Library Update 01/20/2012

Yes, this is the first post of 2012.  It's been a busy and I seem to be posting more in Facebook than here.  Mr. Mullins is encouraging me to use Twitter, I just can't seem to find the time and I'm not convinced that people would care to follow us.   Still, I am thinking about it.

It's the end of week two and we've already had nearly 20 classes come to the library for some kind of instruction on library resources.

During the break we had a lot of days off because we had to use our vacation by the end of the year or lose it and no one wants to lose time off, right?  We did manage to do some shifting so your favorite section might have moved just a little bit.  We also hired two new student workers, welcome to Claudia and Kenneth.

Some of the database passwords changed.  Please remember that all you need to do is log into the student portal and go to the library page to see the new passwords.  The Gnomon Workshop no longer requires a separate log-in and password, once you have logged into the portal, you are logged in to Gnomon.  Their interface changed and probably not for the better, it is kind of ugly.  Click on the Training tab to search it.

New books are going out on the New Book shelves this afternoon.  Here are some of the titles:

The Creative Professional's Guide to Money: How think about it. How to talk about it. How to manage it.
NEW HG 179 .B423 2011

The Bollywood Reader
NEW PN 1993.5 .I8 B596 2008

We also got four more of the Web Design Index which are great resources for web designers.
NEW TK 5105.888 W372 2007-2010

Microstock Money Shots: Turning downloads into Dollars with Microstock Photography.
NEW TR 690.6 .B68 2010

And two books recommended by Mr. Alimo:

Twelve Stories by Guy Davenport
NEW PS 3554 .A86 A6 1997

NEW The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
PR 6045 .Y64 D39 2009

It looks like we are going to have to cancel some magazine subscriptions if they are available in our online services.  No sense in paying twice for the same content.  If you are looking for a magazine in our online services, the A-Z of Online Journal Titles is the place to go.   You can find it all over the library portal.

I hope everyone has a great quarter.  Remember that 11 weeks goes really fast so procrastination is not a good idea.

Library News 11/15/2011

The new hours seem to be going okay, we've heard from a few students that they wish we were open our old hours but not too much kvetching that I've heard.  We miss seeing the faculty since we don't check out equipment to them any more. 

Survey

Students, please, please, please take our library survey! We want to know what you think of our library.  It is short!!   The survey is anonymous so if you want a response from us, please include your contact information. 


New Resources

Sound effects
We have new sound effects and have updated the PDF file, it is now 286 pages of sound effects.  We do not recommend printing that puppy out.

We added these disks:

•CDR MM 204 Home & household.

•CDR MM 205 Transportation.
•CDR MM 206 Bells, bangs, whistles.
•CDR MM 207 Nature & animals.
•CDR MM 208 Weapons & technology.
•CDR MM 209 People & ambiance.
•CDR MM 210 Rips & breaks.
•CDR MM 211 Tools, industry & mechanics.
•CDR MM 212 Business & money.
•CDR MM 213 Doors, cartoons & effects.
•CDR MM 214 Games, music & entertainment.

Editor'sTheme Kits
Editor's Themekits are matched collections of themed animated graphics that make it is easy to create a professional, coordinated look designed around specific symbols or themes such as worship, entertainment, sports and education. Each Themekit contains a set of matching elements such as backgrounds, overlays, lower thirds and animated wipes in both SD and HD resolutions. This allows producers and designers to instantly create a thematic look for a program, while still providing enough variety and customization for a unique, signature style that viewers will identify with, recognize and remember.

The list is on the Dallas Library web page under Media or click on the link above.

Gnomon Workshop
You might have noticed that The Gnomon Workshop will no longer require a log-in and password if you go to it through the Library Portal on the Student Portal.  The log-in and password will continue to work through the end of the year. 


Holiday Hours
We will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday from Wednesday to Friday, we will be open our normal hours 1-6pm on Saturday.  Do I need to tell you when Thanksgiving is?  Nov. 24th this year. 

Change is good, right?

So, in case you haven't heard (maybe you aren't our friend on Facebook?), the Library's hours of operation are changing starting this weekend.

Effective Saturday, October 29th, there will be changes to services that may impact you. The new hours are based on staffing changes and analysis of traffic over the past year.


Monday –Thursday 7:30 am to  8:30 pm

Friday 7:30 am to 7:00 pm

Saturday 1:00 pm  to 6:00 pm

Sunday Closed

Note that there is a book return located outside of the library and materials may be returned at any time the building is open. You may access library services through the student portal 24/7.

We have had a busy beginning to the quarter with more than 25 classes coming to learn how to use our resources.  We are going to start requesting students and faculty who participate in library classes to complete a survey so keep your eyes open for that. Your input is valuable to us so we can try to make the classes really helpful for you.

Did you know that Credo Reference has access to several books that can be helpful to your studies? The links will only work if you have logged into the Student Portal.

Bridgeman Art Archive

Founded in 1972, the Bridgeman Art Library works with museums, art galleries and artists to make the best art available for reproduction. The result is an outstanding archive of images drawn from collections throughout the world. Every subject, concept, style and medium is represented, from the masterpieces of national museums to the hidden treasures of private collections. Fine art is just one of the sources of images; design, antiques, maps, architecture, furniture, glass, ceramics, anthropological artefacts and many others also feature in the collection.

For Culinary students, Credo has several good reference books that will help you with your definitions.  Try these:

Dictionary of Food: International Food and Cooking Terms from A to Z

The language of English cuisine is unusual in that it uses many words of foreign origin, often in their original spelling. The purpose of this dictionary is to give short definitions of these words so that both the practising chef and the amateur enthusiast, the gastronome and the student may quickly determine the meaning. It is not a recipe book or a repertoire, but it does give the ingredients of classic and well-known dishes (chicken tikka masala, for example), together with a brief summary of the cooking processes. A picture of a chef's hat indicates dishes that the professional or amateur cook could, after a little experimentation, roughly reproduce.

I understand that the chefs really like this one:

The New Food Lover's Companion, Barron's

A-to-Z entries, from Abalone to zwieback, describing foods, cooking techniques, herbs, spices, desserts, wines, and the ingredients for pleasurable dining.

And for our Interior Design friends:

Time Saver Standards for Architectural Design: Technical Data for Professional Practice

Since its release in 1946, this has been one of the most widely recognized and respected resources for architects, engineers, and designers, bringing together the knowledge, techniques, and skills of some of the most well-known experts in the field. The new Eighth Edition takes a fresh, visual approach to the information architects need to access quickly (from Substructure to Electrical systems), helping them save time and money by assuring they get it right the first time

Remember! The links will only work if you have logged into the Student Portal.

Hope your quarter is going well and that you pass all your mid-term exams!

End of Summer 2011

Last day of the quarter, the weather is extraordinarily beautiful today.  Classes resume on Oct. 3rd, see you then.

Here is a link to a fascinating show on pattern and ornament.  You'd have to fly to the east coast to see it but there are some photos you can look at.  It's called Deep Surface.  We get a lot of students from the 2D design class looking for motif books.  This is a good opportunity for applying your critical thinking and problem-solving skills.  

If I search the library catalog for "motif", I get 8 titles.  Some are good, some, not so much. 

I need background information. What is another word for motif? I can use the online dictionaries in Credo (one of our databases) to get a definition.  One that I like is "a shape repeated many times within a pattern".  The citation for that is:

motif. (2001). In Chambers 21st Century Dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/chambdict/motif

Now I have some other ideas.  If I search the library catalog for "pattern" I get lots more titles (127) but they seem to be mostly about pattern-making for fashion design.  Grr.

As I browse down the list of titles, I see a book called Victorian Ornament and Pattern Designs to Color (there really is a good reason for the library to have coloring books).  Since this title looks pretty good, I take a look at the full record by clicking on the title.

Woo, I think I hit the jackpot, I see a subject that will probably get me lots of good titles, "Decoration and Ornament". I can search the catalog using either of those words.  "Decoration" gets 1530 titles but they look like mostly interior design books.  "Ornament" gets 370.
 
What if I combine them by using Advanced Search?   I see some furniture books but I also see titles like The Greek design book, Ancient Mexican designs, Handbook of decorative motifs, or even Italian Renaissance textile designs which gives me another idea.

Where are there repeating patterns?  Textiles, rugs, quilts and fabric are all good alternative words for finding things with patterns.  How about tessellations? That leads me to the subject  "Geometrical Drawing" which has 14 good titles.  It also takes me to M. C. Escher who used a lot of repeating patterns in his work. 

Do you see how this works? 

Magazines

Cristina analyzed the magazine usage for the past year.  Remember that we ask you not to put magazines back on the shelf after you look at them, because we count them for usage?  Here is some of the information that we get from that.  The most viewed magazine for each program:

• Advertising

Luerzer's International Archive

• Culinary

National Culinary Review

• Digital Filmmaking

American Cinematographer

• Fashion Design and Fashion Retail Management

Women's Wear Daily

• Graphic Design

Computer Arts/Computer Arts Projects

• General Education

Rolling Stone

• Interior Design

Architectural Digest

• Web Design and Interactive Media

Wired

• Media Arts and Animation

3-D World

• Photography

WAD

 Anyhoo, enjoy your break!  Don't forget the library is closed to students during the break except for the DMM graduate students and those who need to return items and/or take care of fines.  We will be open 9-5, Monday to Friday during the break.

Library News 09/09/2011

Working late on a Friday night because it is someone's birthday and she deserved the day off.   Quiet as a tomb as is usual for a Friday night.  I understand there is a dance so maybe we will see some dressed up people.

Two new services from the library that you might want to know about:

ebrary is a new service available only on the library section of the student portal.  It is a big collection of electronic books relating to all programs as well as general education.  Check it out, I think you will like it.  The quickstart guide is here. 

A-Z of Online Journal Titles is also on the library page on the student portal, it's a great way to find out if a magazine is in any of our databases.  Don't forget that in some of the databases the magazine may be the PDF which can be like a color photocopy of the article.  Heck, you can even set up RSS feeds on a bunch of these so the articles get delivered to you!

There is a nice little tutorial for the A-Z list under Help on the home page for the library. 

Only two more weeks left in the quarter, I guess time does fly when you are having fun!  We only have one library class next week.  I haven't added up how many classes we had this quarter but last quarter we did 48 classes and library tours.  That is a lot of talking and explaining.

 Here are some new book titles that look interesting:
Black velvet art:
New ND 1572 .E45 2011

Never use more than two different typefaces : and 50 other ridiculous typography rules
New Z 246 .N484 2001

Smashing CSS : professional techniques for modern layout
New TK 5105.888 .M496 2011

Fashion & textiles : the essential careers guide
New TT 507 .B685 2010

Greenlit : developing factual/reality TV ideas from concept to pitch
New PN 1992.75 .L34 2010

Exploring leadership : for college students who want to make a difference
New LB 3605 .K64 2007

Time for my rant.  You know, there is more to life and learning than doing the bare minimum to get by.  It makes me a little crazy for a student to come to the library and say, "I need two books on this subject" because that's what the instructor has put as the minimum.  Doesn't it make sense to get the right information or as much information as possible when you are starting to do research?  If you had an employee who did just the bare minimum of what you asked for and another employee who did it right or at least did more than the minimum, which one would get the raise or promotion?  And especially the more interesting work which is usually more challenging.  Don't be a lazy bum!  Get the best value for the money you are spending on your education and do more than the minimum!!!

Library News 08/13/2011

Okay, I am going to tell the big secret but just to the people who read this blog, all three of them (Hi, Mom!). 

This is something that we've wanted for a long time--and it should be in effect on August 18th!

There will be a link to the new library portal on the student portal!  Why is that exciting?  Well, it means that all you will have to do in order to access the library databases is log into your student account.  No more picking up the database password brochure in the library!  Think of the trees we will save!

There will be a few services that require a separate user name and password but the information will all be there on the portal page.

And there are some really cool new services and lots of good tutorials to explain library resources and services.    One that I especially like is the A-Z Online Journal Search.  You can search to see if a particular journal is included in our online services, sweet!

• Simplified sign-in process – Access the Library via the student portal with no additional login required.

• Automatic login to databases – Browse most databases directly from the Library, no separate user names and passwords needed.

• Unified search engine – Search combinations of multiple library resources simultaneously with our new discovery and federated search tool, Quick Search.

• Targeted Subject Resources – Easily locate resources best suited to areas of study.

• Voyager Database – Materials can be searched across all Art Institutes or by individual campus.

• Targeted, Campus-Specific Content – Access campus-specific news, announcements and Librarian contact information.

• Helpful tutorials – Get up to speed on how to use library resources, apply citation style guidelines, and more.

Has Facebook killed the blog?

Not really, it's just that I can post things quicker on Facebook and I think more people read it. 

I am working the late shift on Friday night so someone here can enjoy their spouse's birthday dinner.  It's awfully quiet, no surprise since most people are ready for a break by Friday night.  I always think I will get so much done and then things take longer than I expected or I get distracted.  Sound familiar?

Anyway, the heat is starting to wear people down.  I know a good number of our students ride the train, please be careful and be sure to drink lots of water.

Check out this image which comes from StyleSight, we usually show it to fashion classes but it also has some royalty-free graphics and clip art that you can use.  You must be on campus to create your account and don't forget, it's only for school related use, not for internships or other jobs.

We are so close to being able to launch something really cool for students; hopefully August 18th is the big day!!

Lots of new books have hit the shelves, be sure to check them out. 

I want to make sure that everyone knows about Safari Tech Books Online.  You can access it on campus through the library web page, it's the first one on the database page.  Off campus, you will need the user name and password, available in the library when you show your valid student ID.  It has 12,400 software and business books online.  You might be surprised at what is in there.  Just remember that only four people at a time can use it.  If you can't get into it, wait a little bit and try again.  Here are some of the new titles that look interesting.

Get Organized Fourth Edition
GET ORGANIZED shows you how to create your ideal study environment by using simple time-management tips to develop to-do lists, daily schedules, monthly calendars, and project boards. Now updated to include electronic and online planning tools, this new edition also provides strategies that help you prioritize, avoid time trap activities, and anticipate opportunities.
 
The Digital Matte Painting Handbook
The only how-to guide dedicated to mastering the technique of digital matte painting! Matte painting affords seamless integration between an artist's painting with live action film footage and allows for greater flexibility and creative input in the appearance of movie settings. This unique book reveals a variety of tools and techniques that are both industry and classroom tested and will enhance your existing skill set.

Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences
Product Description Presentations are meant to inform, inspire, and persuade audiences. So why then do so many audiences leave feeling like they've wasted their time? All too often, presentations don't resonate with the audience and move them to transformative action. Just as the author's first book helped presenters become visual communicators, Resonate helps you make a strong connection with your audience and lead them to purposeful action.

The Complete Manual of Typography: A Guide to Setting Perfect Type
Beautifully designed and richly illustrated The Complete Manual of Typography, Second Edition, is the fully updated version of THE seminal book on typography by Jim Felici. This book is about how type should look and how to make it look that way – in other words, how to set type like a professional. It explains in practical terms how to use today’s digital tools to achieve the secret of good design: well set type. An essential reference for anyone who works with type.

Pro ToolS® 9 Ignite!
Get ready to explore the world of computer music creation with Pro Tools 9! Even if you've never created music on your computer, PRO TOOLS 9 IGNITE! will give you the skills required to record and mix with confidence. This book presents everything you need to know about this amazing digital audio workstation, with easy-to-follow instructions and screenshots that make it simple to dive into the features. Begin with the basic techniques of recording, editing, and mixing MIDI and digital audio.

If you haven't looked at our map lately, check it out, Davon redesigned it for us.  The computers are numbered so we can have students show us which one isn't working and he also added icons for where the electrical outlets are so you can charge your laptops, etc.

And finally a big howdy to Emily who has joined us as a student worker, Emily has a couple of years experience in a big college library so we feel luck to have her!