Research Tip! Printing from JSTOR

Printing from the database JSTOR can be tricky. If you just select print from your internet browser's window, it will only print the first page of the article that you are interested in. To print the full article, you need to download the .PDF. You can access the article .PDF file from either the search results list or the top right if you are viewing the first page of the article. Once you select download, you will have to agree to the copyright restrictions before you can view the full article to print.

Title Highlight: Plant Books and Dictionaries

Mabberley's plant-book : a portable dictionary of plants, their classification and uses

and
Timber Press dictionary of plant names

People interested in history have heard of the war between the houses of York and Lancaster for the throne of England known as the War of the Roses (1455-85), but how many people know that the actual white and red roses used as a symbol by both sides in the contest was the Damascus Rose, rosa damascena versicolor (variously colored rose) You can learn this fact and many other interesting ones in these two dictionaries, including the fact that English mustard was first ground to a wettable dust by a Mrs. Clements in 1720 and later industrialized by Jeremiah Colman (Colman’s mustard is still in stores). Both books are found in the library’s reference section.

The entries in Mabberley’s dictionary refer the user from the popular name to the genera of the plant which contains more specific information on the plant and its uses. For instance, the entry on bamboo states that the name can refer to dozens of different genera of grasses used for many things including; pipes, walking sticks, paper, flooring, window coverings and baskets. The “How to use this book” section explains how the entries in the book were put together and explains some of the terms used in the entries. A full list of the many abbreviations and symbols used in the book is found at the very end.

The Timber press dictionary is shorter and also contains references from common names to Latin names, ie., a daisy is actually a Bellis perennis, classed as a perennial herb from Europe and Western Asia. It also includes information on the derivation of the name (for instance Bellis, the genera of the daisy derives from the Latin word meaning “pretty”), the pronunciation of the word (useful with such hard to pronounce genera as Euonymous and Pachysandra) and the original location of the plant. The down side to these two books is that there are no illustrations.

It is also interesting to learn that the common names of flowers may refer to one of several plants, which is why asking for “bachelor’s buttons” at the garden center may get you Achillea ptarmica, Bellis perennis (the daisy), Centaurea cyanus, or Ranunculus acris.

ACM Photo Contest on Display

Once again, the ACM Photo Contest Results are being displayed in the library.  This year's winning entries, honorable mentions, and all other entries are on display in the Current Periodicals section of the library.

You can find them all located near the Einstein Brothers Bagel shop. 

The photographs will remain on display until March 30. 



Database Highlight: Military and Government Collection

The Military and Government Collection is a database that is provided by EBSCO.  It is a collection that provide full text articles for almost 300 journals and periodicals and provides abstracts for over 400 different journals.  EBSCO describes the content:

"Designed to offer current news pertaining to all branches of the military and government, this database offers a thorough collection of periodicals, academic journals and other content pertinent to the increasing needs of these sites."

It offers access to titles like:

• Air Force Comptroller
• Defence Studies
• Combat Edge
• FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin
• Foreign Affairs
• JFQ: Joint Force Quarterly
• Military Technology
• Naval Forces

You can access it on the library's Databases: Find Articles webpage.  Access to electronic resources is limited to the students, staff, and faculty of Monmouth College.

ScotsRead recently arrived

The following titles have recently been added to the ScotsRead Collection:

• Sonoma Rose by Jennifer Chiaverini
• I've Got Your Number: A Novel by Sophie Kinsella
• Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison
• All that I am: a novel by Anna Funder

Title Highlight: A Dictionary of 20th-Century Communism

A Dictionary of 20th-Century Communism

1 volume: List of entries, Acronyms and abbreviations, Index

More of an encyclopedia than a dictionary, this volume contains numerous longer articles on different topics related to communist political ideology in the 20th century, the period of its greatest impact. The topics covered range from short biographies of communists both well-known (i.e., Mao Tse Dung, Ernesto “Che” Guevara) and unknown (i.e., Enver Hoxha, Mikhail Tukachevskii) to descriptions of types of communism (among them: Trotskyism, Stalinism, Bonapatism)

Today, with only 4 countries still espousing communist ideologies (China, North Korea, Vietnam and Cuba) it is hard to imagine the great impact that communist thought and ideology had on 20th century life and politics. Reading the entries in this book will introduce you to the ideas and people behind one of the defining political forces of the 20th century, beginning with the Russian revolution in 1917, continuing through the period of the Cold War and the fading out of communism as a political system after the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989.

An interesting observation found in the introduction to the book notes that when communists were not in power they participated in struggles for liberation and social emancipation of peoples, but, when in power uniformly established repressive and tyrannical regimes. There is a short bibliography at the end of entries containing suggestions for further reading.

Search Databases by Subject

The Databases: Find Articles list on the library's website can look overwhelming with all of the choice available.  However, if you are unsure which would be the best to start looking for information on your topic, you can always try the Search Databases by Subject list which breaks our database collection down into broad discipline areas to help you focus your research.  The topic areas are:

• Arts & Humanities: Art, Communication, Language, Literature, Music, Performing Arts, Philosophy & Religion
• Biography
• Business & Economics
• Dictionaries & Encyclopedias: Reference
• Education
• General Research
• Government & Political Science
• Life Sciences, including Sport & Physical Education
• News & Current Events
• Physical Sciences
• Social Sciences: Anthropology, History, Psychology & Sociology
• Statistical Information

Learn more about Valentine's Day

Ever wonder about it's history, the following is from our Credo Reference Online Collection:

Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

"St. Valentine is believed to have been a Roman priest who was martyred on this day around 270. How he became the patron saint of lovers remains a mystery, but one theory is that the Church used the day of St. Valentine’s martyrdom in an attempt to Christianize the old Roman Lupercalia, a pagan festival held around the middle of February. Part of the ancient ceremony entailed putting girls’ names in a box and letting the boys draw them out. Couples would thus be paired off until the following year. The Church substituted saints’ names for girls’ names, in the hope that the participant would model his life after the saint whose name he drew. But by the 16th century, it was once again girls’ names that ended up in the box. Eventually the custom of sending anonymous cards or messages to those one admired became the accepted way of celebrating St. Valentine’s Day." (via Credo Reference)

Learn more from Oxford Reference Online.

Valentines Day Statistics from the US Government

The U.S. Census Bureau has created a series of statistics relating to Valetines Day.  You can view the full list online at their website.  A few examples:

Candy

1,177

Number of U.S. manufacturing establishments that produced chocolate and cocoa products in 2009, employing 34,252 people. California led the nation in the number of chocolate and cocoa manufacturing establishments, with 135, followed by Pennsylvania, with 111.  Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns: 2009.

$12.6 billion

Total value of shipments in 2009 for firms producing chocolate and cocoa products. Nonchocolate confectionery product manufacturing, meanwhile, was a $7.4 billion industry.  Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2009 Annual Survey of Manufactures.

24.7 pounds

Per capita consumption of candy by Americans in 2010. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Industrial Reports, Confectionery: 2010.

Flowers

$375 million

The combined wholesale value of domestically produced cut flowers in 2010 for all flower-producing operations with $100,000 or more in sales. Among states, California was the leading producer, alone accounting for more than three-quarters of this amount ($286 million). Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service.

17,124

The number of florists nationwide in 2009. These businesses employed 75,855 people. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns.

Jewelry

24,973
Number of jewelry stores in the United States in 2009. Jewelry stores offer engagement, wedding and other rings to couples of all ages. In February 2011, these stores sold $2.27 billion in merchandise. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns.

Read a few more...

Title Highlight: Historical Dictionary of Animation and Cartoons

Historical Dictionary of Animation and Cartoons

1 volume: Acronyms & Abbreviations, Chronology, Appendix: Academy Award Winners, Bibliography, Illustrations (at end of book)

This short dictionary provides a look at the historical development of animation and cartoons in cinema, television and other media. The book’s lengthy introduction gives a good overview of the development of animation, which is defined as including not only cartoons in the Disney vein, but also Clay animation (Gumby, Wallace and Gromit), stop-motion using puppets(best exemplified by Ray Harryhausen and Tim Burton), and computer-generated imagery (CGI) first used in a feature film by Disney in Tron.

There are short biographies of animators, film studios, animation techniques, significant films and TV shows and even some well-known characters (including Mickey Mouse, Felix the Cat and Bug Bunny). There is only a small section of illustrations at the end of the book and the articles do not include references; these are found in the bibliography at the end of the book. The book does not just cover American animation; entries on anime, manga and European animation and animators are also found.

Happy Birthday Abraham Lincoln

Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

Happy Birthday Abraham Lincoln!

Our 16th President was born on February 12, 1809 and was assassinated on April 15, 1865.  His presidency encompassed the Civil War and is remembered for the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address, and this Thanksgiving proclamation.

Learn more about Lincoln from the following resources:

• Books in the library catalog
• Articles in JSTOR
• Subject topic page in Credo Reference
• Read historical newspaper articles from the Chicago Tribune and New York Times when he was president
• Scholarly and popular articles from Academic Search Premier

Access to library databases is limited to the students, staff, and faculty of Monmouth College.

Happy Birthday Charles Darwin

Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809 in Shrewbury, England, and he was an author and naturalist.  Following Monmouth College's Year of Charles Darwin last year, you can view many of the resources that we have available on him and his work in:

• the Hewes Library Catalog
• Credo Reference's topic page
• in JSTOR - view his research
• videos on Academic Video Online

New Items at Hewes Library

New items are added to the Hewes Library Collection on a continual basis. Recent titles have included:

• Jeanette Winterson by Sonya Andemahr
• How to Live a Life of Montaigne by Sarah Bakewell
• Grapes vs. Grain by Charles Bamforth
• Seven Spiritual Laws of Superheroes by Deepak Chopra
• Health Care Reform by Jonathan Gruber
• Liberal Leviathan by G. John Ikenberry
• States and Power by Richard Lachmann
• Origins of Business, Money and Markets by Keith Roberts
• Bosnia Remade by Gerard Toal
• Ernest Hemingway: The Critical Heritage edited by Jeffrey Meyers

Why use a dictionary?

Most people think of dictionaries as places to look up how to spell a word or to find the correct meaning(s) of a word. Among the best known are the many varieties of Merriam-Webster’s and the most famous of all the Oxford English Dictionary. Another common use for dictionaries is to look up an equivalent word in a foreign language in a French-English, Spanish-English, Greek-English Dictionary, etc. All of this is true, but dictionaries can be a lot more.


There are many other sorts of information that can be found in a dictionary. For instance when reading a book or article about art or theatre, you may come across a reference to an unfamiliar concept, such as “conceptual art “. A quick look at the “Dictionary of the Avant-Gardes” will tell you that conceptual art is the “..radical idea that a statement which need not be in words can be an aesthetic experience” and that it is found in visual art, music and performance art. Or if you are reading a financial article and see the word “bubble”, you may not know what is referred to by the term. However, if you look it up in the “Wall Street Dictionary” you would know that in business terms a bubble is ““..a speculative venture that has little chance of making a profit”.

And dictionaries may not just illustrate words, but also concrete objects such as a Brewster chair and the aurora borealis as shown in “The Dictionary of Interior Design” and the Academic Press Dictionary of Science and Technology respectively. There are many uses of dictionaries for short bits of information on, or even pictures of, a term or concept that is unfamiliar.

Look for more on with this series of articles that will explore some of the many dictionaries found in or accessible through Hewes Library.  E-resource access is limited to the students, staff, and faculty of Monmouth College.

African-American History Month: Statistics from the Census

Black History Week was established in February 1926 by African-American historian Carter G. Woodson, who founded the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History. It expanded in 1976 to a month-long observance, this celebration of the contributions and achievements of African Americans was initially designed to encompass the birthday of the abolitionist orator and journalist Frederick Douglass (1817–1895) on February 14 as well as Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. (From Credo Reference)

The U.S. Census Bureau has assembled a collection of statistics relating to African-American History Month.  A few highlights:

42 million

The number of people who identified as black, either alone or in combination with one or more other races, in the 2010 Census. They made up 13.6 percent of the total U.S. population. The black population grew by 15.4 percent from 2000 to 2010.  Source: The Black Population: 2010.

38%

Percent of Mississippi's total population that was black in 2010. Mississippi led the nation in this category followed by Louisiana (33 percent), Georgia (32 percent), Maryland (31 percent), South Carolina (29 percent) and Alabama (27 percent).  Source: The Black Population: 2010.

2.4 million

Number of black military veterans in the United States in 2010.  Source: 2010 American Community Survey.

82%

Among blacks 25 and older, the percentage with a high school diploma or higher in 2010.  Source: 2010 American Community Survey.

55%

Turnout rate in the 2008 presidential election for the 18- to 24-year-old citizen black population, an 8 percentage point increase from 2004. Blacks had the highest turnout rate in this age group.  Source: Voting and Registration in the Election of 2008.

$135.7 billion

Receipts for black-owned businesses in 2007, up 53.1 percent from 2002. The number of black-owned businesses totaled 1.9 million in 2007, up 60.5 percent.  Source: 2007 Survey of Business Owners.

New ScotsRead Titles

The following ScotsRead titles have just arrived.  Come view the latest new releases and best-sellers on the main floor of the library. 

• The Odds by Stewart O'Nan
• The Snow Child: A Novel by Eowyn Ivey
• Catch Me by Lisa Gardner
• Accidents of Providence by Stacia M. Brown
• Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale
• Girl Reading: A Novel by Katie Ward
• The Wolf Gift: A Novel by Anne Rice

Super Bowl XLVI Statistics from the Census

Super Bowl XLVI will be played Feb. 5 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis  It is the first time the Super Bowl has been played in Indiana. The Census Bureau has assembled some interesteing statistics about New York (Giants), Boston (New England Patriots), and Indianapolis (host city).

New York

1st

Where New York ranked on the list of the nation's most populous cities. The population of New York in 2010 was 8,175,133.  Source: 2010 Demographic Profile.

38.7 minutes

Average amount of time it took New York residents to get to work — 22.7 percent of the city's workers drove to work alone, 5.0 percent carpooled and 55.7 percent took public transportation. Nationally, it took workers an average of 25.3 minutes to get to work. The percentage of New York workers who drove to work alone and the percentage taking public transportation were significantly different from the national average and Indianapolis.  Source: 2010 American Community Survey.

33.4%

Percentage of New York residents 25 and older who had a bachelor's degree or higher in 2010; 79.6 percent had at least graduated from high school. The respective national figures were 28.2 percent and 85.6 percent. The percentage in New York who have graduated from high school did not differ significantly from the percentage for Indianapolis.  Source: 2010 American Community Survey.

Boston

22nd

Where Boston ranked on the list of the nation's most populous cities. The population of Boston in 2010 was 617,594. The Patriots actually play in suburban Foxborough, Mass., which had a 2010 Census population of 16,865.  Source: 2010 Demographic Profile.

28.4 minutes

Average amount of time it took Boston residents to get to work — 38.3 percent of the city's workers drove to work alone, 7.3 percent carpooled and 32.8 percent took public transportation. Nationally, it took workers an average of 25.3 minutes to get to work. The percentage of Boston workers who drove to work alone and the percentage taking public transportation were significantly different from the national average and Indianapolis.  Source: 2010 American Community Survey.

44.3%

Percentage of Boston residents 25 and older who had a bachelor's degree or higher in 2010; 85.8 percent had at least graduated from high school. The respective national figures were 28.2 percent and 85.6 percent. The percentage in Boston who had at least a bachelor's degree was significantly higher from the percentage for Indianapolis.  Source: 2010 American Community Survey.

Indianapolis (host city)

12th

Where Indianapolis ranked on the list of the nation's most populous cities. The population of Indianapolis in 2010 was 820,445.  Source: 2010 Demographic Profile.

22.2 minutes

Average amount of time it took Indianapolis residents to get to work — 82.6 percent of the city's workers drove to work alone, 9.2 percent carpooled and 1.8 percent took public transportation. Nationally, it took workers an average of 25.3 minutes to get to work.  Source: 2010 American Community Survey.

26.7%

Percentage of Indianapolis residents 25 and older who had a bachelor's degree or higher in 2010; 83.8 percent had at least graduated from high school. The respective national figures were 28.2 percent and 85.6 percent.  Source: 2010 American Community Survey.

Searching Course Reserves

Did you know that you can search for items that are on Course Reserve for a class?  The Hewes Library Reserves Search allows you to view the Courses, Instructor, and Department that have available reserves.  By looking at the title of the book, DVD, or article that you are interested in, you can immediately tell if it is available or checked out. 

Faculty - looking for more information about putting items on Course Reserve at the library?  Check out our Course Reserves Guide for more information and the necessary forms.

Hewes Library & I-Share Catalog Maintenance - Sun, Feb. 5

Access to CARLI's I-Share system will be interrupted on Sunday, February 5, from 6AM until approximately 8AM, for routine maintenance.


The Hewes Library Staff

On Display: Tourism & Travel Writing

Currently on display in the East Lobby is a collection of materials relating to tourism, travel, and travel writing.  There are also a few travel memoirs and statistical information relating to tourists in the United States.

All of the items on display are available to checkout.  Please see a member of the library's staff for more assistance.