Bill Moyers on Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week – Celebrate the Freedom to Read
September 30 – October 6, 2012

On the 30th anniversary of Banned Books Week, Bill explains why censorship is the biggest enemy of truth.

Bill Moyers on Banned Books Week from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.

Come to Kirk Library to check out a banned book!

Below are links to the books Bill Moyers mentioned:

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
“Community, Identity, Stability” is the motto of Aldous Huxley’s utopian World State. Here everyone consumes daily grams of soma, to fight depression, babies are born in laboratories, and the most popular form of entertainment is a “Feelie,” a movie that stimulates the senses of sight, hearing, and touch. Though there is no violence and everyone is provided for, Bernard Marx feels something is missing and senses his relationship with a young women has the potential to be much more than the confines of their existence allow.

Color Purple by Alice Walker
Celie has been raped by the man she believes to be her father. She is robbed of her two children and married of to a man she hates. Her sister, Nettie, escapes the same fate and is befriended by missionaries who have unwittingly adopted Celie’s children. Separated for thirty years, the sisters live in ignorance of each other’s circumstances.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
In a racially divided Alabama town in the 1930s, widowed lawyer Atticus Finch agrees to defend a young black man accused of raping a white woman, teaching his children valuable lessons about prejudice and empathy.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Catcher in the Rye covers three and a half days in the life of sixteen-year-old Holden Caulfield.  Holden narrates the story, looking back some months later from the vantage point of a temporary, enforced stay in a psychiatric institution in California, where he’s visited by his older brother DB, a Hollywood writer.  His younger brother Allie died three years previously from leukaemia.  He also has a younger sister, Phoebe, who lives at home with their parents in New York City.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Two drifters, one a gentle but slow giant, try to make money working the fields during the Depression so they can fulfill their dreams until one of them succumbs to his weakness for soft, helpless creatures and strangles the farmer’s wife.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
An epic tale of fathers and sons, of friendship and betrayal, that takes us from Afghanistan in the final days of the monarchy to the atrocities of the present. The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption, and it is also about the power of fathers over sons-their love, their sacrifices, their lies.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
When an atomic physicist disappears on a secret mission, his son, daughter and their firend search for him, going on an interplanetary journey through time and space.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Fahrenheit 451, the temperature at which book paper catches fire and burns. The system was simple. Everyone understood it. Books were burning–along with the houses in which they were hidden. Then he met a professor who told him of a future in which people could think–and Guy Montag suddenly realized what he had to do!

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Huck tells of his adventures travelling down the Mississippi on a raft with an escaped slave, and of the many people they encounter, including a pair of swindlers and two families in a feud.

A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
A collection of humorous poems and drawings.

Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School for Wizards and Witches.

Got Bookmarks? Use iCrumz!

Do you save a lot of bookmarks on your Internet browser on your computer and find that they’ve disappeared when you use another computer?  Or you save your bookmarks in Internet Explorer and can’t find them when you use Mozilla Firefox?  There’s a simple solution to your problem.  It’s called online bookmarking.

Online bookmarking is a wonderful tool!  It allows you to save all your bookmarks on a secured web service, from which you can later access via Internet no matter what computer or Internet browser you use.

There are many online bookmarking services, but all I want is one that’s simple, easy to use, and acts similar to the bookmarking tool on Internet Explorer and Firefox.  After hours of searching and testing multiple bookmarking services (Delicious, Diigo, Google Bookmarks, etc.), I found one I like:  iCrumz.

• All your bookmarks are listed on one page.
• You can create “folder” categories (highlighted in orange) AND subcategories (and sub-subcategories!)
• You can keep your folders opened or closed by clicking once on the category title so you can show or hide your links as you prefer.
• You can re-organize your bookmarks by dragging and dropping them into a new folder with your mouse.
• You can add bookmarks with one easy click.  All you need to do is drag the +iCrumz link to your browser’s Bookmark Toolbar to set it up.

UPDATE 11/1/12: I’m really disappointed that it has disappeared. Apparently, the start-up company and the programmer had a falling out.  I hope they work it out because this is a great product.

PowerPoint Too Big To Email?

Do you like using a lot of pictures in your Powerpoint presentations?  Then find out you can’t email it because the file is mega big?

Never fear!  There is a way to make your file smaller by compressing the pictures in your PowerPoint presentation.  Using PowerPoint 2010, I was able to compress a 50 MB PowerPoint file into 3 MB using the method below:

1. Save a copy of your file with the word compressed added to it, e.g. mypresentation-compressed.pptx (this is for damage control—in case things go wrong, you’ll still have a copy of your original to fall back on!).

2. Open up the compressed copy of your file and click on a picture.  Any picture is fine—you just need to get the Picture Tools menu to show up.

3. Click on the Format menu.

4. Click on the Compress Pictures icon (the one the red arrow is pointing to in the screenshot above).

5. In the Compress Pictures options:

• Uncheck Apply only to this picture
• Check Delete cropped areas of pictures
• Select Email (96 ppi): minimize document size for sharing
• Click OK

6. Save your file.

7. Done!  The file size should have shrunk to a more manageable size.

PowerPoint Tip:

The best way to add pictures into your presentation is to use the Insert menu and Picture option (see screenshot below) instead of copying and pasting the picture into your presentation.  You’ll finish your presentation with a smaller file, which can be compressed to an even smaller file.

I did a comparison, in which I used the same pictures to make two identical presentations.  I used the copy and paste method in one presentation and the Insert Picture method in the other.  Copy and paste file had 50 MB and compressed to 3 MB.  Insert Picture file had 7 MB and compressed to 620 KB.  Seeing the difference in file size, which method would you use?

New Videos From Films on Demand

New titles from Films Media Group have been added to the following
Films On Demand streaming video collections:
•  Business & Economics Collection
•  Science & Mathematics Collection
•  Health & Medicine Collection
•  Archival Films & Newsreels Collection

To access these titles, go to Films on Demand and log in, or just click on the Title URLs provided below.  We invite you to inform your colleagues of these new titles by forwarding this message to them.  If you are accessing Films on Demand from off campus, you’ll need to validate with your student/employee ID number and your last name in capital letters to watch the videos.

Faculty: if you need help embedding these videos to your ANGEL class, contact Lily Kun at lkun@centralia.edu.

Business & Economics Collection – 14 New Titles

Open Source Revolution
Subject: Business Technology
© 2011   |   20 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=47367
Once the domain of programmers and tech-savvy hobbyists, open source software has hit the mainstream. How exactly did computer users go from living in a world of purchased programs to a world where ma …

Inside the Meltdown
Subject: Economics
© 2009   |   60 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44125
This edition of Frontline investigates the causes of the 2008 economic meltdown, the worst American financial crisis in 70 years, and how the government responded. The film chronicles the inside stori …

Ten Trillion and Counting
Subject: Economics
© 2009   |   60 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44126
All of the measures by the feds to stem the tide in the financial meltdown have added hundreds of billions of dollars to the U.S. national debt. This episode of Frontline reports on how this debt cons …

The New Rules of the Game
Subject: Economics
© 2004   |   120 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44214
In the early 1990s, most of the world had converted to free-market capitalism, setting the stage for a new, and rapidly growing, global economy. Disappearing trade barriers and unrestricted capital fl …

The Warning
Subject: Economics
© 2009   |   60 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44135
This edition of Frontline traces the roots of the economic collapse of 2008, looking for clues about why it happened and examining moments when it might have gone much differently. Producer/director M …

Getting from Here to There: What the World’s People Want
Subject: Economics, Ethics & Business Law
© 2005   |   28 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44653
A paradigm shift has occurred since the founding of the World Bank over half a century ago, representing a new awareness of how reduction-of-poverty programs impact the daily lives of the people they …

Reforming the International Monetary Fund
Subject: Economics, Ethics & Business Law
© 2005   |   28 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44651
Like its sister organization the World Bank, the IMF was created after World War II with the goal of stabilizing the economy of nations in need, and like the World Bank, faced an onslaught of criticis …

Reforming the World Bank
Subject: Economics, Ethics & Business Law
© 2005   |   28 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44650
The World Bank was founded in 1944 mainly as a way to help Europe rebuild after the Second World War, and it has since become the premiere agency for aiding developing countries. But critics began to …

Visions of a Brighter Future
Subject: Economics, Ethics & Business Law
© 2005   |   28 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44652
Hazel Henderson believes the old models for development are changing, going beyond GDP and GNP to broader indicators of wealth based on peace and human rights. According to Henderson, the rise of nonp …

Why Reform Global Finance? Stresses and Imbalances
Subject: Economics, Ethics & Business Law
© 2005   |   28 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44649
During the late ’90s and onward many countries fell victim to the repercussions of “hot money”-funds that were shrewdly managed for short-term profit in spite of their tendency to increase market inst …

Home-Grown Green Economies
Subject: Economics, Marketing
© 2010   |   29 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44642
What are the prospect in the U.S. for growing the green economy? In this program Hazel Henderson interviews Stuart Valentine, president of Iowa Progressive Asset Management, about public interest in e …

Enjoy Your Meal! How Food Changes the World
Subject: Management
© 2010   |   58 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44773
Exploring the aisles of a Dutch grocery store, this program clearly demonstrates that globalization has made almost any food item, no matter how exotic or remote, available to the Western consumer. Bu …

Smart Food
Subject: Marketing
© 2006   |   30 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44770
From plant extracts to fish oils to yogurt laden with beneficial bacteria, food designed to make us brainier as well as physically healthier is growing in popularity. This program examines the trend, …

The Persuaders
Subject: Marketing
© 2004   |   90 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44132
This edition of Frontline examines the “persuasion industries”: advertising and public relations. To cut through consumers’ growing resistance to their pitches, marketers have developed new ways of in …

Science & Mathematics Collection – 18 New Titles

Exploring Space: The Quest for Life
Subject: Biology
© 2006   |   120 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44244
Are humans special? Or are we just one of many life forms that exist beyond Earth? This program features interviews with scientists who share their opinions about the possibility of life beyond Earth, …

The Book of Life: Genetics and Evolution
Subject: Biology
© 2011   |   60 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44891
Likening the beauty and complexity of DNA to an epic poem, this program revolves around the idea that we all carry the story of life on Earth in our genes, and that the similarities between species ma …

Unlocking the Code: Genetics and Medicine
Subject: Biology
© 2011   |   60 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44892
Although the impact of genetic research on human life is an ever-changing and often theoretical prospect, our current knowledge of the human genome already has direct, real-world applications. This pr …

Dinosaurs: On the Trail of Prehistory
Subject: Biology, Earth Science
© 2011   |   64 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44694
A sensational discovery is made in a German quarry: petrified tracks created by troodontidae, a beast of great interest to scientists but about which little is known. Paleontologists around the world …

Enjoy Your Meal! How Food Changes the World
Subject: Biology, Environmental Science
© 2010   |   58 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44773
Exploring the aisles of a Dutch grocery store, this program clearly demonstrates that globalization has made almost any food item, no matter how exotic or remote, available to the Western consumer. Bu …

Google Tools for Education
Subject: Computers & Technology
© 2011   |      31 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=47365
Beginning with a concise overview of the benefits of cloud computing, this video introduces Google’s integrated suite of Internet-based applications while explaining how these tools-powerful, universa …

Open Source Revolution
Subject: Computers & Technology
© 2011   |   20 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=47367
Once the domain of programmers and tech-savvy hobbyists, open source software has hit the mainstream. How exactly did computer users go from living in a world of purchased programs to a world where ma …

Smart and Technical Textiles
Subject: Computers & Technology
© 2009   |   25 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44523
A new generation of industrial materials may change how we think about textiles. Many components of airplanes, including the wings, are already made using carbon fiber composites-a type of technical t …

How Science Works: Chasing the Wind
Subject: Computers & Technology, Environmental Science, Physical Science
© 2007   |   15 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44659
Is global warming human-driven? Can its effects be accurately measured? What are its long-term consequences? According to Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock, a renowned British space scientist, the only way to …

Tropical Storms: Bangladesh’s Cyclone Aila
Subject: Earth Science, Environmental Science, Geography, Physical Geography
© 2011   |   30 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44508
With extraordinary footage shot during and after Severe Cyclonic Storm Aila, this program looks at the causes and effects of the violent weather event in Bangladesh. Viewers learn how cyclones take sh …

Home-Grown Green Economies
Subject: Environmental Science
© 2010
29 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44642
What are the prospect in the U.S. for growing the green economy? In this program Hazel Henderson interviews Stuart Valentine, president of Iowa Progressive Asset Management, about public interest in e …

Sustainable and Recycled Textiles
Subject: Environmental Science
© 2009   |   25 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44516
Cut-price garments not meant to last for more than a year or two make up nearly half the clothing market, resulting in a rising tide of textile waste. This program profiles clothing designers who are …

The Civilian Conservation Corps
Subject: Environmental Science
© 2009   |   60 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44081
The crash of 1929 left a country—once reeling with optimism—with 25% of its citizens unemployed and at a near complete loss of hope. But in March, 1933, within weeks of his election, President Frankli …

Future of English
Subject: Geography
© 2011   |   25 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44719
Day-to-day use of English has impacted local languages everywhere, spawning the growth of variants such as India’s Hinglish and Singlish in Singapore. Do these variations undermine language, or do the …

Hidden Korea
Subject: Geography
© 2000   |   60 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44136
This program explores the Republic of South Korea, focusing on its culture, traditions, and especially its cuisine. This modern country with a unique cultural identity is known for its rice farming, t …

The Rise of English
Subject: Geography
© 2011
25 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44718
How did a language originally spoken in just a small part of the British Isles come to dominate the communication of so many different countries? From its start as a diverse group of Anglo-Saxon diale …

Cosmic Alchemy
Subject: Physical Science
© 1997   |   55 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44358
What is the universe and everything in it made of? In this program, viewers explore the discoveries in the late 19th century that revealed that the entire observable universe is made of the same eleme …

On the Dark Side
Subject: Physical Science
© 1997   |   55 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44359
Will the universe keep expanding forever or will it someday stop and start collapsing upon itself in a big crunch? This program ventures through the observational research of American astronomer Vera …

Health & Medicine Collection – 9 New Titles

The Downside of High: The Link Between Marijuana and Schizophrenia
Subject: Diseases, Disorders & Disabilities
© 2009   |   60 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44797
Is today’s super-potent pot damaging young minds? Modern growing techniques have dramatically increased THC levels, ramping up the impact on the developing teenage brain. Some experts say that teens w …

More Than Skin Deep: Skin Cancer in America
Subject: Diseases, Disorders & Disabilities, Personal Health & Wellness
© 2010   |   56 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=43915
The deep tan was accidentally popularized by Coco Chanel, yet even when Bob Marley died of melanoma decades later, the general public was still not fully aware of the dangers of UV radiation. This pro …

Sick No Good: AIDS in Papua New Guinea
Subject: Diseases, Disorders & Disabilities, Public Health
© 2006   |   45 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=47256
Young thugs brag about their “raskol” gang ritual of raping women and girls. A truck driver picks up a teenage prostitute out on the highway-just part of his routine. A “hostess supervisor” at a Port …

Unlocking the Code: Genetics and Medicine
Subject: Health Care & Treatment, Human Anatomy and Physiology
© 2011   |   60 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44892
Although the impact of genetic research on human life is an ever-changing and often theoretical prospect, our current knowledge of the human genome already has direct, real-world applications. This pr …

Convenient Cuisine
Subject: Nutrition, Personal Health & Wellness
© 2006   |   30 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44769
Microwave meals—they’re a bonanza for retail giants, but how do they effect public health? Is the old-fashioned home-cooked dinner an endangered species? This program reports on the rise of factory-pr …

Danger on Your Plate? Farm-Raised and Wild Salmon
Subject: Nutrition, Personal Health & Wellness
© 2010   |   26 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=47371
It’s almost a given that salmon is part of a healthy diet, its benefits touted far and wide. Some savvy consumers will even choose wild fish over farm-raised, believing it to be all the more nutritiou …

Smart Food
Subject: Nutrition, Personal Health & Wellness
© 2006   |   30 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44770
From plant extracts to fish oils to yogurt laden with beneficial bacteria, food designed to make us brainier as well as physically healthier is growing in popularity. This program examines the trend, …

On Old Age I: A Conversation with Joan Erikson at 90
Subject: Personal Health & Wellness
© 1995   |   39 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44915
“Wisdom and integrity are something that other people may see in an old person, but it’s not what that old person is feeling.” In this program, Joan M. Erikson offers a frank and personal reexaminatio …

Back to the Basics
Subject: Public Health
© 2006   |   56 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44353
While nutrient-enriched foods have reduced diseases caused by vitamin deficiency in developed countries, the problem continues to plague the developing world. This program explores the connection betw …

Archival Films & Newsreels Collection – 4 New Titles

The Big Picture: German Youth Activities
© 2008   |   30 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44939
In this episode of the U.S. Army’s The Big Picture television series, viewers will learn of the efforts put forth by our soldiers in Germany to show German youth the ways of democracy through the Arme …

The Big Picture: The Eyes and Ears of the Army
© 2007   |   30 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44941
In this episode of the U.S. Army’s The Big Picture television series, viewers learn about the Signal Corps, “The Eyes and Ears of the Army.” Following the men of the Signal Corps to the front lines, t …

The Big Picture: The WAC Is a Soldier, Too
© 2008   |   30 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44938
This episode of the U.S. Army’s The Big Picture television series goes to Fort McClellan, Alabama, for this first look at the new training center for Women’s Army Corps officers and enlisted women. Si …

The Big Picture: Why North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)?
© 2008   |   30 Minutes
Title URL: http://ezproxy.centralia.edu/login?url=http://digital.films.com/portalplaylists.aspx?aid=5802&xtid=44943
This episode of the U.S. Army’s The Big Picture television series, narrated by news analyst Edward R. Murrow, focuses on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, of which the United States is …

ProQuest Database Changes

ProQuest is requiring all their users to migrate to a new search platform by this summer.  So, if you use any of the library’s ProQuest databases (ABI/Inform, Research Library, National Newspapers, Nursing & Allied Health, etc.), be aware that the ProQuest databases you use will look significantly different once Summer Quarter starts.

To have the least impact on students, the library will make the switch on Friday, June 10.  According to ProQuest, it will take about four business days to complete the switch.

If you are on campus, you can preview the new platform by simply referring to the following URL:

http://search.proquest.com

Help International Students Write Better Essays

At a recent ATL Conference in Spokane, Tacoma Community College faculty Mary Fox and Wendy Larsen gave a great presentation on “Please Explain a Five-Paragraph Essay, so I’ll Know How Not to Write One: The Challenges Facing Second Language Writers.”

Among the many culture shocks international students experience, writing an American style essay is something that many international students will struggle with throughout their studies in the U.S.  To better help international students with essay writing, consider the following information:

• Many international students may not know what an American five-paragraph essay looks like.  Different countries have different ways of writing essays that may include different elements than what is expected in the American five-paragraph essay.
• Many international students may come from a country where it is rude to say things directly.  Instead, manners dictate that they convey their point across in very indirect and roundabout way, which means that they are used to a very indirect conversational and writing styles.  Countries that prefer an indirect communication style include Ecuador, Colombia, Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and many more Asian countries.
• Some international students may come from a country where access to libraries and information is restricted.  They may not know where to go and how to find appropriate college level research materials for their essays.
• Some international students may come from a country where open communication and discourse may be dangerous and information is tightly controlled.  These students may not be willing to criticize openly nor share their thoughts freely.

Watch these video clips from a documentary film that the Oregon State University created titled, “Writing Across Borders.”  They will give you a fascinating glimpse of why writing essays in America are so difficult for some international students:

http://cwl.oregonstate.edu/view-clips-film

PS: I’ve ordered a copy of this documentary film for Kirk Library.  If you want to know when it arrives, let me know and I’ll send you an email once it’s available.

Next Generation of Digital Books

Software developer Mike Matas demos the first full-length interactive book for the iPad — with clever, swipeable video and graphics and some very cool data visualizations to play with. The book is “Our Choice,” Al Gore’s sequel to “An Inconvenient Truth.”

Try out a new Online Video Database

Kirk Library has a trial to the Education in Video online database.  We are considering purchasing a subscription to this database and will love to have feedback from you about it.  So, try it out and let us know what you think.  You can either leave us a comment on the blog or send an email to Lily.

What is Education in Video?
Education in Video is the first online collection of streaming video developed specifically for training and developing teachers. Upon completion, the collection will contain more than 1,000 video titles totaling 750 hours of teaching demonstrations, lectures, documentaries, and primary-source footage of students and teachers in actual classrooms. It will give education faculty, students, and in-service teachers a single source for the best research-based professional development video resources available. This release now provides 118 titles, equaling approximately 77 hours.

How do I access Education in Video?
Go to the Education in Video website at  http://ediv.alexanderstreet.com and enter the following username and password:

Username: videos

Password: ORBIS

Trial period ends May 15, 2011.

Tell us what you love about Kirk Library!

Tell us what you love about Kirk Library!

What does the Kirk Library mean to you? Celebrate National Library Week: take a snapshot of your library experience and share it!

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Libraries all over Washington will be taking a ‘snapshot’—collecting information this spring to capture the impact that Washington libraries have on their communities on a typical day.

Update (4/19/2011):  Thanks to those who participated in our Library Snapshot Day.  The results are in!  Follow the link below to see the comments about the library:

http://svy.mk/gfN0Ux

Can’t Print or Edit Documents from Angel or Email?

Are you having problems printing or editing when you open a Word, Excel, or Powerpoint document from Angel or email?

Never fear, there is an easy solution to this problem! The newer versions of MS Office has a security feature that won’t allow you to print or make changes in the document if the document “originated from an Internet location and might be unsafe.”

Solution?  Just click on the “Enable Editing” button to release it from the Protected View.  You should be able to print and edit now.  If you’re still having problems printing, check your printer and make sure it’s connected….