Have an alternative browser (or two) available on your computer

Posted on February 1, 2012 by kincanj

You probably have a standard browser that you use day in and day out to view the Internet. It’s a good idea, however, to have other browsers available on your computer to help out when technical problems or display issues that arise. Sometimes a website’s designed functionality or display just doesn’t play well with the technology of a specific browser.

In the context of the library, for example, the EBSCO databases have a persistent problem with the Chrome browser (besides Chrome otherwise being a highly recommended browser).

Here are the download pages for some of the major browsers:

Each browser will assume you want it to be your default browser as you download it; just click that option off and continue with the download. You may want to set up your installed browsers with the same home page. Or, you might like to designate the different browsers for different purposes: maybe you’ll populate Firefox with toolbars and extensions that help with school or work, while Chrome is dedicated to online games. Another handy purpose for having different browsers is logging into an online service with multiple identities at the same time. However you choose to manage your Internet browsing, you’ll have a backup browser to try when something’s not working right.

Campus Printing 101

Posted on January 13, 2012 by kincanj

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printer Students have 225 pre-paid print credits attached to their network accounts each term that they are enrolled at WOU.

A single page (one side) of a black & white printout costs 1 credit. A single color printout costs 5 credits.

You can check your print credit balance. If you need to purchase additional credits, do so through WolfWeb under the Student Menu. Credits are immediately available for use.

Whatever credits you don’t use roll over to the next term–so if you have 83 remaining after Fall term, you’ll have 308 when Winter term begins. However, accounts are wiped clean before Fall terms, and everyone starts again with 225.

Print multiple PowerPoint slides to a single page

Posted on January 9, 2012 by kincanj

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Printing professors’ slides for study purposes can quickly diminish print credit balance, make bi Multiple PowerPoint slides printed on a single page nders unwieldy and backpacks heavy, and waste the gifts from our arboreal friends. But if you are not ready to study from the slides in their digital form, you can print several on a single page and reduce your paper consumption considerably.

The key to do this is that you must ha Multiple slides on a single page ve the file in PowerPoint (extensions are .ppt and .pptx). The Print window in this program allows you to change from printing Slides to Handouts (see red arrow), and then to indicate how many Slides per page (see green box).

If the professor has saved the slide set to another format, try getting the same results by printing multiple Pages per Sheet. This is a printer setting, however. We talk about it in the Save paper by printing double-sided post. You can also request the professor makes the slides available in the original file format.

Ask for a librarian when you need research help

Posted on January 9, 2012 by kincanj

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South Park librarian avatars

The library faculty are here to help you learn and discover effective ways to identify, access, and use information. Examples of common questions:

finding a couple articles that are “peer-reviewed” (and understanding what that means)
completing a citation for an article when you only have a title
finding images of landscapes by Chinese painters
citing a strange type of resource properly
finding primary sources regarding German agriculture before and after the industrial revolution. We love helping with wild questions like that. (Seriously, we do.)

Our public services desks are often staffed with our knowledgable and customer-oriented library technicians and student employees. They answer questions regarding library information, resources, and technology, but they call a librarian to provide more complicated or in-depth assistance. You can always ask directly for the available librarian at the desk, or you can schedule an appointment with the librarian appropriate to your subject area. You can also consult subject or class-specific research guides compiled by librarians.

Turn your Facebook network into a study group

Posted on January 6, 2012 by kincanj

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Hoot.me icon Hoot.me is an app that allows for study groups and other project collaboration within Facebook. Your collaboration can be private and shared only with specific friends, or it can be open to others at WOU or worldwide also working on your subject. (You don’t have to be Facebook friends to collaborate on Hoot.) Hoot.me’s chat has the special characters necessary for calculus, chemistry, and more.

Use Ctrl + F to quickly find text

Posted on January 6, 2012 by kincanj

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Ctrl F

Pressing Ctrl and f keys together is an invaluable time saver to find where a certain word or phrase appears in a document. This keyboard shortcut is pretty universal–use it on the web and with pdf viewers as well as in programs such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Using a Mac? Press Command + f to find

EasyBib

Posted on January 3, 2012 by gabaldoc

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EasyBib is an online tool that helps you organize and use your research sources, including the generation of an APA, MLA, or Chicago/Turabian formatted citation list. The library’s link to EasyBib gets you premium access. Create a new project for each of your research projects, and store your bibliography for the life of the project or beyond. Add notes

Connect EasyBib to Google Apps @ WOU for further functionality: Sign in via the Google button, and enter your WOU email address

Posted on May 30, 2011 by kincanj

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3 great sources for international information

Posted on February 24, 2011 by kincanj

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Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO) is a source for international affairs and public policy. It includes full-text books and journals articles; policy briefs and papers from university research and public policy institutes and from non-governmental organizations (NGOs); multimedia case studies on focused topics; and video of heads of state and other world leaders speaking from the Columbia University World Leaders Forum. 1991 to present.
World News Connection provides English translations of statements from international governments and of articles and editorials from non-U.S. print and broadcast media. Covers significant socioeconomic, political, scientific, technical, and environmental issues and events. Items are selected for inclusion by intelligence analysts of the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS), an office within the U.S. federal government. News articles are appended with information regarding the affiliation and editorial stance of the source. 1995 to present
UNdata combines major United Nations databases and those of several other international organizations into a single interface. Provides country profiles; international data on agriculture, crime, education, energy, industry, labor, national accounts, population and tourism; and progress toward Millennium Development Goals and other indicators.