Temple Selected to Participate in Project Information Literacy Study

Posted on April 13, 2010 by

Temple is honored to have been selected to participate in the University of Washington’s Project Information Literacy program! This week, a survey will be deployed to a random sampling of sophomores, juniors and seniors, seeking information on what it’s like to be a college student in the digital age. If you are selected, we encourage you to participate, and not just because you will be eligible for a $150 gift certificate from Amazon! PIL is a national study about information-seeking behaviors, competencies, and the challenges. The survey will help us learn more about the opportunities and challenges that online research presents to you — and the strategies you’ve developed to find information for course work and for use in your life. This information will help the Temple Libraries to better serve you. Watch your email for the survey announcement. Just be sure to complete the survey by the April 28, 2010 deadline.

Trial: APA Books

Posted on April 12, 2010 by John Schoolar

We have a trial thru 5/7/10 of ebook versions of American Psychological Association titles published from 2001-2010. Your feedback is appreciated.

Update on Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA): Now Available for Free

Posted on April 5, 2010 by Jill Luedke

A recent press release by the Getty announced that the art database, Bibliography of the History (BHA) will now be available free of charge via the J. Paul Getty website. You can read the entire release here. Please note that the content available is only the archive of BHA. The database is currently not being updated. There is a sigh of relief in the art research community over this news. Despite the lack of updated content, BHA remains one of the most useful resources for art historical research.

8 New Cambridge Companions

Posted on April 1, 2010 by John Schoolar

Eight new titles have recently been added to Cambridge Companions Online:

Cambridge Companion to Ancient Scepticism
Cambridge Companion to Arthurian Legend
Cambridge Companion to Caryl Churchill
Cambridge Companion to English Novelists
Cambridge Companion to J. M. Synge
Cambridge Companion to Piaget
Cambridge Companion to Spinoza’s Ethics
Cambridge Companion to Tacitus

Should Students Form Their Own Course Work Groups?

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Steven Bell

The following research summary comes courtesy of the publication The Teaching Professor. The Temple University Libraries has acquired a site license so that any instructor can access this always helpful resource for finding solutions to teaching challenges. We also have access to the entire archive of issues so that instructors can search for past articles on a multitude of teaching issues and tips. This link will lead you to the latest issue. Instructors can subscribe to receive an email alert for each new issue.

Now, on to the summary: If the course involves a graded group project, should instructors let students form their own groups or should the instructor create the groups? This decision is not always easy or obvious. Some students lobby hard to form their own groups, arguing that knowing each other ensures that they will be able to work together productively. On the other hand, in the world of work, most of the time employees do not get to pick their collaborators. There’s a task, and those with knowledge and relevant skills are formed into a group and assigned to complete the project, solve the problem, or develop the product.

The qualitative data revealed one significant but predictable difference between the groups. Self-selected groups got off to a much quicker start on the project. Members already knew each other and could start to work immediately. In the instructor-formed groups, there was a period of getting to know one another before they could work productively on the task. The qualitative data uncovered another less obvious difference. Self-selected groups valued their similarities. What they shared from previous interactions helped them work together and made it less likely that any individual would let the group down. Students in the instructor-formed groups valued their differences. They saw each other as making different contributions to the group and felt that these differences enabled the group to produce a better product.

Interestingly, “although student-selected groups perceived they produced higher-quality work, the actual grades assigned to the group projects did not differ between group formation conditions.” (p. 26) Despite this, these faculty researchers stop short of recommending that faculty always let students form their own groups. “Although we found that student-selected groups generally had a more positive experience than instructor-formed groups, we resist the temptation to conclude that student-selection is the superior method for forming groups. Read more at: http://www.magnapubs.com/issues/magnapubs_tp/24_4/news/603357-1.html

New Titles in ACLS Humanities E-Book

Posted on March 31, 2010 by John Schoolar

Over 500 new works have been added to ACLS Humanities E-Book (HEB) across a wide range of disciplines and subject areas, including important new series from the American Sociological Association, Cambridge University Press, the English Institute, and the Society of Biblical Literature. HEB now offers titles in over 2 dozen disciplinary or area studies, including new areas like performance (theater, music, dance), film & media, literary criticism, sociology, bibliographical studies, history of the book, and biblical studies.

ARTstor Update 3/30/10

Posted on March 30, 2010 by John Schoolar

ARTstor has announced the following:

Now available: Art and architecture from pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela photographed by William Keighley (The Metrpolitan Museum of Art)
ARTstor is collaborating with The Metropolitan Museum of Art to make available approximately 900 images of art and architecture from pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela photographed by William Keighley.

Now available: Additional plans of Ancient and Medieval buildings and archaeological sites from Bryn Mawr College
The final set of images depicting plans of archaeological sites and architectural monuments contributed by Bryn Mawr College are now available in the Digital Library, bringing the collection total to nearly 8,000 images.

Now available: Architecture by Le Corbusier
ARTstor has collaborated with the School of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Planning at Dalhousie University to make available approximately 250 images of architecture by Le Corbusier in the Digital Library.

Now available: Photographs of art, architecture, and culture in Southeast Asia and Morocco
ARTstor has collaborated with Barbara Anello to make available 750 images of the architecture, arts, and culture of Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Morocco in the Digital Library.

3 New Trials from Adam Matthew Digital

Posted on March 30, 2010 by John Schoolar

The following 3 online collections are on trial through 4/24/10:

Everyday Life and Women in America, c.1800-1920 [Feedback]

“This collection documents in compelling detail the social and cultural forces that shaped the everyday lives of Americans from 1800 to 1920” [more info]

The Grand Tour [Feedback]

“The Grand Tour includes the travel writings and works of some of Britain’s greatest artists, writers and thinkers, revealing how interaction with European culture shaped their creative and intellectual sensibilities. It also includes many writings by forgotten or anonymous travellers, including many women, whose daily experiences offer a vivid insight into the experience and practicalities of travel over the centuries.” [more info]

“Victorian Popular Culture welcome readers into the darkened halls, small backrooms and travelling venues that hosted everything from spectacular shows and bawdy burlesque, to magic and spiritualist séances. [It] contains a wide range of source material relating to popular entertainment in America, Britain and Europe in the period from 1779 to 1930, and shows how interconnected these worlds were.” [more info]

3 New Trials

Posted on March 29, 2010 by John Schoolar

We have trial access to the following resources through 4/24/10:

Archives Unbound [Feedback]

Presents topically-focused digital collections of historical documents that support the research and study needs of scholars and students at the college and university level. For further info see the publisher’s description.

Currently available archives include:
–Afghanistan and the U.S., 1945-1963: Records of the U.S. State Department Central Classified Files
–Alexander III and the Policy of "Russification," 1883-1886
–East Germany from Stalinization to the New Economic Policy, 1950-1963
–Federal Response to Radicalism in the 1960s
–Federal Surveillance of African Americans, 1920-1984
–Feminism in Cuba: Nineteenth through Twentieth Century Archival Documents
–Foreign Relations between Latin America and the Caribbean States, 1930-1944
–Global Missions and Theology
–Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees: The West’s Response to Jewish Emigration
–JFK’s Foreign Affairs and International Crises, 1961-1963
–James Meredith, J. Edgar Hoover, and the Integration of the University of Mississippi
–Overland Journeys: Travels in the West, 1800-1880
–Policing the Shanghai International Settlement, 1894-1945
–The American Indian Movement and Native American Radicalism
–The Economy and War in the Third Reich, 1933-1944
–U.S. Relations with the Vatican and the Holocaust, 1940-1950
–U.S. and Iraqi Relations: U.S. Technical Aid, 1950-1958
–Women’s Issues and Their Advocacy Within the White House, 1974-1977

British Literary Manuscripts Online, c. 1660-1900 [Feedback]

Presents facsimile images of literary manuscripts, including letters and diaries, drafts of poems, plays, novels, and other literary works, and similar materials. For further info see the publisher’s description.

Times Literary Supplement Historical Digital Archive [Feedback]

Complete online facsimile edition, updated to 2005, with full-text searching. For further info see the publisher’s description.

Literature Online (LION) Content Update 3/29/10