm

Cuil vs. Google: Can David Beat Goliath?

2008-07-29T10:15:00.000-07:00

Cuil vs. Google: Can David Beat Goliath?
Analysts Say It's Too Early to Predict Search Startup's Future
By ASHLEY PHILLIPS July 29, 2008

Marred by page errors and intermittant outages when it launched on Monday, a new search engine billing itself as a wider-reaching, more intuitive Google may have trouble competing with established Silicon Valley search goliaths, analysts said. Cuil.com is a new startup search engine challenging giants like Google, Yahoo and Ask.com.

Read the rest of the article...

Memorial Day Weekend 2008 Library & Computer Lab Hours

2008-05-23T10:33:00.000-07:00

Please note the following hours for the Library: Saturday 24th May 8:30 to 4:30 p.m. - Sunday 25th May CLOSED - Monday 26th May CLOSED - regular summer hours resume on Tuesday 27th May. The hours of the Pollack Computer Center, located in the Library, are the same as the Library hours.

Habits of Mind: Information Literacy PowerPoint

2008-02-05T12:54:00.000-08:00

Habits of Mind: Information Literacy

2008-02-05T06:21:00.001-08:00

Habits of Mind, Bloomfield College NJ
5 February 2008

This workshop will present methods for incorporating information literacy into our classes--methods that support our disciplinary and pedagogical goals and also engage students in accessing, evaluating, and using a wide range of information resources. With the recent inclusion of Information Literacy in our College list of competencies, this workshop will be of special interest, as we recognize the challenges of helping students understand the intellectual, practical, and ethical dimensions of information use.

What is Information Literacy?

The Association of College & Research Libraries ACRL defines Information Literacy as: the set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analyze, and use information.

Why Information Literacy?

How is the world a different place? Have you ever heard of Data Smog? A term coined by author David Shenk, it refers to the idea that too much information can create a barrier in our lives. This data smog is produced by the amount of information, the speed at which it comes to us from all directions, the need to make fast decisions, and the feeling of anxiety that we are making decisions without having ALL the information that is available or that we need. (ACRL, http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlissues/acrlinfolit/infolitoverview/introtoinfolit/introinfolit.cfm)

As part of a liberal arts education, info lit addresses and is interrelated with Communication Skills, Community Orientation/Citizenship, Problem Solving/Critical Thinking Skills, Professional Skills, and Scientific & Technological Skills.

How can faculty incorporate info lit into what we do?

Many, if not all of us, incorporate info lit into our teaching but we do not identify it as such. We are already doing it!

Information Literacy is NOT only about TECHNOLOGY (blogs, wikis, podcasts, etc.) though there is often a connection.

An example of formalized information literacy: let's compare the information we get from a website and a book. You remember books, don't you?

I hold in my hand a biography of a writer associated with the Harlem Renaissance, Claude McKay. It is 429 pages in length. In my other hand, I have 5 pages printed from Perspectives in American Literature, a well-respected website. The entire section that deals with biographical information about McKay is a student project. The print book version was published by Indiana State University Press and written by someone knowledgeable. The book explores the topic in-depth! While the website adds some basic understanding to our knowledge base, the book moves beyond basics, to depth and complexity of understanding. (This exercise addresses ACRL standards 1, 2, 3)

If I type the words Harlem Renaissance into Google, of the first ten hits 40% are of a non-academic nature. Only two sites have been created in affiliation with an educational institution or .edu - 2 are from organizations or .org – and 1 is from a government site, The Library of Congress. Typically, information seekers will consider one of the first 20 search engine results as adequate for their purposes. (This exercise addresses ACRL standards 1, 2, 3)

The Technology Piece

In this glorious age of technology, many of us are eager to incorporate it into our pedagogy. Blogs, podcasts, wikis and other technologies can be effectively integrated with what we do (teach). There are many rationales for doing so.

Meet the students where they are
Technologies such as wikis encourage collaboration and group work
Tools such as blogs are immediate and they also communicate to a larger inter-connected world

In my experience, the single greatest impediment for academicians not moving forward and experimenting with technology is FEAR. What will my colleagues think? It's not scholarly publishing! It's untested, untried, a flash-in-the-pan! What will students think?

How can we deal with this fear and UNCERTAINTY?

Wabi-sabi is the Japanese philosophy that embraces a beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. It is a beauty of things modest and humble. “Pare down to the essence, but don’t remove the poetry. Keep things clean and unencumbered but don’t sterilize,” says Leonard Koren, author of Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers. For a good summary, check out A Culture of Simplicity, a brief article by Koren.

“Do or do not... there is no try.” Yoda, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

References/Resources

The Association of College & Research Libraries ACRL Information Literacy Website. http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlissues/acrlinfolit/informationliteracy.cfm

Burkhardt, Joanna M., MacDonald, Mary C., and Rathemacher, Andrée J. Teaching Information Literacy: 35 Practical, Standards-based Exercises for College Students. American Library Association, 2003

Koren, Leonard. A Culture of Simplicity. Resurgence Issue 203 available online [http://www.resurgence.org/resurgence/issues/koren203.htm]

Neely, Teresa Y. Information Literacy Assessment: Standards Based Tools and Assignments. American Library Association, 2006

Shapiro, Jeremy J. and Hughes, Shelley K. Information as a Liberal Art: Enlightenment proposals for a new curriculum. Educom Review. 31(2). March/April 1996. Available: http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/review/reviewarticles/31231.html

Thompson, Christen. (2003). Information Illiterate or Lazy; How College Students Use the Web for Research. Portal: Libraries and the Academy. 3(2). 259

EDC318, Early Childhood Curriculum and Assessment

2008-01-31T08:19:00.000-08:00

EDC318 Early Childhood Curriculum and Assessment
January 2008 Updated 6 February 2009 - Instructor: Assist. Prof. Mark Jackson, Reference and Online Resources Librarian, Bloomfield College NJ

Objectives:
Locate the NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards NJCCCS and explore the standards
Find lesson plans and lesson plan sites appropriate for New Jersey

In New Jersey, standards have been developed for K-12 and expectations for Pre-K. We will explore the K-12 standards first.
Language Arts Literacy Standards, Strands and Cumulative Progress Indicators (overview)
New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Language Arts Literacy (PDF) This is a printable 52 page document.
Scope and Sequence Chart for Language Arts Literacy
CCCS CD Framework Activities
LANGUAGE ARTS LITERACY Academic & Professional Standards

Next we will look briefly at the Preschool Teaching & Learning Expectations: Standards of Quality
Your lesson plans should coordinate with the NJCCCS. The New Jersey Digital Highway portal for educators is a good place to begin. Look at the section on the right called Quick Links. There is a link for Educational Modules and Lesson plans. These are some of the recommended resources for lesson plans. There are thousands of web sites devoted to lesson plans. Keep in mind two considerations when you are thinking of using lesson plans that you may find on the web. First, the quality will vary. Acceptance standards for lesson plans varies and the quality of the plan may not be suitable. Second, your lesson plans need to incorporate the NJCCCS.
Some other sites that are excellent resources for lesson plans:
Scholastic for Teachers Lesson Plans
Reading First New Jersey - Professional Development Video-based Reading Strategies and Techniques (Includes video demonstrations) - this is an excellent resource!
International Reading Association: http://www.readwritethink.org/
You might also consider a Google search using these search terms: lesson plan NJCCCS Search Results
If you need help, I encourage you to email me or visit me at the library.

Using Wiki for Student Learning and Collaboration: Weaving the Digital Threads

2008-01-14T11:47:00.000-08:00

Using Wiki for Student Learning and Collaboration: Weaving the Digital Threads - PowerPoint presentation for Bloomfield College Faculty Technology Day, 16 January 2008.

Created by Asst. Prof. Mark Jackson, Reference & Online Resources Librarian, Bloomfield College, Bloomfield, New Jersey.

Click this link to view the PowerPoint presentation.

The Digital World and Society: Lunch at the Library Series

2007-11-26T12:21:00.000-08:00

The Digital World and Society: Lunch at the Library Series

The Library will sponsor a series of informal Friday lunches revolving around the theme of information and technology and their impact on our lives. Discussions of issues ranging from privacy to ethical online behavior will be moderated by a librarian. Two topics will be chosen for discussion. Every week the two items will be posted on the library blog for participants to review before meeting on Friday. Participants will be able to subscribe via RSS feed to the blog so they will know the topics beforehand. This series is open to all!

Sample topics include:

§ How do other countries around the world seek to assert authority over a network meant to be borderless?
§ How have bloggers and blogging affected the political process?
§ Do current copyright laws inhibit the sharing of information?
§ Why are all the movies the same at the multiplex?
§ Does privacy matter in the 21st century?

The lunch will be divided into two parts: eating and then 45 minutes devoted to the topics. The format encourages brevity. Depending on what the "hot button" issues are, lengthier follow up sessions can be developed.

Lunch sessions will be begin at 1:15 p.m. and end at 2:15 p.m. on Fridays. This is the schedule:

November 30
December 7

January 11
February 15
March 14
April 11 (Final Session)

Adjunct Institute Professional Development Workshop Series Fall 2007

2007-11-15T10:00:00.000-08:00

Adjunct Institute Professional Development Workshop Series Fall 2007 - Facilitators: Mark Jackson and Carolyn Spies

The mission of Bloomfield College is: To prepare students to attain academic, personal and professional excellence in a multicultural and global society.

Information literacy, having attained the status as one of the competencies addressed by Bloomfield College, has an important role in fulfilling the mission of the college.

Definitions of what information literacy is vary across many institutions though in essence they share many similarities. Definitions of Information Literacy on the Web

The "official" definition developed by the Association of College & Research Libraries ACRL, and a more in-depth exploration of information literacy, can be found here.

How can the library collaborate with faculty to help the college fulfill its mission?

First, as part of the preparation of syllabi, faculty librarians can work with you and incorporate an information literacy session into your syllabus. Sessions typically last one class period. It is important that the instructor also attend the session.

Working together, the librarian and instructor identify specific needs of the students (for example, they need to write a research paper) and specific outcomes of the session (for example, a greater number of citations of scholarly journal articles). This type of session is often discipline specific. As an example, if the session is for a psychology class, a narrower research focus and specific resources, such as electronic databases in the field of psychology, would be addressed.

Second, librarians offer individualized research sessions with students and encourage you to make students aware of this service. Librarians can help a student focus and clearly state their research thesis; explore the three avenues or resources (books, Web, and journal articles) that are the foundations of research excellence; and, help the student to coordinate the retrieval of resources from other libraries (interlibrary loan).

Library Services for Faculty

In addition to providing information literacy service to students and faculty, the library supports faculty scholarship and excellence in the following ways:

Interlibrary loan services

Requests for adding books to our collection

The library has also developed informational blogs. These blogs address the following areas (note that a few are "experimental" and are in beta development):

BCL Blog – This is a general information blog. The outlines for various information literacy sessions are stored here.

Bloomfield College Electronic Academic Resource BCLEAR – This is a searchable collection of Internet resources that have been reviewed by professional librarians.

BCL Recent Arrivals – This is a searchable blog for new books and other media added to our collection.

BCL Academic Audio & Video Blog – This is a searchable blog for audio and video files that may be considered "academic" in nature: lectures, readings, literature and discussions.

I encourage you to contact me with any of your concerns, best wishes and success in the coming year!

Assistant Prof. Mark Jackson, Reference and Online Resources Librarian
Mark_jackson@bloomfield.edu

ENG150 Introduction to Literature: Information Literacy 2007

2007-10-19T17:23:00.000-07:00

ENG150 Introduction to Literature, Information Literacy 2007
Instructor: Assist. Professor Mark Jackson, Reference & Online Resources Librarian

Learning Outcomes:

You will understand that research is a process
You will apply critical thinking and standards to evaluate web sites for appropriateness
You will be able to use a database to find a scholarly article

In my mind, research is usually either simple or complex. A simple question to research might be, "What is the highest mountain in the world?" or "What is the distance from the Earth to the Sun?" The answer to these simple questions may be found using any of a number of search engines. Another excellent use for a search engine is to understand the meaning of the words that we read in a story. Rather than passing over a word and never understanding the context of how it is used, savoring all of the nuances of the word, take the time to discover the meaning of a word or phrase in your reading.

You can use Google to learn about words and their meaning. For example, when you enter the word assimilate into the Google search box, there is a link in the blue title bar. When you click on this link, a new page opens and you can not only find the meaning of the word, but also other tools such as a word tutor.

Google is also great at helping us to define phrases and concepts. For example, we may use Google to help us define: literary criticism or any other term we are not familiar with.

Research becomes more difficult as the topic gains complexity. I view complex research as a process that involves three legs to support a topic: Books, The Web, and Scholarly Articles. Just as a tripod can not stand on only two legs, a successful research paper can not use only the Web and be of an excellent quality.

Even though our world is information saturated in electronic form, we can not ignore the value of books (whether online and accessible through the Web or in print form). Books provide in-depth and authoritative information about a topic. A brief comparison of a Web article and a chapter from a book clearly illustrates the point. You may find books in the Bloomfield College Library using the online catalogue.

It is important to understand that a library collection is limited in scope. Fortunately, there is another source for finding books that may be useful. That source is Google Book Search. Keep in mind that while you may be finding these books using the Internet, you may still cite them and use them as a source for your research paper. This is because these "online" books, even though they exist in digital form, also exist in hard print form that you can feel and touch. Because there is unresolved copyright and intellectual property issues involved, many of the books that Google Book Search discovers will be available as only a "limited view." But half the battle in writing an excellent research paper is discovering the information that is out there!

Next, we will turn our attention to the Web. The Web should not be the only and final place you turn to for information. As I mentioned previously, much of what we may find on the Web is of a limited and superficial nature. What is the economic incentive for producing something of value? Frequently, Web sites are designed not to inform and educate, but rather to get you to purchase something or otherwise present a commercial point of view. How can we use the Web as an information gathering tool and find information that is appropriate for academic purposes?

First, we may consider using only results from educational institutions. We can do this by adding the limiter site.edu to our search. For example, Doris Lessing site:.edu – The problem with this search is that it returns too many results. At this point, I would add another word, and the word is BIBLIOGRAPHY. One of the most difficult aspects of research is finding information that you can build on. After all, we can only think of so many search terms that describe (and often not all that accurately) what it is we are looking for. The great thing about finding a bibliography on the Web is that it does al lot of the work for us in terms of discovering what is available on any given topic. Let's look at the search with our new word added: doris lessing bibliography site:.edu – Does the result for a A Select Bibliography of Work on Doris Lessing look interesting? Searching for bibliographies is a great way to compile or build a list of potential resources for a research paper.

What other Web tools can we use to find appropriate information? Professors often refer to scholarly articles. What is a scholarly article? For the purposes of this class, a representative scholarly publication or periodical in print form would be Contemporary Literature. To find references to scholarly articles, and sometimes the full text of an article, we can use Google Scholar.

As you will find when using Google Scholar, the full text is usually not available for free. To find an article cited by Google Scholar, you will need to use a database. Bloomfield College subscribes or pays for access to a number of high-quality academic databases. The one I recommend to begin with it is ProQuest: it is easy to use and contains a large amount of academic articles. You can access this database through the Bloomfield College Library website.

We have touched on the three legs of our research process: books, Web, and scholarly articles. If you integrate these three resources into your research paper, you will have a well-rounded paper.

Lastly, during our discussion we determined that by their very nature books and scholarly articles have a high-degree of quality already built in. Unfortunately, little of this is applicable to the Web. Often there is no editor or editorial standards, the credentials of the person writing the article may be of a dubious nature if they are apparent at all, and the intent of a web site may be primarily for commercial purposes and not appropriate to academic purposes.

There are a number of websites that have been developed to aid students and others in how to evaluate a website in terms of quality. To conclude our information literacy session for today, we will look at the one that I use for these sessions. The site has been developed by Johns Hopkins University, The Sheridan Libraries and can be accessed here.

EDC 316 Early Childhood Development & Learning September 2007

2007-10-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

EDC 316 Early Childhood Development & Learning September 2007
Instructor: Assist. Prof. Mark Jackson, Reference & Online Resources Librarian

Bloomfield College subscribes to at least three online databases suitable for research in the field of education. These databases provide research articles that ARE NOT usually available on the Web. Briefly, these are articles written by experts in the field of education, are usually peer reviewed, provide bibliographies and citations, and involve research statistics or studies. ProQuest and Academic Search Premier will often provide full text articles, including graphs and charts. ERIC is primarily a bibliographic citation index and sometimes provides the full text of an article.

Additionally, I will introduce you to Google Scholar – we will use this as an information gathering tool to assist in the writing of a research paper.

ProQuest – Access provided through Bloomfield College Library Web Site – Online Databases

1. Subject Searching – child development – sort by “scholarly journals” – show only “full text” – check suggested topics
2. Searching within a publication – search for “child development” in publications
3. Advanced searching – search for words in title

Academic Search Premier – Access provided through Bloomfield College Library Web Site – Online Databases

1. Subject Searching – use subject terms (relevancy ranked) - child development – check “scope notes” – NOTE: When you Explode a term, you create a search query that “explodes” the subject heading. The headings are exploded to retrieve all references indexed to that term as well as all references indexed to any narrower terms – does it make sense to explode? - sort by “scholarly journals” – show only “full text” – check suggested topics –
2. Searching within a publication – search for “child development” in publications – check the titles that seem appropriate – ADD to search – add terms to the search (for example, the word television in the title of a document – look for cited reference (these may lead you to additional material) and also times cited in this database.

ERIC – Access provided through Bloomfield College Library Web Site – Online Databases

1. Search by publication – use the operator AND to combine terms – use the database help searchable fields – if you are not sure of the best terminology to use, look in the thesaurus – for example, attention disorders AND television OR TV

If you need additional help, I encourage you to email me at mark_jackson@bloomfield.edu – If you need to spend time with me, I will be happy to make an appointment with you. Best wishes, Mark Jackson – Reference and Online Resources Librarian

ENG112 Information Literacy September 2007

2007-09-25T11:45:00.000-07:00

Image 1

ENG112 Information Literacy September 2007
Instructor: Assist. Prof. Mark Jackson, Reference & Online Resources Librarian

Objectives:

You will learn how to use ProQuest to find reviews of children's books
You will learn how to use Scholastic to find teacher resources for classroom use
You will learn how to use ProQuest/Academic Search Premier/Google Scholar to find literary criticism of stories or books written for children

To find a review in ProQuest, use the Advance Search tab – enter the last name of the author – select document type book review.

Next, we will use Scholastic.com to find resources pertaining to children's literature. When you use Google, you can restrict a search to the website for Scholastic by entering your search term and site:scholastic.com (example: charlotte's web site:scholastic.com) – Look at the information for age and grade level, subjects, etc.

Finally, you may use a number of tools to find literary criticism of children's literature. I will use Snow White as a search subject since there are different versions (print and film). Using ProQuest, choose the Advanced Search tab. Enter "snow white" (using quotes makes this a phrase) – leave the default set to citation and abstract – check the boxes for full text and Scholarly journals, including peer-reviewed. You may mark articles of interest and print out a bibliography.

Next, we can use Academic Search Premier – in this database you will need to use field codes to search for the information. The most common is TI (title). Use the check boxes for full text and scholarly or refereed

Finally, you can use Google Scholar to search for scholarly literature. Keep in mind that Google will usually only let you know what is out there in the web. Often it will not give you the full text of an article. It is a great tool however, and allows you to search across many spectrums.

Image 1 provided by mostlywanted.com

NUR355 Information Literacy Instruction 2008

2007-09-25T08:38:00.000-07:00

NUR355 Information Literacy Instruction September, 2008
Instructor: Assist. Prof. Mark Jackson – Reference & Online Resources Librarian

Objectives:

· You will learn how to use Google and Google Scholar effectively to develop your research topic
· You will be introduced to a Web Site evaluation tool
· You will learn how to use two online databases to find scholarly research articles
· You will learn how to produce an APA style bibliography/reference list for your research paper

Using Google to gather ideas and additional information:
Medication errors
Using Google Scholar to find additional information from journals

If you are going to use the Internet, look for high-quality authoritative sites that will provide first-quality information!

Evaluating what you find: Is it appropriate?
Cornell University Library’s Evaluating Web Sites: Criteria and Tools (http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/webeval.html) is an excellent site with plenty of great information.

Using databases:
CINAHL
ProQuest

These databases can be accessed from the main library page, Online Databases [http://www.bloomfield.edu/library/] You may also use one the Library sites to find a journal for your subject area. The site to use to find a journal is BCL Journals [http://bclibjournals.blogspot.com/] - for example, type NURSING in the search box for a list of journals that pertain to nursing. You may refine your search by clicking on a post tag.

Why use a database? They provide authoritative, research articles that are usually NOT available on the Web. These articles are from journals. A journal is a type of periodical that contains scholarly articles written by specialists aimed at other specialists in a particular field. An article in a scholarly journal is usually documented with footnotes and/or a bibliography. For the most part, scholarly journals are published monthly or quarterly and contain little advertising or few, if any, color illustrations. Sometimes referred to as "Peer Reviewed" or "Refereed," a scholarly journal features articles that usually contain original research (qualitative or quantitative) and have been reviewed and selected by other scholars in order to be published.

What is a peer-reviewed journal and why should we care? Standards and guidelines are stricter for peer-reviewed publications. A panel of experts (the author’s peers) in the subject field of the publication, for example geriatric nursing, will review an article submitted for publication. The panel will scrutinize the sample size, whether or not it is representative of the target population, methodology of the study, clarity of the research focus, conclusions of the authors, and whether or not the study is unique.

There are a number of search strategies you may use to find articles in a database. Databases are structured to enable the user to search through “fields.” A field is a section of the database. Typical fields are title, abstract, author, and publication title. Special filters employed by the database assist the user in finding peer-reviewed and scholarly publications.

ProQuest: Using the topic finder feature, rather than just typing words into the basic search box, we can focus our results. For example, using medication errors returns results for a number of topics or subjects. One topic is MEDICAL ERRORS AND NURSES. We can view all of the documents (about 85) that have these subjects. We need to do two things to get the results we want. Click on show only full text articles, and then click on the tab for scholarly journals. We have now narrowed our results to about 30. Keep in mind that most articles that have something to substantial to report on a topic, or an article that is reporting research study results, will typically be at least 4 to 5 pages minimum. When you analyze your results, you are not looking for reviews of books or articles written by anonymous

We can also use the advanced search feature. Try to utilize all of the built in features of the database before using the advanced search. Look for recommended subjects or recommended publications. You can not think of every word or search term that will help you find the information you are looking for.

CINAHL: Check the CINAHL HEADINGS for appropriate subject terms. Use MEDICAL ERRORS to explore the suggested subject headings. Build your search using the suggested subject headings.

If you use the advanced search, you will need to understand how to use field codes. Click on the link for the field codes and you will see how you may target your search. For example, use AB medical errors. There are about 200 results. Next, click on the refine search tab. Limit your results to linked full text and peer reviewed. Now there are about 60 results, all linked to the full text of the article, and all from peer reviewed publications.

With most databases, as you find articles that you feel are appropriate and relevant to your research project, you may mark the article and insert it into a folder. When you are finished, click your folder tab at the top of the page. Follow the instructions for compiling an APA style bibliography. For a preliminary bibliography and references, include the citation and abstract.

Assessment: Use ProQuest, Academic Search Premier or CINAHL, and locate one article that discusses some aspect of your topic – Create a bibliography in APA format, print your results with the citation and the abstract. Your results should look like this:

My topic: Reducing Medication Errors: Literacy, Language and Computers

Mark Jackson

Grant, M., & Larsen, G. (2007, July). Effect of an Anonymous Reporting System on Near-miss and Harmful Medical Error Reporting in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 22(3), 213-221. Retrieved September 25, 2007, from Academic Search Premier database.

Adverse event reporting is a key element for improving patient safety. This study describes a new voluntary, anonymous reporting system that facilitates reporting of near-miss and patient harm events and an assessment of patient harm by the bedside care provider in a pediatric intensive care unit. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of the Patient Safety Report as a method to capture near-miss and patient harm events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If you need help, email mark_jackson@bloomfield.edu

ENG107 Information Literacy 1st session

2007-09-21T06:53:00.000-07:00

Objectives:

Library Staff Page, Hours for Library & Computer Lab
Where is the media center?
Where are the online journals and periodicals? Here!
Where are the print journals and periodicals?
Where is reserve material for your course?
Where are the photocopiers and how do you use them?
What new books has the library added to the collection?
How do I find materials in our media collection? Here!
Library behavior and respecting others

Psychology Senior Thesis Information Literacy September 2007

2007-09-18T08:15:00.000-07:00

Psychology Senior Thesis Information Literacy September 2007
Instructor: Assist. Prof. Mark Jackson, Reference & Online Resources Librarian

Objectives:

1. To introduce you to three databases that will enable you to find research articles from scholarly journals.
2. To identify the components of a good-quality research article.
3. Identify research methods using Google and Google Scholar to gather information.

Using Google to gather ideas and additional information:
Road rage aggressive driving and cell phone use (Is there enough information to write a paper?)
Using Google Scholar to find additional information from journals and scholarly literature: (road rage aggressive driving cell phone) – You may need to broaden your topic!

If you are going to use the Internet, look for high-quality authoritative sites that will provide first-quality information!

Evaluating what you find: Is it appropriate?
Cornell University Library’s Evaluating Web Sites: Criteria and Tools (http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/webeval.html) is an excellent site with plenty of great information.

There are two types of research studies. They are qualitative and quantitative.

We will use three databases for finding research articles: ProQuest, Academic Search Premier and PsycInfo. All three can be accessed from the Bloomfield College Library site, click on Online Databases.

What is a database and why can’t I find everything on the Internet?
Why do I need to use two different databases?
Scope and Content
Topic Searching – why use this?
Publication searching – why use this?
Advanced searching – why use this? (Author; title; study in abstract, subject searching).

Before you begin: A short document outlining the components of a research article can be found at [http://www.survival.pitt.edu/library/documents/ComponentsofaResearchArticle.doc] – A simple and concise 4 page handout is available at http://departments.kings.edu/library/PDF%20Files/studyguide3.pdf and will guide you on how to critically read a research article.

Example for searching: cell phone use and aggressive driving – Statement: Cell Phone Use While Driving? Does it contribute to incidents of “road rage” or aggressive driving?

Assessment: Use ProQuest, Academic Search Premier or a Psychology Database, and locate one article that discusses some aspect of your Senior Thesis topic. Open a word processing document; print your name at the top, then copy and paste the citation (A citation to a periodical article should include the name of the author(s), article title, periodical title, volume/issue number, date, and page number(s).) into the document. Include the abstract if it is available. Print your results.

Your results should look like this:

Mark Jackson

McGarva, A., Ramsey, M., & Shear, S. (2006). Effects of driver cell-phone use on driver aggression. Journal of Social Psychology, 146(2), 133-146. Retrieved Thursday, September 28, 2006 from the PsycINFO database. Using 2 field procedures, the authors assessed impacts of cell-phone use on mild forms of driver aggression. Participants were 135 drivers traveling within a city of approximately 17,000 people in an otherwise little-populated region of western North Dakota. The authors videotaped the participants while a confederate driver in a low-status vehicle frustrated them. In Experiment 1, the confederate was traveling well under the posted speed limit. In Experiment 2, the confederate remained motionless at a stoplight that had turned green. When the confederate visibly talked on a hand-held cell phone (n = 67), male drivers exhibited their frustration by honking their horn more quickly and frequently than did drivers in no-cell-phone trials, and female drivers were more angry according to blind judgments of videotaped facial expressions that were compared with those of drivers in no-cell-phone trials (n = 68). The present results suggested that driver cell-phone use contributes to the growing crisis of roadway aggression.

If you need help, email mark_jackson@bloomfield.edu

EDC321 Developing Children's Literacy Across Grades

2007-09-12T08:21:00.000-07:00

EDC316EDC321 Developing Children's Literacy Across Grades Updated 2 February 2009 - Instructor: Assist. Prof. Mark Jackson, Reference and Online Resources Librarian, Bloomfield College NJ

Objectives:

Locate the NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards NJCCCS and explore the standards
Find lesson plans and lesson plan sites appropriate for New Jersey

In New Jersey, standards have been developed for K-12 and Pre-K. We will explore the K-12 standards first.

Language Arts Literacy Standards, Strands and Cumulative Progress Indicators (overview)

New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Language Arts Literacy (PDF) This is a printable 52 page document.

Scope and Sequence Chart for Language Arts Literacy

CCCS CD Framework Activities

LANGUAGE ARTS LITERACY Academic & Professional Standards

Next we will look briefly at the Preschool Teaching & Learning Expectations: Standards of Quality

Your lesson plans should coordinate with the NJCCCS. The New Jersey Digital Highway portal for educators is a good place to begin. Look at the section on the right called Quick Links. There is a link for Educational Modules and Lesson plans. These are some of the recommended resources for lesson plans. There are thousands of web sites devoted to lesson plans. Keep in mind two considerations when you are thinking of using lesson plans that you may find on the web. First, the quality will vary. Acceptance standards for lesson plans varies and the quality of the plan may not be suitable. Second, your lesson plans need to incorporate the NJCCCS.

Some other sites that are excellent resources for lesson plans:

Scholastic for Teachers Lesson Plans
Reading First New Jersey - Professional Development Video-based Reading Strategies and Techniques (Includes video demonstrations) - this is an excellent resource!
International Reading Association: http://www.readwritethink.org/

You might also consider a Google search using these search terms: lesson plan NJCCCS Search Results

If you need help, I encourage you to email me or visit me at the library.

Content? Charlie Rose!

2007-08-14T11:16:00.000-07:00

The richest content sites are the ones that we keep returning to day after day, right? Well, I am here to tell yout that the beta version charlierose.com is loaded with some great video content. Over the years, Rose has interviewed luminaries from the world of music, politics, art, and other fields. Now, with just a few clicks of your mouse, you can access hundreds of Rose's video recordings. The site is searchable by keyword (I used "music") or by guest. The streaming video plays quickly and smoothly in a rather small window but the quality is excellent and you will be able to enjoy the clip.

I watched a recording of Charlie's interview with Jack and Meg White of the White Stripes. Other categories you may browse through are: business, books, entertainment, arts & architecture, science, technology (see Bill Gates with his pre-millenial haircut), religion, and sports. Rose covers a wide range of topics and his interviews are usually fascinating and informative.

Click here to access Charlie Rose!

Don't forget the book!

2007-08-14T08:23:00.000-07:00

As many of you do, I often turn to the Web online for quick and fast access to information. I have realized however, that often the best, most complete, vetted and accurate information is not available on the Web. It can be found in the good old-fashioned book!

Biographies are one excellent example of this. I often have occasion to check the background of an author, artist, politician or notable personality. While I can almost always find something on the Web, the quality or reliability of what I find is suspect. Wikipedia is one example of an online site where I can find almost everything, but I am always second guessing its accuracy.

Our Library collection contains many print resources for finding excellent and accurate biographical information. Over the next two semesters, I will visit a number of these print resources and give you some background on each that I hope you will find useful for your studies and research.

The first of these that I will cover is Current Biography Yearbook. The call number identifier for this series of books is CT100.C87. The series begins in 1940 and continues yearly up to 2006. Thousands of biographical entries are contained in over 60 volumes.

In order to find the biography for the person you are looking for, you need to consult the Cumulated Index. There is one for the period of 1940 to 2000, and another for 2001 to 2006. When you find the entry for the person, the Index will refer you to the year in which the entry is contained. For example, suppose you are looking for information about the social activist Molly Yard. Consulting the 1940 to 2000 Index, you find the information for Yard is located in the November 1988 edition of the Yearbook. There you will find a three-page article about Yard, including references. If there is no death date included in the biography, you will need to consult the 2001 to 2006 Index to see if there is an obituary. Molly Yard dies 21 September 2005. The Yearbook refers to the New York Times Obituary, section C, p 19, 22 September 2005. The New York Times Historical newspapers are available online through Bloomfield College's electronic resources.

It may be beneficial for you to compare the Wikipedia entry for Molly Yard and the Current Biography entry and see which one seems richer and fuller to you. You can find the Wikipedia entry here. Also, remember that you may have difficulty determining the accuracy of the Wikipedia entry. As you may know, Wikipedia is edited by users, folks like you and me. Current Biography is published by the HW Wilson Company, a respected name.

In the preface of the 2006 edition, HW Wilson states its aim in publishing Current Biography: "...to provide reference librarians, students, and researchers with objective, accurate, and well-documented biographical articles about living leaders in all fields of human accomplishments." I believe they succeed admirably!

Big Brother, Big Business (2006)

2007-08-14T08:12:00.000-07:00

Video content on the Web is exploding! When writing your next research "paper," do not neglect the world of audio and video information. A terrific example is this video produced by MSNBC. The website has provided this description: "The rapid advance of technology allows companies to monitor our every move and record our most private personal information. Driving habits are being recorded; employees are monitored, shoppers and diners are observed and analyzed; internet searches are saved and used as evidence in court. It is big business that collects most of the data about us. But increasingly, it is the government that's using it. BIG BROTHER, BIG BUSINESS takes an enlightening and sometimes disturbing look at how the growth of the information society may be eroding the freedoms many people take for granted."

This thought-provoking video documentary will certainly hold your interest. Click here for this video! While you are at it, explore JonHs.net http://www.moviesfoundonline.com/ for movies, documentaries, TV shows, music, entertainment, and even cartoons!

Basic Steps in Planning Nursing Research: From Question to Proposal

2007-07-31T11:51:00.000-07:00

Creating an excellent quality research paper depends on many factors. If you ask any educator however, they would probably agree that the preparation or foundation the student prepares in the writing of the paper is crucial.

In Basic steps in planning nursing research: from question to proposal, by Pamela J Brink and Marilynn J Wood, the authors can help you to understand the process involved in planning nursing research.

In this comprehensive book, the authors discuss the following topics:

What is a researchable question?

How do you select a sample population or group for study?

Does a genuine interest in your topic make for a more interesting and better paper?

How do you write a research proposal?

This book is available online in a searchable format through Google books. You may access this online resource by clicking on this link.

Harlem Hospitals WPA Murals

2007-07-10T11:18:00.000-07:00

Harlem Hospitals WPA Murals [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/iraas/wpa/index.html] - In 1936 the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project joined the Harlem Renaissance, when the WPA commissioned a set of murals designed for the Harlem Hospital Center. In an era where African American visual artists had a particularly difficult time finding work, this project represented a unique opportunity. While the murals fell into disrepair over the decades, they were finally restored to their original glory in the 1990s. Created by the Institute for Research in African American Studies at Columbia University, this site tells the story of these murals, their creators, and the controversy surrounding their subject matter. The site contains a number of video clips that talk about the artwork, along with some nice biographical portraits of the artists, who included Charles Alston, Vertis Hayes, and Georgette Seabrooke. Of course, the murals can also be viewed in their entirety here, and they are simply wonderful to behold. Decription From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2007. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Amazing Grace

2007-07-10T08:24:00.000-07:00

Amazing Grace [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/grace/grace-home.html]- Since its creation in 1779 in England, “Amazing Grace” has grown in popularity to become one of the best-known hymns in America. This Web site explores its history through items from the collections of the Library of Congress, from the earliest printing of the song to various performances of it on sound recordings. Also included is a searchable catalog of the Chasanoff/Elozua Amazing Grace Collection at the Library of Congress, which comprises published recorded performances of the hymn “Amazing Grace” by more than 3000 different individual musicians or musical ensembles. (Description provided by website) - Audio formats include MP3 and Real Player.

Changing Faiths: Latinos and the Transformation of American Religion

2007-07-10T07:47:00.000-07:00

Changing Faiths: Latinos and the Transformation of American Religion - The Pew Hispanic Center has worked on numerous reports and studies during its existence, and this recent report may be one of its most compelling. Released in April 2007, the report takes an informed and broad look at the ways in which Latinos are transforming American religion. Working in collaboration with the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, the Pew Hispanic Center conduced over 4600 interviews in order to create an accurate portrait of the ways in which Latinos worship and how the emergence of Latino-oriented churches is changing the broader religious landscape across the United States. The report is divided into eight chapters, which include “Religious Practices and Beliefs”, “The Ethnic Church”, and “Ideology and Policy Issues”. It’s an important look at these trends, and visitors with an eye towards religion and public policy will enjoy browsing through the report or forwarding it to colleagues. (This description provided by The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2007. http://scout.wisc.edu/ )
The entire report is available by clicking here. [http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/75.pdf]

Cyberwarfare

2007-07-02T12:51:00.000-07:00

Anyone who follows technology or military affairs has heard the predictions for more than a decade. Cyberwar is coming. Although the long-announced, long-awaited computer-based conflict has yet to occur, the forecast grows more ominous. Every day.
But how bad would a cyber war really be -- especially when compared with the blood and guts of the genuine article? And is there really a chance it would happen at all?

Whatever the answer, governments are readying themselves for the Big One.

The United States is arming up. Robert Elder, commander of the Air Force Cyber Command, told reporters in Washington at a recent breakfast at his newly formed command, which defends military data, communications and control networks, is learning how to disable an opponents computer networks and crash its databases.

Whatever form cyberwar may take, most experts have concluded that what happened in Estonia earlier this month was not an example. Still, many in the security community and the news media initially treated the digital attacks against Estonia's computer networks as the coming of a long anticipated new chapter in the history of conflict.

In fact, the United States has prepared for cyber attacks incidentally, through our day-to-day exposure to crashes, glitches, viruses and meltdowns. There are very few places where computers are so central that everything crashes to a halt if the machine goes on the blink.

The information in this post is taken from an article in the 24 June 2007 New York Times, "When Computers Attack," written by John Schwartz, section 4, page 1.

Latest Google News cyberwar stories: click here

Video Game Addiction?

2007-07-02T12:27:00.000-07:00

Now I think I know why folks are not visiting the library as often as they used to: Video Game Addiction! The American Medical Association AMA has called for research to determine whether the obsession with video games could be considered a new addiction.

The $7.5B video gaming industry dismisses the AMA's contention that any such disorder exists.

The issue potentially affects millions: a National Institute on Media and the Family survey found 92% of children ages two to 17 said they play videogames.

The AMA report said excessive video gaming was most common among massive, multiple online role-playing games such as Ever-quest, an ongoing fantasy game. Some studies estimate from 10 to 15% of players may be affected.

Meanwhile, the Education Software Association, a trade group representing the videogame industry, has published its own findings that do not link videogame playing too aggressive or addictive behavior.

Read the latest Google News about this issue: click here

The information in this post is taken directly from a Star-Ledger article, New illness seen: Video game addiction, written by Peggy O'Crowley, Thursday 28 June 2007 page 13.

Google Gears

2007-06-05T10:14:00.000-07:00

According to a recent article in the New York Times dated Thursday, May 31, 2007 Google will be releasing a set of tools that all programmers can use, moving web-based software off-line. Google's free web applications like Gmail and docs and spreadsheets, available off-line will enable a user to access the programs while flying in a plane for example. The new set of tools is called Google Gears. The tools can be used by all programmers whether they work for Google or not.

Google has been among the most enthusiastic proponents of this new computing model, saying it will help usher in faster innovation because many web applications can be created quickly by cobbling together existing components created by others.

Citation: Moving web-based software off-line. The New York Times, Thursday, May 31st, 2007. Page C3

Governments crack down on the Web

2007-05-21T06:30:00.000-07:00

According to a recently released study by OpenNet Initiative, at least 25 countries around the world block Web sites for political, social or other reasons. The number is probably higher but the Initiative was only able to study a limited number of countries.

China, Iran, Myanmur, Syria, Tunisia and Vietnam had the most extensive filters for political sites. Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemn had the strictist social filtering practices, blocking pornography, gambling and gay and lesbian sites.

Researchers found no filtering at all in Russia, Israel, or the Palestinian territories.

Citizens of the United States are protected by Amendment I to the United States Constitution (Part of the Bill of Rights):
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. (http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/funddocs/billeng.htm)

Research Channel

2007-05-17T06:25:00.000-07:00

The Research Channel [http://www.researchchannel.org/prog/index.aspx] website is the companion version to the cable channel. ResearchChannel is a nonprofit media and technology organization that connects a global audience with the research and academic institutions whose developments, insights and discoveries affect our lives and futures.

An intellectual community, ResearchChannel was founded in 1996 by leading research and academic institutions so they could share the work of their researchers with the public. These ideas are shared in their original form — unmediated and without interruption. Today, more than 70 participating members and affiliates provide all programming, and that number continues to grow. (Description provided by Research Channel at http://www.researchchannel.org/news/overview.asp)

More than 3,000 titles are available online in video format, covering many disciplines. These include: Education, Arts & Humanities, Business & Economics, Computer Science & Engineering, Health & Medicine, and Social Sciences.

Recent video lectures have included bell hooks, Juan Williams, Salman Rushdie, and many others. This is an excellent site chock full of great content in an easy to use format.

Copyright Clashes on Campus

2007-05-09T07:22:00.000-07:00

Just as I often find many articles relevant to the library profession in Wired magazine, I also make sure to read a copy of Information Today. Both of these publications always have something in them that is educating, entertaining, and interesting.

In a short article in the May 2007 issue of Information Today, K. Matthew Danes recaps and summarizes some of the current battles concerning copyright on college and university campuses. Of concern to many librarians, Danes reports that the issue of electronic reserves has developed into a contentious one.

As many other types of digital media have made there way into e-reserves, including video and audio, the boundaries of so-called "fair use" have blurred. As institutions have grappled with this issue, a watchdog group, the Association of American Publishers has taken exception to some e-reserve systems, including the University of California-San Diego and Cornell. The AAP claimed the systems infringed copyright.

As libraries struggle with preserving and archiving many different formats of information, and also providing access, the concerns about copyright are not about to disappear. The issue of copyright infringement will continue to be a challenge.

The information contained in this blog post can be found in "Copyright Clashes on Campus," Technology Today, May 2007, 24(5), 19-20.

Additional resources:

Association of American Publishers Copyright
Association of American Publishers Copyright Resources
Copyright Clearance Center

Hold your tongue! Civil discourse & Cyberspace

2007-04-12T07:12:00.000-07:00

Two high-profile figures are proposing guidelines for web civility. Book publisher and conference promoter Tim O'Reilly and Jimmy Wales, creator of Wikipedia, are working to create a set of voluntary guidelines for online discussion and debate.

A 9 April 2007 New York Times article relates numerous horror stories about bloggers who were harassed and sometimes threatened. While the guidelines may not totally remove uncivil speech from the Internet, they would hopefully prod people to thoughtfully reflect before posting. The system would be voluntary, relying on the community to police itself.

The proposed guidelines have some in the blogosphere uneasy, feeling the effort may provoke censorship and inhibit speech. O'Reilly said the guidelines were not about censorship. "That is one of the mistakes a lot of people make – believing that uncensored speech is most free, when in fact, managed civil dialogue is actually the freer speech," he said. "Free speech is enhanced by civility."

Citation: Brad Stone (2007, April 9). A Call for Manners in the World of Nasty Blogs. New York Times (Late Edition (east Coast)), p. 1.

This article can be found online at: A Call for Manners in the World of Nasty Blogs (New York Times) [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/09/technology/09blog.html?_r=1&oref=slogin ]

Skepticism and Verification

2007-04-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

Have you received a frantic email from a friend warning you about exploding microwaved water? Or has a well-meaning friend emailed you that you can type in 911 at an ATM if you are being held up and summon the police? You are not alone. There are probably millions of these warning passed along via email and text messages by well-intentioned friends and family. What these messages have in common is that they are "urban legends."

Owing to the instant communication nature of our world, myths, distortions, fabrications and untruths are as easily passed along from person to person as something that is true. Indeed, the falsities seem to develop a life of their own. Many of these legends seem harmless enough. Some, like the story about ATMs and 911, can have more dire consequences.

The following are examples of the most popular urban legends. Can you detect the difference between truth and fiction?

Whose house uses more energy? George W. Bush's or Al Gore's?
Starbucks refused free products to troops serving in Iraq, saying it did not support the war or anyone fighting in it.
The Environmental Protection Agency has warned that lipstick contains dangerous amounts of lead.

A rule that I live by when using the Internet is: Be a skeptic, verify! One handy tool for doing this is a website called Snopes.com. You can learn more about urban legends and Snopes.com by visiting the Snopes frequently asked questions page at http://www.snopes.com/info/faq.asp

Go take a hike!

2007-03-26T12:32:00.000-07:00

No really, take a hike... and explore the South Mountain Reservation of the Essex County (NJ) Park System.

Studying for exams and finals takes its toll. What better way to clear the mind than taking a guided hike through one of Essex County's gems. As the saying goes, take a break and smell the roses!

Explore this gem of a park and get to know it better. No need to register. No fee. Just show up at the starting point.. All hikes are appropriate for adults and children 10 and older accompanied by an adult; younger children can come when specifically noted. Participants should bring their own water. Steady rain cancels automatically. Light and intermittent showers do not.

Click here for information and schedule (Spring Hikes).

Mi Puerto Rico: Master Painters of the Island, 1780-1952

2007-03-09T12:19:00.000-08:00

Newark Museum, Newark, NJ through 15 April 2007: Mi Puerto Rico: Master Painters of the Island, 1780-1952 organized by the Museo de Arte de Ponce, Puerto Rico and The Luis A. Ferré Foundation, Inc., is the first major exhibition in the continental United States devoted to Puerto Rico’s three greatest masters: José Campeche, Francisco Oller, and Miguel Pou. The exhibition showcases select masterpieces from the Museo de Arte de Ponce’s permanent collection and rarely seen paintings from private collections in Puerto Rico. Celebrating the art and artists of this Caribbean island, Mi Puerto Rico provides an extraordinary glimpse into the rich artistic heritage of this Commonwealth of the United States.

Education Research Complete Demonstration Workshop

2007-02-26T13:01:00.000-08:00

Air Pollution Poses Heart Risk to Women

2007-02-22T10:44:00.000-08:00

A major new study published by the New England Journal of Medicine indicates that breathing polluted air is much more deadly than previously thought.

Older women living in the most polluted cities (Pittsburgh PA and Riverside-San Bernardino, CA, nos. 1 & 2) had about a 150% increased risk of death from heart attack & stroke.
Soot generated by the burning of fossil fuels increased the danger.

Recommended Website: The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute

2007-02-21T11:39:00.000-08:00

Stanford University has been the home of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute. On their website, visitors can learn about their work, which includes sponsoring conferences, providing research fellowships, and developing the Liberation curriculum for educators interested in nonviolent movements. The Liberation Curriculum section is actually a fine place to start exploring the site, as it contains lesson plans and other online resources (such as transcripts of King’s speeches) that will assist teachers in crafting valuable classroom experiences. Visitors will also want to make sure and visit the King Papers Project section of the site as well. Here they can find transcripts of some of King's most important works and a number of audio recordings of his sermons and speeches.
>From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2007. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Freedom and Information

2007-02-09T11:18:00.000-08:00

Like turning on the tap and having safe clean water flow, Americans take many of our freedoms for granted. Next time you sit at your computer and search the Web for information, think about how different the experience is in North Korea.

Only a few thousand North Koreans are allowed direct access to the Internet, in a country of 26M people (CIA, 2006 estimate). The rest of the population is allowed restricted access to only what the North Korean government wants them to see. Unfettered access to information should be the keystone of a democratic society, allowing citizens to investigate and then decide for themselves what course of action they should take. Free and available information also allows citizens to be watchdogs over government. Examine many of the repressive regimes of the world and one sees that one feature of all them is that they control their citizens’ access to information. Remember this the next time you use the Internet.

Related stories:

Committee to Protect Journalists CPJ Reports On State Of Media Freedoms (Committee to Protect Journalists)
2007 Annual Press Freedom Survey (Reporters without Borders)
North Korea hits out at web censors (Al Jezeera)

EDC209 Information Literacy

2007-02-07T10:34:00.000-08:00

Some helpful links:

New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards

NJ Standards for Language Arts Literacy

Sample lesson incorporating NJ standards.

Template for developing a lesson plan that incorporates the NJ standards. (Word doc)

Websites for Lesson Plans

The Pew Research Center: A Portrait of “Generation Next”

2007-02-05T12:57:00.000-08:00

Over the past few decades, a number of well-known writers such as Robert Coles, Alex Kotlowitz, and Allan Bloom have weighed in on the lives of young people, often generating meaningful dialogues (and controversy) along the way. This recent 45-page report from the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press may spark such conversations as well, for it offers a portrait of the so-called “Generation Next”, which applies to those young persons between the ages of 18-25. Based on phone interviews conducted in the fall of 2006 where Pew researchers spoke to approximately 1500 individuals, this report asked participants about their political beliefs, their use of technology as a form of social communication, and their thoughts on immigrants. It is an interesting and compelling report, and one that will pique the interest of sociologists and those who work with young people.

Click here for the PDF Report.

>From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2007. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Recommended Website: Women Physicians, 1850s-1970s

2007-02-05T12:29:00.000-08:00

Women Physicians, 1850s through 1970s. Drexel University College of Medicine, Archives and Special Collection.

This collection consists of correspondence, scrapbooks, clippings, college records, images, diaries, publications and ephemera documenting the history of women physicians beginning with the first medical school for women, Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMCP). Founded in 1850, WMCP trained thousands of women physicians who practiced in all parts of the world, and provided rare opportunities for women to teach, practice, perform research and manage a medical school. WMCP was also a long time refuge for women students and faculty who faced quotas and discrimination elsewhere.

The materials are divided into five subject areas:
The early years of the college, 1850-1870
Student life, academic life and student culture, 1870-1920
Racial and ethnic diversity among women physicians, 1867 to 1960
Missionary and public health work, at home and abroad, 1890-1960
Medical women in the military, 1863-1945

(Description http://archives.drexelmed.edu/womanmd/home.php)

New Jersey Biography: Gamaliel Bailey

2007-02-02T16:44:00.000-08:00

Gamaliel Bailey (3 December 1807 - 5 June 1859) was an anti-slavery journalist and political organizer born in Mount Holly. Bailey was among the first to call for a major new political party committed to excluding slavery from the territories.

You can learn more about this notable New Jersey figure in a 1987 book written by Stanley Harrold titled, Gamaliel Bailey and Antislavery Union published by Kent State University Press.

Search Search and More Searches

2006-12-28T15:11:00.000-08:00

Some of you may recall one the famous lines from the film The Graduate. Mr. McGuire, the father, turns to Benjamin (played by Dustin Hoffman) and they have the following conversation:
Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word. Benjamin: Yes, sir. Mr. McGuire: Are you listening? Benjamin: Yes, I am. Mr. McGuire: Plastics.
(The Graduate. Dir. Mike Nichols. Perf. Anne Bancroft, Dustin Hoffman, . DVD. Embassy Pictures, 1967.)

Substitute the word “search” for “plastics” and one may capture the essence of early 21st century capitalism. As surely as plastic has permeated our lives, search has permeated the Internet. Without efficient searching, it is questionable whether or not the Internet would be experiencing such tremendous growth. What McGuire was saying however, was that there was a huge fortune to be made in plastics. The same can be said of search engines. There is a tremendous amount of money to be made controlling searching.

According to figures compiled by Nielsen/Net Ratings (Nov 2006), Google currently is the preeminent search engine (about 49.5% of all searches), followed by Yahoo (24.3%) and MSN (8.2%). The stock share price of each company often correlates with each company’s ability to link search results with strategic advertising and clicks.

While Google provides pretty amazing results, Jimmy "Jimbo" Wales, the innovator behind Wikipedia, one of the most popular Web destinations, believes there is plenty of room for improvement. He intends to launch a new search engine named Wikiasari in the first quarter of 2007. Operating under a similar principle as Wikipedia, users will be able to contribute to the Wikiasari project in a number of ways. You can read more about the project at http://search.wikia.com/wiki/Search_Wikia.

Related stories:
Upstart Search Engine Wikiasari to Take On Google
Wikiasari, 'Venice Project'...Will 2007 be the year of the 'killer'?

New Jersey Biography: Johnny Austin

2006-12-22T10:29:00.000-08:00

Johnny Austin (23 Dec. 1910-14 Feb. 1983) was a musician born in Vineland, NJ. His name was originally John A. Augustine. He played trumpet with the Glenn Miller Band, parting ways with that band in 1939. He formed the Johnny Austin Orchestra in 1947. He is considered to be one of the truly dynamic trumpeters of the big-band era. The Austin Band was never recorded. Johnny's playing can be heard on recordings of Jan Savitt.

Recordings by Jan Savitt can be found on Amazon. Click here.

2006-11-04T12:18:00.000-08:00

Newspaper Circulation Declines

In one of the sharpest declines in recent history, the circulation of the nation’s major newspapers plunged 2.8% during the six-month period ended 30 September. This information is according to an analysis released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

The decline seems to be affecting most major metropolitan newspapers, including the New York Times, The Boston Globe, and the Washington Post. Apparently, many more people are reading the news online. According to the Newspaper Association of America NSA, 57 million people visited a newspaper Web site during the third quarter of this year, an increase of 24% over the same period a year ago.

Related resources:
Newspaper Association of America

Related articles:
Newspaper Circulation Falls Sharply
New York Times, United States - Oct 31, 2006

What’s Online Reading Between the Lines
New York Times, United States

Newspaper circulation drops, online readership rises
HeraldNet, WA - Oct 31, 2006

One Billion Internet Users

2006-11-03T12:02:00.000-08:00

A December 2005 online article by Jakob Nielsen reported that there are over 1B people using the Internet. The number is growing by about 18% per year. What is important to realize, however, is a large number of these users are outside of North America. According to Morgan Stanley estimates, 36% of Internet users are now in Asia and 24% are in Europe. Only 23% of users are in North America, where it all started in 1969 when two computers -- one in Los Angeles, the other in Palo Alto -- were networked together.

I am mentioning all of this because the issue of Web addresses is a contentious one. At the first meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Athens, the issue is being hotly debated. Vinton Cerf, known as a father of the Internet, has expressed concerns that the impatience on the part of many may sabotage efforts for an orderly incorporation of the non-English characters. Cerf is chairman of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ICANN, a United States nonprofit group that has been the target of global criticism over Internet governance issues. What seems to be a point of contention is the representation of the top level domain, such as .com, .edu, or .jp. The Internet Engineering Task Force is having difficulty integrating the new character sets in a way that will work with future applications.

Related resources: What is ICANN?
What is the Internet Engineering Task Force?

Related articles: Too much English on the web, say experts EUobserver.com, Belgium - Nov 2, 2006

A Web Conflict Centers on Languages Used in AddressesNew York Times, United States - Oct 30, 2006

Naming group warns of threat to Internet Arkansas Democrat Gazette, AR

The Bottom Line

2006-11-03T11:57:00.000-08:00

The Bottom Line

As part of the $1.65B deal with Google, YouTube has been pulling copyrighted material from its website. 30,000 clips were recently removed at the request of the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers, and Publishers JASRAC, citing copyright infringement. Comedy Central requested that YouTube remove copyrighted material, including clips from the Jon Stewart Show, South Park, and The Colbert Report. In a September 2005 Wired interview, Stewart said, “We get an opportunity to produce this stuff because they [the sponsors and producers] make enough money selling beer that it’s worth their while to do it… If they’re not making their money, we ain’t doing our show.”

Google buys wiki service JotSpot - MarketWatch

2006-10-31T17:39:00.000-08:00

Google buys wiki service JotSpot - MarketWatch No. 1 Internet search-engine operator Google Inc. has purchased JotSpot, one of the first providers of collaborative online tools known as wikis meant for use by corporations, according to an announcements on the official Google and JotSpot Web site.

NationMaster

2006-10-19T10:49:00.000-07:00

With endorsements from such respectable institutions as the New York Times and the BBC, CIA World Factbook, the United Nations, as well as other such organizations. On the left-hand side of the page, visitors can peruse areas such as “Top Stats”, “What’s New” and “Stats in the News”. The “Top Stats” presents information on the countries with the greatest life expectancy, the highest median income, and so on. Journalists may find the “Stats in the News” area particularly helpful as it presents data on topical areas of interest such as statistics on bird flu infection rates and oil consumption. Additionally, users can offer comments on some of the data sets, and at any given time, there tends to be a great deal of commentary on almost all of the items featured on the site. >From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2006. http://scout.wisc.edu/

IM Privacy?

2006-10-17T06:31:00.000-07:00

IM Privacy?

By now I am sure many of you are aware that email messages may be monitored and that you should have no expectation of privacy when emailing. However, people are less aware of the privacy issues surrounding instant messaging IM.

According to a Wall Street Journal article (4 October 2006), companies and government agencies can monitor and log IM conversations conducted on company-network computers. As the recent revelations about the salacious and sexually explicit instant messages of Senator Mark Foley of Florida demonstrate, even those in high positions of authority are not protected.

According to the article, 2% of the companies surveyed by the American Management Association terminated an employee for something said using IM. By comparison, the study said, 26% of companies have dismissed an employee for misuse of email. To read the complete survey, click here (registration required).

It is unclear at this time on whether or not the government can subpoena IM records, as it does with emails. It would probably be safe to say that if you do not want to have anything you have said expecting privacy made public, do not use email or IM. The full text of the Wall Street Journal article is available online by subscription, click here.

Related articles:
What Does Your I.M. Software Know About You? (Audio Report) National Public Radio NPR
Instant-message conversations can linger - Article - Baltimore Sun Online
Instant Messages, Lingering Paper Trail - Article - WashingtonPost.com

Same-Sex Marriage: A Selective Bibliography of the Legal Literature

2006-10-09T18:27:00.000-07:00

This is a great resource for writing a paper about same sex marriage and the law. The site has been updated 9 October 2006. Compiled by Paul Axel-Lute the site was originally published September 2002. This site is sponsored by the Rutgers School of Law, Newark Law Library. The entire site can be viewed by clicking here.

Everybody’s talking about a New Way of Walking

2006-10-04T11:31:00.000-07:00

Everybody’s talking about a New Way of Walking

Well, actually a new way of searching. And it goes without saying, how someone can make money from searching. Enter a number of new companies such as Podzinger, TVEyes, and Blinkx that have developed search engines that can identify keywords within audio or video presentations. Using voice recognition software, the search can translate spoken words into text that can then be searched. As opposed to searching the tags associated with audio and video clips, this new approach searches the entire broadcast or podcast. As is typical of many voice recognition programs, people with colds or accents will occasionally throw the software a curve. In spite of the limitations and drawbacks, this new search technology promises to open up more of the world of information to the searcher. Read more from the Wall Street Journal Online.

Open Review Process for Journals

2006-10-04T10:49:00.000-07:00

Open Review Process for Journals

The prestigious journal Nature is experimenting with a new kind of review process for articles. In addition to the normal peer-review process, papers will also be posted online and scientists within the field will be invited to submit comments. This appears to be part of a trend on the part of publishers to widen the discourse involved with the publication of scholarly material. Read more at the Wall Street Journal Online (subscription).

Related story: Web-Based Journals Threaten Peer-Review System
Related story: Web-based journals post research without reviews

EDC316 Early Childhood Development and Learning – Information Literacy

2006-09-27T12:01:00.000-07:00

EDC316 Early Childhood Development and Learning – Information Literacy -Updated 16 Feb 2009
Instructor: Mark Jackson, Librarian

Objective:

1. To introduce you to three databases that will enable you to find literature reviews or research articles from scholarly journals.
2. To identify the components of a good-quality research article.

There are two types of research studies that are used. They are qualitative and quantitative.

Three databases in which you will find research articles:
1. ProQuest
2. Academic Search Premier
3. ERIC

All three of these can be accessed from the main library page (online databases).

To narrow your search, use the word “study” or “literature review” in the abstract. You may then combine the term with “early childhood” or some other appropriate term. Additionally, when possible limit your results to scholarly or peer-reviewed publications. You may also look for publications that contain the word education in the title.

A short document outlining the components of a research article can be found at [http://www.survival.pitt.edu/library/documents/ComponentsofaResearchArticle.doc] – A simple and concise 4 page handout is available at http://departments.kings.edu/library/PDF%20Files/studyguide3.pdf and will guide you on how to critically read a research article.

An online primer on education research is available from the Education Commission of the States and Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning. Look for Policymaker’s Primer on Education Research: How to Understand, Evaluate and Use It. [http://www.ecs.org/html/educationIssues/Research/primer/aboutprimer.asp]

ACF97 Information Literacy Instruction, September 2006

2006-09-26T08:36:00.000-07:00

ACF97 Information Literacy Instruction, September 2006
Instructor: Danilo Figueredo, Library Director

Objectives:
Learn how to use the online catalogue to find an appropriate book for a brief research paper.
Learn how to use a database to find an appropriate article for a brief research paper.

During this session, you will learn how to use Bloomfield College’s online catalogue to find a book that you could use to write a short research paper.
Searching by title
Searching by subject
What is a call number?
Searching using the link for call number

In-class assessment: Find a book for a short research paper.

The following are information resources (databases) available to complete an assignment. Use the Online Databases link on the library website.
Encyclopedia Britannica (use this to gather background, generalized information)
World News Digest (excellent resource for controversial issues, facts, current news stories)
ProQuest (excellent source for research articles)

Helpful website: Research 101 [http://www.lib.washington.edu/uwill/research101/] – Research 101 is an interactive online tutorial for students wanting an introduction to library research skills. This tutorial covers the basics, including selecting a topic and developing research questions. It also covers how to select, search for, find and evaluate information sources.

In-class assessment: Using ProQuest, select one article that addresses your research topic. Open a word processing document; type your name at the top of the paper, and then copy and paste the citation (the author, article title, publication name, date, and page range) and the abstract into your word document.

Example: Mark Jackson
Body Image, Binge Eating, and Bulimia Nervosa in Male BodybuildersGary S Goldfield, Arthur G Blouin, D Blake Woodside. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Mar 2006. Vol. 51, Iss. 3; p. 160 (9 pages) - Male bodybuilders (MBB) exhibit more severe body dissatisfaction, bulimic eating behaviour, and negative psychological characteristics, compared with male athletic and nonathletic control subjects, but few studies have directly compared MBB and men with eating disorders. This study compared men with bulimia nervosa (MBN), competitive male bodybuilders (CMBB), and recreational male bodybuilders (RMBB) on a broad range of eating attitudes and behaviours and psychological characteristics to more accurately determine similarities and differences among these groups. Anonymous questionnaires, designed to assess eating attitudes, body image, weight and shape
Need help? Email mark_jackson@bloomfield.edu

EDC209 Information Literacy Instruction 2006

2006-09-20T11:44:00.000-07:00

EDC209 Information Literacy Instruction 2006
Instructor: Assist. Prof. Mark Jackson, Reference & Online Resources Librarian

New Jersey Standards
Department of Education - Standards and Assessment (http://www.state.nj.us/njded/aps/)
New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards (http://www.state.nj.us/njded/cccs/)

Lesson Plan Sites

If I were asked to begin preparing lesson plans, I would concentrate on links and sites that are listed on the web site of the state agency responsible for education. For example, the New Jersey Digital Highway (NJDH) (http://www.njdigitalhighway.org/educators.php) is a great resource for educators. Also be sure to look at the Educator’s Resource Center (http://njdh.rutgers.edu/resource_center_educ.php). Using the links on education web sites leads to many great lesson plan resources. Another example is Teachers.net (http://teachers.net/lessons/). Another site worth looking at is the New Jersey Professional Education Port (NJPEP). Listed under professional development is a web page for standards-based web resources. ACHIEVE allows you to choose the subject and search the database for applicable standards. The PBS Teacher Source (http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/search.htm) also correlates lesson plans with state core standards. Scholastic Teachers (http://teacher.scholastic.com/) is another wonderful and easy to use site though I did not see a way to correlate core standards with the plan.

Even though I am not an education major, if I was given an assignment of finding excellent quality resources for lesson plans, I found at least ten. The bonus payoff of looking on sites linked to New Jersey education sites is that many of them refer you to lesson plans that are linked to curriculum standards.

I used the Google search engine to compile these resources. Some of the search terms I used:
nj doe standards
nj standards education
nj standards education "lesson plans"

You may also use subject directories like Yahoo. Since anyone may submit a lesson plan to many of these lesson plan sites, you need to use your critical judgment and evaluate what you find. This is one reason I preferred to use sites linked to state education agencies. Cornell University Library’s Evaluating Web Sites: Criteria and Tools (http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/webeval.html) is an excellent site with plenty of great information.

If you need additional help, please feel free to email Mark Jackson

I read the OLD news today, oh boy…

2006-09-18T08:27:00.000-07:00

I read the OLD news today, oh boy…

There are many good search engines for gathering news items. These are usually limited however, to current news items or stories within the last 30 days. Finding news articles from the past has been problematic and often frustrating. In an interesting development, the omnipresent Google has entered into an agreement with the New York Times Co. and Washington Post Co., as well as other news-retrieval services, to provide access to news articles dating back as far back as the 1700s.

News archive search provides an easy way to search and explore historical archives. Users can search for events, people, and ideas and see how they have been described over time. In addition to searching for the most relevant articles for their query, users can get an historical overview of the results by browsing an automatically created timeline. Search results include content that is accessible to all users and content that requires a fee. Articles related to a single story within a given time period are grouped together to allow users to see a broad perspective on the events. For more information about Google News Archive Search, visit this link. [http://news.google.com/archivesearch/about.html]

Related stories:
All that's fit to print
Google News Now Has Archive Search
Historic perspectives in Google's News Archive
Google Debuts 200 Year News Archive Search

EDC318 Information Literacy Instruction September, 2006

2006-09-14T07:21:00.000-07:00

EDC318 Information Literacy Instruction September, 2006
Assist. Prof. Mark Jackson

New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards [http://www.state.nj.us/njded/cccs/]
NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards Resource [http://education.state.nj.us/njsdb/]

Using Google to gather ideas:
"curriculum design" site:.edu
Search: “lesson plans” site:.org – REFINE SEARCH: “lesson plans” site:.org "new jersey core"

Useful websites:
Scholastic for Teachers: Tools and Resources for the Classroom [http://teacher.scholastic.com/index.asp]
NJPEP (New Jersey Professional Education Port) [http://www.njpep.org/]

Evaluating what you find: Is it appropriate?
Cornell University Library’s Evaluating Web Sites: Criteria and Tools (http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/webeval.html) is an excellent site with plenty of great information.

Using databases:
ProQuest
ERIC
Academic Search Premier

These databases can be accessed from the main library page, Online Databases [http://www.bloomfield.edu/library/]

Why use these databases? They provide authoritative, research articles that are usually NOT available on the Web. These articles are from journals. A journal is a type of periodical that contains scholarly articles written by specialists aimed at other specialists in a particular field. An article in a scholarly journal is usually documented with footnotes and/or a bibliography. For the most part, scholarly journals are published monthly or quarterly and contain little advertising or few, if any, color illustrations. Also referred to as "Peer Reviewed" or "Refereed," a scholarly journal features articles that usually contain original research (qualitative or quantitative) and have been reviewed and selected by other scholars in order to be published.

Assessment: Use ProQuest, Academic Search Premier or ERIC, and locate one journal article that discusses any aspect of early childhood curriculum or assessment. Open a word processing document; print your name at the top, then copy and paste the citation (A citation to a periodical article should include the name of the author(s), article title, periodical title, volume/issue number, date, and page number(s).) into the document. Print your results.

Your results should look like this: Mark Jackson: Brooke Ingersoll, Anna Dvortcsak. (2006). Including Parent Training in the Early Childhood Special Education Curriculum for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 8(2), 79-87. Parent training has been shown to be a very effective method for promoting generalization and maintenance of skills in children with autism. However, despite its well-established benefits, few public school programs include parent training as part of the early childhood special education (ECSE) curriculum. Barriers to the provision …
If you need help, email mark_jackson@bloomfield.edu

ENG222 Information Literacy Instruction September, 2006

2006-09-11T06:51:00.000-07:00

ENG222 Information Literacy Instruction September, 2006
Assist. Prof. Mark Jackson

Using Google to gather ideas:
"toni morrison" site:.edu
Using Google Scholar to find additional information.

If you are going to use the Internet, look for high-quality authoritative sites that will provide first-quality information!

Evaluating what you find: Is it appropriate?
Cornell University Library’s Evaluating Web Sites: Criteria and Tools (http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/webeval.html) is an excellent site with plenty of great information.

Using databases:
Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Criticism
ProQuest
Academic Search Premier

These databases can be accessed from the main library page, Online Databases [http://www.bloomfield.edu/library/]

Why use these databases? They provide authoritative, research articles that are usually NOT available on the Web. These articles are from journals. A journal is a type of periodical that contains scholarly articles written by specialists aimed at other specialists in a particular field. An article in a scholarly journal is usually documented with footnotes and/or a bibliography. For the most part, scholarly journals are published monthly or quarterly and contain little advertising or few, if any, color illustrations. Also referred to as "Peer Reviewed" or "Refereed," a scholarly journal features articles that usually contain original research (qualitative or quantitative) and have been reviewed and selected by other scholars in order to be published.

Assessment: Use ProQuest, Academic Search Premier or any of the Literature resources, and locate one article that discusses some aspect of the author of your choice. Open a word processing document; print your name at the top, then copy and paste the citation (A citation to a periodical article should include the name of the author(s), article title, periodical title, volume/issue number, date, and page number(s).) into the document. Include the abstract if it is available. Print your results.

Your results should look like this:

Mark Jackson
Peter J. Capuano, "Truth in Timbre: Morrison's Extension of Slave Narrative Song in Beloved." African American Review 37, no. 1 (spring 2003): 95-103.

If you need help, email mark_jackson@bloomfield.edu

EDC205 Information Literacy Instruction September, 2006

2006-09-07T13:02:00.000-07:00

EDC205 Information Literacy Instruction September, 2006
Assist. Prof. Mark Jackson

New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards [http://www.state.nj.us/njded/cccs/]
NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards Resource [http://education.state.nj.us/njsdb/]

Using Google to gather ideas:
"curriculum design" site:.edu
Using Google Scholar to find additional information.

Evaluating what you find: Is it appropriate?
Cornell University Library’s Evaluating Web Sites: Criteria and Tools (http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/webeval.html) is an excellent site with plenty of great information.

Using databases:
ProQuest
ERIC
Academic Search Premier

These databases can be accessed from the main library page, Online Databases [http://www.bloomfield.edu/library/]

Why use these databases? They provide authoritative, research articles that are usually NOT available on the Web. These articles are from journals. A journal is a type of periodical that contains scholarly articles written by specialists aimed at other specialists in a particular field. An article in a scholarly journal is usually documented with footnotes and/or a bibliography. For the most part, scholarly journals are published monthly or quarterly and contain little advertising or few, if any, color illustrations. Also referred to as "Peer Reviewed" or "Refereed," a scholarly journal features articles that usually contain original research (qualitative or quantitative) and have been reviewed and selected by other scholars in order to be published.

Assessment: Use ProQuest, Academic Search Premier or ERIC, and locate one journal article that discusses curriculum design. Open a word processing document; print your name at the top, then copy and paste the citation (A citation to a periodical article should include the name of the author(s), article title, periodical title, volume/issue number, date, and page number(s).) into the document. Print your results.

Your results should look like this: Mark Jackson

Cathy Gutierrez-Gomez, Nancy Pauly. (2006). Early Childhood Curriculum Related to American Indians: Appropriate or Not? Childhood Education, 82(4), 201-206. Retrieved September 6, 2006, from Research Library Core database. (Document ID: 1093571231).
The themes of Thanksgiving and fall harvest are typically combined, with fairly predictable units focusing on how generic American Indians lived-their dwellings, food, and clothing. The Thanksgiving feast described earlier falls under the category of tourist curriculum, whereby children "visit," or briefly study, non-white cultures, focusing mostly on exotic differences between cultures and failing to
If you need help, email mark_jackson@bloomfield.edu

Occupational Outlook Handbook 2006-07 Edition

2006-08-28T06:23:00.000-07:00

The Department of Labor has issued this tremendously useful Handbook in its online format, and for those looking for a new career, or those who are just starting out, it provides a wealth of helpful facts. Basic information for hundreds of jobs is made available in the Handbook, including such details as the training and education required for each position, along with expected earnings, future job prospects, and information on working conditions. Additionally, users can look at sections that provide suggestions on how to evaluate a job offer, and a section on the methodology used to prepare the Handbook. To access the Handbook, click here.

Rare art movies emerge on amateur video sites

2006-07-18T07:08:00.000-07:00

A Wall Street Journal short article by Ian Mount discusses the availabilty of out-of-print art videos on User-Generated-Content (UGC) sites such as Google video and YouTube. Art videos by cult favorites such as Man Ray, Nam June Paik, and Salvador Dali, have been posted by film afficiandos concerned with providing a wider audience to these seminal works. According to Mount, this trend represents "...the latest reflection of an online culture where fans can function as curators of digital entertainment, bypassing libraries (emphasis mine) ...with their own collections of music or movies." The article was published in the Weekend Edition of the WSJ, July 8-9 2006, P2.

Revising Himself: Walt Whitman and Leaves of Grass

2006-07-06T08:48:00.000-07:00

Revising Himself: Walt Whitman and Leaves of Grass (American Treasures Exhibition, Library of Congress) - The publication of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass in 1855 was the debut of a masterpiece that shifted the course of American literary history. Refreshing and bold in both theme and style, the book underwent many revisions over Whitman's lifetime, becoming an ever-transforming kaleidoscope of poems. This exhibition traces the different occupations and preparations that led Whitman to become the author of Leaves of Grass, as well as his subsequent evolution as a poet.

What do these numbers mean? And what do they mean for libraries?

2006-07-04T08:26:00.000-07:00

According to a Wall Street Journal article 27 June 2006, visitors currently view short videos more than 70 million times a day at website YouTube – not to mention the more than 60,000 videos posted daily! I have visited the site and much of the content is juvenile – what sets it apart however is the fact that it is user generated – YouTube does not pay a dime for any of the videos – indeed, Andy Warhol’s clairvoyance seems to be proven – everyone will have their 15 minutes of fame – though in this case it is 10 minutes, the limit for most clips. Of course, YouTube is not the only website employing user-generated-content (UGC) – MySpace has certainly garnered tremendous press over the past year. Writing in Wired (July 2006, page132), Chris Anderson calls this the “Age of Peer Production.” I prefer user-generated content, since even though I may contribute to MySpace or YouTube, it is unlikely that I am a peer of many of the visitors to either site. It seems that EVERYONE wants to share – whether it is home videos of their (often boring) sex lives, home grown music videos, self-taken pictures, Wikipedia or photo sharing sites like Flickr – the whole world, instead of watching, is sharing – the impact on what we may do as academic librarians, from copyright issues to the authority to control content, will be profound - Amazon already lets users tag content, assigning UGC relevance – Reviews, added by users who are not paid, are one of the features that drives DVD rental giant Netflix – what was the last library catalogue you saw that allowed users to tag and review?

Instead of closing ranks and circling the wagons, librarians need to loosen up. It seems that everyday there is some new development that is confronting our beliefs about what a library is and should be. I am not saying that we need to dump our entire collective past and rush headlong into some uncharted future. Perhaps we may consider developing parallel cutting edge models that run alongside the traditional library model. What works we can adapt. Allow users to decide if they want to enter a wikilogue or a regular catalogue – this much seems apparent – UGC is shaping the web in more ways than anyone might have imagined even a few short years ago – millions of people are embracing UGC, at least for now. They may grow tired of the amateur video, audio and blogs, and revert back to the more traditional forms of information. Or the UGC sites will morph into something else – one thing is fairly certain – 21st century academic libraries (I will leave the public library challenges to someone else) need to embrace, adopt and adapt to this new paradigm.

With a Cellphone as My Guide

2006-07-04T08:24:00.000-07:00

With a Cellphone as My Guide (By JOHN MARKOFF and MARTIN FACKLER) New York Times 28 June 2006, page C1 - A new service in Japan allows users to point a cellphone at a location of interest and the phone will display information describing what they are looking at. Company name: GeoVector – Global Positioning System - GPS Technology – American companies have been slow to adopt the technology that bridges the geo world and the cyber world – Verizion and Sprint Nextel are the only major carriers that have incorporated GPS in cell phones. What are the library applications? There have been more than a few observations that the next generation of “smart phones” will be our all-in-one digital tool. Will the library user be able to easily access the library catalogue from anywhere on campus?

North American Slave Narratives

2006-06-07T06:42:00.000-07:00

North American Slave Narratives [http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/] is a site sponsored by the University Library, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. North American Slave Narratives collects books and articles that document the individual and collective story of African Americans struggling for freedom and human rights in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries. This collection includes all the existing autobiographical narratives of fugitive and former slaves published as broadsides, pamphlets, or books in English up to 1920. Also included are many of the biographies of fugitive and former slaves and some significant fictionalized slave narratives published in English before 1920.