PolyThinkers Pad » Humanities & Social Sci http://www.poly.edu/library/blog fueling polythinking with library news, tips and more Tue, 13 May 2008 21:02:22 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.1 en New Collection of Springer e-books available on trial through May 31st http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/05/13/check-it-out-new-collection-of-online-journals-and-e-books/ http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/05/13/check-it-out-new-collection-of-online-journals-and-e-books/#comments Tue, 13 May 2008 21:00:59 +0000 Ingrid databasesresearch http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/05/13/check-it-out-new-collection-of-online-journals-and-e-books/ A wide selection of e-books at SpringerLink is now available for the Poly community to use on a trial basis through May 31st. SpringerLink offers journals and books in a variety of disciplines such as biomedicine, chemistry, physics, engineering, mathematics, computer science, humanities, and economics. Free access to tables of contents, detailed abstracts and editorial background are available for every publication, and full text is offered for many.

Take a moment to run a couple searches in SpringerLink and see how easy it is to narrow your results to fit your criteria. You can also sign up for alerts on the latest titles in your field. Give it a shot and let us know if you find it useful by leaving a comment below. Your feedback will help us decide whether or not to purchase this resource for the library.

]]> http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/05/13/check-it-out-new-collection-of-online-journals-and-e-books/feed/ Britannica world data resources http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/03/24/britannica-world-data-resources/ http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/03/24/britannica-world-data-resources/#comments Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:46:08 +0000 Gavin online resourcesreferenceresearch http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/03/24/britannica-world-data-resources/ Do you ever need to find quick and comprehensive statistical data on a country?  Ever interested in comparing lesser known quantitative data from two or more countries?  Have a look at the Britannica Online World Data Analyst.  “Country Snapshots” provide the basic  data on a country.  “Ranked Statistics”  lets you view the countries with the highest or lowest rank in a particular category.   “Chronological Comparisons” allows you to select one or more countries, choose a data category, and display how they compare historically in either table format or chart format.  “Current Comparisons” enable you to display the most current available data in table or chart format.    Data fields include such recognizable and high demand ones as “GNP,” “Life expectancy,” and lesser known fields like “Percent of economically active engaged in services,” and even “Roots and tubers production.”  So whether you need to do some serious research, or are just looking to indulge your curiousity, this resource is well worth your time.

]]> http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/03/24/britannica-world-data-resources/feed/ Take a break with fiction anthologies http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/03/20/take-a-break-with-fiction-anthologies/ http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/03/20/take-a-break-with-fiction-anthologies/#comments Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:38:07 +0000 Gavin http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/03/20/take-a-break-with-fiction-anthologies/ Although the library focuses on science and technology resources, it has much more to offer eager readers: a selection of international literature, notable biographies, core classics of literature, works of genre fiction, and even contemporary international fiction. If you are in the mood to dabble in some short works of genre fiction, you may be interested in some recent additions to the library’s anthology collection.

Sleuths of the Century is a collection of short stories featuring some of the greatest fictional sleuths of the 20th century. Older names like Perry Mason and Hercule Poirot are found alongside more recent figures like Easy Rawlins and V.I. Warshawski. Call number: PN6071.D45 S64 2000

Oxford University Press is known for producing some of the finest anthologies in many different genres. The Oxford book of Detective stories “brings together some of the best short fiction from around the world,” ranging in date from the 19th century to contemporary times. Call number: PN6120.95.D45 O95 2002

The American Fantasy Tradition pulls together authors ranging in date from Washington Irving in the early 19th century, to contemporary masters. It is divided into three parts, covering a wide range of materials: “Part I: Folk, Tall and Weird Tales,” “Part II: Fantastic Americana,” “Part III: Lands of Enchantment and Everyday Life.” Call number: PS648.F3 A64 2002

None of the stories in “Subway Chronicles: Scenes of life in New York,” were written as far back as some of the stories in the other anthologies, but there are some older reminiscences, as well as contemporary stories. The volume features notable writers, and is “[e]qual parts hilarious, poignant, and heartbreaking … a journey into New York’s underground with some of today’s most loved writers.” Call number: PS648.S5 S79 2006

]]> http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/03/20/take-a-break-with-fiction-anthologies/feed/ Read bestsellers online for free http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/03/05/read-bestsellers-online/ http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/03/05/read-bestsellers-online/#comments Wed, 05 Mar 2008 21:31:57 +0000 Gavin http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/03/05/read-bestsellers-online/ You might be aware that there are thousands of copyright free books available online for reading. (If not, see this recent post.) There are even many open source journal sites (as mentioned in an earlier post) and open courseware pages  (mentioned in yet another another post). But did you know that there are some sites that allow you to read the full text of relatively recent, popular fiction that is still under copyright and currently on sale? Some publishers view this as the equivalent of removing the shrink wrap in bookstores and allowing the user to leaf through the contents. The hope is that this will actually increase sales, because reading a book on a computer monitor is still an unsatisfactory experience for most people. Harper Collins makes available a small selection of books for online reading every month, including immensely popular works by Neil Gaiman, and Paul Coelho.

Another site, Baen Books , offers full access to a much larger collection, but in a more limited category – they specialize in Sci-Fi /Fantasy. The Baen library includes such luminaries of the genre as Larry Niven and Lois McMaster Bujold.

]]> http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/03/05/read-bestsellers-online/feed/ Harvard research to become Open Access http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/02/15/harvard-research-to-become-open-access/ http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/02/15/harvard-research-to-become-open-access/#comments Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:28:40 +0000 Ingrid open access http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/02/15/harvard-research-to-become-open-access/ The movement towards Open Access (free, online access to scholarly works) received a big boost this week. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard voted unanimously to make their scholarly articles available online for free. The library will oversee a newly created Office of Scholarly Communication that will handle the project.

Visit Dibner Library’s links on delicious for more information on Open Access.

]]> http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/02/15/harvard-research-to-become-open-access/feed/ Why the “Manhattan Project” really was! http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2007/11/06/why-the-manhattan-project-really-was/ http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2007/11/06/why-the-manhattan-project-really-was/#comments Tue, 06 Nov 2007 20:24:26 +0000 Gavin http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2007/11/06/why-the-manhattan-project-really-was/ Most people who know that the “Manhattan Project” was the code name for top secret US government efforts to develop the atomic bomb, probably associate the program solely with the Los Alamos desert facility.  In fact the name accurately identifies the location where much of the work was done.  There are many buildings in New York City that held truckloads of uranium.  Columbia University scientists labored on the project, and its football players were once employed to transport tons of uranium.   Important Manhattan sites include, “warehouses that held uranium, laboratories that split the atom, and the project’s first headquarters.”  Read more about this fascinating story in Why They Called It the Manhattan Project.

]]> http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2007/11/06/why-the-manhattan-project-really-was/feed/ New at Dibner Library: Harmonious Triads by Professor Myles Jackson http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2007/10/27/new-at-dibner-library-harmonious-triads-by-professor-myles-jackson/ http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2007/10/27/new-at-dibner-library-harmonious-triads-by-professor-myles-jackson/#comments Sat, 27 Oct 2007 13:00:02 +0000 Ingrid historyphysics http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2007/10/27/new-at-dibner-library-harmonious-triads-by-professor-myles-jackson/ bkcover-harmonious.jpgIn Harmonious Triads: Physicists, Musicians, and Instrument Makers in Nineteenth-Century Germany, Professor Myles Jackson delves into a time when scientists were committed to understanding the world of music. In the nineteenth century, physicists, musical instrument makers, and performers tried to understand the nature of musical genius, the underlying physics of acoustics, and the instruments themselves. Musical instruments provided physicists with experimental systems, and physicists’ research led directly to improvements in manufacturing instruments.

Myles Jackson is a History of Science and Technology Professor at Poly whose research interests include molecular biology and intellectual property in Europe and the US, genetic privacy issues, and the history of 18th and 19th-century German physics. His first book, Spectrum of Belief: Joseph von Fraunhofer and the Craft of Precision Optics is also available in the Dibner Library.

]]> http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2007/10/27/new-at-dibner-library-harmonious-triads-by-professor-myles-jackson/feed/ Featured Resource: Directory of open access journals http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2007/10/17/featured-resource-directory-of-open-access-journals/ http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2007/10/17/featured-resource-directory-of-open-access-journals/#comments Wed, 17 Oct 2007 15:47:45 +0000 Ingrid biological engbiologychemical engchemistryhistorymechanical engmedicineonline resourcesopen accessphysicsresearchtechnology http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2007/10/17/featured-resource-directory-of-open-access-journals/ Open Access publishing continues to rise at an astronomical rate as researchers hope to maximize their impact by providing free access to their scholarly articles online. But all this newly available material does little good if you don’t know where to find it. Fortunately the good folks at Lund University in Sweden have created the Directory of Open Access Journals.

The Directory of Open Access Journals is a carefully vetted list of fully open access, peer-reviewed scholarly journals covering all subjects and languages. It currently lists a total of 2,870 journals, with a net growth rate of 1.2 titles per calendar day over the past year. The directory aims to be a “one stop shop for users to Open Access Journals.”

Subjects covered in the Directory include: (more…)

]]> http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2007/10/17/featured-resource-directory-of-open-access-journals/feed/ Books by Dr. Jill Jonnes in the Dibner Library http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2007/10/05/books-by-dr-jill-jonnes-in-the-dibner-library/ http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2007/10/05/books-by-dr-jill-jonnes-in-the-dibner-library/#comments Fri, 05 Oct 2007 14:45:45 +0000 Gavin history http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2007/10/05/books-by-dr-jill-jonnes-in-the-dibner-library/ Has the recent presentation by Dr. Jill Jonnes roused your curiosity about the author’s work? In addition to Conquering Gotham: A Gilded Age Epic: The Construction of Penn Station and Its Tunnels, mentioned in a prior post, the library owns:

South Bronx Rising: The rise, fall, and resurrection of an American city

Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World

Hep-Cats, Narcs, and Pipe Dreams: A History of America’s Romance with Illegal Drugs

These and many other fascinating accounts related to the subject of American history and culture are available at the Dibner Library.

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