View from the Davis Library's 2nd Floor around 10:15 AM Wednesday 4.25.12
Wow! It’s the week
before finals week! Hard to believe
another semester is just about over and done.
Just want to offer a few tips here that you might want to consider when
preparing for exams:
Get organized! Make sure you know when and where your tests
are being given. Final exam schedules
generally don’t follow your regular class schedule. A link to Rio’s 2012 Spring
Semester Final Exam Schedule can be found on the university’s home
page: www.rio.edu.
Keep calm and carry
on! Panicking will get you nowhere. Take time to review what you’ve learned. Understand what you know and don’t know and
work to fill in those gaps. Avoid
cramming and all night study sessions.
Getting rest, eating right and taking some “time out” to exercise can
help you stay positive and limit stress.
Ask for help! Is there a concept you don’t quite understand? Contact your instruction for clarification. Let
friends and family know that you’ll need some extra study time during the
week. See if they’ll help you out with
some of your usual responsibilities, or at least cut you some slack if your
chores don’t get done quite like normal.
Form study groups with friends or classmates. Getting together regularly with others to focus
on schoolwork can help you avoid procrastination. Also, sharing each others' understandings of
the course material and learning styles can make processing information a much
more meaningful experience.
Need a quiet place to study?
Davis Library’s 2nd Floor is the place… good luck!
Two weeks ago we celebrated National
Library Week (NLW), an annual event acknowledging the important role
libraries and librarians play in enhancing their communities.
Sponsored by the American
Library Association (ALA) and libraries throughout the United States, the
observance of NLW each year also includes special celebration days held within
the week to highlight different aspects of the types of library services and programs
available.
For example, National
Library Workers Day (NLWD)—See our 4.10.12
blog posting!—most often takes place on the Tuesday of NLW. It was established to show public
appreciation for the efforts put forth by all library employees and volunteers
to ensure free access to information and to produce positive educational and recreational
experiences for library users.
Then, National
Bookmobile Day, which usually takes place on Wednesday during NLW, was
created to promote awareness of the valuable outreach services libraries
provide.
And finally, Thursday of NLW is generally known as “Support
Teen Literature Day.” It is a time
when library services to teenagers are advocated. It is also a time when Young Adult Literature
(YAL) is recognized for its value in helping to promote a love of reading and
life-long learning for all ages as many of these types of works have a “crossover
appeal” and are enjoyed too by both younger and older readers. Hey, they are not just for teens!
Since we like to think of every week as NLW… why celebrate libraries
just once a year?! We decided not to
limit our cheers for YAL to just one day either. So, in praise of this vibrant and
growing literary genre, we are featuring here an interview with Bryna Butler, a University of Rio Grande (URG) alumna
and author of some new and popular young adult fiction books known as the Midnight Guardian Series.
What inspired you to begin writing the Midnight Guardian Series?
The
idea came to me on a commute into Gallipolis. I find the river, our beautiful
rural fields, and our small town quirkiness to be very inspiring.
What sorts of books did you enjoy reading as a young adult?
Yeah,
well, I didn't really read much as a teen or as an early 20-something. However,
that all changed when my first son was born in 2001. I found myself, a person who was a
professional workaholic, suddenly twiddling my thumbs over a sleeping baby
desperate for something...anything to do.
My mother told me about a series of kids’ books that she was reading and
she very highly recommended them. I was
extremely skeptical. Kids’ books,
right? She wouldn't take "no"
for an answer and so she brought me the first one, Harry Potter and the
Sorcerer's Stone. It was the start
of my love affair with fiction novels.
What books are your favorite today?
I read a lot of non-fiction at work, so at home
I keep it strictly light and fun, nothing “intellectual.” I prefer paranormal and mysteries. I enjoy Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire series—aka SookieStackhouse/True Blood. I was
a fan before the books hit HBO. I am
also looking forward to the next in Rachel Caine's Morganville series and the Mercedes
Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. My
top non-fiction pick would have to be Michael J. Fox's A Funny Thing
Happened on the Way to the Future.
What do you love most about being an author?
The
best part is when someone stops me on the street to share their excitement on
how a plot twist shocked them or to beg me to tell them what is going to happen
next to their favorite character. A
reader's enthusiasm makes me smile every time.
How have your educational experiences helped you in achieving your career goals?
I
earned a bachelor's in Mass Communication from URG. In fact, my first professional writing gig was
as a reporter and assistant editor of the Signals, Rio’s [student]
newspaper. Even more than the book
learning, I think that the practical experience that Rio provided me was
invaluable and gave me a definite advantage in the job market.
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
There
is no such thing as over-proofreading a manuscript.
Are you interested in speaking to teacher, librarian, school or other groups about your books and work as an author? If so, how may such parties contact you?
View from Davis Library's 2nd Floor around 10 AM Friday 4.20.12
April 22nd is Earth Day, a time when many events
are held to celebrate the Earth’s natural environment.This annual observance was first established
in the early 1970s to raise awareness on negative effects of pollution to our
health and ecosystems and led to the establishment of the government's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
In honor of the day and to highlight the availability of quality academic research on
environmental issues, we’re featuring here the EBSCOhost database Environment
Complete, which is available to Rio Grande students, faculty and staff through OhioLINK services.
This resource covers wide range of
agricultural and ecological-related topics such as renewable energy, marine
& freshwater management, pollution & waste management, environmental
law, urban planning, and much more.
In the academic community, plagiarism is considered a serious
offense—an act of lying, cheating and stealing.As indicated in the definition above, plagiarism involves claiming another’s
intellectual property as your own.It’s
important to give credit where credit is due.
