Talking in the Library

How do I cite a government document?

Citing government documents can be tricky.  They are published in many different formats, including Congressional committee reports, Federal regulations, public laws, and more.  But that should not stop you from using, and properly citing, a government document in your paper or listing it in your sources cited.  The challenges of citing a government document may stem from the fact that government entities do not always conform to standard publishing guidelines.  A title may vary, even in the same document; the copyright date may not be included; or any one of a number of other discrepancies may pop up when it’s you are trying to complete your bibliography.  Purdue’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) provides guidelines for simple government citations.  But if your sources are more complex, check these online and print options:   

Citing Government Information Sources Using MLA (Modern Language Association) StyleCensus Bureau style suggestions

MLA handbook for Writers of Research Papers. Call # LB2369 .G53 2009.  Copies located in the first floor reference collection and from Library Help on the second floor.

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.  Call # BF76.7 .P83 2010. Copies located in the first floor reference collection and from Library Help on the second floor.

Don’t forget, you can stop by the 2nd floor for Library Help or Ask a Librarian during the hours when the desk is staffed.

--sources used with author’s permission

 ~Regina M. Beard

Book drop drama

K-State Libraries has one drive-up book drop, in the parking lot behind Dickens Hall and across from Hale Library. Electrical work in Dickens Hall has necessitated a generator being placed in front of the book drop.  Apparently, it's believed that having electricity in Dickens is more important than allowing you to drop off books from the comfort of your car. Crazy!

The generator is expected to remain through the first week of December. Decent timing, considering many K-State students and faculty won't be on campus during the student holiday from November 21-25, or at least during the university holiday November 24-25.  While the generator is there blocking your car, you can still walk up to the bookdrop and deposit your library materials.  Or, if you'd just rather avoid the whole scene, use the Hale Library book drops, the book drop on the sidewalk between Hale and English/Counseling Services, or book drops inside each of the Manhattan campus branch libraries.

If you are unable to use a walk-up book drop, please contact us and we will make alternate accommodations to help you return your materials.  Thanks for your patience and please be sure to go enjoy the electricity in Dickens Hall!

Exploring Print Reference

Our online resources are vast and full of wonder, but in the digital age it behooves us to remember that sometimes the answer is housed in a more analog format.  To that end, some of us librarians have undertaken a mission to (re)acquaint ourselves with our Print Reference Collection.  I got Art and Law.

First, there's Every Tenant's Legal Guide. Ours is the 2nd edition, which is a bit dated now that the 6th is out.  Law moves quickly - likely on minor details the 2009 6th edition is dated, let alone the 2006 2nd ed.  But its usefullness hasn't totally evaporated.  Students (and probably more than students) are vulnerable in a community where landlords hold far more power than tenants, but there are rights and you can exercise them.  Use this book with caution, and if you're in a situation involving legal matters get legitimate counsel as quickly as your resources permit, but if you're lost as to where to even start this isn't a bad choice.  Good for everyone.

Unreasonable Searches and Seizures: Rights and Liberties Under the Law.  I don't want to get to civil libertarian here...wait...yes I do.  If we ordinary citizens don't take it upon ourselves to defend our rights (and the first step is knowing all we can about them) then we might as well just hand them right back to the authorities.  "No thanks, guys.  You keep your Fourth Amendment."  Well, that's not for me and it's not for you.  Written in 2006 as part of a series on America's Freedoms, this text lays out what abuses of the law citizens can expect from Authority and how to react.  Great for students of law, political science, criminology, philosophy, and rabble-rousers like myself.

On the Art side of my assignment, I found this delightful little number by Helene E. Roberts: The Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography: Themes Depicted in Works of Art (v. 1&2).  This is the cure for what in modern terms could be called the "haven't seen Star Wars syndrome."  If you haven't seen Star Wars, there's a whole lot of popular culture that can go right over your head.  That same thing can happen if you're unfamiliar with Ovid's Metamorphoses.  If you're knowledge of art, mythology, literature, and history is incomplete from, say, the origin of culture to today, this set will help you fill in the gaps for why certain themes in art are portrayed certain ways.

Bookshelf Dance

We've been shifting a lot of books in Hale Library lately. We're consolidating small areas of free space to end up with one big chunk of free space in which to put special archival materials currently housed in horrible conditions.  We've got a fantastic student crew working to move all the books, and thought you might like a behind-the-scenes look at their work.

OK, so that wasn't our shifting project, but it sure looks like a fun one. Thanks for all your patience during our considerably less artistic shift.

Leisure reading survey

What's better than 100,000,000 guinea pigs?

200,000,000 guinea pigs, of course. Well, unless you are the guinea pig, which is what these books seem to be implying.

What's even more interesting? We have four (yes, I counted, four!) editions of 100,000,000 guinea pigs: 1932,1933,1935, and  1937.  AND we have four (again, yes, four) copies of 200,000,000 guinea pigs. All I can envision are the poor expository writing instructors in the 1930's reading argument paper after informative paper after investigative paper about the toxins and dangers of hair dyes and shortening.

Thanks to Lydia and Brent for finding these gems! And, Lydia? You can stop giggling now. Honestly, any time now.

New Leisure Reading books

We have a big ol' bunch of books to keep you entertained as you start your studies this semester. The Leisure Reading collection is located on the east end of the 2nd floor of Hale Library. Books can be checked out for a month, and renewed once. 

Mockingjay Midnight Release Party!

 

New Leisure Reading Books on CD

Here are our latest books on CD in the Leisure Reading collection

Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly

Flirt by Laurell K. Hamilton

UR by Stephen King

Dark Matter by Peter Straub (will arrive soon)

Deep Shadow by Randy Wayne White

Book sale!

Looking for something new to read? Come to the Friends of the K-State Libraries book sale in Hale Library. This two day extravaganza will be Friday April 23rd and Saturday April 24th from 9 am-4 pm.

$5.00 per box and $3.00 per bag. Can’t beat those prices!