Need help writing a paper or doing research?

For the next two weeks you can do both at the same time and at the same place. Starting on Monday, April 19 the Library’s computer lab will be open each weekday for research. What’s more Writing Center tutors will be there to assist you with your papers and assignments!

The Library’s computer lab is located on the 2nd floor of Hudson Hall in room H224. The open lab hours are:

April 19 - 30
Monday 10:00 – 3:00
Tuesday 10:00 – 4:00
Wednesday 9:00 -- 1:00
Thursday 10:00 – 2:00
Friday 10:00 – 1:00

Do you love books?

If you love books and enjoy all things literate, you might want to check out this weekend's Empire State Book Festival being held in Albany, NY. Saturday's event is free and is open to the public and will feature a variety of activities and exhibits.

Historical Newspapers on HRVH

Extra! Extra! Read All About It! or so the headline goes on the brochure to check out HRVH Historical Newspapers online. Ok, to be more specific, what is available is a 10 year span of The Kingston Daily Freeman from the years 1903 - 1913 (and 1895 also) - 2974 complete issues available for your perusal. The intention is to spearhead an effort in the Hudson Valley to digitize local historical newspapers with the Daily Freeman being the test sample. Full pages as well as individual articles are searchable and viewable. Take note, The Kingston Daily Freeman is an excellent place to look for primary sources when doing reseach about the Hudson Valley.

HRVH is a collaborative initiative sponsored by Southeastern NY Library Resources Council and local libraries, historical societies, archives, museums across 7 counties in NYS: Greene, Columbia, Dutchess, Ulster, Sullivan, Rockland, Orange and Putnam.

While you are at it, another project which may be of interest to scholars/researchers or casual lookers is the Sound and Story Project of the Hudson Valley. Sound and Story has digitized pieces of oral history collections and posted them online for your listening pleasure. According to their web pages, "Our stories come from many places. Some are in library and museum oral history collections. Some come from recordings we have made. Some have been found by people like you in shoe boxes in the backs of closets. And some have yet to be told."

Some of the information found in this entry comes from promotional material distributed by SENYLRC.

Adding YouTube videos to Powerpoint presentations

Adding images from the Web to a Powerpoint presentation is as easy as cut 'n' paste. Incorporating video is different story. The best way to add media is to use the "Movie" option on Powerpoint's Insert menu, but you need to have downloaded the video in a movie file format like .wmd or .avi for it to work right.

That's not an option if you want to use a YouTube video. Of course, you can always put a link to the YouTube URL on a slide. It means extra loading time, though, as your computer brings up the browser and the playback can look awfully messy. Here's a better way.

Download the Powerpoint add-in, "YouTube Video Wizard". Install the add-in and a new tab under "Insert" called "YouTube Video"will appear on Powerpoint. Click on it, and a series of screens will take you through the process of inserting a YouTube Video into your presentation. Interested? the add-in is available to download at YouTube Video Wizard

Seeking book recommendations?

As previously posted in this blog, several websites exist for recommending titles to read based on an author or an author/title. A recent suggestion that can be added to this list is The Book Seer which uses Amazon and LibraryThing as a back engine to come up with suggested titles to read. Book Seer works best with classic titles where more relevant data has been gathered, but it will list other books by a specific author even if it doesn't have any "outside" recommendations. Check it out!

What's in a word?

Have you ever attended a meeting where acronyms were being tossed around? Ever wonder what some abbreviations mean? If so, check out the website, http://www.acronymfinder.com/. Enter the acronym or abbreviation that is stymying you and review the list of potential meanings. In a strange combination of functions, you can also use acronymfinder.com to search zip codes for the United States and Canada and retrieve a map of where they are located.

Speaking of definitions, if you get hung up on words occasionally or would like to look up the meaning of a word, here are two useful dictionary websites: Merriam-Webster Online and Dictionary.Com. M-W features a dictionary, thesaurus, Spanish-English dictionary, medical dictionary that contains an audio option and word games online. Dictionary.com features a dictionary, thesaurus, translator (which can be used with a variety of languages) and an encyclopedia online. Both are great resources to bookmark to your local machine or save to a social bookmarking site like Delicious.

Women's History Month

Visit the Ritz Library during the month of March and view the display sponsored by the Womens' Activities Committee featuring: Writing Women into History.





When you visit, please take a brochure directing you to the various women's activities taking place on DCC campus during the month of March:



March 1 to 26 - Women's Studio Workshop at Mildred I. Washington Art Gallery



March 4 - Courtney Lynch, Leading from the Front


March 6 - Math and Science Matter, Especially for Young Women


March 9 - Catherine Clinton, Mrs. Lincoln: A Life


March 12 - Dress Down Day for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society


March 12 - Stretch and Relaxation Workshop


March 24 - Movie: Freeing Silvia Baraldini by Margo Pelletier


March 26 - Reading Women


March 27 - "Cinderella's Fairy Godmother"