Thursday, May 31, 2012

Words we owe to Shakespeare

Sometimes it is nice to be reminded why William Shakespeare is widely considered one of the greatest writers of the English language.


To the left is an image that has been floating around the Internet for awhile that shows a very small part of Shakespeare's contribution.

You can read some of the amusing things Shakespeare wrote in the book Barbs from the bard : Shakespearean insults with modern translations and notes, which the Port Charlotte campus library has under PR2892 .V56 2000.


Or, check out The tragedy of Hamlet, prince of Denmark from the Fort Myers campus under PR2807 .A1 1992.



Friday, May 18, 2012

Use digital archives to aid your research or presentation

Online digital archives are an exciting way to research a topic for your paper or presentation. You can cite the website in a paper or include and cite an image (look at our APA citation handouts if you're not sure how). Many newspapers, libraries, museums, and other institutions are scanning and uploading their collections online for others to browse.

Here are a few examples you may want to learn more about:

Ernest Hemingway used to write and travel for the Toronto Star in his youth. His articles and some biographical information (including images) can be found on their site The Hemingway Papers.
   * You can find some of his work at SWFC! The Tampa campus has The short stories: The first forty-nine stories with a brief preface by the author in its leisure reading collection under the call number F HEM 1986.

The Florida Memory Project has photos, video, and audio from institutions all over Florida. They even have topics separated into collections and have online exhibits to help you sort through everything.
ECE students may be particularly interested in the Classroom portion of the site, which helps teachers create units.
You can also keep updated on what's going on by subscribing to their blog.



Those interested in history will want to look at the The Lively Morgue, the blog for the photo archives of The New York Times. They post images with the date and any known information that are deemed particularly interesting, since they have millions to choose from.


This is just a starting point; there are many online archives on the Internet to explore! Ask a SWFC librarian for help finding more resources.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

How to use LIRN for research




Southwest Florida College subscribes to LIRN databases (Library & Information Resources Network), which provide you with full-text scholarly articles, maps, magazines, images, and more! It's a wonderful resource to use for research and it's free as students or faculty.

Use our guide to help you sign in and learn what the databases offer. Clicking here will open a PDF file you can print out to use anywhere. You can also contact one of your librarians with any extra help if you need it!