Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Choice Reviews Online



We have a database, Choice Reviews Online, that publishes scholarly reviews of academic books,  databases and websites.  The reviews are written by higher education faculty from around the country. Choice specifies the target audience, such as undergraduate, faculty, etc and  provides a rating scale for its reviews:

  • Essential
  • Highly Recommended
  • Recommended
  • Optional
  • Not Recommended


Any book you would like to recommend to the library can be emailed from Choice to the Collection Development Librarian, Judy Diffenderfer at her email, judy.diffenderfer@marist.edu

You can sign up for periodic email alerts so that you receive reviews for the new materials added in your subject area.  For help is setting up alerts, or for more information about Choice,  contact your Library Liaison.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Information Literacy and the Freshman Class

Information Literacy and the Freshman Class

               The Cannavino Library played an active part in the rollout of the Marist Core curriculum, through hands-on classroom participation and faculty support in First Year Seminar (FYS) and Writing for College. These freshman courses are pillars of the information literacy skill area of the Marist Core.

              In Fall 2013, the library offered six distinct FYS Common Session presentations, with topics including finding reliable background information, evaluating different information and information sources, basic research skills, and creating bibliographic citations. Faculty had the ability to select up to four of these sessions, with most sections opting for two or three talks. In all, librarians addressed 84 FYS sections.

              In our current spring semester, the number of talks offered has been reduced to three, with demand remaining high. To further support FYS faculty and students, librarians have created Course Pathfinders for 77% of the 2013 FYS sections. As the graphic below illustrates, the Pathfinders have seen robust use by students.



                Similarly, the Library has given talks and created Course Pathfinders for many Writing for College sections. In these presentations, the focus has been on the exploration of the research process, with presentations generally given just prior to students commencing work on a research paper.

                The library’s impact on the freshman experience has been significant; in more than a half-dozen majors, all of the 100 or 101 courses have received an individual class library presentation and  Course Pathfinder.  Anecdotally, faculty have reported that the Pathfinder and presentation provide a standard library experience, with students sharing a common level of information literacy as they progress to 200-level major courses. Additionally, all incoming athletes received a library orientation seminar; we can say with confidence that every Marist freshman received at least one library orientation during the 2013-14 academic year.
                Information Literacy is again emphasized in the Capping Course and the Library provides presentations to many capping courses as well.  In between Freshman and Senior year, students will benefit from further library support, be it in the form of a Pathfinder, Library presentation or both.   The basic concepts learned during freshman year will provide a basis upon which to build further subject specific knowledge.  Oftentimes when we speak with Capping classes students are surprised by the depth of resources made available through the Cannavino Library, and they find the Capping lecture as useful as the introductory lecture 4 years earlier.


  If you are interested in a Pathfinder or Library lecture (for this semester or next semester), please contact your Library Liaison

Thursday, April 10, 2014

2013-2014 Faculty Recognition Awards

Award recipients Dr. Carrizales and  Dr. Frank with Marist  Executive Vice President Dr. Brackett.


Fontaine Hall's Henry Hudson Room was the setting for the 2013-2014 Faculty Recognition Awards on March 26. The awards are presented annually by the Marist College Library and the Library Development Committee to recognize faculty who have distinguished themselves by their scholarly and/or creative work.  This year's honorees are Tony Carrizales, Associate Professor of Public Administration and Scott D. Frank, Associate Professor of Mathematics.



Dr. Matheus opens the ceremonies
Associate Professor of Information Systems and Chairwoman of the Library Development Committee Carolyn Matheus, who organized the ceremony presented the awards to the recipients.    










Dr. Carrizales

A native of South Texas, Dr. Carrizales was introduced by colleague and Associate Professor of Public Administration, James Melitski as possibly "the only person on campus with both a framed copy of the U.S. Constitution and the Texas Declaration of Independence on their office wall."


Dr. Melitski
Melitski and Carrizales met while doctoral students at Rutgers University, and have collaborated in publishing  a pair of articles from a case study of best practices in e-governance in Prague, Czech Republic. "He's an excellent collaborator, who uses research as a way of engaging public officials," said Dr.Melitski.

A major focus of Dr. Carrizales' scholarship is the application of technology to make government more efficient and responsive to the needs of a diverse citizenry.

"When I started my research, most cities didn't have web sites and I saw technology as something with the potential to theorize about ways it can be used as a resource to ask 'how can organizations be most effective and efficient in engaging with a diverse citizenry," said Dr.Carrizales.

In addition to the Prague study, Dr. Carrizales was also awarded funding in 2012 for a summer research grant at Marist's Florence Campus in Italy as part of a review of international approaches to sanitation, and he has served the past five years as the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Public Management and Social Policy.

Dr. Frank

Dr. Frank has been at Marist since 2003 and has received research grant from the Simons Foundation and the Office of Naval Research. He has coauthored several articles on underwater acoustics, including studies of blue whale vocalizations in the Solomon Sea.



Colleague and Associate Professor of Mathematics Peter Krog introduced Dr. Frank and praised him for involving his students in his research. He noted that five Marist students have completed underwater acoustic research projects with Dr. Frank and four of those students have gone on to pursue graduate studies in mathematics, applied mathematics and physical oceanography.
Dr. Krog

"Many of us have difficulty from time to time finding the right balance between our research programs and the other demands of our profession. Scott's dedication to his scholarly work has inspired me at times when I've struggled with mine," said Dr. Krog.

Dr. Frank said his studies involve finding nautical solutions of partial differential equations, "which are how things change and how two or more rules of of change co-exist." He enjoys teaching classic theories, such as Maxwell's equations governing electromagnetism, and then finding the correct tools to measure real-world variables, such as the introduction of friction to conductivity of metal plates.

"You need to have tools to find out what's going on he said."Among those tools are earwax plugs for whales, that measure the effects ocean pollution as well as stress hormone levels.






Thursday, April 3, 2014

Share your opinion with us -- Should we subscribe to Mango Languages database?

Mango Languages 

The Library has a trial for the Mango Languages database. It can be accessed at: Mango Languages Trial .

We believe that Mango Languages will be of interest not only to the Modern Languages & Cultures Department, but also to students who are going to study abroad, and to international students here at Marist. Mango divides the language courses into 3 categories: Foreign Languages (57); English Courses for non-English Speakers (17); and Religious and Scholarly for English Speakers (4).

 If you would like to see the Library subscribe, please fill out the survey form. Patron feedback is very important to the subscription decision. 


When you first access Mango Languages select the option "Try It First".
 




Mango provides foreign language instruction modules that are self-paced and provide basic conservation skills and cultural notes.  The Library has already received positive feedback from students.

Mango also includes an innovative inter-active foreign video feature (Mango Premiere). For a quick introduction, watch the very short Mango Premiere Tour YouTube video.  To access Mango Premiere, look directly below the large green letters that say, "Find a conversation". There is a menu with "Apps" as the second choice. Select "Apps" to find the menu for Mango Premiere.




 In the event that we subscribe to Mango, our patrons could use it on a variety of smart phones and tablets. In trial mode, Mango is unable to provide general access to those devices. However, we have a username and password in the Library that enables us to test the functionality on a variety of small platforms. If you would like to see a demonstration of Mango on such devices, please contact Kathryn.Silberger@marist.edu.

Please remember to fill out the survey if you would like to see the Library subscribe to Mango Languages.Your input is very important.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Jeremy Schwartz, Assistant Librarian for Research and Public Services





Jeremy Schwartz is the latest addition to the Cannavino Library staff. A Poughkeepsie native, he grew up attending Marist basketball games at the McCann Arena. Prior to becoming a librarian, Jeremy was a journalist whose work has appeared in many local publications, including The Poughkeepsie Journal, Daily Freeman, Taconic Press, Weekly Beat, Ulster Publishing, and Chronogram.  His news coverage has included the Dutchess County Legislature, Hudson Valley Renegades, theater and film reviews, notable court cases, and the local music scene.

As a member of the Cannavino Library Research Services team, Jeremy assists students and faculty at the Library's Reference Desk and is a Library Liaison to the Communication, Music, Religion and Philosophy, and Media Arts Departments. Additionally, he is a regular presence behind the Circulation Desk, helping to supervise and train student assistants and ensuring the efficient and courteous dispatch of public services. He looks forward to meeting faculty and assisting with research and classroom needs, such as bibliographic instructions sessions, Course Pathfinders, First Year Seminars, and other collaborative projects.

His past library experiences include stints at Mount St. Mary College, Columbia-Greene Community College, and the New York State Library. He has also served as a volunteer archivist and web page administrator for WGXC Community radio in Hudson, NY.  When not at the Library, Jeremy's interests included collecting scratchy vinyl lps, playing guitar (primitively), hiking in the Catskills, sampling the live music scene in the Hudson Valley, and following his beloved New York Mets.