Books in Honor of our Library Student Assistant Graduates

For many years the Darling Library has held a tradition of placing a book in the library in honor of library student workers who, in Human Resource terms, must be "terminated" by reason of graduation. Graduating seniors choose a book that reflects their major or special interest and that matches with the over all mission and focus of the collection. A book plate is affixed inside the front cover of the book "in honor of [student name]," the graduate receives a certificate in recognition of their time of service to the library, and their names are immortalized in a note in the library catalog record.

Sadly, we have had to terminate five of our finest student employees as of this week (each with an honorable discharge):

 
Danilo Pereira, MBA
(Employed since January 2010)
Band of Brothers by Stephen M Ambrose.


 
Sebastian Mailu, BA in Business & Management
(Employed since January 2010)
No Longer Forgotten by Stanley M. Mutunga


 
Judy Nzeki, BA in Psychology
(Employed since January 2010)
A child called "it" : an abused child's journey from victim to victor by Dave Pelzer


 
Elizabeth Hahn, BA in Social Science (Emphasis in History)
(Employed since August 2011)
Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard


 
Juan Carlos "JC" Lugo, BA in English Literature
(Blog Student Editor since January 2013)
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers


We applaud our graduates and thank them for their contribution to the Darling Library during their time at Hope.

These books will all be available for check out from the Darling Library in the coming months.

Closed for Commencement

The Library will close Saturday, May 18th for Commencement and continue with May Term Hours on Monday, May 20th followed by Summer Hours.

See a complete calendar of library hours and exceptions.

Find that invisible information!

Most library users should be familiar with the books housed in the Reference collection on the 2nd floor of the library. These are the books that have certain characteristics like:

• Big
• Heavy
• Multiple volumes in sets
• Books that you don't read cover-to-cover but, instead, REFER to only a portion of the information included

The Statesman's Yearbook

Many students are familiar with using the Bible commentaries, dictionaries, handbooks, and encyclopedias in the Reference collection. For those on campus with easy access to the physical library, some of these resources are heavily used. Some of them are hardly ever touched even though there is a treasure trove of research material available. Why is that?

The Corsini Encyclopedia

One reason has to do with the invisibility of the information inside these types of resources. The researcher needs to think in broad terms and type of resource instead of specific keywords in any resource. For instance, let's say a student is looking for information on infant socialization for a psychology paper she is writing. The most likely thing the student will do is type the keywords "infant socialization" into the library Catalog or the PsycINFO research database. The student will undoubtedly retrieve journal articles and might retrieve a book or two on that very topic. What the student will NOT find is the fantastic article titled "Infant Socialization" inside the 3rd volume of The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science ... unless the student is thinking in broad terms (psychology) and type of resource (an encyclopedia). Put together the concepts of psychology AND encyclopedia, enter it into the library Catalog, and one of the items in the results list is The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science. The student will then need to go to the Reference collection, look at the Index volume, and find the entry for infant socialization. OK. Not likely. But a librarian can hope.

So how can this invisible information be made more visible? One answer is to collect Reference books in electronic format. Most electronic books are keyword searchable across the entire contents of the book, not just the title and a few assigned subject headings. So the student can type "infant socialization" into an ebook collection search engine, like ebrary or the EBSCOHost eBook Collection, which will then point to a link to the electronic copy of The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science. The search engine has already identified the book with an article on the topic without the student knowing to search for a specific subject heading or in a particular type of resource.

(Note: At this point, the library Catalog does not search the content of books but the electronic book search engines will do this.)

This is one of the reasons that we have been adding more electronic versions of Reference resources.

Other reasons include:

• They can be accessed by online students bringing more parity to the availability of library resources.
• The nature of Reference resources. These resources don't generally need to be read cover-to-cover but, instead, are referred to and therefore don't require long periods of computer screen reading (an issue for many people).
• They take up less shelf space!

So next time you need to find information, don't forget to search the electronic books by going directly to one of our electronic book collections and find those invisible book chapters, essays, and encyclopedia articles!

Go to http://library.hiu.edu > Choose Research Databases > Choose eBooks from the Select a Subject Area drop down list > Choose one of the ebook collections to search

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Terri Bogan is Reference & Instruction Librarian at Hope International University. She is passionate about helping students navigate the ever expanding world of information. She specializes in the area of information literacy and instructional design.

A Mother's Day Musing

Yesterday was Mother's Day. I was fortunate to be able to spend time with my mom in Colorado in the morning and then with my daughter back home in California in the evening. I'm sure when my mom was my daughter's age she would have never imagined such a thing.

While in Colorado I used my iPad to check my Facebook account. An HIU alumnus posted the following:

Taken from a personal post on Facebook (used with permission.)

This is "a princess computer, constructed from two books, an Etch-A-Sketch, and a wood block. She's been typing an email to [her best friend] for twenty minutes. She says she's using pretend wifi.

As of this writing, there are 38 Likes and 11 Comments on the post. My clever comment was, "I'm sure I've used that WiFi before. I hope she has better luck!"

I asked my friend and former library employee for permission to use the picture on this blog because her daughter was inspiring me. Permission was granted, so long as I didn't user her name. (Thank you!)

As a mom, I appreciated the observations of the proud mom. As a librarian, I marveled about what her world might be like when she is a college student as my daughter is now. I'm not concerned with "keeping up with the kids." I'm concerned about being prepared with appropriate educational technology and relevant methods. And preparing them for their future far beyond our imaginations.

That future will be here before we know it.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Robin Hartman is Director of Library Services at Hope International University. She is curious about how the organization and communication of information shapes society and is committed to equipping students to impact the world for Christ.

What are you reading, Reid McCormick?

For 2013 I set a pretty crazy goal: to read 50 books in one year. That's 52 weeks to read 50 books. So far I'm on pace, but more importantly I have dived into some amazing books written by some of the smartest people in the world. That's what I love about reading, it's like a personal mentoring session with the author.

Henri Nouwen is one of my favorite authors, which is evident in him being the most represented author in my library. I love his extraordinary ability to write about deep theological issues in relatively simple and relatable terms. It's a skill he probably acquired by working many years in the academe teaching at prestigious schools such as Harvard and Yale and then later serving at the L'Arche community of Daybreak.

When I saw that Nouwen had written In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership, a book specifically on Christian leadership, I could not wait to read it. Like most of Nouwen's works, it took me less than a day to read it, but it is a book I will not forget.

The book is a response to a simple question: what will Christian leadership need in the twenty-first century? Though written nearly 25 years ago, Nouwen's words still endure today. As recorded in Matthew 4, after spending forty days in the desert, Jesus was tempted three times. Nouwen walks us through each of these temptations and how they are relevant in our Christian leaders today.

Anyone who wants to serve in a ministry environment or serve in any industry with a Christ-like attitude will benefit greatly from this book.

I am a big fan of quotes and this is my favorite quote from this book: "The mystery of ministry is that we have been chosen to make our own limited and very conditional love the gateway for the unlimited and unconditional love of God."

Reid McCormick has been the Director of Housing and Men's Residence Life Coordinator since October 2012.

In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership by Henri Nouwen, Crossroad Publishing, 1989.

This book can be purchased from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Better World Books.

You may also find this book at your local library by searching WorldCat.org.

We'd love to know what you are reading. To join the fun, fill out the "What are you reading?" questionnaire and submit it by following the instructions included.

H.I.Tribune Survey Reports Disappointing Results for the Library

The February 21, 2013 issue of the HIU student newspaper, The Hope International Tribune, reported on an informal survey in which they presumably asked traditional undergraduate students about the "Top 10 Places to Study On/Off Campus" (p.3). Here is the list in brief:

10. The lab (I didn't know there was one.)
9. The Brea Mall
8. In bed
7. The pool area
6. The beach
5. Jay's Coffee
4. Craig Park
3. Starbucks
2. CSUF Arboretum
1. Disneyland

I was disappointed that library was not mentioned at all (but Disneyland was?) But, because the library seems to be pretty busy, especially lately. I wondered how reliable the results really were.

They didn’t mention the particular research method employed. They didn’t even claim to have used one. But because it was on the Opinion page, I shouldn't really expect to find data backing up the validity of their findings. But should I simply ignore it? I didn't ask, but I imagined that, in the interest of time, the HITribune staff simply looked around at each other and asked, “Hey, what’s the best place to study?” When they had compiled ten adequate responses to fill the space, they were done.

But what if they had the time to do genuine research? If solid research methodologies were employed, it is my hypothesis that the library would appear on a list of good places to study. We could use the same research question and with a few good search terms we could certainly find a number of peer-reviewed articles for a literature review.

We would need to define key concepts. What counts as "study?" (Does it include study group sessions, preparing presentations, searching for and gathering materials, reading, and writing?)

What constitutes a "good" place? What are the criteria? Free WiFi? Food? Late hours? Quiet? Among the reasons defining the above list as good: food and drink, noise (when silence is too loud), comfort, free wifi, and low cost (the "magic" of Disneyland apparently overcomes this obstacle.)

How would we define a successful or productive study session? Would it measure the number of articles read, pages written, assignments completed, questions answered or problems solved? What about personal satisfaction? Does that count for anything? How does it compare with other definitions of success?

Who would we ask? Would the survey be limited to students with a certain GPA - assuming that the opinions of those with higher ones would be more authoritative? Would the survey sample include commuter students or online students - how far off campus would qualify for inclusion? What other demographic information might be useful?

What would be the purpose of the research? To advise future students? To help the university become better aware of student needs and expectations? To contribute to the body of knowledge about current college student study habits? How would we gather the data? Is there a standard instrument that could be employed - allowing us to compare our responses with other similar studies. What would be an adequate number of responses?

At the end of it all, would my hypothesis bear out? What could we conclude from our findings? Whether or not the library appeared on the list of good study places, we could learn something from such a study. But would it be any more insightful than the opinions reported by Tribune? So what if students do not identify the library as a good place to study? Should we be concerned? I can't help it. I am.

I do not mean to be critical of the Tribune. It was clearly not their intention to conduct or publish scientific research. Nevertheless, this story did is raise questions that require further study.

Any takers?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Robin Hartman is Director of Library Services at Hope International University. She is curious about how the organization and communication of information shapes society and is committed to equipping students to impact the world for Christ.

What are you reading, Bryan Sands?

The book I have read more times than any other, not including the Bible, is Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. This is either my third or fourth time reading this classic. I received this book as a gift while I was completing my studies here at Hope--and have referred back to it many times throughout the years.

This book is broken into three parts: The Inward Disciplines, The Outward Disciplines, and The Corporate Disciplines. Within the three parts are various spiritual disciplines that correspond. For example, under the Inward Disciplines there is "prayer" and "study," Under the Outward Discipline there is "solitude" and "service," and under the Corporate Discipline there is "confession" and "celebration."

As I continue to read, I plan on practicing each spiritual discipline as a way to grow deeper in the Lord. I am always challenged when I pick up this book because I am reminded of how much more growth I have to do. At the same time, however, I am also encouraged by the grace of God. It is amazing that the Creator of everything allows us to draw near to Him!

My favorite quote in the book is, "Prayer catapults us onto the frontier of the spiritual life. Of all Spiritual Disciplines prayer is the most central because it ushers us into perpetual communion with the Father."

Bryan Sands has been the Director of Campus Ministries at Hope for the last 2 years. 

Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster, Harper: San Francisco, 1998.

This book can be purchased from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Better World Books.

You may also find this book at your local library by searching WorldCat.org.

We'd love to know what you are reading. To join the fun, fill out the "What are you reading?" questionnaire and submit it by following the instructions included.