Undergraduate Research Engine

I've found the following customized google search tool useful for helping to narrow the results to more quality resources for undergraduate research.

Start using the Undergraduate Research Engine. So far I've been thrilled with the results. A student shortened the url in my Library Instruction class to http://tiny.cc/ure

Thanks go to David Dillard, a reference librarian at Temple University, for creating this cutomized search box. I read about this on his yahoo group, NetGold and have contacted him regarding how this tool was created, i.e. what limiters he set up.

Hooked on Gadgets - Interesting to consider . . .

READ ARTICLE - Hooked on Gadgets and Paying a Mental Price

I will really take a look at this and consider if I need more peacefulness and less gadgetry in my own existence.

Netvibes - Dashboard - READY

Hi Everyone - CLICK to see the public version of the Netvibes dashboard I created.

I have tabs for -

• General News & Information
  
• Information Literacy
  
• Technology
  
• Music

This is an easy to use site, so try setting one up for yourself.

Tools for the online reading of the future

Just saw an article about some neat tools for simplifying your online reading experience. They bookmark things and/or make it easy to save reading to a mobile device.

Readability = This is what they call a bookmarklet. It reformats the text so that you don't see the adds and extra side bars, and does it in various modes - Newspaper, Novel, eBook.

Instapaper = a way to mark a text in your browser and then either read it later via your Instapaper account or more conveniently save it to another mobile device for easier viewing there.

SEE whole article from ALA's TechSource Blog = Change How You Read

Summer Projects at ECC

Today at our librarians meeting we discussed options of what we, the librarians at ECC, might like to accomplish over the summer. We also looked through the FY10 goals sheet and evaluated whether there were items from that to still address. It appears we accomplished much of what we set out to do last year, though I of course only starting March 1st didn't do much to help out in this.

So, what to do this summer? There are 21 hours a week I have to work and the students don't have as many questions as usual, so thus some time for summer projects.

Some ideas for summer projects:

1. Develop an information literacy action plan (including goals for each Research Session)
   
2. Continue to weed if this is desired by the Collection Development librarian
3. Discover Web 2.0 and possible library outreach and implementation of these tools
4. Learn about teaching and presenting to be more effective in bibliographic instruction
5. Read about current events to relate to students - more relevant examples for sessions
6. Finish the Arthur Lourie research - research writing skills and organizing thoughts(my personal goal and not a work-related one)
7. Acquaint myself with the library resources & ECC classes - reference, videos, databases, etc.

YES, there are many things to do and I will use my time wisely over the summer. Thank God for better air-conditioning today in the library.