Monday, December 10, 2012

Finals Week

The library is warm, cozy and quiet--the perfect place to study for your finals. If you need a group study room, there's some you can check out from the Circulation Desk on a first-come-first-served basis. If you want to reserve a room for a particular day & time, ask at the Media Desk. The library staff wants to wish you the best of luck on all of your finals, and we hope you have a wonderful holiday season.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Term Paper Clinics for Fall 2012

Have you been putting off writing that essay or research paper because you haven't been able to locate books and articles on your topic? Are you unclear on exactly how to cite your sources? Then the up-coming Term Paper Clinics offered by the library are for you! Plan to attend one of the clinics--see the schedule below. There's no need to enroll, just drop by the library's instruction lab during any of the hours listed below--stay for an entire session or a portion of a session--whatever works with your schedule. Your friendly Grossmont librarians will be waiting to help you. Fall 2012 Term Paper Clinics Where: Library Instruction Lab (70-267) When: Wed., Nov. 28, 11:00 am-1:00 pm Thurs., Nov. 29, 1:30-3:30 pm Mon., Dec. 3, 3:30-5:30pm Tues., Dec. 4, 12 pm-2:00pm

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Don't Miss Out on Free Courses from Ivy League Schools

A student I know is currently taking a fantastic online class from Stanford called "Writing for the Sciences"--and it's free! If you haven't looked into MOOCs, you may be missing out. MOOC stands for "Massive Open Online Courses." Leading universities like Princeton, Standford, MIT, Harvard and others are offering them for free. Check out Coursera, Udacity, and edX, or take a look at this special report from The Chronicle

Thursday, October 18, 2012

View Library Resources from the Comfort of Your Own Mobile Device

A student recently asked us, "Can I use my smartphone or tablet to search library stuff?" Absolutely! The "Grossmont Gateway to Research" will auto detect mobile devices when it displays search results. That means you can search for articles and ebooks for that research paper you're working on and read them on your mobile device. You can also view our Research Guides and our videos on demand from the comfort of your own mobile device.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Need Help Choosing a Topic for Your Research Paper?

Do you need some help picking a topic for your research paper? How about affirmative action--that topic is on the Supreme Court docket currently. Or what about a paper about the death penalty? California voters will be voting next month on Prop. 34, the End of Death Penalty Initiative. Need more ideas? Watch this video about using library databases "Opposing Viewpoints" or "CQ Researcher" to help you select a topic.

Monday, October 1, 2012

The Invisible Web

Most people think they can find everything through Google. But did you know that Google only indexes 8% of all available webpages? There are 300 billion database-driven pages that are completely invisible to Google. These pages can contain full-text journal articles and eBooks--perfect resources for your research papers. If Google can't get you to these pages, how can you find them? By logging into Grossmont Library databases, of course!

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Library Databases Provide MLA and APA citations

Did you know that all of our library databases will provide you with a fully formatted citation? When you go to the Library Home Page and search using our Grossmont Gateway to Research, you'll not only find both books and articles on your topic, but you'll also find MLA or APA formatted citations for them. Talk about a time saver! Top that, Google! If you need help with citations, be sure to stop by the Reference Desk on the first floor of the Library, where friendly librarians are waiting to help you.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Are You Registered to Vote?

Are you registered to vote? Oct. 22 is the deadline to mail your voter registration form for the November elections. It's easy to register by going to the official California Voter Registration site. Don't miss out on having your voice heard:

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Textbooks On Reserve Program

Do you know about the library's Textbooks On Reserves program? Until Aug. 29th, you can come to the library and fill out a Textbook Request form. Each semester we set aside some funds from our book budget to purchase requested textbooks and put them in our Textbook Reserves section. Don't miss this opportunity--come on into the library and make your requests!

Monday, August 20, 2012

Group Study Rooms Available in the Library

The library has group study rooms available for student use. 1st floor: Accommodates groups of 2-5 (go to the Circulation Desk to get a key; available on a first-come-first-served basis). 2nd floor: Accommodates groups of 2-12; one single-person study room; all have computers and webcams available. Reservations available; to reserve a room, visit the Media Desk or call 644-7015. Happy studying!

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Textbook Prices Got You Down? Try a Textbook Rental Service

You may be able to save significantly on the cost of textbooks this year by renting your textbooks. Renting textbooks through the Campus Bookstore can save you over 50%. Amazon recently launched a textbook rental service that may save you up to 70%. You can keep the textbooks for the semester and then ship them back to Amazon for free. Go to Amazon and click on the "Textbooks--Rent, Buy, Sell" icon in the upper-right corner of the page.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Summer Library Hours

We don’t have to tell you, summer session has been cut back drastically. Through all this the library is here to support you. Use our online services any day and any time; find and read e-books in our catalog, articles in our databases, and get answers from our “ask-a-librarian” 7/24 chat service. Of course our doors are still open; June 11th through July 19th Monday – Thursday, 8:00 am to 12:00 pm.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Term Paper Clinics

Have you been putting off writing that essay or research paper because you haven't been able to locate books and articles on your topic? Are you unclear on exactly how to cite your sources? Then the up-coming Term Paper Clinics offered by the library are for you! Plan to attend one of the clinics--see the schedule below. There's no need to enroll, just drop by the library's instruction lab during any of the hours listed below--stay for an entire session or a portion of a session--whatever works with your schedule. Your friendly Grossmont librarians will be waiting to help you. Spring 2012 Term Paper Clinics, Research Help in Library Instruction Lab (70-267): Tues, May 8 from 10 am to Noon; Wed., May 9 from 10 am to Noon; Mon., May 14 from 11 am to 1 pm; Thurs., May 17 from noon to 2 pm

Friday, March 30, 2012

Tapping Into SDSU

Grossmont College Library has over 100,000 books – but SDSU has even more! Getting something from SDSU is simple: Check their online catalog here-- San Diego State University Library – for what you want, and then make a request using our Interlibrary Loan service with this Interlibrary Loan Form. Your material should then arrive at Grossmont Library within 1-3 days. That’s it – all without having to enter either library! When we call you that your books have arrived, just stop by the Grossmont Library Circulation Desk to check them out.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Have you tried our Group Study Rooms?

The Library's Group Study Rooms are the perfect place to study with classmates or to work on projects together. There are 13 Group Study Rooms available. Five on the 1st floor are checked out to groups of two or more from the Circulation Desk on a first-come-first-served basis. Seven rooms on the 2nd floor are checked out to groups of two or more, and there's one room that can be checked out to a single individual. Second floor rooms check out from the Media Desk and can be reserved in advance by stopping by or calling the Media Desk at 644-7015. Available equipment in the 2nd floor rooms include computers and laptops with webcams, as well as televisions with DVD players.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

What's Your Term Paper's Topic?

Do you have a term paper to write this semester? Students come to the Reference Desk for help with all sorts of topics, from Alternative Energy to Youth Violence. One thing most of them have in common--students can usually find good resources on their topics in these two library databases: CQ Researcher and Opposing Viewpoints. Select them from our list of databases. Give them a try and see if you can find just what you need for your paper.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Library Resources for Allied Health Students

If you are an allied health student and need an easy way to find library resources just for you, visit http://www.grossmont.edu/library/nursing.asp
This webpage provides an easy way for you to find books, articles, e-journals, streaming videos, and career resources for allied health.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

YouTube/Education: A great source of educational videos

If a picture is worth a thousand words...how much are 450,000 YouTube educational videos worth? Check out http://www.youtube.com/education for a little extra help understanding your course materials. And be sure to take a look at YouTube's Khan Academy if you're taking a math, physics or chemistry class. Khan Academy contains 3000+ videos--explaining everything from basic arithmetic to calculus and more--and is visited by a million students a month.

Use a library computer to hop on the Internet and watch one of the YouTube/Education videos. The library is here to help you succeed in college!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

51 New eReference Books added to Credo This Week

Everyone knows that libraries contain encyclopedias and other reference books--rows upon rows of them. But did you know that Grossmont Library has two wonderful databases called Credo Reference and Gale Virtual Reference Library that contain digitized versions of print encylopedias and reference books? They are a snap to search and easy to read right from your own computer. Take a look at Credo Reference and Gale Virtual Reference Library Current students can login from off campus using their firstname(dot)lastname and their 6 digit password.