Volume 1, Issue 9, December 2009

What’s News in the VPLRC?

• The Learning Resources Center Fall hours are:
  o Monday – Thursday 7:30-9:00
  o Friday 7:30-4:30
  o Saturday 8:00-2:00


• During the week of December 14-18, 2009 and January 4-6, 2010, library operating hours will be 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM. The library will be closed for the holidays Dec. 19, 2009 – Jan. 3, 2010.


• December celebrates Human Rights Month, Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. Visit your Learning Resources Center learn more about this themes.

Did You Know?
Edison State College, Charlotte Campus offers courses, workshops and certificate programs for adults seeking to update their skills and advance in their careers. Courses offered include architecture, design and construction; Arts Academy, computer and photography, environmental, entrance exam preps and career assessments, and much, much more. For more information on advancing your career, contact Sandra Harrell at sharrell@edison.edu or visit, http://www.edison.edu/charlotte/ce/.

Source: Edison State College – Continuing Education, Charlotte Campus, 2009

Focus On…
The website of the month is Zotero, http://www.zotero.org/.This website is a free Firefox add-on that helps you collect, manage, and cite your sources for research. Located on your browser after downloading, the tool automatically captures citations, stores PDFs, images, and webpages; take notes in any language, use bibliographic styles, and cite from within Microsoft Word or Open Office. Zotero, the next-generation research tool, is a must-have for college students.

VPLRC Quotable Quotes…
"The new education must teach the individual how to classify and reclassify information, how to evaluate its veracity, how to change categories when necessary, how to move from the concrete to the abstract and back, how to look at problems from a new direction - how to teach himself. Tomorrow's illiterate will not be the man who can't read; he will be the man who has not learned how to learn." ~Herbert Gerjuoy

Volume 1, Issue 8, November 2009

What’s News in the VPLRC?

• The Learning Resources Center Fall hours are:
  o Monday – Thursday 7:30-9:00
  o Friday 7:30-4:30
  o Saturday 8:00-2:00


• November is American Indian Heritage Month, Thanksgiving, and Peace River Center for Writers Celebrate Authors Week is Nov. 2-8, 2009. Visit your Learning Resources Center learn more about this themes.

Did You Know?
“Lifelong Learning Institute, located on the Charlotte Campus, began in 1996 as Learning in Retirement under the auspices of Jack Price, Executive Director of the Charlotte County Foundation, now known as the Charlotte Community Foundation. Some of the initial instructors included Vernon Peeples and Lindsay Williams. Their goal is to foster interest in continuing education among adults, to offer quality classes and programs in a campus atmosphere in the arts, humanities, natural sciences, personal finance and technology as well as providing a variety of educational opportunities outside the classroom , while cooperating with other organizations to support the mission of the program.”
Source: Edison State College – Lifelong Learning Institute, 2009

Focus On…
The website of the month is Freezeray, http://www.freezeray.com/index.html. This website is for the “scientist” in us all. The website offers visually stimulating and imaginative teaching aids that can be used on interactive whiteboards; tips, templates, and teaching guides. Resources are designed to be used as descriptive sources of visually stimulating material, making use of both animations and drag and drop interactivity. The website has valuable information relating to physics, chemistry, biology, investigations, scientific literacy, technology, and VnR Modeling.

VPLRC Quotable Quotes…
"Information doesn't want to be free. Information wants to be valuable." ~Larry Wall (Quoted by Tim O'Reilly in Nature.com article)

Volume 1, Issue 7, October 2009

What’s News in the VPLRC?

• The Learning Resources Center Fall hours are:
  o Monday – Thursday 7:30-9:00
  o Friday 7:30-4:30
  o Saturday 8:00-2:00


• October is National Diversity Awareness Month, National Arts & Humanities Month, and Banned Books Week ends on Oct. 3rd. Visit your Learning Resources Center learn more about this themes.

Did You Know?
“Edison State College librarians teach a one credit, online course called LIS 2004: Internet for College Research. The goal of this course -- offered every semester -- is to familiarize students with online information resources of value in college research. Internet-based class activities provide students with the research skills necessary to identify, use, and evaluate electronic information resources.”

Source: Edison State College Libraries, 2009

Focus On…
The website of the month is Web 2.0 Tools and Applications Index, http://www.go2web20.net/. This website allows Web 2.0 enthusiasts to stay in the loop of emerging tools and applications. Each day a new tool is created. And, go2web20 developed a directory to showcase new applications. With over 20 categories and even more tools, this website is a great resource for brainstorming ways to integrate technology into classroom and online instruction.

VPLRC Quotable Quotes…
"There's no such thing as knowledge management; there are only knowledgeable people. Information only becomes knowledge in the hands of someone who knows what to do with it." ~Peter Drucker (Quoted in Industry Week article, 24 January 2000)

Volume 1, Issue 6: September 2009

What’s News in the VPLRC?

• The Learning Resources Center Fall hours are:
  o Monday – Thursday 7:30-9:00
  o Friday 7:30-4:30
  o Saturday 8:00-2:00


• September is National Hispanic Heritage Month and U.S. Constitution Day on September 17th. Visit your Learning Resources Center learn more about this themes.

Did You Know?
Edison State College (ESC) Libraries Research Guides, http://researchguides.edison.edu/, provide useful resources for your research assignments created by ESC Librarians. Many of the guides are course-specific, degree-specific, and topic specific such as American History, Nursing, Elementary Education, Graphic Novels, and many more. It is a great place to start when you’re looking for reliable information to complete assignments. Visit the ESC Libraries to take advantage of this wonderful addition to our services.

Focus On…

The website of the month is Classroom 2.0, http://www.classroom20.com/. It isn’t a secret that our culture is information-driven. We are experiencing a social media revolution where we can access information 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and through many different technologies. Although these technologies are exciting, they can be overwhelming as well. And, there are many who wonder what the hype is all about and is there any educational value to these innovations. Classroom 2.0 is an excellent website that explores how to use Web 2.0 tools for education. Whether a beginner or an expert, an educator can share ideas, questions, and concerns about using collaborative technologies. One thing’s for sure, social media is here to stay and we can use this opportunity to reach and educate students in an interesting way.



VPLRC Quotable Quotes…
“To know where you can find anything, that in short is the largest part of learning.”~Anonymous

Volume 1, Issue 5, August 2009

What’s News in the VPLRC?

• The Learning Resources Center Summer hours are:
  o Monday – Thursday 7:30-9:00
  o Friday 8:30-4:30
  o Saturday 8:00-2:00


• The Learning Resources Center Fall hours are:
  o Monday – Thursday 7:30-9:00
  o Friday 7:30-5:30
  o Saturday 8:00-2:00


• August is Tobacco-Free Month. Edison State College – Charlotte Campus is the first college in the state of Florida to be a 100% Tobacco-Free Campus. Join in the activities celebrating this event around the campus.

Did You Know?
SafeAssign, a plagiarism prevention service, will be taking the place of Turnitin.com. SafeAssign is an added feature of CE6 Blackboard and is available to online and face-to-face instructors. In order for face-to-face instructors to benefit from this tool, they must contact their course scheduler and update their courses to “CE6 Enhanced.” With the rise of plagiarism, this tool is an excellent opportunity to educate students about plagiarism and how to properly give credit to original authors. The ESC Libraries are also valuable resources to teach about plagiarism and properly citing sources. To request an instruction session, visit ESC Libraries.

Focus On…
The website of the month is The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/index.php. This organization educates and provides resources for learning and understanding the 21st Century Skills. What are the 21st Century Skills? These skills focus on the core subjects (English, reading, or language arts; Foreign languages, Arts, Mathematics, Economics, Science, Geography, History, and Government and Civics) and applying them to real-world situations using interdisciplinary themes (Global Awareness; Financial, Economic, Business and Entrepreneurial Literacy; and Civic Literacy). With this information, The Partnership for 21st Century Skills developed what is called the 21st Century Skills necessary to be successful personally and professionally:

Learning and Innovation Skills
· Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
· Creativity and Innovation
· Communication and Collaboration

Information, Media and Technology Skills
· Information Literacy
· Media Literacy
· ICT Literacy (Information Communication and Technology literacy)

Life and Career Skills
· Flexibility and Adaptability
· Initiative and Self-Direction
· Social and Cross-Cultural Skills
· Productivity and Accountability
· Leadership and Responsibility

For more information, visit The Partnership for 21st Century Skills and travel Route 21 explore the P21 Framework.

VPLRC Quotable Quotes…
“Knowledge is free at the library. Just bring your own container.” ~Anonymous

Volume 1, Issue 4, July 2009

What’s News in the VPLRC?

• The Learning Resources Center summer hours are:
  o Monday – Thursday 7:30-9:00
  o Friday 8:30-4:30
  o Saturday 8:00-2:00
• July is Social Wellness Month and National Recreation & Parks Month. Visit your Learning Resources Center learn more about this themes.

Did You Know?

The Edison State College Teaching and Learning Center was created in 2006 to provide programs, services, and resources to fulltime and adjunct teaching faculty at Edison State College. Each campus has designated a physical space for the Teaching and Learning Center, where faculty can meet, share ideas, and consult Edison State College Library teaching and learning resources. However, the TLC is more than just a physical location: it is an intellectual space. The TLC is the sharing of ideas, methods, and content among Edison faculty through casual conversation, an organized discussion group, or a planned event. All faculty members are encouraged to continually improve teaching and learning at Edison State College by sharing their expertise and taking advantage of TLC resources, events, and services. On the Charlotte Campus, the TLC is located in Building FO117.

Source: Edison State College Teaching and Learning Center website

Focus On…

The video of the month was created by Guy Adam Ailion. He discusses what libraries might look like in the future with the surge of new information every day. Needless to say, we live in an information-driven society. To remain relevant, it is imperative that libraries of all kinds continue to stay on the cutting edge of not only information, but technology.

VPLRC Quotable Quotes…

“A library, to modify the famous metaphor of Socrates, should be the delivery room for the birth of ideas - a place where history comes to life.” ~Norman Cousins

Volume 1, Issue 3, June 2009

What’s News in the VPLRC?

• The Learning Resources Center has new summer hours:
  o Monday – Thursday 7:30-9:00
  o Friday 8:30-4:30
  o Saturday 8:00-2:00
  
• College Center for Library Automation (CCLA) has successfully upgraded our library management system to better serve our patrons.


• June is National Safety Month. Visit your Learning Resources Center learn more about this themes.

Did You Know?

One of the services that Edison State College Libraries offer is information literacy instruction. According to the Association of College and Research Libraries (2009), information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information." Additionally, it is equally important to communicate information effectively. These skills sets are also identified in the U.S. Department of Labor’s SCANS report that emphasized the need for educational institutions to teach these skills in order to prepare students to enter the workforce. There are numerous ways to approach research however the Big6 Research Model created by Mike Eisenberg and Robert Berkowitz has made the research process easy to understand and implement across all disciplines. There are six steps:

1. Task Definition
1.1 Define the information problem
1.2 Identify information needed (to solve the information problem)
~What is my current task?
~What are some topics or questions I need to answer?
~What information will I need?

2. Information Seeking Strategies
2.1 Determine all possible sources (brainstorm)
2.2 Select the best sources
~What are all the possible sources to check?
~What are the best sources of information for this task?

3. Location and Access
3.1 Locate sources (intellectually and physically)
3.2 Find information within sources
~Where can I find these sources?
~Where can I find the information in the source?

4. Use of Information
4.1 Engage (e.g., read, hear, view, touch)
4.2 Extract relevant information
~What information do I expect to find in this source?
~What information from the source is useful?

5. Synthesis
5.1 Organize from multiple sources
5.2 Present the information
~How will I organize my information?
~How should I present my information?

6. Evaluation
6.1 Judge the product (effectiveness)
6.2 Judge the process (efficiency)
~Did I do what was required?
~Did I complete each of the Big6 Stages efficiently?

Learning how to learn is an essential attribute to possess. For more information about research strategies, visit http://www.big6.com/ or request individual or group instruction at an Edison State College library near you.

Focus On…
The website of the month is the Florida Photographic Collection from the State Library and Archives of Florida. The Florida Photographic Collection is the most complete online portrait of Florida available--one that draws its strength from family pictures, the homes of Floridians, their work, and their pastimes. Florida Memory features over 158,000 digitized photographs from the State Library and Archives of Florida. These online photo exhibits introduce some of the themes and collections that make up the Florida Photographic Collection which includes Historic Hurricane Photos, selected images from 1896 through 2005.

VPLRC Quotable Quotes…

“To add a library to a house is to give that house a soul.” ~Cicero

Volume 1, Issue 2, May 2009

What’s News in the VPLRC?

• Thank you to all who participated in the National Library Week festivities and congratulations to the winners of our gift bag and $5.00 print card! Click on the link to enjoy photos taken at the Stress-Relieving @ the Party: http://s702.photobucket.com/albums/ww23/vplrc/?action=view&current=c087a7fc.pbw.
  
• Children’s Network of Southwest Florida’s Heart Gallery exhibit has been extended in VPLRC to May 23rd.
  
• May is Get Caught Reading Month; Florida Women’s Health Month; and Asian Pacific American Month. Visit your Learning Resources Center learn more about these themes.

Did You Know?

On April 23, 2009, The American Library of Congress and UNESCO launched the World Digital Library (WDL) to narrow the digital divide between countries. US Librarian of Congress, James H. Billington, established the basic idea to create an Internet-based, easily-accessible collection of the world's cultural riches that would tell the stories and highlight the achievements of all countries and cultures, thereby promoting cross-cultural awareness and understanding in 2005. The World Digital Library offers free of charge primary materials from other countries and cultures around the world. These materials are available in multilingual formats with the foremost objectives to:

• “Promote international and intercultural understanding;



• Expand the volume and variety of cultural content on the Internet;



• Provide resources for educators, scholars, and general audiences;
  


• Build capacity in partner institutions to narrow the digital divide within and between countries.” (WDL, 2009)

Focus On…

The website of the month is the WebTools4u2use, http://webtools4u2use.wikispaces.com/, created by Donna Baumbach, Professor of Education, University of Central Florida. “The purpose of this website is to provide a place for K-12 school library media specialists to learn a little more about web tools that can be used to improve and enhance school library media programs and services, to see examples of how they can be used, and to share success stories and creative ideas about how to use and integrate them. Hundreds of free and inexpensive web tools are available for school library media specialists to use that can make us more productive, valued, and, perhaps, more competitive.” But this website is not just for librarians, it’s for anyone who enjoys using Web 2.0 tools to enhance their social networking experience. It’s also a great educational tool to integrate into instruction.

VPLRC Quotable Quotes…

“Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it.” ~Samuel Johnson (English Author, 1709-1784)

Volume 1, Issue 1, April 2009

What’s News in the VPLRC?

• Check out the Charlotte Campus’ new library website at Vernon Peeples Learning Resources Center!


• VPLRC will be celebrating Library Appreciation Month and National Library Week (April 12 – 18, 2009). This year’s theme is “Worlds connect @ your library ...Come celebrate with us on Terrific Tuesdays, April 14th (11:00 AM - 1:00 PM), for great giveaways and to create your very own bookmark. Visit the library and complete the library trivia quiz for the grand prize drawing at the “Stress-Relieving @ the Library” party for the campus community on Thursday, April 16th, 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM.


• Children’s Network of Southwest Florida’s Heart Gallery exhibit will be in VPLRC from March 23rd to May 23rd.


• Cram Jam will be on Tuesday, April 21st. VPLRC will be open an extra hour to assist you, 7:30 AM - 10:00 PM.
• College Center for Library Automation (CCLA) has added four new databases: ArchiveGrid (OCLC), CAMIO (OCLC), OAIster via FirstSearch (OCLC), and Sources in U.S. History Online: Civil War (Gale). Click on the highlighted links for more information about these new additions.

Did You Know?

Edison State College Libraries offer invaluable tools to help with your information and researching needs. For assistance during after hours, Ask-A-Librarian is a perfect way to get your urgent questions answered. Ask a Librarian is a free online service that allows Floridians to chat live with a librarian for immediate assistance. A trained information professional can guide you to the answers you need in minutes rather than your wasting hours navigating hundreds of unhelpful and irrelevant web sites. More than 100 libraries statewide collaborate to provide this service to their patrons and the patrons of other participating libraries. Ask a Librarian is a joint project of the College Center for Library Automation and the Tampa Bay Library Consortium. Ask a Librarian is funded as part of the Florida Electronic Library by a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant.

Focus On…

The website of the month is the Florida Electronic Library. “The Florida Electronic Library is a gateway to select Internet resources that offers access to comprehensive, accurate, and reliable information. Available resources include electronic magazines, newspapers, almanacs, encyclopedias, and books, providing information on topics such as current events, education, business, technology, and health issues. The Florida Electronic Library offers information for all age groups, including homework help for students and resources for teachers. Electronic resources available through the Florida Electronic Library include:

• Florida on Florida, a comprehensive digital collection of Florida's history, culture, and environment made available from digital collections held by libraries, archives, museums, and historical societies throughout Florida.
• The Florida Memory Project which brings information from the State Library and Archives of Florida to homes and workplaces. This interactive Web site allows researchers, teachers, and students of all ages to access historically significant documents, photos, film clips, and audio clips any time, from any computer with Internet access, bringing Florida's rich history to life.
• FloridaCat, a comprehensive online catalog of all of Florida's library holdings.
• Florida's Ask a Librarian which provides live online reference assistance from Florida librarians.

These online databases and services are available free of charge to any Florida resident with a public library card, and can be accessed from any home, workplace, campus, or public library in Florida, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

VPLRC Quotable Quotes…
“What a school thinks about its library is a measure of what it thinks about education.” ~Harold Howe, former U.S. Commissioner of Education