Friday, February 27, 2009

Non-Traditional Students Workshop on 3/5

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:

  • Access Stony Brook University resources from off-campus

  • Explore the library’s collection of electronic books and reference material

  • Use Suffolk Web and WorldCat to find resources close to home
Thursday, Mar. 5 @ 7 PM

Register @ http://www.stonybrook.edu/library/services/instruction/workshops.htm.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Film Research Workshop on 3/4

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.

  • Find where the peer-reviewed articles on film are - and aren't

  • Searching for films and scenes by image and keyword

  • Online film archives

  • Film buffs, film blogs, film nuts and number crunching

Wednesday, Mar. 4 @ 1 PM

Register @ http://www.stonybrook.edu/library/services/instruction/workshops.htm.

EndNote Workshop @ HSC on 3/2

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:

  • How to create an EndNote Library

  • How to download results from a literature search into EndNote

  • How to organize your EndNote Library

  • How to insert your references into a MS Word document

  • How to format your bibliography
Monday, March 2 @ 2:30 PM (1.5 hours)
Location: Health Sciences Library Classroom 2
20 Seat Maximum

Register @ http://www.stonybrook.edu/library/services/instruction/workshops.htm.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

EndNote Workshop on 2/25

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:

  • How to create an EndNote Library

  • How to download results from a literature search into EndNote

  • How to organize your EndNote Library

  • How to insert your references into a MS Word document

  • How to format your bibliography

Wednesday, February 25 @ 2:30 PM (1.5 hours)

Register @ http://www.stonybrook.edu/library/services/instruction/workshops.htm.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Business Databases Workshop on 2/25

With websites like Yahoo Finance, CNN Money, etc., why do you need the library's databases? Come and find out how to:

  • Access information on public companies
  • Locate current business news and market research

  • Select the appropriate database for your research
Wednesday, Feb. 25 @ 5:30 PM

Register @ http://www.stonybrook.edu/library/services/instruction/workshops.htm.

LibX SBU Edition Workshop on 2/24

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:

  • Install the SBU Libraries edition of LibX

  • Use LibX toolbar functionality

  • Use LibX right mouse click functionality

  • Create your own edition of LibX to suit your specific research needs and preferences
Tuesday, February 24 @ 1 PM

Register @ http://www.stonybrook.edu/library/services/instruction/workshops.htm.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Scheduled E-Resource Downtime, 2/20 @ 5.30pm

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.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Latest Library Newsletter Available

The February 2009 issue of Library Connections is now available at http://stonybrook.edu/library/newsletter/February2009.pdf.

Friday, February 13, 2009

SBU Libraries acquires second Washington letter

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

Head of Reference publishes Duras book



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.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Library Tour on Feb. 17

Tour the Melville Library


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.

Tuesday, February 17 @ 12 PM

Newspaper Workshop on Feb. 19

Extra! Extra! You Can Overcome Frustration with Newspaper Research!


This session examines ways to find current and historical articles in newspapers. We'll look at online indexes and collections of digitized newspapers, as well as explore old-fashioned ways to dig in the newspaper archives. In this workshop, you will:
• Become familiar with the odd nature of newspaper indexing
• Effectively search online newspaper indexes
• Effectively use non-online resources for locating older articles
• Find, display, and print articles from the library's online newspaper collections
• Find, display, and copy articles from the library's microformat collection of newspapers

Thursday, February 19 @ 1 PM

Journal Articles Workshop on Feb. 18

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.

Friday, February 06, 2009

Library Tours on Feb. 9 & 11

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.


Monday, February 9 @ 11:30 AM
Wednesday, February 11 @ 5:30 PM

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Yes We Did!

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

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Get Your Learn On: Web Research 2.0 on Feb. 12

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 (Library Catalog) Workshop on Feb. 11

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

Galaxy (Combined Search) Workshop on Feb. 10

All Across the Galaxy: Searching Multiple Resources Simultaneously


The library's new combined search system, Galaxy, allows you to search up to 50 library resources simultaneously. Learn how to use Galaxy to quickly and effectively locate the information you need. Learn how to:
• Use Galaxy as a research and discovery tool
• Construct effective and productive searches in Galaxy
• Navigate from citations in Galaxy to the full-text available elsewhere

Tuesday February 10 @ 1 PM
Classroom A, First Floor, Melville Library