National Archives on YouTube

The National Archives of the United States has made available nearly 300 videos on YouTube.   Their YouTube channel can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/usnationalarchives.  David S. Ferriero, the Archivist of the United States, has chosen his favorites: http://blogs.archives.gov/aotus/?p=1264. 

In addition, the National Archives and Records Administration website can be found at http://www.archives.gov.  You can also explore their fascinating Flickr pages at http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/ and their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/usnationalarchives.

Health library calculator and Marygrove literary map

• The National Network of Libraries of Medicine has created a calculator (found here: http://nnlm.gov/mcr/evaluation/calculator.html) to measure how much your library is worth to your institution.  From the website: “How much would it cost to replace your library services on the retail market? Calculate what it would cost to buy library services – at a book store, through pay per view for articles, from an information broker – if you and your library weren’t there.”
• Marygrove College – Follow this link (http://www.marygrove.edu/ids/detroit_literary_map.asp) to a literary map which shows locations with literary significance around Detroit. You can click on a number on the map or a hyperlink in the list below to read more about that location.  Also on the page are links to bibiliographies of books about or that take place in Detroit and its surroundings.

Digitized Medical Books from UVA

The Claude Moore Health Sciences Library at the University of Virginia has digitized many medical works from their collection dating from the 5th century BCE through the 19th century.  Only a few pages from each book are available online, however.   Among over 40 authors whose works are included are Hippocrates, Albertus Magnus, Rene Descartes and Benjamin Rush.

See the online exhibition:  Vaulted Treasures

Read more at this blog:  American Historical Association

Cataloging Audiovisuals

This site from OLAC (Online Audiovisual Catalogers) has many useful guides to cataloging materials such as streaming media, internet, DVDs and Blu-rays, and the newest guide for playaways: “Guide to Cataloging Playaway Devices Based on AACR2 Chapters 6 and 9.” The guides are available in PDF, HTML/Web, or MS Word formats.  There is also a page of useful websites for catalogers available here.

“Presidential Elections: In History & Today” FREE til Nov. 4

“Presidential Elections: In History & Today” is a collection of history reference materials from ABC-CLIO which will help explore the history of election campaigns.  Also included in the collection are biographies of the current candidates.  It is a free site with project ideas, related references, and primary sources.*

“Presidential Elections: In History & Today” will be available free at www.abc-clio.com/ElectionReference through Election Day on Nov. 4.

Click here for the press release from ABC-CLIO.

 

*WARNING: Many topics are accessible only after you sign up for a ”free 60-day school-wide preview of ABC-CLIO’s Online History Databases.”  To register, click here: FREE Preview.

Ten Best Government Web Sites

View this article from GCN (Government Computer News) to read more about each web site.

1. Medline Plus
2. Centers for Disease Control
3. Washington’s CapStat
4. SSA’s ‘Help With Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs’
5. USA.gov
6. Massachusetts portal page
7. Merit Systems Protection Board’s E-Appeal site
8. Business.gov
9. United States Geological Survey’s Water Science for Schools
10.  Cancer.gov

Web Tips

The College @ Home blog has some good web tips and tricks this month, including:

1. 100 Useful Niche Search Engines You’ve Never Heard Of 

2. 57 Useful Google Tools You’ve Never Heard Of

3. 100 Places to Find Free Webinars and Tutorials

4. Twitter for Librarians: the Ultimate Guide

DALNET Cataloging Listserv

Don’t forget…

The DALNET office has established a listserv that DALNET libraries whose records have been loaded into the Single Database can use to query the office or each other about cataloging in the Single Database or other discussion. 

Please contact Cathy Wolford with any questions or about how to post to the listserv.

XOR Boolean Operator in HIP

In the advanced or power search option of their HIP (Horizon Information Portal), many DALNET libraries have the ability to choose the Boolean operators AND, OR, NOT, or XOR.  Though it is not a popular option, many people have wondered what the XOR means or how it can be used. 

XOR stands for ‘Exclusive OR Operator.’  XOR specifies that either word, but not both can appear in the record.  As an example, executing a title keyword search of “apple” and a title keyword search of “orange” with the XOR option chosen will result in items with the words apple OR orange in the title of the record, but not both.

WorldCat.org Citations Tool

View the YouTube video about how to use this tool:

Tips from the video:

• Sign in to WorldCat.org, find your items and save them to a list.
• Select the ‘Citation View’ tab to convert your list. There you can select the style you need (APA, Chicago, Harvard, MLA or Turabian), change the order of your list, and/or export your list.
• For a single citation, click the ‘Cite this Item’ link from the item details. Cut and paste the citation you need into your document.