Library Hacks

43 Folders - Productivity resource

Michael Peper — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

http://www.43folders.com/ It's really a blog for this productivity guru, but there seems to be good stuff here. Info Outlook writeup: I'm still trying to figure out this site, maybe because I find the design a bit distracting and the organization hard to follow. But the content is good. No-nonsense, I would call it. Merlin Mann started the site about four years ago as a resource on productivity...organization, procrastination, clutter, and all the other bits that go along with that. The original content is still there (including the frequently-cited post on the Inbox Zero philosophy of e-mail management), but the focus has shifted to helping readers be their best creative selves by providing solutions for managing their time and attention. Along the way, Mann muses on persistence, doing (not just thinking about), and blog writing. If you need inspiration for the new year, you'll likely find something to think about here.

Google Wave

Michael Peper — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Sean — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

aaa

Your Tax Dollars at Work

Michael Peper — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

http://lifehacker.com/277405/us-government-web-sites-you-didnt-know-you-could-use There is a huge wealth of information collected and provided by U.S. government agencies.

Faculty: how can the library help you?

Nathaniel King — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

We've started a new category on Library Hacks where we'll highlight the innovative and creative ways Duke faculty are using library resources and librarian expertise in the classroom. We will continue to add new case studies to this section on a regular basis to highlight each project. Case Study: Assignment #1: Obesity and Health. Dr. Jen’nan Read, Spring 2009, SOC 161 View Mapping Grocery Stores and Bus Routes -example in a larger map The goal of this assignment was to demonstrate how individuals' everyday social environment influences important health outcomes, such as obesity. Students broke into teams and conducted comparative research at local grocery stores in the area, focusing on cost, content, and placement of food at the different locales. Students were given a fixed budget to feed a family of four and compared the quantity and quality of foods within that budget. Students evaluated the accessibility of the various grocery stores (and exercise facilities) in relation to different socio-economic and ethnic neighborhoods in the Durham area using mapping tools that were demonstrated in class by Librarians and CIT staff. Library Session: Two librarians, Linda Daniel and Joel Herndon, and Shawn Miller, a consultant with CIT, prepared a highly interactive introduction to library resources and online mapping tools. The class enabled the students to make compelling visual connections about the complex relationship between diet, socioeconomic status and access to grocery stores. The result: Thank you all so very much for your efforts and preparation. The students were duly impressed, as was I (many commented on how happy they were to get the training and hand-outs, etc). Sorry if it seemed rushed; it’s a learning process for us all. At the end of the day, it was superb. Thank you again. Jen’nan Jen'nan G. Read Associate Professor Department of Sociology

Debra — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

In January a group of library administrators from research institutions across the country met in Denver at their annual conference to discuss the changing environment of libraries. They published a set of provocative statements about the changing role of libraries and the decline of the profession. Among other things they assert that " library buildings will no longer house collections and will become campus community centers that function as part of the student services sector" and "will provide no in-person services. All services (reference, circulation, instruction, etc.) will be unmediated and supported by technology." Indeed, as part of their remodeling efforts many libraires include coffee shops and moveable furniture and other resources patrons can arrange and rearrange for study and conversation. Reference offers a wide array of on-line services like chat and texting while reducing the number of hours the reference desk is staffed with actual people.

Pubget

Michael Peper — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

http://pubget.com/search Blog review http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2009/06/23/pubget-speeds-up-science-journal-searches-provides-marketing-tools/ Review of RSS and Firefox extension http://davidrothman.net/2009/03/05/pubget-rss-and-firefox-download-extension/ http://researchblogging.org/news/?p=126

Aardvark

Michael Peper — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

http://vark.com/

Finding your way with GIS

Mark Thomas — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Books To-Go

Michael Peper — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Seek and Read Articles in One Step

Michael Peper — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

pubget.com

Researching on the go? There's an app for that.

Jean Ferguson — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

As iPhones, iPads and smart phones become ubiquitous, research database vendors are beginning to jump on the bandwagon. Two large providers of research information have recently created mobile apps for use on Gale AccessMyLibrary app for iPhone and for iPad

Is the term 'Sub-Saharan Africa' disparaging?

kjhunt — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

(CNN) -- A leading African organization is spearheading a campaign to stop the use of the phrase "Sub-Saharan Africa," calling it a "disparaging and contemptuous" reference to nations south of the Sahara. Celebrate Africa Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes the continent, said the aim is to collect more than 2 million signatures that will be submitted to world leaders and international organizations. The group said the signatures will be handed over to organizations such as the African Union, the United Nations and the World Bank. "Sub-Saharan Africa is a pejorative term. It is an euphemism for contemptuousness employed by the continent's detractors to delineate between the five Arab countries that make up north Africa from the other 42 countries and the islands that make up the rest of Africa," said Chika Onyeani, chairman of the foundation. North Africa refers to Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Morocco. "Who decided on the line of demarcation between 'northern' and 'southern' Africa?" Onyeani asked in a statement. We'd like to hear your feedback on this topic. The full article can be found at: CNN

Peace Corps 50th Anniversary 1961–2011

kjhunt — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

This month, the Peace Corps commemorates 50 years of promoting peace and friendship around the world. In honor of the 50th anniversary, we would like to showcase four Returned Peace Corps Volunteers currently working in the Perkins Library: [caption id="attachment_10501" align="alignright" width="507" caption="Michael Peper"][/caption] Michael Peper Benin Education (TEFL) 2003-2005 [caption id="attachment_10461" align="alignright" width="508" caption="Kimberly Burhop-Service"][/caption] Kimberley Burhop-Service Gabon Education 1993-1995 Jean Ferguson Poland Education 1991-1993 [caption id="attachment_10441" align="alignleft" width="507" caption="Karen Jean Hunt (left) "][/caption] Kenya Education 1986-1988 Join us Feb. 25-26 for Duke in Depth, a weekend of learning and fun with alumni, students, faculty, and internationally known experts and guest speakers. Register Now: http://www.dukealumni.com/learn-travel/duke-depth

Online practice GRE, MCAT, GMAT, and LSAT tests

mg176 — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

About

Blog administrator — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 21:26:07 +0000

Library Hacks is a place to find out about tools, resources, services, and ideas that can help make your research and the library more efficient for you. It’s written mostly by Duke Libraries staff, but we’ll also have occasional student and faculty guest bloggers. (Want to be one? Let us know!) Our inspirations are blogs like LifeHacker, LifeHack, AcademHack, and ParentHacks, and book series like O'Reilly's Hacks Series. Pretty often we'll write about tools and services that aren't provided by Duke Libraries or Duke University. We're sharing information about them with you because we've tried them out or use them ourselves and think they might be useful to you too, but just because we've written about them here doesn't mean that Duke endorses them in any way or that we can provide support if you have any problems with them. We also can't vouch for the privacy and security practices of any third-party tools or services, so you should always look at the source of the tools and services you choose to use, and make sure you're comfortable with their policies and trustworthiness. We are of course always glad to help out members of the Duke community with Duke-supported tools and services. If you have questions, ask a librarian. Please let us know what you think of this blog, and send us tips if you know of some library hacks that you think we should write about here.

BookBurro closed

Blog administrator — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 16:25:09 +0000

Blog administrator — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 14:20:58 +0000

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The Sober Librarian: An Introduction

Phoebe — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 15:41:05 +0000

Okay, first, go here and read this comic strip: http://catandgirl.com/view.php?loc=282 While we admit to a certain fondness for tipsy librarians, we can certainly see how it might be frustrating to be faced with 43,000 hits, only 0.007% of which might actually contain the piece of data you want, when you do an internet search. When this happens to you, where can you turn? Welcome to The Sober Librarian. In this occasional column we'll explore - and, I hope, unravel - some research tangles that Google can't help you with. You can learn some of the tricks, shortcuts, and special resources that librarians use. Maybe they'll help you with your research. Maybe you just like a good mystery, or the thrill of the chase. Follow along as we track down the obscure, find the needle in the haystack, and uncover serendipitous gems.

Thing I like: Chicago Manual of Style Online

Phoebe — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 15:35:53 +0000

The Chicago Manual of Style - that little red book that's the bible of citing sources - is testing an online version. Right now they're offering free 30-day trials, and it's worth a look. There's also some stuff that doesn't require any sign-in - my favorite is the Chicago Style Q&A, where someone with a sense of humor answers nit-picky questions only a grammar nerd (or a professional editor) could love. For example:

Q. Is it prework or pre-work (for work that is to be done before a meeting)?

A. Prework is a pretty silly concept, if you think about it. I mean, is it work or not? It would be like preeating. How about calling it “preparation”?

Librarians on Facebook?

Joan — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 15:51:26 +0000

In a Writing 20 library session the other day, a student was shocked when I mentioned my Facebook account. "Is that even allowed?!" he asked. Indeed, like an alien invasion, librarians have descended upon Facebook. Why are we there? Partly for the same reasons you are: to connect with students, you, but also to connect with faculty and other librarians, at Duke and beyond. Why befriend a librarian in Facebook? Well, why not? You use Facebook to keep track of your friends, so consider using Facebook to keep track of your favorite librarian. Make a librarian a friend, and you'll never lose track of her (or his!) name and email. Some librarians currently in Facebook, along with their subject areas, include

Margaret Brill, British and Canadian Studies
Carson Holloway, Military History
Anne Langley, Chemistry
Catherine Shreve, Public Policy and Political Science
Jean Ferguson, Reference

And, yours truly, Joan Petit: I'm there too.

Catalog tip - search for journals only

Phoebe — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 13:34:39 +0000

Sometimes you're looking for a journal that has a really common title - the classic is "Time," the weekly news magazine. If you look it up in the catalog using "title begins with" you get 43 results to wade through. But choose the second tab, labeled "Journals/Serials" and you can cut down the number of extraneous results - a search for "Time" this way gets only 10 hits, most of which are different versions of Time magazine. The "Journals/Serials" tab also be very helpful when you want to find some titles of journals that cover your topic. For example, a subject keyword search for "neonatology" brings up a list of 16 journals that publish on the topic - very useful for browsing when you're starting to research a topic. This tab is also great for when you can't quite remember the title of a journal - use keywords or subject keywords to try to narrow it down.

Sitemap

Paolo — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 16:39:59 +0000

Overheard at The Perk

Joan — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 18:21:19 +0000

"I spent seven hours in the library yesterday, researching, and I only found four articles!" Painful words for any librarian to hear. But wait! Was the subject of research truly something obscure and unknown? Some potentially unexplored but fruitful area of discovery? Sadly, no, the topic of research (further eavesdropping revealed) was a common medical issue well covered by a range of library databases. A stop at the reference desk could have saved this undergraduate hours of suffering. It can be intimidating to approach a librarian to ask for help, but most librarians are quite friendly, and all of us want to help you do your research better. If you're not sure what to ask, just tell us about your research, and we'll be glad to point you in the right direction.

Book Burro brings your local library into Amazon

Paolo — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 20:14:19 +0000

Wouldn't it be cool if while you were looking at books in Amazon's online store you could see whether Duke Libraries have the book? Well, you can. A tool called Book Burro (bookburro.org) does just this. It only works with the Firefox browser, so if you're using Internet Explorer or other browsers you're out of luck (there are many reasons why you should try out Firefox, but that's another blog post). You install the browser plugin (or "add-on", as they're now called in Firefox 2) and configure it with your zip code and online book stores you like to use. Then, whenever you're looking at a book record in Amazon, you'll see an overlay in the top left corner of your browser that looks like this: When you click on the little triangle on the left, the overlay will expand and look something like this:
What displays here depends on how you've configured BookBurro (using the tools icon near the right side of the BookBurro overlay). If you've put in your zip code, it will show you which libraries in the vicinity have the book - the search includes all libraries at Duke, UNC, NCCU, and many other universities in the region, as well as local public libraries. Depending on how you've configured it, BookBurro will even show you how much the same item costs at other online stores. So you can quickly decide whether to head to your local library, make a request via Inter Library Loan, or order the book from an online vendor and have the book delivered directly to you. Duke Libraries does not produce or support BookBurro, so we can't vouch for how well it will work all the time, but so far it's been pretty handy for me. Try it out - if you don't like it, it's easy to uninstall.

Screen capture of Book Burro with Durham localization

Paolo — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 14:13:50 +0000

Book Burro in Amazon

Paolo — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 14:18:09 +0000

Thing I like (warning: addictive)

Phoebe — Fri, 04 May 2007 10:57:45 +0000

Well, I fell this morning. People at work have been succumbing piecemeal for some time, and then my online community discovered it, and I was finally a goner. What the heck am I talking about? Librarything (librarything.com). It's sort of like Facebook, for your books. Basically, you create an online library catalog of your own books, and you tag them, and yes, it sounds really boring and like something only a librarian could love, but honestly, it's crazy addictive. It's also super-easy to set up. Once you're in, you can see exactly how many books of Doonesbury cartoons or by Maurice Sendak or about archaeological field methods you own (me: many many many of each, tag clouds are frighteningly revealing). Then you can see who else owns them, and what books they own that you don't (but might like to), and it is sounding boring again, I know. Just try it; you'll know right away if it's for you. But make sure to try when you have some free time (Spring break is a great time). I have at least one friend who was up all night the first time she logged in.

Summertime--ask us!

Catherine Shreve — Mon, 07 May 2007 19:52:42 +0000

Suddenly Perkins and Bostock are so...quiet...and relatively empty. It's an abrupt change from last week's intense activity. Now, don't get me wrong, we Reference librarians have plenty of projects, conferences, and catchup work to do over the summer. But I kinda miss the frantic end-of-semester questions, the exhilaration of nailing that last citation for the research paper, the sleep-deprived (or sleeping) students in every corner of the library. So, if you're out there, help ease our transition from the adrenaline highs of the semester to the easy-livin' flow of summer. Send us a question, keep us busy! See Ask a Librarian for multiple ways to talk with us.

Give RefWorks a try

Joan — Tue, 08 May 2007 18:16:30 +0000

RefWorks is web-based bibliographic management software. Does that make sense? I didn't think so. So here's what it really is: an online program that allows you to upload, save, and format article and book citations. Like EndNote (which you can get for free through Duke), RefWorks also formats your bibliography for you. Right now, Duke has a trial subscription to RefWorks. Through June 30, 2007, any Duke user can use RefWorks for free. To create an account, follow these steps:

Go to www.refworks.com/refworks from any computer at Duke.
Click on Sign Up for an Individual Account.
Enter the appropriate information and click on Register.

Like instructions? Check out the RefWorks Quick Start Guide or the RefWorks tutorials. You can use RefWorks off-campus: just enter Duke's group code RWDukeUniv. If you have any questions regarding the trial, or feedback on RefWorks, please contact me, Joan Petit.

Connotea, an Online Research Tool

Phoebe — Fri, 18 May 2007 19:14:51 +0000

We're currently encouraging faculty and students to test Connotea (www.connotea.org, pronounced con-no-TAY-uh), an online tool that combines the 'tagging' features of services such as del.icio.us with an academic research focus. Anyone can register at the site, create a username, and then begin building a library of resources—online articles, book reviews, web pages, anything with a URL—simply by clicking the "Add to Connotea" button that you add to your Internet browser. Connotea allows you to export your library of resources into other programs (like EndNote, the bibliographic software Duke currently supports) or subscribe to an RSS feed of your own or another user's library. You can also configure your account so that the Get It @ Duke button will appear next to many Connotea citations, linking you to online full-text resources available through Duke. Since most users' libraries of resources are public (though you can choose to make a private library), you can search for tags of interest to you among resources found by other users—fellow Duke students, Duke librarians who are putting useful resources into Connotea, as well as researchers and scholars around the world who are using the site for their own work. Look for the DukeUniversityLibraries group to find resources in Connotea that have been tagged by Duke Librarians. For directions on getting started and more tips, see the library's Connotea web page at: http://library.duke.edu/services/instruction/connotea.html.

Notes from Україна: a Blue Devil's Ukrainian experience

Catherine Shreve — Wed, 23 May 2007 20:22:08 +0000

Follow Duke's Sarah Wallace, a senior, as she blogs on her Public Policy/Global Health research project in Ukraine. We will be posting excerpts throughout the summer; the feed to the full blog is on the side.Here's a brief intro to her learning experience:

This will be my first summer away from Duke since beginning college, and the trip to Ukraine will be my first experience traveling overseas. Also, this summer will be my first time doing a real independent, self-structured research project. I have done research before, but always under the strict guidance of a mentor, and always on a suggested topic. This summer I will be largely on my own, although I do have mentors in Durham and Kyiv. My topic is self-designed, this trip is self-designed, and my methods are self-designed.

Best of luck, Sarah, we know this is going to be a fantastic experience! Do you know of a Blue Devil blogging about their research? Tell us!

Sarah Wallace

Paolo — Thu, 24 May 2007 12:50:40 +0000

Duke student blogging summer 2007 research in Ukraine

Add to Connotea

Paolo — Thu, 24 May 2007 13:00:30 +0000

Connotea logo

Paolo — Thu, 24 May 2007 13:01:51 +0000

Google Advanced Search

Phoebe — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 15:06:57 +0000

Showing Spanish language choices only.

Google Advanced Search

Phoebe — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 15:12:33 +0000

Google Advanced Search

Phoebe — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 15:30:14 +0000

Latin American Newsstand

Phoebe — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 15:30:56 +0000

Duke Catalog Advanced

Phoebe — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 15:33:56 +0000

The Sober Librarian: Buffy la cazavampiros

Phoebe — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 15:44:20 +0000

We had a flurry of questions at the Reference Desk this spring when members of a Spanish class were asked to write a paper on a pop culture topic of their choosing, using sources in Spanish. How do you find books, scholarly articles, newspaper and magazine articles, or web pages in languages other than English? As a sample topic, let's take the (late, lamented) TV show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." (Note: as far as we know, nobody in the class was actually researching this topic.) Google has an Advanced Search feature that allows you to search for pages in any one of a vast number of languages. This is how we learned that in Spanish, Buffy is 'la cazavampiros.' The (351,000!!) search hits include a lot of fan sites, so would be a great place to look if we were interested in, for example, Spanish-language fans' reactions to this show, or how the vampire mythology played in Spanish-speaking cultures. What about the opinions of television reviewers in Mexican newspapers? How about the database Latin American Newsstand - 326 articles mentioning 'Buffy la cazavampiros', from papers from Rio to Monterrey to San Juan! How about scholarly articles? A database called HAPI (Hispanic American Periodicals Index) is a great resource for current events, politics and social issues. It covers over 400 journals from the entire Spanish-speaking Americas. Many broader databases of scholarly articles allow you to limit by language as well, for example, MLA, which covers a broad variety of topics in the humanities. (Both have lots on women and television, but nothing on Buffy!) A search of Duke's library catalog can be limited to just one language, using a drop-down menu in the Advanced Search. While we discovered that the Buffy DVDs in Lilly Library have optional tracks dubbed in Spanish, sadly there are no books in Spanish that address Buffy (there are a bunch of English language books!). A broader look at books in Spanish on television or popular culture might have better results: we own 173 books in Spanish that cover aspects of popular culture. Surely one of them must mention Buffy!

Gather, collect, share, and network

Paolo — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 17:58:30 +0000

A few weeks ago we wrote about Connotea, a "social bookmarking" tool for academics, and in the comments Duke Professor Gary Feng reminded us of CiteULike, a similar tool that is currently more widely used in the sciences. Around the same time, the spring issue of the UK journal Ariadne came out with an article on CiteULike, titled "Citeulike: A Researcher's Social Bookmarking Service". The introduction reads

This article describes Citeulike, a fusion of Web-based social bookmarking services and traditional bibliographic management tools. It discusses how Citeulike turns the linear 'gather, collect, share' process inherent in academic research into a circular 'gather, collect, share and network' process, enabling the sharing and discovery of academic literature and research papers.

The article provides a brief overview of the principles behind tools like CiteULike and Connotea, and gives examples of how these tools can be useful for academics. It explains how to use CiteULike to build networks of citations shared among colleagues, in addition to using it for managing one's own citations. As the authors write,

The fact that two users read similar literature probably indicates that they will potentially have a professional interest in each other. The bibliographic data forms a fabric binding people together.

This fabric is a major reason why we come together in universities, so it makes sense that the digital tools we use should help to strengthen these ties, and do so even across institutions and geographical boundaries. Might tools like this eventually become the platform for a different kind of peer review? Dario Taraborelli muses on this in his blog posting "Soft peer review? Social software and distributed scientific evaluation" in the Academic Productivity blog.

31 Duke Sophomores Blogging on Summer Research

Phoebe — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 19:47:07 +0000

This recent Duke News item sparked my interest: 31 Duke students, all sophomores doing laboratory research as part of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute fellows program, are writing blogs as part of their summer experiences. All the blogs are listed, by student name, in the right column on the Student Research at Duke page; the main part of the page has highlights of recent entries. These students describe their hands-on research - here's a teaser on tomato frog DNA from Samantha Perlman:

FINALLY, the moment I have been waiting for…the tomato frog samples came in today!! Alas, they are packaged in a giant cardboard box with hundreds of other reptile and amphibian samples. Maybe “packaged” isn’t quite the best word…apparently throwing all the little tubes in a box and taping it up is adequate for shipping rare frog samples halfway across the world. Shockingly, the box opened mid-trip, and an undetermined number of little tubes may/may not have spilled out.

Here's hoping some of them keep up the blogging process as they turn to library research on their topics, or when they are in classes next fall. We'll be browsing their posts and looking for library hacks to highlight!

Staying Alert in Ukraine

Catherine Shreve — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 20:03:29 +0000

From our Duke researcher in Ukraine, Sarah Wallace:

"I recently discovered a great feature of Google called Google Alerts. The program allows you to closely monitor specific topics in the news without having to do a manual search. I have it set up so that any news or blog posts containing the words Ukraine, Chernobyl, or Duke will be consolidated and sent to my email account at the end of the day, every day."

"Although I've only been receiving alerts for a few days, I've already learned so much about Ukrainian politics, economics, and culture. For example, ...my favorite news alert of the week:

'PepsiAmericas, Inc., the world’s second largest manufacturer, seller and distributor of PepsiCo beverages, and PepsiCo itself, announced a landmark agreement on June 7 to jointly acquire 80 percent of Sandora LLC, Ukraine’s number one juice maker... Home to some 46 million consumers, Ukraine is considered to be one of the fastest growing beverage markets in Europe.'

"I definitely recommend Google's alert system to anyone who wants to track a topic in the news. But be warned - Google alerts are a big distraction. I really should be studying Ukrainian at the moment, but my mind can only handle so much in one day."

How about you? Do you have any cool tools to share?

Web apps for students, researchers, and any library user

Paolo — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 13:51:37 +0000

If you live your life on the net and in the library, check out these two blog posts, with descriptions and links of lots of tools that might make your life easier:

They cover note-taking tools, "mind-mappers," collaboration tools, bibliographic software, bookmarking tools, online office software, online calendars, and more. Check them out, and let us know what you think. We'll write up more details on your and our favorites here in the future.

libx

Phoebe — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 15:35:53 +0000

Duke LibX: Add Duke Libraries to your web browser

Phoebe — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 15:38:07 +0000

We are happy to announce the publication of the Duke version of the LibX plug-in for Firefox web browsers. Duke LibX allows you to install a toolbar in your browser with a search box that connects directly to Duke's library catalog, e-journals, databases, or library web pages, as well as Google Scholar. You can highlight citations and drag-and-drop them to the toolbar, or right-click to have the same search options. LibX also puts a Duke Gothic window (called a 'cue') in web sites like Amazon - click it and automatically search the catalog to see if we own the book. Find out more and get the install link at our LibX page (http://library.duke.edu/research/tools/libx.html) If there is one hack you take from this blog, this should be the one. (And if you're not using Firefox yet, this is your reason to switch.) The Duke LibX tool was originally developed by Sean Chen (Law Library) and recently updated by Paolo Mangiafico (Perkins Digital Projects). Thanks, guys!

IRB approval for research using interviews

Catherine Shreve — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 15:06:00 +0000

Sarah Wallace has some interesting comments on the process of getting IRB approval for using (interviewing) human subjects for her Ukraine project. Here's an excerpt:

All week, I’ve been working hard on my application for Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval of my project in Ukraine. …Procedures for protecting the rights and welfare of human subjects are the same, no matter who conducts the research; thus, student researchers like myself are held to the same standards as faculty researchers. If an undergraduate at Duke wants to conduct research that involves human subjects in any capacity, he or she must fill out a long, complicated application and send it to the Duke IRB before beginning the study. ..there is a chance that I won’t gain approval until after I arrive in Ukraine. … Although the form took a lot of time and effort to complete, I’m very glad I did it. It really made me think through my research approach at a level of detail that I hadn't before.

See her full post here, or check out her Notes from YkpaïHa feed on the right. And here's her update:

The Duke IRB liked my protocol a lot. Flattery aside, however, they had "a number" (read - "a million") suggestions for ways to improve my consent forms and other documents.
..[I must] also prepare a separate consent protocol for the interviewees that are Ark workers/ICARR participants. As the IRB pointed out to me, these people shoulder the most risk by talking to me, so I must take extra precaution to ensure that their interviews are kept confidential.

About the software

Paolo — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 20:31:25 +0000

This blog runs on WordPress. It uses the following theme and plugins.

Thanks to the authors of WordPress and these plugins and theme for making them available.

krill

Phoebe — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 15:33:13 +0000

reference.jpg

Phoebe — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 15:33:58 +0000

The Sober Librarian: WorldCat and bad citations

Phoebe — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 13:25:47 +0000

I was reading the Thingology Blog (by Tim Spaulding, creator of Librarything) and ran across this aside

***I particularly recall how one of my professors tended never to know the *titles* of books she'd recommended to me. She'd say "that new book on Athenian demes by so-and-so." The authors were all colleagues and friends of hers. ... It didn't help that the titles in academics are often bland affairs, "aiming higher" than their obscure topic in the hope of appealing to a broader audience—"Art, Difference and Culture" subtitled, "16th-century non-guild stonemasons in Malta," etc.

I recall so vividly the same sensation from my days as an undergraduate and beginning graduate student. You end up with half-remembered titles, badly-spelled (or no) names, and a vague idea that this is all VERY IMPORTANT. Many of us are too shy to simply email the professor and ask for clarification. So where do you go from there? For books, the place to start is WorldCat. WorldCat is a database - look for it under Popular Databases or search our database finder. It's the world's online catalog - it has everything in Duke's catalog, and everything in UNC's, and everything in the Charlotte Public Library's, and everything in Harvard's - you get the idea. It's by no means perfect as a universal catalog, but it's pretty good. Among its many uses: 1. Checking to see that you have a good citation. If searching in Duke's catalog doesn't find you a book, maybe it's not that we don't have it; maybe you've got it a little bit wrong. Check on it by checking WorldCat. If nobody has it, well, maybe that author's name isn't really Gnarl after all. 2. Starting to look for books on a topic when you don't want to limit yourself to just what Duke owns. If your research project is a big one, and you have time to request materials through Interlibrary Loan, why not cast the net wide as you begin? Do a keyword or subject search in WorldCat, not just Duke's catalog. We can't own everything! If we do own it, WorldCat will tell you so, and provide the Get It @ Duke link.

So You Thought Perkins-Bostock Was Confusing!

Phoebe — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 11:56:21 +0000

A very funny video about Harlan Hatcher Graduate "Labyrinth" at the University of Michigan. At least we don't have an "East Section of Level 1 A North."

Linking to Full-text Articles: Stable URLs

Phoebe — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 15:05:57 +0000

It's back to school time, and that means faculty and instructors all over campus (and sometimes all over the world) are putting books on reserve, setting up e-reserves through the library, and linking from their Blackboard sites to online articles that we have access to through our subscription databases. Perkins Reference and CIT staff have been getting a lot of questions about how to find stable URLs for these articles, so we made up a web page to help: http://library.duke.edu/research/help/databases/stableurl.html Please Ask a Librarian if your question isn't answered there!

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Phoebe — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 14:42:31 +0000

Very Important Library Tip for Undergrads

Phoebe — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 18:17:46 +0000

Kristin Butler, in her Duke Chronicle column "Duke: A freshman's guide" has a very good piece of advice for library users:

Oh, and one aside on having sex in the stacks: As a former library employee, I promise that Perkins Level D is not a "sneaky" place to go for it, even at 4 a.m. The security guards know the lights are not supposed to be turned off, and if they catch you they may post your name and photo for all to see. How embarrassing.

I can tell you, she is so not kidding about this.

The Sober Librarian: What's in a DOI?

Phoebe — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:46:04 +0000

Library staff often learn as much from our patrons - i.e. you - as they teach. My husband, who is a PhD student in engineering at another local institution of higher learning, said to me, "Why don't you do a post on your blog about DOIs?" I had never heard of a DOI. So I had to look it up, of course. What? A DOI - Digital Object Identifier - is a number attached to a piece of online content (Wikipedia has a much more technical definition). In practical terms, it is a unique number attached to a full-text online article, much in the same way every book has a unique ISBN. Why? Well, suppose your article was published in the journal 'Nitpicky Things About Oceanography' by Small Academic Press and appeared on their web site. Six years later, Small Academic Press was purchased by Big International Conglomerate. Obviously they are going to change the (previously stable) url of your journal article. But you can find the new online location of the article easily by putting the DOI into a DOI resolver or the global handle resolver. DOIs can also be easily hotlinked, and some article databases are starting to do this. DOIs are starting to be included as an integral part of bibliographic citations in some fields - instead of searching for the journal title to find an article, just enter the DOI into a resolver and there you are. Who? DOIs are the result of cooperation between commercial publishers and non-commercial organizations (like libraries, universities, and academic presses). The main site explaining all this is at doi.org, but you may find the information available at CrossRef.org, which is focused on scholarly research applications of DOIs, to be more useful.

Library Hacks Photo Scavenger Hunt

Phoebe — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 19:58:52 +0000

It's back to school, you have a digital or cellphone camera - come take pictures in the Duke Libraries and join our Flickr-based photo scavenger hunt. Here's how: 1. If you don't have one already, get a free account at www.flickr.com (all you need to sign up is an email address.) 2. Take pictures. 3. Upload your pictures to Flickr and add them to the group DukeLibraryScavengerHunt. 4. Receive fame, acclaim, and maybe a prize! Here are your prompts: be creative! 1. blue book 2. librarian 3. light 4. stairs 5. new 6. play There will be two prizes: one given at random to someone who completed the scavenger hunt, and one given to the taker of the photo judged most artistic and/or representative of the libraries by a team of experts (i.e., us.). We may ask you if we can showcase your photos on this blog, or even on the library website.

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Phoebe — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 19:27:28 +0000

The Sober Librarian: Google Book Search

Phoebe — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 20:27:23 +0000

Google Book Search - a project that has Google working with major US and international libraries to digitize out-of-copyright (and many still-under-copyright) books and make them freely accessible on the internet (and keyword-searchable!) has been an exciting, and controversial, development for libraries. (More about Google Book Search). One the one hand, if you believe the hype it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. Here's a promotional video from Google (full disclosure: Erin McKean, the dress blogger/lexicographer, is a friend of mine). On the other hand, there are basic concerns about the quality of Google Books' scans, a topic addressed recently by Duke's own Scholarly Communications Officer, as well as ongoing debates about corporate vs. academic control of content and access to it, and all sorts of other library & scholarship philosophy issues (a starting place, if you're interested in reading about these issues, is the Wikipedia article on Google Book Search.) Where do I come down? Let me leave the philosophical discussions aside for the moment, since this is a blog about library tools and tips. Google Book Search is a currently available tool that scholars and readers should be aware of. Like any other tool, it works well for some things and not for others. It can be very valuable if you are an archaeologist in Crete and want to check a description or illustration of some pottery in the 1912 volume "Explorations in the Island of Mochlos," which no self-respecting library would allow you to check out and stow in your luggage for a transatlantic flight (it's out of print, and a reprint edition is selling, used, for $295!). It's not useful if you want to read a novel - it's much easier to purchase a five-dollar copy of Jane Austen's Persuasion to read on the plane. Give it a try and see if it works for your needs. I wish you happy serendipitous discoveries!

Taking notes that work

Paolo — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 19:08:17 +0000

The awesome LifeHack blog has an article today with advice for students on how to take good notes. They write

Note-taking is one of those skills that rarely gets taught. Teachers and professors assume either that taking good notes comes naturally or that someone else must have already taught students how to take notes.

and continue

Not only do good notes help us recall facts and ideas we may have forgotten, the act of writing things down helps many of us to remember them better in the first place.

The short article provides advice on how to take good notes and describes several different note-taking techniques you might want to try. Check it out here: Advice for Students: Taking Notes that Work.

Laptops and lattes in the library

Paolo — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 13:34:08 +0000

Photo by Mark Zupan

Learning, lattes cohabit at Duke library

Paolo — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 13:59:47 +0000

The News & Observer has discovered Bostock. This morning's edition of the Raleigh-based newspaper describes Bostock Library as a place where research meshes successfully with technology, socializing and group learning. And yes, lots of coffee. The article begins like this:

Feel free to raise your voice a little in Duke's Bostock Library. You won't get shushed. And that steaming cup o' java isn't a problem, either. Just don't spill it on the Ralph Waldo Emerson anthology. Bostock, a bright, airy two-year-old addition to Duke's Perkins Library complex, is now where the cool kids hang out. It is, in a way, what you would get by crossing a traditional university library with a modern student union. Macbeth, it appears, is more easily digested when chased with a latte.

Read the rest of the article here. [ The following was added a few days after originally posting this entry. ] The Durham News, the N&O's weekly Durham-specific paper, published a longer version of this article over the weekend. This one expands on the theme, and describes the increasing emphasis on collaborative and social learning at Duke and elsewhere. The new title is "Students check out trendy library, give it an A".

mlarss

Phoebe — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 19:13:07 +0000

Photo Scavenger Hunt Update

Phoebe — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 14:53:00 +0000

absent.canadian titled this picture "On the Outside Looking In." It's his answer to the prompt "light" from the Library Hacks Photo Scavenger Hunt in Flickr. Go have a look at his work and add your own at the group pool: DukeLibraryScavengerHunt

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Emily Daly — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 18:23:53 +0000

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Emily Daly — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 18:24:46 +0000

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Emily Daly — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 18:28:35 +0000

What's new in Lexis?

Emily Daly — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 19:43:42 +0000

If you're a fan of LexisNexis, you've probably noticed some changes in the last few weeks. The interface is more appealing and easier to navigate; its search box is larger and allows for "natural language" searches (the types of searches you do in Google); and you no longer get those annoying error messages when Lexis decides your search is too broad. If you were put off by the old interface or haven't used Lexis before, now's the time to give it a shot. Why bother familiarizing yourself with such a GIANT research tool, you ask? Well, to start with...

Search over 300 newspapers from around the world by date, headline, photo caption, keyword and more. Many are updated continuously, so you'll never be behind!
It's not just about news--click "Legal" at the top of the page to access law review articles, legislation, and Supreme Court decisions from 1790
Pull up SEC filings and company profiles, including Standard & Poor's reports--just click on the "Business" button at the top of the screen.
Find out how the public responds to Gallup Polls (and other public opinion polls)--go to "News" and click on "Roper Center for Public Opinion Research." You can search polls back to 1935.
Search blogs and web publications--just check those boxes on the "Easy Search" screen.
Track down broadcast transcripts from NPR, CNN, and other major networks by checking the box by "TV and Radio Broadcast Transcripts" on the "Easy Search" screen.

So, next time you need the full-text of a Supreme Court decision for poli sci, a futures report for finance or are just curious how Americans weigh in on their favorite soft drinks, run a search through LexisNexis Academic. Find a source or discover a trick worth sharing? Post a comment! Find yourself discouraged and frustrated? Save time, Ask a Librarian!

RSS Feeds for Research: Speedy Delivery

Phoebe — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 17:39:38 +0000

I hope many of you are reading my words right now thanks to an RSS feed - you've subscribed to this blog through Bloglines or Google Reader or your choice of aggregator. We make the RSS feed of the blog available in DukePass and it may soon be appearing on the Duke Libraries home page. You can add it to your Facebook page using the application FlogBlog. RSS feeds can do a lot more than just allow you to spend hours procrastinating from your research by reading blogs that other people write as a form of procrastination. Many providers of article databases now allow you to set up repeated searches (often called "alerts") that will deliver articles relevant to your work via an RSS feed. You can set up a search that sends all new articles from the most relevant journals in your field (a do-it-yourself table of contents service), or all new articles written on a topic, using a keyword search or subject heading. The University of Wisconsin Library has set up a guide to databases that offer alert services - some of them only have traditional email alerts, which generally require you to register, but RSS feeds are noted when available, and they seem to be an increasingly popular offering. If you're not sure what vendor provides your favorite database, look up the database in our finder, and click the "i" link for information. The vendor will be noted. For an example, The Shifted Librarian raves about EBSCO databases' newly revised RSS feed services - one click of a bright orange link gets you a url for the search that you can drop into your RSS feed tool. EBSCO databases at Duke include Academic Search Premiere, ATLA, ERIC, MLA, PsycINFO, and many others. Some Gale databases have recently added the same feature: see the RSS4lib blog post for a screenshot. Academic Onefile (until recently called InfoTrac Onefile) is the biggest Gale database at Duke that has this enabled. Automating searches for new articles in your field is a great way to keep up with what's new - and RSS delivers it directly to you. Do you have another RSS feed research tip to share? Leave a comment!

Browser toolbar for medical library resources

Paolo — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 17:26:18 +0000

If you use the Medical Center Library a lot, you'll like this. The library has recently released a browser toolbar that lets you search the library catalog, PubMed, the Medical Center Library website and more right from your browser. It also includes links to frequently used resources and a quick way to get help with your research. Read more and download the toolbar (for both Firefox and Internet Explorer) on the Medical Center Library's web site. If medical research is not your thing, check out the Duke LibX add-on for Firefox (announced in LibraryHacks over the summer) that provides quick access to Duke University Libraries resources and services wherever you are on the web, through a browser toolbar and embedded "cues" on sites like Amazon. It's currently only available for Firefox, but a version for Internet Explorer will be available soon (we'll announce it on LibraryHacks when it's ready).

Real-time info on workstation availability in the libraries

Paolo — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 12:46:15 +0000

Want to know whether there are computer workstations available in the library before you head over? Check out our new Computer Workstations web page, which links to live data about how many workstations are in use or available in various libraries around campus (like in the chart shown here). Some of them even include floor plans that show you which particular computers are available right now, so you can find them easily when you get there. See the Computers, Copies, & More web page for more information on technology available in the libraries and how to set up your own laptop to connect to library resources when you're in a library building, or how to access library resources online when you're off campus.

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Phoebe — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 16:54:47 +0000

Smithsonian Global Sound for Libraries

Jennifer — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 13:59:21 +0000

Duke Only

Jennifer — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 14:05:57 +0000

Free Streaming Music!

Jennifer — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 14:35:38 +0000

Smithsonian Global Sound for Libraries is a large collection of international music with full-length audio streams. This database is brand new and was recently acquired by Duke Libraries. It covers voices from people all around the world. Listen to old time country music, blues, recordings from African tribes, Broadway hits and much more! Reasons to check it out, besides that it is now free to Duke students and staff:

includes complete audio and video selections, media, educational resources and detailed liner notes.
Search by country, culture group, genre, language or even instrument.
Develop your own playlists.
Create a user name and log-in to store favorites in a "My Playlists" folder.
One stop shopping! You can buy albums you like directly from this site.

Enjoy! Browse all different types of music and put off writing that paper for a little while... Click here for a sample track! Can't find exactly what you want? Save time, Ask A Librarian!

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Phoebe — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 15:16:16 +0000

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Phoebe — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 15:17:41 +0000

New Articles and Databases Search Interface: First Tips

Phoebe — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 15:21:07 +0000

The new look of the search interface for articles and databases went live this morning. The functionality of the interface is almost exactly the same as the old site:

1. a quick keyword search for articles (searching top article databases including ProQuest and Academic OneFile) 2. an advanced article search that allows author and title keywords and allows you to choose a list of top databases for your subject (Arts and Humanities, Government, Life Sciences, etc.) 3. search for an article database by name, or browse an A-Z list of all our databases 4. browse for a database by your subject or discipline The E-journals interface is unchanged; the new look debuted this summer. Our first tip: Why log in? I asked the developers and they explained that there's no real need to log in if you are using the interface from a campus computer, but if you are off-campus, logging in gives you the full access to the databases through EZ-Proxy. How do you like the new look and feel? Have you discovered any tips or time-savers to make this interface work for you? We're just getting comfortable with it ourselves, so we'd love a chance to learn from you!

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Phoebe — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 15:42:49 +0000

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Phoebe — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 15:44:02 +0000

zotero logo

Allen — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 20:46:35 +0000

small zotero logo

Introducing Zotero (part one)

Allen — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 20:47:24 +0000

Zotero describes itself as a Firefox extension that helps you "collect, manage, and cite your research sources." Since I'm as technologically trail-weary as the next person, I'll try to make clear what it is about Zotero that should rouse you out of bed and why I've been an enthusiastic user for the last six months. At its most basic, Zotero streamlines the process of creating citations. Instead of making an extra trip back to the library catalog or a book's front matter when you need to fill in the required fields (publication year, editor, etc.) in your bibliographic software (EndNote, BibTex), you let Zotero do it for you the first time, when you're looking at the book's record in your browser (in Duke's catalog, Worldcat, Amazon, Google Books, etc.). It'll grab the relevant details and more from the catalog record at the click of an icon (see image below). Zotero gets much sweeter if you're viewing the item-to-be-cited itself in your browser, rather than its catalog entry--for example, an article on Le Monde or the New York Times. Not only will Zotero pull out all the information you'll need to cite the article later, it will make a local copy of the page you're looking at, so if you or the article is ever off-line, you'll still have a copy. Once the item is saved, creating a citation or a bibliography in whatever style you'd like (MLA, APA, Chicago) is easy. If you're already using Firefox, treat yourself to Zotero. It'll save you typing and time. The extension is open-source as well, over a year in development by a crack team at George Mason University. Still have doubts? Zotero recently won an award for best instructional technology software from the American Political Science Association. All this said, I've hardly touched on the features of Zotero that make it well-nigh revolutionary as a piece of software. I'll save that for part two. [update 2007-10-12: If you're eager to read more about Zotero, I recommend Scott Mclemee's review from a few weeks ago on Inside Higher Ed.]

zotero screenshot

Allen — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 20:53:02 +0000

zotero screenshot (location bar)

zotero logo small

Allen — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 19:43:04 +0000

using zotero with nytimes

Allen — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 19:55:20 +0000

Lost files? Don't lose hope!

Emily Daly — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 21:14:30 +0000

We've all been there. After working for hours, we hit the wrong key or forget to save a file opened from email, and before we know it, lose it all. To save yourself the headache of these maddening situations, consider ways that you can prevent them from happening in the first place... Before you make edits to a doc that you email to yourself to work on from another machine, click Save As, and Save it to the desktop or a flash drive (remember, though, that the desktop gets cleared as soon as you log off). Better yet, bypass emailing yourself altogether by using Duke's WebFiles, which provide all Duke students, faculty and staff with 5GB of personal file space and web space. Questions? See How to Use WebFiles. And, believe it or not, there are ways to retrieve those files that appear to be lost in the Ether: Strategy One: Check the Recycle Bin on your computer. Strategy Two: Click Start, Search, and use Windows' "When was it modified?" option under All Files and Folders (in Vista, click Start, Search and then click the down arrow to the right of Advanced Search, and select Date Modified in the Date dropdown menu at left). See your file? Be sure to save it in another location before continuing to work! Strategy Three: Try a free undelete utility. Strategy Four: Buy a file-recovery program (File Scavenger goes for $49, while Easy Recovery Professional will cost you $500). Still no luck? For tips on how to recover anything from Excel files to a lost password, check out PC World's How to Recover (Almost) Anything. Have horror stories to tell about work you've lost? Have brilliant tips for recovering precious files? Do share!

New Resource Finder Tip: Bookmarking

Phoebe — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 17:40:13 +0000

The new articles and databases Resource Finder has one functional change from the old: now, you can bookmark your favorite databases or searches as a way to save them. Look for "Save this Search": Click on "Save this Search" to see the full explanation: What's this Connotea we're talking about? See this page about ideas for using Connotea at Duke.

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Phoebe — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 18:17:37 +0000

Web Browser Search Plug-Ins

Phoebe — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 13:22:46 +0000

One of the comments on the LibX toolbar post asked about ways we could customize that toolbar to allow searches of specific databases, like JStor. There is a way to search a database right from your web browser toolbar, using a customized search plugin. Most browsers come with options for searching Google, Yahoo or Amazon, but you can add options like WorldCat, the Oxford English Dictionary, and ProQuest. We've set up a page collecting the plug-ins we've found or created here. If you don't see a search plug-in for the database you want, contact Phoebe Acheson and ask for it. Not every database works with the plug-in generator we're using, but many do.

Perks for honors thesis writers

Emily Daly — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 16:04:20 +0000

Facing the exciting (albeit daunting) task of completing your honors thesis or project? To help make the process a bit easier, the library offers these perks to undergraduates planning to graduate with distinction:

Lockers in Perkins/Bostock, perfect for stashing research materials and stacks of books (stop by the Perkins circulation desk for more info)
Same check-out times as grad students and faculty (so you can keep books til May 2008!)
Book and article delivery, or BARD (request that materials in any Duke library be delivered to the library of your choice!)
One-on-one research consultations with subject and reference librarians
Access to librarians’ weekly office hours in public policy and history
Free pencils, pens, notepads (just ask at the Perkins reference desk)

What else can we do to make your months of writing and research easier? Post your suggestions, and we'll try to make them happen.

Subscribe to the Census by RSS

Phoebe — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 14:26:40 +0000

The United States Census Bureau now allows you to receive updates via RSS, with subscriptions available for web site changes, tip sheets, population estimates (PopClocks!) and even daily podcasts, among others. Most useful for researchers may be the set of RSS feeds for news releases on a wide variety of topics, including Aging Population, Housing, and Retail Industries. Sign up and whenever the Census has news on your topic, you'll know. More ideas about using RSS feed subscriptions in your research are here.

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Phoebe — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 14:12:58 +0000

Podcasts: Audio Primary Sources

Phoebe — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 14:16:14 +0000

As we at iPod - I mean, Duke - University know, podcasts have proliferated in the past 5 years. They aren't just for fun, however - major radio news sources and government agencies are making podcasts available that can be used in research or academic presentations. Radio podcasts can provide in-depth interviews with politicians, medical researchers, legal scholars, and much more. Here's an NPR podcast in Spanish on youth culture: Have a look at our podcasts page to see links to sources for academic and primary source content via podcast. Got another favorite podcast? Leave us a link in comments!

Shoah screen shot

Jennifer — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 14:48:16 +0000

Holocaust Survivors Tell Their Stories

Jennifer — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 15:35:17 +0000

The Shoah Foundation Visual History Archive is a remarkable database that contains full-length digital videos of Holocaust survivors and witnesses. This resource that Duke Libraries just recently purchased contains over 50,000 video testimonies. To get to this database, just click on the database tab on the Duke Library homepage and type "Shoah" in the search box. Once at the site, you will be asked to create a free username and password in order to log-in.

Once you are logged in, you can search for interviews by keyword, a specific person, or by an experience group. What will you find inside, you may ask?

Extraordinary primary source material to use in your research.

Full-length video interviews taken in 56 countries, in 32 languages!

At the end of many interviews, personal photographs, documents, and artifacts from the interviewee's family are displayed.

Have questions? Save time, Ask a Librarian!

Literary Style by the Numbers

Paolo — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:48:20 +0000

Have you ever noticed the link on Amazon.com's book record pages called "Text Stats"? (it's in the "Inside this Book" section - you have to scroll down a bit). Since Amazon has the full text of many books in electronic format, they can tally up some fun (and revealing) statistics about each book. Stuff like the number of characters, words, and sentences in the book, the complexity and readability of the text (using various metrics, like average words per sentence and syllables per word), and even words per dollar and words per ounce! Author Steven Berlin Johnson (The Ghost Map, Everything Bad is Good For You, etc.) blogged recently about exploring this feature, comparing the statistics on his books with those of other authors, including Duke professor Fredric Jameson, and plotting them on a graph.

Read Johnson's blog post for his observations on what these statistics reveal about different authors' literary styles, and the comments below his blog post for other interpretations of this data, as well as how you can get these statistics on your own writing using word processing software.

The Sad Saga of Library Staplers

Phoebe — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 18:18:19 +0000

Most of the campus libraries provide staplers, hole punches, and other basic office tools for students to use. We also regularly have to replace these items because of theft - accidental due to absentmindedness, or intentional - and breakage. So, think of the poor librarian (that would be me) who spends all her time buying new staplers and hunting for that magical, heavy-duty stapler that staples up to 60 pages and doesn't break (our current standby is the Swingline 77701, but it breaks a lot). Please don't try to force the staplers or hole punches to do jobs they are not made to do. Banging on the stapler never helps, and as for the person who did this: You are very strong - this is an all-metal handle that has been broken in two. Wow. I am impressed, and also a little afraid. If any of our readers are stapler afficionadoes (or have just watched Office Space too many times), please leave us a comment suggesting the miraculous stapler that will solve all our problems and never break!

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Phoebe — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 13:14:55 +0000

Library Help over Thanksgiving Break

Phoebe — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 13:40:34 +0000

Thanksgiving falls at a busy time in the semester, and many students take papers or research projects home with them to work on over the break. You can take the library's resources home, too. Almost all of our databases are accessible remotely with your NetID and password. For more details see our off-campus access page. If you have a question for a librarian, Perkins/Bostock Reference will be available by IM, email, or phone on Tuesday until midnight, Wednesday from 9-5, Saturday from 1-5, and Sunday starting at 1pm. If you're in town, see the full library hours here. (Photo from http://www.nyctourist.com/macys_history1.htm)

RefWorks

Emily Daly — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 17:40:06 +0000

RefWorks account

Take EndNote on the road with EndNote Web

Emily Daly — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 17:56:42 +0000

Interested in accessing your EndNote library even when you're not in front of your personal computer? Take your research on the road by setting up an EndNote Web account, and enjoy the freedom to consult or add citations to your EndNote library from any computer with an internet connection. EndNote Web is designed to complement the more robust desktop version of the citation management tool, but it's possible to use it even if you've never used EndNote (by the way, EndNote may be downloaded for free by Duke students, staff and faculty). Simply set up an Endnote Web account, and then add up to 10,000 citations to your Web library. Format bibliographies and in-text citations in over 2300 publishing styles (MLA, APA, etc.), or use the Cite While You Write plug-in and Microsoft Word to format papers and insert references instantly. You may also share citations with others who use the web application and search PubMed, Web of Science and hundreds of libraries for relevant resources, all within the EndNote Web interface. And if you choose to use the two programs together (as they were intended), it's easy to transfer citations between EndNote and EndNote Web. Give it a try, and let us know what you think about EndNote's latest innovation for researchers who don't want to be tied to their offices or dorm rooms.

Get it @ Duke logo

Paolo — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 21:08:16 +0000

LibX browser add-on - take the library with you

Paolo — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 16:42:48 +0000

Last summer we posted the first version of the Duke Libraries LibX browser add-on. A new version is out now, with some fixes, updates, and new functionality. If you already have LibX, Firefox should have notified you that there was an update available (if not, in Firefox go to Tools -> Add-ons and click "Find Updates"). If you haven't heard about it yet, please read on. What is LibX? It's an add-on (or extension) to your web browser that puts library services wherever you go on the web. It has a toolbar (which you can choose to show or hide as needed) that lets you do several different kinds of library searches (catalog, journals, databases, Google Scholar, etc.) directly from your browser. There are also quick links to frequently used library services (My Account, Ask a Librarian, and more) and a Scholar "magic button" - drag and drop text on it, and it will search for that text in Google Scholar.

But some of the coolest functionality is what's hidden behind the scenes, and only shows up when appropriate. Go to Amazon or Google or other places where a book's unique ISBN number is encoded (including many book reviews) and a Duke Libraries icon (the "reading Blue Devil": ) will appear as a cue that there's a library connection there. Click on the icon, and it will link you to a search of the item in Duke's library catalog. The same thing works for many journal articles - look for the embedded Get It @ Duke cue in Google Scholar, CiteULike, and elsewhere. Clicking the link will take you to it via Duke Library's subscription.

More hidden functionality is revealed when you right click on a web page. If you're off-campus and a site that requires a Duke subscription doesn't recognize you as being from Duke, right click and look for the item that reads "Reload [name of web site] via Duke University EZProxy". Clicking on this will send you through the library's EZProxy system, which will authenticate you as a member of the Duke community and then direct you back to the page you were on. Not all sites work with this, but many do, and it might save you a trip to the library catalog or VPN.

The right-click menu also gives you lots of search options if you highlight some text before right-clicking. Highlight a word or phrase, and the right-click menu will give you lots of places where you can search on that word or phrase. For the "Author" field, it will even flip the terms, so if you highlighted Joe Smith it will turn your Author search into Smith Joe, which the library catalog likes better. Give it a try - it's available for Firefox (Windows, Mac, and Linux - yes Linux users, we love you too) and for Internet Explorer on Windows. Note that while the Firefox version is stable and well-tested, the IE version is still in beta, and requires recent versions of the browser and .Net framework. See Duke Library's LibX page for download links and instructions, and please let us know what you think.

creative.jpg

Phoebe — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 17:38:29 +0000

End-of-Semester Crunch Time Tips

Phoebe — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 13:29:23 +0000

It's that time of year when we find people asleep at the computers (some with head back and snoring loudly). Here are some tips for taking care of yourself and fellow Dukies in the library as the semester comes to a close: 1. Take care of your computer & files. Back up often. Don't walk away from a library computer without saving your files to a thumb drive, your AFS space, or emailing them to yourself (or all three); when you log out of a library computer the files saved to the desktop disappear (and they auto-log out after 15 minutes of inactivity, so be careful if you tend to fall asleep!) If you're on your laptop, take it with you to the bathroom - laptops are stolen every exam period, even those with half-done not-saved papers on them. 2. Ask a librarian for help. We can save you time and frustration at the best of times, and we've probably had more sleep this week than you have. Walk up, IM, email, or call. At Perkins and Lilly you can get Reference help from 8am to 2am. 3. Take care of yourself and your fellow students. Get sleep, take walk-in-the-garden breaks, hit the Perk for a salad instead of McDonald's. If you move into the library, try to put your trash in the trash cans to make life easier for the housekeeping staff. Consider ceding the group study rooms to actual groups who want to study. Keep the headphones low enough so they don't drive the next person crazy.

New Soda Machine in Bostock for 3 AM Caffeine

Phoebe — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 14:55:43 +0000

In response to student interest, the library has installed a Pepsi machine in Bostock, on the Lower Level across from the elevators. Now you can get a caffeinated beverage without leaving the building after The Perk at the Pavilion by Saladelia closes! The new machine sells Pepsi products in 20 ounce bottles for $1.25. Right now it only takes cash; there is a change machine on Bostock 1 across from the elevators. The Card Office will install a card reader so the machine will take flex, but this probably won't happen until exams are over.

Duke Library Website Under Creative Commons License

Phoebe — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 19:16:36 +0000

Most of the Duke Libraries' web pages are now licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike License. What that means in non-lawyer speak is that everyone is welcome to use, share or remix the pages so licensed, under certain conditions. Look for the logo below the footer on every relevant page. A few pages are not licensed, because of various copyright or other legal issues; they will explicitly say so. The conditions for use are: you give credit to the Duke Libraries for the used material, you don't use our material to make money, and whatever you make from our material must also be available for sharing and remixing. Do you have a web site that you host or contribute to? Consider Creative Commons licensing for your site.

Cell Phones for Citation

Phoebe — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 19:02:38 +0000

A colleague in the library recently observed a student using a cell phone camera to make a quick "note" of the title page of a book, and the call number label. What a great idea! Very useful for people who are in a big hurry, but want to make sure they capture the full bibliographic citation of something they checked, and also want a reminder of the call number so they can come back for it. Much better than a scribbled post-it note that can be lost or undecipherable. Photo by absent.canadian from the Photo Scavenger Hunt - any interest in doing a new hunt in the new semester?

Online Encyclopedias: Wikipedia Alternatives

Phoebe — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 19:35:58 +0000

Why an encyclopedia?

Fast overview of a topic Historical timeline & basic facts Find out the right keywords for article searches Find out the main issues in the field Check for a list of suggested readings to start your real research Which Encyclopedia? Wikipedia has quickly become a go-to internet source when you need an encyclopedia. But there have been some concerns about its authority and objectivity, so it should be used cautiously. Use your critical thinking skills - if the article has footnotes, a list of further readings, and feels balanced, it is more likely to be comparable to what you would find in a more traditional encyclopedia. And Wikipedia can be a wonderful source of arcane information: when you really need a list of original air dates for episodes of The Brady Bunch, Wikipedia is the right source! When your needs are less Florence Henderson-centric, there are other excellent encyclopedias available online. This post will cover the big general ones: Encyclopedia Britannica online (available by Duke subscription) replicates the authoritative print version but adds web-only tools, including historical timelines and country comparisons. Enciclopedia Universal en Espanol is also produced by Britannica, but in Spanish and with a focus on Spain and Latin America. The Columbia Encyclopedia (6th Edition) is available via InfoPlease.com and Bartelby.com; this is a shorter, one-volume encyclopedia in its print version. Both sites also have various other dictionaries, thesauruses, and almanacs - as well as ads (InfoPlease's interface is far more busy and annoying, IMO). Browse the list of Reference resources here for more useful starting places for research - and watch this space for highlights of some excellent subject-specific encyclopedias online.

Webcast on Zotero: Online Citation Manager

Phoebe — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 17:47:46 +0000

Innovate, Journal of Online Education, is hosting a webcast that looks like a good introduction to Zotero, the free online citation management system that Allen raved about here. It's Thursday Jan. 10 at 2:00 pm EST. [edited to correct date: Thanks, Brandi!] It looks like you have to register for the webcast, but it's free. A good way to get your feet wet if you've been thinking about Zotero. And how often do you get to hear from an official Technology Evangelist?

Phoebe — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 17:44:29 +0000

Phoebe — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 17:45:00 +0000

Phoebe — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 17:45:31 +0000

Bookish Applications for Facebook

Phoebe — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 17:46:33 +0000

If you spend all your time in Facebook, branch out from Scrabulous and movie trivia quizzes to take a look at some applications related to the library and books. So far we've found: WorldCat, the closest thing there is to a universal library catalog (for US users, anyway), now lets you search their public site directly from Facebook. MiniLibrary, which does sort of the same thing except searching European National Libraries. Books iRead, which allows you to add your books and rate them, and compare them to what your friends have. It's sort of a simplified LibraryThing for Facebook, basically. We hear that an application that will allow you to search the Duke Library catalog from Facebook is in the works; we'll announce it here when it's ready. Have you found any useful and/or fun library, research, or book-related applications on Facebook? Give us a link!

Do serif fonts get you better grades?

Paolo — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 21:50:11 +0000

Last week I saw a documentary called Helvetica, which explored the history and culture of typefaces, and the sans-serif Helvetica font in particular. It got me thinking more about the almost sub-conscious power of the fonts used in the writing all around us, and the ones I use myself. (It's a fun and elegant documentary by the way, and not at all as boring or geeky as it might sound.) Coincidentally, a couple of days later I came across a blog posting called The Secret Lives of Fonts, in which the author reviewed 52 papers he wrote for university courses and found that on average he got better grades on the ones where he used serif fonts than on the ones where he used sans-serif fonts. He writes:

Well, would you believe it? My essays written in Georgia did the best overall. This got me thinking as to why that might be: maybe fonts speak a lot louder than we think they do. Especially to a professor who has to wade through a collection of them; Times seems to be the norm, so it really doesn’t set off any subconcious triggers. Georgia is enough like Times to retain its academic feel, and is different enough to be something of a relief for the grader. Trebuchet seems to set off a negative trigger, maybe just based on the fact that it’s not as easy to read in print, maybe on the fact that it looks like something off a blog rather than an academic journal. Who knows.

What fonts do you use, and have you noticed patterns like these? Professors and TAs, do you have typeface preferences for the papers you need to grade? Is there something to this? Myself, I like Verdana, but I'm mostly reading my own words on screens now. Maybe I should think again and change the font just before I print it out...

Using the library just got easier

Emily Daly — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:53:04 +0000

Let's face it: Navigating Duke library's online resources can be a challenge -- even frustrating -- at times. We librarians are trying to cut out some of the guesswork by developing short (2 minutes, tops!) animated tutorials with step-by-step directions designed to illuminate some of the murkier aspects of library research. Here's what you'll find...

Choosing the right database -- Ever tried to get into a database to find an article for your econ paper but just couldn't figure out which database to use (there are nearly 500 to choose from, after all!)? This tutorial will help you make sense of those categories and never-ending lists.
Requesting books that are checked out -- Yes, there is a way to get your hands on that book that's checked out till May 15. Take a look at this tutorial to find out.
Using "get it @ duke" -- That little blue button can do oh-so-much good but not without a little confusion when you're first figuring it out. This tutorial will help shorten the learning curve.

There are more tutorials in the works, and we'd love your input on possible topics or ways we can these guides even more user-friendly. Here's the place for your thoughts and suggestions!

cvarkey — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:39:34 +0000

Plagiarism Prevention Tips

Phoebe — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 20:25:43 +0000

Plagiarism is in the news again, most recently when a romance novel writer was found to have copied from an article on (no kidding) endangered black-footed ferrets. Here's Paul Tolme, the freelance wildlife journalist, on being plagiarized:

In the Internet age, every freelance writer fears that his or her words will be appropriated without compensation. First I was angry. Then I had to laugh. To see my textbook descriptions of ferrets in a bodice-ripper, as dialogue between a hunky American Indian and a lustful pioneer woman who several pages later have sex on a mossy riverbank, is the height of absurdity.

The romance novelist is claiming ignorance as a cause of her plagiarism. Unfortunately, ignorance is no excuse. Most students who plagiarize didn't mean to: they either are careless in cutting and pasting from multiple sources and forget to attribute their sources, are genuinely confused about whether or how to cite something, or are working at the last minute and get desperate and sloppy. How can you avoid plagiarism? The library has a tutorial that helps explain the dangers, sets out the rules of appropriate citation, and sends you to writing tutors or counselors if you need more help. A sample:

Chances are that you understand the difference between creating incomplete citations and passing off someone else's work as your own. Still, you ... may occasionally find yourself in confusing situations. Do Internet sources need to be cited the same way as books? How do you cite something from the Web if there's no indication who wrote it? What if you rewrite someone else's ideas, putting them all into your own words -- do you still need to cite? If you are in doubt, you run the risk of unintentionally plagiarizing.

In the end, it all worked out for the ferrets. The romance novel reader's community that broke the story has donated $5,000 to protect the black-footed ferret.

I need a specific article. How do I get it?

Kathi — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:51:12 +0000

Not a problem... we get asked this question a lot! If you already have the citation (author, title, journal name, etc.) , you can look up the journal title in the E-Journal Finder.

If we have no online full text, click the link to search the catalog for print or microfilm.
Need help figuring out what words are the journal title? See Understanding Citations.
Have a mystery abbreviation for the journal title? See the book Periodical Title Abbreviations at the Perkins Reference Desk or Ask a Librarian.

On occasion, the library may not have the particular journal either in print or online for the year needed. As long as your paper isn't due in the next few days, you can always request the article through our interlibrary loan service. Still having trouble? Maybe you've already found the article in a database, but can't figure out how to access it? The answer is in the "get it at Duke" button. Take a look at our "get it at Duke" tutorial (2 min 12 sec). It could save you a lot of time and confusion in the end. Happy hunting!

Phoebe — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 18:02:31 +0000

Online Encylopedias for Specific Subjects

Phoebe — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 18:05:32 +0000

We recently wrote about some all-encompassing online encyclopedias. But there are also some very useful encyclopedias on specific scholarly topics. Increasingly the standard print reference works in any given field are becoming available in keyword-searchable full text online. Here are some great ones: Oxford Reference Online has excellent encyclopedias and dictionaries for fields from Art and Architecture to Science, and also includes foreign language and quotation dictionaries. Titles include The Oxford Classical Dictionary, A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition, and The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics. They even have a browser toolbar you can download and install allowing you to search their products. AccessScience @ McGraw-Hill gives you keyword searchability of the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology as well as science biographies, yearbooks, and some news articles. Blackwell Reference Online has especially strong collections in Business, History, Linguistics, Literature, and Philosophy. Next in our tour of online reference works we'll look at some specific titles. If you want an overview of the things we subscribe to, look in the Resource Finder under the subject heading Reference, and look for Encyclopedias and Dictionaries.

Phoebe — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 14:22:42 +0000

Phoebe — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 14:25:11 +0000

New Look and Feel for Web of Science

Phoebe — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 14:25:57 +0000

Web of Science is probably the most important database for the sciences, and it's very powerful for humanities and social sciences as well. Yesterday it debuted a new user interface, so don't be startled when you see its new GREEN look! A newer Web of Science feature you should try is the Author Finder, which makes it much easier to find papers by a known author, especially one with a common name. To use Author Finder, use the Web of Science tab and click the link under the Author line. There are a number of simple, self-explanatory steps to follow. Another vital Web of Science tool is the Cited Reference Search. This hasn't changed in the upgrade. You still need to enter an author, journal title (using the long list of journal title abbreviations) and year - and then you can access a wealth of articles that refer to the initial article you entered. One down side of the upgrade we've noted in the library is that you can no longer limit your search to include only the Science, Social Science, or Humanities subsections of Web of Science - you have to search the entire thing. Have you discovered any new features of this database? Leave us a note and share!

Where is the best place to find information on a specific subject?

Kathi — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:51:25 +0000

There are a number of ways to approach a subject search, and I'd recommend exploring all of these options:

Subject guides: These guides can be found through the library website, and introduce multiple resources which are particularly useful for specific subject areas. They have been created by our own subject librarians, and can provide an excellent starting point for your research.

Databases: For step-by-step instructions, watch this brief tutorial (1 min, 5 sec) on choosing a database for your topic. In addition to a database search, both the article tab and advanced search e-journal tabs offer pull down subject headings which can help narrow the field.

Print Resources: When searching the library catalog for books, it might be useful to try a subject search using the Library of Congress subject headings. Find a book that is relevant to your topic using a keyword search, and then explore the topic by either displaying other records that match your topic or browse other subject headings that may be related to it.

Research Consultation: Still having difficulty or unable to find what you need? Individual research consultations can be arranged by appointment with one of our reference or subject librarians. Consultations can be arranged within a week, but feel free to email, IM, call or stop by the reference desk if you need some pointers to get you headed in the right direction.

Zotero Tour Thumbnail

Allen — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:58:35 +0000

Live @ the RefDesk

Catherine Shreve — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 18:56:50 +0000

Today in Perkins we are testing some software for keeping Reference statistics. Why? It's helpful to plan for staffing--how many questions, from which kinds of patrons, what types of questions (from staplerology to 'jumpstart my thesis'). But what I really want to get at is the human element. There is talk of the future irrelevance of a Reference Desk, if not the actual Reference librarians, whose minds presumably will be accessible in other modes and places. Here's an excerpt from the TAIGA Forum Provocative Statements:

Within the next five years...There will no longer be reference desks or reference offices in the library. Instead, public services staff offices will be located outside the physical library.

Or, to expand on this line of reasoning:

If the truth be known, as a place to get help in finding information, the reference desk was never a good idea. A reference librarian standing behind a desk waiting for someone to say, "I can't find what I'm looking for; can you help?" might be justifiable if, as is the case with other service professionals, that librarian was the reason the person came to the building to begin with. But reference librarians have not served so central a function. They have stood ready to help "just in case"-just in case navigating the building isn't clear, just in case the catalog doesn't produce wanted results, just in case the collections seem not to contain the desired material or information. In short, reference service-in particular point-of-need reference service-has been an afterthought, something to be considered after the building's signage or the finding aids or the collections fail the user. (Anne G. Lipow, "Point of Need Reference Service: no longer an afterthought," in ALA-RUSA The Future of Reference Services Papers)

Do you come to the Reference Desk for f2f consultation with a librarian? Why or why not?

Introducing Zotero (part 2)

Allen — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:53:34 +0000

(Since my first post introducing the research tool Zotero, its development continues apace. Several new features have been added, and over 60 institutions, according to the Zotero blog, now recommend Zotero, including MIT and Rice University--both having published their own tutorials on using it.)

In my initial post I promised to explain why I thought Zotero was something worth writing home about, not just yet-another-piece-of-software. In case you're still wondering if Zotero is worth the hype, I'll make good on the promise. First, since Zotero is an open-source extension to the Firefox browser, anyone can modify it to support their needs—for example, by adding new citation styles or integration with word processors like OpenOffice.org. Of course, being open-source software, Zotero doesn't cost a dime, making it an even more attractive alternative to expensive proprietary options like EndNote. Second, Zotero makes use of the evolving Firefox extension platform (also open-source) which will, I think, become ever more useful and functional development platform, as software proliferates that lives in the space between the internet and your computer. Lastly, Zotero is a modest coup for open access. As Zotero not only creates a citation to the material you're reading in your browser—a journal article from PLOS Biology, for example—but also a copy (Zotero calls it a “snapshot”), when you need to refer or share the material later, you'll be able to provide not only the citation but also the content itself. No trip back to the database or journal's website is required (“Research, not re-search” is among Zotero's mottos). Imagine thousands of researchers making use of this feature and you can imagine how this might constitute a modest push toward faster, easier access to research material for those who need it.

If any of this interests you and you're not already a user, the Zotero folks have a short video introducing the extention.

How do I look for specific books, journals or movies in the catalog?

Kathi — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:30:54 +0000

It may sound like a lot of questions rolled into one, but the process for locating resources in various formats is fairly consistent. * Basic Search:

From the library homepage, type the title into the search box under the catalog tab.
Choose "Title begins with" from the drop down menu, and click "Go". This will search the entire library catalog and retrieve the results.
Because the search included all formats of the title, you may need to scroll a bit to find what you need.

* Advanced Search: (Limiting to specific types of materials)

Click on "Advanced Search" from the library homepage search box.
Under "Format" in the blue box on the right of the screen, select "Film/Video", "Audio Books" or another type of resource from the drop down menu
Select "Title Keywords" from the drop down menu
Enter Title keywords and click "Go"

*"How Do I...?" Feature Box: The feature box linked above offers numerous helpful hints and guides when searching for specific types of materials. Some of the helpful links include searches for books, journals, movies and lots more. Explore it a bit. You might learn a useful thing or two!

Lectures on Academic Citation

Phoebe — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:09:00 +0000

The Citing Sources pages are some of the most popular on the library web site (Google "citing sources" and you'll know why!). If you're addicted to citing sources, or wondering about the deeper relationships between MLA style and scholarly discourse, come to two lectures featuring David Kellogg, the Director of Advanced Writing in the Disciplines at Northeastern University, on Wednesday February 20: 10:15-11:30 ART 116 "Citationality across the Disciplines" Differences in citation practices across fields reflect different intellectual and rhetorical commitments. Understanding these differences has ramifications for teaching academic writing. 4:15-5:30 Lilly Library Training Room "Following the Citation Thread: Citation-Based Literature Searching" Students are traditionally taught to find sources for research projects through keyword or subject searching. But research databases increasingly provide links to cited and citing articles. Compared with keyword or subject searches, citation-based search strategies identify a narrower and more relevant set of sources and more effectively model the practices of working researchers.

Where are the books?

Kathi — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 21:36:14 +0000

I guess you have the Call Number and Title, but now you're wondering where to go? Given the ongoing construction at Perkins, this is a very common question - and fortunately easy to answer! * For Perkins/Bostock Libraries:

Most books are located either on Perkins Lower Level 2 or Bostock 4
Some exceptions include: current periodicals or newspapers, microfiche, East Asian collection, Reference sources and government documents. Locations are indicated in the "Find Books" link near the center of the homepage (under the How Do I... heading)

* For materials at the Library Service Center:

Use the GetIt@Duke "Request" link for retrieval and delivery to a library location convenient to you. Email notification will be sent when it arrives.

* For "In-Process LC" books:

These sources can still be retrieved with the GetIt@Duke "Request" link, and an email will be sent to you when it is available for pick-up.
These materials have Dewey call numbers (notice they begin with numbers- not letters), and haven't completed reclassification into the Library of Congress (LC) system.

* For materials at other libraries:

Includes information for locating books at both Lilly and the Divinity Library

You can also check with the Circulation or Reference desks if you are unable to locate a book on the shelf, or request a search for the missing book.

Documentary Films for Research

Phoebe — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 21:18:49 +0000

Documentary films can be a great resource for academic work, and Duke is a great place to find documentaries. The Center for Documentary Studies offers undergraduate classes, workshops, and public programs and events; Lilly Library has an excellent film collection including many documentaries; and Durham is home to the world-famous Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. DocumentaryFilms.net has a useful directory of documentaries by broad categories like Biography and Nature and Wildlife, and includes a search box. You can also search for documentaries, and often find free streaming video of the trailer or even the entire film, at YouTube or Google Video. This is a trailer for Born Into Brothels, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Film. Duke has this film at Lilly Library; it's DVD 5317. You can search the library's online catalog for films relevant to your research using the search tips provided by Lilly. While most films are in the Lilly collection, we have government videos, medical training videos, and other valuable items in libraries across campus. Lilly has stations where you can watch video cassettes, and most DVDs can be checked out.

More Study Seating in Perkins-Bostock

Phoebe — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:16:44 +0000

In response to student requests, we are adding temporary tables and chairs to provide more seating for study on the first floors of Perkins and Bostock. As midterms are upon us and spring semester starts to rush to its end, we know that demand is at its greatest. Can't find a seat in the Carpenter Reading Room or The Perk at the Pavilion? Try one of these more out-of-the-way study spots:

Lower Level 2 Perkin

Lower Level 1

Bostock 4

The Old Perk

Tower Room 201

When the upper floors of Perkins open this coming summer, there will be an increase in study seating and group study rooms. If you'll be here next fall, come by and stretch out.

The shelves in Perkins LL2 are stuck. What do I do?

Kathi — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:00:54 +0000

Check whether a footstool or any other object (sleeping student?) is obstructing one of the aisles

Press the reset button

If that doesn't help, either IM a Librarian or call the Circulation desk at (919) 660-5870 to let us know which shelf is stuck (we'll need the call number area). A phone is located on the wall near the shelf labeled AC to AG by the rear elevator. Someone will be sent down with a key.

Phoebe — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 13:17:08 +0000

Working over Spring Break? We are.

Phoebe — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 13:20:39 +0000

For those of you who are working hard instead of (or in addition to) playing hard this spring break, here are some tips for using the library remotely: You have automatic access to all the library's article databases and other resources while you are home (or in Myrtle Beach.) Use the "database search" box on the library home page to find the resource you need, and when you click through to it you will be prompted for your NetID and password. More information on remote access is here. We're here for questions via email, IM, and phone. We'll be keeping short hours during the week, but if you email overnight we'll get back to you first thing in the morning. For those staying in town, come on by! We're only open days, but we'd love to see you. (Photo of Myrtle Beach taken by Curtis and Eric, found at Flickr, and used under a Creative Commons license.)

Spring Break Beach Reading?

Phoebe — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:08:00 +0000

Literature Librarian Sara Seten Berghausen says: Need some spring break reading? Browse the Perkins New & Noteworthy Collection or check the Current Literature shelves at Lilly Library. These web sites offer ideas for a good read. Click here to search in the catalog for books in the New & Noteworthy and Current Literature Collections. See a few recent arrivals:

Phoebe — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:28:44 +0000

Search Duke Library Resources from Facebook

Phoebe — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:01:24 +0000

Hang out in Facebook a lot? Do you think you might want to search the Duke library catalog and other library databases directly from there some times? You can now using the Duke Libraries Facebook application. To install it, go to http://apps.facebook.com/dukelibraries/ and follow the usual method for installing Facebook applications, checking or unchecking the settings you want for this application. Then look for it on your profile page. The box should be able to be moved around on your page and fit in either column. With this app, you should be able to do any of the searches that you can do on the library home page. Try it out, and let us know what you think!

How do I cite sources?

Kathi — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:35:37 +0000

There is a citation help guide available through the library website. The section on the left explains how to cite sources within your paper. The section on the right explains how to compile a list of references at the end of your paper. Styles covered in this guide include: MLA, APA, Turabian, Chicago, and CSE. If this source does not include what you are looking for - try a Google search. Many libraries create similar citation guides, and one of them just might have what you need. Complete style manuals can also be borrowed from the library. Check the online catalog for availability. For keeping track of citations and managing your references, be sure to consider some of the bibliographic software options available to Duke students:

EndNote, for example, will import references into a document as you write, and papers can be automatically formatted according to many different bibliographic styles.

The open-source Zotero (part 1 / part 2) is also an exciting new Firefox extension that allows you to store, retrieve and organize your reference sources for a more streamlined citation process.

Any of these can be fabulous time-saving options, and worth taking the effort to learn and explore!

Watch Your Laptop

Phoebe — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:55:39 +0000

Yesterday there were two laptop thefts reported in Perkins-Bostock in the course of the morning. The police officer who responded walked around the building and noted that he could have taken three more laptops that he saw unattended. Please do not leave your laptop alone, even if you just plan to run to the Perk or to the stacks for 2 minutes! Laptop thefts are a financial blow to students, but they often cause academic harm as well. Many students do not regularly back up their files, so the loss of a laptop can mean the loss of projects and papers you haven't turned in yet. Sometimes it feels like we've seen it all at the Reference Desk (there was the squirrel living in a trash can on Perkins 4 one spring), but we never get used to the heartbreak of seeing students who have lost significant work. I'd estimate that laptop theft is the number 2 cause of loss of student work; the number one cause we see is saving to the desktop of a public computer, then getting logged out (which wipes the desktop of all files). Take the time to back up your files, and keep your belongings with you. It's worth it.

How do I access databases from off-campus?

Kathi — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 18:07:51 +0000

To get to databases or e-journals from off-campus, be sure to go through the library website in order to be recognized as a Duke user. Going directly to a bookmarked e-resource will not work. Try logging in using any one of these methods:

Start at the database or e-journal interface, or follow a "GetIt@Duke" link. When you click on a link, a new window will pop up, and you just need to fill in your NetID and password to connect to EZProxy. You should be good to go until you end your browser session or log out!

When entering the library website from off-campus, you might also notice that there is a Yellow box located to the right of the titled database link(s) saying "Your web browser is reporting an IP address that is not within range of authorized AP addresses". Just click on the link for signing in with your Net ID/password. Once you're signed in, you can access any number of databases.

If you're still not being recognized as a Duke user, download and install the Duke Virtual Private Network (VPN). Some resources exclusive to Law, Business, or Medical Center affiliates cannot be accessed via EZProxy. Make sure that the the VPN is open when you access the database or e-journal.

If you're having any trouble Ask a Librarian, or check through some of the connection issues that might cause difficulties with the VPN.

Phoebe — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 14:01:08 +0000

Search TRLN: unified catalog for Duke, UNC, NCSU and NCCU

Phoebe — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 14:06:24 +0000

Did you know that these local universities have cooperative agreements between their libraries ? Duke students, faculty and staff can use their Duke ID cards to check out books at UNC, NC State, or NCCU, and vice versa, for example. Now TRLN (the Triangle Research Libraries Network) has launched a new catalog that has a unified search for the collections of all the schools' libraries. You can request delivery between the schools, which is expected to take 48 hours. Search TRLN has a number of exciting new features:

Browse by call number Look at books recently added to the collections Limit to types of libraries (i.e. law only) Refine your search by format, subject, etc. It still has the support you're used to:

Ask a Librarian Live chat help We'll be posting some more detailed suggestions and web tutorials for how best to use this new catalog in the coming weeks. Right now, give it a try! Leave a question or a tip in comments.

Playing Rock Band - photo by Cristin Paul

Paolo — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 22:08:59 +0000

Boxing on Wii Sports

Paolo — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 22:16:16 +0000

Iron Maiden in the library

Paolo — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 22:48:53 +0000

No, not this kind of iron maiden. The other kind. Last night about 50 students took a study break and came down to the computer classroom in the basement of Bostock Library to play video games. If was the first of what we hope will become a series of game nights in the library. Our friends in ISIS and the Dean of Students Office brought over a couple of XBox 360 consoles, a Wii, a Playstation2, and a Playstation3, along with some high end desktop computers for gaming. Most importantly, though, they also brought a complete set of instruments for the game Rock Band. We rearranged some of the tables in the classroom, projected the game consoles onto big screens, turned up the volume, and transformed the room into a concert hall and gaming room for one night. Students "rocked the 'stock" for about 3 hours to the tunes of Iron Maiden, R.E.M., Soundgarden, Boston, Bang Camaro, and more. Others played Halo3, FIFA 06, Atari Anthology, Brawl, Wii Sports, and other video games, while snacking on pizza and soft drinks courtesy of the game night's three sponsors, the ISIS Program, Duke Libraries, and the Dean of Students Office. Check out these photo sets in Flickr and a set of short videos in YouTube for a better taste of the evening.

Game Night!! - Flickr photoset
Game night at the library - Flickr photoset
More game night photos - Flickr photoset
Game night at Bostock Library - YouTube videos

We hope you'll come out and join the fun too next time...

Playing Rock Band in the library - photo by Cristin M. R. Paul

Paolo — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:24:32 +0000

Playing Rock Band in the library - photo by Cristin M. R. Paul

Phoebe — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:42:25 +0000

Search TRLN Feature 1: Spelling Correction

Phoebe — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:46:44 +0000

Search TRLN (introduced here) has some great features that make the search experience more like familiar online searches (cough*google*cough) than like more traditional library catalogs. Search TRLN will try to suggest corrections for your spelling errors or typos. I did an Author search on "milosAvic", deliberately, but plausibly, spelling this name wrong. Search TRLN realized I might have meant "milosEvic" and included search results for that spelling in my list. As it turns out, the first 5 items in the list have authors named Milosevic associated with them. Nice!

Phoebe — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 16:20:07 +0000

Phoebe — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:27:07 +0000

Phoebe — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:27:23 +0000

Find an Open Computer

Phoebe — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 11:57:37 +0000

As the semester gets endy and the library gets FULL, remember we have a handy online system that allows you to see where there are unused computers in Perkins, Bostock, Vesic, Music, and Lilly. Another school (Georgia Tech) set up a system like this, and a student cartoonist in their paper replied with the following: If you are uncomfortable asking someone to give up a computer even though she is hanging out on Facebook and you really need the statistical software because your paper is due at 5pm, ask a librarian at the desk. We can find you an open computer or help remind others that people using the library computers for academic work should have priority.

Want $1000?

Emily Daly — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 21:15:41 +0000

Research award

Want $1000?

Emily Daly — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 21:20:16 +0000

Then enter your research paper or project into competition for the Libraries' Durden Prize or Middlesworth Award. Undergraduates who make exceptional use of library collections (databases count and e-journals count!) are eligible for the Durden Prize. Undergraduates OR graduate students who incorporate materials from the Rare Books, Manuscript and Special Collections Library are invited to submit papers for consideration for the Middlesworth Award. All winners will be recognized at a reception at Parents and Family Weekend 2008 and will receive $1000. Submissions for both awards are due to the library by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 15. Note: Both awards require a faculty member's signature, and the Durden Prize requires a short essay on your research process, so you may not want to wait till May 15 to decide to apply!

Save time! Learn EndNote!

Emily Daly — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 13:27:12 +0000

Jump start your research and writing by using EndNote, a reference management tool that is sure to save you time and frustration. Duke faculty, students and staff may download EndNote to personal or work computers, free of charge. Perkins Library is offering four free EndNote sessions:

Wed, Apr 9 from 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM in Lilly Library Training Room (EndNote Advanced--Scieces/Social Sciences)
Mon, Apr 14 from 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM in Lilly Library Training Room (Introduction to EndNote)
Tue, Apr 15 from 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM in Bostock Library, Room 023 (EndNote Advanced)
Thu, Apr 17 from 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM in Bostock Library, Room 023 (Introduction to EndNote)

Interested? Register today -- space is limited!

Phoebe — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:25:15 +0000

iGoogle and Duke Libraries

Phoebe — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:33:29 +0000

We've heard of several faculty and library staff members who are converts to iGoogle, which is sort of a customizable universal home page. If you use iGoogle and the Duke Libraries, you should certainly add our Google Gadget, which lets you put the tabbed search box from the library home page right into iGoogle. Here's how it looks: You'll notice that Catherine also has her Gmail account, Facebook account, Google Reader (for subscribing to blogs, like Duke's Library Hacks!), Google Docs, and a news feed (plus other stuff you can't see like weather and Youtube) all feeding in to her iGoogle page. You can also create your own free-form "gadget" with links to, for example, e-journals or databases that you search all the time, creating a series of research shortcuts for yourself. Give the Duke Library Google Gadget a try and see if other iGoogle tools work for you. If you have a library or research-related iGoogle Hack, leave us a note in comments!

What should I do if the book isn't on the shelf?

Kathi — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:00:27 +0000

Yes... I guess it's happened to all of us. You make a trip all the way to the library, and then realize that the book you want is nowhere to be found. Before leaving in frustration, try one of these steps:

Look around the surrounding shelves a bit. It's possible that the book was inadvertently misplaced. Nearby copy machines and tables are also possible spots to quickly look.

Check the catalog record again, and make sure that both the call number and location are correct. Bound journals, for example, are not shelved with the other books, and you might be looking in the wrong area (maybe even the wrong library). Here's a quick glance at our book location chart.

When double-checking the catalog record, make sure that the book hasn't already been checked out. Take a look at the "Library (Owned/Out)" column in the catalog record. The first number indicates how many copies the library owns, and the second number will let you know how many are checked out. If all the books are available, the second number should read "0".

Is the book still missing? Try checking the re-shelving area in Perkins. Before going back to the shelves, the books are organized in a room behind the circulation area - Level A. Follow the pathway with the library lockers, e-print stations and copy machines. The re-shelving area is the first door on the left.

Finally, you can request a search for the book. Submit this missing book form electronically, and library staff will try to locate the book for you. This request form includes both Perkins and Lilly (plus a few other branch libraries). You would be contacted by email regarding the status of the book. If the book is found, it will be held for you. Otherwise, an inter-library loan might be suggested.

Additional information about the shelf maintenance at Perkins Library can be found here.

It's National Library Week!

Phoebe — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:00:16 +0000

This short & funny video was produced by the American Library Association. Don't let it give you any funny ideas about questions to bring to the Reference Desk... (But if it does inspire you to appreciate your librarian this week, go for it!)

CIT Showcase Features Research Tips & Tools

Phoebe — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:24:17 +0000

This year's annual Instructional Technology Showcase, on April 24 in the Bryan Center, features a number of presentations about using technology tools in teaching. Come hear about:

Duke Digital Initiative 2008-2009 Tips and Tricks for Incorporating Web 2.0 in Your Class Duke’s New Teaching and Learning Spaces Second Life in Undergraduate Education at Duke New Tools for Library Research and Teaching Google Earth for Teaching and Learning

Of special interest to readers of the Library Hacks blog will be the 10:20 am program on New Tools for Library Research and Teaching, facilitated by Tom Crichlow. We'll be highlighting some of the tools on the library's Research Tools page, with tips on how to make them work for your needs, and will be fielding audience questions. Register, see these tools in action, and meet some of the people behind their use at Duke!

What if the article I need isn't full-text online?

Kathi — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:51:19 +0000

Unfortunately, not all databases or online searches will lead to full-text articles, but there is always a chance that we have a print copy of the journal. In order to check whether the library has copies of the journal, check the online catalog:

You can either search by "Journal title keywords" or "Title begins with..." from the library homepage search box

Be sure to type the name of the journal in the search box (not the article title)

We also maintain a handy guide of helpful tips and instructions for finding journals. If you've ever been confused about journal abbreviations or how to find journals on your topic - it's a great place to look!

test image

Paolo — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:35:22 +0000

What happens when an item is overdue?

Kathi — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:12:32 +0000

Before heading home for the summer, you may want to check whether you have any books out on loan... and when they're due. Here's how to find out:

Click on "My Account" on the library homepage searchbox

Enter your Net ID/password

The number next to "Loans" will indicate the number of items you have out. Click on the link for the full details.

Once an item is overdue, you should receive an email. Charges can vary depending on the type of material (book, laptop, video) and the lending library. Here are some quick links:

Perkins/Bostock Library fines

Lilly Library fines

Ford Library fines

Law Library fines

Medical Center Library fines

Phoebe — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:18:03 +0000

Search TRLN Tip 2: Quotes!

Phoebe — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:18:55 +0000

Another great new feature of the Search TRLN interface for searching across the Duke, NCCU, NCSU and UNC libraries is that you can use quotation marks in the search box. Quotes are a great tool when you know the item you want and are trying to find it. Sometimes a Keyword or Title Keyword search returns irrelevant hits - though honestly, the Search TRLN algorithm is really good: in my experimenting, I found that usually the title I want is on the first page of hits. If you have trouble finding your title, putting quotation marks around it will usually help the item you want rise to the top of the results list. You can also use quotes to link together keywords into a phrase. Instead of searching for 'social activism', which gets you 1746 results, try '"social activism"', which results in only 164 hits - much easier to browse through.

Phoebe — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:40:05 +0000

Phoebe — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:40:32 +0000

Phoebe — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:40:50 +0000

Kathi — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:19:47 +0000

Kathi — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:20:14 +0000

Kathi — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:30:10 +0000

What are the library hours?

Kathi — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:31:34 +0000

Library hours can sometimes vary on weekends, holidays and summer. Perkins/Bostock and other Duke libraries hours are linked from the homepage banner (just below the website search bar). Hope to see you soon!

Search TRLN: Facets for Refining Searches

Phoebe — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:11:44 +0000

We have already highlighted a couple of features of the Search TRLN Catalog, which allows users to search the combined library catalogs of Duke, UNC, NCCU and NCSU. If you missed them, see our posts on spelling correction and quotes. Probably Search TRLN's most innovative and powerful feature is that is it a "faceted browser" interface. After you perform an initial keyword search, you can narrow your result set by choosing one or more 'facets' from the menu on the left side of the screen. Here's an example. I am interested in Pylos, a Bronze Age archaeological site in Greece, which was also the site of a famous Classical Greek naval battle, and is today a small city that occasionally hosts academic symposia. A keyword search for "pylos" pulls up books relevant to all of the above, but I am particularly interested in the Linear B tablets from Pylos, so I click the relevant facet under Subject: Many of the hits are in languages I don't read, so I open the Language facet to narrow my search to only items in English: Search TRLN keeps track of the facets I have chosen, and I can broaden my search again by clicking the x to stop using one of the facets: Other facets available include format (book, dissertation, map...), location (at Duke?), author, year of publication, and call number range. Happy faceting!

Save time! Learn EndNote!

Emily Daly — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:19:40 +0000

Start your summer research with a bang by learning to use EndNote, a reference management tool that is sure to save you time and frustration. Duke faculty, students and staff may download EndNote to personal or work computers, free of charge. Perkins Library is offering a free introductory EndNote session on Tuesday, May 27 from 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM in Bostock Library, Room 023. We'll provide an orientation to the software, show you how to set up your personal EndNote library and then teach you to format a bibliography in a couple of keystrokes. Interested? Register today! And stay tuned for more Intro and Advanced EndNote sessions this summer!

Connotea -- another look

Catherine Shreve — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:43:40 +0000

In Ted's recent comments on connotea, he said he enjoyed it, but found that connotea was not such a great citation manager; it doesn't always gather the metadata needed. On the connotea site, it explains that it is "specially designed for scientists and clinicians," so it gathers bibliographic data better for some sites than others.

I agree, connotea is no substitute for a bibliographic reference manager like Endnote (to which Duke subscribes) or Refworks. I also agree that it's "downright fun!" As a librarian, I use it as an academic networking tool, to find, track and tag resources as I come across them. It's very handy for retrieving items on a particular topic, and for creating feeds for specific classes--I tag resources with the course name.

Ted was also concerned about messy tags. The "related tags" on the right belong to other users, who may create them however they'd like.

That's both the beauty and the chaos of a Web 2.0 tool--everyone gets to play, and you can follow their leads, or not.

So, the short answer is: the value of connotea depends on your purpose. For a free web-based citation manager, you might like to try zotero (from an earlier LibraryHacks post):

The open-source Zotero (part 1 / part 2) is [a] Firefox extension that allows you to store, retrieve and organize your reference sources for a more streamlined citation process.

Has anyone out there done more than a first foray into zotero? Please send us your comments.

Can a book be delivered to another library?

Kathi — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:00:13 +0000

You are referring to a system called BARD (Book/Article Delivery) which is available to Duke faculty and Duke graduate students. It allows you to request books and articles for delivery and pick-up from one Duke library to another Duke library location. A great page with screen shots and instructions is linked above, or you can just follow these easy directions:

Find the item in the library catalog
Click on the item's call number
Click on the "Request" link on the far right side of the screen
Fill in the requested information

Duke LibX search menu

Paolo — Fri, 16 May 2008 19:20:37 +0000

LibX updated - bug fixes and new search options

Paolo — Fri, 16 May 2008 19:36:50 +0000

If you're a user of the Duke LibX browser plugin for Firefox, you should soon be getting prompted by Firefox to update the plugin. If you want it right away, go to the Tools / Add-ons menu and click "Find Updates" in the Extensions tab. The new version is 1.2.8, and includes a couple of changes. One is that the embedded "cues" stopped working in Amazon pages a while back, and this new version applies a fix that makes them work again. When you're viewing a book page in Amazon, you should see the Duke Library icon next to the book's title (looks like this: - it's a silhouette of the Reading Blue Devil weathervane on top of the von der Heyden Pavilion). If you click on the icon, it will start a search in the Duke Library Catalog to see if Duke has the book for you to check out. The other change is the addition of the option to search the new Search TRLN system via the LibX browser bar and right-click menu. The menu item (labeled "Search Triangle Research Libraries") will search the catalogs of Duke, NCCU, NCSU, and UNC-CH and show you results from all for universities. There's more information on Search TRLN in this earlier post.

And you can read more about all of the other things LibX can do in this earlier post about Duke LibX or on the Duke LibX download page. If you're a Duke LibX user, please tell us in the comments section what you like or don't like about it, and if there are things you'd like to see changed added to it. If you're not already using it, try it out!

What is the LSC?

Kathi — Thu, 22 May 2008 13:00:28 +0000

The Library Service Center (LSC) is an off-site storage facility where materials are kept at optimal environment levels to help ensure their longevity. An item located at the LSC can be retrieved when requested, but there are slightly different procedures for Duke patrons and guests: Duke community:

Click on the "Request" link in the library catalog
After entering your Net ID/password, indicate a library location for delivery
An email will be sent to you when the requested materials arrive at the library

Guests:

If you don't have a Net ID/password, please use the Guest Request Form for LSC Materials

Helpful screen shots and detailed instructions can also be found here.

Can I request a book that is already checked-out?

Kathi — Thu, 29 May 2008 13:00:13 +0000

Yes. You can use the catalog "Request" link in order to have a checked out book returned and held for you. Here's how it works:

If the item has been checked out for at least two weeks, it will automatically be recalled for you (each borrower is guaranteed two weeks)

Once an item has been returned to the pickup library, you will be sent an email notification and it will be held for 10 days

All patrons are eligible to request a hold on materials currently checked out. Only Duke students, faculty and staff and TRLN patrons are eligible for recall privileges. More details and screen-shots on Recalls and Holds can also be found on our website.

Summer at Perkins: Floors Open, Books Move!

Phoebe — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:48:56 +0000

This summer, the second, third and fourth floors of Perkins are re-opening as public spaces, with book stacks, carrels, group study rooms, and more. Perkins 2 is already open, now housing the Public Documents and Maps collection. The just-vacated shelves on Bostock 3 are being filled with books from Bostock 4 and the Vesic Library, which is moving into Perkins/Bostock this month. (Need to access Vesic materials during the transition? Email vesic-requests@duke.edu for expert help.) As the other floors open later in the summer, we will see materials move out of temporary quarters in the Perkins Levels; other books will spread out from the over-full shelves in Perkins Lower Level 2. To keep up-to-date on the locations of call numbers, always consult our Book Locations for Perkins/Bostock, and if you have any trouble finding things, Ask a Librarian for help.

What does "In process-LC" mean?

Kathi — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 13:00:10 +0000

Duke libraries recently moved from Dewey-Decimal to the Library of Congress (LC) classification system. "In process-LC" generally means that an item has gotten stuck in the reclassification process, and won't be found in the regular stacks. Since the item might be located in a number of places, the easiest thing to do is request its delivery. Here's what you do:

Click on the catalog "Request" link for the item

An email will be sent to you when it is available for pick-up at the Circulation desk

Now you can get on with your research!

Academic uses for Twitter?

Phoebe — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:21:36 +0000

A lot of the technoscenti have become coverts to Twitter in the last six months. Twitter is a microblogging platform that allows you to post 140-character snippets (via text message, web or other media) and have them read at the site, fed into your Facebook status page, or delivered in a variety of other ways. I know an office that uses Twitter instead of an old-fashioned in/out board, and Twitter got a lot of press as a result of the "revolt" at the SXSW Keynote Address. But is Twitter relevant to academic work? I didn't think so until I read Lenore's blog post about using Twitter at a blogger's meetup, and her musings:

Despite the high quality of both the planned and unplanned sessions, the best part, by far, was meeting other Twitter users. It was a tremendous amount of fun observing and participating in conversations during the actual sessions while also tweeting about what the presenter was trying to convey. ... I was effectively live blogging or taking notes on what I considered to be the main points of each session and others who were attending the conference or following along from a remote location, could see them using twemes.com or hashtags.org.

And then I found a series of posts at AcademHack discussing using Twitter in the classroom. This is from the faculty perspective - but certainly a study group of students could work together to take collaborative notes in a lecture using hashtags. What do you think, faculty, and students?

RefWorks is here!

Emily Daly — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:03:13 +0000

Some of you avid fans of RefWorks will be happy to hear that you may now access this online research management system FREE through Duke's OIT. For those of you who haven't yet been wowed by RefWorks' user-friendly interface and robust functionality (think Works Cited pages in seconds; in-text citations in a couple of clicks; unlimited storage space for citations and notes), take a few minutes to create a free account:

Go to www.refworks.com/refworks from any computer on campus
Click on Sign Up for an Individual Account
Enter your information and click Register

You'll find that RefWorks is fairly intuitive, but it's worth taking a look at the Quick Start Guide or the step-by-step RefWorks tutorials when learning how to format bibliographies and import citations from databases to your account. And if you're off-campus, never fear: Just enter Duke's group code RWDukeUniv. Questions about RefWorks? Contact Emily Daly. And let us know your thoughts about Duke's latest time-saving tool for researchers!

Duke Libraries on Film!

Phoebe — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 12:06:37 +0000

I'm late to the party on this, but I recently learned that the winning film in Duke's 2008 Froshlife first-year movie festival, Wilson's Making the Grade, features both Lilly and Perkins Libraries. Lilly and its opinionated e-printer make an appearance at about 2:10, and Perkins and the Gothic Reading Room show up at 6:20. Know any other appearances of the Duke Libraries on film?

netlibrary

Phoebe — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:17:01 +0000

How do I get access to NetLibrary e-books?

Phoebe — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:38:17 +0000

Most of Duke's e-books are provided by a service called NetLibrary. The 24,000+ e-books can be viewed at the site but not downloaded, and printing is cumbersome. You can go directly to NetLibrary and search for e-books, or find them in our catalog and click on the link into NetLibrary. Once at the NetLibrary site, you need to create a free log-in and password to access a book. You can then "check out" the book, usually for 4 hours, unless someone else is using it. If you are off campus you will need to make sure that NetLibrary is recognizing you as a Duke user. Look for the little Duke window at the top left of the page. If it's not there, you will need to turn on the Duke VPN if you use it, or force our EZProxy server to ask you for a Duke NetID and password. To do this, go back to the library home page and search for NetLibrary using the Databases tab. When you click the link in the results, you should get a pop-up asking for your NetID and password. (You can also force EZProxy by right-clicking on the page and following the link when you are using the LibX plugin. Just another reason that LibX is so great!)

citeme

Phoebe — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:59:18 +0000

tesla

Phoebe — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:10:49 +0000

Make citations in Facebook

Phoebe — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:51:39 +0000

In further Facebook takes over the universe (at least the parts not already claimed by Google) news, there's a new application in Facebook called CiteMe. You enter the title of the book you want to cite, click go, and the app spits out a formatted citation in one of five styles (APA, Chicago, Harvard. MLA, or Turabian). It uses the WorldCat library catalog to find books, so it won't be helpful for citing journal articles. If you're working with journal articles, you can check our Citing Sources pages for examples and do them by hand, or get started with RefWorks or EndNote, the two citation managers Duke has site licenses for, or Zotero, a free online citation manager. Lots of choices, but CiteMe is a nice little addition to the mix!

New Catalog Interface

Debra — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:49:06 +0000

The Library has published a new interface to the catalog that performs faster and is easier to navigate thanks to a faceted browsing feature similar to those found on retail sites such as Amazon and Home Depot. Things to keep in mind:

When you search the form in the "Search Our Resources" box results will display in the new catalog interface with the exception of GoogleScholar and E-Journals. The latter will continue to load in the (old interface) Resource Finder due to system limitations.
All links to library.duke.edu/catalog will be redirected to the new catalog interface but catalog.library.duke.edu will continue to display the classic search screen.
There will be links to the Classic Catalog from new catalog interface and from the Libraries' homepage.
There will be a link from new catalog interface to a comments/suggestions form by the end of the week.

A feedback form will be linked to from the new interface by the end of the week. Try it out now (find.library.duke.edu) and let us know what you think.

RSS Feed Location

Sean — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:43:07 +0000

RSS Feed Location 1

Sean — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:44:34 +0000

RSS & the Library Catalog: Why & How

Sean — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:47:02 +0000

Last week, Duke Libraries launched a brand new interface to its catalog. There's a lot that you can do with the new catalog that you couldn't do before, so get ready for many new tips and tricks here on Library Hacks. This post will focus on using RSS (really simple syndication). RSS "feeds" free you from having to constantly check web sites to see if anything new and interesting has been added. Instead, the information is delivered to you as soon as it is available. If you're not familiar with RSS or would like a refresher, take a few minutes to watch this "RSS in Plain English" video by CommonCraft: Of course, the library catalog is neither news nor a blog. So, you might ask, what can you do with RSS in the library catalog? You can...

Get alerted when items of interest to you are added to the catalog

Let's look at some examples of items. I'll use the first to demonstrate. (Bookmarked with the "Save Search" feature):

Whether you are just browsing by clicking around or you have narrowed a set of results with a combination of search terms and selections from the left-hand "Refine Your Search" menu, you'll see an RSS icon ( ) next to the number of results found. Right-Click (or Option-Click) on the RSS icon to copy the feed URL. Click Copy Shortcut (or its equivalent--see below). We have to add that feed URL to an RSS reader (also called an aggregator). I use Google Reader, so I'll demonstrate with that. Feel free to substitute your aggregator of choice, or use your browser's built-in feed subscription feature. In Google Reader, click "Add subscription," paste in the feed URL you copied from the catalog, and click "Add". Now that you have subscribed, any time an item is added to the catalog that matches what you were looking for (in this case, feature film DVDs at Lilly Library) the item will appear in your reader, just like new blog posts and news articles, with a link that will take you to the item in the catalog interface. This is a great way to find out quickly and effortlessly about new additions to the catalog that match your interests.

Other uses of RSS feeds from the Catalog

Beyond delivering notices to your personal reader, you can use a feed from the catalog to generate a linked list of new additions that match a particular interest, and embed that in another web site. You could add a list to a blog, your Facebook profile, a course or departmental web site, or someplace else. The steps to do this will differ depending on which site, widget, or application you're using, but use the same technique as above to get the feed URL.

RSS at Duke University Libraries

There are many other RSS feeds from Duke Libraries beyond the catalog. Subscribe to get library news, see job postings, or to read posts from Library Hacks or one of our several other blogs: http://library.duke.edu/rss/index.html

Related resources

RSS Feed Location 2

Sean — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:09:57 +0000

RSS Feed Icon

Sean — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:11:06 +0000

Right Click to Save Link

Sean — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:47:11 +0000

Google Reader

Sean — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:08:42 +0000

Google Reader pasting in the feed

Sean — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:10:33 +0000

Google Reader Add Subscription

Sean — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:16:48 +0000

Feed Added

Sean — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:34:26 +0000

rssfeedbig

Sean — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:59:12 +0000

request

Jean Ferguson — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:25:20 +0000

in-repair

Jean Ferguson — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:27:26 +0000

get-this-title

Jean Ferguson — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:28:15 +0000

in-repair1

Jean Ferguson — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:40:24 +0000

Items 'Being Repaired' in New Catalog

Jean Ferguson — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:45:19 +0000

In our new catalog, there are books and other items which show as Being Repaired, like this one: Items that are Being Repaired can be requested. Whether they are at the shop getting a new binding or up in one of the levels waiting to be processed, you can click on the title of the item to see more information. When you get to the next screen, also called the Full Record, you will see a button in the top right part of the screen that says 'Get this title'. Click on this button to get to the Classic Catalog. There will be more information about the location of this item and often a Request link. Click on the Request link and fill in your NetID and password to let us know that we need to try to find this for you. Some items may not have a Request link. In this case, stop by our Reference or Circulation Desk (or email us at askref@duke.edu) and we will investigate the best method to find it for you.

What is beta anyway?

Catherine Shreve — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:37:56 +0000

You might have noticed that our new catalog interface says (beta) on the tab. Now if we were Douglas Adams we could be referring to the fish pictured here: But no, in this galaxy, we are referring to something not quite as beautiful and complete--a pilot version of the catalog interface. The interface is still in the process of development, with some features remaining to be implemented (and some pretty cool features like faceted browsing and linking to other Triangle libraries already there). The good news for users is that "beta" means that we (the library) are receptive to making changes more nimbly with this interface than in other established ones. And unlike the beta fish, of which it's said: "It is important not to feed your Beta fish too much live food as it has been known to cause problems,"

we encourage as much live input as possible. Once you are in the new catalog, just click the Feedback link at the top right. Or go directly to: http://library.duke.edu/research/help/catalog/feedback.html

So go ahead and feed the beta fish! Throw that constructive criticism at us and help us make it beautiful! We want to hear from students, faculty, and other researchers as well as library staff so that we can make it work best for all of the users in our library galaxy.

picture and quote from www.betafacts.com

Keep tabs on your laptop with tracking software

Emily Daly — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 01:08:14 +0000

It's so tempting to leave your books and laptop in your favorite study spot while you head to the bathroom or to The Perk for a refill. Unfortunately, it only takes seconds for that precious laptop -- along with the months' worth of work saved to its hard drive -- to vanish. In response to what has become a problem on campuses nation-wide, a group of professors and grad students from the University of Washington, the University of California-San Diego and the University of California-Davis has developed Adeona, a free open-source program that can help users locate lost or stolen laptops. One particular advantage of Adeona (named for the Roman goddess of safe returns) is that only owners have the ability to track their laptops -- users aren't required to report their information to a third party. In fact, Adeona's website boasts that it is "the first Open Source system for tracking the location of your lost or stolen laptop that does not rely on a proprietary, central service." Take a few minutes to download and install Adeona, and post your thoughts on the new software here.

img_2763-300px

Paolo — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:00:12 +0000

Perkins Lobby and exhibit cases - Photo by Mary Walter

New exhibits in Perkins Library

Paolo — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:36:14 +0000

If you've walked through the lobby of Perkins Library in the past few days you've surely noticed the beautiful new exhibit cases that were installed there last week. The other morning on my way in I saw Mary Walter, the Assistant Director of Development for the library, taking photos of the new cases and the shimmering reflections from the lights above them. It reminded me a little bit of the Georges Rousse Bending Space project in downtown Durham a couple of years ago, and I asked Mary if I could post a photo here (see one of them here on the right). The new exhibit cases are now full, with materials from an exhibit titled Pivotal Books / Personal Reflections, which explores the personal nature of books and the relationships that exist between reader and written word. We hope you'll visit the exhibit in the lobby, and also the exhibit web site, where we invite you to submit your own reflections on books that were pivotal to you and see what other visitors to the exhibit have already sent in. Just around the corner from the Perkins lobby, in the hallway between the Rare Book Room and the Special Collections Reading Room, is another new exhibit, featuring photographs by Olive Pierce, documenting life in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Maine fishing communities, and Iraq. This exhibit will be up through December 2008. Both of these exhibits, as well as other library exhibits from the past, are available on the exhibits page on library web site.

Evernote

Tiffany Lopez — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:01:36 +0000

Wish you had a photographic memory? Me too, but since that’s not an option, I use Evernote. Never heard of it? Let me fill you in.

In a nutshell: Evernote is an application that allows you to collect information as you encounter it. What do I mean?

Viewing a website or an email and want to remember a certain passage or image? Just highlight it and copy it to Evernote. Looking through a friend’s class notes and see something you missed? Take a picture of it and upload it to Evernote. The same goes for whiteboards, business cards, fliers, and more! Text within images that you copy to Evernote are completely searchable. Even photos of handwritten notes! Glued to your QWERTY board? Use the phone application to send ideas, to-do lists or other reminders as they come up.

The best part (besides the fact that it’s free!) is that there is a web-based version, so you’re not tied to your desktop. Search your information from your laptop in the Perk or on your web-ready cell phone.

What else? Keep your information private or share it with your friends. Add tags or notes to make your images and entries more searchable or sortable. Want to browse by dates? You can do that too. For some additional bells and whistles, use the Windows or Mac application too (don’t worry, it syncs with the web version).

Still a little confused? Check out this short YouTube video from the creators of Evernote:

google

Nathaniel King — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:27:33 +0000

link

cvarkey — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:27:35 +0000

What is The Link?

cvarkey — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:29:05 +0000

If you have been wandering around the Lower Level Perkins and see shocks of bright orange and magenta walls, you have found the Link! The new teaching and learning facility "links" flexible teaching spaces, technology services, and learning tools for the entire Duke campus as a collaborative effort between OIT, Duke University Libraries and Arts & Sciences. The Link contains 6 classrooms, 4 seminar rooms and 11 group study rooms, as well as informal spaces for collaboration or individual work. It is open and available when Perkins is open. Spaces for classroom use are made through the Registrar's office. Rooms not reserved for a class are open for both faculty and students on a first come, first served basis. The Link also has a Service Desk that has walk up technical assistance and serves as the distribution point for equipment available from the Duke Digital Initiative. Besides new classrooms and equipment, the Link has new seating, study spaces, and even *gasp* windows in the lower level. Unlike the furniture in the Library, Link furniture is very flexible and intended to be moved around for your needs. Check out the new funky chairs or drag your study group (and even a rolling whiteboard) into one of the new nooks of the Link. Link web site Here is a quick video about creating the Link courtesy of Duke Arts & Sciences.

confidential_stamp1

Nathaniel King — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:15:03 +0000

Where are all the books?

Nathaniel King — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 21:09:19 +0000

The "Find Books" link on the library homepage gives the call numbers and locations for print items in Perkins/Bostock. Here are the most common call numbers with their corresponding location:

Call number	Location
A - JK	Perkins Lower Floor 2 ( map )
JL - PZ	Perkins 4 ( map )
Q - QR	Bostock 4 ( map )
R - Z	Bostock 3 ( map )
Oversize A-Z	Use "Request" link in catalog
000-999	Use "Request" link in catalog
Oversize 300s, 800s, 900s	Use "Request" link in catalog

For other book locations in Perkins/Bostock click here. If something is not on the shelf, please stop by the Perkins Reference Desk (or IM us); we'll do our best to track it down for you.

Declassified Documents

Nathaniel King — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:19:41 +0000

The Library has recently obtained access to Declassified Documents Reference System (DDRS), a collection of declassified documents from various government agencies such as the White House, the CIA, the FBI, the State Department and others. DDRS makes possible both broad-based and highly targeted investigation of government documents. Users can query every document in the database for any name, date, word, or phrase. Searches can also be focused according to document type, issue date, source institution, classification level, date declassified, sanitization, completeness, number of pages, and document number. You can access DDRS by clicking here.

2996-sos

Kyla — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:41:02 +0000

2996-sos1

Kyla — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:43:14 +0000

Ultimate Citing: EndNote VS. RefWorks

Hannah Rozear — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:53:08 +0000

In the competitive world of Ultimate Citing, two kingpins rule the ring...RefWorks and EndNote, the academic world's leading bibliographic management tools. Lucky for you, Duke has a subscription to both, so the choice is yours!

	RefWorks	EndNote
Registration	Register for your free account here	Download for free here
Access	Web-based (Any computer w/ Internet access)	Not web-based. Access through any computer(s) in which you've installed EndNote
Most Useful for...	Collaborative projects, term papers, coursework	Complex research projects, dissertations, lengthy tomes
# of Bibliographic styles	3000+	800+
Classes	Register here	Register here
PC and Mac Compatability	Web-based, so will work on any computer w/ internet	Versions available for both MAC and PC

Neither RefWorks or EndNote have figured out how to write your papers for you, but both are excellent tools for managing and formatting citations. Learn more about RefWorks here and EndNote here

The Wayback Machine

Nathaniel King — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:59:55 +0000

Do you ever come across the following error message while doing research on the Internet? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not Found

The requested URL /was not found on this server. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There may be a solution! The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine allows you to browse through 85 billion (!) web pages that have been archived since 1996. Simply enter the URL of the site and the Wayback Machine will show you all the available versions of the site since 1996. For example, ever wondered what the Google page looked like before Google became a household name. Click this link to see the Google page from 1999.

UNdata - A world of information

Nathaniel King — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:59:47 +0000

UNdata pools major UN databases and those of several international organizations into a single entry point for easy access. Users can easily browse, search and download data from a large number of statistical databases. Data categories include: agriculture, education, employment, energy, environment, health, human development, industry, information and communication technology, national accounts, population, refugees, trade, and tourism. Data sources include, but are not limited to: UN Statistics Division, UN Population Division, Food and Agriculture Organization, International Labour Organization, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, World Tourism Organization and UNESCO. Click here to visit the UNdata site.

vote

Michael Peper — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:10:14 +0000

Vote button

Michael Peper — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:13:14 +0000

Want to vote in North Carolina?

Michael Peper — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:48:06 +0000

Enjoying the presidential and vice-presidential debates? Been following the campaigns in North Carolina for Governor and U.S. Senate? Ever wondered if you could register and vote in North Carolina? As the general election approaches, here are some important things to remember:

The general election is on Tuesday, November 4.
The last day to register in North Carolina for the November 2008 election is Friday October 10.
In North Carolina, you only need to live in the county where you register for 30 days before the election.
This means Duke students are eligible to vote in North Carolina.
Check out this voting guide for Duke students that has much more information and links to other resources like the Federal Election Commission, the North Carolina Board of Elections, etc.

Blue Devil Press

Nathaniel King — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:24:24 +0000

The library has recently obtained access to Duke University Press Scholarly Books.

Duke University Press Scholarly Books provides easy access to the Library's electronic Duke University Press titles. The Collection includes online access to around 100 new scholarly books published by Duke University Press in the humanities and social sciences. In addition to new books, the Collection also includes access to all of the Press's backlist books that are available in electronic form. Click here to access Duke University Press Scholarly Books.

dloc

Nathaniel King — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:37:14 +0000

Digital Library of the Caribbean Logo

Nathaniel King — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:38:04 +0000

Digital Library of the Caribbean

Nathaniel King — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:42:52 +0000

The Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC) is a cooperative digital library for resources from and about the Caribbean and circum-Caribbean. dLOC provides access to digitized versions of Caribbean cultural, historical and research materials currently held in archives, libraries, and private collections. Collections include newspapers, photographs, archives of Caribbean leaders and governments, official historical documents, and historic and contemporary maps. Click here to access the Digital Library of the Caribbean.

mobile-lib

Thomas Crichlow — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:39:14 +0000

trans-atlantic

Nathaniel King — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:09:49 +0000

H.M.S. "Rifleman" Chasing the Slaver "Esmeralda"

Nathaniel King — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:12:41 +0000

The image represents the H.M.S. "Rifleman" (right) pursuing the slaver "Esmeralda" (left). An account in The Illustrated London News, the source of this image, describes the attempt of the British "Rifleman" to intercept the "Esmeralda" off the Brazilian coast. The slaver, however, escaped and landed slaves on the coast of Rio de Janeiro. The image is reproduced courtesy of the Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library, Emory University.

Library Website on Your Phone

Thomas Crichlow — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:20:02 +0000

What is it?

A website optimized for use on handheld devices such as cellphones, iPods, and PDAs:

http://library.duke.edu/mobile

These are new web pages created specifically with the needs of mobile users in mind.
This pilot project does not duplicate the main library web site — mobile device users can still access the content on the main library web site when in need of more detailed information.

Key points about our pilot:

Compact display: information optimized for the very small screen space available on handheld devices -- every pixel counts.
Compact file size: patrons often pay a fee for each byte transmitted to their device, and handheld devices often have very slow connection speeds -- every byte counts.
Tightly focused content: the content we provide is closely tied to the tasks people are most likely to undertake on a handheld device -- context counts.
Optimized Navigation: navigation is optimized for handheld devices (e.g., using access-keys for keypad navigation).

Feedback, Suggestions, or Questions?

We are keenly interested in your ideas. Please post your comments letting us know what Library information would be helpful to you if it were part of the http://library.duke.edu/mobile website.

Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

Nathaniel King — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:17:13 +0000

The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database has information on almost 35,000 slave voyages to the Americas between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries.

This database allows users to search for specific voyages of slaving expeditions. Users can also create listings, tables, charts, and maps using information from the database.

Use the interactive estimates page to analyze the full volume and multiple routes of the slave trade.

Use the African Names Database to identify over 67,000 Africans aboard slave ships, using name, age, gender, origin, and place of embarkation.

Click here to access the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database.

Subject Librarians to the rescue!

Tiffany Lopez — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:17:32 +0000

Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No! It’s…it’s…a subject librarian!

I know that some of you think your professors have sent you out into the world of research and writing with no allies and no weapons. I’m here to tell you that you are mistaken. A group of superhero-like librarians have been summoned from the ends of the earth and brought to Duke to equip you with subject specific knowledge and tools.

Trying to figure out if you need a subject librarian? Do you have a really specific topic? Are you looking for data, obscure documents or resources? Do you feel the need for an in-depth research consult? If you answered yes to any of these questions, do not hesitate to contact us.

Astronomy? Got it. Korean Studies? Yep. Music Media? You know it! And that’s only a taste of the subject coverage we’ve got! What’s that? You want to contact them right away? You want to learn more about the subjects they cover? I thought you might feel that way. All the information you need is here.

If you still have questions, don’t forget that the reference desk is always a great place to start. You can always save time and ask a librarian!

Monkees

Nathaniel King — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:19:28 +0000

http://www.flickr.com/photos/karynsig/336015450/

PrimateLit

Nathaniel King — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:30:32 +0000

PrimateLit provides access to the scientific literature on nonhuman primates for the research and educational communities. Coverage of the database spans 1940 to present and includes all publication categories (articles, books, abstracts, technical reports, dissertations, book chapters, etc.) and many subject areas (behavior, colony management, ecology, reproduction, field studies, disease models, veterinary science, psychology, physiology, pharmacology, evolution, taxonomy, developmental and molecular biology, genetics and zoogeography). Click here to access PrimateLit.

student-research-a0104a-300

Michael Peper — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:34:17 +0000

Academic Skills Videos

Michael Peper — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:51:00 +0000

New to college and looking for advice about how to get started researching and writing all these papers?
Want to give your students some extra help in learning how to navigate the research process in an academic environment?
Are you just a sucker for charming Canadian accents?

The University of Prince Edward Island has created a really nice set of videos to help students with skills like active and critical reading, choosing a topic, using library databases and essay building. The videos are about 5-10 minutes long and are fast-moving and clear in the style of the "... in Plain English" series. These videos could be really helpful and even enjoyable for people who have a long list of papers, but just can't seem to get started. Good luck!

Putin Shoots

Nathaniel King — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:46:21 +0000

epa00858301 Russian President Vladimir Putin shoots as he visits new headquarters of the Main Intelligence Agency (GRU) of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff in Moscow, Wednesday 08 November 2006. Vladimir Putin noted that the GRU is a unique and effective instrument for protecting Russia's national interests in conditions of increase of the potential for conflicts in the world. EPA/DMITRY ASTAKHOV PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/ITAR-TASS POOL

Putin

Nathaniel King — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:12:13 +0000

2668825486_c8ed4fdba9_b1

Nathaniel King — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:18:39 +0000

2668825486_c8ed4fdba9_b2

Nathaniel King — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:19:14 +0000

St. Basil's Cathedral

Nathaniel King — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:20:56 +0000

St. Basil's Cathedral

Nathaniel King — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:22:52 +0000

St Basil's Cathedral

Nathaniel King — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:00:19 +0000

St Basil's Cathedral

Nathaniel King — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:04:23 +0000

Russian Resources

Nathaniel King — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:16:48 +0000

The Universal Databases provides a unified search engine for several Russian language databases: Russian Central Newspapers (UDB-COM), Current Digest of the Post-Soviet Press (UDB-CD), Social Sciences & Humanities (UDB-EDU), Voprosy istorii: Complete Collection (UDB-VI), and Voprosy literatury: Complete Collection (UDB-VL). The multilingual interface offers transliteration and Russian/English search capabilities. Click here to access the Universal Databases.

mag1

Michael Peper — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 17:48:50 +0000

search

Michael Peper — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 17:49:32 +0000

Search

Michael Peper — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 17:52:08 +0000

Search

Michael Peper — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 18:20:08 +0000

Search

Michael Peper — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 20:43:26 +0000

Search beyond Google

Michael Peper — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:29:32 +0000

Many of us use Google to search the web for personal research and library resources for scholarly publications. Sometimes, however, it's not clear whether what we need will be on the web or in scholarly literature. I'd like to point out some nice search engines for specific types of information that combine the ease of Google with the specialization of a library database. These tools could help you make sense of the web. To find more like these, go here for a list of 100 Useful Niche Search Engines. Scirus - Specializing in scientific information, it allows researchers to search for journal content and also scientists' homepages, courseware, pre-print server material, patents and institutional repository and website information. Also, its new 'topics pages' are Wikipedia-style entries with identified (usually scholarly) authors. Meta-Index to U.S. Legal Research - This site gathers search engines for U.S. legal information from across the web and puts them all in the same place. It points you towards good tools for searching legislation, judicial opinions and regulations on the web. CiteSeer - This search engine for computer science and information science is full of features including citation analysis tools. InternshipPrograms - A nice way to search for internships and for organizations to find interns. Register by including your résumé and interests. Clusty - Provides search results in a list, but also includes a sidebar with categories, so you can review results by subject area. Google - Don't forget about Google's own features such as Advanced search, Google Books, Google Scholar, Google News, etc.

Studying Dink, 1957

Hannah Rozear — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:03:42 +0000

studyingdink19571

Hannah Rozear — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:10:16 +0000

Studying Dink, 1957

Hannah Rozear — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:12:27 +0000

Studying Dink, 1957

Hannah Rozear — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 13:56:45 +0000

"Studying dink, 1957"

Hannah Rozear — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:40:01 +0000

China Data Online

Nathaniel King — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:12:24 +0000

China Data Online includes two parts: economic statistics and census data. It includes the economic statistics of China, arranged by regions and categories; monthly and yearly reports on China’s macroeconomic development; statistical databases about China’s population and economy at the county and city level; and financial indicators of more than 568 industrial branches. Duke's subscription includes (1) China Yearly Macro-economy Statistics (1949-), (2) China Monthly, Macro-economy Statistics (1998-), (3) Monthly Reports on Economy Development (2002-), (4) China City Statistics (1996-), (5) China County Statistics (1997-), (6) China Industrial Data (2001-), and (7) various statistical yearbooks (2002-). The database also includes census data, including census data from 1982, 1982 (10%), 1990, 1995 (survey), and 2000 (county and province level). Click here to access China Data Online.

Reference Desk, 1958

Hannah Rozear — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:21:18 +0000

What kinds of questions did Duke students ponder 50 years ago? Here's a glimpse at some of the questions recorded by Duke Reference librarians in 1958: Have we (the U.S.) ever been out of debt? I have to write a paper on the origin of the earth. I want material on the moon in July 1778. Where can I find material on safety items in airplanes, like ejection seats? Is Thurston the Magician still alive? If so, where does he live? Where can I find how many witches were killed in Europe? Can you recommend a book on "mind reading"? Where can I find how to grind the lens of a telescope? I need some quarto-sized pictures of prehistoric man. What color is the star Venus in the morning sky? Are the people of Massachusetts called “Massachusettentians”? Could you give me a list of brand names of all whiskey made in the U.S.? I want a list of cities with their pollen counts, so I can locate to a pollen-free community. Shortly after World War I (probably 1924), you sent me a booklet on inflation. As I recall it, that booklet discussed the evils of inflation and what happened to people in the area it hit. I would like to get a copy of it as a more modern version. What is the source of the quotation “It is better to light a candle, than to curse the darkness”? Where in the Manhattan yellow sheets should I look for a company which handles foreign exchange currency and sending money abroad? I ate some fruit at lunch and I’ve forgotten what it is. Can you help me? I am writing a 1500 word paper (due tomorrow!)--on how to set up a beach (life saving corps, etc.). Who makes Edith Lance bras? I want to write a complaint to the company... Image credit: "Studying Dink, 1957." Duke University Archives. Durham, NC. USA. library.duke.edu/uarchives. Accessed Nov. 17th, 2008.

available

Thomas Crichlow — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 03:51:58 +0000

Finding a Library computer during crunch-time...

Thomas Crichlow — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 05:06:12 +0000

To see a list showing how many computers are available at various Library locations around campus, point your cell phone's browser to a new page on the Library's mobile website: http://library.duke.edu/mobile/workstations.do

This is part of a beta site providing Library web content formatted specifically for cell phones and other handheld devices (iPod Touch, Blackberry, etc.). Feel free to give us your feedback letting us know what Library information you'd like to access via your cell phone's browser.

Kudos to Jim Coble, Matt Gates, and Jason Simons for making data on available computers accessible to our patrons.

We also have a set of pages on the Library's main website, http://library.duke.edu/services/workstations/, that displays the same information graphically.

001

Sean — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:11:16 +0000

0011

Sean — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:55:39 +0000

Latinobarometro Logo

Nathaniel King — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:47:47 +0000

Latinobarómetro

Nathaniel King — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:24:32 +0000

The Latinobarómetro is an annual study of public opinion in eighteen Latin American countries.

Latinobarómetro has the goal of providing a representative survey of Latin American public opinion over time and provides annual measures of attitudes toward democracy, civic culture, economic issues, gender issues, the environment, inequality, social capital, and trade policy.

Latinobarómetro covers Latin America from 1995-1998 and 2000-2006.

Click here to access Latinobarómetro.

nth-4

Michael Peper — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:24:51 +0000

nth-41

Michael Peper — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:26:56 +0000

tape

Michael Peper — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:32:43 +0000

Zoetrope: Browse the pages of Internet past

Michael Peper — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:43:48 +0000

**This tool is not yet ready for public use, but it seems to offer a lot of promise, so we're sharing it with you now.** Adobe Systems, working with researchers at the University of Washington, has just debuted Zoetrope, a new tool which we hope can illuminate the past of the Web. Web sites and pages within those sites change so quickly that the past is easily forgotten. It can be very interesting to look back at changes in layout and content and to track trends. We wrote about the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine as a way to look at selected snapshots of Web pages in the past. The Wayback Machine has saved a huge quantity of data and is a unique tool for preserving the Web of the past. Zoetrope adds the ability to track changes by creating tools for easily browsing past Web pages. Users could use a slider to move back and forward in time. As displayed in the video, you could also create a "lens" to track a specific piece of information like the price of gasoline and compare it to the price of oil over time. During the current testing phase, Zoetrope creators chose 1,000 websites that update frequently and stored information captured every hour over four months. While this is much more limited than what the Internet Archive is saving, the Internet Archive has expressed an interest in sharing its data. Maybe soon we'll be able to use the Zoetrope tools to browse and analyze the vast data of the Internet Archive. The video best displays the cool features of Zoetrope. Take a look and comment on some of its possible applications for personal or research use.

phonerage

Michael Peper — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 15:29:07 +0000

How to find a human

Michael Peper — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 16:14:07 +0000

We've probably all experienced the frustration of automated telephone systems. Your needs are never included on the menu. You feel like you have a quick question that could be solved in 30 seconds if you could just talk to a real person. Or that sinking feeling when you realize you've heard this menu before. And let's not forget the feeling of foolishness associated with giving canned voice commands to a computer. Shouted expletives generally aren't understood by these calm-voiced operators. There is, however, a resource for getting to human operators. In 2005, Paul English created the gethuman database, which has a listing of companies and services from insurance to hardware. For each phone service, there is a list of instructions for what to do to get out of the automated menus. In addition to this original database, there is get2human.com, which is "more actively maintained" than the original site, but which has some obvious design differences. Writing this post made me think about how interacting with companies like those listed in the gethuman site differs from the interactions that users have with libraries at Duke and elsewhere. Duke Libraries has expanded its service points from face-to-face contact to include phone, email, IM chat and now text messaging (click here to see all the ways to contact reference staff). But regardless of the method of communication, you'll always reach an actual person who is trained and eager to help answer your questions. We hope this service enhances your work and keeps your blood pressure low.

New – Google Analytics on Library Web Site

Debra — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:18:48 +0000

Beginning January 19, 2009 the Duke University Libraries will use Google Analytics to gather statistics on portions of its web site. The Libraries will use the information gathered to improve web services for its patrons. Google Analytics employs cookies to define user sessions , which allows for the collection of important data about how our patrons are using the Library’s site. Google Analytics uses only first-party cookies for data analysis. This means that the cookies are linked to the Libraries' website domain(s), and Google Analytics will only use that cookie data for statistical analysis related to your browsing behavior on the Libraries' websites According to Google, the data collected cannot be altered or retrieved by services from other domains. If you choose, you can opt out by turning off cookies in the preferences settings in your browser. For more information on Google Analytics, please visit Google’s web site.

Taj Mahal

Nathaniel King — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:47:20 +0000

2035748576_1c15eba0d7_b1

Nathaniel King — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:50:31 +0000

2035748576_1c15eba0d7_b2

Nathaniel King — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:51:19 +0000

2035748576_1c15eba0d7_b3

Nathaniel King — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:54:15 +0000

Taj Mahal

Nathaniel King — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:55:27 +0000

LibX now available for IE

Jim Coble — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:46:10 +0000

LibX is a web browser extension (also known as a plug-in or add-on) that places a toolbar in your browser, visual "cues" in certain web pages that link to Duke Library resources related to the item you're viewing, and new menu items in the right-click menu in your browser, getting you quick access to Duke Library resources from whatever web page you're on. A version for Firefox has been available for some time but the creators of LibX have now released a version that works in Internet Explorer (IE) 6 and 7. More information about what you can do with LibX, where to get it, and how to install it in both Firefox and IE can be found on the Library's LibX Tool page.

India, Raj and Empire

Nathaniel King — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 18:14:38 +0000

India, Raj and Empire provides documents pertaining to the History of South Asia between the foundation of the East India Company in 1615 and the granting of independence to India and Pakistan in 1947. The database includes original manuscript material, comprising diaries and journals, official and private papers, letters, sketches, paintings and original Indian documents containing histories and literary works. Documents are arranged around the following themes: The East India Company: Government and Administration c.1750-1857; Agriculture and Trade c.1750-1857; Society, Travel and Leisure c.1750-1857; The Mysore and Maratha Wars; Indian Uprising 1857-58; The Raj: British Government and Administration of India after 1858; Agriculture and Trade after 1858; Society, Travel and Leisure after 1858; and India: Literature, History and Culture. Click here to access India, Raj and Empire.

dropbox1

Michael Peper — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:09:01 +0000

Sync Files on Multiple Computers

Michael Peper — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:28:53 +0000

If you do work on two or more computers, or work on teams, Dropbox might be a helpful tool for you. Working on multiple computers allows us to be productive more often, but it adds a layer of coordination. Do you keep emailing myself files or carry a USB drive back and forth? And ensuring that you are working with the most current version can also cause confusion. Dropbox, in beta phase, could provide a better way. Download the software onto the computers that you use and want to be connected and link them with your single Dropbox account. It fits right into the file directory systems for Windows or Mac machines. You just have to drag and drop the files and they are immediately synced between computers. Revisions or changes made to the file are immediately available in multiple computers. Your Dropbox folder also has a public folder which you can share with friends and co-workers. This could help facilitate group projects where many people on many computers are working with the same files. There is no online storage of files with Dropbox, but it does revision history, so if you accidentally save a file and want to revert to an old version or deleted a file, Dropbox can recover any previous version. Check out the video below for a complete demonstration of its features.

SimplyMap

Nathaniel King — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:11:50 +0000

SimplyMap lets users create professional quality maps for use in presentations, research reports, business plans, or Websites. Data variables can be viewed at the State, County, ZIP Code, Tract and Block Group levels. Want to know the top 10 wealthiest ZIP codes in your state? How about the top 25 counties with the most elderly residents? These and similar questions are easily answered by ranking locations using any data variable in SimplyMap. SimplyMap includes access to thousands of demographic, business, and marketing data variables such as consumer expenditure, real estate, crime and many more. Everything you do in SimplyMap can be exported in multiple formats for further customization and analysis. Create and export large amounts of data or detailed reports as Excel or CSV files. Advanced users can even export shapefiles for use in their own GIS software. Click here to access SimplyMap.

audiobook

Hannah Rozear — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:42:52 +0000

audiobook

Hannah Rozear — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:44:32 +0000

Audiobooks

Hannah Rozear — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:52:31 +0000

Image by Jeff Daly

Want a good book for a long car ride? Like to listen to fiction while doing your laundry?
Check out these tips for finding free audiobooks on the web and in local libraries. Audiobooks available in the library: Audiobooks (on cd and cassette) in Lilly
These books are in Locked Media--bring the call number to the Lilly desk. Audiobooks in Ford library
These have a 1-week loan period. Audiobooks outside of Duke's libraries For more extensive collections, check out your local public libraries: Chapel Hill residents (requires a Chapel Hill Public Library card): Download audiobooks from the NC Digital Library here. Durham residents (requires a Durham County Library card): Download audiobooks from Overdrive here. You may need to contact the library for your 'PIN', but it should be the last 4 digits of the telephone # you used to get your library card. **Unfortunately, these downloadable books are not compatible with iPods.** Both Chapel Hill & Durham also have collections of Books on CD & cassette on-site. Free audiobooks are available from the following sites. These include mostly books that are in the public domain (published before 1923, roughly): librivox.org, audiobooks.org, and Project Gutenberg. There's always the option of podcasts, too! Like this 'podiocast' site for serialized fiction: podiobooks.com. Free podcasts (and not-so-free audiobooks) are also available from commercial sites like, iTunes, Audible.com and Amazon.

shield_000

Nathaniel King — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 16:52:23 +0000

Cambridge Histories Online

Nathaniel King — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:08:47 +0000

Writing a history paper? Need background information on your topic? Cambridge History Online provides online access to over 250 Cambridge history volumes. These volumes cover a wide range of subjects including American history, British history, economic history, general history, history of science, history of the book, and the history of language and linguistics.

Key Features:

Search and browse full-text content across all subjects and volumes
Easily export citations

Click here to access Cambridge Histories Online.

dailylit

Michael Peper — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 20:32:28 +0000

Read books one email at a time

Michael Peper — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:41:59 +0000

Even if you like to read books, can be hard to find the time or get into the habit of reading for pleasure. This is especially difficult for those of us that do a lot of reading for work and school. When we find ourselves with free time, we often neglect reading for other activities. Using DailyLit, you can read short sections of books each day, received by email or RSS feed. Each installment is very short (intended to be read in 5 minutes) and can be sent daily, on weekdays, Monday-Wednesday-Friday, etc. Some books are available for a fairly small fee, but many others are available for free. You can search or browse by author, title or cateogry. Try out Darwin's On the Origin of Species or Austen's Price and Prejudice for free.

gspref

Hannah Rozear — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:44:59 +0000

liblinks

Hannah Rozear — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:50:54 +0000

getitatdukesnail

Hannah Rozear — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:00:36 +0000

bibliomanager

Hannah Rozear — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:07:57 +0000

bibliomgr

Hannah Rozear — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:15:57 +0000

Google Scholar Tips

Hannah Rozear — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:30:17 +0000

Google Scholar is an excellent tool for searching across a set of scholarly journals and books, but how do you get your hands on the articles or books that you find? When you're using Google Scholar off campus, you'll need to set your Scholar Preferences to recognize Duke University Libraries. Select the link for Scholar Preferences: Under the section Library Links, enter Duke University Libraries and then select Find Library: Make sure you select the Save Preferences button before beginning your search! Once your preferences are set, you'll see the Get it @ Duke link next to your search results. The Get it @ Duke link will connect you to the online or print version of the article/book in the library: Do you use a citation tool, like EndNote or RefWorks? You can also set your Scholar Preferences to provide links to import your citations to EndNote or RefWorks: If you have any more questions about Google Scholar, Ask a Librarian!

sms-example

Michael Peper — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:44:00 +0000

sms-example1

Michael Peper — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:50:58 +0000

sms-example2

Michael Peper — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:55:35 +0000

r u prplxt? snd a txt!

Michael Peper — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 10:20:52 +0000

The library has provided quite a few ways to contact us with your questions including phone, email, IM, research consultations and the reference desk on the first floor of Perkins. Take a look at the Ask a Librarian page for more details. Now you can ask questions just by texting us. Send us a question via text message and you'll get an answer on your mobile device within minutes. Send a message to 265010 (that's right, just six digits), enter 'dukeref:' followed by your question and send.

This can be handy if:

You're on the bus and you want to confirm that the library is open
You want to see if that book on reserve is available right now
You're in the library and you can't seem to locate your book or get the shelves to move
You have a research question and you just love to talk with your thumbs

Messages are limited to 160 characters and texting rates apply. But if you like to text, you knew that already.

fail-whale

Tiffany Lopez — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:30:01 +0000

Tweet Tweet! AskRef's Twitter Feed!

Tiffany Lopez — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 02:58:21 +0000

Are you all-a-twitter about Twitter? So are we! If you have questions, you can go to the reference desk or IM, email and text librarians. But what if you just want some general updates on library happenings? What if you're curious about some of the fascinating questions we are asked each day? How do you get that kind of information? Why, from Twitter of course! If you're already glued to Twitter, then you can follow us now! While you can post anything you want to your account, we try to keep it interesting. Our updates range from tips on ways to use our services (like texting a librarian if you're in the movable stacks and they are stuck) to highlighting important days (two weeks ago we celebrated W.E.B. Du Bois's birthday on Twitter by including a link to some of his works in our collection). Sometimes librarians are pretty hip, so we Tweeted about our Full Frame Film Archive for those of you who couldn't get enough of the Oscars last week. And sometimes...sometimes we get questions that are just awesome. So we will Tweet them to give you something to think about. You want an example? "Where can I find information about spontaneous cataracts in dogs and monkeys?" So, yeah. You're interested. Find us by searching for 'askref' or just click here.If you have yet to enter the Twitterverse, you can check out these frequently asked questions to see what it's all about!

mendeley

Hannah Rozear — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 17:47:22 +0000

mendeley1

Hannah Rozear — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:29:29 +0000

mendeley2

Hannah Rozear — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:33:24 +0000

Mendeley: Manage, Share & Discover Research

Hannah Rozear — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:22:53 +0000

Got a pile of PDFs on your computer? Turn your research documents into your own personal digital library with Mendeley--a new tool for organizing and sharing research. Mendeley has a downloadable (free!) desktop software component, as well as a web-based component (Mendeley Web). Mendeley Web allows you to sync your library of PDFs, so that you can access them while you are away from your computer. Mendeley Web also serves as a social networking tool for connecting with researchers in your field. When adding PDFs to Mendeley's desktop client, Mendeley extracts the metadata (author, title, publication info, etc.) and creates a record for each PDF that you add to your Mendeley library. In addition to storing your PDFs, you can use the tool to add annotations and tags. How does Mendeley differ from a tool like Zotero? In a nutshell, Mendeley grabs citation info from a PDF, whereas Zotero grabs citation info from webpages. Many reviewers note that the Mendeley's sharing and collaboration features are superior to other tools, including tools like Zotero. Reviewers also pointed out another notable difference in the development philosophies of these tools...Zotero is 'open source' (developers are sharing the code, so that many people can contribute). Whereas, Mendeley is currently a closed, commercial product. Note: Mendeley is still in 'Beta', which means its developers are still tweaking the tool! You can have a look at the features here: http://www.mendeley.com/tour

Doodle: Easy Scheduling

Nathaniel King — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:40:03 +0000

Imagine: You have to organize a group meeting with several people who have busy schedules. Person A: I can't meet on Wednesday, can you meet Thursday? Person B: I can't meet on Thursday, can you meet Friday? Person C: Ughhhh...there has got to be a better way to organize meetings! Try Doodle. Doodle is an online tool that makes it easy to schedule group meetings and other appointments. Doodle is simple, quick, free and requires no registration. You can also use Doodle... ...from your Mobile (beta) ...in Facebook ...in iGoogle

chalkboard

Michael Peper — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:39:23 +0000

Catalog (Beta) Improvements!

Debra — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:41:22 +0000

There were three significant enhancements and three minor enhancement and/or fixes made to the Catalog (BETA)interface in the past two months, and we also have some additional updates about upcoming features to the system. If you have any concerns or questions about the Catalog (BETA)catalog interface, please send us a message via the feedback form. UPDATES Hold/recall requests can now be placed from within the Catalog (BETA) interface. You no longer have to jump to the Classic Catalog to place hold-requests and you will only need to sign-in once per session to place as many hold-requests as you like. "My Reserves," Tab. This tab provides you with listings of your current reserves materials. The tab requires you to sign on to see its contents, and only provides you with your course reserves information. This is a strong departure from the "classic" catalog's "reserves" tab in that it doesn't require you to remember (and correctly spell) your course numbers/instructors/titles, and provides total course reserves information on a single page. We are hopeful that this approach will provide dramatically improved functionality. The system now uses an enhanced login process, with auto-logout timing for all users. You can log in using either your NetID or your library card number from a single log-in screen that defaults to using your NetID when available. All users' sessions are also now timed so that they will end after a certain period of inactivity (currently, a half-hour of inactivity for logged-in patrons, an hour for non-logged-in users). Unlike the Classic Catalog, the auto-logout feature does not refresh the browser page and steal the computer's focus; instead, the system performs the logout in the background when a user next tries to access the system. Implemented Google Analytics for browsing statistics (completed February 4, 2009). Since early February 2009, all web traffic in the integrated search environment (Endeca, Metalib, etc.) has been logged by the Google Analytics tool for future analysis. Syndetics book-cover-images now served up via the "Limelight" network (completed March 5, 2009). Implemented appropriate URL changes to provide Syndetics cover-images through Syndetics' Content Delivery Network (Limelight); hopefully this will increase cover-image display/response rates as the cache-system gets progressively more data. Note that this does not affect the response speed (or failure rates) of other Syndetics enriched content, such as Summaries, Table of contents, First Chapters, etc. Catalog interface no longer errors out when going directly from a results-list page to a full-record page (which was not part of the results-list) and then trying to search again on the unchanged terms and index that produced the original results-list. DIACRITICS There is good and bad news on the diacritics front. On the negative side, after extensive testing of the thesaurus-based solution in Catalog (BETA)version 6.x, the Search TRLN Operations Committee ultimately came to the conclusion that even the performance enhancements in the newer version of Catalog (BETA)were not sufficient to mitigate the performance problems introduced by using a custom-built thesaurus to provide full diacritics-searching support. On the positive side, additional extensive testing on a "normalization" strategy appears to provide a stable, performance solution to the long-standing issue of diacritics-searching support. Even better, this solution works on the existing version of Catalog (BETA), which means that a solution is not tied to upgrading Catalog (BETA)on the Search TRLN servers. Currently, there is no specific date set for implementing the solution, but it is likely to take place in early April 2009. At that time we can hope to say with assurance (really!) that the Endeca-based catalog can handle diacritics searches. Thanks to every one for their patience in this important aspect of the system. UPCOMING PLANS FOR THE INTERFACE Incorporation of "My Library Card" functionality into the interface Incorporation of "shopping cart"-like features in the interface so that you can manage multiple catalog (or article) records at once

Timesaver=Lifesaver

Kyla — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:47:00 +0000

It's the one little line in your assignment that can lead to hours of work: Format your paper in APA (or MLA, or Chicago, or Turabian...) Inserting correct citations and a properly formatted bibliography used to involve complicated manuals, memorization of arcane facts about space placement after a period, and a lot of hair pulling. Kudos to those who want to keep citing by hand...but for those who don't, it's.... REFWORKS to the RESCUE! We're kicking off a whole week of RefWorks training, which will run between March 30th to April 3rd, to introduce you to your new best citation friend. What is RefWorks? It's a web-based program that collects all your research and references in one handy spot, search and select them, and automatically generates citations and bibliography in whatever style your Professor is asking for. In other words, RefWorks is a Lifesaver! Drop by and learn more all week: Mon. March 30: Bryan Center 12-2 pm Tue. March 31: Lilly Library 1-3 pm Wed. April 1st: Perkins Library 1-3 pm Thu. April 2nd: East Campus Marketplace 12-2 Fri. April 3rd: Bryan Center Plaza 12-2 pm

Namibia Independence Now!

Nathaniel King — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:35:09 +0000

Struggles for Freedom in Southern Africa

Nathaniel King — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:52:12 +0000

The Struggles for Freedom in Southern Africa collection consists of more than 180,000 pages of documents and images, including periodicals, nationalist publications, records of colonial government commissions, local newspaper reports, personal papers, correspondence, UN documents, books, oral testimonies, life histories, and speeches. Materials in the Struggles for Freedom collection have been selected to address the following five broad themes: • the colonial system and its consequences; • popular resistance; • anti-colonial organisations; • regional and international contexts; and • wars of liberation, destabilisation, and internal conflicts. Click here to access the Struggles for Freedom in Southern Africa collection.

Free video lectures

Michael Peper — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 20:13:02 +0000

Even the best professors, books and classmates can be improved with some additional information. In this post we're going to list a few places where you can find some great lectures to supplement what you're getting in your own course. The first is a series of lectures from Academic Earth. This site includes one-off lectures on a given topic or entire courses from schools like Harvard, Princeton and UC-Berkeley. They can be browsed by university or subject area. Viewers also have an opportunity to rate each lecture or course so others can see which are "top-rated." There are resources for many different subjects including political science, astronomy, religion and entrepreneurship. Get started with an Introduction to Ancient Greek History. Lecturefox provides a search engine and browsable lists for lecture materials. The site indicates the title of the lecture, the university and whether video, audio, and/or notes are included. You can browse by chemistry, computer science, math and physics categories, but again, there are other subjects included. Some lectures can also be found at individual university sites such as MIT's OpenCourseWare project, UC-Berkeley's YouTube page and of course all the resources available at iTunesU at Duke.

Lenin Poster

Nathaniel King — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:53:00 +0000

The Left Index™

Nathaniel King — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:06:11 +0000

The Left Index™ is a complete guide to the diverse literature of the Left, with an emphasis on political, economic, social and culturally engaged scholarship inside and outside academia. Topics covered include the labor movement, ecology & environment, race & ethnicity, social & cultural theory, sociology, art & aesthetics, philosophy, history, education, law and globalization. Historically significant early Left publications such as The People (est. NY 1891) and The Class Struggle (1931 - 1937) along with classic texts by Marx, Lenin, Trotsky, Engels and others, written in the formative years of the Left are also covered. Click here to access the Left Index™.

Want $1000?

Emily Daly — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:22:42 +0000

Then enter your research paper or project into competition for the Libraries' Durden Prize or Middlesworth Award. Undergraduates who make exceptional use of library collections (yep, articles that you get online through the Libraries website count!) are eligible for the Durden Prize. Undergraduates OR graduate students who incorporate materials from the Rare Books, Manuscript and Special Collections Library into their research are invited to submit papers for consideration for the Middlesworth Award. All winners will be recognized at a reception at Parents and Family Weekend 2009 and will receive $1000. Submissions for both awards are due to the library by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 15. Note: Both awards require a faculty member's signature, and the Durden Prize requires a short essay on your research process, so you may not want to wait till May 15 to decide to apply!

Papers (from Mekentosj.com)

Hannah Rozear — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:52:48 +0000

Papers (from Mekentosj)

Hannah Rozear — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:57:19 +0000

iTunes for Your Papers

Hannah Rozear — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 21:51:19 +0000

Wouldn't it be nice to have all your research (your papers, articles, etc.) in one place? Papers (for Mac, iPhone & iTouch) allows you to download, browse and organize all of your research from within its attractive and intuitive interface (2007 winner of Apple's Design Award).

Papers allows you to perform searches in major databases, like Web of Science, JSTOR, Google Scholar and PubMed (to name a few). Articles retrieved from databases include rich metadata goodies, like full bibliographic info. The marketing of this tool seems to be geared towards science-related research, though it has potential for any form of research.

The $42 fee may be a deterrent to some, but students can purchase Papers at a 40% discount ($16.80). The application does wonders for organizing your papers, but does not support bibliographic managment (EndNote, RefWorks and Zotero).

For all the PC owners out there, sorry...the creators of Papers (Mekentosj) show no love for the PC. But check out an earlier post on the PC-friendly pdf organizer, Mendeley.

PublishOrPerish

Michael Peper — Fri, 22 May 2009 17:48:38 +0000

Publish or Perish

Michael Peper — Fri, 22 May 2009 17:59:34 +0000

There are a number of ways to analyze the impact of publications of a particular researcher (including yourself). A longtime favorite has been ISI's (Social) Science Citation Index, which has come to the web as Web of Science. The web has introduced a number of other tools for assessing the impact of a specific researcher or publication. Some of these are GoogleScholar (don't forget to set your preferences!), Scopus, SciFinder Scholar, and MathSciNet among many others. Joining this group is Publish or Perish, with a slightly different take on this process. Publish or Perish uses data from Google Scholar, but it automatically does analysis on the citation patterns for specific authors. After searching for an author (works best with first initial and quotes, such as "DG Schaeffer") you can select the papers you want to analyze and you get metrics such as total citations, cites per year, h-index, g-index, etc. Any analysis done can be exported to EndNote, BibTeX or a CSV file. The software is available for Windows and Linux and is a quick, light, free download from the Publish or Perish website. It's more of a do-one-thing-well software and isn't full of features, but this makes it easy to use. It was created by an Australian professor and she includes some thoughts on her site about GoogleScholar as a citation tool as well as an explanation of the metrics used in the software.

rss

Nathaniel King — Tue, 26 May 2009 18:30:00 +0000

Are you up-to-date?

Nathaniel King — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:30:09 +0000

For many faculty and graduate students who remain on-campus, the summer is the time to catch up with all those things that got left behind in the end-of-semester rush. With the deluge of articles and books in your field, it's sometimes a challenge to keep up-to-date. Not any more. If you use Duke's databases for your research, you can use RSS feeds to send you automatic updates on relevant articles, authors, journals, search results and citations. These feeds allow you to automatically and effortlessly: -Find out who's citing your work -Find new research in your field... Read More

Études françaises et francophones

Nathaniel King — Fri, 29 May 2009 14:45:21 +0000

Facebook for Faculty (Part One)

Nathaniel King — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:09:53 +0000

2collab is a collaboration platform designed specifically for researchers in the science, technical and medical communities.

Produced by Elsevier and intended for use by professional researchers in academic, government and corporate institutions, 2collab provides a great solution for the following challenges:

1. I need a place to store and manage my online bookmarks 2. I'm collaborating with colleagues and I need a place where I can share information easily with my network 3. I need new ways to get recognition for my work As a published author you can import and display your publication history (with citation counts!) using Elsevier's extensive coverage of over 2.5 million validated author profiles and a database of 15,800 peer-reviewed journals. Learn more...

Doodle Image

Nathaniel King — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:51:34 +0000

libguidesvideo

Nathaniel King — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:58:22 +0000

YouTube Video for Library Guides in Non-English Languages

Nathaniel King — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:03:49 +0000

duke3

Nathaniel King — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:41:38 +0000

Library Guides in Non-English Languages

Nathaniel King — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:53:28 +0000

Library Guides in Non-English Languages

Nathaniel King — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:03:07 +0000

Attention: Faculty and Teaching Assistants Do you teach classes in non-English languages? Does your class need library resources? Subject specialists, with language skills across the curriculum, are available to create online guides that showcase the wonderful range of non-English resources the library has on offer. These guides can be easily integrated into Blackboard for use by students. Would you like a library guide for your class? Ask a Librarian!

Library Guides in Non-English Languages

Nathaniel King — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:07:14 +0000

dukeyoutube2

Nathaniel King — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:26:04 +0000

Library Guides in Non-English Languages

Nathaniel King — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:33:17 +0000

Facebook for Faculty (Part Two)

Nathaniel King — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:00:39 +0000

Name ambiguity is a recurring issue that impacts research accuracy and quality, career advancement and tenure, global collaboration among researchers, and identification and attribution of funding for institutions and individual authors alike. ResearcherID.com by Thomson Reuters (the creators of ISI's Journal Citation Reports) allows researchers to:

Generate a unique identifier to ensure that your work is correctly attributed to you
Provide a way for your institution to properly measure your performance
Manage your publication list and professional profile online, in one place
List previous institutions in your profile to helps others find you as you move through your career

Learn More...

sticky

Michael Peper — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:24:03 +0000

Tree-saving Sticky Notes

Michael Peper — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:54:04 +0000

Sticky notes are great for jotting down quick thoughts to act on later. On the negative side, they have serious shortcomings when it comes to organizing all these ideas and sharing them with others. Here are a few web tools which expand the utility of sticky notes and bring them to your electronic environment. Stixy Here is beefed-up, electronic version of your paper sticky note. Here you can create sticky boards and cover them notes, photos, to-do lists and documents and mark them up as you want. Then you can share them with group members and they can make and see edits and updates too. MindMeister This tool is a great way to organize your thoughts and is very easy to use. The interface is very appealing and is really fun to use. Plus, you can share your maps and collaborate with others with Twitter, Skype, iGoogle gadgets, Firefox add-ons and various export options. You can get a basic account (read: free) with up to six maps and premium accounts for a little more than free. Check out a completed map. Bubbl.us This is a similar tool to MindMeister. It's not as feature-rich, but for what it does, it's simple and easy. It has great keyboard shortcuts that allow for quick brainstorming and notetaking. Again, it keeps things organized and related in a way that you can make sense of all the notes you're taking. Twiddla What you get here is basically a clean slate. It approximates a clean white board and you are free to doodle, add text, change colors, etc. It also has browser buttons that, when clicked, bring that web page into Twiddla where you can mark on them and share with others. This could be a helpful way to comment on the design or content of a web page and let others see your ideas. What web tools do you like for keeping track of your thoughts and collaborating? *Thanks to Lisa R. Johnston for her SciTech News column which inspired this post.

**Photo credit:http://www.flickr.com/photos/outofluck/ / CC BY 2.0

Can't get enough Library Hacks?

Sarah — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:40:39 +0000

Do you find yourself waiting longingly for the next post of Library Hacks? Is there just nothing that will satisfy your thirst for research, technology and library related news?? If so, LibWorm is the tool for you! LibWorm, a search engine that searches over 1500 library related or librarian maintained blogs, can help you find research tips, tools and strategies from librarians of all types from all over the world. Just type in a topic of interest and - PRESTO! - Hundreds of librarians are at your fingertips.

wr20libguide

Emily Daly — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:23:51 +0000

Want the Library Everywhere? There's an App for That

Michael Peper — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:57:51 +0000

There are iPhone apps for just about anything. They've got you covered if you need to get Danish handball scores, calculate alimony, keep track of your pet's vet records, or create and test palindromes. There is more than just fun in the world of apps, though. Here are some great research tools for mobile devices. At Duke, there are a number of great ways to work in the library wherever you are. You can use the library's mobile website to find library hours, available computers, directions, contact info and more. If you're doing medical research, take a look at Duke's Medical Center Library mobile site. It's full of features enabling you to do PICO analysis, browse e-journals, and link to many helpful mobile resources. On the Digital Collections blog, it was recently announced that you can search, browse and view our Digital Collections on your mobile device. Be sure to watch the short video demonstrating the ease of this feature in their post announcing this new tool. Just announced this week, you can now watch vintage ads from Duke Libraries Hartman Center from Duke iTunes U. There are other nice mobile tools outside of Duke as well. This is just a partial list and some of these are third-party apps, but this will give you an idea of the possibilities out there. Some useful apps include those for WorldCat.org, the arXiv pre-print server for physics, math, computer science, etc, or the Papers PDF organizer software in mobile form. I'm sure I've missed some helpful mobile resources. What others are out there?

data

Michael Peper — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:14:55 +0000

Back it up!

Michael Peper — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:25:43 +0000

There are few things worse than working hard on a paper or a project, spending hours researching and writing only to lose that work and not be able to retrieve it. This can be just as frustrating when all your past work is lost because of a computer crash, lost flash drive, etc. Backing up your files is increasingly important, but often it's something you don't consider until it's too late. Here are some strategies to make backing up easy. Take a look. Your future self will thank you. Lifehacker did a feature on the various methods for recovering deleted files. This is for those moments when you've deleted a file and you realize it right away. Won't work for every situtation, but when this happens, here are some helpful tips. It's now also possible to store your data and files "in the cloud." This allows you to keep all your important items on a remote server that really helps if you delete something on your own machine or if your laptop is stolen or otherwise damaged. Some of these options allow you to schedule backups automatically, so your data is backed up without requiring you to remember to do so. Mozy and Carbonite are two of the leaders in this area, but there are many providers, all with their own storage limits, features, strengths, weaknesses and pricing models. Look to the comments about various providers in this blog post to get a sense of some of your options. Lifehacker gives you step-by-step instructions for setting up automatic backups to an external hard drive. Finally, Wired magazine provides a feature with several backup options for Windows PC users and Mac Users. Have you found any backup strategies that are easy and effective? Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/swanksalot/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

A ramble to foreign libraries

Heidi Madden — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:16:09 +0000

...Or, how to browse full-text collections of books and more in foreign libraries without leaving your chair. Contrary to popular belief, there is no single starting point for browsing open access Digital Collections for Western European Studies –the Europeana is as yet more of a vision than a reality.

Today’s spotlight is on finding digital libraries of full-text materials in German Studies as one example of browsing what is available from libraries abroad. Your best first stop is this excellent list of digital production centers dealing with German language materials: Digitale Sammlungen [Dr. Klaus Graf]. Add to this a website on Digitalisierung und Digitalisierte Bestände that lets you browse digital libraries by subject or by geographic area: you will find materials for the study of witchcraft , travel literature , this includes travel in the Americas , and cook books for immigrants, to highlight just a few themes.

Digital Collections add international materials previously unavailable in US libraries. Take the debates of the Reichstag as an example: I remember well standing in the stacks at the Historisches Seminar Tübingen combing through the heavy volumes of the Reichstagsprotokolle to write a paper on the German politician Eugen Richter. These volumes are not held in US libraries, but today, I could search all of these volumes from my desktop through the free digital library of Reichstagsprotokolle.

A combination of free online content hosted abroad and Duke Holdings can add dimension to your syllabus. Contact me for help with Western European Studies: Heidi Madden

Finding your way using GIS

Mark Thomas — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 19:57:38 +0000

If people are at all familiar with geographic information systems (GIS) software, they typically think of it as a tool for commercial cartographers or for government agencies needing to illustrate dry scientific reports. But GIS software offers students and researchers in any field (sciences, humanities, and social sciences) a powerful (and often, a remarkably simple) analysis and presentation tool whenever they're dealing with information that has a locational element. The Data & GIS Services Department at Perkins Library supports ArcGIS software as well as Google Earth Pro. The Brandaleone Family Center for Data and GIS Services on the second floor of Perkins Library has this software installed. ArcGIS software is also site licensed for faculty and staff at Duke, and is available in OIT labs on campus, while basic Google Earth is free to download. Duke affiliates who want the Pro version of Google Earth can contact Joel Herndon or Mark Thomas. ArcGIS is great for analyzing any sort of data with a spatial element (for instance: data organized by county; associated with addresses; or containing latitude/longitude coordinates, such as GPS data). You don't even have to make a map ... you might just want to answer questions about distance (example: what are the closest stores that sell tobacco to each school, and how far are they; or which such stores are within a certain distance from each school), location (example: for a set of crime data, identify the census tract that each crime is in, if you want to study socio-economic characteristics of the neighborhood); or network analysis (example: least-cost routes along roads and rivers to bring logs from tree plantations to mills). These are only a few of many possibilities (examples reflect real projects done here). If you do want to build your own map for a paper or publication, ArcGIS is great for creating one that shows just the features you need, starting with a simple basemap and editing or adding more layers to created a customized presentation. Google Earth has fewer analysis capabilities, but has a short learning curve and a large database of online geographic layers ready to go. Some sorts of data are easy to add (such as addresses or latitude/longitude coordinates). The map creation is less customizable than ArcGIS, but there are a lot of options for novel visualization. Some Duke users, for instance, have found it useful for creating attention-getting maps for poster sessions. A few of the more focused interactive mapping databases (often dealing only with US Census data) that have GIS analysis or presentation features, or GIS layer download capabilities, include SimplyMap, Social Explorer, National Historic GIS, and Neighborhood Change Database.

Notice anything different about your Bb site?

Emily Daly — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:37:20 +0000

If you're a Blackboard user, you may have noticed an addition to the left-side menu this past spring. The new Library Guides button automatically directs you to a page of research tips and resources developed, in many cases, by a librarian who specializes in a subject area related to your course. See a general research guide or a page that doesn’t reflect the goals of your course? Contact your subject specialist, who will replace the Library Guides link with a more appropriate page or work with you to design a guide specific to your objectives and assignments like the one below, which was created for a Writing 20 course: Still have questions about this CIT/Libraries collaboration? Email Emily Daly, or check out CIT’s Blackboard support for more info.

homepage

Debra — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:13:40 +0000

Screenshot of Duke Libraries' Homepage August 2009

homepage_sm

Debra — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:36:03 +0000

Homepage Enhancement Icon

Enhanced Homepage goes Live Monday

Debra — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:51:01 +0000

The Digital Projects Department is pleased to announce that the enhanced homepage will go live before classes begin on Monday. Thanks to all the Libraries' staff who helped collect and interpret user input. The focus of the Libraries' homepage is first to facilitate research, teaching and learning and second to promote our services and resources.

Here is a brief summary of enhancements based on that focus statement:

Digital Collections are now searchable from the homepage via a new tab in the 'Search Our Resources' section.
Links were reviewed and edited down to only those most used as was identified by statistics and a circle maps exercise.
- Links to services and resources are given priority and located in the top portion of the site.
- Help links (How Do I?...) are located under links to resources and services.
News headlines are now each aligned with a corresponding image. Clicking an image will bring you to the related story. Two news items display at a time; more can be accessed without leaving the homepage by clicking the left & right arrows.
Recent posts from the Libraries' various blogs (including the professional school libraries) are displayed; use the left & right arrows to browse through posts without leaving the homepage.
In an effort to give greater prominence to the Libraries' exhibits, an image and link for a current Library Exhibit is visible in the lower right portion of the screen.

You can preview these changes at the following URL while the DPD works to put them in production:

We will review these changes this fall and make adjustments as necessary. Please watch for invitations to participate in assessment activities for the Libraries' web resources.

Have a great semester!

student

Michael Peper — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:25:37 +0000

student1

Michael Peper — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:26:58 +0000

Tools for Back to School

Michael Peper — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:10:24 +0000

Now that classes are definitely back in full swing, we wanted to share some help with some of those consistently vexing issues for students. Refer to previous posts for some information on data backup, free video lectures, and electronic sticky notes. Finding textbooks - Most know Amazon, but there are some other options out there for online textbook shopping. Bookfinder searches across many online book retailers, making it easy to compare prices. Chegg is a big textbook rental site, allowing for use of books for only a short time. Lifehacker tips - This site helped inspire the name of this blog and is a great source for little ways to make life better, often with technology, but often without.

Sleep better: Includes alarm clock suggestions and napping strategies
Take better notes: Taking notes seems simple enough, but there are three methods here for getting more out of those scribbles
Memory Hacks: Ten tips for remembering all you're learning

For a large list of all types of web apps that could be helpful for students, check out this list from readwriteweb. This list is a couple years old, any new apps on the scene since then? **Photo Credit: Student raising his hand in a classroom, 1970 William Gedney Photographs and Writings Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/gedney/

Soccer in a Global Context

Linda Daniel — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:50:44 +0000

The World Cup will be played in South Africa in the summer of 2010 and important soccer matches are being played around the globe this fall to determine the thirty-two countries that will qualify for the tournament. To prepare you for these games, several books are available in the Duke Libraries on the subject of soccer and its global importance. In Franklin Foer’s book, How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization, soccer is described as part of the economic, political, and cultural fabric of society. In a series of essays, Foer explores the cultural roots of fierce soccer rivalries around the world, rivalries that make battles between Duke and Carolina or the Red Sox and the Yankees look tepid. Matches between the Rangers and Celtic in Glasgow reflect the divide between the Protestant Rangers supporters and the Catholic Celtics and has roots in conflicts that date back to the Reformation. Matches between Barcelona and Madrid in Spain are recreations of the Spanish Civil War. Foer examines soccer as a liberalizing force in Iran and as a destructive force in Serbia, where soccer hooligans were used as death squads in the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s. Although Foer does not, as his title suggests, provide a unifying theory of soccer and globalization, this book is a fascinating study of soccer in its cultural context and provides vivid examples of how national conflicts are reflected in the game of soccer. The Thinking Fan’s Guide to the World Cup, edited by Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey, provides essays about each of the thirty two countries that qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Each essay presents a short summary of the soccer history of the country and how each team qualified for the tournament, and places soccer in the context of that country’s culture and politics. Examples include the importance of qualification to war-ravaged Angola, the impact of globalization on the English economy, and the relationship between jihad and soccer in Saudi Arabia. Although the 2006 World Cup is in the past, the profiles of each country are fascinating and informative, and deepen one’s understanding of the world and its relationship to the world’s most popular sport. Grant Farred, a Duke University faculty member, traces his passion for Liverpool football from his early years in apartheid South Africa in his book, Long Distance Love: A Passion for Football. He explores the cultural context of soccer around the world. Farred provides a shocking history of how Argentina’s military junta used the success of the Argentinean team to cover its ruthless oppression of dissent. Farred brings an obvious passion for world football and the Liverpool team as a lens to examine the global struggle for freedom. Although American readers will not be familiar with many of the events and players that are important in the history of Liverpool football, the reader is swept along by the force of Farred’s narrative and the deeply personal nature of his writing. There are interesting films and discussions being held on campus this fall in conjunction with Professor Laurent Dubois’ course, “World Cup and World Politics.” A series of films about soccer are free and open to the general public. Lilian Thuram, Caribbean-born French soccer player, activist and writer, will share his thoughts on sport, racism, and immigration as well as discussing the work of his new foundation. The talk will take place at the Nasher Art Museum on Nov. 10 at 7:00 pm. More information at http://soccerpolitics.com/. Photo Credit: Anthony Bidard/FEP

eprint reprint - paper jam got you down? read on -

Anne Langley — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 20:41:27 +0000

Duke’s ePrint distributed printing system now allows you to print a job again without running back to your computer. With ePrint, you send a job to the system and then swipe your card at any print station and select the job from your print queue. With ePrint rePrint, the job goes back into the print queue for 15 minutes. If you need to reprint the job within that timeframe, just swipe your DukeCard at any ePrint station and choose the job out of the list of available jobs in your print queue. (sincere thanks to the Duke Divinity school blog)

labmeeting

Jean Ferguson — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:50:36 +0000

labmeeting

Jean Ferguson — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:57:01 +0000

Social Networking for Scientists

Jean Ferguson — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:27:17 +0000

We've been getting more and more questions in the library about how researchers can find information from other disciplines. For example, how can someone working on membranes in Psychiatry connect up with someone working on membranes in Materials Science? In a world where waiting for the published article is increasingly too late, we've been trying to find new avenues. To answer the question above, I thought, 'I wonder if there is a social networking site for scientists?', did a Google search, and voila - Labmeeting! The interesting part about Labmeeting is that it is only freely available to scientific researchers. You have to either get invited by a scientific researcher you know, or show online proof that you are doing scientific research. Or pay $99. Thus, not being a scientific researcher, nor willing to part with $99 for a look-see, I was unable to join. A search on Duke presented 120 results and included the following:

Associate Professor at Duke University interested in the following topics: Monomeric lambda repressor, Ribonuclease P protein, Protein A, NMR, CD, fluorescence, stopped flow, amide exchange, dynamic NMR
PhD Student at Duke University interested in the following topics: In vivo model systems, genetic screens, immunoblotting
PhD Student at Duke University interested in the following topics: Photonics

Give it a shot and let us know what you think: http://www.labmeeting.com Addendum: As William Gunn points out in the comments below, there are other similar tools which you may want to try. They include:

Upload research articles

Automatically match them to bibliographic records for reference management
Search the full text of all your PDFs
Mark them for fast retrieval and viewing
Recommend them to your colleagues

Economic Effects of Migration

Christof Galli — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:45:21 +0000

One of the most pressing issues in global policy development is migration. The 2005 report by The Global Commission on International Migration (GCIM) to the UN Secretary General Kofi Anan outlines the dimensions and dynamics of international migration. The report has focused the attention of a number of inter-governmental organizations (IGO) and agencies on a variety of aspects created by migration. While the 127 member-country International Organization for Migration (IOM) is the leading body to take on an advocacy role for the implementation of "safe and orderly migration" through research and policy development, agencies such as the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have been monitoring monetary streams, called remittances, which are created by migrants who send part of their earnings back to their country of origin. These transfers have reached, according to a WB estimate, $397 billion in 2008, $305 billion of which were sent to developing countries by 190 million migrants or 3% of the world population. A recent IMF publication (Occasional Paper 259) traces the Macroeconomic Consequences of Remittances. The World Bank's 'Migration and Development Brief 10' provides an Outlook for Remittance Flows 2009-2011: Remittances Expected to Fall by 7-10 Percent in 2009. The brief is accompanied by country-by-country data in Excel format. Figures on monthly remittance flows for selected countries are also available. These data update the Migration & Remittances Factbook 2008 (check availability @ Duke), a "snapshot of migration and remittances data for all countries, regions and income groups of the world, compiled from various sources." The Migration & Remittances page on the World Bank site offers access to more papers and publications related to this topic. In addition, the World Bank blog People Move provides timely updates on emerging research findings and trends. It goes without saying that the services which send the money back to the migrants' home countries are not free. The WB traces the cost of these transfers on its Remittance Prices Worldwide site. It is to be hoped that the sheer magnitude of these transactions and their economic impact will help to focus attention on the humanitarian and ethical issues underlying the process of migration, issues which are often, despite the apparent beneficial financial results, less than benign.

Do you love your librarian?

Jean Ferguson — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:35:26 +0000

Help them win $5k and notoriety through the Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award!. The award invites library users to recognize the accomplishments of librarians for their efforts to improve the lives of people in their community. Nominations will run through October 9 and are being accepted online at www.ilovelibraries.org/ilovemylibrarian. Up to 10 librarians will be selected. Each will receive a $5,000 cash award, a plaque and a $500 travel stipend to attend an awards ceremony and reception in New York, hosted by The New York Times in December. In addition, a plaque will be given to each award winner’s library. Nominees will be judged by a selection committee based on quality of service to library users, demonstrated knowledge of the library and its resources and commitment shown in helping library users. As they say in Chicago, vote early, vote often!

Images of colonial Taiwan are available free online

Luo Zhou — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:15:43 +0000

For people who are interested in colonial Taiwan(1895-1945), there’s some good news. Libraries inside and outside Taiwan are digitizing their special collections including photographs and art images and make them free available to interested researchers and general public. The following are four selected collections: Three photpgraph collections from Lafayette college’s digital collection. All the photos have very detailed descriptive data (bilingual in many fields) and the images are of good quality themselves.

Taiwan Colonial Pictorial Works: has 59 sepia photographs from Taiwan from the period 1933-1938
The Gerald Warner Taiwan Image Collection : A US consul's impressions of urban and rural life in Taiwan under Japanese colonial rule.
The Michael Lewis Taiwan Image Collection: A collection of 530 colour postcards from the period March 1918-February 1933.

Taiwan Art Exhibition (1927-1943) Database 台灣美術展覽會資料庫 from Academia Sinica of Taiwan has Images of 2144 artworks from 16 art exhibits during Japanese colonial period. Information is in Chinese with Japanese titles.

Parents’ Weekend Program October 23rd- Global Access and Local Action

Carson Holloway — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:30:52 +0000

Global Access and Local Action- Health Information and Open Access Friday October 23rd , 1-3pm 217 Perkins Library. In an era of globalization, issues of connectivity and access to information concerning health care and health related systems remain uneven across the world. Duke students and faculty from Trinity College and the Duke Global Health Institute will discuss their experiences with information access in health projects around the world, as well as their interactions with health consumers and professionals in other countries. Sponsored as part of Open Access Week by Duke University Libraries and the Duke Medical Center Library

theknightswhosayni

Catherine Shreve — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:35:22 +0000

Just say "Ni!"

Catherine Shreve — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:46:30 +0000

Do midterms and research papers have you crying out "Run away! Run away!?" Take a study break and just say "ni!" to them for awhile with Duke Libraries Monty Python resources. You'll find videos, books, audio, and music in our catalog. [caption id="attachment_4501" align="alignright" width="375" caption="Knights who say ni"][/caption] Why? Because, those zany blokes are celebrating their 40th anniversary in NY City this week. Besides, it's a proven fact that laughing yourself silly is an effective antidote to stress. According to a literature review in the Journal of Psychosocial Nursing & Mental Health Services ¹

There are several beneficial efforts attributed to humor and laughter, including improved immune function, increased pain tolerance, and decreased stress response.

If you must rationalize it as schoolwork, you might hone your persuasive argument skills with The Argument Clinic

I don't think there's a punch-line scheduled, is there?

¹MacDonald, C. (2004). A chuckle a day keeps the doctor away: therapeutic humor & laughter. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing & Mental Health Services, 42(3), 18. http://search.ebscohost.com

lsc013

Joline Ezzell — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:16:59 +0000

delivery-truck-icon

Joline Ezzell — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:39:39 +0000

LSC Unveiled

Joline Ezzell — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:45:40 +0000

: Shelves in the LSC

The catalog says the location for the item you want is "Library Service Center." Where's that? and what is it? The Library Service Center, or LSC, is a high-density shelving facility in East Durham that holds the library's books and other materials for which there is no room in the campus libraries. With 30 ft. high shelves, it can hold 4 million volumes. No searching for call numbers on the shelf here - it's all tied to barcodes. Check it out for yourself:

If you want something from LSC, click on the next to the title. Then click the Request link in the "Get This Title" box. Deliveries are made to and from campus libraries twice a day during the week and once on weekends.

Term papers by the numbers...

Linda Martinez — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:32:20 +0000

Ready to start that term paper? Not sure how to start? The University of Minnesota Libraries have created an assignment calculator to help students organize their time to meet their research needs. Start with today's date, enter the date assignment is due, a timeline is provided, with research milestones. Use Duke Library links for local, on-site research assistance. For example, How do I begin my research? or Find a Librarian in my subject area? or ask for help are just a few of the services available to you through the Duke Libraries.

dali-clock-500x500

Jean Ferguson — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:11:07 +0000

What really matters when citing sources?

Emily Daly — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:12:44 +0000

You may know that two major style manuals -- APA and MLA -- have released new editions in the last six or so months. And if you're aware of that fact, you undoubtedly know that both editions contain inconsistencies in their examples and enough errors to require APA to post an 8-page list of corrections and then replace its first run copies with a second printing. The new rules have driven confused and frustrated researchers to sources such as APA's blog, which provides examples and attempts to explain the more complicated rules (check out the DOI/URL flowchart -- yes, this rule requires a flowchart), or Purdue's Online Writing Lab (OWL), which hosts APA and MLA resources that received 3.5 million and 2.5 million hits, respectively, during September and October alone, according to the coordinator of OWL. It is evident from these stats alone that librarians and faculty have spent countless hours supporting the researchers and students who have spent even more time formatting manuscripts to meet the unbending rules of CSE, APA, MLA and enumerable others. As Barbara Fister posits in her ACRLog post, is this time well spent? Is research somehow made more valid when its footnotes are perfectly formatted, its works cited page spaced just so? Have we spent so much time agonizing over comma placement and tracking down database names that we've lost sight of the whole point of citing sources in the first place? Do our budding scholars realize that citing sources is not merely an academic hazing ritual of sorts, causing them hours of extra labor after their papers are written? It would seem that the newest editions of APA and MLA are only muddying the waters, making it harder for researchers -- especially novice ones -- to achieve the true goal of citing sources: to give credit to the scholars their research builds upon and to make it as easy as possible for their readers to learn more about that work. And if we can agree on that primary goal, how do we get back to emphasizing it rather than the arcane rules?

Reception/Artist's Talk, 5:30 pm, 12 November 2009, Rare Book Room

Elizabeth Dunn — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:57:34 +0000

Come hear a talk by photographer Jennette Williams, whose exhibit of platinum prints of women in baths in Budapest and Istanbul is on display in the Perkins photography gallery through 13 December.

Fonts

Elizabeth Dunn — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:37:53 +0000

Even if you think you have no interest in printing, I urge you to listen to this very interesting podcast of To the Best of Our Knowledge from Wisconsin Public Radio.

Interviewees include the designers of Gotham (the Obama campaign font) and Verdana (the Internet font) and Nicholson Baker on the Kindle. If you are interested in typefaces, you'll swoon!

fonts

Jean Ferguson — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:10:34 +0000

fonts

Jean Ferguson — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:11:23 +0000

ear

Zeke Graves — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:10:11 +0000

phonograph

Zeke Graves — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:13:27 +0000

A Piece of Sound Advice: “Use Your Ears!”

Zeke Graves — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:21:23 +0000

Previous posts have focused mainly on text- and image-based resources. This installment will highlight audio, specifically free resources available on the Internet. Here are a few: The British Library’s public collections include field recordings of natural and urban soundscapes, music from around the world, a survey of English dialects, early spoken word recordings, as well as historical information on sound reproduction technology. Xeno-Canto hosts an archive of bird sounds from across the globe and makes good use of Google Maps in its search and information display interfaces. London Sound Survey is a nice example of how audio can contribute to an overall picture of a geographical place and its culture and history over time. The Freesound Project is a collaborative database of Creative Commons licensed sounds (focusing only on sounds, not songs). Free Music Archive is an interactive library of high-quality, legal music downloads directed by New Jersey's freeform radio station WFMU. This is just a small sample of what’s out there. Now it’s up to you to decide how audio could enhance your research, project or presentation. Here’s some inspiration: http://tenement.org/folksongs/client/

New Netbooks at Perkins Next Fall

Debra — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:53:50 +0000

Before finals Information Technology Services (ITS) polled patrons at the Perkins Reference desk to see which netbook they preferred the Lenovo s12 or the slightly smaller Lenovo s10e. 9 of 10 surveyed said they preferred the slightly larger s12 over the s10e because the larger keyboard was easier to use and the 10 inch screen display was clearer. Some also felt the wireless on the s12 was faster. Overall the larger model was easier to use while not compromising portability. Based on these findings, we will likely purchase the s12 to replace the current pool of loaner laptops next fall. Patrons were also asked what software they would like on these laptops. Most said they would need Office and a Web browser but there were also requests for Adobe products and EndNote. What software would you would like us to include on the build? Complete Survey Results Perkins Loaner Laptops

Paolo Mangiafico in the Chronicle of Higher Education

Elizabeth Dunn — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:34:15 +0000

http://chronicle.com/article/How-to-Prepare-Your-College/49455/

Video Killed the Journal Star?

Michael Peper — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:56:57 +0000

We previously discussed the growing number of sources for getting lecture videos in the post Free Video Lectures. These are great ways to provide an alternative for the classroom experience. But what about using video as an alternative to traditional scholarly communication or publishing through journals, books, etc? Here are a few sites promoting open scholarship by allowing researchers to display their research methods and results through video. SciVee This site is focused in terms of content, focusing on the sciences, but could be helpful for a wide range of audiences. There are videos here for children through postgraduates. They build in nice browsing features as well, so users can select the proper language, audience, subject and sort by recency or popularity. Contributors also include figures, supplemental materials and links to the original article or presentation. The theme here is openess as anyone can view or contribute anything. Research Channel While not as slick and easy-to-use as YouTube, Research Channel focuses on high quality submissions from research universities, like Duke, and large organizations such as the National Institutes of Health. You can browse by institution, program title or subject and the quality is good and from respected sources. FORA.TV An interesting and well-designed site. It focuses on videos about politics and economics, but also includes categories such as the environment, science, technology and culture. This is a great place to come to see mental celebrities (General Richard Meyers, Dr. David Kessler for example) talk about the subjects for which they are famous. FORA.TV can't compete for YouTube in terms of volume, but it more than makes up for that with its quality and interesting discussions. Big Think Another example of lower volume, but higher quality. These videos have big thinkers (if not always big names) discussing the big ideas. Instead of talks about individual research projects, these videos focus more on big-picture synthesis of research on important topics of the day. While it's not the open model of SciVee or YouTube, Big Think provides a platform for discussion of important issues by those who speak knowledgeably and engagingly about them. What are other good sites for publishing or viewing research-oriented videos? *Thanks to Lisa R. Johnston for her SciTech News column which inspired this post.

Sociology Resources Online

Linda Daniel — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:48:03 +0000

Duke users now have access to the sociology research database SocINDEX with Full Text. This new subscription provides comprehensive coverage of sociology resources, encompassing all sub-disciplines and closely related areas of study. SocINDEX with Full Text features more than 2,066,400 records; extensive indexing for books/monographs, conference papers, and other non-periodical sources; abstracts for more than 1,200 "core" coverage journals dating as far back as 1895; and provides cited references that can also be searched. SocINDEX with Full Text offers coverage for topics including: abortion, anthropology, criminology, criminal justice, cultural sociology, demography, economic development, ethnic & racial studies, gender studies, marriage and family, politics, religion, rural sociology, social psychology, social structure, social work, sociological theory, sociology of education, substance abuse, urban studies, violence, welfare, and many others. In addition, SocINDEX with Full Text features over 25,000 author profiles. Each profile includes contact information, journals of publication, and author's areas of expertise and professional focus. SocINDEX with Full Text is a great resource for your sociology research.

Real-Time Search: 5 Alternatives to Google, Bing

Heidi Madden — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:23:27 +0000

Real-time search tools let you search not only the Web but also Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and similar services -- which can prove especially helpful when events such as the Haiti earthquake happen. >>> Here's a look at five tools for effective real-time search. http://www.cio.com/article/521064/Real_Time_Search_5_Alternatives_to_Google_Bing

Quiet study spots in Perkins/Bostock

Joline Ezzell — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:52:14 +0000

Quiet study spots Looking for a quiet place to study in Perkins/Bostock? No need to limit yourself to the designated quiet rooms in Bostock - the International and Area Studies Reading Room on the 2nd floor and the Carpenter Reading Room on the 3rd floor. Check out some of the lesser known places. Group spaces For those who want large spaces in which to study, the Gothic Reading Room on the 2nd floor of the oldest wing of Perkins (closest to the bus stop) could be perfect. Individual spaces On the 3rd and 4th floors of Perkins individual open carrels are available on the side facing CIEMAS. On lower level 2 of Perkins, you might find an individual table/chair tucked away at the ends of aisles. Individual carrels are available around the edges of the 5 upper stack levels in the oldest part of the building, accessed by making a u-turn around the circulation desk, entering level A, and taking the interior stairs to levels B-F. Additional open carrels are available at the back of the 3rd and 4th floors of Bostock.

Ever wonder what you can ask a reference librarian?

Anne Langley — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:13:03 +0000

During the month of January, Reference librarians at Perkins Library answered a total of 1,795 questions, excluding questions sent in by chat. Here is a sampling of the questions asked last month - * Need help tracking down the volume in which a 1883 botanical illustration appeared? * game theoretic applications to executive compensation? * US and global railcar manufacturing? * Seeking 1968 Soviet physics journal? * I spilled some coffee--do you have any paper towels? * I am trying to locate a book of collected drawings of the Great Kanto Earthquake by children. I have found an oblique reference to it in a caption to an illustration without any bibliographic info? * Stem cell biology in traumatic brain injury: effects of injury and strategies for repair? * what citation management tool do you recommend? * GIS : how to get started; availability of data for India? * trouble accessing journal article? * help finding articles for class? * speech by Booker T. Washington in Atlanta, 1895? * can you eat in the library? * How to find Russian books? * 2001 Indian Census volumes for Gujarat * I can't find this shelf at all, where are these books? You can ask reference questions in person (Perkins Reference Desk), im/chat (click on the askusNOW icon), email (askref@duke.edu) or by phone (660-5880). Save some time and get the information you need quickly!

Growing Your Knowledge Base

Cheryl Thomas — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:39:25 +0000

Need new research material? No matter what it is -- book, DVD, CD, database, etc. -- our library offers services to obtain it. You May:

Suggest a purchase:

http://library.duke.edu/services/forms/suggestpurchase.html

Request it through ILL:

Be sure to Search TRLN first in case the book is closer than you think. Loans from libraries in the Triangle Research Library Network generally are quicker: http://search.trln.org/ Otherwise use Interlibrary Loan: http://library.duke.edu/libraries/ill.html Also, keep in mind that not everything is available through ILL, though many things are. For other requests see the forms at: http://library.duke.edu/services/forms/index.html

What screencasting can do for you

Julie Adamo — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 01:22:14 +0000

Screencasting technology allows you to record what is happening on your computer screen with accompanying audio commentary and then share it with others. It enables remote collaboration and learning and provides an effective medium for educating users in the best use of databases and online resources. It is a handy and useful tool for students, teachers and developers of software and web resources. Screencasting is especially useful in learning environments where it can be used to make live recordings of presentations or training sessions, to comment verbally on projects and assignments, to remotely show students how to use software or search a database, or for collaboration on projects. Developers can use screencasting to highlight features in new products or to give a tour of a website or resource. These tools can also be used socially for things like sharing narrated slide shows with friends. More advanced tools with additional features, such as Camtasia and Adobe Captivate, are available for purchase. These tools allow you to edit your content and import still images, video, and PowerPoint slides and also let you create accessible tutorials and lessons through the use of closed captioning. Several basic tools such as Jing, Screenr and Screen Jelly are available for free. These online tools are designed for easy use so you can begin making screencasts immediately. Have you tried any screencasting tools? What did you think?

launcch1

Alice Whiteside — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:17:03 +0000

Librarians Want to Know

Alice Whiteside — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:26:22 +0000

We hope you know that librarians are here for you - we are in the business of supporting research at all levels, assisting students, faculty, and everyone in the Duke community. In an effort to improve the services we provide, we are trying to better understand the research habits and needs of different groups at Duke. This is where the User Studies Initiative comes in. We are trying to get past our own preconceived notions about what our users need and base decisions about library services on empirical evidence. The User Studies Initiative is a staff development effort, providing librarians at Duke with the tools and know-how to conduct effective user studies.

On Monday, March 8th, a group of Duke librarians presented this work-in-progress to colleagues from across North Carolina at the annual LAUNC-CH Conference. Their talk, Know Thy User: Duke Libraries User Studies Initiative, demonstrated to other librarians the feasibility of conducting effective, targeted studies to better understand users’ needs and wants. Diane Harvey and Yvonne Belanger provided the big picture view of the initiative, and Emily Daly, Linda Daniel, and Shawn Miller discussed studies they are currently working on. To read more about the presentation, see Diane Harvey’s post on the new Instruction & Outreach blog.

What do you wish the library did that it doesn’t? The User Studies Initiative is an ongoing project intended to generate a culture of continual assessment and improvement of library services. Let us know what you think!

duke-university-ncaa-champions--d-10nc-x-00195sm

Catherine Shreve — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 21:41:16 +0000

Of champions & libraries

Catherine Shreve — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 22:12:17 +0000

What else can we say this week except: DUKE RULES! How does the library relate to (or compete with) that? Well, ummm...here are some facts to peruse as you transition from celebration to research focus:

The University Archives has a collection of coaches' films--men's basketball films date from 1947 to 1996.
And here's a pictorial history of our own Blue Devil.
Duke Libraries hold 112,186 unique titles that no other library in the world reports having.
We are 5th in the nation for our Film & Video holdings with 81,517 Film and Video titles collected.

Now that you've calmed down, don't forget that the subject librarians have created research guides for you, and will meet with you to help you find sources for your papers. Here are some recent reviews of our services:

Thank you so much! This is extremely helpful! Bravo! my awesome Duke librarian

Flying Books

Michael Peper — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 20:39:47 +0000

Flying Books

Michael Peper — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 20:48:31 +0000

iPad in the Library

Zeke Graves — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 20:31:33 +0000

Courtesy of the CIT blog, here is an article from the Duke Chronicle on the future of the Apple iPad at Duke University and its libraries: http://dukechronicle.com/article/duke-taps-ipad-fall-2010

Flying-Books1

Michael Peper — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 21:38:37 +0000

Books To-Go

Michael Peper — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 21:44:08 +0000

Earlier, we told you about the many ways to get audiobooks through Duke and on the web. There is now a new way to download audiobooks straight from the web. NC Live is now providing 750 downloadable audiobooks that are available in .mp3 format so you can burn them to a CD or transfer them to a portable device like an iPod. Just browse, select, and download the title of your choice to your computer, then transfer your selection to a portable listening device for on-the-go audio enjoyment. Subjects focus subjects focusing primarily on language learning, classic literature, history, and biography. Available titles include The Shawshank Redemption, Slaughterhouse Five, Atlas Shrugged or learn to speak French, German, Greek or Thai. Use this link to download books while you're on campus... And if you're off campus, connect to NC Live and then browse to Audio Books. Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22244945@N00/4394440698/

The World Bank Frees Data

Christof Galli — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 19:54:01 +0000

On April 20, 2010, the World Bank announced that it would offer free access to its global development and financial indicators. This puts the widely used and well-liked World Development Indicators (WDI), the Global Development Finance (GDF), the African Development Indicators, and the Global Economic Monitor (GEM) at the fingertips of anybody who wants to use them for analysis, policy development, decision-making, etc. (http://data.worldbank.org/). The data have become freely available to anybody who wants to re-distribute them, use them in mash-ups or apps. The World Bank has created a how-to guide and by mid-2010 will make the Web API available to developers. The data catalog offers an extensive listing of all databases and pre-formatted tables. The terms of use of the data are very liberal and impose very few restrictions.

Zotero 2.0

dh100 — Tue, 04 May 2010 14:58:07 +0000

A while ago, Library Hacks blogged about Zotero, an open source research organizer/citation management system developed at George Mason University. One of their tag lines is “Good bye 3x5 cards, hello Zotero.” (Yes, we know that many of you don’t even remember taking notes and saving references on 3x5 cards…). A lot has happened since those blog posts, including the release of Zotero 2.0. The new version has features that enhance collaboration and information sharing, one of Zotero’s four key functions (collecting, organizing, citing and collaborating). Your Zotero collection can now be synced between multiple computers, and you can backup your files on Zotero’s web server. If you want to collaborate with others to compile material in Zotero, you can now create a group, access material in real time, and move materials among group members. Groups can be public (here’s a list of public Zotero groups that you can join or view) or private (for a course assignment, research or work-related project). What are some advantages of using Zotero? It’s fairly easy to learn to use it, it works with a wide variety of materials, the collaborative features are great, and it’s free. NYU Libraries created a great site that compares Zotero, RefWorks and EndNote. Interested in migrating from EndNote to Zotero? Check out the useful migration instructions prepared by George Mason University. More information about Zotero 2.0 can be found here. The Libraries are looking at how we can support Zotero at Duke. Stay tuned.

Duke Campus GIS Data

Mark Thomas — Tue, 11 May 2010 18:46:37 +0000

Members of the Duke community who are engaged in research relating to the campus infrastructure can now download GIS Layers of the Duke campus and surrounding areas. These are in formats compatible with ArcGIS software, and some (the shapefiles) are importable into Google Earth Pro. The layers were created by Duke's Facility Management and are being provided for download by Perkins Library's Data & GIS Services Department. Categories of data include general campus features (e.g., building footprints, parking lots, crosswalks, Duke Garden trails), campus vegetation (e.g., coniferous trees, hedges), topography (contour lines), and color aerial photography in geo-referenced MrSID compressed format. The area of coverage includes not only West, Central, and East campuses, but many of the surrounding Durham neighborhoods. But no, undergrads, we have nothing showing the tunnels! We hope to improve the documentation over time with improved metadata, as well as periodically update the layers. Users should contact Mark Thomas or other staff in the Data & GIS Services Department for help in using this data.

Interested in what's "Beyond the Stacks"?

Emily Daly — Tue, 11 May 2010 19:17:34 +0000

Now that the semester is over and you're ready to begin your summer research or plan your courses for the fall, consider learning more about ways that the librarians at Duke Libraries can help. Librarians Heidi Madden, Andy Armacost, Jill Katte, Lee Sorensen and Emily Daly will be offering sessions on topics ranging from using digitized primary sources in the classroom to building and storing online image collections at Duke, from Western European studies resources to EndNote citation management software. These "Beyond the Stacks" sessions are part of the Center for Instructional Technology's 21st Century Teaching & Learning Workshop Series and are designed for faculty and graduate students interested in integrating library resources and services into their teaching. Participants will also, however, leave with valuable tips for using library resources in their research. Have an idea for a "Beyond the Stacks" session? Contact Emily Daly. Interested in learning more about the Teaching & Learning Workshops Series? Check out the full schedule of events.

Never too soon for next semester..

Linda Martinez — Mon, 17 May 2010 15:14:16 +0000

How I Was Able to Ace Exams Without Studying

http://zenhabits.net/ace-exams/

New Database on China 1833-1949

Luo Zhou — Thu, 27 May 2010 19:40:19 +0000

National index to Chinese newspapers and periodicals, 1833-1949 全国报刊索引 is an index database is from Shanghai library and covers about 18,000 Chinese newspapers and periodicals published 1833-1949. There are approximately 400,000 entries in NICNP (1833-1910) and more than 4,000,000 entries in NICNP (1911-1949). From 1833 to 1949, China experienced great changes from the dynastic reign to the establishment of Republic of China(1912) then to the founding of the People's Republic of China(1949). These journals and newspapers record the major and minor events at that time, including two Opium wars in mid-19th century and the Japanese invasion of China(1937-1945). They are important primary source materials to the study of China's politics, economics, ideas and culture in this period.

New Haiti archive

Heidi Madden — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 14:19:20 +0000

http://haitiquake-archive.unlb.org/default.aspx

Twitter as History

Linda Daniel — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:03:21 +0000

The Library of Congress announced that it has acquired and will archive every public tweet since Twitter's service started in 2006. That's more than 50 million tweets per day. Twitter declared, “[it is] very exciting that tweets are becoming part of history.” Notable tweets include: Obama's tweet when he won the 2008 election: http://tiny.cc/srs68 and the first tweet from Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey: http://tiny.cc/aa2nt. The Twitter archive joins the Library's Web capture project that already has stored 167 terabytes of digital material. There are some limitations. Personal tweets will not be collected and the Twitter archive will be available only for scholarly and research purposes. Google doesn't think you should have to wait for the Library of Congress to make archival tweets available—it’s turning on a feature that lets you choose a date and “replay” the tweets from that point on. Google’s search combines Twitter updates with those from MySpace, Facebook and Buzz.

manumed_tiny

Christof Galli — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:19:19 +0000

manumed_tiny

Christof Galli — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:22:06 +0000

manumed_tiny

Christof Galli — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:23:43 +0000

manumed_tiny

Christof Galli — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:29:51 +0000

New & Free: Three Recent Islamic Studies Sites

Christof Galli — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:35:24 +0000

Three recently created and published online collections of images, manuscripts, and theses in the field of Islamic Studies are indicative of a growing number of rich and diverse free online resources in this field.

Images: The Casselman Archive of Islamic and Mudejar Architecture in Spain provides access to over four thousand color slides and black and white photographs of medieval Spain taken by the late Eugene Casselman (1912-1996) during his thirty years of travel throughout the Iberian peninsula. The images span over one thousand years of architectural history, from the seventh to the seventeenth century.
Manuscripts: The Manumed project database consists of a body of 255,635 digital files and 13,373 descrip tive summaries of manuscripts, prints, videos, radio broadcasts, etc. Besides a wide variety of French resources, it houses significant numbers of Arabic materials, among them manuscripts form the Library of Alexandria, Arabic medical manuscripts, Arabic and Berber manuscripts owned by a French repository, and the manuscripts of Lmuhub Ulahbib.
Theses: Researchers and librarians working in Islamic Studies now have online access to nearly 1000 Ph.D theses in the subject, spanning over ten years. JISC, The Academy and The British Library have combined their resources to bring together Islamic Studies theses from universities across the UK and Ireland.

manumed_2_med

Christof Galli — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 18:12:31 +0000

manumed_2_med

Christof Galli — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 18:14:45 +0000

manumed_1_sm

Christof Galli — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 18:15:46 +0000

manumed_2

Christof Galli — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 18:17:27 +0000

Black Short Fiction and Folklore is Now Available

kjhunt — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:07:21 +0000

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="79" caption="New Database"][/caption] Black Short Fiction and Folklore is the most comprehensive collection yet created of stories from African and the African Diaspora. When complete, it will feature 8,000 stories and folk tales published in more than 15 countries from the mid-1900s to the present. In addition to these published works, the database features previously uncollected works and unpublished manuscripts by many authors. We have an impressive collection of fables and folktales, which arise from oral traditions that date back hundreds of years. The relevance of the collection extends well beyond literature:

Fables and folktales provide unique insights into a culture’s history and memories. Social anthropologists and psychologists will find this collection to be rich in myth and societal customs. The extensive indexing even makes it possible to see how certain parables evolve over time and to compare New World fables with those told in Africa today.
Ideas expressed here often are not found in mainstream publications; getting novels published through traditional publishing channels was often impossible for blacks. But through short stories, these writers could express themselves quickly and distribute their works effectively through literary journals and other alternative forms.
Historians will find the collection to be rich in political discourse, social commentary, and polemic.

What is new with with E-Books, Open Content, Mobile Learning, and Augmented Reality?

Heidi Madden — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:58:34 +0000

From the website: “The annual Horizon Report is a collaborative effort between the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) and the New Media Consortium (NMC). Each year, the report identifies and describes six areas of emerging technology likely to have a significant impact on teaching, learning, or creative expression in higher education within three adoption horizons: a year or less, two to three years, and four to five years. “ The areas of emerging technology cited for 2010 are: Mobile Computing ; Open Content; Electronic Books; Simple Augmented Reality; Gesture-based Computing; Visual Data Analysis. The full report is available at: http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/CSD5810.pdf The July 12 Webinar presentations are also online at http://www.educause.edu/Resources/HorizonReport2010ProjectsinEBo/207847 This news item came to my attention via Resource Shelf http://www.resourceshelf.com/

Peer review: "The coin of the realm"

Emily Daly — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:27:55 +0000

On Monday of this week, librarians from Duke, North Carolina Central, NC State and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill gathered for the Triangle Research Libraries Network's (TRLN) annual meeting. We librarians always look forward to the opportunity to catch up with colleagues from area libraries and learn more about the innovative things going on at their institutions, but the highlight for me this year was hearing from keynote speaker Diane Harley of the Center for Studies in Higher Education, lead author of "Assessing the Future Landscape of Scholarly Communication: An Exploration of Faculty Values and Needs in Seven Disciplines." The study conducted by Harley and four others was comprehensive: It involved over 160 scholars from 45 elite research universities and includes 12 case studies representing as many disciplines (anthropology, English language literature, law economics and biostats, to name a few), in addition to an extensive literature review and daily environmental scans of issues in higher education. As you might imagine, Harley and her colleagues gleaned an amazing amount of extremely rich data from their interviews of faculty, administrators, publishers and librarians. One surprise to Harley was the amount of time she and her colleagues spent discussing tenure and promotion (T&P) with their interviewees. Let's consider just a few of Harley's findings related to T&P and the role that scholarly publication plays in it:

- The most important aspect of T&P is a stellar publication record -- service, teaching and public engagement are important but secondary to publication

- New journals and genres are acceptable -- so long as they're peer reviewed

- Peer review is the "coin of the realm" -- it is the sole value system in academia, but...

- Peer review has problems: lack of speed, conservatism, bias, low quality reviews, non-scholar editors, cost to the institution to subsidize peer review via faculty salaries, lack of fraud and plagiarism detection

- T&P should be supportive of non-traditional forms of publication (e.g. Open Access journals)

- Publishers may say that they "do" peer review, but that's not the case -- faculty "do" peer review, at a cost to their institutions, NOT at a cost to the publisher

Do these ring true for you? Are these issues that you face in your work as a librarian, faculty member or aspiring scholar? How does the culture at Duke fit into this picture of T&P and scholarly communication? What can or should Duke Libraries do to support non-traditional forms of publication?

Lost in the sea of government information

Mark Thomas — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 15:40:01 +0000

It can be like looking for a needle in a haystack to find information from the US federal government. Most of this information is now online, but this hasn't made the task any easier. Here are just a few of the ways of searching for government information (documents or data) when you don't know where to go. The Government Printing Office (GPO) has for many years provided access to authoritative versions of major government publications through their GPO Access web site. The information on GPO Access is in the process of being migrated to GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys). The migration is occurring on a collection-by-collection basis. The information on GPO Access will remain current and continue to be available until migration is complete. Using the "browse" feature to scan though available collections can be most fruitful. This site is especially good for legislative and regulatory materials, and for regularly published reports such as the US federal budget, but also provides a link to GPO's online bookstore for more general government publications. The FedStats website provides links to statistical pages of US federal government agencies. You can look up the statistic by topic without knowing in advance which agency produces it. The "About" page provides more information about what's included in FedStats. Although this may lead to a lot of extractable and downloadable raw data in addition to statistics that are presented online, if you specifically need to locate machine-readable empirical or geospatial datasets generated by the US federal government you can try the Data.gov website. Datasets here may be in one of more the following formats: XML, CSV/Text, KML/KMZ, Shapefile, RDF, Other. General search engines to search across websites of federal government agencies and Congress include USA.gov (the "official" such search engine) and Google U.S. Government (formerly Google Uncle Sam). Always feel free to consult with the library's public documents subject librarian, Mark Thomas, and visit the paper collection of federal government publications (many older ones aren't digitized or even in the library catalog) on the second floor of Perkins Library.

Backing Up Your Cloud

Linda Daniel — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:46:44 +0000

Computer users often have ways to backup their computer files but, if you use a number of cloud-based services, you should also think about developing a strategy for backing up your cloud data.

Hopefully, you won't need the backup but we all know that problems with data storage can cause headaches: servers and internet access can go down and internet companies can have policies that change your access to your files. Chris Brogan, President of New Marketing Labs, recently wrote, "I woke up this morning in Montreal to find that my access to my Google accounts has been temporarily disabled due to a 'perceived violation of either the Google Terms of Service or product-specific Terms of Service.'" So, if you rely on such services as Gmail, Google Docs, and Flickr, you should think about a backup plan. PC Magazine has a good article, "Back Up or Else" that discusses different methods and strategies you can use to back up your cloud. They also give "best practices" to get you started. Here are a few suggestions taken from Natalie Houston, "How to Back Up Your Cloud": Backup Your Photos If you use Flickr to archive or display your photos, you may already have your photos backed up on your hard drive. But, if you upload photos directly from your computer or camera to Flickr, you may want to check out FlickrEdit, an open source program that allows you to download, backup, or upload your photos to and from Flickr. Backup Your Gmail The mail program Thunderbird is a simple and free way to backup your Gmail. Thunderbird is a mail program that collects and stores copies of your Gmail messages. Messages are stored in a simple text file so they are easy to access. Backup Your Google Docs GDocBackup, a free and open source utility, can be used to backup all your Google Documents to a local disk. It backs up those documents not found on your hard drive or with a different date. Other Ways to Backup Your Cloud? If you know other tools to use to backup cloud data, please post them as comments. I'm sure others would like to hear your suggestions. Thanks!

Interested in patent searching and patent analysis?

Linda Martinez — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 13:17:33 +0000

patsnap, developed at MIT, provides free U.S. and international patent searching with analytic services. http://www.patsnap.com/

Open Access to Knowledge

kjhunt — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:04:19 +0000

Open Access to Knowledge: The African Journal of Information and Communication The African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC) is an academic journal, accredited by the South African Department of Higher Education and Training. Formerly the South(ern) African Journal of Information and Communication, the AJIC is an annual interdisciplinary journal concerned with Africa’s participation in the “information society” and network economy. It is both a rigorous academic journal and a practical tool to inform the continent’s ICT actors and decision-makers in government, industry and civil society. In the spirit of open access to knowledge and scholarship, AJIC is now published online. For additional information: http://link.wits.ac.za/journal/journal.html#iss

Power tool for working with data

Michael Peper — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:40:12 +0000

If you deal with large amounts of data and especially if you use spreadsheets to work with it, there is a new tool for you. Freebase Gridworks allows you to upload data and then examine, filter and do data cleanup for 'grid-shaped data.' Visit the Gridworks project site for more information and videos that more fully explain and demonstrate some of the functionality of this tool. Short List of Gridworks Functions

Bring similar data together for normalization (CIT and C.I.T. or just plain old data entry errors)
Create facets based on any column of data
Make graphs of any two columns to quickly visualize relationships
Pull data from the Freebase database to add to your own data
Make external data sets more useful by creating linking

This is just a brief list, but visit the site for more detail and see how Gridworks could save you time in data cleanup or help to create visualizations you couldn't before.

Exploring Durham this Weekend?

Linda Daniel — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 20:55:31 +0000

As a Durham native, I know there are lots of interesting places where you can eat or relax after a busy week at work. Here are just a few blogs worth checking out, if you are looking for ideas: Carpe Durham: Ramblings about food by people whose only qualification is eating a lot Endangered Durham: Land use, architecture, history, and sustainable development Bull City Rising: Musings, reflections, and general gossip Durham Socialite: Durham's source for social events Please feel free to suggest other favorites.

What is your Lesegeschwindigkeit??

Heidi Madden — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 00:27:38 +0000

Jakob Nielsen , a renowned Danish researcher in the field of web design for user satisfaction, compared the speed of reading (Lesegeschwindigkeit) in print, on the Kindle and on the iPad in his latest research His conclusion is:” The iPad measured at 6.2% lower reading speed than the printed book, whereas the Kindle measured at 10.7% slower than print." The article links to more information on what we can expect from e-readers and tablet computers in the future; the future is bright indeed (no pun intended). On a related note…don’t miss this interesting classroom experiment comparing textbooks on Kindle versus iPad: “The E-Textbook Experiment Turns A Page,” broadcast on NPR this evening. User satisfaction with the Kindle seems to be significantly lower than user satisfaction with the iPad: “The problem is that the Kindle is less interactive than a piece of paper…” Use the comment section to share your experience with various devices.

The Entry Point to Global Africa

kjhunt — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 20:29:37 +0000

AllAfrica.com-Africa News Online is a comprehensive resource featuring stories from newspapers, magazines, and news agencies. The news service posts more than 1000 stories daily in English and French and also provides access to the Africa News Service Archives, a resource of more than 900,000 articles on Africa dating back to 1997. For pre-1997 materials, look no further than the Duke University Libraries. The Africa News Service was founded in 1973 by a trio of Duke graduates, Bertie Howard ('69), Tamela Hultman ('68), and Reed Kramer ('69). The Africa News Service resource files for 1960-1996 were donated to the library in 1997. The finding aid for the archives is available at: http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/rbmscl/africa/inv/ For the latest updated news from Africa, Duke patrons can access the database at: AllAfrica.com-Africa News Online

Electronic Book Plates

Cheryl Thomas — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 00:20:50 +0000

To highlight the generosity of donors, the Collection Development Gifts Unit is now adding electronic gift plates to records for new gifts in kind. Searchable in the catalog, the text can be found on the details tab. The default text on the book plates is" Gift of [Professor Kindheart]" but other text options are available. Since nearly 100% of donors during a pilot offering have already agreed to have this note added, we expect this option to be well received. It will soon become the default, though donors will still have the choice of anonymity. If you have further questions about donating books to Perkins Library, please contact staff in the Collection Development Gifts Unit, Cheryl Thomas or Ian Holljes.

internet charges during air flights....check out our E-readers

Linda Martinez — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 15:45:42 +0000

Reduce connection charges while flying..most major carriers charge between $5.00 to $13.00 for internet service. Gogo Inflight (gogoinflight.com) offers six-packs and 24 our flight passes that may cut your charges by as much as 30%. An alternative to online charges is to check out our E-readers, go to library.duke.edu/ereaders for more details.

Congrats to the winners of the Middlesworth Award & Durden Prize

Emily Daly — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 18:54:53 +0000

Parents' and Family Weekend brings with it special events and festivities held across campus, and Duke University Libraries are not excluded from the excitement. As part of our roster of activities, we will honor the recipients of the Middlesworth Award and Durden Prize for their exceptional use of the Libraries' special and general collections. Our heartfelt congratulations to the 2010 winners of the Middlesworth Award for their outstanding research using materials from the Rare Book, Special Collections and Manuscript Library: Undergraduate Award: Adrienne R. Niederriter “Speak Softly and Carry a Lipstick: Government Influence on Female Sexuality through Cosmetics During World War II” Nominated by Sarah Hallenbeck Undergraduate Award: Hannah C. Craddock “‘New Self-Respect and a New Consciousness of Power:’ White Nurses, Black Soldiers, and the Danger of World War I” Nominated by Malachi Hacohen and Adriane Lentz-Smith Graduate Award: Bonnie E. Scott “Demonstrations in the House of God: Methodist Preaching and the Civil Rights Movement in North Carolina, 1960-1969” Nominated by Laceye Warner and Kenneth Carder And our congrats to the 2010 recipients of the Durden Prize for their use of resources from and services related to the Duke University Libraries' general collections: First/Second Year Award: Julia Sun "The Myth of the Addict: Opium Suppression in Late Imperial China" Supported by Vasant Kaiwar Third/Fourth Year Award: Ryan Brown "The Native of Nowhere: Nat Nakasa” Supported by Karin Shapiro and Eugenia Cho "Architectural Acoustics of Symphony Hall" Supported by Dewey Lawson Honors Thesis Award: Andrew Simon “Intertwining Narratives: The Copts and their Muslim Relations” Supported by miriam cooke I would also like to recognize this year’s finalists for the Durden Prize: Lindsay Emery, Rose Filler, Caroline Griswold, Brad Lightcap, Brianna Nofil and Eugene Wang. We will be celebrating the achievements of our winners at an awards reception on Friday, October 22 from 3:30-4:30 in the Rare Book Room. All are invited to join us for refreshments and the opportunity to honor the recipients of and applicants for the 2010 Middlesworth Award and Durden Prize.

PAC Presents: Brownbag Discussion in the Haiti Lab

kjhunt — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 15:42:37 +0000

The Professional Affairs Committee of Librarians Assembly invites you to join Haiti Lab Co-directors Laurent Dubois and Deborah Jenson, Franklin Humanities Institute Director Ian Baucom and Librarians Holly Ackerman and Heidi Madden for a brownbag discussion of the Haiti Lab and the potential for involvement of Duke Libraries staff in future humanities labs. When: Friday, December 3 from 11:30 am-1 pm (moderated discussion will begin at noon) Where: The Haiti Lab; Smith Warehouse, Bay 4 Bring your lunch – we’ll provide dessert! Register online at: http://library.duke.edu/events/services/instruction/event.do?id=4641&occur=8691. Learn more about the Haiti Lab at: http://fhi.duke.edu/haitilab. For more info about the Humanities Labs, see: http://fhi.duke.edu/labs.

Google Scholar

kjhunt — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 16:34:06 +0000

Google Scholar is a search engine that allows users to search for scholarly materials on a topic. Instead of searching the entire web (like Google), Google Scholar searches the scholarly literature provided by numerous academic publishers, professional societies, universities and scholarly organizations. Search results include citations from peer-reviewed journals, theses, papers, books and technical reports. For the most part, Google Scholar provides citation-only results. The full-text of an article or book can be accessed by using the Get it @ Duke link. If you are using Google Scholar off campus, you will need to set your 'Scholar Preferences' to Duke University Libraries. Want to learn more about Google Scholar? Go to: http://library.duke.edu/research/help/googlescholar/index.html

Library and Campus Events

Mark Thomas — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 15:38:36 +0000

What’s going on at the library or around campus? There are several events calendars to keep you posted. You can get to the library’s Current & Upcoming Events page by clicking the News & Events link on the library’s homepage and then the Events >> heading (besides upcoming events, be sure to also check out the News, Exhibits, and Blogs). This page unifies listings from several of the library’s subunits (the Instruction & Outreach Department, the Data &GIS Services Department, and the Center for Instructional Technology) as well as from the Divinity School Library. Direct links to these calendars can be found at the right of the page. You can also receive an RSS feed to stay updated. Some library users can find interesting lectures, useful software training sessions, and workshops on the use of statistical data from the events calendar page for the Social Science Research Institute or SSRI (some of these, in fact, are cross-listed on the library calendars or taught by library staff). Many events at Duke can be found from the main Events@Duke calendar. Use the See all groups link in the left-hand column to get a listing of the many departments and groups at Duke that may sponsor workshops, lectures, and training sessions. At the top, you can select Day, Week, Month, or Year listings, and the RSS feed might be handy. Although it might be fruitful to spend time exploring the various Calendar Views and other options, please be aware that although the goal of this calendar is to be comprehensive not all campus events are submitted. You still may want to check individual calendars that interest you like the ones mentioned above or (for example) from Student Affairs, the Sanford School of Public Policy, the Nicholas School of the Environment, or the Fuqua School of Business.

Zotero Help

Sara Seten Berghausen — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 22:09:53 +0000

Library Hacks has blogged about Zotero before, and it continues to develop into an interesting and useful citation management tool. Unlike EndNote or RefWorks (both of which are freely available to Duke users under a campus site license), Zotero is an open source application, freely available to all. Currently it works only as a Firefox plugin, but plans are in the works for Zotero Everywhere which will be browser-independent. The Libraries are beginning to offer workshops (such as this one for English and Literature graduate students) and will continue to explore ways to support Zotero users. How can we best help you to explore research tools like this one? Give it a try and leave a comment to let you know your thoughts!

Exam Period Schedule: Research Services

kjhunt — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 19:52:39 +0000

Perkins Reference Desk Hours - Fall Reading and Exam Period December 13, 2010 - December 19, 2010 Monday - Thursday 9:00 am -2:00 am Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm Saturday 1:00 pm -5:00 pm Sunday 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Illuminations

Christof Galli — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 02:00:25 +0000

If Santa doesn’t bring you the coffee table book of sumptuously illustrated Middle Eastern manuscripts that you were hoping for, you can now console yourself by browsing through some illuminated treasures of Islamic civilization in a post at Archivalia. There you can see, among other images, a mighty lion attacking its prey from the Bibliothèque nationale de France’s Kalila wa Dimna, a Qur’an from Persia in The Royal Library at Copenhagen, a Persian miniature from a Diwan by Hafiz at the Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg, a 19th century Christian Arabic manuscript at the University of Brimingham, or one of the earliest Mughal manuscripts at the Indiana University Art Museum. And now that all these pictures have made you curious, you can read up about their history in Arabic painting: Text and Image in Illustrated Arabic Manuscripts, available in Duke's collection at Lilly Library. I hope you enjoy your holidays...

New features for JSTOR

kjhunt — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 16:21:18 +0000

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="322" caption="JSTOR"][/caption] Beginning January 1, 2011, JSTOR will provide access to the current issues of 174 journals from 19 different publishers. Here are a few things that you need to know about the new Current Scholarship Program (CSP): • Current issues will be seamlessly integrated with back issue content for institutional and individual subscribers to the titles. • New formats are available for current issues, including full-text HTML for some titles and PDF for all. • Multimedia is available, including zoomable images, videos, audio, and GIS for some titles. A complete list of these journals is available at: http://about.jstor.org/participate-jstor/libraries/current-scholarship-program/2011-title-list.

Foreign Office Files for China, 1949-1980

Luo Zhou — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 14:10:50 +0000

Sourced from The National Archives, Kew - the UK government's official archive, Foreign Office Files for China, 1949-1980 provides primary source materials in English language for researchers at all levels. Published in three sections covering the periods 1949-1956; 1957-1966; and 1967-1980; this database addresses a crucial period in Chinese history, from the foundation of the People’s Republic, in 1949, to the death of Zhou Enlai and Mao, the arrest of the Gang of Four and the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976. This complete British Foreign Office Files deals with China, Hong Kong and Taiwan in this period. These files are particularly important because Britain was one of the first countries to recognize Communist China and to maintain diplomatic relations with China and from 1950 onward. From their vantage point in Beijing British diplomats reported on the turbulent and confusing political, social, and economic developments. The Foreign Office’s reporting on politics, industry, trade and cultural affairs include:

Eye-witness accounts and detailed reports on life in China, 1949-1976.
In depth analysis of the Communist Revolution and all the major figures.
Material on the Korean War, the Cold War, US relations and the Cultural Revolution.

Please note that files for 1980 have not been released under the 30 year rule in time to be included at this stage but will be added by the publisher as soon as possible.

Social Justice Advocate Randall Robinson is the 2011 MLK Day Keynote Speaker

kjhunt — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 16:57:44 +0000

The annual Commemorative Service for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will take place Sunday, January 16th at 3:00 pm in the Duke University Chapel. This year's theme, Connect to the Dream, reflects a desire for today's youth to stay connected with, or reconnect to, Dr. King's values and vision for a world together. Randall Robinson is the author of An Unbroken Agony and the national bestsellers The Debt, The Reckoning, and Defending the Spirit. He is founder and past president of TransAfrica and is known for his impassioned opposition to apartheid and for his advocacy on behalf of Haitian immigrants and Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Frequently featured in major print media, Robinson has also appeared on Charlie Rose, Today, Good Morning America, and the MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour. Duke's MLK Program Time: 3:00 p.m. Duke Chapel Free and open to the public Free Parking -- Bryan Center Parking Garage

Looking for resource materials on Dr. King? Begin your research here.

New African Studies Centre Dossier on Southern Sudan

kjhunt — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 00:03:58 +0000

The Library of the African Studies Centre Leiden has compiled a web dossier on Southern Sudan to coincide with the 9 January 2011 referendum. In the referendum, southern Sudanese throughout the country will vote on whether to remain part of Sudan or secede and become a separate country. The referendum marks the end of the six-year interim period under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), also known as the Naivasha Agreement, which was signed by the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in Nairobi in January 2005 to end the decades-long second Sudanese civil war. The dossier contains titles of books, articles and online publications on civil war in Southern Sudan, the peace process, and the events leading up to the referendum. The web dossier can be found at: http://www.ascleiden.nl/Library/Webdossiers/SouthernSudan.aspx

mag-1294661716

ch195 — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 21:05:50 +0000

isbn_over

ch195 — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 21:39:06 +0000

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ch195 — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 21:42:33 +0000

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ch195 — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 21:49:45 +0000

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ch195 — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 21:16:13 +0000

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ch195 — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 21:26:30 +0000

isbn_over

ch195 — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 21:34:40 +0000

Textbook trials, tribulations and triumphs

ch195 — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 21:43:04 +0000

There exist several complimentary routes to getting your textbooks. Obviously, purchasing them at the bookstore is the easiest way – if you have more money than time. For those who have more time than money, there are other places to check first, so get started early. (For a little background on why textbooks are so expensive, check out the Government Accounting Office’s report on textbook price inflation.) Tip: Have the textbook’s ISBN handy. Having this number will help you to know that you have found the exact book (and edition) you need for class. Textbook information - including the ISBNs, exact title, edition number etc.- can be found at the Duke book store and on their website. [caption id="attachment_10141" align="alignright" width="313" caption="This image courtesy of McGraw-Hill"][/caption] PDQ Google Book: Google Book is a specialized Google search for, well, books. Only books. Is your textbook available? Search by title. Almost no book in Google Book is available in full text, however, so pages are always missing to conform to US copyright laws. BUT there are often whole chapters to be found. Google Book also offers links to finding the book in a nearby library (WorldCat) and online sale outlets (Books-A-Million, Half.com and others). Perkins Library : Might your professor have put a copy of the book on reserve? Though your access to the reserve copy is limited – it may be currently checked out by a classmate or restricted to in-library use only - a book on reserve is f-r-e-e! The book may also be sitting right on the shelf. Check the catalogue as well. Blackboard: Perhaps your professor put the first chapter or two in your Blackboard course site. Professors are not obliged to do this, but some do and it will buy you more time, so double check. Electrify: The electronic version of the textbook may be available at Perkins/Bostock to read on the computer or though an online store, especially if you have a Nook, iPad or Kindle. There is a special ebook search in our library catalogue, just under the main search field on the front page. Pretty soon Editions: Consider earlier or other editions of the textbook you need. Sometimes a new edition is created to include significant new material and findings. Sometimes a new edition is the same information rearranged and has added features like a CD-ROM or access to online materials. So, an older edition might suffice. So might a soft cover edition, instead of the hard back. InterLibrary Loan : Using this service, you can request to borrow from another library. ILL is a popular option, however. Also, the lending period for these books is determined by the library that holds the title, not Duke. You may have quite a short loan period and if there is high demand, it is likely that the book has already been requested or will not be lent so that patrons at that library may have a chance to use it first. International: Often the UK or Canadian publication or a printing meant to be sold in another country is the same as the US edition you need. These may be significantly cheaper to purchase, but consider shipping costs and timing when pursuing this option. Think Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.ca and remember to calculate the cost in US dollars to make sure it is a bargain. Rental options: Compare prices at some of the popular rental sites found with a Google search for “textbook rental”. This is a great time to have your ISBN handy to make sure you have the exact book that you need. Keep in mind that there may be delays with this method and there are few guarantees if there is a problem, such as the wrong edition or pages missing. Power to the people! DIY: Consider organizing a book swap or a student-to-student sales site. Often you can sell for more and buy more cheaply when you make a deal person-to-person, compared to a bookstore. This is another good time to check that ISBN to make certain that the edition you purchase is the same one used next semester. With this option, as well, there may be little recourse if you receive a damaged book or find out too late that there is a newer edition in use. Caveat emptor.

Peper PC Kids

kjhunt — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 17:10:31 +0000

Peper PC Teaching

kjhunt — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 17:13:15 +0000

in hut

kjhunt — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 17:15:40 +0000

house

kjhunt — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 17:17:17 +0000

giraffes

kjhunt — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 17:17:38 +0000

Picture 003

kjhunt — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 15:05:17 +0000

Photo taken outside Hunt's home at the Ikalyoni Secondary School in Eastern, Kenya.

clip_image002

kjhunt — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 15:14:47 +0000

Peper PC Teaching

kjhunt — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 19:45:20 +0000

African American Research Database Trials

kjhunt — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 20:32:29 +0000

Resources Currently Open for Testing by Duke University Affiliates Go to: Database Trials 20th Century African American Poetry: A database of modern and contemporary African American poetry, featuring almost 9,000 poems by 62 of the most important African American poets of the last century, including Langston Hughes, Jean Toomer, Imamu Amiri Baraka, Audre Lorde and Rita Dove 2011-02-28 African American Biographical Database: The African American Biographical Database (AABD) brings together in one resource the biographies of thousands of African Americans, many not to be found in any other reference source. These biographical sketches have been carefully assembled from biographical dictionaries and other sources. This extraordinary collection contains extended narratives of African American ... 2011-02-27 Black Abolitionist Papers: This collection documents the efforts of African American activists in their international effort to abolish slavery in the United States. Covering the period 1830-1865, the 15,000-item collection records the full impact of African American efforts to oppose slavery by displaying the writings and publications of the activists themselves. 2011-02-28

Zotero has some new features

ch195 — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 15:52:59 +0000

Are you an EndNote or RefWorks user? Many people on Duke's campus are. There is an open source alternative, however that you might want to check out. Starting out as a Firefox browser plug-in, Zotero let users capture any bibliographic information they came across while on the internet. With a click, you could capture and store bibliographic references from Amazon, Google Book or anywhere else. You could also organize your references in folders, search your folders and generate works cited pages. Now Zotero has a stand alone option (in beta) that works with Google Chrome AND Safari. Granted, this makes Zotero have pretty much the same features as EndNote and RefWorks in that all three now have web based and desktop solutions for citation management. What makes Zotero competitive? Try it and find out. Duke Libraries now offers some support for Zotero users, similar to the help you can get with RefWorks and EndNote, as well as upcoming instruction opportunities. For more information on Zotero's latest standalone option, click here. To find out more about Zotero support within the Duke community, contact librarian Ciara Healy at Perkins Library.