Library News
Thesis research help offered
Posted on October 11th, 2017
Booth Faculty Librarians will offer thesis research instruction during three seminars in November.
Thesis Research 101, taught by faculty librarians Steve Brantley, Kirstin Duffin and Ellen Corrigan, consist of a series of three 50 minute seminars covering different aspects of researching and preparing your thesis.
Seminar 1: Researching the literature, presented by Steve Brantley will cover the following topics:
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- What are your options for online research destinations?
- How do you know when you have done enough research?
- How can you identify the key journals and most relevant databases in your field?
- What is controlled vocabulary and how can its effective use benefit my research?
- What is Open Access and Open Research?
Seminar 1 will take place Wednesday, November 1, 7:00-7:50 pm, and will be repeated on Thursday, November 2, 10:00-10:50 am. Both sessions will be in Booth Library rm. 4450 (4th floor).
Register here: booth.eiu.edu/thesisreg
Seminar 2: Organizing your references using citation management software presented by Kirstin Duffin will help you:
- Save your sources to one convenient location and access via the cloud
- Create formatted citations and your reference section in seconds (really!)
- Understand the software options and features in Mendeley and Zotero
- Export citation information using library databases
Seminar 2 will take place the following week on Wednesday, November 8, 7:00-7:50 pm and will be repeated Thursday, November 9, 10:00-10:50 am. Both sessions will be in Booth Library rm. 4450 (4th floor). (booth.eiu.edu/thesisreg)
Seminar 3: Presenting your thesis (to the world) presented by Ellen Corrigan will answer the questions:
- What happens to your thesis after you submit it?
- How can I avoid common pitfalls when preparing my thesis?
- How can I optimize discovery of my thesis with metadata?
Seminar three will take place on Wednesday, November 15, 7:00-7:50 pm in rm 4450 in Booth Library and then be repeated Thursday, November 16, 10:00-10:50 am in Booth Library rm. 4440.
Registration is required: booth.eiu.edu/thesisreg
Thesis Research 101 workshops offered
Posted on October 10th, 2017
Booth Library faculty Steve Brantley, Kirstin Duffin and Ellen Corrigan, in cooperation with the Graduate Student Advisory Council, will again offer three Thesis Research 101 workshops.
Thesis 101 Seminar 1: Researching the Literature with Steve Brantley will be offered from 7-8 p.m. Nov. 1 and again from 10-11 a.m. Nov. 2.
Thesis 101 Seminar 2: Citation Management with Kirstin Duffin will be offered from 7-8 p.m. Nov. 8 and again from 10-11 a.m. Nov. 9.
Thesis 101 Seminar 3: Presenting Your Thesis (to the World) with Ellen Corrigan will be offered from 7-8 p.m. Nov. 15 and again from 10-11 a.m. Nov. 16.
All sessions will meet in Room 4450 at Booth Library except for the Nov. 16 session, which will be in Witters Conference Room 4440. Registration is encouraged, but walk-ins are welcome. To register, click here.
For more information contact Steve Brantley, head of Reference Services, at 581-7542 or jsbrantley@eiu.edu.
Database of the Week: CLCD Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database
Posted on October 6th, 2017
Welcome back for another Database of the Week! This week I, your humble library writing intern, would like to present the Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database (or CLCD for short.)
You can find CLCD by navigating to ‘C’ on the database A-Z page. Or,select the ‘Research by Subject’ tab above the search bar and then click on ‘Literature/Drama.’ Scroll down to the heading “Interdisciplinary and Related” to find CLCD.
CLCD mostly applies to elementary and middle grade education majors, there are still some valuable assets to this easy-to-search site for all (especially for those avid YA readers, like myself!)
The advanced search features allow for many different ways to look for titles, authors, subject areas, or even age ranges. So, if you were to do a presentation for your children’s lit class about historical fiction, you could select an age range (anywhere from ages 1-18), a series, the scholastic reading level or even the amount of Accelerated Reading points the title is worth.
For that same presentation on historical fiction, you can search specifically for the country of publication. CLCD allows you to focus on international titles like those from the U.K. or Canada.
But what if you are really passionate about historical fiction (as I am, obviously), and you would like to focus on only acclaimed books, like award winners? There’s even a selection for that!
If you’re interested in a boarder search (or the number of options is too overwhelming when you’re buried in midterms!), ditch all the Advanced Search options, and stick to the efficient ‘Power Search’ option in CLCD (psst! ‘Power Search’ tab is on the top right, next to ‘Advanced Search.’)
With this option you can search more generally for all the options that the Advanced Search offers, just in a simpler format that is more accessible for people with sensory disorders (or people who prefer a simpler interface).
Some of the features of this database can be used for lesson planning on a certain subject… or for that special YA reader in your life who only wants to read particular subjects. The CLCD has a ‘Read and Shine’ blog, which covers reading lists based on age range, such as picture books, middle grade books, and even author interviews about their publications.
The CLCD also offers thematic reading lists, focusing on a topic and including a wide range of titles. Here’s a few to kick off your own research:
‘The Top Ten Most Challenged Books’ includes titles such as Eleanor and Park, I Am Jazz, and Make Something Up: Stories You Can’t Unread.
‘Mental Illness in YA – A Reading List’ includes titles such as It’s Kind of a Funny Story, Finding Audrey, and The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B.
‘Books to Read Aloud for All Ages’ includes titles such as Holes, Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, and Borrowers.
That’s all for this week. Check out the Ref News blog for more neat finds in our massive collection. And of course, come back next week for another Database of the Week! And happy reading!
Books by EIU faculty
Posted on October 4th, 2017
Listed below are several new book authored and/or edited by professors at EIU. They range from philosophical analyses of Spinoza, to film studies, to subarctic archaeology, to memoir, to political science, to original poetry.
All are available to be checked out!
Try It! Illinois Statewide Database Trial
Posted on October 3rd, 2017
Try-It! Illinois is the Illinois State Library’s annual statewide database trial. The trial lasts from October 1 through November 30. Try-It! Illinois is open to all Illinois library users. Thanks to partnerships between the Illinois State Library and the participating electronic resource vendors, there is no charge for accessing these databases during Try-It! Illinois. You will be prompted to enter your EIU NetID and password to access Try It! Illinois from EIU. To access Try It!, log in here.
