Meet the Team: Ahmed

Meet Ahmed!

Name: Ahmed

Major: Economics with a Theater minor

Status: Senior

What is your favorite thing about being a student at UIS?   Resources, a big one is the library and all the cool things it offers. Career Development Center and their events that give you insights of different careers and also help with building your brand (resumes/ cover letters). Lastly the faculty, financial aid, counselors, and TRAC staff they are all helpful.

What are your goals for the semester? Get an Internship for summer 2019. I want to get an internship in a field that combines both of my studies here at UIS, Economics and Theater. The internship I hope to get is an Advertising Marketing position. However, within the field I want to get more creative job.

If there were a reality TV show of your life, what would it be called? Why? Chance. It would be a show about me and the different people within my life who strive to get a chance/opportunity in an occupation they want. Examples: soccer, acting, photography, getting into a specific desired school, etc. It would display my journey and the people that played a part in it and more.

Are you involved in any clubs/activities/sports on campus? Or what are your hobbies? I played soccer here at UIS for two season. Unfortunately I have no more eligibility here but I do still participate in team workouts and pick up games here at UIS. It is what brought me here to Springfield

What have you learned since working at the library? I’ve learned about myself better through our meetings and the structure here at UIS library. An example would be our recent staff meeting where we created a collage that defines my future view (vision board). That was a perfect exercise that made me think about who am I, and what it is that I want to have in my future.

What are your post-graduation plans? Travel. Now that I don’t have nothing holding me back, I would love to travel and see the world. I’ve previously been to Kenya, the U.K., and Canada. It’s only the beginning and I hope to go to many more places.

What is your favorite item from the library collection? My favorite things from the library of things collection is the the cooking utensils.

Hidden Gem: Evidence-Based Care Sheets

With so many resources at the library, it’s impossible to know about all the awesome and unique collections available. So, we’re highlighting some of our favorite lesser known collections in our Hidden Gems series.  These are collections that are tucked away in larger library resources that you may not know exist.   

The CINAHL Complete nursing and allied health database contains two hidden gems of particular interest to nursing, but also to anyone wanting more information on health topics such as breast cancer, deep vein thrombosis, or anorexia nervosa.   

Evidence – Based Care Sheets: Go to the CINAHL Complete database. The Evidence-Based Care Sheets are available via a link at the top of the page. 

Evidence-Based Care Sheets are summaries on specific key topics, which are focused on nursing practice. Each evidence-based care sheet incorporates the latest evidence, statistics, research and references on a given topic.   

Quick Lessons: The Quick Lessons, part of the CINAHL Nursing Guide, are clinically organized nursing overviews, with information mapped to the nursing workflow (i.e. description/etiology, signs and symptoms, assessment, treatment goals, red flags, what to tell the patient/patient’s family).  Quick Lessons are available under the “More” pull down menu at the top of the screen. Of specific interest to laypersons will be the “what to tell the patient/patient’s family” section of these resources 

These two sources provide quick authoritative information on diseases and illnesses along with care guidelines. 

If you need assistance in accessing or searching library resources, please contact a librarian. 

Student Employees Rock!

Brookens Library would not be able to function without our student employees. They process books, DVDs, and other materials, they help keep collections organized, they offer services at the library main desk and throughout the building, update our website, take part in decision making, and strategic planning. They add a student voice that helps us fine-tune our services so we can better serve the campus community, and simply put they help us keep the library’s doors open. It’s so fitting for us that National Student Employee Appreciation Week also falls on National Library Week. 

We’d like to take this moment to express some gratitude toward each one of our student employees. If you’re in the library this week and see one of these extraordinary students , please take a moment to thank them for their hard work and for everything that they do for us, for you, and for UIS.

Hidden Gem: The Pentagon Papers

With so many resources at the library, it’s impossible to know about all the awesome and unique collections available. So, we’re highlighting some of our favorite lesser known collections in our Hidden Gems series.  These are collections that are tucked away in larger library resources that you may not know exist.   

The HeinOnline legal resources database includes several hidden gems including a collection containing the complete “Pentagon Papers.”  To access, simply select this collection under the “Browse Databases by Name” menu.  

Officially titled United States – Vietnam Relations, 1945-1967: A Study Prepared by the Department of Defense, these “Pentagon Papers” are a United States Department of Defense history of the United States’ political-military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967.  These papers were made famous when released to the New York Times in 1971.  They showed that the U.S. government had systematically lied to the public in regard to the scope, aims, and extent of the government’s involvement not only in Vietnam, but the whole of South East Asia during this period.  The 47 volumes with more than 8,000 pages comprising this collection are fully searchable through HeinOnline.  If you are interested in any aspect of the conflict in South East Asia and the actions throughout the presidencies of Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson, this is a major source of historical significance.   

If you need assistance in accessing or searching library resources, please contact a librarian. 

Meet the Team: Samone

Meet Samone!

Name: Samone

Major: English

Status: Freshman

What is your favorite thing about being a student at UIS?   I like the small campus. I like that everything is generally in one spot. It makes everything feel more together, plus I don’t have to walk that far.

What are your goals for the semester? My goal is to definitely finish the semester. But it’s also to get a C or above in all of my classes. Another goal is to work on my time management skills, that will help me the future.

If there were a reality TV show of your life, what would it be called? Why? “Adulthood and Afraid”. That seems to capture what my life is right now. I don’t know what I’m doing as I transfer into an adult but I’m trying.

Are you involved in any clubs/activities/sports on campus? Or what are your hobbies? I’m not in any clubs at the moment, but I do like to read. I guess another one of my hobbies is painting, that’s pretty fun. And I also like to cook.

What have you learned since working at the library? I learned how to work in a team better. I also learned working at lower level is a good chance to do homework. And I learned that the library has books that can help you with just about anything.

What are your post-graduation plans? I’m not really sure what I want to do. I know I want to get a job and support my self but I still don’t know how. It’s a mystery.

What is your favorite item from the library collection? My favorite things to check out from the library of things collection is the cupcake pan.

Increase your Money IQ

This week is Money Smart Week, and Brookens Library is highlighting some of our resources on budgeting, investing and personal finances. 

Did you know that one in four Americans spends $11 or more on coffee every week? That adds up to $572 a year. Or that the average person spends more than 40 percent of their food budget on food away from home? Money Smart Week encourages us to look at our spending habits and reflect on the hidden costs of college, food and finances. 

There are a lot of resources out there so if you are interested in honing your skills so you can pay your bills, here are a few to get you started: 

• Student Money Management Center: Find webinars and campus events related to financial topics for college students. 

• Ask CFBP: Find clear, unbiased answers to hundreds of financial questions. 

• Paying for College: Find guides that can help you make informed financial decisions about how to pay for college and repay student debt. 

Here are some books you can check out at Brookens Library: 

• Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together: A step-by-step guide for how to go from being broke to becoming a financial badass. 

• Big Money Thinks Small: Biases, Blind Spots, and Smarter Investing: A veteran fund manager offers some simple steps on how to be a successful investor. 

• The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated: This book is based on the idea that everything you need to know about money could fit on an index card. 

• Pogue’s Basics: Money: Essential Tips and Shortcuts (That No One Bothers to Tell You) About Beating the System: Here are more than two hundred tips and tricks for making financial management easier with insights into making and saving money while avoiding scams. 

• Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties: From tackling taxes to boosting credit scores, this book is designed to guide young adults through the world of personal finance. 

Hidden Gems: Company Profiles and SWOT

With so many resources at the library, it’s impossible to know about all the awesome and unique collections available. So, we’re highlighting some of our favorite lesser known collections in our Hidden Gems series.  These are collections that are tucked away in larger library resources that you may not know exist.   

Our 2nd Hidden Gem post highlights the company profiles and SWOT analysis within the Business Source Complete database.   

Company Profiles: Company profiles provide detailed information for more than one million of the largest U.S. and international companies with parent and subsidiary records.  The primary difference between the MarketLine company profiles and MedTrack reports is that Medtrack is focused on biopharmaceutical and medical business. MarketLine is focused on seven industry sectors: Automotive, Consumer Markets, Energy, Financial Services, Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare, Technology, Transport, and Logistics.  The data that these company reporting services provide is information such as description of company business, financial details including revenue, gross profit and net profit (when available), products (when available), top executives and administrative titles, subsidiaries, and similar information.  

To find company profiles (MarketLine Report or Medtrack Report) within Business Source Complete, select “Company Profiles” under the “More” pull down menu at the top of the page.  Then you can browse or search for the company of interest.   

SWOT Analysis: A SWOT Analysis provides detailed information about a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats and provides a more in-depth analysis of a company or companies within an industry. 

If you are interested in SWOT analysis, the best course of action is to simply search by company name and then use the “Source Type” limiter to limit to “SWOT Analyses”. Under the the Source Type limiter first click, “Show More”.

The look for SWOT Analyses in the list of source types.

If you need assistance in accessing or searching library resources, please contact a librarian. 

Meet the Team: Kyler

Meet Kyler!

Name: Kyler

Major: Computer Science

Status: Senior

What is your favorite thing about being a student at UIS?   My favorite thing about being a student at UIS is being on a small campus. Since I first transferred here, I have gotten to know a lot of people here on campus. A smaller campus size allows you to get to know people and make friends more easily.

What are your goals for the semester? For the semester, my goals are to land a summer job or internship and get better grades than last semester. First of all, I want to keep myself occupied during the summer and gain actual on-the-job experience. Secondly, I feel I did not perform my best last semester academically, and want this one to be an improvement.

If there were a reality TV show of your life, what would it be called? Why? The show would be called Imperfectly Perfect, because my friends and I like to laugh about the imperfections in our lives. It would document my day-to-day experiences at UIS and give a sneak peek at my interactions with everybody here on campus. It would also give a look at the imperfect situations I get myself into.

Are you involved in any clubs/activities/sports on campus? Or what are your hobbies? I am a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Aside from that, my hobbies are watching TV and movies, listening to music, and riding my bike when the weather is nice.

What have you learned since working at the library? Since I started working at Brookens Library, I have not only learned to be punctual but also ask for help whenever I need it. I have progressively gotten into the habit of arriving at least five minutes before my shift starts. Additionally, in some past situations, I have been too shy to ask for help. This job has improved my self-advocacy skills.

What are your post-graduation plans? After I graduate, I plan to return to the Chicago area and get a job in software engineering or something similar. When I find myself able to move out of the house, I will get a job in the Western U.S. and possibly work my way up to a higher position.

What is your favorite item from the library collection? My favorite things to check out from the library are DVDs.

How to Tuesday: Whiteboards

We love getting feedback from our patrons! Every few weeks we write a question on one of our whiteboards asking for your suggestion for the library. 

Thanks to the responses on our whiteboard asking what types of events you would like to see, the library has a movie night planned for tomorrow – Wednesday March 27th at 9pm.

Come watch Jurassic Park with us and snack on some delicious popcorn!

One of our most popular collections is our Library of Things Collection. So this week, we’re asking you what items we should consider adding to the Library of Things. Some of the suggestions we’ve received so far are shown in the image below. If you’ve got a great idea, stop by and add to the list. There are many more questions to come, so be sure to check back in a few weeks to see how else you can help make Brookens Library even better. 

Hidden Gems: JFK Collection

With so many resources at the library, it’s impossible to know about all the awesome and unique collections available. Knowing that, we’re highlighting some of our favorite lesser known collections in our Hidden Gems series. These are collections that are tucked away in larger library resources that you may not know exist.

The John F. Kennedy Assassination Collection is the first in our Hidden Gems series and is available within the HeinOnline legal resources database. Simply, choose the collection under “Browse Databases by Name”.

This database contains the National Archives and Records Administration’s complete collection of records on President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. It includes over 500,000 pages in almost 55,000 volumes and is fully searchable. Also included are books, hearings, other related works, and scholarly articles on this topic. If you are interested in primary source materials that were at one time classified “Top Secret”, government reports on the assassination, or scholarly articles related to the JFK assassination, take a look at this hidden gem. If you ever need assistance in accessing or searching library resources, please contact your subject librarian.