Perfecting APA bibliographies generated by Bibliographic Managers

APA tutorial: screenshot features Journal citations.

Even if you use a bibliographic manager to generate citations and/or bibliographies, it is always a good idea  to check the final version of your citations and bibliography against an authoritative Citation guide. The Citation Styles Libguide has links to some of the more commonly used citation styles, including APA, MLA, Turabian; additionally, you might check with the Reference desk or the Writing Center for a guide in book form.  One of our “frequently asked questions” is about the inclusion (or not) of URLs in APA journal citations:  the Citation Styles hosts a link to  the Basics of APA style, which may help you with the finer points of spacing, placement of URLS, etc.

Here also a link to a short  video that focuses on the “journal article”  slide of the APA tutorial, so that you can see several versions of what a Journal Article might look like in an APA bibliography and see what adjustments you may need to make if you are using Refworks or Zotero to auto-generate bibliographic information.

 

Firefox certificates and RefWorks (or other trusted databases)

If you are using RefWorks for the first time with a new computer (either using your new laptop, or using a lab or home computer for the first time to connect to an existing RefWorks account) you may encounter an “untrusted connection” certificate error.

In general it is a good idea to heed the certificate warnings, but as long as you are accessing RefWorks (or any database) from the Databases A-Z LibGuide or from a Resources by Subject LibGuide,  it is a trusted connection.

Note: If you click on Firefox alert screenshot (above & right), in the larger picture you will see the URL has the database name refworks and the library server name jerome.stjohns.edu in the URL, in this case the library is providing the assurance that Refworks is a trusted site, rather than an “impersonating” site.

If you need help getting around the certificate error, this video tutorial will provide more information.

 

McNaughton pleasure reading options (if you can exercise them)

Just in time for your summer reading pleasure… some of the NEW Arrivals to our McNaughton Collection of Best Sellers. All McNaughton books are located at the Upper Level Reference desk of the Staten Island Campus or behind the 4^th floor service desk of the St. Augustine Library on the Queens Campus (check them out on the 3rd floor).   For a complete list do a Keyword Search for >MCNAUGHTON<  in the library catalog

•   Against All Enemies by Tom Clancy
•   The Affair by Lee Childs
•   All I Did was Shoot my Man by Walter Mosley
•   The angel Esmeralda by Don DeLillo
•   1222 by Anne Holt
•   11/23/63 by Stephen King
•   All My Patients Kick and Bite by Jeff Wells, D.V.M.
•   Adrenaline by Jeff Abbott
•   1493 by Charles C. Mann
•   Another Time, Another Life by Leif G.W. Persson
•   And Nothing But the Truthiness by Lisa Rogak
•   Anatomy of Injustice by Raymond Bonner
•   American Individualism by Margaret Hoover
•   Acceptable Loss by Anne Perry
•   America’s Quarterback by Keith Dunnavant
•   Abyss by David Hagberg
•   And So It Goes by Charles J. Shields
•   77 Shadow Street by Dean R. Koontz
•   Another Piece of my Heart by Jane Green
•   Along the Way by Martin Sheen
•   Guest of Honor by Deborah Davis
•   A Disposition to Be Rich by Geoffrey C. Ward
•   Manhunt by Peter L. Bergen
•   The Wealth of Nations by P.J. O’Rourke

 

Women and Social Movements: New Databases for Historical Research

“Transnationalism” has become a buzzword in scholarship over the past decade. As residents in an increasingly global society, scholars and students have been drawn to learn more about people from different parts of the world in both the present and the past.

Accessing historical archives in different nations can be a challenge, however. Few of us have the time or the resources to travel abroad to conduct research. Projects to digitize primary sources materials hold a great deal of promise for those of us who would like to learn more about historical developments in other nations and about international organizations.

Women and Social Movements, International, 1840- Present, a new database now available through the Saint John’s University Libraries, demonstrates the promise of on-line resources for conducting transnational research in history, women’s studies, political science, and global studies. Edited by Kathryn Kish Sklar and Thomas Dublin, two leading scholars of United States women’s history, the database offers evidence and interpretation of women’s activism around the world from the 1840s through the present.

The database, which is still being expanded, includes 3,900 hundred primary sources.  These documents include diaries, letters, proceedings of international conferences and publications of women’s organizations.  Lest this scope of material seem overwhelming, the editors have created numerous ways to search for information, from keywords and organizational names, to thematic groupings such as “Political and Human Rights” and “Women and Development.”  This summer, a group of twenty-five scholarly essays will be added to the site, including my discussion of the International Federation of Working Women, 1919-1924.

Faculty and students seeking to better understand the global reach of women’s activism will find Women and Social Movements, International a welcome addition to their research, whether they are starting projects or searching for new, international examples of phenomena they have observed in a single national setting.

For similar content related to the United States, use Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000. This database contains 53,000 pages of full-text documents, written by over 2,200 authors.

Lara Vapnek

Associate Professor

Department of History

St. John’s University

 

Readings and Conversation with Caribbean Writers

St. John’s University is hosting two contemporary Caribbean authors, Diana McCaulay and Yolaine M. St. Fort, for an afternoon of readings, conversation, and book signing. Please join us for this special event on the Queens Thursday, April 19.

Diana and Yolaine will be on the Queens campus at the Belson/Finley Hall Law School Atrium, 4^th Floor from 1:45 PM –3:00 PM during the Common Hour for readings, discussion, and book signings of their works.

Lunch is included. Click here to RSVP.  Students can earn 4 MVP points for attendance at this event — remember to bring your STORMcards!

For further information about the event on the Queens campus, contact Mary Siconolfi at 718.990.1869 or email siconolm@stjohns.edu.

To complement this event, a special exhibition of “Notable Caribbean Authors” will open on Friday March 30^th on the fourth floor of the Queens Campus Library.  It features highlights of the life and works of Diana McCaulay and Yolaine M. St. Fort, along with the writings and edited works of other Caribbean writers, such as Jamaica Kincaid, Michelle Cliff, Merle Hodge and Erroll Hill.

Macaulay’s and St. Fort’s works are available now via reserve for loan at the Service Desk in the Library (St. Augustine Hall).

For more information about the authors or the event, please click HERE.

______________________________________________________________________________

This event is sponsored by sponsored by The President’s Multicultural Advisory Committee; The Office of the Provost; Division of Student Affairs; Committee for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS); University Libraries; Academic Affairs Committee (SGI); Haraya, the Pan-African Students Coalition; Caribbean Students Association.

In partnership with: Caribbean Cultural Theatre

 

Food for Fines – Spring, 2012

Monday, March 26 – Friday, May 11, 2012

Students who return their overdue books to either the Queens or Staten Island Circulation Desks between March 26 and May 11, 2012 with donations of non-perishable food items will have their fines waived (see Suggested Food Items below).

One food item will erase one overdue fine regardless of the fine amount (multiple fines will be waived from lowest to highest amount).

Pre-existing overdue fines are also eligible.

Fines and fees resulting from lost or damaged library materials are NOT eligible for the Food for Fines program.

All food collected will go to Our Saviour Lutheran Food Pantry (Queens) and Project Hospitality (Staten Island)

Suggested Food Items:

Cereals, canned soup, instant potatoes, Jell-O, canned juice, canned vegetables, evaporated milk, canned fruit, peanut butter, canned meat, canned fish, rice, pasta, canned spaghetti sauce, stuffing mix, etc.

Pet food and baby food will also be accepted. 

No item past the expiration date or dented cans will be accepted.

 

Chinese Paper Cutting Demonstration

Date: March 16, 2012

Time: 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM

Location: Chin Ying Asian Library

At Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall

Chinese Paper Cutting, also known as Jianzhi (剪纸) in Chinese, is a unique folk art form and has a long history since the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. – 220 A.D.). Originally, it was only popular among the nobility since paper was highly precious at that time. Later, the art spread among the ordinary people and became a part of everyday life of Chinese.

Usually, paper cuttings are used in Chinese Spring Festivals. People like to put them at the entrance gates in the hope of bringing good luck for the family, or stick them to windows as decorations.

Chinese New Year began on January 19th, and it is the year of the Dragon. We have invited Mrs. Esther Cheng (鄭繼芳), one of the local paper cutting artists, and several other artists – Tang Hua, Qi Hong, Hsin Ping, Judy Lin, Mary Lin, and Joyce Wells –to come to the library for a demonstration of the art.

Mrs. Cheng began practicing paper cutting while she was a college student in Taiwan more than 20 years ago. She was a teacher for the paper cutting classes organized by Yeh Ying Chi International Benevolent Foundation (葉穎基國際慈善基金會) in Flushing in recent years. At this demonstration, you will learn some basic and advanced paper cutting skills and have the opportunity to practice these skills as well.

Please bring your own scissors if you can.

Everyone is welcome!  If you would like to attend the workshop, please contact: Tian Zhang via  phone (718) 990-5082  or email: zhangt@stjohns.edu