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.

E-Journals: New Issues This Week

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

• Asian Journal of Communication
  
• Communication Monographs
  
• The Communication Review
  
• European Journal of Cultural Studies
  
• Journal of Mass Media Ethics
  
• Journal of Social and Personal Relationships
  
• Journal of Visual Culture
  
• Journalism History
  
• Media History
  
• Small Group Research
  
• Women's Studies in Communication

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

Taking Work Home for Thanksgiving? How to Do Research from Afar

(From Books & Bytes in Major Mail)
Are you planning to work on that term paper or project between bites of turkey at the end of this week? Whether you’re traveling near or far – or not at all – you can get access to at least some of the research resources you’ll need when away from campus.

Most online databases – including Communication Abstracts and Communication & Mass Media Complete – are available from off-campus. You’ll have to log in with your username and password (unlike on campus) but otherwise they will work exactly the same as when you are here.

Of course, you won’t be able to use the books, journals, and other physical resources of the BC Libraries if you’re away. But you may be able to find at least some of what you need at a local public library or a nearby academic library. (Some, but not all, college and university libraries allow public access: check with the specific library, if you’re interested, about their access policy.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

E-Journals: New Issues This Week

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

• Communication Studies
  
• Discourse & Society
  
• Gender & Society
  
• Journal of Language and Social Psychology
  
• Journal of Popular Culture
  
• Journal of Social and Personal Relationships
  
• Journalism Studies
  
• New Media & Society
  
• Political Communication
  
• Presidential Studies Quarterly
  
• Public Relations Review
  
• Rhetoric & Public Affairs
  
• Simulation & Gaming

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

Organizing Your Research: RefWorks Personal Citation Manager

Are you having trouble keeping track of journal articles, books, Web sites, and other resources you've found while doing research for a paper? Get to know RefWorks, a Web-based personal database provided by the BC Libraries that lets you collect and organize citations and access them from any computer with a Web connection. RefWorks will even generate a bibliography of references, using APA, MLA, or another format that you select.

Key functions of RefWorks include:

• *Importing references from journal databases such as Communication Abstracts, Communication & Mass Media Complete (CMMC), and others. (Here's how to import from Communication Abstracts and CMMC.)
  
• * Direct searching and importing of records from Quest, the BC Libraries Catalog.
  
• * Organizing your references into folders according to your topics of interest or for particular assignments or projects.
  
• * Inserting references into the body of your research paper (using an add-on called Write-N-Cite).
  
• * Generating a formatted references page or bibliography from your imported citations.

To learn how to sign up for a RefWorks account (there is no cost for BC students, faculty, and staff), go to the RefWorks tutorial on the library Web site. This tutorial also explains how to import references – note that the process varies by database – and other features.

Hands-on 30-minute introductions to RefWorks are being offered by library staff this Tuesday at 10 am and Thursday at 4 pm. But if I hear from enough of you, I'll do a special hands-on session just for Comm majors.

Let me know if you're interested.

Communication Abstracts Update

The bi-monthly update of the Communication Abstracts database is now complete, with 340 new journals articles, book chapters, and books. Use the links below to view all of the new entries or to browse them by major topic area:

All New Abstracts

New Abstracts by Topic Area

1. Communication Processes
2. Interpersonal Communication and Relations
3. Economics and Communication
4. Communication, Culture, and Society
5. Education and Communication
6. Health Communication
7. Political Communication
8. Communication, Regulation, and the Law
9. Organizational Communication
10. Public Relations
11. Advertising, Marketing, and Consumer Behavior
12. Mass Media
13. Journalism and News Media
14. Communication and Information Technology
15. Telecommunications
16. Communication Theory and Research

Communication Reference Books Online

A number of communication-related reference works originally published as books have become available electronically via some of the online databases the BC Libraries make available to you.

Among these works are:

The Museum of Broadcast Communication Encyclopedia of Radio

This encyclopedia provides hundreds of entries on many aspects of radio broadcasting, including technical, programming, and other topcis, as well as key shows, organizations, and individuals. The approach is international in scope but the primary focus is on broadcasting in the U.S. with a secondary focus on other major English-speaking countries.
(To search this encyclopedia, go to Communication & Mass Media Complete (CMMC), enter "encyclopedia of radio" in the first search box, and enter a search term in the second box.)

History of the Mass Media in the United States: An Encyclopedia

Articles in this 1998 reference work look at technological, legal, legislative, economic, and political developments in and affected by the media from the introduction of the first newspaper in Boston in 1690 until about 1990.
(To search this encyclopedia, go to Communication & Mass Media Complete (CMMC), enter "history of the mass media in the united states" in the first search box, and enter a search term in the second box.)

Encyclopedia of Television News

This 1999 encyclopedia includes more than 300 entries on "the people who built broadcast journalism, the programs for which they are best known, and the concepts and issues evolving from their efforts." Available as an e-book through BC's NetLibrary subscription.

Violence and the Media: A Reference Handbook

This 1996 handbook includes an overview of the debate over violence in the mass media; a chronology; biographies of important figures from the fields of communication, psychology, sociology and other disciplines; and a collection of relevant documents, including laws, regulations, court decisions, industry standards, and policy statements related to violence and the media.

International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences

This comprehensive online reference work covers the current state of the social and behavioral sciences with an international scope. It consists of 3,842 signed scholarly articles, most with abstracts, references, and cross references. Select the category "Media" from the encyclopedia's main page for the largest group of communication-related articles, divided into six major sub-categories, or search on the word "Communication" for links to articles thoughout the encyclopedia.

Flags of Our Fathers & the Making of an Icon

The raising of the American flag on Iwo Jima -- subject of the new Clint Eastwood movie "Flags of Our Fathers" -- has frequently drawn the attention of scholars looking at the emergence and use of this image as an icon of America and American values.

I wrote about the photo last August after the death of Joe Rosenthal, the Associated Press photographer who took the original picture. With the release of the movie, I thought it was worth pointing to again.

Here's my original post, including links to scholarly looks at the subject in communication journals, books, and other sources.