IC Library Blog

The IC Library Blog and the Wells Library blog will merge to become the Reference Services blog.  Our target date for the merge is Monday January 18^th.   We’ll continue to post information of interest to Wells IC customers and Library users.  If you link to this blog or if you’ve set up an RSS feed, you’ll want to make adjustments.  Here’s the link to the soon to be new blog:  http://bl-libg-weblab.ads.iu.edu/wordpress/libref

From the IU Libraries, we’d like to welcome you (back) to Bloomington! For many, a new year and new semester offers exciting possibilities to answer questions and to explore the unknown. The libraries are one place where that may happen.  As you start off the semester, here are a few resources that may help you navigate the town and the term.

Navigate Bloomington

Bloomington Transit Routes & Schedule

Campus Bus Schedule

Navigate IU

Quick Guide to IU Information

Wishing you a wonderful semester from the IU Libraries!

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Even during the crunch time at the end of the semester, it is important to know what is going on in the world. There are many online news sites that can provide you with current information for all your news needs; they can also be a nice break from studying and group projects.

The Indiana Daily Student – An online version of the IDS. It is always nice to know what is going on around campus and the IDS provides that along with local, state, and national news.

CNN – Provides breaking news from the US and the world. I find CNN to be the place to go to find out what is happening currently and to learn about any big stories.

BBC News – For a bit more World news, BBC has the latest stories, along with the ability to check out the news in certain areas of the world. It is important to know what is happening in the rest of the world.

Wired News – Now for my favorite kind of news…Tech News! Wired has articles and blogs about various technology topics. There are gadget reviews, articles about brand new cars, the latest information in hacking court cases, and articles about historic tech events. Wired is a good website when taking a break because it provides you with a bit of news and you can also learn about the newest things and impress your friends with your knowledge.

When you are taking a break from all your hard work, take some time to get some current events. Also, if you are more interested in reading news from the past, IU Libraries has many newspaper databases you can look through. Use the search box on the top of any library page and search for “newspapers”.

KJK

Thanksgiving is still three days away and already the Information Commons is looking deserted!  Most of us are probably headed home, others are staying in, but there’s one thing that’s for sure:  pretty much none of us want to spend any time of our precious break inside the walls of the library!  Therefore, in the spirit of the holiday, I’ve created a list of things that I’m thankful for … things OUTSIDE the IC. 

Here are some things that I’m thankful for, as a librarian-in-training and as an IU grad student …

G - Getting a break from classes, woot woot !

I - Image databases, like ARTstor and AP Photos.  It’s so easy to use these and find really high-quality pictures, and it’s nice not to worry about watermarks or the other difficulties with using a Google image search.  If you appreciate art or architecture, or need pictures for a poster or presentation, you should definitely check out ARTstor! Just type it into the main search box on the libraries’ page and it should come up first.

V - Virtual reference services.  By using the Ask a Librarian button on the libraries’ home page, I can call, email, or send an anonymous chat to a librarian … from wherever!  So when I’m struggling from home this break, I know there’s someone I can turn to.

E - EBSCO databases.  I’m thankful for these AMAZING databases (like Academic Search Premier, found in the Resource Gateway drop-down list) that search multiple places all at once, saving me so much time!  I’m thankful that they have all the cool options that they do, but I’m especially grateful that they create citations for me so I don’t have to worry about APA/MLA style reference pages anymore!

T - Technology.  I love that I can stay in touch with my friends and family no matter where I am.  I also love that IU has such strong tech support and I can take my laptop to the Support Center in the IC and get things fixed asap.  They have the Geek Squad beat, for sure!

H - Holiday-themed candles.  Nothing gets you in the spirit more than a pumpkin-pie-scented room!

A - Access to SO much with the click of a button!  I am thankful that I don’t have to worry about coming to the library and sorting through card catalogs like people used to have to do.  The online catalog and all the online resources are amazing, and they definitely come in handy for those of us who tend to procrastinate!

N - New and old movies that I can check out for free in the Media & Reserve Services room.  I love that they have video games, language-learning cds, and seasons of tv too.  I can keep them for an entire week, so I don’t have to make blockbuster runs over the holiday … score!

K - KB.iu.edu  I’m thankful for this super helpful website, and it still amazes me that so many people don’t know about it!  It’s a place where you can search for all sorts of technology and IU related help info.  I always use it when I have questions about printing or software.

S - Sweet professors who give extensions on assignments until AFTER break.  You know you appreciate the extra time !  So take advantage of these away-from-the-library resources and have fun, productive breaks!

ArD

With the semester halfway over and group projects and term papers and course readings and assignments all coming due at the same time, it’s easy to get bogged down, feel overwhelmed, and feel like you need a break from all that reading! But you may not have thought that an easy way to relax and get away is recreational reading. Yes, reading can still be fun!

The Information Commons browsing collection has hundreds of popular fiction titles, from mysteries and detective stories, to romance, to science fiction and fantasy,  to westerns, historical fiction, and more! It’s important to take time to relax, and even if schoolwork won’t let you get away for the weekend, you can always take a couple hours and escape into another world!

The browsing collection is located on the west side of the west tower, next to the career reference collection. The books are arranged by the author’s last name, and if you want to see if we have something specific, you can always check our online catalog IUCAT. And remember, just because it’s not in the browsing collection doesn’t mean we don’t have it. A lot of our popular fiction books can be found in the Undergraduate Core Collection, and classics can even be found in the Stacks. Browsing collection titles can be checked out out for up to two weeks, or you can hang out and relax on one of the sofas in the Information Commons.

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Pumpkin pie and whipped cream dreams from http://www.flickr.com/photos/hfb/52111834/

Thanksgiving…it’s just a few weeks away and I can already  smell the pumpkin pie. Whether you’re looking forward to a traditional turkey dinner, or this is the first time you’re experiencing our American tradition of eating too much and being thankful for it, we have some appetizing books to get you ready for the big day! Forget all those deadlines looming just around the corner and take a few minutes to remember all you have to be thankful for…family, friends, the Internet and food!

These titles can all be found in the IC Undergraduate Collection on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the Wells Library West Tower. If they’re not on the shelf, try finding them in the special features display across from the IC Reference Desk…this month, it’s all about the food! Last, but not least, find all these books and more on our great list of cookbooks and foodie reading on Worldcat.

An Edible History of Humanity (GT 2850 .S73 2009): The bestselling author of “A History of the World in 6 Glasses” brilliantly charts how foods have transformed human culture through the ages. (WorldCat review)

Food Matters (RA 784 .B55 2009): From the award-winning guru of culinary simplicity and author of the bestselling “How to Cook Everything” and “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian” comes a plan for responsible eating that’s as good for the planet as it is for the waistline. (WorldCat review)

In Defense of Food (RA 784 .P643 2008): “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” These simple words go to the heart of food journalist Pollan’s thesis. Humans used to know how to eat well, he argues, but the balanced dietary lessons that were once passed down through generations have been confused and distorted by food industry… (WorldCat review)

Righteous Porkchop (TC 930.2 .N56): Part memoir, part expose, “Righteous Porkchop” offers a searing account of the factory farm industry–and the effects the techniques have on health and well-being–by an engaging crusader who finds love and purpose along the way. (WorldCat review)

Food: the History of Taste (TX 353 .F668 2007): Traces the history of food from the hunters and gatherers to the modern consumer age and a new landscape for gastronomy.

From Hardtack to Home fries (TX 360 .U6 H33 2002): As any cook knows, every meal, and every diet, has a story — whether it relates to presidents and first ladies or to the poorest of urban immigrants. From Hardtack to Home Fries brings together the best and most inspiring of those stories, from the 1840s to the present, focusing on a remarkable assembly of little-known or forgotten Americans who determined what our country ate during some of its most trying periods… (WorldCat review)

Cooking Green (TX653 .H49 2009): The foods we eat and the ways we buy, store and prepare them are significant contributors to global warming. This information-packed volume, from cookbook author and newgreenbasics.com founder Heyhoe, provides detailed guidance for those looking to make their cooking and eating habits earth-friendlier. (Publishers Weekly)

American History Cookbook (TX 715 .Z36): This book uses historical commentary and recipes to trace the history of American cooking from the first European contact with Native Americans to the 1970s.  (Abstract)

The New Taste of Chocolate (TX 767 .C5 P74 2001): Presilla, a marketing consultant for a Latin American chocolate producer, explains the history, science and production of what many consider the world’s most delectable snack.  (Publishers Weekly)

GMW