Know the rules of the road!

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Barbara

If you have already earned your driver’s license, you know what you’re doing, right?! Well-l-l-l-l-l, maybe we could all use a refresher once in a while. Who hasn’t seen something another driver is doing that “drives” us crazy? Or scares us? And reviewing the rules is easy to do, because driver handbooks and manuals, and additional information about cell phones, bicycles, and roundabouts, are posted online by the Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation (DOT), including:

Here are some quiz questions:

  1. As you approach your exit on a roundabout, you should turn on your right turn signal. True or False?
  2. At night, if an approaching driver does not dim his/her headlights, you may flash your high beams to let them know. True or false?
  3. At a FOUR-WAY stop, if two drivers come to the intersection at the same time, who goes first?
  4. At a FOUR-WAY stop, if the two drivers do not reach the intersection at the same time, who goes first?
  5. At an intersection with no stop signs, if two drivers approach it, who goes first?

Not sure? Or even if you are, please check the manual to see if you are correct! After all, the Wisconsin DOT’s latest Wisconsin Traffic Crash Facts contains a highway safety clock that says there is one traffic crash every 4.7 minutes in Wisconsin. And “Fifty-five percent of all crashes occurred off the state highway and Interstate systems, on county trunk and local roads.”

Please drive safely and responsibly!

images of traffic, stop signs, etc.

FDLP logo Andersen Library is a federal and Wisconsin depository library with federal and state government documents on a variety of current and relevant issues available to you in various formats (print, DVD/CD-ROM, online). Check out your government at Andersen Library!

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Tornado readiness

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Barbara

It’s peak season (May-August) for occasional tornadoes. Be prepared!

Know the difference between a watch and a warning:

tornado imageA Tornado Watch or Severe Weather Watch means a tornado may develop. Be alert and be prepared to take action if the watch becomes a WARNING. (It is not necessary to seek shelter for a severe weather watch.)

A Tornado Warning means a tornado has been spotted in the area. Immediate action may mean the difference between life and death. (It is not necessary to seek shelter for a thunderstorm warning.)

What does Andersen Library do when there is severe weather?
Our weather radio alerts us when severe weather threatens Walworth, Jefferson, and Rock counties. If there is a tornado warning, and it is heading towards Whitewater, we make an announcement over the public address system directing people to go to the nearest tornado shelter area within the Library (marked with large blue signs, generally restrooms and windowless stairwells & hallways). The elevator should not be used.

Be prepared for severe weather wherever you are! You can search the Library Catalog for tornadoes for additional materials. A basic explanation of what you need to know about tornadoes and tornado safety is available from the NOAA Weather Service Storm Prediction Center, which also has a current watch display. The Milwaukee/Sullivan site also lists current watches and warnings (tornadoes, flash floods, severe thunderstorms, and marine warnings) for Wisconsin. The American Red Cross has an online preparedness checklist. I also recommend that you get a map of the counties around you, so that you know when watches and warnings, or the tracks of severe weather, affect you. There are printable maps for all 50 states at the nationalatlas.gov web site.

Government Printing Office logo

Andersen Library is a federal and Wisconsin depository library with federal and state government documents on a variety of current and relevant issues available to you in various formats (print, DVD/CD-ROM, online). Check out your government at Andersen Library!

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Library Hours May 21-27 & Summer Session

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Barbara

Andersen Library will shorten its hours during the break between Spring Semester and Summer Session (May 20-27):

Mon. May 20:   7am – 4:30pm
Tues. May 21-Fri. May 24:   8am – 4:30pm
Sat.-Mon. May 25-27:   CLOSED (Memorial Day weekend)

clip art of sunSummer Session hours begin Tues., May 28:

M-TH:   7:30am – 9pm*
F:   7:30am – 4:30pm
Sat:   CLOSED
Sun.:   Noon – 8pm

*EXCEPTION: Closed Thurs., July 4th

Remember that even when the Library is closed or you are traveling, you can:

  • Search article databases …just login when prompted with your campus Net-ID (same as for your campus email or D2L),
  • Search the HALCat Library Catalog and use links to the titles that are online, including ereserves for classes,
  • Renew your checked-out books, DVDs, etc., online (once) through your Personal Record,
  • Consult online guides for assistance, including citation guides for APA, MLA, and Turabian format, and class assignment guides, and
  • Ask a librarian for help using email or chat, or phone us at the Reference Desk (262-472-1032) during Reference Desk hours (Mon-Fri 9am-4:30pm, Sun noon-8pm when the Library is open).
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Celebrate the birth of jeans May 20th

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Barbara

Did you know that blue jeans were born on May 20, 1873? That’s the day that U.S. patent no. 139,121 for “Improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings” was granted to Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss, creating work pants reinforced with metal rivets at the stress points (the corners of the pockets and the base of the button fly). At first these pants were called “waist overalls” to distinguish them from bib overalls.

cover of How Things Are MadeRead more about it! Search article databases to find articles such as “Blue Denim by the Bay: The Levi Strauss & Co. Archives” (Costume, 2009, no.43, pp.150-165), or refer to the reference work Patents: Ingenious inventions: How they work and how they came to be (2nd-floor Reference Collection, T47 .I44 2004). There are sections on blue jeans in the books Uniforms: Why we are what we wear (3rd-floor Main Collection, GT1900 .F87 2002) and How things are made: From automobiles to zippers (3rd-floor Main Collection, TS183 .R67 2003). You also can read a timeline of the history of Strauss jeans from the company website.

Please ask a librarian if you would appreciate assistance with finding additional materials.

Now that exams are over, it’s the perfect time to indulge your intellectual curiosity about all sorts of things that aren’t required for a class! Enjoy your summer, everyone.

FDLP logo Andersen Library is a federal and Wisconsin depository library with federal and state government documents on a variety of current and relevant issues available to you in various formats (print, DVD/CD-ROM, online). Check out your government at Andersen Library!

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T3: Basic Dictation Tools

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Diana

Do you find yourself wanting to say your comments on a student’s paper out loud instead of typing them up?  Have a desire to quickly dash off a chatty email to a friend or relative? Like talking to yourself and need a legitimate reason to give to concerned friends or office mates?  The built-in dictation features available in Windows 7 or Mac 10.8 (Mountain Lion) enable you to speak into your computer’s microphone and the speech recognition software will turn your words into text.  In both Windows and Mac the built-in software works in most applications wherever there is a place to enter text.

A few ways to use dictation:

  • Comment on student or peer work by inserting text boxes using PDF annotation tools or word processor commenting tools.
  • Compose emails.
  • Create lists in reminder apps or word processors.
  • Keep a research log or a personal journal.
  • Draft a blog post.

Tips for using dictation successfully:

  • Speak at a slower rate than you normally do.
  • Remember to say the punctuation that you want to appear:
    “Hi comma George exclamation point I enjoyed reading this paper period here are a few of my comments” would translate to “Hi, George! I enjoyed reading this paper. Here are a few of my comments.”
  • If you briefly pause before and after punctuation or formatting commands, the software will be better able to distinguish the commands from speech you want translated to text.
  • Use a headset or other dedicated microphone if you are doing marathon sessions of dictation.
  • Practice makes perfect (or, at least, better) but you will still need to edit your finished text

Setting up the dictation functions in Windows and Mac is easy:

  • Windows 7
    Click the Start menu and then click on Help and Support. Type “speech recognition” into the search box. Click on Set up Speech Recognition and follow the directions.
  • Mac 10.8 (Mountain Lion)
    Click on the Apple Menu and then click on System Preferences. Click on Speech & Dictation under the System category. Click on the Dictation tab and follow the directions.
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Library extended hours for exams

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Barbara

Andersen Library will extend its hours for exam study beginning Mon., May 13. Popcorn will be made on the evenings that we’re open until 2 a.m. (* on dates indicated below). Coffee will be served evenings and weekends.

Mon. May 13:   7am – 2am*
Tues. May 14:   7am – 2am*
Wed. May 15:   9am – 2am*
Thurs. May 16:   9am – 2am*
Fri. May 17:   7am – 6pm
Sat. May 18:   9am – 5pm
Sun. May 19:   11am – 8pm
Mon. May 20:   7am – 4:30pm

 
The first and third floors of the Library close at midnight; only 2nd/main floor is open from midnight until 2am. All three floors are open until closing on nights when then Library closes earlier than 2am.

Study hard and remember to get here early! Doors are locked 15 minutes before closing.

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T3: Organize and Capture Information with Evernote

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Diana

Do you have notes for classes, papers, or lesson plans written on loose sheets of paper, typed up in Microsoft Word files on your laptop, and written down in a notebook you can’t find at the moment? Do you have important bits of information scrawled on scratch paper littering your desk, car, or room? Do you use more than one internet browser and can’t keep track of which one contains the bookmark to a vital website? Do you have a folder on your computer with images you want to use in multiple projects, but the images aren’t labeled or categorized so you never get around to starting the projects?

Evernote, a multimedia note-taking app, can help you organize and capture information in your studies, work, and daily life. You can set up different notebooks for your courses or projects.  You can put almost anything into a notebook. You can view your notebooks and add notes on our own computer, on campus computers through the Evernote website, and on mobile devices. Everything is synced automatically across your computers to your Evernote account. With Evernote you can:

  1. Capture everything (well, almost)
    • Notes you type directly into Evernote
    • Microsoft Word documents
    • Microsoft PowerPoint documents
    • PDFs and scanned files
    • Photos of handwritten notes or documents you take with your smartphone or other mobile device
    • Photos or screenshots
    • Audio recordings (You can record lectures with your smartphone or mobile device from within the Evernote app.)
    • Websites
  2. Organize your stuff and find it fast
    • You can separate your notes into different notebooks, but you can also tag notes with labels that you create.
    • Evernote has a powerful search feature, which can even search the text inside a handwritten note you’ve scanned!
    • You can share your notebooks with other Evernote users or email notes to anyone.

It’s Free!
Evernote has both free and Premium accounts. The free account should meet your needs—if you pay for a Premium account, you just get a few more features and more space.

Learn More

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New Stuff Tuesday – May 7

Posted on May 7, 2013 by kyle

The Art of Procrastination

The Art of Procrastination:
A Guide to Effective Dawdling, Lollygagging and Postponing
by John Perry
BF637 .P76 P46 2012
New Arrivals, 2nd floor

I went over to the New Arrivals Island with stress on the brain. You know, the end of the semester is upon us, the library’s busier than it usually is, and people are frantically preparing final projects and studying for finals. I nearly missed this skinny book that exemplifies the opposite [or not, depending on your perspective] of what’s going on.

Perry, emeritus professor of philosophy at Stanford University, takes the topic of putting things off very seriously. He ruminates from his decades of experience about the philosophical side of everyone’s favorite pastime and argues that it’s actually not necessarily a bad thing. Using the idea of akrasia, the phenomenon behind going against our best judgment, the author provides strategies to overcome our inner perfectionism / procrastination to produce the right result: crossing items off of the to-do list.

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Relaxathon 2013

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Rebecca

Need to give your mind a rest after all this studying?  Stop in for some fun activities this week!

Monday, May 6  —Make your own Stress Ball  from 1:00-4:00 pm

Tuesday, May 7  —Make your own Stress Ball from 1:00-4:00 pm

Wednesday, May 8

— Comic Book Give Away 1-3pm – The UW-W English Club will be on site handing out free comic books!

—Comic Book Presentation 3:45-4:45pm – Professor Janine Tobeck will compare straight text and a text/image combination and explore how the comic alters the reading experience.

Thursday, May 9

—Make your own Mother’s and Father’s Day Cards!  1-4pm

—Stress Reduction Dogs coming for a visit 10-Noon -Professors Sarah Niles and Jeannine Rowe

Friday, May 10  —Make your own Mother’s and Father’s Day Cards!  1-4pm

 

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T3: Finding Creative Commons Media Resources

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Diana
Need to find an song or image to use in the classroom or for an assignment? Want to alter an image or reuse it in a new format? UW-Whitewater has policies and resources related to copyright and fair use that can help guide your choice of media. One easy way to manage sometimes complicated copyright issues is to limit your searches to digital media that is in the Public Domain or whose creators have used Creative Commons licenses that specifically give others the right to use and/or alter the original work for non-commercial purposes. Here is a list of places to start your search for digital media:
  • Wikimedia Commons is a wiki-style database of images in the Public Domain or with Creative Commons licenses.
  • Flickr is a photo sharing site where many works have Creative Commons licenses (find these using the advanced search). FlickrStorm is another way to easily search for Flickr images without the hassle of signing in or creating an account. You can search for Creative Commons images or images anyone can use non-commercially.
  • Jamendo is a music-sharing site where independent artists have uploaded their songs for anyone to listen to and use through Creative Commons licenses.
  • Google Image Search has an Advanced Search option for limiting the results to images with a Creative Commons license.
  • The Library of Congress’ online catalog provides access to thousands of images. Many images have rights information contained in the catalog record.
  • National Archives has primary source documents, images, and video. Many of the documents and images are in the public domain and can be used with attribution.

FDLP logo Andersen Library is a federal and Wisconsin depository library with federal and state government documents on a variety of current and relevant issues available to you in various formats (print, DVD/CD-ROM, online). Check out your government at Andersen Library!

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