New Printing Set-Up in O'Neill Library

(From Books & Bytes in Major Mail)
Save yourself some trouble when printing from the computers in O'Neill Library this semester. There's a new set-up, and knowing how it works will let you (and us) avoid unnecessary frustration.

1. When you sit down at the computer, make sure to log in using your BC username and password. If somebody else left it logged in, make sure to log out of their account first. Otherwise, you won't be able to retrieve your print jobs.
2. You no longer have to enter your username for every document you print. Once you're logged in to the computer, all of your print jobs will automatically be stored under your name.
3. When you swipe your card at the print station, only print jobs with your name will show up on the screen. Select them one at a time or all at once to print.
4. Be sure to log off the computer when you're done, to protect your privacy and leave the computer ready for the next user.
   

Remember, the print stations were moved last November and are now across the atrium on the other side of the glass from the computers.

Getting Help with Your Research

(From Books & Bytes in Major Mail)
Welcome back! As you get into your Communication coursework this semester, remember that I'm here to help. Here are some of the things I can do for you:

• Classroom Sessions: I'll be visiting many of your classes for research instruction sessions specific to the needs of the course.
• Individual Consultations: I'm available for customized help on research questions large and small. E-mail (lissk@bc.edu), call (2-2183), or drop by my office (O'Neill 313).
  
• Books & Bytes: Watch Major Mail each week for news, tips, suggestions, and ideas about communication information resources available to you.
• CommTopics: The BC Communication Studies Blog (http://commtopics.blogspot.com)
• My Home Page: Visit my home page for links to key databases, course support pages, research guides, an RSS feed of new items from CommTopics, and more.
  

I look forward to working with you. Let me know how I can help.

E-Journals: New Issues This Week

New issues of the following journals are available online this week:

• Communication Education
  
• Communication Research
  
• Cultural Studies<=>Critical Methodologies
  
• Discourse Processes
  
• Journal of Nonverbal Behavior
  
• Research on Language & Social Interaction
  
• Television & New Media
  
• Written Communication

Click on a title to access the issue. (Login with your BC username and password is required for off-campus access.)

Ask-A-Librarian in CMMC

If you have a question while searching Communication & Mass Media Complete (CMMC), you can now send me an e-mail directly from the database.

At the top right of every page of CMMC is an "Ask-A-Librarian" link. Click on it and you'll get a form the enter a question. Fill it out and hit Send and your question will be sent directly to me.

This is one of several new features in CMMC. I'll provide more details in a later post.

E-Journals: New Issues This Week

New issues of the following journals are available online this week:

• Discourse Studies
  
• European Journal of Communication
  
• Health Communication
  
• Human Relations
  
• Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  
• Journal of Communication Inquiry
  
• Text and Performance Quarterly

Click on a title to access the issue. (Login with your BC username and password is required for off-campus access.)

Communication Topics & the Movies

One of the reasons I started CommmTopics was a comment from a faculty member who wanted students to recognize that communication issues are all around them: in their personal lives, for sure, but also in the news and in events and activities in which the communication angle might not be obvious. (Except, perhaps, to someone who's studying communication.)

I was reminded of that recently when two students came to me for research help on topics that happen to be the subject of current movies.

One student was looking at the role of the press in getting Queen Elizabeth to comment publicly on the death of Princess Diana. (Subject of "The Queen.") Another was looking at the Dixie Chicks and how they handled the backlash in reaction to Natalie Maines' comments critical of President Bush. (Subject of the documentary "Shut Up & Sing.")

Both were in Communication Criticism, but the topics could well have been used in Crisis Communication, Mass Communication Theory, or any one of several other Comm courses.

Neither student was studying the movie itself, but I thought these were good examples of how communication issues are all around us.

Can anyone think of other current films with communication angles?

The New New Communication Books Page

How can you find out about new communication-related books in the BC Libraries?

The screen shot below shows the new New Communication Books page I've created using a free Web site called LibraryThing.com.



The links on the right of the page are in an automatically generated tag cloud, a set of linked tags that I have assigned to each of the new communication books based on their subject. The tags are in alphabetical order but appear in different font sizes: the larger the font, the more new books there are in that category.

Clicking on a tag takes you to a page in LibraryThing where I have gathered books on that topic that have been added to the BC Libraries since the beginning of the semester. (Clicking on MOST RECENT ADDITIONS show the very newest titles in all categories.)

Once you’re in LibraryThing, there are several kinds of information available about each book, including:

* A link to Amazon.com, including descriptions, excerpts, and any other details that are available.
* Tags that have been applied to the book by me or by others who have included the book in their own LibraryThing collections. (Mine are distinguishable by vertical lines at the beginning and end, i.e. |Journalism and News|.)
* A link (in a box under Member Reviews - the most convenient place I could put it) to the Quest catalog record for the book at BC.
* Any ratings or reviews that LibraryThing users have submitted about the book. (Not many with these academic titles.)

Check it out, and let me know what you think.