The Library's Spring Round-Up

The Downtown Campus would like to thank all faculty, staff and administration for the support of the Downtown Library. Many of you have brought in your class(es) for library instruction or asked us to come to your class. We have seen an increase in students at our reference desk with specific assignments where the library resources play a large part. In our LibGuides, we have seen an increase in their usage. We are so glad we can support your classes in so many ways.

If you are looking ahead to the Summer, or even the Fall semesters, please remember to contact the Library early to reserve your spot on our calendar. Also, if you think you would like a LibGuide for your class (or course), or update an existing LibGuide to reflect revisions in your syllabus, let us know. The summer is a great time for us to work on those projects.

This is also a great time for us to remind you of a way for a librarian have a greater presence in your face-to-face and online learning environments. As an embedded librarian, we can be there to answer your students questions regarding research, citations and the like. This is especially helpful in hybrid and online courses, where a library instruction session may not be feasible. As a TA, we can be there to answer questions or to even lead a research discussion. In a face-to-face class, we can come in periodically to help students before and/or after class, as well to spend a few minutes to answer questions or to refresh them on finding resources. This would be especially helpful in courses that are identified as writing intensive. The NW campus has done this with great results. Others institutions have used Embedded Librarians and found the research papers are of a higher quality.

And for those that will be (or are already) using D2L, it appears the Library will have a presence in that platform. (yea!) We will have more information on that, once things are finalized, but it looks like it will be easier to link to our tutorials and other resources.

Finally, it is with great sadness that we must report one of our librarians, Nancy Schuler, is leaving us. Her husband has accepted a position with a college in Florida, so they will be moving over the summer. While we will miss her, we wish her and her family the best as they begin a new chapter in their lives.

Library Displays - Reserve Your Space Now!

Do you have class projects (2-D or 3-D) that you would like to showcase in the library?

Display space is available starting March 26 through the end of the semester. Reserve your space now by contacting Nancy at nlschuler@pima.edu.

We have two display cases in the main entrance (one large, one table like), and a large display case in the AH entrance. All are enclosed with glass and locked. Feel free to come by and take a look to see if they will fit your needs.

Thanks!

DC Library Team

Don't forget about the Library's Newspaper Databases...

This week our featured resource is: Newspapers

This is the time of year when many students are working on one or more research papers. When they come to the library for assistance we assist them in finding items in our physical collection (here and at other campuses), our reference resources, our article databases and of course finding and evaluating web resources. Many times when we bring using a newspaper as a resource they are unsure if they can.

Our newspaper resources include:

• Arizona Daily Star: Current week's articles
• Ethnic News Watch: Articles from the ethnic, minority and native presses.
• Historical Newspapers: The New York Times from 1851-2005
• Historical New York Times with Index
• Newspaper Source: Articles from various newspapers, including the Arizona Daily Star (09/29/2001 to present), as well as TV and radio transcripts
• ProQuest Newspapers: Articles from various newspapers, including  the New York Times (2002-current)

As you can see, there is a wide variety - both local and national. Newspaper resources are great for exploration of topics, current events, exploring regional tendencies, and interviews (especially the historical NY Times).

If you want to read the Arizona Daily Star online you have two options:

• You can click on the link above or go directly to their website. For those with  with smartphones and/or tablets, you can download their app for their mobile version. (click here to find the app for your device.) 

• The DC Library has purchased a digital version of the paper if you want to read the paper online but in newspaper format (great if you want to reference something by page numbers). Use this link and log in with this information:     Username: AM2001458    Password:  AM2001458

 As always, if you have any questions, or want some more information on using the newspaper resources in your classes, just stop by or call the library!
 The DC Library Team
206-7267

New Series, Send Your Book Requests and more...

DC Library would like to highlight one of our newer resources - Oxford's Very Short Introductions.

These compact books hold a wealth of information, giving students an introduction to a subject with an introduction, its history, how it has influenced society, and other key points. We have almost 300 of them in subjects ranging form religions, technology, sociology, history and more.

These concise books are conveniently located on a spindle near the reference desk. Stop by and check them out. Feel free to pass this information on to your students as they begin their research.

Speaking of research, just a reminder that we have ChromeBooks for the students to check out. If you need computers in your class for a day or the semester, we can assist you with that. Students can use them anywhere on campus and if they need one at home*, their instructor just needs to shoot me an email or come in and we can arrange that!

Also, if you have any items you would like the library to purchase to supplement your courses, just come by with the titles and if possible, the ISBNs. (You can also email them to me.) These could be items for later this spring or for a later semester. We will email you when the item has arrived.

If there is anything else we can help you with...just ask!

Theresa
Library Director
tcstanley@pima.edu

*the ChromeBooks can access any (open) wifi connection. If students do not have Internet at home, they can access Verizon for free, but will need to input credit card information. I have tried this and the credit card is never charged. For more information, contact Theresa.

The Library has Citation Guides for Your Students!

 

Funky Winkerbean 2/1/12

The PCC Library has created some great citation guides for your students!

We have 5 great guides - two for MLA and two for APA that assist students with the most popular resources. There is also a two page MLA guide for those doing literary criticism papers.

The two page guide for each include: 

• books
• articles
• websites 
• library databases
• information on setting up a "Works Cited" or "Reference" page

The four-page guide for each include:

• books
• articles
• websites 
• library databases 
• DVD
• TV 
• Digital images
• information on setting up a "Works Cited" or "Reference" page
• and additional information about parenthetical citations

The guides can be found on the Library's How to Write a Research Paper (scroll to the bottom) 

If you would like to include a link on your course pages, here are the links (all documents are PDFs)
MLA Style

• Beginner's Guide to MLA (PDF)
• Quick Reference Guide to MLA (PDF)
• Gale Literary Criticism Series citation guide (PDF)

APA Format

• Beginner's Guide to APA (PDF)
• Quick Reference Guide to APA (PDF)

If you have any questions, or would like us to come and talk about citations to your class, just stop by or call us (206-7267).

The DC Librarians

Joe, Nancy, Marianne, Ellen, and Theresa

Friendly Reminder...

Just a friendly reminder to schedule your library sessions!

To ensure you get the day and time you want, call, or come by, the Library by February 6th.

Don't need/want and entire class for a library session? No problem! You can bring your class in and we can do a short presentation and your class can stay for the remainder of the period. Or, we can come to your class.

haven't planned your library session content/exercise yet? No problem! You can get back to us with the details a couple of weeks before your scheduled session. We often work with instructors throughout the semester to customize the material specially to your class/assignment.

Questions? Just call (206-7267) or stop by!

Library sessions, Chromebooks, and more....

The DC Library would like to welcome everyone back! We hope all had time to relax and enjoy some time with their family and/or friends.

We have a lot going on at the library.

- - Library Sessions. Be sure to schedule your library sessions. If the Fall was any indicator, they will start to fill quickly. We will make every effort to get you your preferred day and time. Come by the library or call use at 206-7267.

- - Chromebooks. The library has class sets of Chromebooks that can be lent out to your students for the semester. There is a form they need to fill out. While they are set up for on campus use, special setups can be made so they will have access to the Internet off campus. If you want us to come into your class for a small demo, just let us know. Not everyone in your class needs to borrow one, it can be done on a student-by-student basis.
NOTE: these are Internet only laptops. Students can do anything Internet capable - so no MS Word, but Google docs are available.

- - New search tool! Our Fall trial of our new Search tool went well and we are in the process of putting the finishing touches on it. This tool will allow you to search the catalog and most of our databases in a single search! You can find it on our home page- http://pima.edu/library . More information will be coming, along with some information sessions. And of course, we can come to your class for a quick demo for your students!

- - New Items. During the holiday break we received more new items - come and check them out. (pun intended)

As always, the library is here for your students and you. If there is anything we can do for you, just let us know!

The DC Library Team
206-7267