Constitution Day/Congress Week

This year is the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  It’s an appropriate time to revisit the documents and institutions that sustain our country in the wake of a national tragedy like 9/11 and other challenges.  Constitution Day, September 17, and Congress Week, September 12-16, provide us with that opportunity.

Constitution Day celebrates the signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787.  Established by Congress in 2004, Constitution Day stresses the importance of the Constitution as a document that guides our government and protects citizens’ rights.  You can read the Constitution online or come in to the Government Documents office on the lower level of the library for a free copy.

The Association of Centers for the Study of Congress (ACSC) created Congress Week to coincide with Constitution Day.  ACSC encourages the study of Congress and its key role in the government as established by the Constitution.  Our own Thomas A. Daschle Congressional Research Study, located within the Special Collections area of Briggs Library, provides a unique resource for the study of Congress.  Here the public can access papers from Daschle’s twenty-six years in Congress.

The staff at Briggs Library encourages you to explore our resources and learn more about the U.S. Constitution and Congress.  The library is a member of the Federal Depository Library Program, and has been since 1889, so we provide free access to congressional, executive, and judicial publications.  For more information on this program connect to our Government Documents Web page. 

You can also come to the library to see displays on the lower and main levels.  Access our History and Political Science Research Guides.  Search library resources such as our online catalog and databases to get more information.  Also, feel free to contact a librarian about the Constitution, Congress, or any other research interests.

 Linda Kott
Information Services Librarian

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Festival of Cultures

Librarian Mary Kraljic at Past Festival of Cultures / Photo by Patty Vick

Briggs Library staff members will be hosting a booth at SDSU’s 29^th Annual Festival of Cultures.  We hope you will join us in Frost Arena on Friday 1 April anytime from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Our booth will highlight library resources related to culture.  You can explore world cultures in more depth by visiting the library in-person or online.  Following are just a few ways to dive into the topic.

• Peruse the library’s collection of local, regional, and world newspapers found on the main level of the library.
• Use the library’s catalog to find records for books, government documents, DVD’s, and electronic books.
• Consult resources in the library’s Reference Collection on the library’s main level, including multivolume works on Culture and Customs organized by country and Food Culture organized by country or region.
• Use one of our many databases to find articles in magazines, journals, or newspapers.
• Explore Government Information, including international information.
• Ask a librarian to help with your research.  Consult with a librarian in person at the Information Services Desk or click on the Ask Us link on the library’s homepage for information on connecting by phone, e-mail or instant messaging. 

 Linda Kott
Information Service Librarian

EndNote X4 Update Available

There is an update to EndNote X4 available. To download and install the update, click on the Help menu in EndNote. From there, choose EndNote Program Updates and follow the screens to download and install the update. This should not do anything to your library or work.

~Elizabeth Fox, Digital Information Services Librarian

MyiLibrary – eContent Resource Library

MyiLibrary is an electronic platform that offers library users access to some of the most topical and current e-books available today. Users can access a wide range of research, reference and reading materials online from any location. Users can search across many e-books or conduct searches within a particular e-book.

The e-content available @ Briggs covers these subject areas —

• Agriculture
• Education
• Geography, Anthropology, Recreation
• Language and Literature
  • American Literature
• Medicine
  • Nursing
• Science
• Social Sciences
• Technology
  • Engineering (General), Civil Engineering (General)
  • Mechanical Engineering and Machinery
  • Technology (General)

You can access MyiLibrary by clicking on Find Articles & Databases on the Library’s home page http://www.sdstate.edu/library/ then scrolling down and clicking on MyiLibrary.

Learn About Nepal

Nepal Night will begin at 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 13, in the Volstorff Ballroom of the Student Union. Hosted by SDSU’s Nepalese Student Association, the event offers an opportunity to sample Nepalese cuisine and culture.

If you want to learn even more about Nepal, remember the library offers many great resources. One place is to look for information is a general database like EBSCOhost MegaFILE, which is linked on the library’s homepage. I looked for information on Nepal’s culture and retrieved many helpful articles. According an article by Bailey, Nepali is the official language of Nepal, but its people speak over fifty languages and dialects (People & Culture sec.). Check out the accuracy of this fact with the hosts of Nepal Night or by comparing other sources.

Works Cited

Bailey, Ellen. “Nepal.” Our World: Nepal (2010): 1-6. EBSCO MegaFILE. Web. 10 Feb. 2011.

Linda Kott
Information Services Librarian

Library’s New Web Site

Briggs Library’s Web site has a new look.  We have the same great resources available online, but we are changing things around a bit to fit in with SDSU’s Web redesign.

A good place to begin your research is at the library’s index page at http://www.sdstate.edu/library/index.cfm. From this page click on Find Library Resources to find links to the library’s catalog, journals list, databases, etc.  Click on Research Assistance to find links to tutorials, copyright help, and course guides.  Do a little exploring and you’ll find all your favorite library resources—just rearranged a bit.

 Hate remembering URL’s?  You can connect to the library’s index page from SDSU’s homepage in three clicks.  Here’s the Path: Academics, Hilton M. Briggs Library (in the left pane), Hilton M. Briggs Library (in the right, yellow pane).

 Please contact a librarian if you have any questions.  Speak to us in person at the Service Desk or by phone at 605-688-5107.  Contact us by e-mail by clicking on the Email Us link found throughout the Web site.  To chat with a librarian enter your question in our Meebo badge found on the Ask Us and Research Assistance pages.

 Linda Kott
Information Services Librarian

South Dakota Legislative Session

2010 South Dakota State Legislature

The South Dakota State Legislature is currently in full session. The Legislative session opened January 12, 2010 and adjourns March 29, 2010. Article III of the Constitution of South Dakota established the legislature as a bicameral body consisting of the State Senate and House of Representatives. 35 Senators from 35 districts serve South Dakota constituents as do 70 Representatives from 35 Districts.

2010 has been a busy legislative session despite the challenges of a South Dakota winter. February 4, 2010 is the final day to introduce committee bills and joint resolutions. As of Feb. 12, 2010, the Legislative Research Council ‘s 2010 session bills list  indicates 511 total bills have been introduced in both Houses.

House of Representatives:

• 278 House Bills
• 2 House Commemoration
• 8 House Concurrent Resolutions
• 6 House Joint Resolutions

Senate:

• 196 Senate Bills
• 13 Senate Commemorations
• 1 Senate Concurrent Resolution
• 7 Senate Joint Resolutions

The South Dakota Legislative Research Council provides information on State Legislators, Legislative Sessions from 1997 to present, the South Dakota Constitution, South Dakota Codified Laws, Administrative Rules, and other information on the Legislature. In addition, with a MyLRC account users can create customized lists of Bills, Statutes, Rules, and other information, and sign up for email notifications based on the lists that have been created. South Dakota Public Broadcasting provides live audio broadcasts of Senate and House Sessions linked on the 2010 Legislative Session http://legis.state.sd.us/sessions/2010/index.aspx page.

A brochure providing an overview of the current session can be found at http://legis.state.sd.us/sessions/2010/guide.pdf.

For more detailed information about the South Dakota Legislature, please visit the South Dakota Legislative Research Council .

Additional information about South Dakota State government is available from the Official State Government Website . As always, Government Documents staff are ready, willing, and enthusiastically able to help you find local, state, and federal government information.

Vickie Mix, Government Documents Librarian

EndNote training for spring 2010

Training for the EndNote bibliographic software will be held throughout spring semester. To find out what EndNote is, check out this blog entry. There are two sessions – a beginning session and an advanced session. All sessions will be held in Briggs Library, room 125 and will be hands-on training. You may bring your laptop or use one of our computers.

Beginning EndNote will cover:

• Downloading and installing the software;
• EndNote libraries and groups;
• Getting citation information into EndNote;
• Adding attachments to records;
• Organizing your records;
• Using citations in your writing
• Searching and Sorting in EndNote
• Term lists
• Preferences, toolbars, shortcuts
• Backing up your library

Advanced EndNote will cover:

• Adding citations styles not downloaded with EndNote
• Adding import filters for databases not covered by the basic EndNote download
• Using EndNote Web with EndNote on a desktop
• Setting EndNote up for searching databases within the program
• Creating an independent bibliographies

Dates of training:

Beginning EndNote:

• January 14 9:00 – 9:45 SHORT (this has changed from original post)
• January 14 2:00 – 3:30 FULL
• January 19 3:00-4:30 NEW
• January 20 12:00 – 1:30
• February 9 2:00 – 3:30
• March 17 3:00 – 4:30
• April 15 10:00 – 11:30
• May 6 3:00-4:30

Advanced EndNote:

• January 21 12:00-1:00
• January 22 3:00-4:00
• February 17 12:00 – 1:00
• April 15 3:00 – 4:00
• May 7 3:00 – 4:00

It is highly recommended that you sign up for a session beforehand. To sign up, simply e-mail elizabeth.fox@sdstate.edu or call Elizabeth at 688-5569.

~by Elizabeth Fox, Digital Information Services Librarian

HM Briggs Library Web Toolbar

Access library and other research resources quickly from your browser using the free Briggs Library Toolbar! The toolbar is compatible with Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari. The toolbar is very easy to install and updates quickly with a built-in refresh option. The toolbar is also easy to uninstall if you wish to remove it from your browser. The HM Briggs Library Toolbar provides searching and one-click access to:

* Library Catalog
* Library Databases
* Journals List
* Electronic and Paper Reserves
* Google Scholar
* Archives & Special Collections
* Government Documents
* Library Research Tools such as: Interlibrary Loan, Citing & Copyright, Distance Library Services, Renew Books Online.
* The main SDSU Web Page

Try it out today: http://lib.sdstate.edu/services/toolbar.html

Laura M. Wight, Associate Professor & Information Literacy Librarian

EndNote Bibliographic Software available from Briggs

The South Dakota Board of Regents has obtained a license for all students and employees of South Dakota State University for the EndNote Bibliographic Software.
EndNote is will help manage citations for research and writing and for bibliographies for classes. After the bibliographic information for references have been entered by downloading them from databases or manually entering it the “Cite-while-you-write” feature will automatically insert citations in the text and create a bibliography at the end. “Cite-while-you-write” works with Microsoft Word and Open Office. Even more amazing is that over 3700 styles including MLA, APA, CSE, Chicago, etc. and styles required for many specific journals are available for use in EndNote. Is it possible to change the citation style after writing the paper without laborious reformatting, just choose a new style and EndNote makes all the changes.
The software can be loaded onto your computer at work and home. Libraries of citations can be shared between computers or users by using flash drives or EndNote Web (an online limited version of EndNote accessible to anyone).
To load the software onto your computer, faculty should access InsideState and choose Academics and Briggs Library. On the Briggs Library InsideState page, the EndNote software is linked on the right side of the page. Students should check on MyStateOnline under My Academics in the Library box (if it is not listed here, e-mail Elizabeth Fox at elizabeth.fox@sdstate.edu). Two files need to be saved onto your computer. Once the two files are saved on your computer, you just need to double click on the ENX3Inst.msi file and follow the directions.

~Elizabeth Fox, Digital Information Services Librarian