Kansas State University

search

IT News

Tag: libraries

Live EDUCAUSE sessions: Oct. 13-15 schedule

Posted on by Ernie Perez

The online EDUCAUSE Conference is scheduled this Wednesday-Friday, Oct. 13-15, and K-Staters are welcome to attend the live-streamed sessions (see below) as time allows. Length of sessions vary. About 20 seats are available on a first-come, first-serve basis, so it’s a good idea to arrive early. All sessions are in 202 Fairchild Hall on the K-State-Manhattan campus.

No registration is needed. Further information about each session and the presenter(s) is available in the conference program.

Live-streaming of the EDUCAUSE sessions is being sponsored by the Information Technology Assistance Center. Questions about the sessions should be sent to Ernie Perez, ern@k-state.edu.

Continue reading “Live EDUCAUSE sessions: Oct. 13-15 schedule” →

K-State Libraries have the tech you need to succeed

Posted on by dfe

K-State Libraries logoThe librarians and staff of K-State Libraries welcome you back for another great year at K-State, and want to make sure you’re aware of all the amazing technology we have ready for you.

You may see some large, fancy-looking screens in Hale and wonder what they were, and who forgot to put them away. These, my friends, are collaboration stations. And they’re out on purpose, just for you. Plug in your laptop and park yourself in one of the comfy new booths or near our mobile whiteboards with your classmates while you tweak your presentation to perfection, show off the work you’ve done on your group paper, or have everyone plug in headphones to watch a video.

When you need help finding materials or using library resources, but don’t want to lose that great spot you’ve just set up, librarians are ready and waiting to give you a hand via IM. Continue reading “K-State Libraries have the tech you need to succeed” →

ARTstor database unveiled, accessible to all K-Staters

Posted on by skearns

arstor

If a picture paints a thousand words, then ARTstor has your next 10 years of lectures and research papers covered. ARTstor is a database of digital images: photographs, paintings, architecture, murals, textiles, jewelry, maps, sculpture . . . you know, art and artifacts. Since art reflects the breadth and depth of the human experience, ARTstor’s content spans the globe, from ancient times to contemporary life, incorporating cultural objects that reveal “art” in its broadest definition.

You can take advantage of ARTstor’s many high-resolution images and zoom in so close that, if you were in a museum, your nose would be pressed against the object and a guard would escort you from the premises. Thanks to the zoom tool, you can see not only the placement of individual beads, but also the netting onto which they are sewn in this image of a Christian Dior gown (please note, links in this article to images in ARTstor will only work for K-Staters). Some of the images of paintings allow you to get close enough to see individual brush strokes.

Continue reading “ARTstor database unveiled, accessible to all K-Staters” →

Text yourself from the K-State Libraries catalog

Posted on by dfe

Next time you’re using the K-State Libraries catalog, check out the new feature — texting!  You know the drill — do a search, find the material you need, get the call number so you can find it in the stacks. Previously, you could get out a piece of paper, find a pencil, and write the call number down.  Or, you could try to memorize the number, and wander through Hale desperately chanting “B H four three five point C seventy-six G nine eight two one three” over and over. Now, you can text it to your phone! Continue reading “Text yourself from the K-State Libraries catalog” →

Instant messaging popular with K-State Libraries’ patrons

Posted on by dtheiss

Students have discovered that instant messaging is a fast and easy way to interact with K-State Libraries. The library implemented its instant-messaging reference service in October 2006, and word of the service has continued to gradually spread ever since.

image of the Libraries' instant-messaging icon plus IM channels or gatewaysIn spring semester 2007, 610 general-reference questions were fielded through instant messages. This spring semester, 1,274 questions were received, for a 109 percent increase in use of the service.

Popular questions received via instant messaging include:

  • Whether the library has a particular book
  • Help with research questions, such as how to search the library catalog
  • How to use a particular databaseLibrary hours

To instant message the Hale Library Help Desk, use these channels:

  • AIM, MSN: halelibraryhelp
  • Yahoo, Jabber, GTalk, meebo: halelibraryhelpdesk

For more information about instant messaging at K-State Libraries or how to use the service, see the Ask a Librarian webpage.

by Danielle Theiss-White, K-State Libraries, and Betsy Edwards, Information Technology Assistance Center Continue reading “Instant messaging popular with K-State Libraries’ patrons” →