Personal Online Library

For bibliophiles, keeping track of their personal book collections may seem like a daunting task.

In a recent article from Poets and Writers, bibliophiles' dreams have come true with
LibraryThing.com.

Primarily a book cataloging site, (a user can catalog up to 200 titles free), it has also become a community of book lovers and a way to search for other books in a particular genre.

Users can create their own online catalog - browse and sort by author, titles, and genre.

To begin, a user will need to create a login and password and then enter an ISBN number. The site links to other online databases to provide information on each title like author and publisher and may even include book jacket art.

The site boasts that up to 10,000 books are cataloged a day!

ILL ... What is that?

Many times librarians are caught up in the jargon - NSLS, ISLMA, ACRL, OCLC ... ILL.

We admit it, we get a bit enthused about acronyms.

Today, I only want to talk about one - ILL.

ILL refers to inter-library loan and library users, who know about it, love it. ILL allows users to request books that the Murphy Library doesn't own, from other libraries in Illinois, across the nation, even abroad!

Up til recently, it was something you could only do in person. Now, you can do it anywhere you have Internet access.

Here are the steps:

1) Visit the Murphy Library online.

2) Choose FirstSearch, under the heading of Electronic databases.

3) Login by entering your CLC ID number.

4)Click on Worldcat.

5) Search an item you're looking for.

6) Once you're viewing a particular item, click on the ILL button located in the top left portion of the screen.

7) Enter your information.

8) Click on submit.

The Murphy Library circulation staff will contact you when your item arrives.

(Picture: River Seine in Paris)

Tomorrow's Professor

Are You a 21st Century Library-Ready Instructor? ask Michael Rogers and David Starret from Southeast Missouri's State University.

Due to the conveniences within our society - instant messaging, ATMs, home banking - students expect information at the touch of a button and in many cases, this means Google.

However, Google sources pose their own problems - authenticity of information being one of the largest.

How do instructors and librarians reach the net-generation students? The authors suggest adapting assignments; helping students see the library as more than a place to study, drink coffee, or tap into a wireless network.

Online instructors can benefit from the Internet presence their library has already created. The Murphy Library has many resources that are available to students and instructors that can be reached without stepping foot inside a building.

Libraries, in turn, need to evolve into "anytime/anyplace" research institutions.

The full article can be found here.

"Out, damned spot! Out, I say!"

In the news this week is Google's launch of a new site featuring the works of William Shakespeare as well as related resources.

Users have access to the full texts of Shakespeare's 37 plays and can search these texts for words or phrases.

The site also has links to academic resources concerning the plays, online groups that focus on Shakespeare, and videos of stage productions of Shakespeare's plays.

To see the full USA Today article, click here.

Editing at Wikipedia

The New York Times (registration required)
reports Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia has placed new restrictions on editing.

Wikis are server programs that allow multiple users access to a website's information. Individual users can manipulate the information within wiki entries.

This type of access gives instructors and librarians migraines the size of Montana.

The Times reports that certain entries in any reference work are bound to be contentious, and with Wikipedia, disagreements can escalate to a "revert war," in which competing factions simply change an entry back and forth to reflect their opinions.

Such disputes have resulted in a status of "protected" for 82 entries, meaning they cannot be changed at all, and a status of "semi-protected" for another 179 entries.

Semi-protected entries can only be changed by someone who has been a registered user for more than four days, the idea being that such a "cooling off" period will avoid most of the problems resulting from disagreements. Despite the steps Wikipedia has taken away from the ideal of "anyone can edit," founder Jimmy Wales says the resource works and is valuable. Most entries are only protected for a short period of time, he said, and they represent a fraction of the 1.2 million entries in the English-language version.

From the Margins

A new Liberal Arts & Sciences course is being offered this fall.

LAS 221
From the Margins - An Introduction to Queer Theories and Gay Studies

Dr. Sean Murphy will focus specifically on topics concerning social justice and LGBT rights. Students can expect to read texts, analyze films, and attend conversations with guest lectures.

Here's a few suggested book titles for class prep -

Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights
by Kenji Yoshino

Queer Ideas by David Kessler

Gentlemen Callers by Michael Paller

Queer Cowboys by Chris Packard

If visual is more your speed, you might want to try -

La Mala Educacion a Sony Pictures Classic release

Tying the Knot by Docurama

Photographic Art Work

A big thank you to Julie Britten , our fabulous library technology specialist for providing all of the photographic work on this blog.

Food, Glorious Food

There are many fabulous things about summer. And, if you think about it, many involve food - fairs, picnics, farmers' markets... you get the idea. If your inner chef is feeling adventurous, the Murphy Library can help wet your appetite.

Just in, is Julia Child's memoir, My Life in France. Extremely readable, Julia shares her experiences in Paris after World War II. The city and its people helped mold her into the culinary icon she later became with her co-authored classic, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

If you'd like to follow another food celebrity, Giada De Laurentiis shares culinary secrets in her book, Giada's Family Meals.

If history is more your cup, try Salt: A World History, Spice: The History of Temptation, and The Big Oyster. Each work focuses on food and its relations to history and the development of human civilization.

If you'd rather focus on the technical aspects of cooking and baking, the library also has a collection of Alton Brown's DVDs. Each focuses on a specific technical aspect of cooking.

bon Appetit'

Face, what?

Okay, maybe I'm a little late to this discussion, but better late than never as they say.

A fellow librarian stopped by this week and within a conversation made mention of Facebook (dot com that is). It seems that everyone knew what it was but me.

What it is, is a grown-up college version of MySpace.com. Facebook is the brain child of Harvard drop-out Mark Zuckerberg. (Interesting that he may be following in Bill Gates' footsteps.)

According the "about" section, Facebook is "a social directory that enables people to share information. Launched in February 2004, Facebook helps people better understand their world by giving them access to the information that is most relevant to them."

Plus, it's exclusive. To register, an .edu email account is required.

Now, here's the interesting thing. While Facbook is out there to enable students to chat and learn about one another, it becomes a great tool for marketers, trend watchers, basically, the business industry. Through Pulse, "trend watchers" can see the popular listings and trends spotted on Facebook in the last seven days.