CheckItOut@WrightLibrary from Wright Memorial Public Library http://engagedpatrons.org/Blogs.cfm?SiteID=4725&BlogID=143 <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small">Welcome to the Reference Department Blog. Visit often for information on programs and events, featured research tools, book lists, and Web resources. We encourage you, our patrons, to <a href="http://engagedpatrons.org/ContactUs.cfm?SiteID=4725">give feedback and share</a> your own favorite resources and books. Join us in creating a unique resource for the Wright Library Community. Mon, 27 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT Copyright 2013 Wright Memorial Public Library en-us Thu, 20 Jun 2013 02:16:22 CDT School Safety http://engagedpatrons.org/Blogs.cfm?SiteID=4725&BlogID=143&BlogPostID=12332 The U.S. Department of Education offers numerous free publications for downloading and for order.  Perhaps of special interest after the school shooting in Connecticut are the documents on school safety.  These include Tips for Adults on How to Talk to Children about the Connecticut School Shooting and Helping Young Children and Families Cope with Trauma.

Here are some additional Web sites with information on school safety:

]]> Reference Staff Thu, 20 Dec 2012 16:10:57 GMT ScienceCinema http://engagedpatrons.org/Blogs.cfm?SiteID=4725&BlogID=143&BlogPostID=8894 The ScienceCinema site contains multimedia videos, which highlight the most exciting scientific research of  the U.S. Department of Energy.  ScienceCinema contains videos produced by the DOE National Laboratories and other research institutions. Through a partnership with Microsoft Research, state-of-the-art audio indexing and speech recognition technology allows the user to search for specific words and phrases spoken by the presenter in these video files. Simply enter a term and the results list will point to the precise snippets of the video where the term was spoken.

The Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) within the D.O.E. is responsible for disseminating and preserving the Department's scientific output.  Along with ScienceCinema, OSTI manages the science Web portals Federated Search, ScienceAccelerator, Science.gov, and WorldWideScience.org.

]]> Reference Staff Mon, 02 May 2011 16:26:54 GMT National Financial Literacy Month http://engagedpatrons.org/Blogs.cfm?SiteID=4725&BlogID=143&BlogPostID=8716 Did you know that April is National Financial Literacy Month? That’s right, there’s a whole month dedicated to promoting the importance of financial literacy and teaching Americans the basics of financial education.  There's even a presidential proclamation.

Personal finance education should begin at an early age and continue for a lifetime.  Wright Library provides many books and magazines in this area.  Below are listed some additional online resources.


In 2000, the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, a national coalition of financial education advocates, began promoting April as Financial Literacy for Youth Month. In March 2004, the U.S. Senate passed Resolution 316 which officially designated April as National Financial Literacy Month.

]]> Reference Staff Thu, 21 Apr 2011 08:54:41 GMT Learn! Online Lectures http://engagedpatrons.org/Blogs.cfm?SiteID=4725&BlogID=143&BlogPostID=7982 One of the resources that the Wright Library Audiovisual Department is proud to offer our patrons is the Great Courses series.  These authoritative lecture series cover subjects from art to history to math and science.  Necessarily, we are limited in the number of these courses we can offer.  So, we looked for alternatives and discovered that there are numerous institutions that provide free content online, including university course lectures.

Here are a few to check out.


]]> Reference Staff Mon, 06 Dec 2010 17:37:39 GMT Preparing for College http://engagedpatrons.org/Blogs.cfm?SiteID=4725&BlogID=143&BlogPostID=7895

Practice Tests (Dewey Decimal # 378.1662 for ACT and SAT, AP by subject)

  • Learning Express Library - This resource offers interactive practice tests on a variety of AP exams, as well as the SAT and ACT. 
Career Discovery (Dewey Decimal #331.7)
College Search (Dewey Decimal # 378 and 378.73
College Applications and Admissions (Dewey Decimal # 378.161)
 Student Aid and Scholarships (Dewey Decimal # 378.3 and 378.34)

]]> Reference Staff Wed, 10 Nov 2010 13:32:42 GMT Going to College? Start at your library! http://engagedpatrons.org/Blogs.cfm?SiteID=4725&BlogID=143&BlogPostID=7797 Students and parents, find out how to use your library to navigate the college process.
Our print and electronic resources can help you:

  • Prepare for SAT, ACT & AP tests
  • Explore career options
  • Choose your top schools
  • Put together a strong application
  • Find scholarships & apply for financial aid
 
Wednesday November 3, 6:30-7:30pm
Wright Library Meeting Room
No registration necessary.

]]> Reference Staff Mon, 25 Oct 2010 18:16:47 GMT World Digital Library http://engagedpatrons.org/Blogs.cfm?SiteID=4725&BlogID=143&BlogPostID=4632 A new international cultural resource has opened its virtual doors.  In April, the Library of Congress, UNESCO, and other partner institutions launched the World Digital Library.  These partners are contributing digitized content from their collections to the World Digital Library. All content is included on a nonexclusive basis.

The project brings together on a single website rare and unique documents – books, journals, manuscripts, maps, prints and photographs, films, and sound recordings – that tell the story of the world’s cultures (Library of Congress).

You can search and browse features in seven languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish) and the content itself will be in more than two-dozen languages.  Explore the collection by borwsing Place, Time, Topic, Type of Item, or Institution and learn about our world.

For more information on the World Digital Library:

 

image from World Digital Library

]]> Reference Staff Wed, 27 May 2009 13:22:24 GMT Homework Help http://engagedpatrons.org/Blogs.cfm?SiteID=4725&BlogID=143&BlogPostID=4490 The school year will be wrapping up soon (although not soon enough so for students), but there is still plenty of time for teachers to make last assignments, projects, and dreaded test.  Recently we learned about a Web site that can help students with their assignments (at least in History and Literature).  The site is Shmoop and despite it's cute name it is a serious resource for students written primarily by Ph.D. and Master's degree candidates. 

Shmoop's mission is "To make learning and writing more fun and relevant for students in the digital age."  The Library wants to do that too and we provide a bunch of databases to help students work online.  Our Homework Help databases are targeted at specific age groups, but they are not the only one's students should look at using. 

As always, if you have any difficulty, or just want to talk to a person, contact us.  You can even chat with a Librarian when the Library is closed with KnowItNow.

Let us know what resources you find most helpful.  Good luck with the rest of the school year.

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