8 Library Facts

Posted on August 25, 2014 Written by

If you are new to campus, it’s quite possible you haven’t had the chance to visit the Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center.  Here are 8 library facts you should know to help you make the most of the collections and services we offer at the Library.

1. We have all the things

Looking for books?  Sure, we’ve got books.  But did you also know we check out graphing calculators?  DVDs?  Audiobooks?  Headphones?  CDs?  Scanners?  Yes, we have all of those, too.  Search our catalog to find all of this and more.  If you just need a quiet place to study, print your paper, or book a study room, we offer that, too.All the things

2. Get started with Libguides

There are so many resource at the Library, it can be overwhelming to find the right resource for your topic.  Where do you start?  LibGuides can give you direction for finding books, articles, and search strategies for whatever assignment is thrown at you.  Compiled by librarians, each guide is tailored for a specific subject, and in some cases, a specific course.

libguides

 3. Learn anything with online tutorials

Whether you want to brush up on your Spanish or learn Microsoft Excel, the Library can help you further your education from the comfort of your own dorm room.

  • Mango Languages feature online tutorials for learning 63 languages, including Japanese, English as a second language, and Pirate.
  • If you are more interested in learning software, create an account with the Virtual Training Center (VTC).  As a student (or faculty/staff), you have free access to over 98,000 video tutorials on programming, databases, web design, or basic computer courses through the VTC.
  • For help using library resources, check out our own Library Tutorials page, featuring videos on using Dewey Decimal, online library resources, interlibrary loan, and other services.
Keanu Reeve's face

(Kung Fu tutorials not yet available)

4. Credo Reference is your new best friend

Think of Wikipedia.  Now imagine if it was a reputable, scholarly resource which could connect you to articles, books, and other academic resources about your specific topic.  That’s Credo Reference.  Comprised of hundreds of encyclopedias and dictionaries, it can mean one-stop shopping for many research assignments.  We love it so much, we put it on our homepage.

credo

5. We give away fabulous prizes on social media

Last year, we gave away books, buttons, and even a Doctor Who Sonic Screwdriver on our Facebook and Twitter accounts.   We also gave away free information about our hours, events, and new additions to the library.  Like us & follow us.  We might even be giving away something right now…

6. We’re constantly acquiring new stuff

The Library continues to add new books, DVDs, and other materials as the semester progresses.  You can keep up new items by clicking the Open Your Mind logo on the top right corner of our homepage.  That will take you to a list of recently purchased books, movies, and music.

If you are in the library and would like to browse just the new books, we also have a new books section in the lobby, near the south entrance.

openyourmind

7. Can’t find it?  Library A-Z it

We have a new way to navigate every library resource we offer—the Library A-Z page.    The Library A-Z list provides direct links to library maps, electronic tools, policies, collections, contact information, and anything else that we can provide through our website.

LibraryAZ

8. Home of the ultimate know-it-alls

Despite their godlike powers, the librarians at RPL are highly approachable, friendly, and helpful.  No question is too mundane or too complex for them to lend their expertise and attention.  Give them a call (toll-free) at 855-761-0006 or email them at askalibrarian@atu.edu.  Drop by the Reference Desk for on the spot questions.  Remember, you cannot yet contact them through intense mental concentration, but keep checking our website for additional services we may provide in the future.

Librarians

 

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New audiobooks!

Posted on July 7, 2014 Written by

Planning a long trip this summer?  Take along the ultimate road companion—audiobooks.  The Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center recently added a selection of newly published award-winning fiction, comedy, science fiction, biography, and more to our audiobooks section located to the east of the Reference Desk.

Browse our latest titles by clicking this link.  Most of our audiobooks are available in audio CD format, but we have a growing number of titles in MP3-CD format, which makes downloading a book to your phone or ipod a breeze.

The titles below represent only a fraction of the books you can take along for your work-outs, road-trips, or just a lounge by the pool-side:

Richard PryorFurious cool : Richard Pryor and the world that made him

Provides a rare glimpse into the life of the outspoken comedic genius whose humble beginnings as the child of a prostitute helped shaped him into one of the most influential and outstanding performers of all time.

Great Gatsby audiobookThe great Gatsby 

James Gatz, a self-educated nobody from North Dakota, amasses a fortune and adopts the persona of Jay Gatsby, an Oxford-educated man about town. His motive? To win back the heart of Daisy, the woman he loved in his youth.  This classic novel is narrated by Hollywood star, Jake Gyllenhaal.

I am Malala

I am Malala: [the girl who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban]

When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out.  She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, but her miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey. 

LongbournLongbourn

Pride and Prejudice was only half the story.  The servants at Longbourn estate, only glancingly mentioned in Jane Austen’s classic, take center stage in Jo Baker’s new novel.

The SystemThe system: the glory and scandal of big-time college football

An explosive and revelatory portrait reported from deep behind the scenes of big-time NCAA football: the passion, the thrilling action, and the shocking realities that lie beneath this colossal, multibillion-dollar business.

I suck at girls I suck at girls

Presents a humorous collection of stories about the author’s relationships with the opposite sex told chronologically, from his first kiss to getting engaged.

World War ZWorld War Z

Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time.  Read by an all-star cast including Alan Alda, Mark Hamill, Henry Rollins, John Turturro, Nathan Fillion, Simon Pegg, Bruce Boxleitner, and many others.

You can find these titles and more just across from the Reference Desk.  Have a suggestion for a great audiobook title?  Give us a shout at askalibrarian@atu.edu.  

 

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Holiday Hours

Posted on July 3, 2014 Written by

To celebrate Independence Day, the Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center will be closed Friday, July 4th-Sunday, July 6th.  We will reopen Monday, July 7th, from 7:00 am – 11:00 pm and continue with Summer II hours which can be viewed here.

Have a safe and fun Fourth of July weekend!

 

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Remembering Maya

Posted on June 2, 2014 Written by

Maya AngelouLast week, the country and the state lost one of its great poets, Maya Angelou.  To celebrate her life and legacy, we’ve assembled just a few of the resources documenting her extraordinary life and work:

Books at Ross Pendergraft Library:

*These books are located on the first floor at the display table near the south entrance.

Online Resources:

Music:

  • A Woman’s Life  A concert arrangment composed by Richard Danielpour, performed by soprano Angela Brown with lyrics by Maya Angelou.  Available through Naxos Music Library.
  • Did you know she was a Calypso singer?  Here is “Neighbour, Neighbour” from her album, Miss Calypso:

Her last scheduled visit to Arkansas would’ve occurred on April 11th, 2014 at the Fayetteville Public Library.  However, she was forced to cancel the appearance for health reasons, and issued a statement expressing her apology and her deeply profound and personal reflections on Arkansas:

I learned in Arkansas at a very young age from my grandmother who taught me, ‘when you learn, teach and when you get, give’.

In Arkansas I also learned not to complain.  I was taught that there are people all over the world who have less than I have and who would give anything for a portion of my possessions.  They went to sleep last night as I went to sleep and they never awakened.  Their beds have become their cooling boards and their blankets have become their winding sheets and they would give anything and everything for what I was complaining about.

In Arkansas, I learned to trust love, not the romance of it, but the heart of it.  In Arkansas I learned to have respect for friendship, to honor it, to trust it and to build it.

The former poet, author, civil rights activist, actress, screenplay writer, cable car conductor, Calypso singer, film director, dancer, newspaper editor, radio voice, cocktail waitress, professor,  and Arkansan died on May 28th, at the age of 86. 

 

 

 

 

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Hours for Finals

Posted on April 28, 2014 Written by

The Ross Pendergraft Library & Technology Center will have extended hours this week and part of next week for finals.  Stay up and study with us:

Mon.-Tues. (Apr. 28-Apr. 29)
7:00 AM – 1:00 AM
Wed.-Thurs. (Apr. 30-May 1)
7:00 AM – 12:00 AM
Friday (May 2)
7:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Saturday (May 3)
10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Sunday (May 4)
2:00 PM – 12:00 AM
Monday (May 5)
7:00 AM – 12:00 AM
Tuesday (May 6)
7:00 AM – 10:00 PM

After finals, beginning May 7th through June 1st, the Library will begin “Summer Interim Hours”:

Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM — 5:00 PM
Saturday-Sunday, CLOSED

In addition, the Music Lab will close at 10:00 PM on Tuesday, May 6 for the Interim, reopening Monday, June 2 for Summer Session I.

Good luck on your exams and remember:

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BioOne

Posted on April 24, 2014 Written by

Sometimes, the search results in Academic Search Complete can seem . . . less than complete.  If you are having trouble finding full-text articles in biological sciences, switch over to the BioOne full-text database.  With more than full-text 100,000 articles from 179 journals, BioOne can be a great place to find research in Biology, Zoology, Entomology, Plant Sciences, and Environmental Sciences.

Located in our list of “Tech Databases”, BioOne allows you to search by author, title, DOI, and keywords within the full text of the article or captions from figures & charts.  Unlike many of our other databases, all results will include full-text articles—no Inter-Library Loan necessary.

You can email links to articles, download citations to a citation manager, and even track citations with RSS feeds.  For videos, tutorials, and more information about using BioOne, visit their Resource Guides page.  For more information about BioOne, biological science, or finding full-text articles, contact your friendly neighborhood librarians at askalibrarian@atu.edu.

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Film on Tuesday

Posted on April 16, 2014 Written by

Could you get on the bus?  In 1961, a group of  people, both black and white, decided to travel through the segregated South on a Greyhound bus challenging Jim Crow laws prohibiting racial mixing.  Their radical strategy?  Walk through the door of a “white’s-only” establishment and sit together.

Their fearless idealism and commitment to non-violence in the face of arrests, brutal mobs, and attempted murder challenged America to see the inhumanity of segregation and pushed the Civil Rights Movement to the forefront of national conversation.

On Tuesday, April 22nd at 7:00 p.m., join our conversation about the Civil Rights at the screening of the PBS documentary, The Freedom Riders.  Before the film, Barbara Lackey (Horace Mann HS-LittleRock ’60, ATU ’68) and Dr. V. Carole Smith (Russellville HS ’65), will also discuss their life experiences in the River Valley and beyond.

Even if you can’t stay for the film, you won’t want to miss opening panel discussion for a once in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear history from the people who lived through it right here in the River Valley.  There will be a short break after the discussion before the movie begins.  You can also find the film at the library or online for viewing at home.

The film is the last of our Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle series produced in partnership with the National Endowment for Humanities and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, created to encourage public conversations about the changing meanings of freedom and equality in America.

For more information about this film, the panel discussion, or the Civil Rights Movement, give us a ring at 479-964-0569 or send us an email at askalibrarian@atu.edu.

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Swim the Stream

Posted on April 11, 2014 Written by

Fans of the library already know we have a fantastic DVD collection, but lately, we’ve been dipping our toes into the world of streaming video.  From now until April 23, we’re hosting a trial of Kanopy Streaming Video, one of the largest educational video streaming services in the world–considered the “Netflix” of the educational video world.

Our current trial consists of 366 educational films and lectures in business and the social sciences that you can watch for free from your laptop, mobile device, or iPad.  The videos are organized into four distinct collections:

1. Documentary Education Resources: New Releases 2013

This collection includes 34 full-length documentary videos exploring cultures and social science topics from the United States and all over the world.

2. Psychotherapy.net Counseling & Therapy Online

Since 1995, Psychotherapy.net has been producing videos in the fields of psychotherapy, psychology, and addiction.  Videos in this series include interviews from renowned counselors and psychologists discussing their practice, theories, and experiences.

3. Media Education Foundation (MEF) Collection

These documentary films encourage critical thinking about the social, political, and cultural impact of American mass media. Faculty and students in journalism, sociology, race studies, psychology, and many other disciplines will find something worth watching and thinking about in this collection of 138 videos.

4. Standford Executive Briefings Collection

For twenty years, Stanford University has hosted a monthly business forum featuring prominent CEOs, professors, and authors who shared their expertise and research in finance, leadership, public speaking, and organization strategy.  Think of it as a collection of TED talks just for business.

The Kanopy service can be used at home or broadcast in a lecture hall or classroom for teaching purposes.  Individual videos can also be embedded into Blackboard using the “Embed in LMS” button at the top of each video.  There’s also a tool that allows you create a playlist of portions of each video, in case you just want to show a clip or several clips of videos.

Kanopy will only be available until April 23, but if you want to see this service stick around longer, give us a shout at askalibrarian@atu.edu.  In addition to these videos, the Kanopy service contains thousands of other videos in art, health, science, and teacher education—some of which we would normally purchase on DVD.  Feel free to browse their collection and recommend a title (or two or five).  Remember, it is your money, your collection, and your education–how do you want to learn?

 

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The Loving Story

Posted on April 4, 2014 Written by

Imagine living in a time when it was considered illegal to marry the person you loved.  Imagine knowing that your wedding ceremony could be followed by a trial, conviction, and imprisonment for the simple act of tying the knot.   Sixty years ago, Richard and Mildred Loving changed history when they said “I do” in defiance of the law against inter-racial marriage and faced prosecution and jail-time in a state penitentiary, culminating in the landmark Supreme Court Case, Loving v. Virginia.

Join us this Thursday, April 10th, for the screening of the documentary film, The Loving Story, at 7:00 p.m. in Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center, room 300 south.  Following the film, Dr. James Moses, professor of history at Arkansas Tech University, will lead a discussion about this pivotal Supreme Court decision.  Admission is free and open to the public.

This film is presented as part of the Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle series, which represents a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities to mark the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.  The Loving Story represents the third part of a four-film series documenting the Civil Rights struggle in America, ending with the screening of The Freedom Riders on April 22nd at 7:00 p.m.

If you can’t make it to Thursday’s event, never fear—you can always come by the library and check out the film for home viewing.

For more information about this film or the film series, give us a call at 479-964-0569 or email us at askalibrarian@atu.edu.

 

 

 

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There’s Still Time

Posted on April 2, 2014 Written by

If you haven’t flipped over to the survey, you still have until this Friday, April 4, to let us know what you think of the library, its collections, services, and people.  In 5-10 minutes, you have the power to shape what books we buy, what formats we buy them in, what services we should offer, and what policies we should adopt to improve the library as a place to study, relax, and check Facebook learn important things about the world.

When we hosted the spring survey last year, over 500 students, faculty, and staff took the survey and gave us their suggestions, complaints, and praises for Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center.  We highlighted the most common suggestions earlier last year, and have worked hard ever since to enhance the library in those areas where we could.

Because of your responses, we have made progress in updating our book collection, increasing the number of full-text journals, creating new research guides, and adding new databases (like Mango Languages, Library PressDisplay, and Statistical Abstract of the U.S.).  We even put together a new online course reserve form for faculty, and a new library and research guide specifically for online-only students.

Factors like temperature, study space, and 24 hour service are still out of our control, however.  Additionally, we had to scrap some of the more creative suggestions for how to improve the library, such as:

  • A sugar-daddy to leave a million or so to grow the collection.
  • Have a nap room.
  • Play some classical music throughout the public areas of the building and in the elevators.
  • Move it closer to my dorm.
  • Get rid of the apple computers.
  • Get some more MACs.

While we cannot implement all of your great ideas, we’ll do our best to make sure your research-related needs are met.  Keep the feedback coming by taking the survey or by emailing your strongly agreeable librarians at askalibrarian@atu.edu.  Remember, it is YOUR library–help us make it  a better place for YOU.

http://techlibrarysurvey2014.questionpro.com/

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