On Tuesday, all of the groups presented their projects. I learned some really cool stuff ranging from horror movies to iPhone 5 manufacturing problems. I really thought everyone did an awesome job! It also gave us a chance to practice our presenting skills for future academic endeavors while we have to concentrate on time and pacing. Bonnie gave us some pointers on how to improve, like reading less off of slides and keeping more attention on time. On Thursday, we did a quick wrap up on how to use the basic library tools we were taught on the first day of LST. I think all of this stuff will really help me to research more effectively in the future. Thank you to Bonnie and Amanda for teaching the class, we will come visit!

This week we wrapped up our overall lessons about library studies with a discussing of new media and copyright. New media, though not really that new, is important because it offers a different medium to attain information. A lot of people think that new media isn't as reliable as a book, but this isn't always true. It is important to remember that sometimes it is not about what type of media, but rather, who creates it. Also, Amanda talked about the importance of being able to keep things on new media, because they are often fleeting and do not last long and are sometimes deleted. Later, Bonnie talked about copyright and its details, noting that even Happy Birthday Song is copyrighted and you can't legally sing it in public. I also found it interesting to know the large companies that fight against copyright like McDonalds and Disney, because they have a lot of power and do not like when others take their property. A good way to remember the rule of breaking copyright or not is if it is preventing the owner form profiting off of it. For example, if something even comes close to being copyright infringement, YouTube will automatically take the video off without notice. This goes to show that copyright is not taken very lightly, and it can get you into a lot of trouble if not taken seriously.

On Tuesday we learned about the differences between the general appearances of a scholarly journal/resource, versus the appearance of a book that is more for popular entertainment. Scholarly sources can be detected through its publisher. Also, they are easier to identify because they are not trying to “sell” necessarily, and therefore have a more academic title and less flashy covers with fewer colors and crazy fonts. This is definitely a practical tool for me because it will help me when I am in the library in the future, or academically when I am searching for a book with reliable information.

On Thursday, we went over research ethics and the importance of not violating copyright infringement.  We learned that a patent is more for an idea or an invention. A trademark, however, is more of a brand name, for example, the Nike swoosh. On the other hand, a copyright is automatically placed on anything that someone writes, and it stands for the authors life plus 75 years. Aside from the facts about copyright, we learned why it is important to cite things. There is a huge list, but a lot of it is to give the author the credit they deserve. I think learning about the use of copyrights was very interesting, and I am glad to know the differences between rights to a name. I think it gives me a better appreciation for the tedious work and time it takes to cite a paper, because I know if I worked really hard to do a study or to gather and compile, I would want to be given credit as well. I will use this information throughout my whole life, since it will always be relevant. I think for academic reasons it is extremely important to stay aware of the issues that exist with research ethics.

I suppose the biggest question I have would be to know why some music can be taken without anyone getting in trouble, does someone only get in legal trouble if the other one sues? The copyright rules are very confusing and I know that the purpose is not to necessarily learn all of them inside and out, but it is interesting to me how sometimes people can be so innocent and naïve but could get in a lot of trouble for copyright infringement. 

On Tuesday we learned that if you are researching a specific topic, it is important to find the overall branching topics first in order to search the research guides. From there, it is much easier to find a database that will help narrow the search. For example, in class we have been using the Freshmen Fifteen. The overarching topics we discovered were health, news, nutrition, mobility, etc. This allowed us to start with the most general databases and then get narrower. After that, it is best to search for key words that vary, like weight gain, college, food/dining, and freshmen fifteen/15. This will help make sure that I get the right terminology to find a good range of sources when I need to for academic research. For practical use, this could help me to think of a broad range of subjects to help me decide which resources I want to choose to look in for information.

We also learned that for each subject there is a librarian who helps create a Research Guide. This means they are very qualified, and design a guide that has the best tools for research for us students. Thirdly, we learned that there are specialized collections at PSU, which can make the difference between a “so-so” paper, and an A. For example, there is a 3-mile island collection that has special footage allowed to PSU students. These are just one more type of tool offered to help students gain more knowledge from more sources. This will definitely come in handy for academic research of all kinds, however, I don’t think I would use a research guide for any everyday use and questions, because it is pretty in depth and specific.

On Thursday, we discussed how to use Wikipedia in the best way, along with the sequencing of how information is passed along, going through waves of both credible and not so reliable. The timeline we created sort of showed the difference in how long it takes to produce different forms of information. For example, instant news comes first (almost instantly), then there is more in depth news, then magazine articles, then scholarly journals, then books, then references sources like encyclopedias.  Though most of us usually think that books are the most credible, we discussed how scholarly journals may actually be better sources of information because they must be passed through a panel of other experts, where as anyone can really publish a book as long as they have the finances. The most important questions we had to address were who? When? And why?.  This helps us to see the purpose for why the piece is written, as well as if there is a credible source claiming the information. This information is extremely important and will be necessary all the way through my future, even non-academically, because it teaches me what sources to trust. It has made me aware of the sequencing of information, and usually the longer things take to be published the generally are more reliable.

The main question I had, was how do we find the special collections? Is it better to see them in person or can they be found entirely online?

During the last week in class, we learned a variety of basic introductory skills to help jumpstart our ability to utilize the resources in the library both efficiently and effectively.  We went over how to use the Lion Search, a little bit about the CAT, a focus on how to use databases, as well as the really neat tool “I want it” to get books that we need on hold. Also, we learned how teachers can create reserves online to post materials so that competitive resources can be found on the website rather than making students race to get the books first.

The CAT, though more approachable now, still is a bit intimidating. I think that even though we learned how things are set up, I am more likely to ask a librarian for help. I’m happy that I learned this was an option because it will save time and help me start researching faster. Also, we talked about the LionSearch. I think this is a really neat way to search because it tells you all of the things the library has in relation to this topic. Though this is awesome in order to get a lot of results, sometimes the amount of information is overwhelming, and this is when a more specific search engine is more useful. I think I can use both the LionSearch and the Cat academically when I need to conduct research for a paper or a project. They are both very helpful and will open me up to a lot of information that I can sift through to narrow them down to the best results. I don’t think they are entirely practical for unscholarly use, but if I needed a quick answer to a question I could probably use the LionSearch as a tool to get reliable information.

I think the most useful things that I learned in class were the differences in databases. In order to see how to use them, we went through and searched about the topic “Freshmen Fifteen.” We realized that some came up with thousands of results when we changed the wording to obesity. However, on other search engines, when we used specific wording, there were much fewer articles. For example, if I was to search a topic like women’s suffrage, I could search the database called International Women and Social movements, rather than just a normal interdisciplinary one. I also learned that you can pick and choose which type of resources you would like, such as only articles, or only books., which can definitely help narrow down the quantity of results so that I can get the things I am specifically looking for in a shorter amount of time. This knowledge is extremely helpful for when I need to research quickly and effectively in the future. In the past it would have definitely come in handy while writing research papers in High School, because Google gave me way too many results.

The final topic we highlighted in class was the “I want it” button on the libraries website. I think this is one of the coolest tools that is offered in the library because it lets me search in my dorm room what I need, and then later I can pick it up. Its also awesome because if there is something that I need but Penn State doesn’t have, I can easily get it sent to me, which I know I will definitely use when im researching for my classes.

Throughout the class there were times where I posed a few questions, mostly about the reserves. What is the difference between just posting a few book pages on the reserves, rather than Angel (Why wouldn’t they just post it on Angel)? How will you know if your teacher has a reserve and will they tell you that they have one? Also, I was wondering how do you make an appointment in the library for research assistance?

Hello :)