Thank you to our Veterans!

Check out other Veterans Celebration events being held November 9-13. To celebrate Veterans Day, I’d like to share some information about resources, at Boise State and beyond, which are available to veterans.

Boise State University Veteran Services Center
In 2015, Veteran Services was awarded a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education, which is being used to establish a Center of Excellence for Veteran Students. Congratulations to the amazing staff who work hard to make Boise State such a great environment for student veterans!

ΩΔΣ (Omega Delta Sigma)
Student veteran and Veteran Services Education and Event Coordinator Travis Hayes founded the Idaho Alpha Chapter of this co-ed college fraternity for veterans when he began his education at Boise State. Travis was recently featured on the Vice President’s Faces of Student Affairs blog. For more information about chapter activity at Boise State University contact pres.ida@omegadeltasigma.com.

Boise State University Veterans Upward Bound
This office is officially dedicated to helping veterans (both students and community) achieve academically by offering free assessments, instructional programs, and career planning, but the caring staff make it feel like a community center of sorts.

Boise Vet Center
The Boise Vet Center is available to all combat veterans, and is staffed with some awesome therapists who care about the well-being of veterans.

Library Research Guide - Veteran Services
You can find all of the resources I mention (and more) here. My contact information is also listed on this page, and please don’t hesitate to use it. I’m great at finding resources, whether academic or otherwise, so if I don’t know the answer to your question, I’m pretty sure I can find out who does!

Ellie Dworak is the library liaison for Veteran Services, Veteran’s Upward Bound and Military Sciences.

Surviving Cold and Flu Season

Photo by Edgar Antonio Villaseñor González
via Flickr CC (http://bit.ly/1wvM0O2)

Although we’ve been inundated with news about the ebola virus lately, the influenza virus is much more likely to be an issue for those of us in Idaho. TV station KXLF reported the first flu-related death in Idaho more than two weeks ago http://www.kxly.com/news/north-idaho-news/idaho-reports-first-flu-related-death-of-season/29025292 so if you haven’t gotten your flu vaccination, now is the time to do so.

Boise State University’s Health Services has a number of resources including free vaccinations: http://healthservices.boisestate.edu/resources/coldandflu/

Idaho’s Department of Health and Welfare offers detailed information about signs of the flu and what to do: http://www.healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/Health/DiseasesConditions/Influenza/SeasonalInfluenza(Flu)/tabid/327/Default.aspx

And the CDC also has some pretty good, basic information about protecting yourself and others during flu season: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/stopgerms.htm

For more scholarly articles on influenza check out the databases collected on the Health Services library guide http://guides.boisestate.edu/health_sciences.

Above all, take care!

Michelle Armstrong and Elizabeth Ramsey

Introducing LibChat!

You probably already know how much we love to help people here at Albertsons Library, so it won’t come as a surprise that we’ve introduced a new way for you to get in touch called Chat with us! 

Use Chat with us! to chat live with an Albertsons Library expert anytime we’re open (see the library calendar for hours).

You can find Chat with us! on the library website (shown below) as well as on our subject and topic guides.

We look forward to chatting with you!

Welcome to the library! Fall 2013 edition

Welcome to the Albertsons Library! Here are a few things to make your library visit a fun, research-rich experience:

• Bring your laptop or mobile device--the whole building is Wi-Fi enabled
• Access library resources from your portable device via our our mobile-friendly website
• There are over 110 computers with Microsoft Office 2010, Mac and PC laptops and notebooks for checkout
• Scanners, microform readers, and multiple BroncoPrint stations in the first and second floors--all wired to include wireless printing from your laptop
• Check out iPads at the Circulation desk, each with tons of helpful apps
• Need a mobile battery charger, plug-and-play headphones, calculators, or computer cables? We have them at the Circulation desk
• Need to charge your portable device? Find a charging station near Starbucks or on the 2nd floor
• Access thousands of articles from journals and magazines from the A-Z list of databases (most which are mobile-friendly, too.)
• A growing collection of streaming video and music databases on a wide range of subjects--watch online or on your portable device 
• Find an extensive list of subject guides via the library's LibGuides system
• A variety of digital collections from the university's Special Collections and Archives
• Check out the scholarly output of the university via ScholarWorks
• Access a growing eBook collection which you can read books online or download to your portable device
• A brand new media/collaboration room on the first floor, room L109C
• A tutoring room on the second floor, room L205 where you can get help from Advising and Academic Enhancement tutors and Learning Assistants
• Find library hours at our nifty calendar page at http://library.boisestate.edu/about/hours.php

We have more goodies in store for you so if you have questions about research, campus, or anything at all we’re available to help you via our reference chat, on Facebook, and on Twitter. Or you can text us your questions at (208) 546-9982.

Have a great semester!

8/19/13: World Photography Day

2012 World Photography Day submission by Am Renault

"World Photography Day is all about celebrating photography. Whether you see yourself as an Amateur, Hobbyist or Professional, August 19th is a day to embrace your love of photography." So says http://www.worldphotoday.org/ , and if you want to be part of over 4600 photographers who will post on its global online gallery, then head on over to the website and register.

If you find the perfect shot and want to add it to your presentation or paper, learn how to cite it by giving this library guide a shot: http://guides.boisestate.edu/imagesvideos. Here you will find MLA & APA citation style guides for pictures and moving images, as well as links to huge collections of online images and a nifty Google Image Search box. Go take a picture!

Boise San Inazio Festival

Photo by Joel Mann

The San Inazio Festival begins this week in Boise. This annual event honors the patron saint of the Basques, St. Ignatius of Loyola, with dancers and musicians, picnics, and games of paleta goma. For information about the event, check out the Basque Center of Boise's website, or check out the full schedule of events at http://www.basquecenter.com/San_Inazio_schedule_2013.pdf

If you'll spend some time indoors (to get away from the heat!), the Albertsons Library maintains a Basque Studies library guide at http://guides.boisestate.edu/basque. Here you will find access to article databases, websites, news, and research resources related to the Basque culture in Boise and throughout the world.

Enjoy the festivities! 

Celebrate National Criminal Justice Month

In 2009 the U.S. Congress established March as National Criminal Justice Month.The National Criminal Justice Month is designed to focus attention on the importance of societal awareness regarding the causes and consequences of crime, as well as strategies for preventing and responding to crime.

To promote this education and information campaign, and to support the curricular and research needs of BSU criminal justice students, faculty, and staff, the Albertsons Library is focusing attention on Criminal Justice resources.

Specialized resources relevant to Criminal Justice are available at the Albertsons Library Criminal Justice Subject Guide: http://guides.boisestate.edu/CriminalJustice

For more details about the National Criminal Justice Month, visit www.acjs.org/pubs/167_2138_14507.cfm

Marilia Y. Antunez,
Assistant Professor/Librarian

March is National Professional Social Work Month

Social work professionals continue to influence and improve services in hospitals, schools, businesses, military branches, government, and thousands of non-profit and community organizations across the country.

This year’s theme, “Weaving Threads of Resilience and Advocacy,” emphasizes the value of using personal strengths and self-advocacy to manage serious life challenges.

In honor of this annual celebration of one of the country’s top growth professions, and to support the curricular and research needs of BSU social work students, faculty, and staff, the Albertsons Library is focusing attention on social work resources.

Licensed databases with the best coverage for Social Work include:

• Family & Society Studies Worldwide
• Social Services Abstracts
• Sociological Abstracts
• Social Work Abstracts
• Criminal Justice Abstracts

Additional specialized resources relevant to Social Work are available at the Albertsons Library Social Work Subject Guide: http://guides.boisestate.edu/socialwork

For more information about Social Work Month 2013 or the social work profession, visit SocialWorkMonth.org. 

Marilia Y. Antunez,
Assistant Professor/Librarian

Faculty: Try the “Library Resources” button on Blackboard for a direct link to guides in your subject area

All Blackboard generated course sites starting in Spring 2012 will have a button on the left navigation menu titled Library Resources. The Library Resources button will take you and your students directly to a subject guide that your Librarian Liaison has created for your department and includes links to Library and other resources that may be of assistance to your students as they complete their assignments.

Librarian Liaisons are also available to create customized Guides that will support your course(s). Please feel free to contact your liaison http://library.boisestate.edu/CollDev/liaisons.shtm to work with them on adding links to additional resources that you would find useful.