What's New Library Blog - LaGuardia Community College Library Media Resources Center

Build Your Own Library

Yesterday's Times had an amazing article about Raymond Danowski, who managed to build a library-quality modern poetry collection on his own. He just donated it to Emory University. According to the Times, it's "the largest English-language poetry collection ever put together by an individual."
While Danowski's collection was uncataloged while he had it, Emory will be sure to bring some order to it. Think about all of that material with no way to know what's there and where it is.
It kind of makes you really appreciate CUNY+.

posted by Steve in the Library on Thursday, September 30, 2004

New Web Guides

We posted two new research guides on our Guides and Publications page. One in on researching New York City neighborhoods. The other is on wedding customs. Both have lots of books and Web sites to help you with your research. Like using the wedding guide, I found a link to this page on traditional gifts for anniversaries. I can't wait until I know someone married long enough to get an "optical goods" gift (that takes 48 years of marriage). Or even an original poetry tribute (which takes 46 years of marriage).

posted by Steve in the Library on Wednesday, September 29, 2004

That Gray Bar

FYI, that gray bar at the top is only there because this page is on Blogger's servers. It will disappear when we move it to our own servers. You can login and post something here. The login details are in the Word file attached to the e-mail announcement.

posted by Steve in the Library on Tuesday, September 28, 2004

Protect Your Windows PC

PC users always have to be vigilant. It seems there are always viruses, spyware, and pop-ups that need to be stopped.
PC World has some tips on protecting your home computer.
Jason Kottke, the New York City-based Web designer/Weblogger recently republished a list of eight steps to improve Windows security. Best of all, a lot of the suggestions listed are free.
Protecting your computer can be a pain, but it's cheaper (and easier) than your computer dying right before that big paper is due.

posted by Steve in the Library on Tuesday, September 28, 2004

Can We Trust Wikis?

AP has a story on the Wiki phenomenon.
Wikis allow anyone to post anything to certain Web sites. The idea is to quickly share information with a lot of people. One of the most popular Wikis is the Wikipedia, an online encylopedia created by fellow Wikipedia users.
Wikis are free but can they really be trusted? Some people say you can because so many people monitor them to make sure they're accurate. But since everything can be changed in an instant, is it even possible to watch everything all the time? And even if mistakes are caught, how long were they up for?
Obviously, it's a complicated issue. If you do find yourself wanting to use some kind of Wiki online, though, you might want to doublecheck the information in a more traditional source, like a book or a database. Just to be on the safe side.

posted by Steve in the Library on Monday, September 27, 2004

New Search Engine

Amazon.com, the famous online store, took its new search engine, A9.com, officially live last week (it had been already up for a few weeks, though).
It seems mostly designed for shopping, but you can probably use it to start certain types of non-shopping research (we're told that kind of research actually exists). A9 lets you take notes, save searches, and customize the page display. It even provides links to online reference materials.
So it looks like another helpful tool for Internet searching (and shopping). Here is the New York Times' take on A9.com.
But don't forget about all the great information we have in our online databases. Using the databases will almost always improve your research. Even your shopping research.

posted by Steve in the Library on Friday, September 24, 2004

Congratulations!

Congratulations to all of yesterday's LaGuardia graduates!
Earlier in the week, Newsday ran a profile on Andre Taylor, yesterday's keynote speaker. You can read it here.

posted by Steve in the Library on Friday, September 24, 2004

Reference Help

Don't forget! You don't have to be in the library to get help from the library. You can send us questions via e-mail or through chat. Want the details? Visit our Ask A Librarian page.

posted by Steve in the Library on Wednesday, September 22, 2004

Don't Believe Everything Online

In our bibliographic instruction classes, the library tries to teach students to carefully evaluate Web sites. Monday's New York Times has a reminder on that important issue. They wrote about the process of "phishing," a new online scam.
With phishing, someone is sent a fake e-mail that directs them to a fake Web site, asking for personal information. Then, the personal information is stolen and used to rip people off.
Yet another reminder to always be careful online.

posted by Steve in the Library on Wednesday, September 22, 2004

What is a blog? About the Library FAQs Library Information Library-Faculty Liaisons Policies Programs and Workshops Units and Services What's New Library Blog CUNY CUNY Resources CUNY Library Tutorials Inter-Campus Book Delivery (CLICS) Library Resources Ask a Librarian: Reference Help Career & Job Search Common Readings CUNY+ Catalog Electronic Reserves (ERES) Faculty Resources Find Articles (Online Databases) RefWorks Research Guides by Subject Online Forms Interlibrary Loan Library Instruction Request Media Renew a Book Request a Book Purchase Search the Site Blog Archives 09/01/2004 - 10/01/2004 10/01/2004 - 11/01/2004 11/01/2004 - 12/01/2004 12/01/2004 - 01/01/2005 01/01/2005 - 02/01/2005 02/01/2005 - 03/01/2005 03/01/2005 - 04/01/2005 04/01/2005 - 05/01/2005 05/01/2005 - 06/01/2005 06/01/2005 - 07/01/2005 07/01/2005 - 08/01/2005 08/01/2005 - 09/01/2005 09/01/2005 - 10/01/2005 10/01/2005 - 11/01/2005 11/01/2005 - 12/01/2005 12/01/2005 - 01/01/2006 01/01/2006 - 02/01/2006 02/01/2006 - 03/01/2006 03/01/2006 - 04/01/2006 04/01/2006 - 05/01/2006 05/01/2006 - 06/01/2006 06/01/2006 - 07/01/2006 07/01/2006 - 08/01/2006 08/01/2006 - 09/01/2006 09/01/2006 - 10/01/2006 10/01/2006 - 11/01/2006 11/01/2006 - 12/01/2006 12/01/2006 - 01/01/2007 01/01/2007 - 02/01/2007 02/01/2007 - 03/01/2007 03/01/2007 - 04/01/2007 04/01/2007 - 05/01/2007 05/01/2007 - 06/01/2007 06/01/2007 - 07/01/2007 08/01/2007 - 09/01/2007 09/01/2007 - 10/01/2007 10/01/2007 - 11/01/2007 11/01/2007 - 12/01/2007

		Build Your Own Library Yesterday's Times had an amazing article about Raymond Danowski, who managed to build a library-quality modern poetry collection on his own. He just donated it to Emory University. According to the Times, it's "the largest English-language poetry collection ever put together by an individual." While Danowski's collection was uncataloged while he had it, Emory will be sure to bring some order to it. Think about all of that material with no way to know what's there and where it is. It kind of makes you really appreciate CUNY+. posted by Steve in the Library on Thursday, September 30, 2004 New Web Guides We posted two new research guides on our Guides and Publications page. One in on researching New York City neighborhoods. The other is on wedding customs. Both have lots of books and Web sites to help you with your research. Like using the wedding guide, I found a link to this page on traditional gifts for anniversaries. I can't wait until I know someone married long enough to get an "optical goods" gift (that takes 48 years of marriage). Or even an original poetry tribute (which takes 46 years of marriage). posted by Steve in the Library on Wednesday, September 29, 2004 That Gray Bar FYI, that gray bar at the top is only there because this page is on Blogger's servers. It will disappear when we move it to our own servers. You can login and post something here. The login details are in the Word file attached to the e-mail announcement. posted by Steve in the Library on Tuesday, September 28, 2004 Protect Your Windows PC PC users always have to be vigilant. It seems there are always viruses, spyware, and pop-ups that need to be stopped. PC World has some tips on protecting your home computer. Jason Kottke, the New York City-based Web designer/Weblogger recently republished a list of eight steps to improve Windows security. Best of all, a lot of the suggestions listed are free. Protecting your computer can be a pain, but it's cheaper (and easier) than your computer dying right before that big paper is due. posted by Steve in the Library on Tuesday, September 28, 2004 Can We Trust Wikis? AP has a story on the Wiki phenomenon. Wikis allow anyone to post anything to certain Web sites. The idea is to quickly share information with a lot of people. One of the most popular Wikis is the Wikipedia, an online encylopedia created by fellow Wikipedia users. Wikis are free but can they really be trusted? Some people say you can because so many people monitor them to make sure they're accurate. But since everything can be changed in an instant, is it even possible to watch everything all the time? And even if mistakes are caught, how long were they up for? Obviously, it's a complicated issue. If you do find yourself wanting to use some kind of Wiki online, though, you might want to doublecheck the information in a more traditional source, like a book or a database. Just to be on the safe side. posted by Steve in the Library on Monday, September 27, 2004 New Search Engine Amazon.com, the famous online store, took its new search engine, A9.com, officially live last week (it had been already up for a few weeks, though). It seems mostly designed for shopping, but you can probably use it to start certain types of non-shopping research (we're told that kind of research actually exists). A9 lets you take notes, save searches, and customize the page display. It even provides links to online reference materials. So it looks like another helpful tool for Internet searching (and shopping). Here is the New York Times' take on A9.com. But don't forget about all the great information we have in our online databases. Using the databases will almost always improve your research. Even your shopping research. posted by Steve in the Library on Friday, September 24, 2004 Congratulations! Congratulations to all of yesterday's LaGuardia graduates! Earlier in the week, Newsday ran a profile on Andre Taylor, yesterday's keynote speaker. You can read it here. posted by Steve in the Library on Friday, September 24, 2004 Reference Help Don't forget! You don't have to be in the library to get help from the library. You can send us questions via e-mail or through chat. Want the details? Visit our Ask A Librarian page. posted by Steve in the Library on Wednesday, September 22, 2004 Don't Believe Everything Online In our bibliographic instruction classes, the library tries to teach students to carefully evaluate Web sites. Monday's New York Times has a reminder on that important issue. They wrote about the process of "phishing," a new online scam. With phishing, someone is sent a fake e-mail that directs them to a fake Web site, asking for personal information. Then, the personal information is stolen and used to rip people off. Yet another reminder to always be careful online. posted by Steve in the Library on Wednesday, September 22, 2004