The period comes before the parentheses...or after...whatever!

The holiday break is almost over and the start of research paper season begins. Whether they are elementary or college students, many teachers are requiring their students to cite their sources to prevent plagiarism. With the growth of the amount of information available on the internet, plagiarism is on the rise. We as library professionals see it everyday when kids (young and old) do reports, find a website, copy and paste, print, and say “Done!”

As a result of this rule, much needed in my opinion, customers are asking “How do I cite this?” They expect us to know all the rules or every citation style. Well, most times when you ask which style they are using (MLA, APA, or Chicago) you get a blank stare. Soooo, what to do?

We have books on each of these styles at the following call numbers in reference and nonfiction:

MLA handbook for writers of research papers
808 GIB – available in reference
Available at Central, STC, BVL, PC, WO

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
808.06 PUB – available in reference
Available at Central, STC, BVL, PC

A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, theses and dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers
808.02 TUR – available in reference

We also have websites that help:

APA Formatting and Style Guide
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Chicago Style Quick Guide
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html

MLA Format
http://www.calstatela.edu/library/guides/3mla.pdf

Citation Style for Research Papers - has MLA, APA, Chicago
http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citation.htm

Lists a number of writing styles (Yes, there are more!)
http://www.calstatela.edu/library/styleman.htm

Hope this will help you with all those writing style questions. :-) Also a quick tip. Many of our databases from Thomson Gale (ex. Opposing Viewpoints and Junior Reference Collection) have a research guides. Simply click on a link called “Toolbox” and it will take the customer through the steps of writing a research paper, including citing sources.

Explore the Florida Electronic Library!

There is a splendid online resource called the Florida Electronic Library. It includes access to electronic magazines, newspapers, almanacs, encyclopedias, and books, providing information on topics such as current events, education, business, technology, and health issues for all age groups.

FLE is IP mapped, which means if you are in a Florida library using their wireless services or computers you will be able to log in the databases without entering your library card. If you’re exploring from home, work, or another state just have your library card handy (any Florida library card!) and you can log in 24 hours a day.

Where do I find it? Here: http://flelibrary.org/

The portal to the databases is a little unfriendly, and the search engine is not much better. What I recommend is browsing the collection and choosing a database to search and explore.

Once on the main page, click on the “Available Resources” under the search box in the middle of the page. You should then see a list of resources with explanations. Choose one and explore. NOTE: Be sure to click “Visit Resource's Homepage” at the end of the databases entry instead of the link connected to the name of the database. This way you’ll be using the databases search engine and not the Florida Electronic Library’s, which will be easier for you.

Some cool ones to start with:
SCIRUS
Project Muse
Beacham's Guide to the Endangered Species of North America

For those times when Library staff can equal Tech support

Sometimes as library employees we are forced to put on a techie hats because to the customers we seem to know everything about anything. Often we have to troubleshoot our own equipment as well when a customer is standing right by your side, panicking because their very important letter/resume/bank statement/myspace update was in progress when such and such happened.

Let’s pause and pat ourselves on the back for a job well down, because I know most of you are awesome in this type of situation. :-)

Now, that being said, I came across an interesting situation a couple weeks ago. We all know the monitors for the public computers are sometimes possessed by the library ghost. ;-) Usually the cords come undone and all you need to do is plug in the monitor. Or sometimes they simply die and need to be replaced.

The fiendish monitor in question was getting plenty of power (the monitor light was green), but the screen was black. The monitor connector cable was in place in the monitor and PC tower. What could be the trouble? On a hunch, I clicked on the monitor’s “Menu” button. It is the second to last button from the end, or three buttons away from the power button. When you press the button, the menu screen should pop up. I used the plus (+) and minus (-) buttons to scroll to “factory reset.” I then hit the menu button again and the monitor reset. And the screen came alive again!

This seemed to work for me this time, which doesn’t mean it can work for every problem. But if you’re in a similar situation you know to try this.

Please feel free to share similar situations in the comment of this post or with other coworkers. Every little bit of shared information helps.

Book a Librarian

The Reference Department has implemented a new service called Book a Librarian. Please tell your customers about this fantastic opportunity for dedicated attention by the Reference Librarians at the Central Library. This information should be posted to the web site soon.

Need help with a research project? Don’t know how to find the latest information? Are computers and the Internet a mystery? Let us help.

The Book a Librarian service allows Osceola Library customers to reserve up to 30 minutes with a professional Librarian who will help sort through their information or computer needs.

Here’s what you need to know:

> Hours of availability are Monday to Thursday 10 a.m.- 8 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m.-12 p.m. at the Hart Memorial Central Library only.

> Call 407.742.8888 or email thelibrary@osceola.org and request to Book a Librarian. Three days advanced notice preferred in consideration of scheduling. Customers will be contacted to set a date and time, and to gather any additional information needed.

> Topics suitable for Book a Librarian include:

• Limited Computer and Internet instruction
• Business and statistical data
• Homework and research assistance
• Guidance for report and term paper preparation
• Limited legal research
• Health and wellness information
• Community resources

> Priority will be given to Osceola Library System card holders.

Can you help me find this book?

This is probably the question library staff gets the most from customers. It sounds simple enough, right? Wrong. There are always those customers that don’t know the author or title of the book. All they know is “there were these witches, but they weren’t called witches. They were called The Blood or something and jewels were their source of power.” Or how about, “I’m looking for this book where the dog was the narrator.”

Ye-ah…those aren’t hard at all to find. No, really! Sarcasm aside, there are tools that you can use to help these poor amnesiac customers. One is the database Novelist!

Novelist is located on the database page. Go to http://www.osceolalibrary.org/ >> Mouse over the navigation until you find the “Research” section >> Click on the “Databases” link >> Scroll down to the “Books & Literature” section >> Click on “Novelist” >> If you’re using the databases from home you’ll have to put in your 13 digit library card number.

Once in Novelist, go to the “Search our Database” tab. Click the “Describe a plot” link.

Question 1: “There were these witches, but they weren’t called witches. They were called The Blood or something and jewels were their source of power.”

1. In the “describe a plot” section, I typed the keywords “blood witch jewel” (without the quotation marks).
2. I check marked “adult”
3. The results list gave back three results. One was Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop, which the customer recognized.

Question 2: “I’m looking for this book where the dog was the narrator.”

1. For this question, I need to know the terminology the database uses dog narrators. Sometime what search terms we think to use is not what the database categorizes the books under. I decided to use a book with an animal narrator to which I new the author and title.
2. On the main page, in the quick search box I typed “Black Beauty.” This book by Anna Sewell has the horse as the narrator.
3. I found my title and clicked on it. Under the subject headings I spotted “Stories told by animals” as a subject.
4. I went pack to the “describe a plot search” and typed it in and checked “adult” and “young adult” because the customer wasn’t sure which it was.
5. The results list got 189 hits. The customer and I scrolled through the listing and she found her book, Far from Burden Dell by Christopher Coppel, by reading the review in the record.

So you see? Those hard book questions can be answered! Or…you know…you can simply pass it on to the librarians. :-) Whatever floats your boat!

Bridget Jones's Diary…the electronic version

You’ve been reading the Roving Reference blog and savoring the awesomeness. You think to yourself, “This blogging thing is cool! I want to blog, too. Or have a blog…or blog about stuff. Oh whatever!”

The desire is there the knowledge is…not. What to do? First, research! Check out library resources on blogging. To search our catalog for print sources, you have to use the subject term “weblogs.”

Blogging for dummies
006.7 HIL
~ This is the latest book on blogging available. The dummies books are excellent at breaking down a subject to the basics and teaching it step by step.

Or for the online quick version go here, which gives you information on the history of blogs and their effect on the world and internet. For more practical information (like “How the heckleberry do I create one?”), you simply pick a blogging service and follow their steps on how to publish your amazing thoughts on the interwebs.

Here are some services:
https://www.blogger.com/
http://www.livejournal.com/
http://blog.com/
http://wordpress.com/
http://www.myspace.com/

This list is by no means comprehensive. There are many more blogs out there. You can search and find the one that’s right for you. Many blogs are more than just journals of your life. Some, such as LiveJournal, give you the ability to “friend” or watch other journals and post about their entries on their journal, and vice versus. You can create a whole network of friends online totally unrelated to your real life.

IM a Librarian

The Library now offers Reference assistance via IM chat. The service is initially available Monday through Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m., but hours will expand in line with demand for the service.

Direct customers to the Ask a Librarian page where you will see a window under the words "IM Us." If the Librarians are available for IM Chat, the statement "The Osceola Library is online" will appear next to a green talk bubble. Customers enter their questions and receive their answers in the small boxes. If the Librarians are not online, customers may leave a question with an email address and they will receive a response via email when the Librarians sign on.

Go ahead and ask us a question if you want to test it out. It's totally anonymous and a lot of fun. We'll never know you're staff, unless you tell us! :)

Looking for Public Records?

Where can I get my birth certificate? Where can I find this person’s criminal record? How do I know my new neighbor is not a sexual offender?

These questions sound familiar? Or perhaps these are some questions you’ve been asking yourself. The Osceola library System offers access to many different types of public records, the trick is finding them…and in a timely manner at that!

The easiest way I find the answers to the above questions are:

Sourcebook to Public Record Information
REF 352.387 SOU – in the workroom and reference shelves
~ Contains information on where to find certain public records. Organized by state, and contains the address, website address, and phone numbers to state agencies, with explanations on what you can find.

Public Records Online
REF 025.06 PUB – Located in the law library
~ Contains a primer written in plain English on how to find different public records. Organized by state, it’s similar to the book above, but not as comprehensive.

Some of the information can be found on our Internet Links page

Happy hunting!

Back to School With You!

Yes, it's that special time of year again when children of all ages must be forced, bribed and/or coerced to return to school and continue their education. Since we often get questions relating to back to school info, here is the link to the Osceola County School District 2007-2008 School Calendar and Parents Guide. This should answer many of our customers' questions, such as "when does school start?" or "what number should I call to arrange for bus transportation for my child?"

In addition, the Osceola County School District will have a special back-to-school hotline available from 5pm - 9pm on the following dates to answer parents' specific questions:

Wednesday - August 15th
Thursday - August 16th
Friday - August 17th

The number for parents to call is 407-518-8159.

Federal School Code List now online only

Remember when students filing out student loan (FAFSA) forms would ask for the code for the schools they were applying to? Then you'd look up the code in a little paper booklet that the government sent to the Library? That paper booklet will cease to be with the 2008/2009 school year.

The Department of Education is making the Federal School Code List available online in PDF format. The list may be searched, printed or just viewed. The list's web site is:
ifap.ed.gov

Students can also use the Federal School Code search feature on the FAFSA web site (www.fafsa.ed.gov/).

New database -- Oxford Reference Online

The Library has added another quality database to its roster of online research tools. Oxford Reference Online is an excellent database to turn to for quick reference requests, such as word definitions, maps, quotations or short bios of famous people.
Customers can get to it from home with their library card numbers or in the library at any computer with Internet access.

You can find Oxford Reference Online under the Encyclopedias, Reference Resources & Law category on the databases page. Give it a test drive when you can ... here are some questions you can try:

What was the Boxer Rebellion?

Who said "To err is human; to forgive, divine"?

When was the national flag of Australia adopted?

Where have all the numbers gone?

I don’t know about ya’ll, but when I’m on the phone I get asked for phone numbers for different Osceola county buildings, Human Resources is one of the top. You think by now I’d have memorized these numbers, but I haven’t. I’m also a person that forgets where we keep the listing of important numbers, especially with all the moving around we’ve done lately. There are 3 easy ways to get this information:

For easy access there is a link on this blog in the links section.

Or you can:

1. Go to www.osceola.org
2. Click on the “Visitors” link on the left-hand side of the page
3. Click on the “Contact Info” link in the “About Osceola County “ section
4. On this page there is a link to the Osceola County Agency Phone Listing.

Also, there is a number you can call to ask who to speak with: 407-343-2ASK

Hope this makes your day and phone time a little easier. ;-)

Welcome!

Welcome to the new blog for the Osceola Library System's Reference Department. Check back often ~ the Librarians will be providing lots of helpful information and instruction.

Look here for great web sites, tips for answering tough Reference questions, new services and resources, community information and more!