Brockport Diversity Conference!

The college is staging its 7th annual Diversity Conference this Thursday in the Seymour Union. Librarians Charlie Cowling and Lori Lampert will be presenting at 2pm in Seymour B-116 on the impressive array of information resources and library help available to diversity researchers of all levels.

"Library Catalog:" what is it for?

The "Library Catalog" link on our webpage takes you to (surprise!) our library catalog. The catalog is the site to answer questions like:

• Does the library have videos of counseling interviews?
• Does the library have the textbook we use in my class?
• The journal I need isn't online, is it in the library?

If you have questions about the catalog (the records can be a little confusing) feel free to ask us for help!

Undergrad Study

Was just at a fascinating presentation yesterday by some UofR librarians, who talked about the ethnographic study they had just concluded. Very intriguing and informative work, with much information that brought on many thought provoking moments.

For example, the map exercise, where they asked students to map their route about campus on a given day. One forgets how much back and forth there is for a student each day! And that realization helps one understand the student desire for both PCs and WiFi in the library, since much of the day they don't want to have to carry laptops around, since they are so on the go. But sometimes they do want to grab the laptop and head to the library to settle in for some work, and then they want WiFi.

There is a site with some information about the study, and they are actually coming out with a book on it in the next few months.

Valentine's Day & Gender...

Wednesday is Valentine's Day and so in addition to buying flowers, candy etc., one's thoughts turn to gender issues do they not?

But where to find information on gender issues? One excellent resource we have is GenderWatch, with its full text collection of "...unique and diverse publications that focus on how gender impacts a broad spectrum of subject areas. With its archival material, dating back to 1970 in some cases, GenderWatch is a repository of an important historical perspective on the evolution of the women's movement and the changes in gender roles. Publications include scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, regional publications, books, and NGO, government and special reports."

You can find GenderWatch on our Finding Articles page. Just click on "G" in the A-Z list!

Don't be shy about asking for help!

Don't waste too much time trying to figure library research questions out on your own, where such and such a journal is, why there aren't more books on a topic etc. Ask a librarian, it's one of the things they pay us for!

You can ask us in person at the reference desk on the main floor, to the right as you come in. Or, you can call us there at 395-2760, IM us at drakeref, and we also have an email, adrake@brockport.edu.

Plus, you can request a research consultation, where one of us looks at a form you submit online and gets back to you with suggestions on further places to get materials, perhaps meet with you in person, whatever is more convenient for you.