Something's Bugging Us ! !

... and we just haven't been able to put our finger on it. Especially, since it's on top of the Axe Library. It's KOAM-TV's latest addition to their local WeatherNet system of web cams, and part of the InstaCam weather system by WeatherBug.

Now you can get a look around and see an almost up to the minute view (there is about a 30 minute delay) of the campus weather conditions.

For a quick peek, go to the full chrome version, or try just the webcam image itself.

Google experiments with "searchmash"

For some time now, Google has been trying out their latest version of a new search interface called "searchmash". They are not branding it yet (nor adding Gooooooooogle adds [yet] ), but you can find them on the "Terms of Service" page if you look really hard.

You may still use the same search methods; plus signs, quotes, parentheses, tildes, etc. to pinpoint your search. It's all in the results, though. You may show or hide the descriptions, if you have a general idea of the URI you are looking for. The right hand side bar contains drop down results under the categories of "images", "Blogs", "Video", and (is there another takeover in the works?) "Wikipedia". Each category may be expanded to see six images or video thumbnails, or three selections from blogs and Wikipedia. At the bottom of each category is a link to see further results.

Your search hovers at the top of the screen as you scroll through the results. Another nice feature if you wish to edit your search. No more scrolling to the top or bottom of the page before refining your results.

At this point you are able to offer feedback, in the form of "this specific feature was helpful Y/N". Not a huge help, but perhaps in the future they will allow for written feedback, or at least some way to qualifying your impressions.

A text link to searchmash has temporarily been added to our "Search Engine Page", so give it a try!!

Opposing Viewpoints Available until Dec. 31st

Most of our students love the series Opposing Viewpoints. They are those conveniently sized, shiny books located mostly on reserve and occasionally in circulation which grab hold of immensely polarizing issues in the U.S. or abroad, such as Abortion, Domestic Violence, Education, Gangs, Juvenile Crime, the Patriot Act and many, many others and assemble several essays, pro and con, written by people, some very famous, some prominent in a relevant field, some with first hand knowledge of the issue, who would like to express an opinion on the topic. This resource enables the students to look at the many sides of an issue and formulate their own opinion.

Well, Thomson Gale, the publisher of this service, has decided to go online with its renowned service. And the online service not only has the famed Opposing Viewpoints series, but also the Current Controversies series, the At Issues series and the Contemporary Issues Companion Series. It also has articles from important reference works such as The Environmental Encyclopedia, Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations, Bioethics for Students, Current Issues: Macmillan Social Science Library and Special Interest Groups Profiles for Students, to name a very few. There are also primary sources, magazine, journal and newspaper articles, websites and photographs. But it’s only on a trial subscription. So, do us a favor, come and look it over and tell us your opinion. We would like to know what you think before we decide to subscribe. Thank you.

PsycARTICLES now available

Axe Library, continuing the expansion of its online collection, has added a new database. PsycARTICLES fills a gap in our journal collection for psychology, psychiatry and education, providing full text access to 58 journals published by the American Psychological Association, the APA Educational Publishing Foundation, the Canadian Psychological Association, and Hogrefe Publishing Group. The database includes all material from the print journals with the exception of ads and editorial board lists. There is a lag of about one month after an article appears on PsycARTICLES before it is posted full text. Almost all of the documents on PsycARTICLES are scholarly and peer reviewed.

PsycARTICLES is conveniently available through PsycINFO, there is a checkbox on the right hand side of the search screen.

If you need help with this database you can ask the librarians or the student computer consultants, use Silver Platter’s “help” or “database guide” features or just help yourself to one of the handouts we have made available to you in the racks next to the reference desk.

-JV