Archives for September 2019

Get Vote-Ready Tuesday, Sept. 24th at Hindsman Tower

National Voter Registration Day is Tuesday 09-24-19 at Hindsman Tower from 9 am to 3 pmJoin us at Hindsman Tower Tuesday, September 24th from 9:00 until 3:00 for National Voter Registration Day.  If you have never registered to vote or need to change or update your voter registration, this is your opportunity to change the world—one vote at a time.

Want to get more involved?  We’re seeking volunteers to help out at the voter registration tables.  Contact Sherry Tinerella at stinerella@atu.edu or send us a text at (479) 802-4876.  All are welcome!

National Voter Registration Day is celebrated the fourth Tuesday of every September.  The holiday has been endorsed by the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS). It is further supported by the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED), the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), and the National Association of Election Officials (The Election Center).  In 2018 over 800,000 voters used National Voter Registration Day to register to vote across all 50 states.

Not sure if you are registered already?  Check your registration at Voter View which can tell you if you are registered, were your polling place might be, and how to find absentee ballot information.  More information about voting in Arkansas is available at the Elections page from the Arkansas Secretary of State: https://www.sos.arkansas.gov/elections

If you miss voter registration day, no problem.  The Ross Pendergraft Library keeps voter registration forms at the Circulation desk for you to fill out and mail in or deliver to your county clerk.  For more information on voter registration, voting instructions, or great books on American civics, ask us at: askus@atu.libanswers.com.  Remember, sometimes the path to changing the world often begins by filling out a form.

Flyer saying that American do not vote.  219 million Americans were eligible to vote in 2012, but 93 million did not.

The Life-Changing Magic of Refworks

Spark joy in your research by attending one of these 20 minute workshops to dramatically improve how you collect, organize, and store your citations by using Refworks.

Refworks is a citation management system.  If you’ve ever used Bibme, Zotero, Mendeley, or Endnote, you have used a citation management system.  Let’s say you find a great article in one of our databases:

Article screenshot titled "On Death and Decluttering: The Existential Tidiness of Marie Kondo

What a great article!  But now you need to save it, store it, organize it, and then eventually cite.  Refworks to the rescue!

By exporting your article into Refworks, you now have a save and secure location to store the article and return to it later.

NOTE: You will need to create your own Refworks account using your tech email BUT NOT your tech password as this system is separate from the university’s. This means if you create a password for Refworks, it will not change with the password changes for your university account.

Image of two versions of Refworks.  One that says "Proquest Refworks" and one that says "Legacy Refworks"

You will also be prompted (especially on your initial sign-up) to choose the type of Refworks. Always go for the BLUE, Proquest version if it is your first time creating an account. The Legacy Refworks will be discontinued at some point in the future.

Once in Refworks, you can now organize your citations by folder, add citations from another citation manager, or create a bibliography in any citation style you need with a click of a button.

A screenshot depicting a formatted bibliography based on the above citation.

WARNING: Like all other machine-generated citations, you will need to check them against official style guides. They CAN and DO get them wrong.

To learn more Refworks magic, including how to install the browser plugin for citation collecting on-the-go or how to export citations by adding article PDFs, go to one of the many Refworks Workshops going on this week and next week in RPL 331:

  • Tuesday, Sept. 10th @ 3:00 PM
  • Wednesday, Sept. 11th @ 9:30 AM
  • Wednesday, Sept. 18th @ 1:00 PM
  • Thursday, Sept. 19th @ 9:30 AM

No sign-up required and all are welcome!

Shoot ’em With Biscuits, Monday Sept. 9th

Join us on September 9th in RPL 300B as we kick off this year’s Second Monday Author Series with Dr. Aaron McArthur, Assistant Professor of History and Public History Program Director at Arkansas Tech University, discussing his latest book, The Annals of the Southern Mission.

The evening begins with a reception at 6:00 PM before the main program at 7:00.  The event is free and open to the public.

Photo of Aaron McArthurDr. McArthur obtained his PhD in the History of the United States West from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he mainly focused on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) history during the last half of the nineteenth century.  His first book, St. Thomas, Nevada: A History Uncovered, told the story of the city of St. Thomas from its founding under the direction of Brigham Young to its inundation by Lake Mead.

Cover of the book featuring man reading another bookHis second book, The Annals of the Southern Mission: A Record of the History of the Settlement of Southern Utah, constitutes a transcribed and annotated version of the 2,266 loose, handwritten, and lined pages representing the early history of Southern Utah originally written by James G. Bleak.  Dr. McArthur, along with Reid Nielson, transcribed this important historical document, bringing to light details of early pioneer life during the period from 1849-1900 in Utah, Arizona, and Nevada.

This presentation is part of our Second Monday Author Series featuring the works of our local writers and researchers.  You can stay up to date on the series and all library events by following us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.   For more questions or information about the Second Monday Author Series, contact Luke Heffley at (479) 964-0546.