Recent Additions to Credo Reference

Credo Reference is one of the many online reference sources Van Wylen Library subscribes to. This source allows users access to over 3 million full-text entries from nearly 500 titles by either searching for a certain topic or phrase within the whole database or by searching or browsing within a specific book. The database is constantly updated with new books, so you can always find current information. Students from any major will find Credo to be useful for their research.

Arts & Humanities

Interested in popular music? Want to know more about the government's role in music development? The Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World: Locations is exactly what you need. This encyclopedia will provide you with an in-depth look at popular music across the globe.

Ever get the feeling that the lion in the book you've been assigned to read for your English class is more that just a lion? Confused as to what the author really means when he mentions an owl? Look no farther than the Dictionary of Literary Symbols to have all your symbolic questions put to rest. This dictionary uses many cross-references and quotations to explain even the most obscure of symbols found in literature.

Natural and Applied Sciences

Interested in medicine, but confused by all the symbols? Jablonski's Dictionary of Medical Acronyms and Abbreviations can help interpret medical shorthand that is commonly used today. With over 28,000 entries, this dictionary is a useful resource for anyone hoping to get into the medical field.

The study of science is full of theories and discoveries, but have you ever wondered exactly who developed those theories or where the discoveries came from? The Hutchinson Dictionary of Scientific Biography can help you. This dictionary covers scientific topics ranging from astronomy to zoology and includes information about both the people who have had influence in the scientific world and the concepts they put forth.

Social Sciences

Wish that you could predict what's going to happen next in our economy?

Credo Reference recently added Guide to Economic Indicators to their collection. This book provides statistical data on the U.S. economy to help you understand exactly what's going on. The book also provides jargon-free explanations of macroeconomic indicators so economics majors and non-majors alike can be enlightened.

Interested in the politics of the world, but overwhelmed by all the information out there? World Politics Since 1945 aims to help you. This recently updated edition breaks down global politics by area and now includes information on political changes that have taken place in the past ten years, such as wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Sudan, political developments in Latin America, and the expansion of the European Union.

-- Bethany Stripp, Library Student Blogger

Meet the Library: Reference and Instruction

The Reference and Instruction department of Van Wylen Library performs an integral role in the library mission. In addition to helping students and faculty individually with research, the reference and instruction librarians work with many different Hope classes, including every First Year Seminar, all sections of English 113, and numerous upper-level courses.

Priscilla Atkins is the Head of Reference and Instruction at the library. When she first graduated from college she taught elementary school, and although she enjoyed this experience, she learned that she wanted to work with college level students. After she received her Masters in Library and Information Studies at the University of Hawaii in 1990, Atkins served at Ball State University Libraries before coming to Hope 1994.

"I love working at a college this size so I can get to know faculty and students from all the disciplines," Atkins said.

That variety helps contribute to what Atkins feels is the best part of her job. "I come to work and I don't know what questions I'll receive that day," she said. "Interacting with students is the best part of the job for me."

The Reference and Instruction staff also includes Rachel Bishop, Todd Wiebe, Jessica Hronchek, and David O'Brien. They are ready and willing to aid you in whatever research you might need to do.

"We love helping people," Atkins said.

Make a reference librarian's day and stop by the reference desk if you ever need help or guidance with your research!

-- Bethany Stripp, Library Student Blogger

Collection Highlights: Sustainability

In light of Hope College's recent sustainability initiative, Van Wylen library would like to highlight some of the resources it has related to this topic.

The library has resources for many subjects related to sustainability, such as sustainable development, environmentalism and green technology. The sources in these collections range from physical books on the shelves at Van Wylen to full-text articles available on your computer. If you'd prefer to use academic journals to learn about sustainability, Hope has access to 226 journals related to environmental science. You can browse through these wide collections to find whichever source fits your personal needs the best. To search on a specific subject related to sustainability, try GreenFile, a database that indexes environmental science pamphlets, articles and newsletters.

- Bethany Stripp, Library Student Blogger

Visiting Writers Series: Susan Choi

The Fall 2009 portion of the annual Jack Ridl Visting Writers Series wrapped up on Thursday with a reading by novelist Susan Choi. In addition to having authored the Pulitzer Prize finalist novel American Woman, Choi has written two other full length novels, The Foreign Student and Person of Interest. She has also been published in Vogue, O, and The New York Times.

Interested in reading some of Choi's work? Van Wylen has both Person of Interest and American Woman in their collection. You can read several reviews of her novel The Foreign Student in Literature Criticism Online. Additional criticisms of other writings of hers are also available through the database OneFile PowerSearch.

Keep watching the library's blog for more information about the remaining writers in the 2009-2010 series, Melissa Delbridge, Terrance Hayes, and George Saunders.

-- BJS

FLIP Camcorders

Van Wylen Library recently purchased four new Flip UltraHD video cameras, which are available for checkout at the Media Services desk on the second floor. These hand-sized camcorders digitally record up to two hours of video with the push of a button. Any member of the Hope community can use one of these camcorders, though they are intended primarily for student academic projects. The camcorders can be checked out for three days at a time and have a $5 per day overdue fine for late returns. The cameras are available on a first come, first served basis, and they cannot be reserved.

Flip camcorders come with pre-installed Flip software that easily allows you to edit your video as needed after recording. For a demonstration of how to use the camera and software, check out the video below. TechLab students are also available to help during regular TechLab hours.

-- BJS

Amazon Kindle DX

Van Wylen Library now has an Amazon Kindle DX available for Hope students, faculty, and staff to use. It can be checked out for two weeks at the first floor circulation desk.

The Kindle DX, an e-reader designed by Amazon, can hold well over 3000 books in a device that is thinner than most magazines. Van Wylen's Kindle currently has several titles similar to what you might find in the browsing collection, such as The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown and Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Dr. Rhoda Janzen of Hope's English department.

"We want to stay abreast of new developments and be able to share them with the Hope community," said Brian Yost, Head of Technical Services and Systems at the library. "We hope to get feedback from those who use it so we can purchase things people need or want to use."

Colleen Conway, Technical Services Librarian, owns a Kindle for her personal use. She bought the Kindle for the sake of having a consolidated library.

"The idea of being able to put a lot of books on a little thing was very interesting to me," she said. "It doesn't require a computer, which is something most book readers before the Kindle required."

Unlike a computer, the Kindle is not hard on the eyes if you use it for hours on end. The Kindle is designed to seem like reading off a piece of paper, complete with page turns. Because reading on a Kindle is supposed to feel like reading a physical copy of something, the Kindle is not backlit. This makes it possible to read the Kindle easily, even if you're in bright sunlight. However, this does mean if you choose to read on a Kindle at night, you'll need some sort of light. The reasonably priced books, fast download speed, and extremely long battery life more than make up for this.

Interested in trying out a Kindle? Come to Van Wylen and check one out!

-- BJS --

Meet The Library: MeL and ILL

Even though Van Wylen Library has 370,000 print volumes and has access to 20,000 electronic serial titles, sometimes you may need to access a book or article the library doesn't have. If this happens, the Michigan Electronic Library (MeL) and Interlibrary Loan (ILL) can help you out.

MeL is a service that lends books and media to library users throughout the state of Michigan, using materials from all sorts of libraries including public libraries, university libraries, and state libraries. To access a book using MeL, you can go to elibrary.mel.org. There, you can search the catalog for the material you're looking for, which will arrive in up to two weeks.

ILL is similar to MeL, but it connects Hope to libraries all over the country. A link on the library's home page (www.hope.edu/lib) will take you to the ILL page of the library's website. There, you simply need to fill out the appropriate form for the material you need (article, book, chapter, CRL, or Video/CD), and the library will take care of the rest. Articles can also be accessed through research databases. All articles are delivered directly to you electronically in 3-7 days, while books and other physical materials will be delivered to the library in about two weeks.

But who actually takes care of all of the things related to interlibrary loan? There has to be some person who makes sure everything works like it should. That person is Michelle Kelley.

Michelle and seven student workers staff the MEL/ILL portion of the library. Michelle actually got her start in ILL when she was a student worker at the library while she attended Hope. Now, as the Interlibrary Loan Associate, she requests all the patrons' articles and books, communicates with other libraries, and comes up with ways to run ILL more efficiently, in addition to other miscellaneous tasks. She enjoys working with the library staff and students and providing material that will help students and faculty with their projects.

MeL and ILL services are both free to Hope students and staff, so don't hesitate to take advantage of it!

Drop-In Writing Center

Van Wylen Library and the Academic Support Center have started a new program through the writing center. Between 8 and 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday nights, students can come to the project room on the first floor of the library (room 113) and have a tutor from the writing center help them with a paper.

The drop-in sessions, which began earlier this month, give you the chance to have your paper looked over by a student tutor without making an appointment through the Academic Support Center. While appointment sessions are still available Monday through Friday, drop-in sessions give you another option in case you can't find an appointment time that works with your schedule. The drop-in sessions also add to similar options the Academic Support Center already offers, such as drop-in help sessions for math courses.

The student tutors at the drop-in sessions come from all sorts of majors, ranging from Chemistry to English. That way, if your tutor doesn't know much about the subject of your paper, they can get you in touch with someone who does. These tutors can help you at any stage of your writing, from getting started to polishing your final draft.

"We're trying to not just focus on grammar, but on how to make a paper look better," said Erin Eddy ('10), one of the student tutors.

Amy Alvine ('12), used the drop-in sessions for Dr. Beard's Intro to Global Politics class because the writing session's one-hour appointments were all booked before her paper was due.

"It was nice having someone who knew what the teachers wanted and the flaws they would look for to proofread my paper," she said. "The one-on-one with a fellow peer was a laid back and relaxing environment and made me feel very comfortable. It was so much easier to ask questions about things I was unsure of. I would definitely go back and use the drop-in sessions again."

If you need help on a paper that's due soon and aren't able to schedule an appointment through the writing center, check out the drop-in writing sessions in the library!

-- BJS

Citation Conversations

Participate in a campus discussion about citation rules and formats. We welcome input from students and faculty.

Students have expressed confusion and frustration about creating "correct" citations. Directions given to students in class are not always consistent with what is stated in the most up-to-date version of the particular style guidelines; nor are all faculty within a discipline telling students the same thing.

Information about citations in 2009, including where on the library website to get the most up-to-date official versions of various styles, are provided in this article. Please go to the comment box at the end of the post to share your thoughts on the matter!

How do I correctly cite an article that I read full text online?

Answers to this question vary from instructor to instructor.

This year, both MLA and APA have changed their guidelines. The most up-to-date information the library has access to is Research and Documentation Online, by Diana Hacker.

An example of a recent change: MLA, which until Summer 2009 required the URL of the publisher for fulltext articles (found online), now only requires that the name of the database and the word "Web" be used to indicate that an article was found online rather than in paper (or microform).

Johnson, Kirk. "The Mountain Lions of Michigan." Endangered Species Update 19.2 (2002): 27-31. Expanded Academic Index. Web. 26 Nov. 2008.

Note: The URL of an article (or a database) is not the same as the name of the database. In general, including the name of the database is cleaner looking than including the URL. In the sample above, Expanded Academic Index is the name of the database.

Students Confused by the Wide Range of Citation Styles They are Expected to Know

From what librarians have heard, the instructions given in class varies from instructor to instructor. For instance, the Chicago Manual of Style currently includes the URL of the source database (for an online article) as a required element in their citation guidelines. Some faculty are asking students to omit this information.

The fact that two different versions of the most recent Hacker manual (print) are roaming about hasn't helped matters. Also, the most recent APA manual in print includes some errors in the sample paper section.

Recommendation

Although some faculty say they do not care where the students find the article, whether electronically or in print, saying they just want the "basics" - author, article title, journal title, pages, date, etc. - these directions are not consistent with the citation manuals or with what students are asked to do in other classes.

For now, directing students to Research and Documentation Online, the first choice on the Citing Sources link from the library hopepage, is the most consistent advice.

Colleague and student friends, please share your thoughts on the matter in the Comments box! (note: comments are moderated to prevent spam)

-- KJ and PA --

Library Book Sale Begins Oct. 28

Van Wylen Library's fall book sale will begin on Wednesday, October 28 and last for approximately two weeks. The sale will include books that have become outdated, duplicates of what the library already has, and material that is now accessible online.

Materials at the sale are very affordable. Hardcover books will cost $2, while paperbacks will be $1. Items for sale will be located on the north end of the first floor where the study tables and newspapers are. The book sale follows the same hours as the library, which are 8 a.m. to midnight Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, and 1 p.m. to midnight Sunday. Proceeds will be used to help purchase books and update resources in the library, so be sure to stop by the library and check out the selection!