All Library Resources are FREE

Did you know all library resources are FREE for OC students, staff, and faculty?

The “Where can I get this?” link that appears in databases allows users to find articles or books in full-text from a source outside of the current source you are in (such as a database). If the article you want does not have a PDF or HTML full-text link, simply click on the “Where Can I Get this?” link, and follow the links that appear in the new window. When you click on the link, journals, books, reports and other items that OC library owns (either online or in the Library), are scanned for the document you seek. At the top of the screen, in a box, you see a citation for the item you want. You may need this information to locate your item in the linked database or resource.

If no full-text is found you will see a message, and you can then place a request for an inter-library loan in the same window! ILLs are delivered to your campus library at no cost!

E-books are available for users at no cost. You can view ebooks from on-campus or at home. One of our e-book providers, ebrary, even offers the ability to download chapters or pages of books that you can view offline, on your personal ereader (such as a Kobo or Kindle), or even your iPhone. For no charge!

Campus libraries have DVDs and television series that users can borrow for free. Take a video home and watch it from the comfort of your own home. Videos and series are initially purchased to support course work. Some popular titles include Into the Wild, Brokeback Mountain, Pride & Prejudice, Avatar, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mary Poppins, Chronicles of Narnia, Charlotte’s Web, Black Swan, Criminal Minds, Up in the Air, Milk, Slumdog Millionaire, Iron Road, (500) Days of Summer, Revolutionary Road, and many more! Use the video/DVD limit in the catalogue to find video recordings.

Have you seen what your library has to offer? If not, browse either in-person or online and see what you have been missing. Questions? Contact a librarian and we will be happy to help!

CINAHL issues fixed

CINAHL database issues have now been resolved. If you notice problems with subject headings or anything else, please contact the Web Services Librarian.

Live Chat Library Help Service (AskAway) Now Open!

Did you know you can get live help from a librarian from home or after library hours!? Even if you are at the library you can type your question into one of the AskAway chat boxes located on the Library’s website, in OCtopus, Research and Course Guides, EBSCO databases, Library web pages (listing of databases &  e-journals, etc.), or from right here. A librarian will respond within a few minutes.

Post-secondary AskAway is a virtual reference service designed to help students, educators and researchers of BC colleges and universities.  Librarians will answer questions, help you find information, suggest research strategies, help you construct citations, and more! You can even obtain your chat transcript at the end of your chat session, in case you want a copy of the help provided.

If you are at home, working on an assignment after library hours, or would prefer to talk about your research or library needs online, this is a great resource! AskAway is open Sunday to Thursday 10 a.m. – 9 p.m., and Friday to Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

To ask a question when AskAway is not open or to contact OC Library directly, you can do so by phone, e-mail, via our online form, or in person.

If you unexpectedly lose the connection with the library staff person on AskAway there may be server issues; please try logging into the service to ask your question again.

AskAway is an anonymous service to protect your privacy.
The AskAway service receives and retains a copy of the chat transcript.
It is related directly to and needed by B.C. libraries to administer their
participation in the provincial AskAway service. The information will be used
solely for service evaluation and analysis. This information is collected under
the authority of the University Act (R.S.B.C. 1996, c.468, s. 27(4)(a))
and the College and Institute Act (R.S.B.C 1996, c.52, s. 41(1)(4)).
If you have any questions about the collection and use of this information
please contact Sunni Nishimura, Virtual Reference Co-ordinator, 778.782.6937.

Cite it Right – 1 APA Workshop (Feb. 15th) this Term

Cite it Right workshops have helped many students learn about the basics of APA citation style, as well as the overall research and publishing process. This term there is one workshop being offered at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, February 15th. If you are an instructor who would like a citation session taught for your class, click here to e-mail a librarian.

Are you confused about what is considered plagiarism? Maybe you are unsure what qualifies as a paraphrase and how you should cite it. Your instructor says you need to use “peer-reviewed” articles, but what does that mean!? The Library is here to help answer these questions, as well as others.

Join two OC librarians for a one hour session on citing right! Learn about why citation is important, how and what to cite, and how to construct basic APA style citations. The session will not extend over one hour, and by learning about citation now, you could save hours of frustration in the future.

Attendees are encouraged to bring questions and specific examples to discuss. This workshop is open to students, staff, and faculty. Click here to register.

New Online Form for Copy Course Reserves

Attention all faculty! Placing a copy on reserve is now even easier.

Faculty and instructors can now request copies of materials be placed on reserve by completing an online form and e-mailing or delivering the completed form to campus library circulation desks. Copies placed on reserve must comply with appropriate copyright law/licensing agreements.

Click here for more information on Course reserves.

New Lost/Damaged Item Procedure

After a review of its lost/damaged item procedures, OC Library has introduced some new criteria that applies to all OC Library users.

If OC Library determines an item lost or damaged, you will be charged the item’s current cost and a $20 processing fee. Processing fees do not apply to faculty/staff. The current cost of the item (new) is determined by the Library.  If an item is returned in good condition within six months of being declared lost, the Library will initiate a refund for the current cost amount and retain the processing fee. Click here for details on OC Library fines and fees.

Just a reminder that an item is determined lost if it has been overdue for 30 days and not returned. The Library will make its best effort to contact users before an item is determined lost. Additionally, all library users will receive a notice in their Okanagan College email when:

• An item is close to being due
• An item is overdue
• An item is lost

Avoid fines and fees by returning your items on time, or renewing them prior to due date.

And the winner is….

You may have forgotten about the contest held last term to name the Library’s new search engine (Ebsco Discovery Service). More than 100 entries were submitted and over 200 public votes were cast to decide the winner of the 2G iPod shuffle and of course, bragging rights.

1st Place:

• OCtopus

Honourable mention goes out to:

• iFind
• infOClick
• MARMOT
• Zip2it
• MOJO
• SCOUT
• OCezEngine
• Leapfrog
• SCORE

Thank you to everyone who submitted their suggestions, and to those who took the time to vote for their favourite name.

Get To Know YOUR Library!

Campus libraries are here for YOU! Library staff and librarians are here to help make your time at Okanagan College a little easier. When it comes to getting your assignments in on time, finding the resources you need to write your research paper, citing your sources, or anything else related to your course work, visit the Library and we will get you the help you need.

Did you know:

• You can visit a reference desk at your library and they will help you properly construct citations in APA, MLA, Chicago, or any other style
• There is an online live chat reference service (AskAway) available to you, so you can ask librarians questions from anywhere you have online access (even on your phone!), and they will respond in real-time (service opens Jan. 23rd)
• Online databases allow you to find articles for assignments and they can be accessed from off-campus. Many of these databases include video tutorials or links to help pages if you click on the database name
• Students can sign-out laptops from campus libraries for FREE
• You can order books or articles not available at OC (inter-library loan) for no charge and they will be delivered to your campus library
• The Library loves Social Media! We have a YouTube channel where we post tutorials and videos, a Facebook page, a Twitter account, a Flickr page where it posts photos, and a Slideshare account where we post slides or presentations from instructional sessions
• eBooks are available from the Library. Find them by searching in the Library catalogue and using the location limiter “internet” or “online”
• You can contact a librarian any time by e-mail and you should receive a response within 24 hours. Click here for other ways to get help from the Library

If you are a faculty member we offer specific services to meet your needs. If you are not familiar with the services available (library instruction, reserves, interlibrary loan, media booking, collection development, etc.) visit the faculty services page on the Library’s website to see what you have been missing! Librarians are available to visit your class and provide instruction on using library resources or citing sources. Every department has a liaison librarian that selects library materials and provides instruction, do you know who yours is?

OC Librarians also develop online resources specifically for students, and in some cases, for specific classes. Research and course guides (also known as LibGuides) are online subject and course-specific resources. Guides are available for some courses (for example ENG100 and BUAD116) and almost all subject areas. There are even guides providing instruction on how to research, how to cite your work, copyright, and how to use or access library resources. If there is a guide that you think would be helpful that is not already created, we want to know!

More information on OC Library resources:

Listing of Databases Where You Can Find Articles: Instructors will ask you to find articles or use peer-reviewed or scholarly articles when writing a paper. Use the Library’s ERM to find databases available to OC students and staff. The list is organized by subject area or alphabetically, you can search by keyword, or by type of resource you are looking for. For example, are you an arts student look for electronic resources that include eBooks? Select arts from the subject drop-down menu, then select the eBook limiter on the right side of the page. This will bring back all databases and electronic resources that are appropriate for the Arts that include e-books.

E-Journals Listing: Looking to find a specific journal? Use the Library’s e-Journal (also known as CJDB) listings to find a specific journal and access it directly via the database it is indexed in.

Library Catalogue: The Library catalogue is available to help you find books, media and other resources (such as journals, annual reports, government documents, and items in storage) that are available physically in one of the four campus libraries, or online. Using the Library catalogue you can search for items, request items and have them sent to your home library, renew items you have checked out, and check the status of items.

The Library’s Search Engine: The Library has recently introduced a search engine that searches across the Library catalogue, databases, and e-journals. Using a single search box, users can find multiple different resource types, with results delivered in a single, relevancy ranked list. You can access the search engine using your internet-capable mobile device with the mobile version.

Asking for help when you are drowning in assignments, struggling with research or when you are not having any luck finding resources can sometimes be a challenge. You do no have to worry though, there are many different ways you can get help.

Library Reference Desks: Information desks are available at all campus libraries. Librarians are available at the reference desk to help with research, citation questions, and anything else you may need assistance with. If a librarian is unable to help with your specific question we will ensure that you are directed to get the help you need. Reference desks are different from the circulation desk where you check-out items from the Library. Depending on the campus library you are at, the reference desk may be located at the end of the circulation desk, or at a different location on the main floor of the Library.

Ask a Question Online: If you would prefer to ask a question online there are multiple ways you can get help. The Ask Us page on the Library’s website will direct your question to an OC librarian who will respond within 24 hours.

You may have noticed the AskAway Chat Box located on the right side of the screen on many library web pages. AskAway is a live, online chat reference service maintained and manned by librarians from post-secondary institutions across the province. For more information about AskAway, including the hours it is available click here. AskAway will open for the term on January 23rd.

Contact an OC Librarian Directly: OC librarians are responsible for liaising with departments within the College. If you are a student or instructor and would like to contact the Librarian responsible for your subject area, whether with a research question, to request instruction, or for any other reason click here for contact information.

Contact the Library: You can always contact the Library directly. Click here to find contact information for each campus library, or visit the specific campus library web page available via the Library’s website.

If you ever have trouble accessing the Library catalogue, any of the Library’s databases, or if you have ideas that you would like to see made a reality, please feel free to contact the Library. We love hearing from our users and are here to help!

Chicago Manual of Style Online – Now on trial

Please try out this new online resource and send us your feedback!

(On trial until February 2012)

The 16th ed. of The Chicago Manual of Style Online contains recommendations on citation and editorial style, and publishing practices for print and digital/online materials. Also provided are convenient tools, such as sample correspondence, proofreaders’ marks, and a quick guide* to citation.

Students, researchers, writers: for help citing sources, visit the Quick Guide to see clear examples of how to use Chicago-style citation.

*Please note:
History
For Humanities courses such as History please refer to the Notes and Bibliography TAB in the Quick Guide
Geography & Sociology
For Social Sciences courses such as Geography and Sociology please refer to the Author-Date TAB in the Quick Guide.

Films On Demand (Trial ended December 2, 2011, please send feedback here)

Academic Video Online  (Trial ended December 16th, 2011, please send feedback here)

Questions or comments? Please send them to the Library!

2011 Food for Fines Campaign a Success!

The 2011 Food for Fines campaign, which provided library users with the opportunity to wave their library fines in exchange for non-perishable food items, was even more of a success than the 2010 campaign!

The Kelowna campus library was able to contribute eight heaping boxes of food to the Kelowna Food Bank, exceeding last year’s total of seven boxes. The shelves and boxes were bulging full by the last day of the campaign, demonstrating that our students are eager to make a difference in their communities.

Of course, the success of this annual campaign is based on our library users. OC Library wishes to thank all who participated in making this year’s Food for Fines a tremendous success.

Other campus totals are still to come…

Beginning of the Campaign:

End of Campaign:

Gale Virtual Reference Library has new interface

The look and feel of the Gale Virtual Reference Library database has been updated. After user analysis and market feedback, the interface has been overhauled with improved navigation and organization, and an engaging display to draw in students and researchers.

New features include:

• An updated user interface available in more than 35 languages
• Improved navigation and page organization
• Book cover images and an interactive online book experience with two-page view and page turner
• ReadSpeaker text-to-speech technology in 19 languages, on-demand machine-aided content translation into 14 languages
• Ability to easily cross-seach and browse across series

Cynthia Sanner, general reference publisher withGale, says “Our newly designed Gale Virtual Reference Library enables reference content to literally jump off the shelves –  it’s easy-to-use, and even easier for researchers to find exactly what they are looking for.”

The new GVRL interface offers a multi-page viewer that allows users to choose either a one or two-page view, providing for an interactive, book-like experience. The new page flipper feature allows readers to page through a section or an entire book, replicating a traditional library research experience, but one that can be done from anywhere, at any time and with an unlimited number of users.

New Project MUSE Platform January 1st

The new Project MUSE database platform is live as of January 1st, 2012. The new platform incorporates both books and journals on a single platform, with content dependent upon institutional subscriptions. The new site can be found here.

For the one-month preview period of January 2012, searches on the new platform will default to displaying all relevant book and journal results, unless the user selects to filter to only books or only journals at the time of searching. After January 31, 2012, search results will default to only that journal and/or book content to which a user has full-text access. Okanagan College Library currently only subscribes to journal content. If you would like access to e-books on this platform please send us feedback.

Tutorials on searching and browsing within the new interface can be found here:

• Searching for books and journals on Project MUSE
• Browsing books and journals on Project MUSE

The new Project MUSE platform provides a search box on every page, allowing users to search for both books and journals and filter content types, from any page on the site. Users can filter their results to show only books or only journals. The database will now have the ability to provide digital access to 14,000+ books from 66 university presses and scholarly publishers, as an addition to the 500+ current electronic journal titles.

Further highlights of the new Project MUSE platform include:

• Faceted searching, with options to filter search results by subject area, author, and language of publication
• Enhanced browsing by subject area, title, or publisher, across books and journals or filtered by content type
• Powerful new hierarchical subject structure, allowing users to drill down to the most relevant content
• Search box on each page of the site, with predictive search terms
• New access icons to help users clearly identify content to which they have paid access, free sample content, and open access content
• Discovery and research tools at both the book and journal article level, including More by This Author and Related Content links, citation downloading/exporting, and social sharing
• “Search Inside…” feature for both books and journals
• DOIs at title and chapter level for books, article level for journals

At launch on January 1, all of the books in MUSE’s new UPCC Book Collections will be visible in search results and when browsing on the platform. MUSE will provide a one-month preview period during January 2012 to allow individuals to discover the  breadth and depth of both book and journal content available.  At the end of the preview period, January 31, 2012, search results will default to only content to which the searcher has full-text access. Okanagan College Library currently only subscribes to journal content.

Links to scholarly content on the previous MUSE platform (journal articles and issues) will not be affected by the platform change, but users who have bookmarked informational pages within the site may need to update these bookmarks after the January 1 transition.

Please contact the Library with any questions.

Post information provided by Project MUSE

Auto Repair Reference Center has new look

Users of Auto Repair Reference Center may have noticed an updated interface within the last week.

Key features of the updated interface include:

• Intuitive, user-friendly navigation
• Enhanced searching within content collections
• Ability to print/email/save  PDF records
• Increased repair coverage – more than 37,000 vehicles are now covered
• Expanded, in-depth repair information from the major original equipment manufacturers, including Ford, Honda, and GMC
• On-Board Diagnostics (OBD II) codes with description and troubleshooting information

To learn more about the new Auto Repair Reference Center, you can sign up to attend one of EBSCOhost’s free online training sessions at http://training.ebsco.com.

If you are having trouble accessing ARRC, or if you have questions about searching or using this database, please contact OC’s Web Services Librarian.

New ‘Best Bets’ Research Guide

Crunched for time? The Library knows how busy students are at this time of year, so we have created a Best Bets Research, Writing, & Citing  research guide. This guide contains only the most important information and the top links, videos, and tutorials.

If you have used our previous Research, Writing, & Citing guide you know that it is packed full of useful information, tips, and tricks. This guide is not going anywhere! It is still available when you have more time to find information. In the mean time, check out the new condensed version and make your research, writing, and citing quick and easy.

Here are just a few examples of what you can find on this new guide:

Questions? We want to hear them! Send comments or questions to the Library and an individual will contact you.

Visit the Library at Career Fair 2011

The B.C. Interior’s largest career fair is taking place at Okanagan College’s Kelowna campus on November 6th from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visit the Library to learn about a career as a librarian, library technician, records manager, and more! See what information professionals do on a day-to-day basis, learn about education opportunities, get a tour of the Library, and speak one-on-one with a librarian. You can also enter a draw to be eligible for book prizes that will be drawn throughout the day.

Attendees can also meet other regional and national employers, learn about the programs offered by Okanagan College, and enter to win other great prizes! Admission and parking is free, and with the  Community Science Celebration occurring at the same time, this is an event the whole family will enjoy.

The Community Science Celebration will take place at Kelowna’s Centre for Learning. The science fair will have science shows, demonstrations, and an opportunity to meet he people in your community who do science everyday.

For more information about a career in libraries or as an information professional, visit this library guide created by OC’s very own librarians.

To learn more about the 2011 Career Fair visit the web page or contact Michelle Lowry at 250-862-5473 or mlowry@okanagan.bc.ca.