Beta ipad app for journal browsing

Ever wanted to just browse through a journal issue?  Journal databases are great because they contain thousands of articles from lots of periodicals.  Databases do a terrific job of supporting search and retrieval of individual articles, but they do not provide an easy way for people to read complete journals.  BrowZine unites these articles into full journals and arranges them on a virtual bookshelf by subject or by title—you choose the journals you want.  With BrowZine, patrons have a new, familiar way to access, organize, and make use of all your great content. The beta version of this app for ipad is now available for VC/UHV patrons. Browzine does not currently access all the content in our databases; mostly open access journals are available.

 

You can download the app at  http://itunes.com/apps/browzine and then customize the journals you want on your own bookshelf.

Please let us know if you have any feedback or comments on this app.

 

http://thirdiron.com/browzine/video/

Check out the video for how to use browzine.

TEDTalks from Films on Demand

The VC/UHV Library is please the announce the addition of TEDTalks to our streaming video collection, Films on Demand. TEDTalks are renowned for bringing together some of the most fascinating and inspiring voices in areas from technology, science, and global issues to entertainment, design, and business.

In March alone, we’ve added 35 TEDTalks to our Health & Medicine Collection and 24 to our Business & Economics Collection. Titles will be added throughout the year so by the end of 2012, we will have hundreds of TEDTalks available.

Some fascinating titles include:

Joshua Walters—On Being Just Crazy Enough: Comedian Joshua Walters, who has bipolar affective disorder, tells audiences that he walks the line between mental illness and mental “skillness.”

Allan Jones—A Map of the Brain:  How can we begin to understand the way the brain works? Perhaps in the same way that cities can be understood: by making a map.

Todd Kuiken—A Prosthetic Arm that Feel:  Physiatrist and biomedical engineer Todd Kuiken is building an artificial arm that connects with the human nervous system, improving motion and control, and even allowing the sensation of touch.

Tim Harford—Trial, Error, and the God Complex: Economist Tim Harford studies complex systems and finds a surprising link among the successful ones: they were all created through trial and error.

Yasheng Huang—Does Democracy Stifle Economic Growth?:  In this TEDTalk, political economist Yasheng Huang compares China to India, considering whether China’s authoritarian rule contributed to its astonishing economic growth.

Clay Shirky—Institutions vs. Collaboration:  Cultural observer and networking expert Clay Shirky believes that new technologies—those that enable loose collaboration and take advantage of “spare” brainpower or a “cognitive surplus”—will change the way society works.

You can view a complete list of TEDTalks here: https://login.ruby2.uhv.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/PortalPlayLists.aspx?VID=1699&aid=8128. TEDTalks, along with the other streaming videos in our Films on Demand collection, are only available to current students, faculty and staff of Victoria College and the University of Houston-Victoria.

Spring Break Hours

Hooray! Spring break is upon us once again. It is a time to take a vacation or cross off items from the “to do” list at home. Perhaps you will spend some time on homework or will relax with a good book. Although classes are not in session, the VC/UHV Library will be open with limited hours. Stop by the Library for research help or check out a book from our leisure reading area. If you are going to be in the car, don’t forget about our audio books available for checkout in the Media Center.

Our hours during spring break are:

• March 10-11: Closed
• March 12-15: Open 8 AM – 5 PM
• March 16-18: Closed

We will resume normal hours on Monday, March 19. If you are looking for a good book to read over the next week, try one of these:

• The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
• The Native Star by M. K. Hobson
• River’s End by Nora Roberts
• The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
• The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

For long road trips, check out one of these audio books:

•  The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
• The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
•  The Third Secret by Steve Berry
• Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern
•  London Bridges by James Patterson

International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day (March 8) is celebrated by women’s organizations and groups around the world.  The day is about celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women in the past, present and future.  According to the United Nations (1997), “International Women’s Day is the story of ordinary women as makers of history; it is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal footing with men.”

International Women’s Day has been observed since the early 1900s. The first National Women’s Day was observed in the United States on 28 February 1909 in accordance with a declaration by the Socialist Party of America. Copenhagen was the site of the second International Conference of Working Women in 1910. During that conference, Clara Zetkin proposed the idea that every country should celebrate a Women’s Day on the same day so women could press for their demands. The proposal was unanimously approved and the result was International Women’s Day that was celebrated for the first time in 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland.

Since its creation, International Women’s Day has grown into a worldwide phenomenon. Around the world, women campaign for pay equality, a larger presence in business or politics, better education and healthcare, and to stop violence against women. The United Nations commemorates March 8 as International Women’s Day and in many countries, International Women’s Day is a national holiday.

In honor of International Women’s Day, check out one of the following books at the VC/UHV Library:

• Women’s Suffrage by Jeff Hill
• Forsaken Females: The Global Brutalization of Women by Andrea Parrot
• Public Women, Public Words: A Documentary History of American Feminism
• Our Mother’s War: American Women at Home and at the Front During World War II by Emily Yellin
• Land of the Unconquerable: The Lives of Contemporary Afghan Women
• A Voice of Our Own: Leading American Women Celebrate the Right to Vote
• Women Pilots of World War II [electronic book] by Jean Cole
• Private Politics and Public Voices: Black Women’s Activism from World War I to the New Deal by Nikki Brown
• British Women’s Suffrage Campaign, 1866-1928 by Harold Smith
• Rethinking Global Sisterhood: Western Feminism and Iran by Nima Naghibi
• Women Writing Africa, West Africa and the Shael
• Tracking Gender Equality Under Economic Reforms: Continuity and Change in South Asia [electronic book]

Sources:

International Women’s Day. (2012). About. Retrieved from http://www.internationalwomensday.com/about.asp.

United Nations. (1997). International Women’s Day. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/women/womday97.htm.

National Women’s History Month

In the early 1900s, women began organizing across the world to campaign for women’s right to work, better pay, vote, vocational training, to hold public offices and end discrimination. The organization and campaigns of men and women led to the creation of International Women’s Day to coordinate efforts for women’s rights on an international level. International Women’s Day is observed annually on March 8.

The growth of International Women’s Day caused activists to mobilize support for a “National Women’s History Week” in 1979. With National Women’s History Week in the spotlight, President Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation in 1980 declaring the Week of March 8th as National Women’s History Week. Over the next six years, 14 states declared March as Women’s History Month but it was not until 1987 that Congress declared March as National Women’s History Month. The US recognizes March as National Women’s History Month and President Obama issued a Presidential Proclamation asking American’s to observe Women’s History Month and March 8 as International Women’s Day.

The theme for National Women’s History Month 2012 is Women’s Education – Women’s Empowerment to recognize the pioneering leadership of women and their impact on education. This year, the National Women’s History Project is honoring Emma Hard Willard, Charlotte Forten Grimke, Annie Sullivan, Gracia Molina de Pick, Okolo Rashid and Brenda Flyswithhawks (pictured left) for being educational pioneers. You can read more about them in the National Women’s History Project website.

You can also find more information at the United States Government website for Women’s History Month. The website has more information about women who have shaped American history including Mary Cassatt, Margaret Mead, Hannah Arendt, Clara Barton, Eleanor Roosevelt, Dolly Parton, Hanna Szenes, Kay Ryan, Susan B. Anthony and Sandra Day O’Connor.

Free Spring 2012 Workshops

It is the time in the semester to start working on your research papers. We know it can be stressful trying to balance life, work and school but the VC/UHV Librarians are here to help.

The VC/UHV Library is offering several free workshops to current students, faculty and staff at Victoria College and the University of Houston-Victoria to teach you about using the library website and conducting research. The workshops will be held at the VC/UHV Library in Room 304 as well as online.

Finding Articles Like a Pro – This workshop will teach you about search tricks that will help you find information fast. It will teach you to use advanced search functions to narrow your search and limit your results to the most relevant information.

• Wednesday, February 29 from 6-7 PM, VC/UHV Library Room 304
• Thursday, March 1 from 6-7 PM, Online meeting room http://breeze.uhv.edu/findingarticles
• Tuesday, March 20 from 6-7 PM, Online meeting room http://breeze.uhv.edu/findingarticles

Google Like a Librarian - After this online workshop, you will know how to use Google Web, Google Books and Google Scholar. These are powerful research tools and you will learn how to make them work for you.

• Monday, March 5 from 6-7 PM, Online meeting room http://breeze.uhv.edu/googlelibrarian
• Thursday, March 29 from 6-7 PM, VC/UHV Library Room 304

Refworks: The Bibliography Creator - Want to create a bibliography in seconds? Let us teach you how to save time and make writing easier by organizing your resources.

• Wednesday, March 7 from 6-7 PM, Online meeting room http://breeze.uhv.edu/refworks
• Tuesday, April 3 from 6-7 PM, VC/UHV Library Room 304

Evaluate Your Resources - Are you unsure of what counts as “scholarly” or “academic” material? Do you know what type of resources to use for you class paper or project? We will teach you how to evaluate your resources by giving you questions to ask about each resource. Questioning the purpose, content, authority, currency, objectivity and relevancy will help you determine whether to use the resource or find something else.

• Monday, March 19 from 6-7 PM, VC/UHV Library Room 304

For individual assistance, you can ask for research assistance bystopping at the reference desk on the 1st floor during normal library hours, using the online chat service, emailing askalibrarian@uhv.edu or askalibrarian@victoriacollege.edu, or calling 361-570-4166 or 800-687-5006.

Victoria Black History Month Parade

On Saturday, 11 February 2012, Victoria held the Black History Month parade and festival. Lieutenant Colonel Vanessa Hicks-Callaway, a former Victoria resident, served as Grand Marshal for the parade. Lieutenant Colonel Hicks-Callaway (pictured right) serves in the U.S. Army.

The festivities began with a parade from the Patti Welder Magnet Middle School to the Victoria Community Center. The Black History Month Festival featuring food, jewelry, arts & crafts, clothing, and home decor began immediately following the parade.

VC/UHV Library Photographer, Bob Allen, took photos of the event. Mr. Allen’s photos can be viewed here.

National African American History Month

Since 1976, every United States president has declared February as African American History Month. Let us celebrate the rich history of African Americans and their contributions to the United States of America.

President Obama issued a Presidential Proclamation declaring February 2012 as National African American History Month. The proclamation designates this year’s theme as “Black Women in American Culture and History” so that Americans can pay special attention to the role African American women have played in shaping this nation.

We honor women like Rosa Parks (pictured right) whose refusal to surrender her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama bus made her known as the “mother of the modern-day civil rights movement” in the US. We honor women like Harriet Tubman who worked as a “conductor” of the Underground Railroad during the 1850s and helped over 300 slaves to freedom. We honor women like August Savage who was a sculptor that worked for the equal rights of African Americans in the arts during the Harlem Renaissance. We honor women like Aretha Franklin who became known as the “Queen of Soul” for her musical contributions to jazz, blues, R&B, and gospel. This is, of course, only a small list of African American women who paved the way for the women of today.

For more information about African American History Month, you can visit the US government website http://www.africanamericanhistorymonth.gov for pictures, videos, exhibits on baseball, civil rights, music, slavery, art and more, as well as teacher resources.

The VC/UHV Library also has a wealth of information available on the history of African Americans. Try reading My American Journey by Colin Powell or The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou by Maya Angelou. Perhaps you want to read Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America by Allen Guelzo or Freedom by Any Means: Con Games, Voodoo Schemes, True Love and Lawsuits on the Underground Railroad by Betty DeRamus.

SOPA & PIPA

If you used Google today, you probably noticed the logo is blacked out. If you tried to use Wikipedia today, you realized that you cannot use it. Why is this happening?

Today, January 18, thousands of Internet websites are taking part in a “blackout” to protest two anti-piracy bills that are currenly being discussed in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. By removing content from their website or brandishing their website with a black box, companies and organizations such as Google, WordPress, American Library Association, Firefox and Flickr, are demonstrating the potential impact of the bills.

Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is up for debate in the House of Representatives and Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) is being considered by the Senate. The proposed legislation is designed to tackle online piracy but many opponets say it threatens free speech and would give the government sweeping censorship abilities, similar to those used in China, Iran and Syria. According to Mozilla, “Your favorite websites, both inside and outside the US, could be blocked based on a single infringement claim, without any due process of law.”

The White House issued a statement earlier this week saying they “will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet.”

If you feel strongly about this issue (pro or con), you may wish to contact your Representative or Senator to voice your opinion.

Welcome Back!

If you are new to Victoria College or the University of Houston-Victoria…Welcome! If you are returning…Welcome Back! We are excited for the Spring 2012 semester and look forward to assisting you with your research.

With the Spring Term upon us, we know there are some basic questions you might have about the library. Hopefully we will answer them here.

What are the library hours? We are open Monday – Thursday 7:45 AM – 10:00 PM; Friday 7:45 AM – 5:00 PM and Saturday & Sunday 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM.

Does the library have my textbook? Probably not. We do not purchase textbooks for all the courses. We can’t keep up and our budget can’t either. If your professor is not using an actual textbook there is a possibility we have a single copy, or even an older edition – but the chance is small. If the bookstore is out of your textbook, mention it to your instructor.

What do I need to use the computers? And where are they? To use the computers in the library, you need to bring your library card. For VC students, your library card is your student ID (and we issue them in the library). For UHV students, your library card is your JAG card. Before you start using the computers, you have to stop by the check out desk on the first floor to establish your library account or have it updated. The library has 36 computers on the first floor for anyone to use and 8 computers on the second floor only for students. You can use the computers anytime the library is open.

Does the library have wireless internet? Yes, you can bring your laptop or other portable device and access the wireless internet. You will need to access it using your VC or UHV computer account.

How much time do I get on the computers? Students have unlimited use of the computers. Every time you login, you will have 2 hours. You can self-extend your session for another hour. Students can have as many sessions in a day as they need.

Can I access by student drive? No. You will not be able to access your Victoria College student drive. UHV does not have individual student network drives. You need to bring a flash drive (aka thumb drive, USB stick, etc) to save your work or you save your work to the desktop and email it to yourself. Our computers are “hard locked” so when you log off, the computer returns to its original state. Any document you saved to the desktop will be erased.

Am I able to print in the library? If so, how much does it cost? Yes, you can print in the library. The cost is 5 cents per page for students for black and white printouts. Color printouts cost 25 cents per page for students. You can pick up your printouts at the check out desk on the first or second floor. We also have a photocopy machine that charges 10 cents per page.  You do not need to bring paper.

Do you have study rooms available? We have 6 study rooms available for students to use. Reservations can be made up to 48 hours in advance by calling 361-570-4199. More information about each study room is available through the library website. See http://vcuhvlibrary.uhv.edu/libraryinfo/groupstudy.htm.

Can the librarians help me with my research assignments? YES! The librarians are here to help you be a successful student. If you need help with your research assignment, you can always Ask A Librarian. We can help you via email, over the phone, using online chat or in person. We will teach you how to use the library resources so you find the information you need. You can also check out our library workshop schedule to learn about free workshops offered during the semester.

If you have any additional questions please email askalibrarian@uhv.edu or askalibrarian@victoriacollege.edu. Otherwise, you can call 361-570-4166, use our online chat or stop by the library during our hours of operation.