Holiday Books for Holiday Breaks

Posted on December 16, 2013 by CN

Did you happen to notice all the snow on the ground? Of course you did. We can no longer deny that it is winter. Our noses and toes may be frozen, and our socks may be soggy, but let’s take the freezing temperatures and huge white drifts as a cheerful sign that soon, the semester will be over, and the winter break will be upon us. Before you jet off to distant lands – or, if you’re staying in town for the break, before you get too cozy on your couch – why not pick up a little something from the library to help you pass the time?

If you’re looking for a holiday-themed read, the UGL’s Holiday Reads Pinterest board should be your first stop. You can find Christmas classics there, such as ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas; books about Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and other winter celebrations; and holiday-themed romance and mystery. If you find a book you like on one of our Pinterest boards, clicking on the pin should take you straight to the catalog where you can request it and check it out. Give it a shot!

Those on the hunt for a seasonally appropriate movie can also check out our holiday viewer’s advisory blog post from this time last year – it’s got a lot of snowy favorites for you to watch while you’re all snuggled up with your warm beverage of choice.

Those should give you plenty to work from, but just in case you need more, here are a few more winter break options for you to choose from.

The History of the Snowman: From the Ice Age to Flea Market by Bob Eckstein

The Twelve Clues of Christmas: a Royal Spyness Mystery by Rhys Bowen

A Gift From Tiffany’s by Melissa Hill

Spending the Holidays with People I Want to Punch in the Throat by Jen (of “People I Want to Punch in the Throat”)

When Elves Attack: a Joyous Christmas Greeting from the Criminal Nutbars of the Sunshine State by Tim Dorsey

The Book of (Holiday) Awesome by Neil Pasricha

These should get you started. You can find more in the library catalog by searching for whatever aspect of the holiday season is your favorite! For instance, try doing a subject search for “Christmas – Humor” if you want to have a Christmas-themed laugh.

We hope you have a great finals week and a great break – stay tuned for updates about library hours over the break, and stay warm!

Get Some Doggone Hugs!

Posted on December 9, 2013 by CN

The UGL has gone to the dogs – therapy dogs, that is. Two therapy dog events are scheduled in the library during finals week to help you de-stress and finish this semester strong. Read on to find out the details and to meet the hard-working pups who make it all happen!

Sam will accept your adoration.

Sam the Alaskan Malamute has been to events at the UIUC libraries before, but he keeps coming back to see all his favorite people, and to please his loyal fans. Sam is a master of chilling out and napping, and will be pleased to teach you his stress-free ways, which he has been working on quite diligently for all of his 8 years.

Raven thinks the UGL is delicious!

Raven the Standard Poodle is also a library event veteran. Though her schedule is very busy with catching Frisbees and chasing tennis balls, she’s always happy to make time and come to the libraries for some petting. She’s 7 and a half, and prefers the company of adults like herself, since they are the best at the aforementioned petting.

Black Labrador retriever with soulful eyes

Neo looks expectant because he hears you give belly rubs, which are his favorite.

Neo the Labrador Retriever is 7 years old, and he hasn’t been to the UIUC libraries before, but he spends a lot of time at Carle Hospital and helping children in schools through the R.E.A.D. program. He’s also been given the Helping Hand award by the Champaign Fire Department for his help with crisis response. We’re sure he’ll be a big hit with all our students as well.

You don’t need a telescope to see how cute Tycho is.

Tycho the Boxer is a 9-year-old lover of cat food and new friends. He spends his days encouraging violin students by singing along, and playing with two Cornish Rex cats (from whom he steals the cat food). He also accompanies the violin students to performances at nursing homes, other libraries, and fundraisers.

These wonderful canine companions will be available on the following days:

Thursday, December 12th, from 2-4 PM in Grainger Engineering Library (Raven, Sam, and Neo)
Monday, December 16th, from 2-4 PM in the Undergraduate Library (Raven, Sam, Neo, and Tycho)

While you wait for the big dog days to arrive, you can follow the UGL’s Therapy Dog Pinterest board to read up on therapy animals and how they help various people. The dogs (and the library!) look forward to seeing you there!

Know Your Tech: Camera Round-Up

Posted on December 5, 2013 by CN

Flip video cameras and Sony Bloggies – they’re the most popular cameras in the UGL’s loanable technology collection, so you’ve probably used them at least once. Our Lumix digital cameras also get a lot of love. If you’re really adventurous, or in need of slightly more profesh video work, you may have even checked out one of our camcorders. But have you truly, fully explored the UGL’s camera offerings? Here’s a roundup of our more specialized cameras that you may not be aware of.

The tiny webcam sees all.

Microsoft LifeCam Studio 1080p HD Webcam

Sure, a lot of laptops come with their own webcams these days. The UGL’s Chromebooks certainly do. They’re not always of the greatest quality, however. When you Skype with your family, do they complain that you look pixelated? Do they have trouble distinguishing your hair from your wall? This webcam might be able to fix that for you. It’s got high-quality video as well as high-fidelity sound, and adjusts for low light situations, such as your dorm room late at night. The fact that it’s not built into your computer means you have more flexibility in the way you use it – why not try these alternative webcam uses? You can keep an eye on your pets from wherever you are!

It wants to know if you’re going somewhere exciting!

GoPro Hero 3 Video Camera

Other cameras are fine for home or classroom use, but what if you’re an adventurer? What if you want to have a pet cam, but your pet likes to go rock climbing? The GoPro Hero is here for you. It’s very small – and therefore portable! – and comes with a rugged plastic case that will protect it from all the hard knocks of travel. It’s also waterproof, and has wind-cancelling filters on its audio, and you can attach it to stuff. Seriously, you can take it anywhere. Grab a GPS unit as well, go somewhere crazy, and record all of it.

Who’s the boss? This camera is the shiny, red boss.

Nikon D5200 Digital Camera (DSLR)

Here it is. The big one. The fanciest camera we have. A digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera gives you the convenience and in-camera editing capabilities of a digital camera, with all the manual control of focus, shutter speed, and other photography concerns that you’d get from a film camera. It does video as well! It’s also without a doubt the shiniest camera we have. If you’re just starting out on the DSLR path, the library has plenty of books to help you figure out fancy digital photography.

With all this wonderful equipment at your fingertips, what are YOU going to capture?

Fall Break Hours

Posted on November 21, 2013 by CN

At last! Fall break is nearly here. If you’re travelling over the holiday to see loved ones or just for vacation, we hope you have a safe and happy time of it. If you’re sticking around for all or most of the week, we hope you get as much working or relaxing done as you hope to. And you know…if you happen to need somewhere to hang out…the UGL will still be here. Here are our hours for fall break, in case you need or want to stop in.

Photo courtesy of Evan Traveler on Flickr

Friday, November 22nd: Close at 7 PM
Saturday, November 23rd: Closed
Sunday, November 24th: Closed
Monday, November 25th: Open 8:30 AM – 5 PM
Tuesday, November 26th: Open 8:30 AM – 5 PM
Wednesday, November 27th: Open 8:30 AM – 5 PM
Thursday, November 28th: Closed – Happy Thanksgiving!
Friday, November 29th: Closed
Saturday, November 30th: Closed
Sunday, December 1st: Open at 1 PM; resume regular semester hours

If you want to grab something to read, check out the UGL’s Pinterest boards for tons of reading recommendations. Remember that if your books or movies are due while you’re out of town for the holiday, you can renew them using your online account to avoid overdue notices! Have a great break, and we’ll be here for you when you come back refreshed and ready to finish your semester strong!

The Best of QB

Posted on November 18, 2013 by CN

You’ve all walked past the famous (and recently restyled) Question Board, affectionately known as QB, at some point. You may have marveled at QB’s magical powers of research and punnery. Now, as the leaves turn, the weather gets colder, and movie critic fingers tap out best-of lists, we’ve got a list of our own: the three best answers from Question Board, plus a surprise!

(Looking for the full text of these QB winners? Visit the QB archive!)

Let’s start with what QB is best known for. No, it’s not hilarious references. It’s using library resources! There are a few contenders for the best use of library resources, but last year, QB answered a question about the wide, weird world of jean shorts, and came out the other side with more knowledge than you can shake a sewing needle at. QB personally told the bloggers here at the UGL that this research is a particular point of pride for QB. Let’s take a look at the question, shall we?

Vintage photo of young women harvesting cabbage

These ladies are looking pretty suave in their jean shorts.

“Dear QB: Why do most women consider denim shorts (or ‘jorts’) on males to be unfashionable? Is this a psychological or neurological phenomenon? Also, are there any known health effects associated with wearing denim shorts?”

QB was able to answer this question with style galore, although without wearing a pair of jorts:

“Dear Fashion Forward:

QB was quite pleased to get your question. Not having legs, QB has never worn a pair of jorts, although QB suspects they may be quite comfortable. To start with, QB thought it might be wise to get some background information on denim in general…”

The fully-covered answer can be found here on the QB website. But QB isn’t just known for looking good while doing research; QB is also a pun machine. Let’s take a look at the answer to this burning question:

“Dear QB: There are so many squirrels on this campus – but where is all their poop?!”

QB’s answer began as such:

“Dear Scatman,
While squirrels may be ubiquitous on the UIUC campus, credible, scholarly information about their defecation habits is most definitely not. QB searched long and hard through the resources available in the University of Illinois library system and was unable to come up with even the faintest whiff of research on the subject…”

You can find the entire punfully entertaining answer revealed here. And if you’re looking for more squirrel info, QB has sent this squirrel to the reference librarians pretty often, and seems to find it funny.

In the land of the library there live many very proud nerds of all kinds. We here at the blog would like to give QB a shout-out for musically nerding it up while answering this question:

“Dear QB: Did the Obama’s political allies assassinate Tupac in order to prevent Tupac’s presidency?”

We miss you, Tupac. (Image courtesy of kreezzalee on Flickr)

QB responds thusly:

“Dear Conspiracy Theorist,
QB applauds your keen eye in looking back at 1996… the year that saw the death of Tupac Shakur on September 13th…work your way through biographies of all the major players (the libraries here on campus have books on Tupac, Notorious B.I.G., Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs, and Suge Knight…”

Such research (found in its complete form here)! And presented in such beautiful style!

This brings us to our surprise: the podcast. Didn’t you know we have podcasts? You’ve been missing out! Hear all the voices of QB on iTunes here and subscribe to listen to QB’s magnificent answers. Don’t have iTunes? No problem—QB makes sure that there is always a podcast up and ready online, right above the text of QB’s answer. Our favorite (and one of QB’s as well) answers the age old question:

“Dear QB: How come you can’t keep your eyes open when you sneeze? Is your body protecting your eyes from popping out?”

Find the podcast here and listen to your heart’s content.

So there you have it: QB’s top three answers—and a magnificent podcast to boot. Visit QB on the lower level of the UGL anytime for more thoughtful answers, or check out QB on the UGL website. If you’ve got your own questions, don’t be shy—ask QB! QB is ready and raring to answer your most pressing and random questions. Anything you’ve ever wondered about but were too confused or embarrassed to look up yourself – QB can handle it for you.

Got a research question? QB is a busy board answering all your trivia questions. Try the Undergraduate Library Research Desk on the upper level or use our Ask-A-Librarian service online!

Special thanks to guest blogger Zoe Weinstein.

Women in Comics

Posted on November 14, 2013 by CN

Marvel Comics recently revealed that one of their superheroes, Ms. Marvel, would be getting a new spin. The newest character to don the name of Ms. Marvel is Kamala Khan, a 16-year-old Muslim teenager from New Jersey. If this news has you curious about other female comic book protagonists, the UGL has compiled a list for your reading pleasure.

Ms. Marvel
Various authors and artists

The character of Ms. Marvel has been around quite a while – since the first issue of the Ms. Marvel comic in 1977, in fact. If you want to find out where it all began for her and what kinds of adventures old-timey superheroes had, pick this one up!

Batwoman: Elegy
Greg Rucka, J.H. Williams III, Dave Stewart, Todd Klein

Batwoman also made her debut as a character quite a long time ago – 1959! – but she disappeared for a while when she was deemed ‘non-essential’ to Batman storylines. This series has her re-envisioned as a central character, battling a demented version of Alice from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. It also explains her tragic back story.

Batgirl cover image

Batgirl
Gail Simone, Ardian Syaf, Vicente Cifuentes, inker ; Ulises Arreola, Dave Sharpe

You can never have enough bat-themed superheroes. Out of all of them, the UGL might be a little bit biased in favor of Batgirl, aka Barbara Gordon, since her day job is being a librarian. We think librarians are pretty super, Batgirl especially so.

Pride and Prejudice
Nancy Butler, Hugo Petrus, Alejandro Torres, and Dave Shapre; adapted from the novel by Jane Austen

There are comic books that aren’t about superheroes, and they have cool female protagonists, too! Jane Austen’s classic novel is now a graphic novel – we have Sense and Sensibility in comic form, too, if you’re up for a double whammy of Regency romance.

Gunnerkrigg Court
Tom Siddell

Schoolgirl BFFs taking on supernatural phenomenon in a spooky boarding school setting – what’s not to like? Gunnerkrigg Court originally started as a webcomic – this volumes collects the strips that follow Antimony, the main character, through her first year at the school.

Eye of the Majestic Creature
Leslie Stein

For more slice-of-life type stories (but still with a dash of whimsy), you can try this collection of semi-autobiographical comics about a young woman dealing with her family, strangers, anthropomorphic friends, and life in general.

For more comics featuring girls and women as characters, try searching in the library catalog for “Young women – Comic books, strips, etc.” or ” Women – Comic books, strips, etc.” and selecting “Subject” from the drop-down menu. To browse a more general selection of comics, try the UGL’s graphic novel Pinterest board. If you have a favorite female comic book character that we haven’t mentioned, tell us about her in the comments, or on Twitter or Facebook! And if we don’t already have any comics that feature her, please recommend them to us!

Happenings at the Library

Posted on October 28, 2013 by CN

You’ve been to office hours and gotten research help. You’ve gotten your cover letter critiqued. Maybe you’ve even attended one of the Indian cinema screenings. But do you really know about everything the library has going on? There may be more than you think. Here’s a selection of library events coming up soon that you may find interesting.

The steps to UGL and a beautiful blue sky.

Most of these events aren’t at the UGL, so you don’t have to worry about going through those pesky doors.

For those of you taking challenging science classes, the Funk ACES library is hosting a series of workshops to help you get to know databases that may be useful to you. Web of Science, Agricola, PubMed and Sociological Abstracts will all be explained to you, and you’ll be ready to tackle that research head-on. They will be held in room 509 of the ACES library on various days at various times – for the dates and times of specific workshops , check out this poster or the library calendar of events.

If you missed getting your flu shot at the UGL week before last, fear not! There are more free flu shot clinics in libraries coming up. Here are a few for the next two weeks:

Grainger Library – Wednesday, October 30th, 3:30-6:30 PM
Undergraduate Library – Tuesday, November 5th, 1:30-4:30 PM
Grainger Library – Thursday, November 7th, 3:30-6:30 PM

More information about locations and costs can be found on McKinley’s flu vaccine information page.

Have you been to the Music and Performing Arts Library? If you haven’t yet, you can take a tour today, October 28th, starting at 5 PM. The music library has lots of resources for dance, theater, and music – but you don’t have to be studying those things to make use of them! Take the tour and find out what they can offer you.

Visit the Rare Book and Manuscript Library before December 13th to check out their exhibit on the idea of ‘life on the moon’ in science and in literature. They have examples of writing about the moon dating back to ancient Rome, as well as artifacts from the Apollo 16 mission. They have a moon rock. It’s encased in a translucent pyramid. It is the coolest thing you will see in your life. You should check it out, and learn some stuff while you’re there! There are also a series of moon-themed events throughout November in connection with the exhibit, including a storytelling event and moon viewing. Find a complete list of the events and details about them on the See You On the Moon website.

Finally, if you go to the main library to get some quiet studying done, make sure to check out the Audubon Folio display near the main info desk. Starting on Halloween we’ll have a spooky raven on display to help set the Halloween mood.

We hope to see you there!

Tell Us What You Think!

Posted on October 14, 2013 by CN

Hey, Club UGL. You know we love to hear from you. Whether it’s answering your questions via Ask a Librarian or the research desk, getting your feedback via our suggestions box, or hearing your purchase recommendations, we’re all ears for what you have to say. This week, we’ve got a special survey to solicit your opinions about our loanable technology program.

The tech desk is on the upper level of the UGL near the circ desk.

This is where the magic happens. The magic that you will influence, via this survey.

We are constantly seeking to expand and improve what’s available in our loanable technology pool, and we want to hear from you about how we can best do that. That’s why we’ve created this survey to ask what you think about various topics – iPads and iPad apps, Chromebooks, potential new items, and any other ideas or thoughts you want to share with us. The survey opens today (Monday, October 14th) and runs all the way through next Sunday, October 20th. That’s almost a whole week, so you’ve got plenty of time to mull it over and be thoughtful – but don’t forget! If you’d rather take the survey on paper, that’s an option, too – there will be paper forms attached to the whiteboard near the entrance on the upper level. You can turn completed paper surveys in at the circulation desk (and you might get something nice if you do…).

This week we’re asking for you opinions, but coming up in the next week we’ll have some suggestions for *you* – about events on campus, resources you can use, and a project we’ve been working on. We’re looking forward to hearing from you, and we hope you’ll stick around to hear from us.

What’s Up With Chromebooks?

Posted on October 10, 2013 by CN

You may remember one of our posts from the start of the semester where we mentioned that we’ve replaced our Macbooks and PC laptops with Chromebooks. You may even have checked one out from the loanable technology desk and taken it for a spin. But just what are these strange devices, and how can you make them work for your needs?

Very clever image of Chromebook with question marks

Those question marks will disappear in a puff of learning – just keep reading.

Chromebooks are actually pretty capable and convenient machines, but if you’re unfamiliar with them, they may raise a few questions when you first use them. Here are the answers to some common queries about Chromebooks – read on to get the hang of ’em and start using them to be productive (or for watching Youtube videos – we don’t judge).

Why is it called a Chromebook?
Chromebooks are laptops that run on Google’s Chrome operating system (OS). Macbooks run on a Macintosh OS, and PCs usually run on a Microsoft Windows OS. The major difference between computer running a Chrome OS and a computer using Windows or Macintosh is that Chrome computers are designed to be used while connected to the Internet, and make use of online applications and programs, rather than applications and programs that are downloaded onto the computer directly.

How do I log in?
When you first open up the Chromebook, it’ll ask you you to log in to a wireless network. To log in to IllinoisNet, use your NetID and password. Then it’ll ask you to log into a Google account to use the Chromebook itself; you can use your NetID and password again, or any another Google account you may have. If you don’t have a Google account that you would like to use, you can log in as a guest. There should be a sticker on the Chromebook that tells you the guest username and password.

How can I open/edit/save my Microsoft Office files?
Chromebooks don’t have Microsoft Office applications like Word or Excel installed. That doesn’t mean you can’t use them to work on your files, though! If you have a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file that you’ve already started, you can upload them to Google Drive, and them open them with Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides, respectively, and make changes to them as you need. Once you’ve made your changes (or if you make a new document and need to save it), you can save it to your Drive as a Google document, or choose to “Save As” in the appropriate file format, to open in Microsoft Office later. If you need help navigating the various Google apps, there are tutorials on the Google Apps site.

What else can I do on a Chromebook?
Anything you can do with a Google account you can do with a Chromebook – general Internet surfing, use of all the Google docs services, and all that good stuff. In addition to the document apps above, there are lots of free apps in the Chrome webstore that can help you work on other kinds of projects, play games, or use various kinds of media. You’ll notice there’s a webcam on the Chromebook we have – if you want to use it, search for the ‘Camera’ app and make your best duck face. Other apps that use the webcam, like Google Hangouts, should automatically detect it.

If you choose to log in as a guest, some options won’t be available, since you won’t be connected to a full personal account. To be able to use all the apps and services of the Chromebook, use a Google account!

What happens to my files and information after I return the Chromebook?
Just like on our old Macs and PCs, all your files and information will be removed from the Chromebook after you return it, using an option called powerwashing. This means that the next person to use the Chromebook won’t see anything you’ve done or be able to access any of your information. Your secrets are safe! This also means that if you forgot to save your work on a file, we won’t be able to recover it, so double-check to make sure all your changes are saved before you log out and return it. Google Drive is a good tool to use for this.

That’s the lowdown on our new Chromebooks. If you still have questions, come to the loanable technology desk on the upper level of the UGL (where you checked it out from!) or Ask a Librarian for help. Good luck and happy app-ing!

Office Hours @ the UGL: Deep Space 291

Posted on October 7, 2013 by CN

Don’t let your research and writing questions run rings around you – come to Office Hours @ the UGL, and get help reaching that final frontier – before you reach the deadlines for your assignments!

Office Hours Tuesday 7-9 Wednesday 2-4 in room 291

Space puns also available upon request, while supplies last.

No matter what your mission – to explore strange databases, to seek out new articles and new peer-reviewed journals, to boldly cite what none of your classmates have cited before – you can get help at Office Hours. Simply come to room 291 of the UGL on Tuesdays from 7-9 PM, and on Wednesdays from 2-4 PM, and get help with any step of the research process. Whether you just have a quick question or need in-depth, one-on-one research help, we’re here for you. Tutors from the Writer’s Workshop are also available during Office Hours, their phasers set to ‘stunningly helpful,’ ready to aid you with your quick writing questions.

You don’t need an appointment for any of these services – just mosey on in, space cowboy, and we’ll get you the help you need. There are a few steps you can take to make sure the launch goes smoothly:

Bring the details of your assignment with you, if you’re working on something specific. Knowing what you’re working on helps us help you better!
Let us know if you’ve already gotten started on your own, so we can start in an appropriate place in the process.

If you’re looking for help with all this space-age media that surrounds you, you can also visit the UGL for a Media Commons consultation. We’ve got all your needs covered – so why don’t you pop into our orbit and get some help? It’s only logical.

Undergraduate Library Blog

Information and Updates on Getting the Most out of the UGL

Author Archives: CN