Month: November 2010

Primo Library Search

 There is a new and improved search option for finding Library resources.

Using Primo you can find books, journal articles, exam papers and DVD’s  using a single search (think Google), the results page is relevance-ranked and provides you with options to further limit your results by topic, date, e-resource or print.

Primo is searching the traditional Library catalogue and a mega-index of electronic resources from a variety of databases, making it a great place to start your search for information.

A search for ‘financial accounting’ brings back a list which includes articles about financial accounting from e-journals, books (both print and electronic), videos and book reviews. You can choose to show only peer-reviewed journal articles, online resources, or print resources and you can refine your search by topic, date, author or genre.

There will still be the option of limiting your search to the traditional library catalogue. There is a drop-down menu at the edge of the search box. 

 

The initial search from the ‘books and more’ tab will provide relevant information for the majority of searches. If you can’t find what you are looking for, there is the option of extending your search to include more databases, or identify a particular subject area.

There is still the option to select a particular database, and this is recommended when you are doing in-depth research, or know that a particular database such as Science Direct or Cinahl is going to provide you with the information you need.

Primo is a search and discovery solution specifically designed for academic Libraries. Try it out and let us know what you  think. From the start of the new term in 2011 Primo will be the Library search solution at CPIT.

2010 Will Cumming Memorial Award winners

On Thursday 18th November 2010 a celebratory morning tea was held to mark the presentation of the Will Cumming Memorial Award by Jean Cumming.

The 2010 Will Cumming Memorial Award Winners are:

  • Anna Kiesanowski for ‘Exposing the Truth’ & ‘Hiding Beneath the Light’
  • Gillian Taylor for ‘Yasmine as Frida’.

The display of works by previous winners will remain in the Library for viewing until Monday 29th November .

Jean Cumming & Anna Kiesanowski
Gillian Taylor & Jean Cumming

Works from the Will Cumming Memorial Collection on display in Library

Works by previous recipents of the Will Cumming Memorial Award are currently on display in the CPIT Library.  Included are works by Sam Harrison  (“Despair”), Amy Dickinson (“Untitled”) and Rebecca Smallridge (“Interdepedency and Intervention”).

This year’s recipient(s) will be selected by Jean Cumming on Wednesday 10 November 2010.

Will Cumming (1933-2002) joined the school of Art & Design at CPIT, in 1984.  He taught a variety of studio subjects and was the curator of the CPIT Art Collection.  He exhibited his own paintings and sculptural pieces both nationally and internationally for over three decades.  In his later years he developed a particular interest in paper-making and artists’ books.  His work is represented in collections in New Zealand, the USA, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.  Sadly, Will was killed in a traffic accident in 2002.

Jean, Will’s widow wished to create an award in memory of Will, and his passion for, and commitment to, enabling students to receive recognition for their hard work. The Will Cumming Memorial Award keeps alive our memories of Will and his connection with CPIT.

Will Cumming Award winners since its inception 2003 :

2003 –  Angela Reide
2004 –  Amy Dickinson
2005 –  Zoe Cassells
2006 –  Sam Harrison
2006  – Julie Humby
2007 –  Elizabeth Moyle
2008 –  Simon Kennedy
2009 –  Andrew Norton Dunn
2009 – Rebecca Smallridge

You will find the works around the campus by:
Elizabeth Moyle – “Untitled (Calves)” on level 2 of X Block
Simon Kennedy – “Shift” at Sullivan Avenue, Student Services Centre
Andrew Norton Dunn – “Conversion” in L131
Julie Humby – ” Untitled” at Reception at A231.

 The works by Angela Reidie and Zoe Cassells are presently in storage.

Wikipedia and Google – can I use these in my assignment?

Students are frequently recommended not to use Wikipedia and Google when researching for assignments and this is to encourage you to use the Library databases which are purchased because of their relevance to the topics you are studying.  However, there is a place for other resources particularly in the initial stages of research.  It is beneficial to check on Google that you have the correct spelling of a term or that you understand the meaning of the phrase you are researching.  Reading an article about your topic on Wikipedia may give you some starting points – keywords and directions to commence your research.  Wikipedia articles frequently include a reference list for articles the writers have referred to and many of these can be located through the CPIT databases. 

An alternative source is Google Scholar which includes a vast collection of resources from reputable sources.  If full text is available there will be a link from the results page. 

 Google Scholar claims that it:

“……provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature.
From one place, you can search across many disciplines and
sources: articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions,
from academic publishers, professional societies, online
repositories, universities and other web sites. Google Scholar
helps you find relevant work across the world of scholarly research.”

”Google Scholar aims to rank documents the way researchers do,
weighing the full text of each document, where it was published, who
it was written by, as well as how often and how recently it has been
cited in other scholarly literature.”
From About Google Scholar