NC LIVE / EbscoHOST Insights

from the NC LIVE folks:

In the month of February EBSCO is releasing a host of new features for their databases. An exact release date is unknown, but look for the changes in the next couple of weeks.

"Visual Searching"
A new "Visual Search" tab will soon appear that will provide a great complement to the traditional basic and advanced search options. EBSCO had provided a link to a 30 second flash movie for a sneak preview of this exciting new tool that they are making available to all customers at no additional charge.
http://www.epnet.com/flashViewer.php?marketID=1&topicID=407

"Clustering"
Eliminating the need to browse through Result Lists or check individual records, EBSCO's Clustering feature provides a convenient list of links (or clusters) that allows users to sort results by Subjects, Authors, or Journals (depending upon which grouping the library administrator has chosen in EBSCOadmin), along the left side of the Result List. When the clustering feature has been enabled, a list of ten clusters is displayed with the Result List. This feature must be enabled by the NC LIVE help desk.

"Database Selection From Search Screen"
EBSCO provides a convenient drop-down list, located right under the Find field on both the Basic and Advanced Search screens, of every database in the profile. Users can select a new database to search without having to return to the Choose Databases screen.

"RSS Feeds"
Researchers now have the capability to extend the usefulness and reach of the Alerts they create within EBSCOhost. Each alert can be set up as an RSS feed, allowing them to view Alert results within their RSS Aggregator, or allowing them to include these results in a web site with EBSCOhost articles.

New MORNINGSTAR.COM LIBRARY EDITION Now Available

Next time you’re in the library take a look at our Internet-based investing tool, Morningstar.com Library Edition, a NC LIVE resource. Morningstar takes you through the entire investing process – finding stocks and funds, evaluating them and seeing how they work together in a portfolio. It covers all stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, American Stock Exchange and nearly 14,000 mutual funds – more than 20,000 securities in all. It provides detailed financial information, analyst reports and helps you build lists of stocks and funds based on hundreds of different criteria.

Give Morningstar.com Library Edition a try or stop by the Reference Desk for assistance.

Access North Carolina Newspapers via Newsbank

Several North Carolina newspapers including the Greensboro News & Record are now available via Newsbank. To access the Newsbank database from home, you will need to use the NC LIVE password. If you haven't registered yet this semester to use Newsbank or any of our other GTCC Library databases from home or outside campus, go to Use the Library From Home to fill out an online request form.

If you would like to learn more about using Newsbank or any of GTCC Library's online resources, schedule a research consultation with one of our librarians. To schedule a consultation:

-Jamestown campus - drop by the Reference Desk or call us at ext. 2287 or 2636. Ask for Belinda or Denise.

-Greensboro campus - drop by the library or call Keith at ext. 4225 or 4203

-High Point campus - drop by the Library or call Amy at ext. 4112 or 4153

January eBook of the Month Offers Practical Advice for Successful Weight Management and a Healthy Lifestyle

BOULDER, COLO.— NetLibrary, in Partnership with Que Publishing, will feature Absolute Beginner's Guide to a Lite and Healthy Lifestyle as the January eBook of the Month. Written by registered dietician Nicole Haywood and endorsed by the National Institute for Fitness and Sport, Absolute Beginner's Guide to a Lite and Healthy Lifestyle ignores fad diets and focuses on helping readers make the lifestyle changes necessary for successful weight management.

While the goal of every diet is weight loss, Haywood argues that most diets are designed to fail because they do not adequately address all the factors related to food choices.

• Diets focus on the scale instead of behavior changes.
• Diets do not often include, encourage, or promote physical activity.
• Diets do not require a lifestyle change.
• Diets have a beginning and an end.
• Diets create a parent/child relationship with food (being "good" or "bad" when you eat certain foods) that frequently leads to rebellious eating.
• Diets do not require you to change the way you think about food.

How to find community assistance

Looking for help and don't know where to turn?

The United Way has set up a website and telephone hotline to help you figure out which agency or community group to contact for help. If you are looking for community assistance for a variety of needs - heating bill help, housing, counseling, medical issues, and more - then the United Way service is where you can turn for help.

You can access this information by visiting the United Way's website at

http://www.nc211.org/

Or you can simply dial 211 from any telephone to speak to somebody in person.

This service provides resources for people in Guilford, Randolph, Davidson, Forsyth, and other NC counties.

Help with NC LIVE's audio books

NC LIVE has posted information on how to use NetLibrary's audio books:

http://www.nclive.org/help.phtml?page=2
and
http://www.nclive.org/audiobooks.phtml

Self-Guided Library Orientation for Students

GTCC Faculty -
Introduce your students to the library's resources and services by having them pick up a copy of the recently revised Library Orientation Assignment at the Jamestown Campus Reference Desk. This orientation assignment guides students through the various areas, services, and resources of the Jamestown Campus library. The assignment takes approximately 30 - 45 minutes to complete. Completed assignments are handed in at the Circulation Desk and graded by library staff. To view and print out this assignment, click here. For more information or questions regarding this assignment, contact me (Denise Woetzel) at ext. 2287 or email me at mdwoetzel@gtcc.edu.

A New Beginning

Welcome to the Guilford Technical Community College Library blog! Look here for news and information about what's happening in the GTCC libraries ~ at Jamestown, Greensboro, and High Point.

We have lots of new services to offer, including a ton of new NC LIVE resources. Watch this site for more details!

New audio book service

Use NC LIVE to download books in MP3 format. You can then transfer these to your MP3 player. The files last for three weeks. Ask a librarian to help you.
Sorry! They haven't discovered iPods yet :(