Free Printing in the Library

Okay – it doesn’t apply to the photocopiers. But if you are in the Library and using our computers to access the Library Website, you don’t have to worry about depleting your OneCard account to print. The reason we can offer free printing is because our public access computers (LRC 2nd floor) are restricted to access only research material from the Library Website. So you can use our laser printer to print out any research material from article databases like EBSCO or ProQuest, or the the online catalog – free.

We all know how expensive those ink cartridges are for our home printers. So enjoy free printing of research materials when you’re in the Library - it’s on us!

Most College Students will take courses Online by 2014

From Ambient Insight comes a report from a study they conducted about the growth of the electronic learning market. Will their predictions come true – and why – what are the implications for WSC – for academic libraries? Read this article by David Nagel from Campus Technology and see what college courses may look like within the next five years.

Video Search Engine

Go Beyond YouTube for your video search – try VideoSurf, a metasearch for video that looks at videos on Hulu, CNN, ESPN, Comedy Central, and MetaCafe.  The site features great sorting options, a Save Search/Alert feature, permalinks and a lot more. They offer a Firefox extension, APIs, and more tools too. They are sure to add more sources in the coming months.

From The Librarian in Black

Boston Public Library eCard

Massachusetts residents can sign up for a temporary (6 month) Boston Public Library eCard via the Web.

These virtual library cards allow users immediate access to all of the Boston Public Library’s electronic resources, including magazine databases, downloadable audio, video and music.

For more information, see the BPL’s eCard FAQ site. There is also a link to this along with the main BPL page on the WSC Library Website under Other Libraries.

Famous Movie Mis-Quotes

Mirror, mirror on the wall – who’s the fairest of them all?  Play it again, Sam.   Elementary, my dear Watson. I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore, Toto. These phrases have become part of the fabric of our everyday lives – but they’re all actually misquoted from famous movies.

AMC has a great site  which compiles the most familiar of these from 75 years of sound films called the Greatest Film Misquotes.  But don’t just take their word for it - clips are included so you can hear the quotes and the spoofs  for yourself!

DIY with Reference E-Books

The E-Reference invasion is happening at WSC. No longer do you have to confine your search of reference books to the physical stacks in the library, and be limited to research only during hours the library is open. Try these E-Reference Books! All 1,200 e-Book titles are available 24/7 from off campus.

• Credo Reference – 434 reference books from a variety of publishers. Searches all titles in just one search.
• Oxford Reference Premium Collection – “the world’s most trusted reference collection”. 200 titles from bi-lingual dictionaries to quotations to literary companions and more.
• Oxford English Dictionary – “the definitive record of the English language”. Over 500,000 words defined and verified by 2.5 million quotations.
• Gale Virtual Reference Library – 28 multi-volume, specialized reference sources such as encyclopedias of Alternative Medicine, Bioethics, Films and Filmmakers, Islam and the Muslim World…
• Pop Culture Universe - access by decade or subject. A vast array of almost 400 e-Books about the influence that popular culture has had on our world today.
• Encyclopedia of Science & Technology – 10th edition. Encyclopedia articles, video, news, images, scientific definitions and biographies on 7,000+ scientific topics.
• Biography Resource Center – 135 titles such as Contemporary Authors, Encyclopedia of World Biography, Contemporary Musicians… Also contains an added module of 22 titles in the respected Marquis Who’s Who series, such as Who’s Who in: America, Entertainment, Science & Engineering, Emerging Leaders…
• Current Biography – Research and reliable, in-depth profiles of people world-wide and across all professions. Includes updated biographies not available in the print set.
• General encyclopedias such as Britannica, Americana and the Academic American.

Flu Concerns

Do you have questions about the H1N1, Bird flu or seasonal flu? Your one-stop access to critical and reputable information is the web site http://www.flu.gov/.

This site, managed by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has pulled together all the information from the White House, CDC, Homeland Security, and the Department of Education, that you need to answer any and all questions about the flu. The site has webcasts, blogs, and lots of other connections, so you can get this important health information whichever way you like it.  The site is also available in Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese – and there are links to the Massachusetts plan for dealing with an influenza epidemic.

Save a Tree – Read a Book Online

There was an interesting feature on the local TV news last week about the new print-on-demand service now being offered at the  Harvard Coop. And the revolution in e-Book readers like Kindle and the Sony Reader, Google Books, and apps for the iPhone and iTouch are promising to change the way college students buy and use textbooks.

But if you don’t have a Kindle or Sony Reader, and want a free alternative, the WSC Library has almost 10,000 electronic books that you can “check out”.  Why read a book online? It’s a great way to get access to books that aren’t available locally when time is of the essence, if you only need to check a passage or need just one chapter. You can access our eBook collection on our subject guide for e-Books where there is a also a quick one page guide for first time users. It’s a free service for WSC users. Why not check it out?

Have you read a banned book lately?

What do Scary Stories, the Gossip Girl series, Kite Runner, The Golden Compass, The Color Purple, To Kill a Mockingbird and the boy wizard Harry Potter all have in common? Yep, they’re all on the list of banned books compiled by the American Library Association. This week, September 26 – October 3, 2009 is Banned Books Week. Celebrating the Freedom to Read is observed during the last week in September every year.  This ALA event reminds us to not take this precious democratic freedom for granted.

Do you need reviews, summaries, criticism, or articles on literary works like To Kill a Mockingbird?  Try our database The Literature Resource Center. It provides full-text information on thousands of literary works, authors and poets from all genres, time periods and regions of the world. You can read plot summaries, literary criticism, author biographies, listen to podcasts and much more – all from authoritative sources you can use in your research!

Get started in research using Credo Reference

How can you get started researching your topic when you don’t know where to begin? Try Credo Reference!

With one search Credo will search 403 reference E-books. Each source is clearly identified so you can properly cite the reference. There is also a terrific feature called a “concept map” that literally maps out your topic and related sub-topics so that you can focus your research more precisely. This is an interactive search which means it is mapping your topic, not returning some canned results.

Try it out by clicking on our Reference Shelf  page on the Library Website.