QuickCite app

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Marie Kennedy

screen captures of the new iphone app, QuickCite, and a summary of results.

This is the book I picked for the test. The barcode is on the bottom right hand of the back cover.

Scanning the barcode

This is a screen shot of scanning the barcode and having the citation retrieved.

Verification that the citation has been sent.

Verification that the citation has been sent.

Citation samples:

APA

sample APA citation email

Chicago citation example

Chicago citation example

MLA citation example

MLA citation example

The app worked quickly but the citations it sent me (regardless of style, regardless of book) were missing the location, a key piece for each citation style. Hope the team is working on a fix for this, as it’s a pretty neat service!

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Banana flash mob

Posted on February 12, 2011 by Marie Kennedy

tomorrow, 2/13/2011, at Hollywood and Highland, from 1:20-1:40.

http://blogging.la/2011/02/10/fun-with-your-banana-on-sunday/

Bring your banana and pretend its a cell phone.  Talk into it, text with it, take pictures with it, do what ever you do with a cell phone with it.

banana

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oddest thing i’ve seen in a license agreement

Posted on February 11, 2011 by Marie Kennedy
when i negotiate a license agreement it is usually to make sure that the publisher’s definition of “authorized user” matches ours, suggest changes to any wording that our university can’t agree to, etc. generally i make sure that any language that is enforceable by law fits with what our university is willing to accept. i’ve never seen language in a license that guides how a user should interpret the content of the resource published. i laughed when i saw this. of course i left it in because i wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment.
d) IF THE DATABASE INCLUDES ABSTRACTS, AUTHORIZED USERS SHOULD CONSULT THE FULL TEXT MATERIALS BEFORE REACHING OR SUGGESTING CONCLUSIONS.

Posted in e-resource mgmt, library, license agreements | 1 Comment

Valentine’s Day dream

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Marie Kennedy

Valentine's Day dream 2011

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celebratory organization

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Marie Kennedy

whenever i finish a big project i like to get down with some celebratory organization afterward. we just finished a grant application to imls (cross your fingers!) and now that we’re done it’s time for hanging and file folders, baby! copies of all the literature we cited, in folders. the application pieces itself, in a folder. we did a survey to get data to support our argument for the grant; IRB documents, human subjects certificates, copy of the survey in a folder.

i gathered together the documents (microsoft word, excel, adobe pdf) we wrote and put them in the same organizational structure as the print files. then i weeded through the email folder where i had been stashing all communication and got rid of any emails whose only content was, “okay, yes. let’s move that to section 2.” what i left behind are emails where we made big decisions, but only keeping the latest one in the thread.

now that everything is all organized it will be easy to find things in case we have to refer back to any documentation of our process. and now, on to the next project!

Fireworks / Nikita (http://www.flickr.com/people/malfet/relationship/) / CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

Posted in library, organization tips | 1 Comment

“never met a librarian like that before”

Posted on February 4, 2011 by Marie Kennedy

i’ve been training at the information (a.k.a. reference) desk for the past month, in anticipation of staffing it for a couple hours each week. yesterday a young woman and man approached the desk, and i smiled as they walked toward me and said, “hey, what’s up?” they replied they were visiting campus for the day and came to see the building. i grabbed a map of the building and told them they had to go to the third floor and catch the view because it was one of those rare, perfectly clear los angeles days. they asked for a campus map too. i circled the library building and drew a line from it to the main quad where there was to be live music and food at noon. when i finished giving the directions the woman took a little step back and said, “i like your energy. you’re so cool and helpful. i’ve never met a librarian like that before.” i said thanks and they went on their way, but her comment stuck with me all day and now spilled into the day after.

“never met a librarian like that before.” i should be pleased at the compliment but instead am a little sad. the service i performed was not exceptional, i believe. i think it’s what anyone at our information desk would do if a visitor came in the building. it’s disappointing that she’s encountered librarians in the past who haven’t performed at that level. maybe it was the smile that sold her? 🙂

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