The Power of Words

 Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another. Napoleon Hill

If we lived in a society where you could only speak a limited amount of words each day, how carefully would you choose your words?  Check out what Napoleon Hill and Norman Vincent Peale write about positivity.   Thanks for your overwhelmingly positive words describing staff on our recent student survey. You can find the student survey results in the library. 

Moving on? You are always welcome back!

Never stop reading!

Many of you are getting ready to leave us, and you will be missed. The library staff is here to help as you transition from college student to professional. The library has resources to assist you with researching prospective employers, interviewing, and developing your professional image. We have several books on display that cover workplace topics. Don’t forget about the databases Reference USA and First Research, which may also be of help in your job search.  (Middleton – repost)

Soft Skills – Being Professional

If you are a student at King’s College it is likely that you want a higher education that will provide you with the knowledge and skills to compete in today’s labor market.  You chose King’s because we deliver what we advertise, such as an intense course of study to accelerate your program and job placement upon completion.  One soft skill in particular that may help your career the most is professionalism.  Most people know they should be professional in the work place, but what about being professional at school?  Do we all have the same idea of what professional is?  A suit and tie can’t do it alone – being professional starts in your mind and in the perception of others.  Check out more soft skills at U.S. Department of Labor:  www.dol.gov/odep/topics/youth/softskills/softskills.pdf

 

 

Inspire the world with what’s in front of you.

 

The Baby Boomer generation and older remember a world that wasn’t so global.  I used my first computer in 1989,  typing in commands and patiently waiting for something to happen.  Many in my generation and older did not use technology or the World Wide Web until this century.  Not realizing its possibilities, I was very reluctant at first to dive in and embrace all that the Internet had to offer.  However, to the generations following Boomers, technology is a way of life.   Generation X, the Millennials, the iGeneration all grew up on it, and as you matured, so did  technology.  Are you aware of what you have in front of you?   Are you using technology in a way to help you reach your full potential in life?    Share what you know.  Be a positive informer.  Inspire the world.

I’m here for you.

Greetings!

By now, everyone at King’s College has probably passed through the library. If you have not, I would love for us to meet. I enjoy getting to know you, and would love to know how I can better assist you. If you’ve been here for a while, you may have already taken a survey on our library services. I will be giving the same survey out to our new students (July & Sept.). I also invite you to make helpful suggestions or comments that can improve the library and our services. You may either make them on the blog, or by filling out a suggestion form and placing it in our box in the hallway (forthcoming). Suggestions/comments are certainly appreciated, however I will not be able to serve donuts and coffee (#: (And BTW, this is my first blog, all previous blogs were authored by Tenley Middleton).

Sincerely, Jennifer Price

Technology Resources

I am pleased to announce, we have a new area of the website entitled “Technology Resources.”  Over the coming weeks, I will be adding to this section.  However, at the moment you can already find information, with links, regarding video editing, photo editing, sharing files, and learning a language.  Just visit the library website at www.kingslibrary.org and look for the section with “NEW” after it.

Is there a resource you think should be added?  Please feel free to comment below.  We are always interested in hearing from students, faculty, and staff. 

For more information on this, and all of our resources, stop by and see us at the library!

Graduation Train – next stop: finding a job

Graduation is Friday! A large number of you are getting ready to leave us, and you will be missed. The library staff is here to help as you transition from college student to professional. The library has resources to assist you with researching prospective employers, interviewing, and developing your professional image. We have several books on display that cover workplace topics. Don’t forget about the databases Reference USA and First Research, which may also be of help in your job search. If you have questions, we have answers – all you have to do is ask!

Orientation Re-cap

Business Communications II orientations took place two weeks ago.  B-Comm II orientation is mostly about the different database offerings at King’s College.  If you need a re-cap, or if it has been awhile since you took B-Comm II, here is a synopsis of what was covered.

 

All of the following can be found at www.kingslibrary.org behind the “search databases” login.

Britannica Online – An online encyclopedia useful for general information about a topic.

Britannica Image – Images that can be used in student projects/assignments.

Hoovers – Relevant business information about people, companies, and/or industries.

First Research – Industry information needed to successfully navigate the job search and interview process.

travel42 – Travel information including lengthy destination reports of cities, states, and countries.

LIRN (Library & Resources Information Network) – Numerous databases of articles from scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, etc.  Features database offerings from InfoTrac (Gale) and ProQuest, among others.

 

Don’t forget to check out your individual program area of the library website for even more resources.  Happy searching!

To shush or Not to shush

Everybody has heard the same tired stereotype of a “shushing” librarian.  Believe me when I say I try very hard not to live up to that expectation.  So I want to be clear, this blog post is not about noise level, or even shushing, it is about respect.

Our library encompasses a very small physical space.  Additionally, we have a computer lab directly in the middle of it.  When you couple that with the daily classes we host in the library, the various and continuously ongoing group projects, and the number of students we serve, volume control is a constant balancing act.  The library staff works very hard to strike a balance between all our students’ needs.

But I don’t want to focus on noise control, because I don’t feel that is the real issue.  What is the focus and what we all need to work towards in our school community, is showing each other respect.  Whispering in the library is fine, but talking is not.  This is not an arbitrary rule that the library staff thought up one night, this is about showing respect for each other’s needs.  Because while today you may need to use the library for a group project, next week you may be studying for a test and need it to be as quiet as possible.  We fully support both of these activities; therefore we want everyone to think about how your actions affect those around you.

We encourage you to self-monitor your behavior in the library.  If you are unable to effectively do so, you will be given a verbal warning.  If the behavior continues, a second warning will be issued.  In the event a second warning does not achieve the desired effect, you will be asked to leave the library.  The library staff does not want to live up to the tired stereotype, but we will if required. 

I’m interested in student (and faculty) feedback – about this and anything else regarding the library.  Please feel free to post a comment.

Be in the know about flash drive use on campus

Based on the fifty (or more) questions the library staff has entertained in the past week, it sounds like there is still some confusion regarding the use of flash drives.  I’m hoping I can clarify the procedure for using flash drives on campus.

No, your flash drive is not malfunctioning, and no, the computer is not broken, either.  The issue is the permissions for student logins do not allow you to open a file directly from or save a file directly to a flash drive.  Instead, you need to copy the file from your flash drive to your U: drive or save a file to your U: drive and copy it to your flash drive – depending on what you are trying to accomplish.  This is made a little trickier by the use of a portal to access many of the programs, which is why you also can’t open a file directly from your U: drive and instead need to open the correct program before you can open your file.

I have written up the following instructions to outline the procedure.  I want to say a quick word about file management.  It is always a good idea to know where you are saving your files as you work on them, therefore, I thoroughly encourage you to employ “save as” rather than just the save button.  Be sure you pay attention to where you are saving the file – note the drive letter, folder, etc.  Please feel free to see us in the library for any help.

Using USB Flash Drives at King’s College

For security reasons, files cannot be opened directly from, or saved to, a USB flash drive.

To OPEN A FILE ON YOUR FLASH DRIVE, follow these steps:

Log on to the computer with your username and password

Insert the flash drive into the USB slot

Click on “My Computer” on the desktop (Windows XP) or “Computer” (Windows 7)

Double click on the removable drive

    

 Slide this window to the right

 Open another “My Computer” or “Computer” window

 Double click on your U: drive

 

 Slide this window to the left

 Your screen should now look something like this

 

 Drag and drop the file on the removable disk (window on the right) onto the U: drive  (window on the left)

 

 Now open your portal by double clicking the Internet Explorer icon and choose the  program you wish to use to open the file

 To save a file to a flash drive, reverse the process by first saving the file on your U: drive  and then dragging and dropping it on your removable disk.