Can you say "citation?"

APA, MLA, or University of Chicago, whatever style you need to use, they can all be a little tricky at times. There are guides to these styles though; click on the Citation and Bibliography Styles link on the library home page.

You'll see the main styles listed there, with links under each. There will be a link to "Diane Hacker's..." site under most of them; it's an excellent link to see examples, incuding of sample papers.

It still can be a little tricky though, and if you're not sure you're welcome to ask a librarian. Just remember, we sometimes are stumped ourselves, and in the end your professor, who is grading the paper, is the best person to say which way to go.

Only 3 weeks left in the semester!

Amazing how time flies isn't it? The fall semester ends in just 3 weeks! Many of you will probably have a LOT of work to do in that time. Keep in mind that the library is open very extensive hours, until 1:45am Sunday-Thursday for example. (See a full schedule of our hours.)

"Reference" help, a live librarian waiting to help you with your questions, is available in the library at the reference desk on the main floor; stop by or catch us as we walk about the floor.

You can also phone us at 395-2760, and IM us at drakeref.

Yes, the library will close at 4:45pm Wednesday for the holiday break. We will reopen Sunday the 26th at 12:30pm.

Remember, while the building may be closed, the catalog, article databases etc. will all still be available from our library web page.

Historical statistics

Statistics are often tricky to find, and historical statistics most of all. There is a wonderful resource in our print reference collection though you might want to keep in mind if looking for most any sort of historical statistics to do with the United States. That set is the Historical Statistics of the United States..., REF HA202 .H57 2006.

The set covers just about everything, population, economics etc. For example, did you know that per capita consumption of soda pop went from 24.3 gallons in 1970 to 51.2 in 1995? Must be all those big gulp cups at the convenience stores and fast food places!

Who is winning in the Middle East?

No, this hasn't become a political column! "Who is winning in the Middle East?" is actually the title of a speech given in 1956 by Mohammed Jamali, chair of the Iraqi delegation to the UN.

Where did I see this speech? It's in Vital Speeches of the Day, which is in Academic Search full text, 1934-date.

Encyclopedia of the Arctic

We just got a lovely new 3 volume set, the Encyclopedia of the Arctic. It has entries on everything from Auk to Glaciology to Old Itel'men Culture. This set would be helpful for many research needs, including anthropology, earth science, history and more!

It is in the reference collection on the main floor of the library, REF G606 .E49.

New PE article database - SportDiscus!

We now have SportDiscus for all you PE students and faculty out there. The official description: This database contains 169 full text journals with PDF coverage back as far as 1887 including 130 peer-reviewed publications. Bottom line? Don't leave your PE research without having a look at this new database!

On the library home page, www.brockport.edu/library, click on "Finding Articles," then click on "S" in the A-Z list. Or, click on Academic Search, then use the "Choose Databases" tab to add SportsDiscus to your search.

"Get Text??"

Ever wonder what that green and yellow button that says "Get Text" means? It's just a link - when you see it that means that the item isn't right there for you to print off. If you click on where it says "Get Text" then a window pops up that tells you how to find it, whether in another site, or that it's here in the library, or maybe ask us to get it from somewhere else for you thru "inter-library loan."