The start of another year...

Welcome back upperclassmen! We have had a wonderful, if somewhat stormy, Autumn term with the class of 2012, and now I am excited to have the rest of you back on campus.

As usual, I want to remind you to come see me for any help with research. I have migrated my old Web site to the Eckerd Academic wiki and added some new content. There is a page about writing and citing, a few video tutorials for finding books, course guides, information on Interlibrary Loan, and I hope to add a few more tutorials, such as Finding Full Text.

There are a few ways to access the wiki.

1. Directly: http://academics.eckerd.edu/facultywiki/index.php/NAS_Library_Guides:Main
2. Go to the library home page (www.eckerd.edu/library), click on STAFF, click on KERI LOGAN.
3. Go to the Eckerd Academic wiki through myEckerd, click on NAS LIBRARY GUIDES in the left navigation bar.

Enjoy your last weekend before classes start Monday. Eckerd has some fun activities planned. See you soon!

Book Library Instruction

Faculty: As the new semester approaches, remember to book any library instruction. Several faculty members have already set up their classes with me. To ensure you get a lab time that is appropriate, contact me as soon as possible.

Keep in mind:

1. Instruction should be scheduled only a few weeks (or less) before your assignment is due. Instruction in September for a paper due in December will be forgotten.
2. I can suggest assignments that will require students to do some research but are not necessarily research papers (i.e., somewhat easier to grade).

COPUS seeks Fall intern

Back in February, I wrote a post about the Year of Science being planned by the Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS). In this month's newsletter, they are advertising for a fall intern (see ad below):
COPUS is seeking an intern to start fall 2008 assisting with the development of the Year of Science Web site and promotions. Internship is part-time with flexible hours and location. Interested candidates should submit resume to Sheri Potter at spotter@copusproject.org.

This might be the perfect opportunity for an Eckerd student. To learn more about COPUS, and the Year of Science project, visit their site: http://www.copusproject.org/

If you are interested in the August newsletter, let me know and I will forward it on to you.

Compare humans and primates online

The eSkeletons Project, developed by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin,

offers a unique set of digitized versions of skeletons in 2-D and 3-D in full color, animations, and much supplemental information

Using the applications, you can compare skeletons of different species, view bones in 3-D movies, and measure and view anatomical features, to name a few of its features.

Mouse Lemur skeleton with color coding for skull, vertebrae and thorax, upper limb and hand, lower limb and foot.

Note that the site works well in Internet Explorer, but not in Firefox. In addition, you will have to download some plug-ins, such as Quicktime, if you do not have them already. This tidbit and more information on using the many features of this site are readily available in the link for First-Time Users, and the Help link.

eSkeletons offers a bone viewer for your handheld that I tested on my Treo. It works well and the images are clear. The added features, such as the measurement tool, are not available, but I still found it really cool.

In addition to the skeletons, the site offers teaching resources, primarily K-12, a resources pages, and FAQ about bones.

This site is currently the showcase site from MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Teaching Online), Biology section.

Never been to Pee Wee's playhouse

For the 11th year, Beloit College has released their mindset list, which details some of the experiences the incoming freshmen as a whole have experienced or not. Beloit describes this group as follows:

It is a multicultural, politically correct and “green” generation that has hardly noticed the threats to their privacy and has never feared the Russians and the Warsaw Pact.

...and they could have Harry Potter as a classmate...


To see the entire list, visit: http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2012.php

Aquatic Commons respository

The International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers (IAMSLIC) has developed on open-access repository called Aquatic Commons. As stated on the home page,

The Aquatic Commons is a thematic digital repository covering the natural marine, estuarine/brackish, and fresh water environments. It includes all aspects of the science, technology, management and conservation of these environments, their organisms and resources, and the economic, sociological and legal aspects.

There are approximately 800 full text documents available at this time. In addition to articles are posters, proceedings, maps, white papers, and more. Many documents originate from Florida universities and institutions and cover issues specific to the state and its coasts.

A quick search feature allows you to search all fields at one time. An advanced search will search specific fields such as author, title, institution, etc. In addition, you can browse by subject category and year. Students will enjoy the full-text access provided by this open-access repository. Faculty may be interested in placing some of their own articles into the repository.

The IAMSLIC site had brochures, guides, and more information.

Hurricane Room at MOSI

For many of our new Freshmen, I expect the evacuation and canceled classes of the last two days were your first brush with a hurricane or tropical storm. Possibly you were freaked out before the storm and maybe a little disappointed afterward when Fay swerved across the state and didn't even bother us with a few raindrops.

So you may be wondering what a hurricane is like. If so, take some time to visit MOSI (the Museum of Science and Industry) in Tampa. Among other cool exhibits, MOSI features a Gulf Coast Hurricane Room that allows you to experience 74 mph winds. In addition, MOSI has a planetarium, a flight simulator, and an IMAX Dome Theater (way cooler than regular IMAX theaters), and more. Check out the new exhibits and events (like opening night party for The Dark Knight at the DOME theater).

AIP announces new journal

The Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy will publish its first issue online in 2009. AIP is looking for submissions at this time. Access will be free for 2009 and will require a subscription subsequently. Topics will include the following:

• Bioenergy – bioreactions and bioengineering
• Geothermal energy – geysers, heat pumps, and novel devices
• Marine and hydroelectric energy – waves, tides, and dams
• Nuclear energy – fission and fusion
• Solar energy – photovoltaics and solar thermal converters
• Wind energy – turbines and electrical systems and controls
• Energy conversion – solid oxide and proton exchange membrane fuel cells and novel devices
• Energy efficient buildings – photovoltaics, solar thermal converters, and passive solar approaches
• Energy storage – hydrogen and batteries
• Power distribution – conventional and superconducting transmission, fluctuating loads, and controls
• Renewable energy resource assessment
• Transportation – hydrogen, batteries, fuel cells, bioenergy, and vehicles

In addition, a Web site will correspond to the journal and feature news, a blog, and more. For more information, visit the JRSE Web site.

New open-access journals added

At Professor Wetzel's suggestion, two open-access journals have been added to our online collection:

Numeracy: Advancing Education in Quantitative Literacy: This journal is published by the National Numeracy Network. Started in 2008, it is a peer-reviewed focusing on education at all levels.

Spreadsheets in Education: Also peer-reviewed, this journal publishes articles on use of spreadsheets in the classroom. Prof. Wetzel and student Peter Whicker published an article, Quick Correct: A Method to Automatically Evaluate Student Work in MS Excel Spreadsheets, in 2007.

Know of any other open-access journals that would e great for Eckerd's online journal collection? Just let me know.

Librarypalooza! Woohoo!

Don't forget the Librarypalooza extravaganza this afternoon!! There will be music, food, activities, and prizes...plus a great opportunity to meet and chat with librarians and IT! Afternoon activities inside the library are divided by classes. Check the list below for your class times:

1pm
Angulo-Cano
Ashman
Brunello
Chabrier
Curtis
Meese

2pm
Gliem
Goetsch
Greene
Hawk
Irby
Janus

3pm
Jozkowski
Keller
Kelly
Lopez
Maciejczyk
Mauch

4pm
Mikals-Adachi
Olimat
Sears
Stiles
Thompson

Evening activities (and food) start at 5...no restrictions on when you can come to dance, eat, and have fun!

Web of Science adds citation mapping

The newest feature from Web of Science creates a citation map for a particular article. Using the mapping technology, you can view first and second generation citations, moving forward and backward (i.e., those that cite that article of interest and those the article of interest cites.) Users can arrange the citations and color code them according to numerous criteria, such as subject, journal title, year published, and more. A 5-minute demonstration video is available from Thomson Reuters. Take some time to check out this cool new feature!

Welcome Freshmen!

NAS Library News blog is back in session, and I would like to welcome the more than 450 new students joining the Eckerd community. Autumn Term is such an amazing time when only new Freshmen are here, getting to know us and each other, forming friendships that will last for throughout your time at Eckerd and into the future. Many people will be giving you advice on how to navigate this shortened Autumn term, how to divide your time between parties and studies, but I suspect only a librarian would bother to give advice about the library. So here I go:

We love you guys! Our favorite thing in the world is helping you with your studies, from picking supplemental reading to finding peer-reviewed article to discussing pets, food, crafts, whatever interests you. Come say hi to your librarians, introduce yourself, and then you'll feel more comfortable when the pressure is on. Remember that the many of the research practices from high school are inappropriate now that you are in college. We can help!