Welcome to Spring Term!

Ignore the snow, but it IS Spring Term! Welcome back and a hearty welcome to new students. I am finally catching the cold that everyone spread around before Spring Break and feel pretty punky– but cheery in spirit!

Things are already back to normal. TONS of Powerpoint presentations being printed with black backgrounds and LOADS of pages being printed from slides. One student started out with an inch of paper and just kept feeding the printer. Wow! We made an impact on professors’ habits, didn’t we? (Wry smile.) I hope that Powerpoint is not in the Afterlife.

Set loose on an ice floe

Those of us left to work next week on campus are warned to be prepared. There is no food service on campus unless you count the snack machines which I do not!) and no coffee service in the library or Mac’s Grill. Rumours abound that Aramark will leave out a pump pot for those of us who forget to bring a thermos of java from home. Woe! Cruel and unusual punishment! Waaaa!

Happy Spring Break!

Sniff! Well, I will be here holding the fort but don’t let that stop you from having a refreshing break in the fun spot of your choosing! From what I witnessed thus far this week….you deserve it! Be safe, have a great time, and we await your return with some interesting stories to share with us.

Free online citation software

Though I can’t claim that I have had success with all of these, they ARE free and will get you in the ballpark of citation accuracy! Check with your profs’ requirements, however. What is said on the syllabus is the gospel!

Name/URL: Son of Citation Machine / http://citationmachine.net/
Formats: MLA, APA, Turabian, Chicago

Name/URL: Noodle Tools / http://www.noodletools.com/
Formats: MLA, APA

Name/URL: Easy Bib / http://www.easybib.com/
Formats: MLA, APA

Name/URL: Bib Me / http://www.bibme.org/
Formats: MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian

Name/URL: Zotero (Firefox Extension) / http://www.zotero.org/
Formats: MLA, APA, Chicago

Name/URL: Otto Bib / http://ottobib.com/
Formats: MLA, APA, Chicago/Turabian, BibTeX, Wikipedia

Name/URL: Knight Cite / http://www.calvin.edu/library/knightcite/
Formats: MLA, APA, Chicago

Name/URL: Internet Citation Maker /
http://www.interaction-design.org/citation-maker/
Formats: APA, MLA, BibTex, Refer

Name/URL: Source Aid / http://www.sourceaid.com/
Formats: MLA, APA, Chicago, CSE

Databases are NOT the Internet!

Using our databases is not using the internet. Some students are so fearful, saying that their professors will not let them use the internet for research, or limit internet resources. Our databases are delivered electronically but they are not the internet. Often, journals in our databases are just electronic copies of our paper journals. Sometimes, our databases have journals that are “born digital”….that is, never were conceived as paper journals. Some of our databases have journals that we only buy in electronic form. These decisions are driven my money (or lack thereof) and access benefits.

Don’t worry! Using our databases is not using the internet (deep breath! sigh of relief)