Translations 2009 at Dutchess!

Do you enjoy art? Being creative? Do you like to volunteer to help out at events? If the answer to any of these questions is "yes", then you may want to learn more about Translations 2009 at DCC. The purpose of Translations 2009 is to give students an opportunity to explore social issues of the past, present and/or future. This year the focus is on social concerns relating to the Hudson River. So what's involved? Students will complete research through methods learned at DCC, whether it be in an academic discipline such as Anthropology, Economics, Government, History, Mathematics, Philosophy, Science, Sociology or through a professional program such as Education, Nursing or Paralegal Studies. They will create a research notebook which will then be interpreted through an artistic medium such as (but not limited to) film, performing arts, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry and play writing. On April 18, 2009, a festival competition will be held where students can present their work.

In case you are wondering, you can work either individually or as a team!

Three categories of awards for artistic expression will be awarded: Performance Art, Visual Art, and Reading of Literature. A monetary award will be given for the best in each category and ALL participants (students, staff and faculty) will be recognized.

Please contact Pete Phipps for more information or to ask any questions about the festival and how you can be involved. The deadline to enter the contest is April 3, 2009. In addition to submitting research-to-art projects, students can be involved as volunteers in a number of capacities. Faculty and staff are also encouraged to be involved as project advisors, mentors, and as judges for the competition.

Pete's office is located on the 4th floor of Hudson Hall (H403-L) and his office phone number is 431-8341. You can also contact him via email at mailto:phipps@sunydutchess.edu.

To print a hard copy of the application, click here.

This post was created by information liberally borrowed from Pete Phipps.

Speeches En Regalia

An election year is a banner opportunity for political candidates to show off their oratorical skills. It's also a banner year for instructors to assign papers on speeches. So where's a comprehensive place to go for speeches?

A great source is Vital Speeches of the Day. This publication has collected the best in oratory since 1934. It contains speeches & addresses by important public figures on topics of national & international interest.

Searching is straightforward. To look for all speeches by an individual, search on the person's name, last name first. For example, "Radloff, Toby".

To search this database on campus, click on this link: Vital Speeches of the Day and go to "Search within this Publication". To find out how to search it from home, call 431-8634 or send e-mail to Reference.

Also remember that the Ritz Library owns a number of collections of speeches that you can take out or copy. Here's a list of those books.

Economic woes?

Looking for information on the current global economy? Worried about where the market goes from here? What makes up an economic crisis? How does it affect us locally and abroad? Middletown Thrall librarians have put together comprehensive resources to help you find answers and understand what's going on nationally and internationally these days. Click here .

Introducing Research...

Not sure where to start or how to approach researching a topic? Ron Crovisier, our head of Reference Services, created a PowerPoint presentation on Introduction to Research which I am liberally borrowing from to create this entry.

Ask yourself, what subject(s) is my topic about? What do I mean by "subject"? The subject is "the field of knowledge into which the topic fits". Typically, fields of knowledge can be broken down into the sciences, social sciences and humanities. Sciences include physical sciences such as biology, chemistry, math and physics. Social Sciences are psychology, sociology, civilization. Humanities cover art, English literature, philosophy. Jot down your possibilities and try to note how the topic relates to a specific field of knowledge. What kind of question are you trying to answer? Is it one of direct measurement (physical science)? Is it a philosophical question (humanities)? Or is it a social science question?

When you think you know what you're looking for, search online using our catalog, electronic books or databases for information pertaining to your subject. Are you finding suitable resources? If not, narrow or widen your focus to include additional ideas. SUBJECT headings or SUBJECT terms in the databases and catalogs can greatly help you focus in on what really interests you. When in our catalog, if you click on the title of a book, it will take you to the bibliographic record. Three-quarters of the way down the page you'll see links that say SUBJECT. Those links can lead you to additional books on your topic of interest. In the databases, the subject terms will be either on the left hand side or in a box at the top of the screen. Check out this pdf for quick notes on using the databases in the library.

We have 80,000 books in the library, 30,000 electronic books through ebrary, and 60 databases for people to access. Among the books are encyclopedias, dictionaries, and specialized guides on different subjects. Our databases allow for simple or complex searches to be built, and also allow for access to both primary and secondary sources of information. See blog entry on primary sources. In essence, primary sources are first hand accounts of a situation as related in newspapers, diaries, photos. Secondary sources use primary sources to draw conclusions, examine or interpret primary info and may be written years after the event occurred.

Once you've gotten a grip on your research material, you can start outlining and writing your paper. Remember the all important fact to cite your sources! There are a number of citation generators available out there, including KnightCite and there is citing functionality built into the databases and also ebrary. Remember to give us a call, email or meebo us if you are having any trouble, and we'd be glad to help!

About the library

Need a brief reminder about library hours, services, contact us details, and how to look information up in databases? Check out this pdf!

Microsoft Word 2007 blues...

You haven't upgraded to Office 2007 because you like Office 2003 and are quite comfortable with it. The only problem is, you are now receiving documents in a .docx format that it's impossible for your computer to open. If faced with this situation, download this converter to rectify the problem and you can continue using 2003 without having to worry about compatibility with newer documents!

Uh, I can't get the Header to work on my Word document!

Ok, you're in Microsoft Word 2007, typing up that paper for your BHS class when you realize your instructor has requested, in no uncertain terms, that you MUST include your name in a header at the top of each page.

To further compound your misery, you must also include the page numbers. No problem, except that "1" is appearing on your first page & your instructor probably doesn't want that there.

By this time you're probably ready to put your forehead through your expensive hi-def LCD monitor, right?

Don't panic! Before you commit PC monitor hara kiri, take a look below & you'll see some instructions that should guide you through the process. They're somewhat detailed, so read them through once before you sacrifice your Word document.

And away we go:

1. Click on Insert in the top menu

2. Click on Page Number in the Header & Footer box, avoid clicking on either Header or Footer, you have to access a different function.

3. Click on Top of Page (or the position you prefer).

4. Select the position you’d like the numbers to appear in – Plain Number 3 is the most common choice.

5. The top menu will change to the Header & Footer Tools menu & Design will be highlighted in green.

6. Just underneath the word Design you’ll see Different First Page, put a checkmark in that box – this will remove the page number from the 1st page of your document.

7. Down below, on the document, you’ll see the page number has been inserted on the 2nd page. Click to the LEFT of the page number.

8. Type in the text of your header, typically, your last name only.

9. Hit the space bar once to separate your name from the page number.

10. Click on the red X button on the right to close the Header/Design menu & return to your paper.