Links to sites offering electronic books without a charge are now listed on the DCCC library web site at http://dccc.edu/library/ereference/ebooks.html. Before you get too excited, we have to warn you that most of the material is pre-1923 because of copyright restrictions. These older items can still be useful, however, especially in the fields of literature, history, religion and philosophy. One of the sites, UC Press E-books Collection, offers a small number of books on a range of topics published 1982-2004. (JT)
Archive for the ‘Resources’ Category
E-books on library's homepage
Monday, February 1st, 2010Images in Databases
Monday, January 25th, 2010Pictures and images are available in the library’s databases at http://libdb.dccc.edu. So as an alternative to Google Images, select MasterFILE Premier by Ebsco (or another database); scroll down to Image Quick View Types, and select one of the following: b/w photo; diagram; illustration; chart; color photo; graph; or map. Try this feature out using Michele Obama or General Petraeus, for example, and color photograph, or glaciers and color photographs. Related images on the right show beautiful pictures. Entering “world hunger” and diagram provides easy to understand charts.
(CV)
Mind Mapping Online: Bubbl.us
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010Your paper is due soon. You have some ideas about what you’d like to write, but you need more, and you’re not sure how to organize all that information once you have it. Try creating an online mind map. Bubbl.us is a free, easy-to-use online mind mapping tool that helps you brainstorm ideas and organize them. Start with just one colorful idea bubble and build on it, generating more ideas and showing relationships among them through links. You can also collaborate with your classmates and build shared mind maps for group projects or presentations. Give mapping your mind a try at http://www.bubbl.us
(hb)
Holiday Gift Idea
Monday, December 14th, 2009Looking for a quick Holiday gift? The New York Times posted the list of The 10 Best Books of 2009 which includes fiction and non-fiction. Other lists include: Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2009, Coffee Table books, video games, DVDs, and other gift guides.
http://www.nytimes.com/gift-guide/holiday-2009/10-best-gift-guide-sub/list.html?em (cv)
Google in Another Language
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009Prefer to search the web in a language other than English? Google recently introduced a new translation tool that allows viewing search results in up to five languages at once. It can also translate those results immediately into one of the forty-two languages currently available. While translation was possible before using Google Translate, this new translation tool is integrated with the main search engine. To give it a try, enter a keyword in the search box on the Google homepage. At the top of the results page, choose “Show Options.” Next, choose “Translated Search” from the list on the left side of the page. In the box that appears at the top of the next page, select up to five languages to see a results list of webpages written in those languages. To translate those results into your own language, change the “My Language” option at the top of the page and the results will be translated immediately. (hb)
3 a.m. Paper due in 5 hours. . .
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009Don’t let this happen to you. Again (we’ve all been there). Register to take DPR 116, Online Research Strategies, this upcoming spring and learn how to do research for any class. If you get permission from a professor in another class where a research paper is due that same spring, you can use assignments from DPR 116 to help you write the paper for that other course. Which means you’ll be working on the paper throughout the term, learning more about research, and, hopefully, getting a lot more sleep. (ms)
Online Access to Consumer Reports
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009Before dropping a bundle on holiday gifts, get some unbiased ratings from Consumer Reports, which tests products ranging from electronics to cooking spices to exercise equipment for working off those holiday calories. The text is available in the DCCC library’s MasterFile database — just follow these steps.
1. Click Find Articles on the library home page (dccc.edu/library). Sign in with your academic login if you’re at home.
2. Select General Research, then MasterFile Premier
3. Type Consumer Reports in the box labeled “Publication” (on the left) and type the product in the search box
4. When the results list appears, put the mouse over the magnifying glass to see the abstract (summary)
5. If you want to see the whole article, click on PDF Full Text
(jt)
Overwhelmed? Get help with these great sites!
Monday, November 30th, 2009As the end of the semester draws near you might feel stressed about research papers and upcoming exams. The Library has all sorts of resources to assist you! The library site, http://www.dccc.edu/library/ereference/homework.html offers links to a variety of online help sites such as tutoring assistance and research help from a librarian. For writing help, this site http://www.dccc.edu/library/ereference/writing.html offers a long list of helpful resources. Don’t forget that DCCC librarians are available to assist you with your research needs. For more information click on this link http://dccc.edu/library/contact.html (esd)
Quality Movie Reviews on the Web
Monday, November 23rd, 2009Are you headed out to a movie over Thanksgiving break? Or, are you working on a critical analysis of a motion picture for class? Then do see the “external reviews” link on the ever popular Internet Movie Database. First fill in the name of the film, then scroll all the way down past the User Comments to Related Links: External Reviews. Here you will find published reviews from the LA Times, NY Times, San Francisco Chronicle, The Guardian,Variety and other quality reviews on the movie you selected. (mg)
Create a mini search engine with Rollyo
Friday, November 20th, 2009rollyo.com allows you to gather a few favorite sites to create a customized search engine on a particular area of interest such as movie reviews, health sites, genres in literature, etc. You can choose from some ready made groups or create your own by listing the web sites you want to include. This site would be useful to an instructor who wants students to research within a selected group of websites only and for any student with a hobby or area of interest. (mg)