Talking in the Library

Study Break: American History

Are you about up to your limit in finals studying? There's more than one way to get info into your brain. Let's try a little video. Maybe you're taking American Constitutional History or US History to/since 1877. (Maybe you can tell me what happened in 1877 that makes it such a breaking point?) In any case, here are a few videos to help you learn some basic American history.

The Presidents, explained in song by Jonathan Coulton.  Now needs a new final verse, but still great:

One I've already linked on this blog, but still can't get over. I blame the 80s.

 

Hope a little history in song gets you through a final or two.

Why do we fall back?

You know what, I don't know why, even after watching this video. It's actually quite confusing, but now I'm all the more convinced that we should just go to Standard Time year-round.  However, my wishes are not (yet) the law of the land, so don't forget to set your clocks back one hour when you go to bed Saturday night.

Open Access Week 2011: K-State Student Advocacy #oaweek

Often during discussions about Open Access there is a group that is overlooked. Usually Open Access is declared a librarian thing. Maybe it'll even be considered a faculty thing. And while free and open access to information is a library thing and a faculty thing, we all tend to forget it isn't just those. Students do research, too. Open Access is and should be as important to students as it is to faculty and librarians.

Whether you're an Expos student working on an investigative report or a grad student researching your doctorate, you need information. You need access to the endless amounts of research that countless others before you have generated and published, whether it's the latest in biofuel research or archaeological find in the Flint Hills. And helping to connect you with the information you need is what Open Access Week is all about: free and unfettered access to the research and data you need for your own work.

That's also what the Right to Research Coalition is all about. They're an international student group with a mission: they believe that "No student should be denied access to the research they need". Check out their Student Statement on the Right to Research for more information or take a look at their Advocacy and Education tools.

While there currently isn't a student association at K-State affiliated with R2RC don't despair! You can still be an Open Access advocate here at K-State. If you are writing a paper to publish, check out OA journals in your field to publish in. Talk with your professors to see if they're publishing their research in OA journals and advocate they do so. Deposit your scholarly work in K-REx and suggest your classmates and faculty do so as well. Use articles from OA journals in your research. Or check out the R2RC webinar that we will be showing on Wednesday at 11am in Hale 301.

And, while you're at it, take a look at the Special Merit video from the Sparky Awards by a group of students at Boston University.

-Jenny Oleen

This is our third open access post for the week.  Hope you're enjoying the series.

A Fierce Green Fire

“We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. I realized then, and have known ever since, that there was something new to me in those eyes—something known only to her and to the mountain. I was young then, and full of trigger-itch; I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves would mean hunters’ paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view.”
- Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac, 1949

On Wednesday of next week, we'll be screening the film Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time at 3:30pm in Hale Library's Hemisphere Room. It is the first full-length, high-definition documentary film ever made about legendary environmentalist Aldo Leopold. Green Fire highlights Leopold's extraordinary career, tracing how he shaped and influenced the modern environmental movement. The screening is sponsored by K-State Libraries, the Konza Prairie Biological Station, and the Friends of the Konza Prairie.  We'd love to have you join us for this free event. Check out the trailer below.

We hope to see you there! You can learn more about the film from its website.

Schools Out For Summer!

To quote the famous poet Alice Cooper~

Schools out for summer! In between your summer internship, job, or class try to take some time to enjoy summer like you did as a kid. 

Lost Dr. King Audio Coming Home To K-State

The photos shown in this video are housed in the Richard L. D. and Marjorie J. Morse Department of Special Collections in Hale Library. If you would like to see more or have any questions, please contact contact Anthony Crawford, University Archivist.

Happy Friday Video

It's the Friday before finals week and if you work at K-State you just got paid. Take a little break and enjoy this delightful song I picked special for you. (Please take note that this is the original and good version of this song)

Happy Friday everyone

Robots are Awesome

And so are the librarians at K-State Salina. They made this really cute video, and gave us permission to share it with you.

Does it sound familiar? If you'd like help with your research from a (non-robotic) librarian, stop by the Help Desk on the 2nd floor of Hale Library, or find us online.

K-State Stand Up YouTube Video

Check this video an awesome person shared with me. I'm sure this will be sung all over campus soon.

Welcome Back!

On behalf of all of K-State Libraries welcome!  If you're a brand new student or a return student that's maybe never visited Hale before, please allow me to entice you by showing you something awesome.