In this issue:   Don\u27t Cancel Class: A Librarian Can Step in and Help! Record-Breaking Library Influx iBooks Author Conference How to Craft a Quality Research Assignmenthttps://spiral.lynn.edu/libpubs/1004/thumbnail.jp

Barnett, Leecy

Chussler, Jordan

Dantus, Sabine

Filiatreau, Amy

Leonard, Alison

Wellman, Jared

English

Lynn University: SPIRAL (Scholarly Publications, Institutional Repository and Archives at Lynn)

-~-- -= - . I tTbrary Monthly Volume 2 Issue 2 November 2015 Don't Cancel Class: A Librarian Can Step in and Help! BY ALISON LEONARD, ONLINE LEARNING AND REFERENCE LIBRARIAN aleonard@lynn.edu Life gets busy, and from time to time • you may be in a position when you are unable to teach a class. But that does not mean you have to cancel it. Did you know that if you are not available to teach a • class, a librarian can step in and help? If a librarian is invited into your classroom, we can do any of the following: • • We can demonstrate searching Subject Guides for the best library resources for degree programs such as education, • science, business, and more. • We can show the Citation Help link on the library website for APA reference • examples including citing articles, books, websites, and more. • We can demonstrate searching • LynnQuest for articles, books, and videos students need for assignments and research papers. We can establish Grammarly accounts for students, so that they can find and correct mistakes in their papers. We can show them where to find a pre-formatted APA paper, so students can begin using it as a template when they write papers. We can identify the best databases to search for articles in newspapers, magazines, and journals on any given topics. We can demonstrate searching Credo Reference for one-page summaries on topics and people. We can show. students where to find dictionaries and encyclopedias online. We can describe the research process, define a research paper, and describe the importance of using scholarly sources. • We can inform students of the services librarians including searching sending them articles. provide, and Keep those students learning, and do not cancel class! We can help! To schedule a librarian to cover your class, or if you have questions about the program, please contact Alison Leonard, Online Learning and Reference Librarian, at aleonard@lynn.edu or ext. 7071. -DON'T CANCEL THAT CLASS! Record-Breaking Library Influx BY AMY FILIATREAU, LIBRARY DIRECTOR afiliatreau@lynn.edu T:is fall, we have seen unprecedented numbers of tudents coming to librarians for help. We record every reference transaction, and as the graphs below illustrate, the numbers for September and October completely eclipse any other month's totals in the history of the Lynn Library. Last year, I was proud when our numbers more than doubled from the previous year- but these new numbers are beyond my wildest expectations. Our six librarians have spent about 200 hours in the past two months directly helping students with research. Part of the stratospheric rise in our numbers (in addition to our librarians just being amazing) is that we've implemented a new chat window on our website that pops-up proactively when anyone is on our site. We've had our chat service for years, but we only began the new proactive feature this fall - and it 's clear, students love it. 69% of our chatters rate us as "Great" and 19% give us a rating of "Good." %16'·+:1 1 Do you need help? A librarian is online ready to help Fi@fiM 115:¥1 Here are some more figures to give you a profile of what students are asking and what we are doing: • In September and October of 2015, 44% of our question-askers came in person, 41 % on chat, and 11 % via email. • 76% were undergraduates and 16% grad students. • More than 80% of the questions our students are asking are about citations, finding reliable information and scholarly articles, APA formatting, and grammar checking. In other words, we help students choose and refine their topics, find good info, and use it appropriately. • Most of our transactions last between five and 25 minutes, proving that most students simply need a boost of help to get going in the right direction. If your students are unaware of the improved chat feature on the Library's website, please inform them of it. This service, in as little as five minutes, can dramatically improve the quality of students' research. ~ L1branan Resttirch Hetp Session~ ::) .. " " " I I " ., ., I I I " ,. I I I I I : i I i i i i i i I i i I I :a.; ; ~.;- ;; I,,;, ll ~ l. .r, • . '11: :- r.1~· JJ "I" ;. J,l~·. l• ,•nl• l' !- ' •.( ;. '.'({ ; -. c,-1- I!;>,; I• :-c: 1.: t·• ,f ,is:,~ I,'! JS ! p- :s l,ll>, :• !u; !! -~ :: ~Jf :: '. "J: I! C:- I! Libr anan Help vra Online Cha1 1, ll 111 a I& • I I I • I i I I ~ ' ~ i Ju)- i.~ •vt·H s_,.1, 0 :--1- flc-,•1- o,e •. ,~ Ja,n, )S , .. u M.--n Ai,,-1' Mw,1! ;1,1 ,, JS J<f·l~ ,.,..,u s.>-a On•ll· 2 iBooks Author Conference BY JORDAN CHUSSLER, ACADEMIC EDITOR jchussler@lynn.edu Earlier this month, I had the privilege of attending the inaugural iBooks Author Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. Although my takeaways from Music City were a mixed lot-barbecue in Eastern Tennessee is decidedly better, but Nashville's locally brewed whiskey barrel beer should rain from the heavens-the conference itself was eye-opening. I was marveled by what a variety of industries are doing with multi-touch books, from expanding brand appeal of an award-winning television series with an official iBook to making the experience of London's Royal Opera House accessible to the masses thanks to iBook of the Year winner, The Mozart Project. But what resonated the most was seeing the incalculable possibilities these iBooks can contain. Animated, interactive dissection labs (save the frogs!), crossword puzzle vocabulary quizzes, and hands-on, multimedia-laden timelines. Virtual pianos, memory games, and sketchpads. The options available to educators creating iBooks are aplenty, and the resulting end products are leaps and bounds better than digital textbooks that only feature graphs and charts. Engagement is key. --,.,.,_...,. __ -· What I found particularly striking was the simplicity with which these widgets and other rich media features could be incorporated into multi-touch books. When the conference ended, I made it my goal to ensure that we take full advantage of these remarkable features, maximizing the learning value offered by Lynn-authored textbooks to our students. iBooks are not merely electronic books. They are not intended to simply be static, PDF-like documents that are accessible on a multitude of devices. They are sleeping giants, waiting to be unearthed by our faculty. Their purpose is to make content leap off of the page and into students' minds, and the Lynn University Digital Press is here to •------• assist you with that goal. To learn more about the process of authoring an iBook for your course, or how to enrich its components if you've already begun, contact me at jchussler@lynn.edu, or at extension 7147. ~ 3 How to Craft a Quality Research Assignment BY LEECY BARNETT lbarnett@lynn.edu This article serves as a prequel to my last article, "How to Get Better Research Papers," in the September 2015 issue of Library general topics; one of the initial Monthly. The first step in getting tasks, detailed below, will be to your students to produce quality further refine the topic based on research papers is to give them a your interests. You are responsible clear, detailed research assignment. for clearly defining the parameters Over the last ten years as Reference of your research project. This Librarian at Lynn University, many includes not only refining the topic, students have shown me their but determining the 'local ' context assignments when asking for my that will be your reference point: assistance. Some assignments are Boca Raton/South Florida, your concise, but students neglect to home town/city, some other local read/follow directions. Others are so community. The general topic broad that the student is uncertain options are: which direction to take, leaving them • (and admittedly sometimes me) • rather confused . Despite lacking • expertise in pedagogy, I am offering • a few suggestions based on my • years of observation . Air quality Biodiversity Deforestation Desertification Energy conservation, consumption, and production 1. Give guided choice in topic selection • Environmental racism • E-waste Oceanic degradation Soil erosion and degradation Water quality and scarcity Give specific guidelines about acceptable sources Telling the class that they can write • on any topic that relates to the course • may work for some students, but • most feel at a loss when given this broad scope. On the other hand, if 2. you assign a specific topic, students may lose interest and motivation if their curiosity is not sparked. Also, asking them to research a very narrow topic will lead to frustration If you do not tell you students what your expectations are for the sources they use in their research, many (if not most) of them will take the path of least resistance: a Google search, then using the first four results. Conversely, if you say you want ten peer-reviewed articles, you will get much better sources. However, you may be ruling out some sources that would give depth and variety to students' papers . You could say something like, "You need to have in locating useful resources (if those resources exist at all). In her Global Environmental Politics and Justice course, Marcheta Wright gives her students both direction and choice: Your research project will be grounded in one of the following 4 A+ ten sources of information for this paper. Six must come from peer-reviewed articles or academic books and e-books, the other four can come from government websites, reputable non-profit agency websites or, in the case of business , company websites, and news reports from reputable news sources such as the Wall Street, Washington Post, CNN, etc. Websites where the reliability of the author cannot be determined, such as Wikipedia and About.com, will not be accepted." 3. Give suggestions/instruction of how to find the sources You might suggest that the students consult a specific database, such as Opposing Viewpoints, Communication and Mass Media Complete, or Passport by Euromonitor International (which is a great place to find business and marketing information). Or you may suggest several of the best journals in your field of study. If you are unsure about what information the library has that could support your assignment, or what the best search strategies are that your students could use, the Lynn Librarians are eager to help. Call, email, or chat with us anytime! -11 Le.t's e.at Grat\dfT'Ja!" Don't forget to remind your students to check their papers and writing projects through our subscription to Grammar/y@EDU is an automated on/ine grammar tutor and revision tool for academic writing success. "Let's eat,GrandtTJa!" t•tJN(~'l1IJ1.\'l1lf)N S1l \TJ~S I .. I\7I~S. On lynn.edu/library Click on DATABASES then search for Grammar/y Only Lynn students, faculty and staff with lynn.edu or email.lynn.edu can create an account. Access Code: c8S2wFEGZxcDq78c Congratulations! Congratulations to Jordan Chussler, academic editor for the Lynn University Digital Pr~ss, and Dawn Dubruiel, instructional designer in Academic Affairs, who passed the iBooks Author Certification Program exam (iBACP®) and passed with 11Certification with Distinction" honors. 5 New Stuff @ the Library , m a n languages Mango Languages' conversation and film-based digital resources can help your students learn over 70 languages (including English!) from just about anywhere. And the best part? It's free through Lynn Library! Have students learn English in their native language online for free with Mango Languages! On lynn.edu/library Click on DATABASES then search for MANGO LANGUAGES Learn over 60 Languages Learn over 17 ESUELL Courses Fun & Cultural Courses: Pirate, Medical Spanish, Romantic Courses, and much more. Learn on the Go: Take self-paced lesson, anytime via free mobile apps! To have a librarian demo this resource for you and your classes or to order print or electronic flyers for your class, please email us at library@lynn.edu. 6 ILL Items BY JARED WELLMAN, DIGITAL RESOURCES LIBRARIAN jwellman@lynn.edu The Lynn Library will now be creating temporary records for all of our In-terlibrary Loans. This way we can check the ILL items out to you, and they will be accessible with your card. This will help you keep better track of the items you have on loan. ~ Humor ' II 11 . h ~-l, WHEN COMFORTING A GRAMMAR NAZI 161.::!, == I WILL COJAE To iJtE L \&rl A~Y ANP TURN ,A'(SELF lr.J. I ALWAYS SAY SOFTLY, "THERE, THEIR, THEY'RE~' IF 4100 ~ ll.lc\NT TO~ A BOOK, All 'r\lJ HA\IE TO DO I~ 60 IN THERE AAD laL THEM IM-IIOI (}IE 1/00 WANT AND TME'<LL LET '{OIJ TAKE IT IOIE ! I I I CA~ tJOT FIND IT ANYW'1Et7E ~ 'f(!ASE 1'c:, ti>T HARM MY MOTl4E~ A,JJ> FA11-IER. Events and Programs All library sponsored events are free and open to invited guests, students and faculty/staff at Lynn University. For most events, we do ask that you RSVP. If you have any questions or comments, please call Sabine Dantus at ext. 7708. ' • ' ~- •! . , ~..,, • • . • : :... . •.)·•.lf ' . . ~ . <f'Jo.' . . 't~ ~ - . . : ., ,,_ ~1 · ~i..- r·· ~ , ' .... ' -~ . . . ' · ~: _._.. I I i, . . ' ~ . '!<{. . - ~ .-._ I Library Where You Live Bringing Lynn librarians to you .... ~ If your residence hall students need research or citation help, assistance finding sources, or have any general questions, please encourage them stop by. Wednesday, November 11th 7 - 9pm @ Lynn Lobby Wednesday, November 18th 7 - 9pm @ EML Lobby Wednesday, December 2nd 7 - 9pm @ Trinity Lobby Wednesday, December 9th 7 - 9pm @ Lynn Lobby · Finals Week: Stress-Free Study Zone During Finals the Library will be transformed into a stress-free zone. Every day we will provide some form of stress relief at the Library from coffee breaks, research help, and study break zone complete with snacks! 'Txtr,1 Crnd1t Alert Fc1culty. crn1s1dm e11courc1g111g your studorits to attm1d these events t:. progrnrns by provictinn 8xtril cr0.dit. LIBRARY MONTHLY Call 561-237-7254 E-mail library@lynn.edu Text 561-299-3043 Visit lynn.edu/library Blog address: lynnlibrary1 .wordpress.com Follow us on @LynnULibrary 

Library Monthly - November 2015

https://spiral.lynn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&amp;context=libpubs

Library Monthly - November 2015

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Lynn University: SPIRAL (Scholarly Publications, Institutional Repository and Archives at Lynn)