New Library Online Resources and Database Changes

The Ort Library is pleased to announce access to the following new online resources for students, faculty and staff:

·       Education Research Complete:  This database covers education topics from early childhood to higher education and all educational specialties, such as multilingual education, health education, testing, curriculum, and leadership.  It provides indexing and abstracts for more than 2,100 journals, as well as full text for more than 1,200 journals, and includes full text for nearly 500 books and monographs.  Education Research Complete replaces the Education Journals database that has been offered by the library.  

·       ARTstor Digital Library:  ARTstor is a resource that provides over 1.5 million digital images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and sciences with an accessible suite of software tools for teaching and research.  Community-built collections comprise contributions from international museums, photographers, libraries, scholars, photo archives and artists and artists' estates.

Citations to the content for both Education Research Complete and ARTstor are incorporated into the Library’s OneSearch service.  More information about OneSearch, including user guides and a basic video tutorial, is available on the library’s website.

The databases may also be accessed directly via the library’s website or Research Port.

Subscriptions to the databases Education Journals and Social Science Abstracts will end in early July 2013 and these resources will be removed from OneSearch and Research Port.  As described above, Education Research Complete will replace Education Journals.  Citations from Social Science Abstracts are duplicated in other Library databases and within the OneSearch service.

If you have any questions, please contact a reference librarian via phone (301-687-4424), online, or at the Reference Desk on Floor 2 of the Ort Library.  If you would like to schedule an instruction session for your class, please complete the Library Instruction Request Form. 

Featured Online Resource: Coursera

Are you looking to learn something new this summer?  Are you interested in taking a class with several thousand other people on a topic like Cryptography?  You can if you utilize this week’s Featured Online Resource, Coursera.  Coursera offers free online classes from some of the top universities in the United States, like Princeton University, Stanford University, and the University of California Berkeley.  The courses cover subject such as humanities, social science, mathematics, and computer science.  The courses are taught by instructors who currently teach at these top universities. 

The courses offered, are not credit-bearing classes, but if you are interested in learning more about a subject, this is the perfect option.  You will attend class online with thousands of other students who are interested in the same subject as you.  It offers you the opportunity to interact with others from around the world.

Examples of some of the classes being offered and the institution the instructor is from:

• Roman Architecture (Yale University)
• A Brief History of Humankind (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) 
• General Game Playing (Stanford University) 
• Engaging Students through Cooperative Learning (John Hopkins University)

      Here is a list of some articles about Coursera:

• http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/technology/coursera-plans-to-announce-university-partners-for-online-classes.html 
• http://www.zdnet.com/blog/education/coursera-the-new-face-of-higher-education-video/4894 
• http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/18/net-us-usa-college-online-idUSBRE83H0PC20120418

Every week, the Ort Library brings you a new and outstanding resource from the Web or from one of the library's databases. To get an archive of all FOR entries, click here. Also, you can suggest a website that provides well-organized access to useful info.

Featured Online Resource - Medline Plus

Have you ever searched the Internet for information about a health-related topic, but found you weren't comfortable trusting the Web sites providing the information?  If so, you might want visit Medline Plus (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/).  This site is maintained by the National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine.

It's a great source of straightforward information focused on healthy living and medical information.

Some topics covered include:

• Health Topics
• Body systems
• Specific health conditions
• Therapies and treaments
• Health and wellness
• Drugs & supplements
• Videos and interactive tutorials

In addition to the information that the National Library of Medicine has compiled, you will also find links to other resources related to health and healthy living from agencies such as the Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control.

Consider this a a great starting point for your research.  However, always remember that none of these resources can act as a replacement for advice from a trained physician!

Every week, the Ort Library brings you a new and outstanding resource from the Web or from one of the library's databases. To get an archive of all FOR entries, click here. Also, you can suggest a website that provides well-organized access to useful info.

Three New Library Displays for June

The Ort Library is pleased to present three new displays for June.

The first display, titled "Honoring the Life of Helen Keller: 1880-1968" is available on the 3rd floor (main entrance).  The display provides information about Helen Keller and her struggle to learn without hearing or sight.  Several books are also on display that provide additional information on Helen Keller.

The second display, also located on the 3rd floor (located between the 4 stand-up PCs), celebrates LGBT History Month.  The display highlights the history of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and its repeal, along with information on which states now allow same-sex marriage.  The display also highlights books from other University of Maryland Libraries on LGBT topics.

The last display, titled “Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Derechos, and Blizzards: Oh My!!!” is located on the 5th floor and highlights different types of weather.  Information on how tornadoes are categorized and information on the different types of clouds is included in the display.  This display will be up through the end of August.

The displays on the 3^rd floor will be up through the end of June.

If you have any questions about the displays, please contact Theresa Mastrodonato at ext. 4425 or tmmastrodonato@frostburg.edu or MaryJo Price at ext. 4889 or mprice@frostburg.edu.

Free American FactFinder Seminar - July 25

The Lewis J Ort Library at Frostburg State University is pleased to announce a FREE half-day workshop on the US Census Bureau’s American FactFinder online resource.  Ms. Nesreen Khashan, Data Dissemination Specialist from the US Census Bureau, will be the presenter.  

American FactFinder is an excellent resource for finding data from the American Community Survey and other demographic statistics.  Attendees will learn about the types of information available, and also have the opportunity for hands-on practice in the library’s computer classroom.

The workshop will be held on Thursday, July 25, 2013 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM in the Library Instruction Center (LIC) at the Lewis J Ort Library, Frostburg State University.  The workshop is free, but registration is required.  Please see the attached flyer and visit the following link for the registration form and more information: http://libguides.frostburg.edu/affseminar. 

If you have any questions, please contact Lisa Hartman at lahartman@frostburg.edu, MaryJo Price at mprice@frostburg.edu, or Theresa Mastrodonato at tmmastrodonato@frostburg.edu

 

Featured Online Resource - EasyStats

This week's Featured Online Resource is EasyStats from the US Census Bureau.  This site provides quick access to statistics from the American Community Survey that is completed by the Census Bureau each year.  You can find demographic and economic information.  The tool allows you to search by state, county, and even down to Congressional District.

Every week, the Ort Library brings you a new and outstanding resource from the Web or from one of the library's databases. To get an archive of all FOR entries, click here. Also, you can suggest a website that provides well-organized access to useful info.