Today we took our mid-term exam for LIB 103. The night before, I did not study. The day of the exam, I did not study. But the past several weeks in class I have been closely paying attention to the lectures and in-class activities. There are some people who can never go to class but “cram” for a test and make an “A”. But for me it is more about going to class and paying attention. Some people in the class stay “hooked” to their computer screen the entire time while Rachael is lecturing. I find this to be a little rude to the teacher, but it is their choice to pay attention or not. I believe that in any class, the student should look the teacher in the eye and participate in all class lessons. I have not missed a single class and don’t intend to because it is important to hear everything that goes on during class. Throughout my college education here at UNCW, I have found the importance of attending class. My freshman year I had an 8 o’clock math class with a Chinese teacher that I could not understand. I barely woke up for class and only made efforts to attend days of exams. Well, I ended up with an “F” in the class and gained a new attitude for college education. For the test today, I didn’t prepare last night or the night before, but I have been preparing the entire semester. I felt like I did well on the exam and think the only question I got wrong was the last one on the search string. Yeah for me!!!!
Class Time February 27, 2008
On Monday, our class did a few exercises to prepare for our mid-term exam and we covered some new material discussing proper writing techniques. One of these new techniques was looking at words called peacocks and weasels. Peacock words are ones used to show off, or strut your stuff; like a peacock. This describes words that are of extential vocabulary that often don’t get the idea across. Weasel words are ones used to beat around the bush and send a confusing message. If a student writes an essay about a subject, and one topic they don’t understand they will use weasel words or techniques to get away from that topic and move on to the next section. Another technique we went over was how to correctly use the comma. Some examples are to enclose parenthetic expressions between commas. Depending on the flow of the sentence, commas may be omitted. Clauses introduced with where or when are usually punctuated. For example, In 1996, the
The Mini Library February 13, 2008
Today we went to the Curriculum Materials Center which is located in the Watson School of Education. The Curriculum Materials Center is a specialized collection of the Randall Library. It has lots of textbooks from many different subjects, but only for that of education. This little library has many books that are for learning and teaching. Although great textbooks for elementary, middle, and high school students but they are great tools for UNCW education majors who practice teaching and tutoring using these books. When we arrived, there were several objects on each table that were an example of teaching tools for elementary education. I had a building set that was similar to a Lincoln Logs set, but it was of Arabian architecture which makes my old Lincoln Logs set a little out dated. Other examples that were present on the tables were things like 3-D models of the solar system, mini percussion instruments, and an oversized model of the human mouth. These items of education and enrichment can really play an important role in education. I think it is important for schools like UNCW to have an education program that gives the student all the tools one needs to be a successful educator because they will be teaching children who are our nation’s future.
Still Searching!! February 13, 2008
Lately in class we have gone over proper search methods and emphasizing the different ways of searching for materials on databases and catalogs. We looked at keyword searching and using correct search strings. A search string can be one word to several words. It describes the topic you intend to search for and gives any other describing factors that may also be needed to convey a certain area of study. An example of a search string is: (Chinese or cook*) and agriculture. Using “AND” in a search string is a good idea if you know what exactly you are looking for. “AND” in a search string gives results on both words on each side of the word “AND”. For example, if you look up “surfing AND South Pacific” the results will only be of those titles which have surfing and south Pacific in the body of the material written. If you cannot find an interesting subject to research, you can use the word “OR” in your search string. Using “OR” will give results that have any of the words on each side of the word “OR”. For example, if you cannot find anything to write a paper about, use Surfing OR South Pacific. This will give results that have either Surfing or South Pacific in the body of the written material. This is a pretty simple search method to understand but takes a few tries to fully understand. I’m not gonna lie, I thought I knew everything about searching on the catalog or a database but this class has really opened my eyes to the seriousness of good searching methods.
Library Classification February 8, 2008
The past week in class we have discussed different library classsification schemes. This is very important in research for the simple reason of finding what one needs. The old method of classification in libraries was the Dewey Decimal system. This system classifies books and all other reference material in ten main classes. In those ten main classes, each has ten division, then each of those has ten sections. This gives each of the ten main classes: 100 divisions, and 1000 sections. The ten main classes are in this order starting with 000: Computer Science, 100: Philosophy and Psycology, 200: Religion, 300: Social Sciences, 400: Language, 500: Sciences, 600: Technology, 700: Arts and Fine Arts, 800: Literature, 900: History and Geography. The inventor of this classification was Melvil Dewey. He was born in New York City in 1851. He grtaduated from Amherst College in 1874. He then got his master’s degree and began working as a library assistant. This is when he devised his system by cataloging books by decimal numbers. From 1888 to 1906 he ran the New York State Library; this is where he completely re-organized the books making it the most effecient library in the world. We do appreciate Mr. Dewey’s classification scheme, however, we have a new, and even more effecient classification shceme. Now, the Library of Congress Classification is the up to date way of organizing a library. It is used by most scholarly or academic libraries while some still use the Dewey Decimal system. This classification shceme was developed by Herbert Putnam in 1897. The difference between this way and the Dewey Decimal system is that there are more main classes instead of just ten. The classes are organized by the letters in the alphabet with exception to: i, o, and x, becuase these letters can be confused with other characters. The new way organizes in broader categories but there are more categories, making it user friendly. Library categorization is fun and interesting!!
Library Tour February 8, 2008
Last week our class went on an expedition throughout the library’s secret underworld. We visited the archives room, the government documents section, and the special collections area. The archives room was full of boxes and one of a kind objects, such as the old seahawk mascot mask. There was also a map that was the development plan in the 1970’s. I found this very interesting becuase I am a geography major that takes many classes on cartography and urban planning. Next we went to the government documents section which was no new thing for me. I frequent this area becuase I need topographic maps for many of my classes as well as soil surveys for soil analysis and geomorphology. The directer of the government documents section is Eileen Brown. Her son played on my soccer and lacrosse teams here in Wilmington at Cape Fear Academy. It is nice to know that I could visit her anytime for questions about any help I would need. It seemed like all the departments that we have visited were very student friendly and willing to help you for any questions or concerns. The last place we went to was the Special Collections section. As we arrived, the faculty in this department were setting up for a surfing history exhibit which encompassed the surfing history here in southeastern North Carolina. This was a very interesting exhibit for me as a New Hanover County local and avid surfer. Other items that were not on exhibit were things like miniature books, most of which were dictionaries; and old aeriel photos of Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach. Again, as a geography major these items were particularly interesting becuase the photos showed the change of the area during the last sixty years. I had a good time snooping around in the library, hopefully we can wonder around again some time.
