Fall 2008 Faculty Newsletter

Welcome back! I hope that everyone had an enjoyable summer.

On a Personal Note…

· My name has changed. Please update your assignment sheets and Library contact information. I moved my maiden name into my middle name. My last name is Smith when searching the campus directories. My email address has also changed. Here’s my new contact information:

Debra J. Kakuk Smith
Associate Professor, Health Sciences Librarian
SRC 3049
(630) 942-4305
smithkak@cod.edu

· This summer, the Library reorganized its divisional responsibilities and I have been assigned to support the Health Sciences 100% instead of dividing my liaison time between the HS and ESL/ABE/GED divisions. I look forward to giving you my undivided attention!

Fall Reminders

· Library instruction sessions....have you scheduled yours yet? Please contact me ASAP if you'd like me to come and give a presentation in your classrooms/labs or if you'd like to have a session held in one of our Library classrooms. As always, time and space is at a premium so contact me early!

· Please check your course reserves via the Library catalog and notify circulation services if you need to add/withdraw/update current reserve materials or create a new course reserve. If new editions are needed, drop me an email. That goes for regular collection items as well. Your input in keeping our collection current is always appreciated!

· Do you have an accreditation visit coming up? If so, contact me so that I can assist you in the process and ensure that our Library resources are up-to-date.

· Research guides—works in progress, look for new information/resources and, as always, I appreciate your suggestions for additions/deletions on current guides or ideas for new guides! http://www.cod.edu/library/research/


Going Green (Electronic Handouts and Online Newsletter)

· Coordinators and FT faculty, I encourage (beg, plead) you to share attachments and this newsletter with your PT colleagues (as I do not have a means to “push” this information to all of them electronically at this time).

· Instead of killing scores of trees, I’m sending you my Fall newsletter via email and posting it online for future reference. You can either archive electronically, print or bookmark the online version for your reference.

· I’ve created an online version of this newsletter for referral that is linked from my personal Library page: http://www.cod.edu/library/libweb/Kakuk/Kakuk.htm (Librarian pages are located under the “about us” link of the Library Home page)

· You’ll find the link to the online newsletter under the faculty heading of my main page. I plan on using this newsletter/blog to post new resource updates and information for you during the coming year. Check it out!

· An email attachment of the 2007-2008 models list will be provided to full-time faculty. These lists will be updated mid-Fall as the Library is in the process of receiving and cataloging a significant amount of new models. We've got so many new ones that the list will have to be expanded to TWO printed pages! Look for the update online and in print later this school year. http://www.cod.edu/library/libweb/Kakuk/science/MODELS.HTM

· The "super secret" Usernames and passwords for Micromedex/CareNotes and ADAM interactive physiology are being provided to Full Time faculty via email attachment. If you need another WORD document version of the handout, contact me or contact the main Library reference desk (630) 942-3364 for the login and passwords during open hours of operation. If you can't reach me, the reference desk is the best place to get immediate assistance!

Database Changes/Upgrades/Additions

· Expanded Academic Index has been upgraded to Academic OneSearch (please update your assignments accordingly). Academic OneSearch includes Web of Science (providing metadata and cited references), 10,000 peer reviewed journals, podcasts, and MORE. For a summary of changes, go to: http://www.gale.cengage.com/AcademicOneFile/explore_content.htm

· Learning Express Library keeps getting better and better. It now offers expanded exam review and resources for middle, high school, college entrance exams and now *drum roll please* GRE, GMAT, MCAT and LSAT! Woohoo! The exam preps for licensure are also available for certain professions. Please check out this resource and encourage your students to do the same! Create a free account for yourself or just look around by logging in as a guest (use guest as username and password). It's worth the time!

· We’ve added JSTOR--an archive of digitized journal articles ranging in date from the 1700's to the early 2000's. These collections span a variety of subjects in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Physical Sciences.

· The search interface for our EBSCO databases (Academic Search Premiere, CINAHL, etc) has been upgraded to EbscoHost 2.0. The good news is that there are a lot of cool features available and the company based all changes off of usability studies from students/users. The bad news is that the interface has more than its fair share of "bugs." More good news, an upgrade is scheduled in the Fall that will address many of the "known bugs." More good news--I'm monitoring listservs, testing the interface myself and working hard to provide the assistance that you and your students need. You'll be seeing the new features and necessary "work arounds" for bugs demonstrated in my instruction sessions this fall. For an overview of EBSCOhost 2.0 in a Flash demonstration go to www.ebscohost.com/2.0_flash

APA Update

· In 2007 the American Psychological Association (APA) published an electronic-only update to the 5th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association entitled APA Style Guide to Electronic Resources. The 5th edition is still the required text for the APA style for most C.O.D. courses. The C.O.D. Library will provide assistance for the 5th edition until further notice. Please ask your instructor if you should follow the new rules for citing electronic resources. The Northern Michigan University Library provides a good explanation of the new changes. Please make clear to your students in your syllabi whether or not you will be requiring the “standard” 5th edition citation rules for electronic resources or the NEW guidelines. Currently, the COD citing sources pages and many of the standard reference Web sites (OWL for example) have NOT yet transitioned to the new format. Our Citing Sources page does contain a link to the NMU example page of the new style. Take a look at these pages to familiarize yourself with the new information and don’t hesitate to contact me for further discussion.

Upcoming Educational Opportunities for Students and Faculty

· The Library has expanded the number and type of FREE skill enhancement classes for students and the community—look for the SOS (smart online searcher) schedule on our homepage located under the workshops link. we’re offering NoodleBib and citation workshops as well as NEW classes on Google Tools, social software, and Google for Academic Research—be sure encourage your students to attend! (extra credit options available, students need to sign up early as the classes fill up quite quickly)

· We’re committed to helping faculty keep up with the latest information changes too! I encourage you to sign up for our TLC courses this semester including a new 3 credit wellness workshop series that I’m cosponsoring with Magy Rehayem entitled Making Wise Choices For a Healthy Life II. Remember that it counts as a wellness incentive!

· In the Spring, consider enrolling in my HS1820 special topics course entitled Medical Reference and Research for Consumers and Health Professionals (3 semester credits, Wed. evenings 6-9pm) designed for consumers, library information professionals and health professionals. Emphasis is on quality print and electronic resources as well as the roles and responsibilities of patients, library information professionals and health care professionals in the information seeking process. This class can fulfill your contractual education obligation and I’m also exploring getting it approved as a wellness incentive. Some of you can use it for CE credits as well.

~Debra