Category Archives: Did you know

What do people think? Find poll results on your topic

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Polling the Nations is an online database of public opinion polls containing the full text of 600,000+ questions and responses, from 18,000+ surveys and 1,700+ polling organizations, conducted from 1986 through the present in the United States and more than 100 other countries around the world. Questions cover politics and elections; big issues such as health care, education, and the environment; personal beliefs and household activities such as commuting, prayer and religion, and sleep habits; and opinions of prominent people. All the polls in the database used scientifically selected random samples.

Biography Reference Center

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Biography Reference CenterBiography Reference Center serves up detailed and concise biographies, in full-text, from respected reference sources and magazine articles. In addition to searching by name for a known individual, you can discover notable people by searching fields or browsing categories. Search fields include profession or activity, nationality or U.S. ethnicity, gender, lifespan, and places of birth and death.  Over 30 genre categories cluster together people who have commonalities even when their professions diverge: for example, Activists & Reformers, Business Leaders, Obama Administration, or World War II.

Need statistics to support your thesis?

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logo for ProQuest Statistical InsightProQuest Statistical Insight provides data from agencies of the federal government, major international intergovernmental organizations, professional and trade organizations, commercial publishers, independent research organizations, state government agencies, and universities. It’s a single search across many authoritative sources.

Food & Drink Guideline: Leave No Trace

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bagel.jpgLeave No Trace are principles of outdoor ethics that help people enjoy public lands in a way that minimizes environmental impact.  We encourage applying these principles to the library setting, especially in regards to having food and drink.  The primary goal is to ensure both the comfort of library users and a long life for library collections, furnishings, and equipment.

  • Plan accordingly: If you do carry in food or drinks, avoid messy foods that may damage library material and facilities or be disruptive to others, and have drinks in containers unlikely to spill.
  • Dispose of recyclables and waste properly.
  • Leave what you find: Leave library resources, furnishings, and equipment as you found them–or in better condition than you found them.
  • Be considerate of other visitors: Respect nearby library users, the next library user who will use your space, and the next generation of library users.
  • Report accidents to library staff as soon as possible.

Specific Prohibitions:

  • Use of tobacco in any form is prohibited throughout the Hamersly Library. Smoking areas are designated to the south of both outside entrances.
  • Alcohol is strictly prohibited. The library complies with WOU’s alcohol policy.
  • The library reserves the right to ask patrons to eat specific foods elsewhere.

Walk-up Scanner: No login, no charge!

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The library is exploring options to get a walk-up scanner, and we want your feedback! We have a demonstration unit in the Copy Center in the Hamersly Library. This unit is similar to the one we are considering purchasing. It allows for immediate scanning (no log-in necessary) to PDF (including word-searchable PDF), JPG, PNG, rich text, and …audio file! Yes, it will take text and convert it to a machine-read mp3 file.

You can then output the scanned documents to:

  • an email address
  • Google Drive (Google Docs)
  • a USB drive
  • a QR Code to scan with your smartphone or tablet

All functions are accessed through a user-friendly touchscreen. The model we are considering differs in these features:BookEye Scanner

  • Face-up scanning
  • Oversized scanning, up to 17” x  24”
  • Adjustable platform, lays flat or cradles a book
  • SmartDock, for direct, wireless transfer to smartphone, tablet, or notebook PC

 

 

Try it out, then give us your feedback using the slips next to the machine. You can also provide feedback via our online survey.

All I see is the article’s summary–where’s the whole article?

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Sometimes full articles are available directly from the library databases.  But in many instances, there is no link to the full text of the article, and you only have the summary (or even just the citation information).  This is when you use the  Find it @ WOU button.

Find it @ WOUSee our Find it @ WOU tutorial to discover how we’ll link you to the full text in our electronic sources, to our print sources & Scan & Deliver service, to Articles OnDemand, and to Interlibrary Loan, as appropriate.

 

eReader Petting Zoo this Monday

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Monday, Nov. 19, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.eReader next to stack of paper books
Hamersly Library lobby

The eReader Petting Zoo allows you time in a non-commercial setting to poke around several brands and formats of eBook devices and to discuss their pros and cons.  (Reminder: holiday shopping is imminent.)

We’ll have a variety of devices for you to play with

  • Kindle, 6″ E Ink Display
  • NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight
  • Kobo
  • The new Kindle Fire HD 7″
  • Google Nexus 7
  • iPad 2

Also, we will schedule our ebooks and ereader workshop in January, during which we’ll detail how to download library ebooks onto your smartphone, tablet, or eReader (possibly a brand new one from the holidays?).  These will be reprised from the workshop first held during Faculty Week 2012, but we’ll have focused sessions for iPad/iPhone owners, for Kindle owners, and general sessions for owners of other devices. You can also consult our Ebooks @ WOU guide and consult with us if you have problems.

PURE Insights: Explore undergraduate research at WOU

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PURE Insights coverPURE Insights is WOU’s peer-reviewed Undergraduate Research Journal and includes works by WOU undergraduate students working closely with a WOU faculty mentor. Since the publication of the inaugural issue at the end of May, content from PURE Insights has been downloaded more than 1660 times by visitors from 43 different countries.

The next issue will be published in May 2013, with a submission deadline of December 31, 2012.