Tell Us What You Think of the Library!

We want to know what you think of the library. So stop by the library's home page, look for the icon that says "Take Our Survey", and tell us about your experiences with our collections, services, staff, and facilities! The survey is open to all students, faculty, and staff. Let us know how we're doing and how we can do better!

December Library Hours

Starting Monday, December 12 the library will be open:
8-4 Monday -Wednesday
Closed Thursday
8-2 Friday
Closed Sunday 12/12
Monday and Tuesday 8-4, then closed through the rest of December

Best Books of 2010

Amazon, the online books seller, lists the top 100 books for 2010 here

Search-Cube, a unique visual search engine

Search-Cube is a visual search engine that presents web search results in a unique, three-dimensional cube interface. It shows previews of up to ninety-six websites, videos and images

Research Guides

The Seminole State College Library has created Research Guides in many subject areas, designed to be used as a pathfinder for your papers, speeches, and projects. All of the resources are selected by librarians and are updated at the beginning of each term.


Each guide recommends print books, e-books, databases, journals, and websites that are credible and will be good choices for your research. You'll find them in the green "Research" column on the Library's homepage, or by using this link.


Let us know about other subjects that could use guides- we're always updating and adding new ones!

Bruce Lee display in Library

This month, in honor of what would have been his 70th birthday, the library is having a special display in honor of Bruce Lee. Known throughout the world for his influences in both cinema and martial arts, Lee became the first Asian-born star to break Hollywood barriers when he was chosen as the lead role in the film Enter the Dragon, released shortly after his untimely death at the age of 32. Lee would develop his own form of combat, Jeet Kune Do, prior to starting up his prolific career as a film career as an actor, director, and stunt coordinator. He has worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, from James Coburn and Steve McQueen to Dean Martin and Chuck Norris.

The Bruce Lee dedication display is located in the first floor of the library. Pamphlets at the display case include a recommending list of books that contain information relating to Lee as well as a list of recommended websites that pertain to Lee.

Visual Searching

If you've ever had a difficult time deciding which terms you want to use or how to narrow a topic in a database, then you might want to give visual searching a try. The EBSCO databases allow you to sort of "browse" the available articles, while still allowing you to limit the search to only full-text or scholarly articles. When you open the database, look for the option on the opening screen:



You'll still need to perform a search using keywords, but you will be presented with several options to help guide you to some of the better results of your search:


The visual search option can be a huge timesaver, and it might save you a big headache. Let us know what you think of it!

Today is Election Day!

Electronic Texts of H.P. Lovecraft

H. P. Lovecraft was an American poet and author of macabre short novels, who was virtually unknown most of his career. Lovecraft's posthumous fame, particularly in America and France, rests on his 'Cthulhu Mythos' stories, referring to a "race who, in practicing black magic, lost their foothold and were expelled, yet live on outside ever ready to take possession of this earth again."
 Although Lovecraft's readership was limited during his life, his reputation has grown over the decades, and he is now regarded as one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th century. According to  Joyce Carol Oates, Lovecraft — as with Edgar Allen Poe in the 19th century — has exerted "an incalculable influence on succeeding generations of writers of horror fiction". Stephen King called Lovecraft "the twentieth century's greatest practitioner of the classic horror tale"
What better time than the spooky month of October to celebrate this author.
The electronic edition of all  of H.P. Lovecraft's fiction is available here.

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How Well Do You Know Library Services? Did You Know That We Have:

• Over 110 research databases, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week?
• Access to materials from any other library, no matter its location (all you need to do is tell us what you need)
• Study rooms, wireless access, laptops and headphones to check out?
• Free movies? (but you have to watch them in the Library)
• Music CD's to check out?
• Professional librarians with Masters degrees that have over 100 years of total library experience?

So visit us often (and its okay to bring your favorite beverage or snack!)

Seminole State via Google Scholar

Did you know that you could locate resources available from the Seminole State Library's databases by searching in Google Scholar? Well, I won't blame you if you didn't- it only started a few days ago! This is how it works:

1. Create a Google Account (or just log in, if you already have one)
2. Go to Google Scholar
3. In the top right corner, you will then see an icon that resembles a gear, directly next to your Google ID. Click that link.
4. You may then choose the "Scholar Preferences" option from the menu.
5. Halfway down the screen, you'll find a section titled "Library Links". Type Seminole State College of Florida into the box and click the "Find Library" button. It will then offer you option to select the Seminole State College Library. Choose that box.
6. When you perform your search, if you find something available from the Seminole State Library, your search results will look like this:



If you click the Full Text via Seminole State link as highlighted above, you will be directed to our library's journal linker. This will locate the article in one of our databases.
On that screen, click the "Go" button and you will be prompted to log into the Seminole State databases using your Borrower ID and PIN number. Once you've logged in, it will open the article- pretty cool!

Ferguson's Career Guidance Center

Today I'm proud to report that the Seminole State Library (in conjunction with the Seminole State Career Development Center) has added Ferguson's Career Guidance Center to our 120+ other library databases!



Ferguson's provides users with job/industry profiles, job-hunting and workplace skills advice and tips, resume and cover letter guides, directories to 55,000 career and industry resources, links to schools specializing in different fields, and even a Career Interest Assessment to see occupations you might like to explore! This is truly one of the best career resources available- log in and check it out for yourself!

It's Anime and Manga time here at the library!

In the display cabinet on the second floor of the library you will a small collection of Anime and Manga as well as a little of the history about how each came to be. The magazines, books, and media items displayed here are a sampling of classic titles such as: Ranma 1/2 and Vampire Hunter D to some more recent titles such as Mars and Howl's Moving Castle. Anime and Manga come in a wide variety of styles and storylines as well as reaching a wide audience of people from children to adults.

Anime, *pronounced an-i-me (an-uh-mey), is a Japanese style of motion-picture animation, characterized by highly stylized, colorful art, futuristic settings, violence, and sexuality.

Manga, *pronunced (mahng-guh), is a Japanese graphic novel, typically intended for adults, characterized by highly stylized art.

Materials for display owned and donated by Val Gary, Library staff
*Definitions from http://dictionary.reference.com/
*images from Maki_Maki

Talking Databases

Do you prefer to listen to class lectures over reading notes or Powerpoint slides? Retain more information after hearing it rather than doing hands-on practice? Sounds like you might be an auditory learner- and some of our databases are here to help you out!

This is taken from a database named SIRS Researcher, a good place to start an argumentative paper. Clicking the "Audio MP3" link will give you an audio recording of the entire article you've found! It's still be a somewhat mechanical-sounding voice, but it's pretty neat.

Other databases that offer audio versions of articles include Opposing Viewpoints in Context, Omnifile Full Text (or any of the Wilson databases), GREENR, and many others. Just look for the icons!

Print multiple PowerPoint slides

A common question we get at the Information Desk is how to print a PowerPoint….but you hate the idea of printing all 25 slides? Print multiple slides per sheet! Save space in your notebook as well as the value on your print card.
Print Preview method:

Select PRINT PREVIEW under PRINT from the Microsoft button/file button at the top.

Under PAGE SETUP on the ribbon, choose a layout from the dropdown menu. This gives you a preview too, which can be helpful.

Choose PRINT.

Print dialog box method:

Click PRINT from the Microsoft/Rainbow button.

When the print dialog box appears, choose 6 slides per page (or whatever layout you need.)

Click OK.

NOTE: 3, 4 and 6 slides per page all print the same SIZE of slides.

Confused? Come in to the library. Library staff are happy to walk you through

Enhancements for EBSCOhost databases

EBSCOhost, the company that hosts the popular Academic Search Complete database now features a special PDF viewer designed to streamline the browsing of an entire issue, or all available volumes and issues from one screen. When you click on the "View PDF" link below an article you will now see several helpful features to enable you to navigate and manage the article in PDF format, including:

* Table of Contents column with instant access to citations with title, author and subject detail

* Hyperlinked access to full text issue contents, by article or chapter titles

* A convenient list of hyperlinked thumbnails to illustrations

* Expand/collapse arrow to control open PDF view

To view a short demonstration of this new feature, click here.

Make your web pages more readable with Readability

Webpages are often so filled with clutter like popups and flashing ads that they difficult to read. Here is  Readability, an add-on for Safari, Chrome and Firefox that will eliminate wepage clutter by removing the distractions.          .

Try Readability today at http://lab.arc90.com/experiments/readability


Readability - Installation Video for Firefox, Safari & Chrome from Arc90 on Vimeo.

Starting Point for Online Research

So you have found a few books on your topic but need many more sources. Ever wonder where to go next? Need scholarly information for your paper, that your professor will accept? Need more than just the Google and Wikipedia ?(we hope so!).

 EBSCOhost, under the Library's "Articles" link has a solution, Academic Search Premier (log on here with your passwords). ASP database offers a wide range of sources on an equally broad base of subjects, from accident analysis to zoology.

Simply try entering your topic into the search box or try some of the more advanced features. Some of the advanced searching features include "Subject Terms," "images,"  or limiting by publication date. If you need peer reviewed articles make sure to check off the "Scholarly (peer reviewed) Journal" selection under the search box. And if you need the article right away select the "Full Text" option. Don't be afraid to experiment and play with all the buttons.
Academic Search Premier is a great starting point for your research. If you have any questions stop by or call the Library  at 407-708-2305 for further information or help with your research.

We're Always Adding Databases!

In fact, we have several new databases for the Fall Term. Let me tell you a little about them!

Associates Program Source Plus: This database is focused on different programs found at the Associate's Degree level, featuring full-text journal articles and books in fields such as criminal justice, interior design, and health care.

ConsumerReports.org: This one is exactly what it looks like: a database that covers the current and archived issues of Consumer Reports. Some other databases have older issues available electronically, but this is the only one that contains the current year!

DemographicsNow: A database mostly covering demographics of different populations and other market research sources, this is a great place to look for social science and even business students!

Library, Information Science & Technology with Full Text: If for some reason you need to research libraries (perhaps for an education course), we now have this database in full-text rather than its previous abstract-only form.

MasterFILE Premier: This database is very general, covering many periodicals, reference books, primary sources, and even images, all in an easy-to-understand manner. It might be a good place to start some of your research.


Take a look and tell us what you think of these databases in the comments section! And please ask us any questions you might have.

How secure is your password?

Here is a site called "How Secure is My Password?"http://howsecureismypassword.net/ that tells you how long it would take a desktop PC to crack your current password. For instance my usual one which has a noun and numbers would take three days. Not bad but not good, considering the Top Secret Work that goes on behind the scenes of the Library (don't ask). Try it out and see how your password fares.

Library Research Guides

One of the great things about the digital age is that we have instant access to a huge range of information. But, one of the frustrating things about the digital age is that we have instant access to a huge range of information – how can you find what you really need when you get over a million hits on a Google or Yahoo search? Finding an authoritative source can be like finding a needle in a haystack – and there are so many haystacks!

This is why the library website has 20 Research Guides organized by subject to help with just this problem.  Simply follow the link for your subject, and you’ll find research guides with links to books, circulating materials, journals and newspapers, electronic resources, and juried websites. A juried website has been reviewed by professional librarians, and contents have been determined to meet all necessary quality standards.

Your Student ID is your Library Card

Your official Seminole State ID is also your library card. You will need it to check out materials and to copy or print materials from College-owned machines. You will also need to to make Bookstore purchases and to obtain a parking permit. At the Sanford and Altamonte campus the Student ID's are made in the Library. At Oviedo go to the Business Office and at Altamonte it is done at Student Services.

You need to bring a current class schedule (which can be printed out free in the library) and a government-issued photo ID, such as a drivers license.
Click here further information on card services.

Why use Journals?

The information found in journals is useful because it

•  reflects research, academic discourse and opinion
• may not be available in books or other publications

Scholarly research is generally published in journals first. This includes:

• medical discoveries
• technological and experimental breakthroughs
• case studies of groups or companies
• reports on current events

How else are they different from magazine articles?

• Author is usually an expert in the field / discipline
• Content has been critically evaluated by other experts
• Information sources used by the author are cited (in-text citations, works cited/references)

How do I find "scholarly or "Peer-reviewed" articles?

• Some of the library's research databases include scholarly material, such as JSTOR and PsychArticles. For these, the results will all be scholarly.
• Many of the other databases such as Academic Search Complete and OmniFile have an option to search only scholarly/peer-reviewed articles. Scan the databases' search or results page for this limit option.
• Click here to log on to the Library databases

Tag Galaxy

To use Tag Galaxy (really more like a solar system) just enter any word as a "tag" and generate your own Tag Galaxy .

Library Hours Over the Break

Just a quick reminder that the library hours will be changing beginning August 3rd. We will open Monday through Thursday, from 8:00am to 4:00pm. This will give you a chance to return any late books, use our computers, get your IDs made and/or activated, or check out some leisure reading. Regular hours will resume on Monday, August 23rd, when classes begin.

We will also be closed on all day on Thursday, August 12th for a library staff training day. We're getting ready for the Fall term too!

Hope to see you over the break!

Another New Database!

The library has another brand new database available to you now- the Encyclopedia of U.S. Political History!



This is an excellent electronic translation of the print version of the Encyclopedia. Brief articles (browseable by topic or era) comprise the majority of the content here, but you may also view a small library of images and overviews of political history from different eras. A neat feature is that users can save searches and add documents to a favorites folder within your account. Also of note is that several articles were authored by Seminole State Political Science instructor Michael Hoover!

You'll find it under the "Social Sciences" subject heading when you log in to the databases- give it a try. Even if you aren't taking a political science course, the information could apply to your history or sociology course.

All My Favorites

No need to keep hundreds of bookmarks of your favorite sites. AllMyFavs is a visual log directory that specializes in the top 10 favorites of each category, like Blogs, Business, Education, Entertainment, etc. It makes the internent an easier place to search.

I did some rough math and counted 80 links via the sites logos, with a weeks fav link for the last three years too.

Medical Help from Salem Health

Need real medical information for personal or academic use? Try Salem Health online.

The Salem Health has been described as an excellent “mix of accessibility and depth,” and is designed to be used for both student and general readers. Salem Health covers diseases, treatments, and anatomy, all in a straightforward style. Nursing students give Salem Health high praise for its excellent overviews of medical conditions and descriptions of the systems of the body.

To get there go to the Library home page under Find and click on Articles/Databases. Once you log in go to the Health and Medicine category.

New Databases Available!

We're happy to report that we've got 2 brand new databases available through our library's electronic resources as of this week.

First up is a database called GREENR. It provides "authoritative content on the development of emerging green technologies and discusses issues on the environment, sustainability and more". Contained within are journal, magazine, and newspaper articles, case studies, video clips, podcasts, and topic overviews exclusively pertaining to environmental issues. This is a great resource for science, sociology, construction, interior design, and even political science research. It will be found in the "Sciences" subject section when you log in, or you will find it in the G's alphabetically.

The other new database we have is called Powerspeak Languages, a language-learning resource designed to assist students in learning Spanish, English (here called Spanish ESL), German, Mandarin, and French. It uses a storybook-type approach, providing context to the words and phrases as you learn pronunciation and grammar. It will be found in the "Digital Content" subject section when you log in, or you will find it in the P's alphabetically. Oh and lastly, after you've logged in, you will again be asked to log in- you must create a simple account before starting a program, but all you need is an e-mail address.

Take a look and try them out now!

Summer reading

Looking for some summer reading? Don't forget that Seminole State College Library has has a wide variety of fun reading material for you. The library has the latest NY Times best sellers and popular authors like James Patterson, Nora Roberts and Dean Koontz, located on the first floor by the Internet Computers at the Sanford/Lake Mary campus, and on display at Oviedo and Altamonte campuses.We also have a large collection of leisure magazines like Oprah, GQ, Hola, People en Espanol, People Weekly, Jet, Reader's Digest, Sports Illustrated and Southern Living. These are located on the second floor at the SLM campus and on display at OVE and ALT campuses, with plenty of soft seating nearby to relax and read.

Research Help....from the Web!

If you're like most students, you probably spend a lot of your time researching on a computer. Luckily there are many free apps and tools to help manage your research, create citations, and find help- all by spending less than a minute downloading the tool! Here's some of my favorites:

*Zotero: Zotero is a Firefox extension that allows users to save data from a website (or library catalog), organize links and references into lists, and pull together a citation for the saved items.

*Notefish: Notefish can be used to compile and organize all of your Web research into one easy location for quick reference. Check this page out for an example.

*CiteULike: CiteULike lets researchers search citations and abstracts for over 4 million articles right from the Web. Each citation was submitted by fellow researchers who found the article helpful. You can then create lists of articles that you'd like to read and cross-reference them with the Seminole State Citation Linker or request an interlibrary loan copy.

*LINCC Catalog Search for Facebook: Here's a quick way to get some of your research done while you check your Facebook account! Just add the app to your page and you'll be able to search very similarly to the Seminole State library catalog, for books, e-books, and articles.


Do you know of any others? Please tell me and all your fellow researchers about them in the comments section! I'd love to hear what you're using.

Library in your Pocket

BooksinMyPhone is a way to read free books that are in in the public domain right on your phone. No need to get a Kindle or other e-book reader (although we will be having Kindles soon in the library).

Features of the BooksInMyPhone book reader program include:
•Adjustable font size settings - make the letters bigger or smaller according to your personal preference.
•Night-vision mode - makes it easy to read in a dark room.
•Chapter navigation navigate the book by chapter.
•Pause & Auto-resume function - automatically pauses and resumes to accommodate incoming calls.
•Auto-bookmark - you never have to remember where you're up to in the book.

You can read everything from Pulitzer Prize winners to classic science fiction. All the books are out of copyright in the U.S. and in most cases the UK, Canada and Australia.

Avoiding the Too-Narrow Topic

Picking the right topic is very difficult, especially when you are new to a subject area. Very often the issue that prompts a learner to talk to a librarian is the problem of the too-broad or too-narrow topic.

Having too broad a topic can be frustrating. You search and find way too many resources. But once you’ve found that out, you can quickly see what areas are well-covered in the literature, and focus in on a particular area.

Too narrow a topic can be much harder to deal with, especially if you’ve already committed yourself to the topic. If you think your topic is too narrow, here are some things you can do:

• Search comprehensively: make sure you’ve tried many alternative keywords and all of the relevant databases.
• Bibliography Mining and Cited Reference Searching. All scholarly works, whether in print or electronic form, will have bibliographic references (also known as a Works Cited or Reference List) that can help you expand your research by looking backwards in time. You can use the bibliography to find related articles that you wouldn’t discover otherwise, locate seminal works, theories or authors and trace an idea to its source. These along with Interlibrary Loan – can help you flesh out your list of resources across time.
• Ask a Librarian for help with any of the above!

Best of all is to get in the habit of searching a bit before committing yourself. Five minutes of searching in the library databases can help you identify good topics from impossible ones.

Stay Current on the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

In the past few weeks, students have been looking for information on the oil spill occurring in the Gulf of Mexico. Since it is such a new, current topic, obviously there are limited sources available. These websites (and databases) may point you in the right direction if you're looking to research the issue or just want to stay on top of it:

*Deepwater Horizon Unified Command:
http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/site/2931/
*U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services Response:
http://www.fws.gov/home/dhoilspill/
*United States Environmental Protection Agency:
http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/
*BP Response:
http://www.bp.com/bodycopyarticle.do?categoryId=1&contentId=7052055
*U.S. Geological Survey:
http://www.usgs.gov/deepwater_horizon/

Since books and journal articles take time to be written and published, newspapers and other news magazines are the largest sources of information at this time. You may also want to search in the following databases from the Seminole State library:

*Americas Newspapers (NewsBank)
*Academic Search Complete (EBSCO)
*Access World News (NewsBank)
*New York Times (NewsBank)
*Newspapers Direct (Proquest)
*SIRS Researcher (SIRS)
*Omnifile Full Text (Wilson)

College Students Prefer Print Over Digital textbooks

According to a study done by OnCampus Research, 74% of college students still prefer to use a printed textbook when taking a class. From the press release , “even with new digital handheld gadgets, smart phones, pads, and laptops glued to every college students hand, 74% still prefer to use a printed textbook when taking a class, according to the findings of a new Student Watch study conducted by OnCampus Research, a division of the National Association of College Stores (NACS) that helps companies better understand the college market.” The survey also found that 53% of students were unsure about purchasing digital textbooks or would not consider buying them even if they were available. Despite the findings, some anticipate digital textbook market share to rise to 18% by 2014.

Thanks to No Shelf Required

Spanish Language Databases

If you've ever wanted a way to do your research using Spanish language resources, then you may want to check out a few of the databases we have here at Seminole State that collect newspaper, magazine, and journal articles from a variety of Spanish language resources. Start by clicking this link and enter your Borrower ID and PIN numbers. Your Borrower ID is the number beneath the barcode on your Seminole State student ID, and the PIN will be the last digits of your Social Security Number.

You should see a list of subject headings...the very last one being titled "Spanish Language". These are the 3 databases:

*Acceda Noticias - Contains over 60 Spanish language newspapers, all available in full-text

*Clase and Periodica - These are actually two different indexes, collecting article citations dating back to the 1970s. Clase indexes articles published in Latin American and Caribbean journals, particularly concerning social sciences and humanities. Periodica indexes scientific and technological journals published in Latin American and the Caribbean.

*Informe! Revistas en Espanol - Lists citations and summaries of most articles, but includes the full-text of over 50 of the most popular Spanish language magazines and newspapers.

Maybe you'll find a new way to put together your research papers!