��THE LIBRARY SCOOP Spring 2010 Volume 2, Issue 2 Orange County Community College Middletown & Newburgh campuses Newsletter of the Libraries of Orange County Community College Volume 2, Issue 2 Library Hours Middletown Monday - Friday 8 am 9 pm Saturday 9 am 3 pm Library Hours Newburgh Monday 9 am 8 pm Tuesday 9 am 8 pm Wednesday 9 am 8 pm Thursday 9am 5:30pm Friday 9 am  5pm Phone Numbers: Middletown Circulation: 845-341-4855 Reference: 845-341-4260 Newburgh: 845-341-4542 The library staff is committed to providing helpful and friendly service. If you can t find a book, are having trouble formatting your paper or are wondering what books you have taken out please direct your questions to anyone at the front desk on the first floor. Page # 1 SUNY ORANGE TO HOST BEACON CONFERENCE JUNE 4TH 2010 For the first time SUNY Orange s Middletown Campus is hosting a showcase for student researchers attending 2 year colleges in the Northeast. The Beacon Conference began in 1993 at SUNY Rockland and has continued at different colleges in New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The conference is a way for students to demonstrate the high level of research they are capable. All SUNY Orange students are invited to participate in the conference by working with an instructor mentor and submitting original research to the evaluation panel. The top three papers in each of the twenty research topics will be read to a panel of instructors and the audience. The student who submits the outstanding paper is awarded $100. The student s mentor is also awarded $100. SUNY Orange was represented in the 2009 conference by Thomas Quinn who submitted a research paper titled  Peers and Parents: The Role of Horizontal and Vertical Learning in Chimpanzee Populations . Quinn found the preparation for Beacon to be a learning experience in two particular ways:  first, developing the skill set used in collecting and reading primary literature for the paper I submitted has unlimited value in upper level classes which contain almost exclusive reference to primary literature or other esoteric texts. Second, crafting a lengthy paper over a long period of time serves as a great preparation for upper level courses which expect highly developed term papers , he said. Forms and submission information are available at www.beaconconference.org. Students who are not able to complete a research project by the deadline are encouraged to attend the conference to in order to get a taste of the procedures and be inspired to enter the 2011 conference. Even though the Beacon Conference is months away the planning committee, headed by Mary Ann Van Benschoten and Melissa Brown, is working hard coordinating volunteer readers and ensuring the Middletown campus has the facilities to host all the presenters and judges. The library is the center of conference activities. Students can participate in a number of different ways without submitting papers. By attending the free conference students will be able to see each of the top three papers read to an audience by the student researcher. Students are also able to volunteer for the numerous tasks that are needed to keep the conference running. News from the Newburgh Library Starting January 19th we have extended the library s operating hours to be open another week night! The new hours are posted in the sidebar of this page. We are also excited to announce that we have added 4 laptop computers to the number of computers available in the library! The laptops are fully loaded with Microsoft Office 2007 (including Word!) and are capable of wireless printing to the library s printer. USE OF THE LAPTOPS IS RESTRICTED TO THE LIBRARY STUDY AREAS ONLY.� Students wishing to use the laptops will be required to show ID and sign the laptops out. Other computer news is that there are a limited number of headphones now available to use in the library.� As always, students are encouraged to plug in their own headphones to use but it is nice to know that ones are available if needed. Please keep a lookout for any announcements about possible workshops on different library related subjects� and don t hesitate to ask for one on one training or assistance from Debbie or Porter. HAVE A GREAT SPRING SEMESTER!� Borrow a Netbook or Laptop Both Middletown and Newburgh libraries have portable computers available for SUNY Orange students, faculty and staff to borrow. The computers are to be used in the library and have wireless internet connection. They are available at the desk with your valid SUNY Orange ID. Check out one today. Page #2 Getting the Right Information About the 2010 Haiti Earthquake The earthquake that hit the country of Haiti on January 12 is an event that generates many stories and will continue to do so. The scale of the disaster is reflected in the hundreds of thousands of people who are directly affected. International efforts to help the citizens of Haiti are developing and will change as the needs change. The SUNY Orange Library s databases allow you to follow all of the developments as they occur. The news stories and information in the databases are written by journalists and researchers with experience to accurately report on the events. In the first few weeks after an event like the earthquake in Haitian the best sources for information are the newspaper databases that collect articles from national and international newspapers. Databases like Proquest s National Newspapers and Ebsco s Newspaper Source Plus offer access to complete articles. CountryWatch is also an excellent source for current news and historical, political and social information about Haiti. Full analysis of the relief efforts will occur in the weeks and months following the earthquake. Authors and editors at news magazines will take the time to investigate how effective the efforts are. Full text articles from these sources can be found in Gale s Opposing Viewpoints and Ebsco s Points of View. The earthquake will also be studied by the scientific community for its geological significance. As data from seismometers is studied and field investigations are completed seismologists and geologists will publish scientific papers in journals and news magazines. The data will be used to assess the safety of building materials and techniques for building in areas where earthquakes occur. These articles can be found in the database Science Direct. Earth science journals in the Periodical Room include Earth, Science News, Geology, Science and Scientific American, they will have scientific details published in coming issues. Geology Professor Larry O Brien said,  I look for The New York Times Science Times coverage, then for the analysis in science news magazines . The United State Geological Survey s web site (www.usgs.gov) includes a detailed analysis page with text descriptions and numerous maps as shown in the picture at right. These pictures are freely available for use by students and researchers. The field of Disaster Psychology specifically deals with the trauma that occurs to people who experience the worst natural events on the earth. The Institute for Disaster Mental Health at SUNY New Paltz web site states  the mental health community recognizes that advance preparation, early intervention, and unique follow up techniques can assist those whose lives are touched by disaster. Therapists have helped victims of Hurricane Katrina, the Asian Tsunami and many others and they will be needed to help the earthquake victims recover. The SUNY Orange Library offers access to complete articles in psychological journals in three databases; PsychInfo, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection from Ebsco and Psychology Journals from Proquest. To find specific articles search for terms like earthquake, tornado, hurricane with terms like survivor or trauma. USGS map of places that felt the January 12 earthquake. See more maps at http://earthquake.usgs.gov /earthquakes/eqinthenews/2010/us2010rja6 Beware of Charity Scams. Scams progress at the same rate as technology. The Better Business Bureau, www.bbb.org, has tips for making sure your text donation goes to the right place. Look for the article titled  BBB Advice on Donating by Text Message for Haiti Relief Efforts Use information from web sites like www.guidestar.org and www.bbb.org/us/charity to investigate charities and what they do with the money they receive. For information about finding loved ones in Haiti the US State Department s web site has a page titled 2010 Earthquake in Haiti. The site includes information about United States relief efforts and has pictures from the country. http://www.state.gov/p/wha/ci/ha/earthquake/index.htm Seasonal Poetry Slow motion... Almost inhibited flakes Caress the air With a tentative flair, Soft and wet, White against dark, Their Beauty signals purity In one's mind. Ice.. Drips.. Like tiny silver buds Dangle precariously on branch endings, Brightening the silver-grey morn, Giving credence to the thought That a little is a lot. Florence DeVaughn-Gersten 2009