iPhone Apps for Research and Collaboration

If you’re like me, much of the time spent away from your laptop is spent checking your phone for news, email and new xkcd comics.  If you’re spending that much time on your phone, you might as well do something useful.

Check out the following free apps to help you search the literature, cite your sources, and organize your work.

iPhone apps for research and collaboration

Ebsco Databases – Ebsco provides access to a large number of databases via one app (ERIC, Georef, American History and Life, MLA International Bibliography, Business Source Complete, Academic Search Complete and lots of others).  Because access to these databases is paid for by the library (with your tuition dollars), you need to log in to Academic Search Complete via the library website first.  At the bottom of the screen you’ll click on a link that will send an email with an activation code.  After downloading the app, open your email on your phone and click on the link.  You will then have 9 months of access.  I’ve found this process to be pretty simple and easy – no need to log in every time.  The app will connect you to full text articles within the Ebsco databases, and even Geneseo’s “Get it” service for articles found elsewhere.

SciVerse Scopus Alerts – A search app for the interdisciplinary database Scopus.  This app can do keyword searching, citation tracking, and alerts for the science and social science literature.  Scopus is an outstanding database, but the app has some issues.  The biggest problem is getting it to work.  You need to remember your Scopus username and password (not your Geneseo username), and even then there can be trouble.  While the tech support is responsive, it just isn’t as easy to get started as the Ebsco app above.

Evernote – I recently started using this piece of software on my computer for note taking during meetings and lectures.  I am in love with its simplicity and universal usefulness.  Take class notes on your computer, then download the iPhone app to access them anywhere.  Record voice notes on your phone and automatically sync them to your laptop.  Take pictures with your phone and insert them into the notes you’ve already started, or start a new note.  The iPhone app syncs with the desktop application so that you never have to guess where a certain piece of information is.  Share notes with others via shared notebooks or simple weblinks.  I love this app.

Dropbox – Along with the Dropbox website, this tool allows you to easily share files among friends (with shared folders), or between your computer and phone.

EasyBib – An app from the popular website.  This app allows you to scan the barcode of a book and create a formatted citation (which you will, of course, check against the style manuals for accuracy).

Merriam Webster Dictionary – There are lots of dictionary apps out there.  This one is free, and has a nifty voice search function.

Mendeley – This app works with Mendeley Desktop and the Mendeley website.  It allows you to store and organize your PDF journal articles and book chapters.  It’s like iTunes for journal articles: Mendeley will organize your folders for you and you can create folders (playlists) of articles.  You can share those folders with others to help you collaborate on group projects.  The desktop version integrates with Microsoft word to help you cite your sources.  This mobile app allows you to access the journal PDFs you have synced to the web, as well as the ability to search your personal library.

Since I don’t have an Android phone, I can’t comment on the availability or usability of these apps on that platform.  Perhaps in another post.

What apps do you use to get your work done?

Open Positions: Business Manager and Electronic Resources & Digital Scholarship Librarian

Milne Library is hiring!  We currently have two open positions:

• Library Business Manager
• Electronic Resources and Digital Scholarship Librarian

Both jobs are full time, 12 month positions.  Follow the links above for complete job descriptions.  Applications can be submitted via the SUNY Geneseo HR website.

Spring Break Library Hours

Milne library will have reduced hours over spring break.

Friday, March 11	7:30 AM – 4:00 PM
Saturday, March 12 to Sunday, March 13	CLOSED
Monday, March 14 to Friday, March 18	8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Saturday, March 19	CLOSED
Sunday, March 20	6:00 PM – 1:00 AM

Get Milne Library and SUNY Geneseo info on your mobile device

The new SUNY Geneseo mobile website

SUNY Geneseo recently announced a new mobile website.  Now you have easy access to a wide variety of campus information from your mobile device:

• Building Hours
• Campus phone book
• News and Events
• Campus maps

And don’t forget the Milne Library mobile site, with easy access to library hours, staff contact information, and mobile versions of some of your favorite research databases!

Scopus and ScienceDirect will be down on Saturday, February 26

The databases Scopus and ScienceDirect will be down for a planned outage all day on Saturday, February 26 (8am to 8pm).  This also means that most access to journals from the publisher Elsevier will not be available.

The company that produces Scopus announced a planned outage for February 26

Students who have upcoming research projects can browse our subject guides to find alternative databases for their topics.  For alternative access to journals, use our journal finder to locate individual titles.  Research help is available at the service desk any time the library is open, and a reference librarian will be on duty from 12noon to 5pm on the day of the outage (2/26).

Additional information about the scheduled outage is available from the company here.

A few numbers about Milne Library in 2010

A quick numerical snapshot of Milne Library in 2010.  (All numbers are approximate).

• 180,000 – Number of times folks logged in to library computers.
• 1,562,000 – Pages printed to library printers.
• 1,800 – Items purchased for the collection
• 3,000 – Items donated to Milne Library
  

  Image courtesy of flickr user Koen Vereeken

  • 360 of these items added to our collection
  • 2640 items donated to Better World Books
• 35,357 – Books and other items borrowed from other libraries through IDS in 2010, averaging 5-9 days to arrive.
• 8,776 – Articles and book chapters delivered through IDS arriving in 2-3 days on average
• 2,483 – Reference questions
• 377,701 – Pageviews of the library homepage
• 37,932 – Number of journals, newspapers and magazines we have (at least partial) electronic access to
• 114 – Journals, newspapers and magazines we currently receive in print only
• 308,538 – Full text article downloads from our electronic resources
• 424 – Library instruction classes and workshops with 6,877 attendees

Winter Break Library Hours

Milne Library will be CLOSED during SUNY Geneseo’s curtailment period from December 24, 2010 to January 2, 2011.

January 3 to January 16, 2011

Monday – Friday	8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Saturday – Sunday	CLOSED

We will be open 7:30am to 6:00pm on Monday, January 17th (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day). Regular Hours resume January 18th.

Library and CIT Workshops for faculty: January 2011 Teaching and Research Academy

Faculty can use this form to register for any of the workshops listed below.

Introduction to myCourses

Thursday, January 6, 2011 (9-10:00 am) and REPEATED Wednesday, January 12, 2011 (9-10:00 am) — Location: South 328 — All myCourses workshops are taught by Laura Cook and Marie Shero (CIT)

This training offers a comprehensive introduction to the features and user interface of myCourses and is designed for beginners. This session will familiarize faculty with the following aspects of this online tool:

• Initial Set-Up (Login, Course Lists, Themes, Navigation)
• Basic Content Creation (User Tracking, Uploading Syllabus)
• Management Tools (Edit Course Begin Date, Roster Management)
• Data Management (Policy, LOR, Merging Classes)
• Communication (eMail, Calendar, Announcements, Tokens, eRes)

Instructional Design and Best Practices using myCourses

Thursday, January 6, 2011 (10:15-11:30 am) and REPEATED Wednesday, January 12, 2011 (10:15-11:30 am) — South 328

This training is for intermediate users who are familiar with creating course materials within myCourses. This training includes:

• Presentation & Organization (design your course for maximum effectiveness)
• Dropbox & Assessment Best Practices
• How to Create Effective Discussion Forums
• Managing and Organizing Team Assignments

myCourses Gradebook

Thursday, January 6, 2011 (1:30 -2:30 pm) and REPEATED Wednesday, January 12, 2011 (1:30 – 2:30 pm) — Location: South 328

Are you interested in getting your gradebook(s) set up for Spring semester?  Bring your grading criteria and learn how easy it is to use the myCourses gradebook.  This tool cna be used for grading some or all of your assignments.  If you love Excel and have not wanted to change, we will show you how you can incorporate the best of both worlds.

Incorporating Grading Rubrics in myCourses

Thursday, January 6, 2011 (2:30 -3:00 pm) and REPEATED Wednesday, January 12, 2011 (2:30 – 3:00 pm) — Location: South 328

Did you know instructors can created and utilize grading rubrics within myCourses?  Join us for this hands on session to learn how easy it is to create and incorporate grading rubrics for point-and-click grading of dropbox submissions, essays, or short answer assessment questions.  Instructors can allow students to preview their criteria before beginning an assignment and/or after the submission!

Scholar Universe and Managing Your Online Identity

Monday, January 10, 2011 (3-4pm) — Location: Milne 104– Presentation by Anne Baldwin (The Office of Sponsored Research) and Bonnie Swoger (Milne Library)

Scholar Universe was recently purchased by the Research Foundation of SUNY to facilitate collaborations across the SUNY system and beyond. Each faculty member has an expertise profile within Scholar Universe which will be publicly accessible. Learn how to manage your Scholar Universe profile and about additional online tools for claiming your scholarly identity.

Organizing Digital Information with the Diigo Bookmarking tool

Tuesday, January 11, 2011 (3-4 pm) — Location:  Milne 208 — Presentation by Tracy Paradis (Milne Library)

Learn how to annotate and tag the web while creating your own personal archive. Diigo is a powerful collaborative research tool that integrates tags and folders, highlighting and clipping, sticky notes, and group-based collaboration, enabling the process of online knowledge management, learning, and teaching. Use it in your teaching to highlight critical features within text and images, write comments, and group materials into the units you want and do it all directly on the Web without the hassles of downloading, uploading, or printing.  Due to the hands-on nature of this workshop, participants will need to bring their own laptop computer.

A Closer Look at Free Citation Management Tools

Wednesday, January 12, 2011 (3-4pm) — Location: Milne 208 — Presentation by Justina Elmore and Bonnie Swoger (Milne Library)

Organizing the journal articles, documents, web pages and other information sources on your computer or on the web can be a daunting task. This workshop will introduce and compare the two most popular free citation tools available, Mendeley and Zotero. These tools will help you organize, analyze, cite and share your information resources. We will discuss the differences and similarities, and outline the pros and cons for each tool. Participants will have an opportunity to start using the tool that best meets their needs.  Due to the hands-on nature of this workshop, participants will need to bring their own laptop computer.

Prepping for finals: study space, extra help and extended library hours

Study Space

With finals approaching, Milne Library can get pretty busy.  If you are looking for additional study space you may want to consider these options:

• Milne Library Lower Level – Milne Library recently created additional study space on the lower level near the windows
• Fraser Study Center – Perfect for quiet study, this space is available whenever the building is open (you can also access this via South Hall, which is normally open 24 hours.)
• South Hall 225 and 329 Computer labs – Open 24 hours.  Enter through the main doors to South Hall.

Extra Help

If you are looking for extra help, you may want to check out some of the many learning centers on campus:

• Research Help
  • A reference librarian is available to help you find the material you need.  Just ask for help at the service desk.
  • You can also call us, email us or IM us for additional help.
  • 10am to 10pm Monday to Thursday
  • 10am to 2pm on Friday
  • 12pm to 5pm on Saturday
  • 3pm to 9pm on Sundays
• Writing Learning Center (Only open through study day)
  • Walk in hours in Milne Library Room 209 Monday to Thursday 8pm to 11pm and Sunday from 6pm to 9pm
  • Help by appointment in Welles 217 Monday – Friday, 1:00 pm-5:00 pm
• The Math Learning Center (South Hall 332)
  • 11:00 AM – 2:30 PM and 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM Monday through Thursday
  • 11:00 AM – 2:30 PM Friday
  • 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM Sunday
• Biology Learning Center – See their website for hours and courses covered.
• Chemistry Learning Center – Tutoring for General and Organic Chemistry.  See their website for hours and courses.
• Physics Learning Center (ISC 233)
  • 5pm to 9pm Mondays
  • 3pm to 9pm Tuesday and Wednesdays

Milne Library Extended Hours for Finals Week

Monday, December 13 to Thursday, December 16	7:30 AM – 1:00 AM
Friday, December 17	7:30 AM – 12:00 AM
Saturday, December 18	10:00 AM – 12:00 AM
Sunday, December 19	10:00 AM – 1:00 AM
Monday, December 20	7:30 AM – 1:00 AM
Tuesday, December 21	7:30 AM – 7:00 PM
Wednesday, December 22 to Thursday, December 23	8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Friday, December 24 to Sunday, December 26	CLOSED

Fall 2010 Library Newsletter Available

Fall 2010 Infobits.

The Fall 2010 Milne Library newsletter, Infobits, is now available online.

You can also view previous issues of the newsletter on the Friends of Milne Library website.

While you are there, you can also learn about how to join the Friends of Milne Library, the benefits of membership and how you can support library services and programs