Go wireless in your libraries!

The libraries are hopping busy at this time of year and it’s pretty hard to find a library computer to use.   If you have your own laptop with wireless card, you can set up shop in a library, work on your assignments and get help from the staff when you need it!  What a great deal!

Check out this guide for instructions on accessing the wireless network at Fennell, STARRT and Brantford.

At IAHS, we use McMaster’s wireless network so the procedure is a bit different. You’ll need a Mac ID to use the system.  Here’s the scoop!

If you experience any problems connecting to the wireless network, visit any library information desk or computer help desk for assistance.

How to get some help around here…

Stuck researching for an assignment? Not sure how to find sources? Need help using Refworks? You don’t have to struggle alone. Library staff are here to help!

In person – visit the Information Desk at any of the campus  libraries for in-person, one on one help from our helpful Information Services staff.

Email – Fill in our online form or send an email to braintogoATmohawkcollegeDOTca. We aim to reply within one business day.

Phone – if you are working at home and have a quick question, call us at the library information desk.

Brantford:	519.758.6020
e-Library:	905.575.2244
Fennell:	905.575.2274
IAHS:	905.540.4247 x26834
STARRT:	905.575.1212 x5038

Chat – To chat live with information services staff, visit our Ask Us page and type your question into the Meebo chat box. Chat is available Mon-Fri 8:30am -9:00 pm and 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. on weekends.

AskON – AskON is a live online research help service staffed by  information professionals from college libraries across Ontario, including Mohawk.  Click on the LIVE HELP button on any BRAIN page:Then, click the lime green AskON button to submit your question and connect to Live Chat. AskON is available 11 a.m. – 10p.m. Mon-Thur, and 11a.m.-5p.m. Fri-Sun.

Reviewing your library account

Need to know when your library items are due? Want to renew  a book?
With our new catalogue, it has never been so easy.

Accessing your account information, renewals, holds, due dates, etc is just a click away with the “my account”  feature!

Go to the library’s catalogue and  click on My Account to login. You will be prompted for your username and password. For first time users, your username is the same as your mocomotion userame.  Use the numbers following the zeros in your student number as the password.  Once input, you will be prompted to change your password.

Tip: change your password to your mocomotion password.  Less is more when it comes to passwords to remember!

Streaming Videos Now Available on TheBRAIN!

Course-specific,  on-demand videos are now available from the Library’s website TheBRAIN! No more rushing to the library only to discover all video copies have been checked out. No more hunting down that mysterious relic called a VCR in the Library or in Mom and Dad’s basement.  No more frozen DVDs or unravelled cassettes to deal with minutes before your class presentation starts. Just quick, reliable access!

Here are the straight goods:

> Click Books, Videos and More to get to the  Library catalogue.

> Search by title or keyword and include the words online video in the search box.

> If an online video is available, you’ll see a little computer icon in your result list. (This icon can also signify web-related materials so click the title just to be sure it’s a video.)

online video icon

> Click on the title of the item.

> Click the link that says Click  here to watch video.

> Licensing conditions require Mohawk authentication for viewing, so if you’re off campus, you’ll need to log in using your Mocomotion user name and password at this point.

> Grab your popcorn, sit back, relax and enjoy the show.

Besides excellent online videos to support Mohawk nursing programs, the following titles are currently available in streaming format:  Killing Us Softly, Mickey Mouse Monopoly, Sound and Fury, Tough Guise, and Introduction to WHIMIS.

Look for more streaming video choices coming your way soon on TheBRAIN.

Start using RefWorks!

Are you using RefWorks? If not, you should be!

RefWorks is a web-based citation management tool that can save you lots of time. RefWorks helps you track and organize your research by keeping a list of records that you export from the library catalogue or databases. This means you won’t spend time searching for missing citation details or trying to track down an article you read.

RefWorks also helps you format your citations and can automatically generate a bibliography in your chosen citation style.

As a Mohawk student you have free access to RefWorks. Click here for instructions on how to set up your account.

If you have any questions or need help using RefWorks, just Ask Us!

October is Women’s History Month in Canada…

and what better place to celebrate than at the Library@Mohawk where you can find lots of related resources! This year’s theme, as set by Status of Women Canada is “Women in the Lead: Winter Sports” in recognition of the Olympic & Paralympic games coming to Vancouver in 2010. So how can the Library@Mohawk help you celebrate?

> Check out the vast collection of books on women’s history by searching the catalogue! We’ve pulled together a special collection of items on the history of women & sport using the bookbag feature. What’s the bookbag feature, you ask? It’s a tool that lets you collect  items to share with others. Stay tuned to the BRAIN_blog and we’ll tell you all about it!

> Take The Hamilton Spectator for a whirl for local stories about women’s history – there’s a 5 year backfile!

> Give Canadian Points of View a try – this database features a section on “Women’s Issues” (as well as many other topics useful for essay writing!)

Happy Women’s History Month!

Art & Coffee Table Book Sale!

Come visit Library@Fennell and browse through our Art & Coffee Table Book Sale.

Sale starts on October 5th and runs until all books are sold.

There are many treasures to be found. Do not miss out on this great opportunity!

Check out the Library’s new catalogue!

The Library is pleased to announce its new online catalogue!
With an easier interface, more features and options, our new catalogue indexes all books, AV materials, electronic resources, and all other items that make up the Mohawk Library collection.
Searching is a snap. A new feature provides suggested links which make it easier to find more by the same author or on the same subject.
Access your account to renew items online, check due dates, account information, holds, etc.
Look for this icon on TheBRAIN.

The BRAIN_blog – Reloaded!

The BRAIN_blog’s back in town! You may remember the BRAIN_blog from its previous incarnation as your source for the latest news from the library and web research world! Well, the BRAIN_blog has returned and features not only the hottest scoop from the Library@Mohawk but also research tips and tricks geared especially toward the Mohawk College student! And now there is more BRAIN_blog than ever – we’ll be pushing all of this newsy goodness at you 2 – 3 times per week! Check back soon – you’ll be glad you did!

Giller Prize Winning Book is a Great Read.

This isn’t a long, formal book review, just a heads up about a fabulous book.  I am so thrilled that Canadian Meti writer, Joseph Boyden has won the Giller Prize for his novel Through Black Spruce.  I read it a few weeks ago and was entirely enthralled in a way that I haven’t been, well, since I read Boyden’s last (and first) novel, Three Day Road.  I finished both of them sadly because I just wasn’t ready to leave Boyden’s engaging worlds.

Boyden is young but his writing and story telling abilities are old if you know what I mean.  I can hear his characters’ voices, I can see their faces, I’d know them if I ran into them on the street.  I can see the bush, the town, the buildings and streets of New York, everything is just so well drawn.

If I tell you that that main character is in a coma for most of the book, you may think I’m crazy to be talking about well drawn characters and perfectly described settings, but it’s true.  Boyden brings Will Bird, the Cree bush pilot, to life in every dimension you can imagine.  We learn about Will’s long hard life in Ontario’s far North and we also learn about Will’s niece, Annie.  Annie’s journey of self-discovery and search for her sister, Suzanne, takes her and the reader from the Far North to the streets of New York and the world of high fashion modeling.  Opposite worlds?  Perhaps, but the stories weave together seamlessly.

Since winning the Giller, I’ve heard Boyden on radio several times.  I also attended a reading just before the Giller was announced.  He does say that he is trying to open the First Nations peoples’ and their stories to his readers.  He does so with out being even remotely preachy or moralistic.  The story is for everyone and anyone.

We have three copies of the book in the Library @ Mohawk if I’ve grabbed your interest, take one out.