PolyThinkers Pad » Staff Picks http://www.poly.edu/library/blog fueling polythinking with library news, tips and more Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:30:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.1 en President Hultin’s Picks: What to read along the road to success http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2009/07/30/president-hultins-picks-what-to-read-along-the-road-to-success/ http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2009/07/30/president-hultins-picks-what-to-read-along-the-road-to-success/#comments Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:26:49 +0000 Ingrid http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2009/07/30/president-hultins-picks-what-to-read-along-the-road-to-success/ What kind of books do innovative leaders like President Jerry Hultin like to read? Find out by browsing through his latest selection of recommended reading.  You’ll find books about big ideas, success stories, innovation and entrepreneurship.   Whether you are looking to be inspired or enlightened, this collection of books is sure to provide you with ideas that can help you succeed at NYU-Poly and beyond.

againstthegods_75×110.jpgArt of StartThe BoxBrand newDilbert

ExecutiveFifth DisciplineInnventor’s DilemaIntellectual CapitalThe Knack

Made to StickNew New ThingNuts!On CompetitionPersonal History

surfing1.jpgWisdom of the CrowdHow to Win Friends and Influence Peoplee-Myth RevisitedSoul of a new Machine

More books recommended by President Hultin are available in PolyCat.

]]> http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2009/07/30/president-hultins-picks-what-to-read-along-the-road-to-success/feed/ New books to help you plan for life after graduation http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2009/03/18/new-books-to-help-you-plan-for-life-after-graduation/ http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2009/03/18/new-books-to-help-you-plan-for-life-after-graduation/#comments Wed, 18 Mar 2009 19:06:21 +0000 Ingrid reference http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2009/03/18/new-books-to-help-you-plan-for-life-after-graduation/ The best time to start planning your future is right now.

No matter where you are in your education process, the earlier you start thinking about where you’d like to be after school the better. For great advice for job-seeking grads – and future job-seeking grads – read, Advice for Students: Start Planning Now for Life After College. It includes useful tips on networking, using your summers wisely, and taking advantage of campus resources like Career Services.

The Dibner Library is another valuable resource to turn to for help when thinking about your future.  We recently acquired a number of new career planning books that can assist you in every every stage of the planning process - whether you’re still trying to figure out which career path best suits you or you’re ready to pound the pavement.

Some of our new career books include:

getting-from-college-to-career.jpgexpert-resumes.JPGknockemdead.jpginfo-tech-jobs.jpg

]]> http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2009/03/18/new-books-to-help-you-plan-for-life-after-graduation/feed/ Libraries and digital images http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2009/01/21/libraries-and-digital-images/ http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2009/01/21/libraries-and-digital-images/#comments Wed, 21 Jan 2009 19:10:02 +0000 Gavin referenceweb resources http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2009/01/21/libraries-and-digital-images/ In the pre-World Wide Web days, I once believed that  the only way to see prints, maps, photographs and other archival image collections in libraries was to make an appointment, sign in, move to a seldom visited room and wait for the material to be brought. I cannot say for sure if that is exactly what happened in most places, but I suspect that it is not far from the truth.

Things have changed  considerably.  I have long thought that libraries  made very Icaruseffective use of the Web from the earliest days. (see Google settlement re-maps online book world.) One of the most valuable services of libraries when the web was young was to begin the process of digitizing and bringing these heretofore hard to reach collections online. The availability of material has grown by leaps and bounds with many well known historical documents now accessible in high resolution digital form.   Prestigious online galleries include the Library of Congress Digital Collections and the New York Public Library Digital Gallery. (more…)

]]> http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2009/01/21/libraries-and-digital-images/feed/ Get your summer reading at Dibner Library http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/06/10/get-your-summer-reading-at-dibner-library/ http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/06/10/get-your-summer-reading-at-dibner-library/#comments Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:13:52 +0000 Ingrid http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/06/10/get-your-summer-reading-at-dibner-library/ The hazy, lazy days of summer are here. Next time you head to the beach or park for a reprieve from the heat, bring along something to read to take your mind off work. While you’re probably used to finding scholarly articles or text books at the Dibner Library, did you know that we also have a selection of popular nonfiction and novels? Instead of heading to the book store, save your cash for some ice cold drinks and check out our collection.

summerbooks.jpg

Listed below is a small sample of what’s available at Dibner Library. Follow the links to the item’s record in our our new catalog, PolyCat, where you’ll find book descriptions, photos, and reviews from Amazon. We are still working out some kinks as we complete the installation of PolyCat. Please feel free to give us feedback and stay tuned for more information about the new catalog.

Suggested Summer Reading

Fiction:

Non Fiction:

]]> http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/06/10/get-your-summer-reading-at-dibner-library/feed/ Brittle Timbuktu manuscripts being digitized http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/05/22/brittle-timbuktu-manuscripts-being-digitized/ http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/05/22/brittle-timbuktu-manuscripts-being-digitized/#comments Thu, 22 May 2008 14:05:58 +0000 Gavin history http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/05/22/brittle-timbuktu-manuscripts-being-digitized/ Timbuktu In a good sign for those who appreciate the value of historic texts, the current wave of digitization continues to expand. Timbuktu may be a dusty mud brick village today, but it was once a thriving commercial and intellectual center. Now remnants of its past, in the form of brittle manuscripts found in assorted hard to reach collections, are being digitized for the world to see.  An article appearing in the New York times, profiles the project and notes that the collection will be hosted by Aluka, a nonprofit organization devoted to “bringing knowledge from and about Africa to the scholarly world.”

In order to digitize the manuscript, media technicians from Northwestern University set up a high-resolution digital photo studio amid the dust storms and frequent power interruptions.  Only a few texts are currently available, but in the future, those who pore through the collection of  manuscripts will find that a wide range of topics had captured the attention of Timbuktu scholars, including the sciences, literature, law, and religious practices.

]]> http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/05/22/brittle-timbuktu-manuscripts-being-digitized/feed/ Another kind of visualization http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/04/02/190/ http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/04/02/190/#comments Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:03:01 +0000 Jana civil engweb resources http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/03/27/190/ Curious about How Well Your State’s Bridges are Doing? or about the Condition of U.S. Highway Bridges? Have a look and see the data in a visual format. The folks at IBM’s Collaborative User Experience research group use visualization “as an efficient way of transferring a large amount of information from a database into an individual’s head. They believe that visualizations become even more powerful when multiple people access them for collaborative sense making. They developed Many Eyes, a public web site that allows users to gather data, visualize it, and discuss their visualizations. They use the site as an experimental platform to test our hypotheses about the ability of visualizations to spur communication and social interaction, and how that activity may yield new insights into data. Many Eyes is a bet on the power of human visual intelligence to find patterns. The goal is to “democratize” visualization and to enable a new social kind of data analysis. Have a look how it works, and tell us what you think.

]]> http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2008/04/02/190/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/ Stay warm this winter - cozy up with a good book http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2007/12/21/stay-warm-this-winter-cozy-up-with-a-good-book/ http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2007/12/21/stay-warm-this-winter-cozy-up-with-a-good-book/#comments Fri, 21 Dec 2007 20:17:17 +0000 Ingrid http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2007/12/21/stay-warm-this-winter-cozy-up-with-a-good-book/ reading guide imageWhen exams are over and your last paper is turned in, indulge in some reading that doesn’t involve highlighting or taking notes. This year’s Winter Break Reading Guide explores information technology and its role in our everyday lives. The collection includes five books from Amazon’s Best of 2007 list and covers everything from programming to advanced web surfing to technology’s effect on our social, political and cultural future.

The library will be closed from 10 pm December 21 until January 2, 2008.

Happy Holidays from everyone here at the Dibner Library!

]]> http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2007/12/21/stay-warm-this-winter-cozy-up-with-a-good-book/feed/ Conversation Network http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2007/10/11/conversation-network/ http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2007/10/11/conversation-network/#comments Thu, 11 Oct 2007 20:22:43 +0000 Jana http://www.poly.edu/library/blog/2007/10/11/conversation-network/ Need to get inspired? Check out the Conversation Network, a listener-supported non-profit podcast network. Currently the network offers three channels IT Conversations, Social Innovation Conversations (from the Center for Social Innovation at Stanford Business School) and Media Conversations. The idea behind the Conversation Network is to offer full recording of presentations or interviews by inspiring minds of our times which are educational, inspirational and entertaining conference sessions, lectures, debates and other spoken-word presentations.

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