Perceptions of Libraries Report

Perceptions of Libraries Report

How do people perceive libraries? OCLC has commissioned a study on how libraries are perceived by various information consumers. The Perceptions report provides the findings and responses from the online survey in an effort to learn more about:
· Library use
· Awareness and use of library electronic resources
· The Internet search engine, the library and the librarian
· Free vs. for-fee information
· The "Library" brand

Report on Literacy of American Adults

Report on Literacy of American Adults
The 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) measures the English literacy of America's adults (people age 16 and older living in households and prisons).

Library Best Sellers for 2005

At the end of the year everyone starts coming out with their “best” or “most” list of the year that is coming to a close. Libraries are no different and the Library Journal has published the lists of the most checked out fiction and non-fiction books for 2005.

How many of these gadgets have you had?

How many of these gadgets have you had?

PC magazine has released an annotated list for the top 50 gadgets of the last 50 years. Interesting reading especially for those of us who remember the first Sony Walkman or the first CD player.

I Don’t Want to Hear It

Looking for creative ways to express your displeasure with intrusive cell phone conversations? Are you tired of hearing the details of private conversations as you try and study at the library and/or sit in class, or standing in line at Foodland, or at the airport, or sitting in Church, or… well the list is endless. You might try handing out some of these friendly SHHH! Cards from the Society of Handheld Hushing.
(HT Tinfoil Raccoon)

Perceptions of Libraries Report

Perceptions of Libraries Report

How do people perceive libraries? OCLC has commissioned a study on how libraries are perceived by various information consumers. The Perceptions report provides the findings and responses from the online survey in an effort to learn more about:
· Library use
· Awareness and use of library electronic resources
· The Internet search engine, the library and the librarian
· Free vs. for-fee information
· The "Library" brand

Report on Literacy of American Adults

Report on Literacy of American Adults

The 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) measures the English literacy of America's adults (people age 16 and older living in households and prisons).

Which are the most popular search engines?

Which are the most popular search engines?

According to the latest Nielsen/Net ratings over 5.1 billion searches were conducted in October. In terms of market share the top search engines are Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and America Online.

The Handhelds are Coming

Handheld devices such as PDA’s are moving into the world of education. According to a recent AP article at wired.com:

“Educational sales of personal digital assistants, laptop computers and
handheld remote controls called "clickers" are ballooning nationwide. Last year,
a survey by Quality Education Data found that 28 percent of U.S. school
districts offered handhelds for student and teacher use. One of every four
computers purchased by schools was a laptop.

One of the frontrunners was Yankton High School in South Dakota, which
adopted Palm handhelds in 2001 and found they improved students' grades.

Electronic learning has become so popular that one school in Arizona went
textbook-free this year, instead equipping its students with laptops. Seventeen
schools outside Eugene, Oregon, now use handhelds on most science field
trips.”

Are you ready for the Handhelds? (HT techmorandum)

Google Searching: Who’s on the First Results Page?

The majority of Google searchers never go past the first page of results. Search engines like Google develop searching algorithms to determine how results of a search are returned. Because placement on the results page is critical to attracting customers, many businesses are turning to the services of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) consultants. SEO’s will study the latest algorithms from the major search services and manipulate their client’s web pages so that they appear on the first page of search results. Not all SEO’s are reputable. So called black hat SEO’s resort to tricks to push their clients to the top. So when you use Google for your research it is good to be aware of what is going on behind the scenes. For a brief discussion of SEOs see this recent Newsweek article.
(HT techmorandum)

Dear Librarian

Dear Librarian,
My name is Cory Peterson and I am a 13 year old boy
who lives in Suisun City, California, about 45 minutes from the capitol
of California, Sacramento. I attend Vacaville Independent Study Program
in Vacaville, California.

Anyway, I collect library cards from around the
world. I have over 1,000 cards! If you could please send a card to me,
I would be honored. However if you do not have library cards, please
email me at calbaseballdude12@yahoo.com to let me know. If you cannot
permit me to have a library card, I would be happy to apply for one if
this is possible. Please email me to tell me the requirements to apply
for a library card. For those of you, who can send me a card, please
send it to this address:

Cory Peterson
1210 Rebecca Drive
Suisun City, CA 94585
U.S.A

Please visit my website at
http://librarycards.expage.com . There you can find out a little about
the collection. I have put up a few scans of library cards and you may
view them. Right now I am working on getting the Northern California
library cards up on the website. Keep checking back for updates! If you
have any questions or concerns, you may also email me at
libcrdcolectr9692@comcast.net .

Thank you for helping my collection grow.

Sincerely,
Cory Peterson

Copyright Myths

The area of copyright law can be confusing. The statutes are broad, especially in the area of fair use. There is no list of specific dos and don’ts. Because the statutes are vague several myths about copyright and fair use have arisen. There are some helpful websites that address some of the more common myths. A good place to start is the BYU Copyright and Licensing Office (http://www.lib.byu.edu/departs/copyright.html ). There you will find several important resources among which are links to a couple of outside sources that specifically address copyright myths. One of the sites is Copylaw.com which has an article by Lloyd Jassin called Ten Copyright Permission Myths (http://www.copylaw.com/new_articles/copy_myths.html )
In his article Jassin addresses the following ten myths:

1. The work I want to use doesn't have a copyright notice so I don't need permission.
2. If I give credit I don't need permission
3. Since I'm only using a small portion of the original work, I don't need permission
4. I don't need permission because I'm going to adapt the original work.
5. Since the work is in the public domain, I don't have to clear permissions.
6. The material I want to reproduce was posted anonymously to an online discussion or news group. That means the work is in the public domain.
7. I can always obtain permission later.
8. The material I want to quote is from an out-of-print book. That means the work is in the public domain.
9. Since I'm planning to use my work for nonprofit educational purposes, I don't need permission.
10. I don't need permission because the work I want to use was published before 1923 and is over 75 years old.

Be sure and look at this helpful copyright information

Withdrawal List

Revew list posted through 12/16/2005

The current list of materials under consideration for withdrawal is now posted. Items for your consideration are in the subject areas of general world history and British history. The complete list appears in the link that follows, as do the library's deacquisition guidelines and rationale: http://w2.byuh.edu/library/libraryinfo.htm

The review period is through Friday, December 16. Materials may be examined in the Technical Services Offices, Monday-Friday, 8:00-5:00. Please communicate any comments or concerns to Riley Moffat (x3884) or Doug Bates (x3850).

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS ODDITIES

What sort of strange items to libraries keep in their special collections? This short article describes a few odd specimens from academic libraries around the world. For example:

• England’s Royal Astronomical Society owns a log, warranted genuine, cut from Sir Isaac Newton’s apple tree.

• The University of California at Santa Barbara recently purchased a zodiac bone calendar, from Sumatra, with inscriptions carved in the thigh bone of a water buffalo. It’s part of the university’s collection of items that document the history of writing and printing.

• The Johns Hopkins University’s Institute of the History of Medicine keeps hair - framed, no less - from the cow Edward Jenner used to develop the smallpox vaccine in 1796.

(Chronicle of Higher Education, 28 October 2005) (online copy available from the "Search our Article Indexes & Databases" page)

FAITS - Faulkner Advisory for IT Studies

The FAITS database is now avialble for your use. FAITS contains hundreds of reports designed to hlep you keep up with the critical issues , trends, market conditions, products, services and vendors driving the information technology industry. Please visit the library's home page and click "Search Our Article Indexes & Databases" to use this resource.

IEEE Computer Society Digital Library trial

Library trial of IEEE Computer Digital Library now through December 2, 2005. This database contains the full-text of 23 premier computer science journals, with archives going back to 1988, plus over 1,700 conference publications since 1995. To use, visit the library's home page. Feedback welcome at x3863 or chewm@byuh.edu

Featured ebook

Check out our featured ebook from ebrary Academic Complete:

Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam
James M. McPherson
(Oxford University Press, 2002)

The Battle of Antietam, fought on September 17, 1862, was the bloodiest single day in American history, with more than 6,000 soldiers killed – four times the number lost on D-Day. In Crossroads of Freedom, Pulitzer-prize winning historian James M. McPherson paints a masterful account of this pivotal battle, the events that led up to it, and its aftermath. (Source: Publisher)

www.ebrary.com

PsycArticle database trial

PsycARTICLES is a definitive source of searchable full-text, peer-reviewed scholarly and scientific articles in psychology. The database contains more than 40,000 articles from 56 journals - 45 published by the American Psychological Association (APA) and 11 from allied organizations. It includes all journal articles, letters to the editor and errata from each journal. Coverage spans 1985 to present.

Please visit the library's home page to log in. Please send feedback to chewm@byuh.edu or x3863.

Europa databases trial

Europa World Plus is the online version of the Europa World Year Book and the Regional Surveys of the World series. Included in this trial is Europa World Year Book and The Far East & Australasia.

First published in 1926, the year book is renowned as one of the world's leading reference works, covering political and economic information in more than 250 countries and territories, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.

Trial runs through November 23. Please visit the library's home page to connect. Please send feedback to chewm@byuh.edu or x3863.

New withdrawal list

Revew list posted through 11/4/2005

The current list of materials under consideration for withdrawal is now posted. Items for your consideration are in the subject area of religion (not LDS). The complete list appears in the link that follows, as do the library's deacquisition guidelines and rationale: http://w2.byuh.edu/library/libraryinfo.htm

The review period is through Friday, November 4. Materials may be examined in the Technical Services Offices, Monday-Friday, 8:00-5:00. Please communicate any comments or concerns to Riley Moffat (x3884) or Doug Bates (x3850).

Find materials in our library with Yahoo! or Google

Now you can locate items in the Joseph F. Smith Library using the Web search sites you use at home and work. Thanks to our participation in the global library catalog WorldCat, our records are searchable at Yahoo! and Google.

Simply visit www.yahoo.com or www.google.com and enter "Find in a Library" (as a phrase, including quote marks) plus one or more search terms. Your returned results will include links with the prefix "Find in a Library" and the name of a library-owned item that matches your search terms.

Follow the link to the WorldCat Find in a Library interface, where you'll see information about the item -- often including a cover image. Enter your ZIP postal code beneath that information to see a list of libraries that have the item. If the library owns it, our name will appear as a link that leads directly to our Web site and the online record for the item!

Want to "Find in a Library" no matter where you are on the Web? Visit www.worldcatlibraries.org/downloads/ to install one of several browser plug-ins. You'll have always-there access to library searching, right from your browser's menu bar!

Unsolicited, Unwelcome, and Unwanted Advice

Unsolicited, Unwelcome, and Unwanted Advice from a Seventy-Five-Year-Old Woman to College Students
by Marjorie Pay Hinckley

The title of my remarks is: "Unsolicited, Unwelcome, Unwanted Advice from a Seventy-Five-Year-Old Woman." There are quite a few not-so-wonderful things about growing old, so there ought to be some rewards. One of them certainly is that you can give unsolicited, unwelcome, and unwanted advice. There are other advantages, too. By the time you've reached the age of seventy-five, you are what you are. You don't have to prove anything anymore.

Read the rest of the excerpt here:

http://deseretbook.com/mormon-life/news/story?story_id=7341

The library has two copies of the book from which this excerpt comes, "Glimpses into the Life and Heart of Marjorie Pay Hinckley" by Virginia H. Pearce:
General BX8670.1 .H5823 P42 1999

Two New Database Trials

ProQuest Psychology Journals™

Full text counterpart bundle of PsycINFO index. With complete information from over 400 top psychology and related publications, this database meets the needs of both students and mental-health professionals. All the source publications are available in the ASCII full-text format. Nearly all of them also offer articles in the full-image and Text+Graphics Science & Technology formats.
COVERAGE DATES: 1992-present

CultureGrams

CultureGrams is a widely used cultural reference product for education, government, and non-profit users. It is available in print and electronically via the World Wide Web. The product line was originally developed at Brigham Young University beginning in 1974.

"We go beyond mere facts and figures to deliver an insider's perspective on daily life and culture, including the history, customs, and lifestyles of the world's people."

To use these databases, please visit the library's home page and follow the links and directions.

Please send feedback on these two databases to:
Marynelle Chew chewm@byuh.edu or x3863

Golden Jubilee Quilt Exhibit

Aloha!

The quilts are up and ready to be viewed. Our exhibit contains quilts created and made by people in the community, former missionaries, and emeritus faculty. The blend of colors and themes contributes to the spirit of our celebration. Come to the library and enjoy!

Joseph F. Smith Library 2004 “Bestsellers”

During the year 2004 almost 20,000 books were checked out of the Joseph F. Smith library. Of course some books are more popular than others. Here is a list of the fifteen most checked out books for the year 2004. The JFS “bestsellers.” In parentheses is the number of times the book was checked out.

The Screwtape letters / C. S. Lewis (16)
The Da Vinci code : a novel / Dan Brown (16)
The notebook / Nicholas Sparks (15)
The girls next door : a novel / Cheri Crane (15)
The lord of the rings / by J.R.R. Tolkien (14)
The last juror / John Grisham (14)
Hamlet [phonodisc] (14)
Doctrinal commentary on the Book of Mormon/Joseph Fielding McConkie (14)
When hearts meet / Anita Stansfield (13)
Return to love : a novel / Anita Stansfield (13)
Pillar of light : a historical novel / Gerald N. Lund (13)
Loved like that / by Julie Wright (13)
All is well : a historical novel / Gerald N. Lund (13)
Samurai / [by] H. Paul Varley. With Ivan and Nobuko Morris (12)
Samurai warriors / Stephen Turnbull (12)

Q & A with President Hinckley

The forthcoming October 17 issue of Newsweek features "The Mormons" on the cover and has a Q&A article with President Hinckley.

http://www.ldslivingonline.com/story1.php?aid=575

Articles from the complete issue may also be viewed in several databases from the library's "Search our Article Indexes & Databases" page after the issue is published.

Withdrawal List

The current list of materials under consideration for withdrawal is now posted. Items for your consideration are in the subject areas of General Works, Philosophy and Psychology. The complete list appears in the link that follows, as do the library's deacquisition guidelines and rationale: http://w2.byuh.edu/library/libraryinfo.htm

The review period is from Monday, October 3 through Friday, October 14. Materials may be examined in the Technical Services Offices, Monday-Friday, 8:00-5:00. Please communicate any comments or concerns to Riley Moffat (x3884) or Doug Bates (x3850).

Two new databases

Black Drama
Black Drama contains the full text of 1,200 plays written from the mid-1800s to the present by more than 100 playwrights from North America, English-speaking Africa, the Caribbean, and other African diaspora countries. Many of the works are rare, hard-to-find, or out of print. James Vernon Hatch, the playwright, historian, and curator of the landmark Hatch-Billops Collection of black drama, is the project’s editorial advisor. More than a quarter of the collection will consists of previously unpublished plays by writers such as Langston Hughes, Ed Bullins, Willis Richardson, Femi Euba, Amiri Baraka, Randolph Edmonds, Zora Neale Hurston, and many others.

Twentieth Century North American Drama
When complete, Twentieth Century North American Drama will contain the full text of 2,000 plays written from the late 1800s to the present by more than 100 playwrights from North America. Many of the works are rare, hard-to-find, or out of print. Nearly a quarter of the collection will consist of previously unpublished plays.

Each play is extensively and deeply indexed, allowing both keyword and multi-fielded searching. The plays are accompanied by reference materials, significant ancillary information, a rich performance database, and images. The result is an exceptionally deep and unified collection that illustrates the many purposes that theater has served.

Ancestry.com redesign

Ancestry.com, one of the premier sites for genealogy research, now has a new look and feel. There are now tips and suggestions in the search feature and they have added educational tours that can be used to enhance your knowledge of search features. You can also learn more about names and locations you are researching. If you are experiencing difficulty looking for the name of your ancestors, we have added a new "What can I do next?" link that will take you to a page full of helpful and easy to follow suggestions.

To use this database, please visit the library home page http://www.byuh.edu/library . Note: this database is limited to on-campus use only.

New Donations and Acquisitions

The Joseph F. Smith Library Archives and Special Collections is pleased to announce the donation of a new manuscript collection. The seven-volume handwritten journals of Horace Walter Woolley were recently donated by Christopher Woolley, H.W. Woolley's grandson, in order to preserve the items in perpetuity and to make available more important primary sources on the history of the Hawaiian Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the history of the La'ie Sugar Plantation.

Horace Walter Woolley served a mission in Hawaii from 1910-1912 and his seven handwritten diaries describe all aspects of early nineteenth century mission life, from laboring on the La'ie Plantation to proselyting throughout the Hawaiian Islands. A dedicated and descriptive diarist, H.W. Woolley was also the nephew of then Hawaiian Mission President and La'ie Plantation Manager Samuel Woolley. The collection is being processed and will be available for patron access by October 1st.

Database trial

We have a free trial of Faulkner Advisory for IT studies (FAITS) until September 27.

FAITS contains hundreds of reports that are designed to help students, educators, and administrators learn about and keep up with the critical issues, trends, market conditions, products, services, and vendors driving the information technology industry. Organized by topical subject area, FAITS allows you to CLICK on any one of nine core modules and gain immediate access to a vast library of content-rich reports covering IT infrastructure, telecommunications, wireless communications, data networking, convergence, information security, enterprise systems, Internet and Web, and technology vendors.

To try this database, please visit the Library's home page http://www.byuh.edu/library

BYU Provo Speeches Online

BYU [Provo, Utah] Speeches Offers 1,000 Free Downloads

With over 1,000 speeches free for download, BYU Speeches is a great resource for information and quotes on any gospel topic. Talks start as early as 1949, providing the most complete library of BYU devotionals, forums, firesides, and graduation commencements available.

If you are looking for something a little more tangible, BYU Speeches also offers several different custom items, including books, DVDs, and MP3 CDs. To learn more about what BYU Speeches has to offer, click here. http://speeches.byu.edu/

New Database - World Cultures Today

World Cultures Today introduces users to the lives of their contemporaries around the globe. Its focus is outward, moving beyond the daily life of people in the United States today, to explore in detail the rich differences and surprising similarities of cultures other than our own. What do people in Argentina eat? What is voodoo? For questions on dating customs in Indonesia to leisure time in Kenya, World Cultures Today provides the answers. Thematic organization makes studying a wealth of topics - history, arts, food, clothing, lifestyle, religion, family life, geography, holidays, language, worldview - simple and effective.

To use, visit the library's web page http://www.byuh.edu/library , click the "Search our Periodical Indexes & Electronic Databases" link and click "Browse Complete Alphabetical Listing" to find World Cultures Today.

Supercourse Lecture: What Is a Hurricane?

The Supercourse "Epidemiology, the Internet and Global Health" has created and made available a PowerPoint lecture entitled "What Is a Hurricane?" You may view the lecture or download the file here:
http://www.pitt.edu/~super1/lecture/lec20371/index.htm

The Supercourse, hosted at Pitt University and sponsored in part by the World Health Organization, has contributions from 20,300 faculty representing 151 countries. These faculty have created a Library of Lectures. There are currently over 2,155 lectures freely available on the Internet. Topics range from Aboriginal Health and Bioterrorism to Tsunami and Women's Health.

Patent Searching

Got a bright idea? Want to see if anyone else has already thought of it?

http://www.freepatentsonline.com provides free patent searching of US and European patents, free PDF downloading, free accounts that allow the organization of documents and searches, a notification service, and RSS feeds of new patents and published applications.

BYU-H Faculty use of the University of Hawaii –Manoa Library

We have concluded an agreement with the library at the University of Hawaii –Manoa. BYUH faculty will have on-site access and borrowing privileges. Borrowing privileges extended to BYUH faculty will be equivalent to those provided to UHM undergraduate students. For UHM circulation policies, see http://libweb.hawaii.edu/uhmlib/libinfo/policies_circ.html.

To use this service, faculty will need to present their BYUH ID card. The staff at UHM will attach a barcode to the ID card and register the faculty in the UHM Library database. If you have any questions contact Doug Bates at 3851.

Three new databases in the library

ARBAonline offers reviews of print and electronic reference resources.

Book Review Index Online is a comprehensive online guide to book reviews with over five million review citations from thousands of publications from 1965 to the present.

Zoological RecordZoological Record is a comprehensive reference database covering all aspects of modern animal research, including: Behavior, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecology, Evolution, Genetics, Habitat, Morphology, Nomenclature, Parasitology, Physiology, Reproduction, Taxonomy, Zoogeography.

One Million Small Town Newspaper Pages to be Digitally Scanned

Lonely for news from home? Small Town Papers brings the small town newspaper to the internet. View your hometown newspaper online shortly after it's published! While not all 50 states are currently represented, there is news from North Carolina to Molokai and many states in between. To see if your hometown paper is there, go to http://www.smalltownpapers.com

The Internet is great, but when you really need to know, ask a librarian

A Google search on any given topic is likely to collect thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of hits. The trick is to know which one is the one you want.

"The Internet essentially is a library plunked down on the floor," Walsh says.

Reference librarians are trained to sift through the junk and come up with the right answer. The Internet provides computer users with more information, but it also gives a lot of junk.

To read the entire article, please click here:
http://www.kcchronicle.com/MainSection/350944764004175.php

Archives

The Joseph F. Smith Library Archives and Special Collections has recently received several new collections relating to the history of the Hawaiian mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the history of Hawai'i. This announcement is the first in a series of announcements on the new collection items as they become available for patron use, and will also spread awareness of valuable and interesting collections which have been long available to researchers.

The Frank Call Collection
This is a collection of photographs and transcripts of letters taken and written by a missionary from Idaho who served in the Hawaiian mission from 1908-1911 named Frank Call. There are a total of over 110 original photographs documenting the daily activities of residents of Hawaii, islands scenery (including old La'ie and Maui chapels), and various scenes and activities from O'ahu, Hawai'i, and Maui. Also included are transcripts of letters sent from Frank Call to both his mother and sister. The collection is unique in that it is a set of original photographs taken by one person over a specific period of time with corresponding narration in the form of the letters, and provides an incredible glimpse of Hawaii in the early twentieth century as seen through the eyes of a young L.D.S. missionary. In addition, the collection was donated by a BYUH alumni who has children, nieces, and nephews that are currently students at BYUH. We would like to offer special thanks to the family and descendents of Frank Call, especially Jim Sibbett, Curt Hussey, and the rest of Frank Call's descendents, for their generosity in this donation as well as for their incredible dedication to preserving and compiling these remarkable images and transcripts. The Frank Call Collection is currently being processed and is available to patrons on a limited basis. The full collection will be available to researchers soon.