more reasons for getting on Facebook?

This is pretty good blog article on why libraries should be considering getting onto Facebook-like social networks:
http://www.librarian.net/stax/2266/why-should-libraries-be-socially-networking/

Dana

useful tool for reference? Awesome Highlighter

Came across this online tool and thought it might be useful in certain reference situations, for example when we want to point a user to a specific part of a web page:
http://www.awesomehighlighter.com/

Example (took about 30 secs to do) highlighting EBSCO links on All Research Dbs page: http://awurl.com/vfluzk24107

Basically allows you to highlight text on a web page and then send someone a link to a page showing the highlighting so they can quickly navigate to the place you want them to...

What does everyone else think?

Dana

Ref questions about SmartThinking (writing tutor)

Folks,

It appears that the number of questions about writing tutor service is increasing (they also offer math and other tutor services). Note that the Tutor's Mailbox in the Writer's Complex is unavailable so please direct such questions to the SmartThinking page here - a button to sign up for the service (free to all ESC students, I think) is at the bottom of that page. Here is some text I have used:

You can find details (and a button to sign up for the service at the bottom) on this page:
http://www.esc.edu/esconline/myesc.nsf/html/Smarthinking.html

Thanks,

Dana

new free EBSCO database: GreenFILE

FYI: EBSCO has made a new, free database available: GreenFILE

GreenFILE offers well-researched information covering all aspects of human impact to the environment. Its collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles includes content on global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more. The database provides indexing and abstracts for approximately 295,000 records, as well as Open Access full text for more than 4,600 records.

This is on the EBSCOHost list of databases and I will add it to the EBSCO table on the All Dbs page.

It should also probably be added to the Physical Sciences Subject Guide?

URL to link: http://library.esc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=ehost&defaultdb=8gh

more for subject guides

Another valuable info source to add to subject guides?

SCOPUS now makes available RSS feeds for the top 20 cited articles by subject.

You can see these here: http://info.scopus.com/topcited/

I added a feed for the nursing subject to the Nursing LibGuides page here (Journal Article tab, below the fold in middle column): http://demo.libguides.com/aecontent.php?pid=5211&sid=32438

Dana

idea: library presence in Facebook?

This idea has been bumping around in my head for a while, but I think it might finally be time to seriously consider it: a library presence in Facebook.

There is a growing ESC network in Facebook (currently has 207 members, mostly students and alumni) that I think we might be able to tap into and help grow. Putting up and maintaining a presence would also be fairly easy.

Ideas off the top of my head:

• Create library Facebook site where students can obtain library news and ref service and get library resource widgets to place on their own profiles:
  
• Make available library widgets for Facebook (i.e., Multi-database, WorldCat, and Book catalog search, the library site, blog, etc.).
• Possibly offer IM ref service (e.g., via Meebo) via Facebook?
• Promote via library web site - this might help to promote library services and the ESC network at the same time and foster a better sense of community within student body
  
• Partner with Alumni office to promote informal academic and or professional/job search mentoring/advising between alumni and current student communities?
• could also eventually advertise library in facebook within the ESC network (I don't know details of this, but I believe it is possible and affordable). Example: http://distlib.blogs.com/distlib/2007/12/some-initial-th.html
  

Might this be worth looking into?

Dana

idea for subject guides: link to subject-specific titles in catalog

Idea: add a link on each subject guide to the most recent ebooks from our collection - the link would automatically do a subject search of the catalog and sort the results by date, showing the most recent first. It's not perfect, but I think it works pretty well.

Here is an example I did for behavioral sciences:
Current Titles from the E-Book Catalog

This would be especially helpful if/when we expand the subject guides to have ones for sub-disciplines such as nursing, computer science, etc.

Here's one I did for nursing:
Nursing E-Books

Let the group know what you think.

Dana