Scholarly Vs. Popular periodicals

Big thanks to Vanderbilty University librarian Eli Moody, who has put together this short entertaining film about the differences between popular and scholarly periodicals, and how to differentiate between the two. Give it a look!

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Information online: myths and realities.

Information technologies are developing at a rapid pace, and with these developments comes lots of hype. The current Google Books project is one such example. Some of the world’s biggest and most influential libraries are working with Google to digitize their collections: Harvard, Stanford, University of Michigan, and others. It is a noble and humanitarian undertaking for sure. It’s easy to look at a project like this one and imagine a global digital library that will one day render the “brick and mortar” physical library space obsolete. But a project like this one is complex and has many restrictions, one of which is that old notion of copyright. There are other considerations as well in terms of access, digital preservation, intellectual property, and privacy. Take a look the following article from the ACRLog, the blog of the Association of College and Research Libraries.
http://acrlblog.org/2007/04/23/siva-vaidhyanathan-questions-google-book-search/

Does this change the way you think about access to online information, now or in the future?

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Library jargon

Libraries, like any other industry, have their own jargon. Technical terms that get tossed around to describe old and new technologies, fancy acronyms and terms that describe what it is we librarians do, and so on. We try as hard as possible to explain library services and resources without using all the technical terms, but sometimes we slip up, or sometimes there’s just no way around it. Fear not, because the Regis Libraries have prepared a short glossary of library terms to help you when you are confronted by any “library lingo”. For a longer list of terms, check out the Arizona State University glossary of library terminology.

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Plagiarize if you dare!

This has been a rather hot story the past day or two, so you may be familiar with it already. A producer for CBS was fired for plagiarism, using material from a Wall Street Journal article verbatim.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070410/ap_en_tv/tv_couric_plagiarism_1

I bring this story to your attention to emphasize the need to cite your sources! If you ever have doubts as to whether or not to make reference to a source, always err on the side of caution and cite the source. The Regis Libraries have created several handouts covering different citation styles. The Regis University Writing Center can also assist you with any style or formatting questions you may have.

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The Research Process

Research is a cumulative process that involves several steps that build upon each other. It can be confusing to know what steps to take and at what time. The folks at the University of Minnesota have created an assignment calculator to help you outline the research process in conjunction with your timetable. Enter the start and due dates of your assignment, and the calculator will generate a schedule of the research steps you will need to perform to finish your assignment on time. You even have the option of signing up for email alerts for each step! Check it out!

Note While general in its scope, keep in mind the assignment calculator may make reference to services available exclusively at the University of Minnesota. If you have questions about similar services at Regis University, Ask Us!

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