Research Skills for Non-Traditional Students
Been out of school for a while and feeling lost? Working and going to school, and pressed for the time needed to do research? Learn how to:
You think writing a paper about a movie is easy? Professors aren't the only people who understand The Matrix! We'll show you how interesting film research really is, so your parents will never make fun of you again.
Managing Your Research Using Endnote: Basic Skills @ the Health Sciences Center
This workshop was created with the needs of students, faculty and staff of the Health Sciences Center in mind. The workshop will be held in Classroom 2 at the Health Sciences Library so that participants don't need to walk across campus. Creating the bibliography is often the most tedious part of writing a research paper. Using EndNote, a bibliographic management software program, this task just became much easier. In this workshop learn:
Creating the bibliography is often the most tedious part of writing a research paper. Using EndNote, a bibliographic management software program, this task just became much easier. In this workshop learn:
Wednesday, February 25 @ 2:30 PM (1.5 hours)
Register @ http://www.stonybrook.edu/library/services/instruction/workshops.htm.
With websites like Yahoo Finance, CNN Money, etc., why do you need the library's databases? Come and find out how to:
LibX is a browser toolbar extension for Firefox and Internet Explorer that provides direct access to the library's resources without requiring a visit to the library website. Effortlessly switch between exploring the Internet and exploring the library. Learn how to:
Friday, 2/20/09, there will be a scheduled interruption in access to the library's electronic resources due to campus server upgrades.
The downtime will begin at about 5.30pm and last approximately one hour.
The February 2009 issue of Library Connections is now available at http://stonybrook.edu/library/newsletter/February2009.pdf.
From Chris Filstrup, Dean & Director
Stony Brook arrived in force at Christie's auction of American documents yesterday. Kristen Nyitray, Richie Feinberg, and I represented the library. We were joined by Barbara Russell, Suffolk County Historian, and Elizabeth Kaplan, Director of Education at the Three Village Historical Association. Both Barbara and Liz are members of the Historical Documents Advisory Board which oversees the library's several activities related to the purchase of important historical documents. Also joining us was Steven Englebright, our Assemblyman and champion of local history.
The George Washington letter of interest to us was number 48 out of 51 lots. Most of the earlier lots went for amounts at the low end to middle of Christie's estimates. Exceptions were a copy of the Declaration of Independence printed on vellum which sold for $580,000 and a plaster life caste of Lincoln which sold for $28,000. But the letters, mostly by Lincoln but also several by George Washington, were fetching low to middling amounts.
Bidding on our George Washington letter started at $14,000, and Kristen cooly kept the paddle in her lap. There was interest in the letter, and the price quickly went to $30,000, the top of the estimate, in $2000 increments. At $36,000, there was one bidder in house and one on the phone. There was a lull as the auctioneer waited for a bid at $38,000. Up went Kristen's paddle. "There's a new bidder in the house, first row," announced the auctioneer. From that bid to the end, it was no contest. The in-house bidder quickly dropped out, and it was Kristen versus the phone. At $48,000 the remote bidder must have realized Stony Brook's determination and went silent. The library is purchasing the letter with a combination of state funds provided by Assemblyman Steven Englebright and a donation by Henry Laufer.
The auction ended with the exciting sale of Lincoln's manuscript of his 1864 election victory speech. Bidding started at $1.5 million and, in $100,000 increments, rose to $3 million, the final, hammered price. With Christie's commission, the total price of $3.41 million set a record for an American document. Interestingly, the owner who put the Lincoln manuscript up for auction was a public library in Dryden, New York.
After the dust settled, we chatted with Christie's staff, several of whom came from or live on Long Island. They were happy to see the letter repatriated and to a public institution. We plan to do this again.
--CF
See the Newsday coverage of the auction for further information
See a previous Screen Porch post about the first Washington letter acquired by the library in May 2006
The University Libraries heartily congratulates Hélène Volat, our Head of Reference and Information Services, on the recent publication of her book Les Ecrits de Marguerite Duras. Bibliographie des oeuvres et de la critique 1940-2006 which she co-authored with Robert Harvey and Bernard Alazet.
This is the first monograph published in France in which one will find all works by Marguerite Duras from 1940 up to her death on 3 March 1996, all extant translations worldwide, as well as all of the criticism and research on her work until the end of 2006.
With 3,000 cited references for primary and secondary sources, Les Écrits de Marguerite Duras comprehensively lists works published in a multiplicity of languages on this key French twentieth-century author and provides the reader with a detailed synopsis of each of these works of criticism.
Thanks to an international team of dozens of renowned contributors under the direction of Robert Harvey, Bernard Alazet, and Hélène Volat, this fully annotated bibliography is an indispensable tool for Duras researchers and students alike.
Les Ecrits de Marguerite Duras. Bibliographie des oeuvres et de la critique 1940-2006. Robert Harvey, Bernard Alazet, Hélène Volat. Paris : Institut Mémoire de l'Edition Contemporaire, 2008. (Coll. Inventaires, 2). 530 p.
Tour the Melville Library
Extra! Extra! You Can Overcome Frustration with Newspaper Research!
Where are the Journal Articles?
You’ve been asked to write a research paper using at least three journal articles from peer-reviewed journals. What does that mean and how do you find them? This workshop will go over:
• Where to find the articles
• How to find out if an article is or isn’t peer-reviewed
• Which databases are best for which subject matter
Wednesday, February 18 @ 1:30 PM
Register @ http://www.stonybrook.edu/library/services/instruction/index.html.
Take a tour of the Melville Library’s main public service areas. Learn about our collections and services and get some freebies while you’re here. Meet us @ the Central Reading Room, Melville Library. All tours run about 30 minutes.
From Hélène Volat, Head of Reference
On January 20, 2009, I attended Barack Obama’s Inauguration in Washington DC with my husband, Robert, and my daughter, Aurélie. After volunteering for the campaign from the very beginning, canvassing houses in Pennsylvania under pouring rain in October, calling hundreds of people on the phone, overspending our budget on contributions, and agonizing over the final outcome of this election, it was the logical thing to do.
We enjoyed every minute of it and hardly noticed the deep cold because of the incredible warmth of the crowd surrounding us. It is the first time since I arrived in this country that I took part in an event that gathered such a diversity of people, of all races, celebrating not only one man but a new future. It was moving and exhilarating. I did not dance with President Obama at the Hawaiian Inaugural Ball. But never mind… Yes we did!
Note: You can see more of Aurélie's inauguration photographs cycling through the pics in the upper right corner
Get Your Learn On: Web Research 2.0
Web research is like juggling dynamite: done right it’s spectacular, done wrong it blows up in your face. Learn how to do it right:
• 10 rules for effective Web research
• Tools and applications for organizing and sharing research online
• Top 5 Web research mistakes
Thursday, February 12 @ 2:30 PM
Classroom A, First Floor, Melville Library
Register @ http://www.stonybrook.edu/library/services/instruction/workshops.htm.
STARS: Finding Books, DVDs and more @ SBU Libraries
STARS is Stony Brook’s online catalog of more than 2 million titles, including books, journals, DVDs, CDs, scores, etc. Learn how to:
• Find books, journals, DVDs and more
• Renew books online
• Find Course Reserves and more
Wednesday, February 11 @ 4 PM
Classroom A, First Floor, Melville Library
All Across the Galaxy: Searching Multiple Resources Simultaneously
The Screen Porch by RSS
The Screen Porch by Email
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