Tarleton Thursdays: Did You Know?



This view of Military Drive looking west toward the President\’s home was taken in 1935. After being built in 1923 at the cost of $8000, this house was home to Dean J. Thomas Davis. Tarleton presidents continued to live in the house until 1982. After that the home was named the Hall of Presidents. It was designated a Texas historical landmark in 1988 by the Texas Historical Commission. President W.O. Trogdon was the last president to reside in this home. On February 17, 2000 it was renamed the Trogdon House.

Also in view is the tall flagpole in front of the Administration building. In an article written by Frank Chamberlin for the Dick Smith Library Cross Timbers Historic Images Project, the \”flagpole has stood in front of the E.J. Howell Education Building (formerly the Administration building) since 1920. A plaque attached to the pole lists the names of the students and contributors who donated to its construction. This flagpole originally stood one hundred feet tall. ROTC cadets raised the flag at seven o’clock in the morning and lowered it at five o’clock each afternoon. The cannon was fired to commemorate the lowering of the flag in the evenings. The practice of firing the cannon continued into the 1940s. The pole has since been lowered, due to a city ordinance\” (Guthrie 63, King 147, Traditions 25).

Top Ten Tuesday – 10 Library Resources You Should Know About

It\’s Tuesday, that means it is time for a list!

Library resources can make your research life easier. I saw a similar list for another library and was blown away that the Tarleton Libraries have even more to offer you! Here are 10 Library Resources you should know about!

The Tarleton Libraries have these and more resources available for you. We hope to see you in the library soon!

Happy Groundhog Day!

Groundhog Day (Feb 2nd), the world\’s most eccentric weather forecasting system, has predicted that America is in for another six weeks of winter. Read more…

Here are some Fun Facts about Groundhogs:

  • The average groundhog is 20 inches long and normally weighs from 12 to 15 pounds. Punxsutawney Phil weighs about 20 pounds and is 22 inches long.
  • Groundhogs are covered with coarse grayish hairs (fur) tipped with brown or sometimes dull red. They have short ears, a short tail, short legs, and are surprisingly quick. Their jaws are exceptionally strong.
  • A groundhog\’s diet consists of lots of greens, fruits, and vegetables and very little water. Most of their liquids come from dewy leaves.
  • A groundhog can whistle when it is alarmed. Groundhogs also whistle in the spring when they begin courting.
  • More fun facts from Groundhog.org

Wikipedia and Research: What\’s the big deal?


Wikipedia was [edit]\”initially conceived as a feeder project for Nupedia, an earlier (now defunct) project\” founded by Jimmy Wales. Its name,suggested by editor-in-chief Larry Sanger, is a combination of the words wiki (which means \”fast\” or \”swift\”)2 and encyclopedia. 1 (More information).As of this writing, it has over 12 million free articles online in various languages, with more constantly being added. It has created an online kerfuffle in recent years, with many academics and research librarians waxing adamant on its flaws. They may have a point. The ability for anyone (as of right now) to create and edit entries sometimes translates into mistakes,pranks, and propaganda from Fortune 500 companies and politicians.

So, how do college instructors and librarians really feel about Wikipedia?

Many instructors take the middle road, stressing that Wikipedia is, yes, easy-to-use and a good starting point, but that\’s all. Others take a harder tack: in 2007, for example, one college history department banned citing Wikipedia at all.3 Professors had found numerous errors in the papers of students who used Wikipedia. Many librarians feel that since Wikipedia is not an academic or scholarly resource, it should be avoided for research. Others see the use of Wikipedia as inevitable and incorporate it as a teaching tool in their classes. Wikipedia itself has a page called \”Researching With Wikipedia\”, which lists its own good and bad points, research suggestions, different aspects of the site, and FAQs.

Your professors (and maybe even some librarians!) may have cautioned you about using scholarly resources instead of Wikipedia for your research. But that doesn\’t mean they don\’t use it themselves …well–not for academic research, of course.

Sources:
(No particular citation style used)
1\”History of Wikipedia.\” Wikipedia. Accessed on 30 January, 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Wikipedia
2\”Wiki.\” Ulukau: The Electronic Hawaiian Dictionaries. http://ulukau.org/english.php
3\”A History Department Bans Citing Wikipedia.\” Cohen, Noam. The New York Times. February 21, 2007. Accessed on 30 January, 2009.

Tarleton Thursdays: Did You Know?

Snowy days on the Tarleton Campus


This house, built in 1917 for Dean Cox, was used until 1923 when the new President’s House, now the Trogdon House, was built. This house was then used as the Senior Girl’s residence. The left side of the image shows a girl\’s dorm, Lewis Hall, being constructed. The Senior Girl’s residence burned in 1935.

Weather and Road Conditions

With the icy weather the past couple days, you might want to bookmark a few of the following websites. Dick Smith Library staff have been updating a number of our selected Internet Resources pages, including our Weather Internet Links. From here you can link to websites to get current weather conditions for Stephenville or other locales (just enter a zip code for the latter).

For road condition updates on state-maintained roads, try this TxDOT/Texas Department of Transportation Road Conditions web page. You can search by any combination of county, road, and/or condition (such as ice/snow, flooding, or construction). There’s also an interactive map available, where you can pan or zoom in for more detail (see the map instructions).

By the way, when the weather warms up, TxDOT also has a great map of spring wildflower and fall foliage sightings.

If you have weather or road condition web sites you like, please tell us in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday – Study Skills

The third Tuesday of the new semester – Wow how time flies! It is time to start that research and hit the books. I wanted to give you this list of Top Ten Study Skills.

Top Ten Tips on Study Skills

  1. Budget your time.
  2. Read everything assigned.
  3. Do all assignments.
  4. Take good notes.
  5. Organize and use your notes.
  6. Find a good place to study. (I recommend the library!)
  7. Take care of yourself.
  8. Minimize distractions. (The upper floor of the Library is a quiet study zone.)
  9. Consider forming a study group or groups. (The library has group study rooms available for use.)
  10. Ask for help.

The reference desk of the Library is staffed with professional librarians who provide personalized service to assist with learning and research needs. You may get help and ask questions in person at the library, by phone at 254-968-9249, by email, or via the web at http://www.tarleton.edu/~library/askaref.html

Renewing your Tarleton library books online is easy!

Go to the library home page: http://www.tarleton.edu/~library/
Click the Renew items, etc. – (My Account) link

Select: Renew My Materials

Login to your account:
User ID: Leave this box blank
Tarleton UID/UIN Number: Enter your 9-digit TSU ID number
PIN: changeme (Use this PIN if it is the first-time you are accessing your account)

If you have any questions, contact the Circulation Department @ 254-968-9450 or click Forgot Your Pin?

Tarleton Thursdays: Did You Know?

The January 19, 1954 J-TAC stated that registration for the spring semester would begin at 8 a.m., Monday, February 1, in the library. At that time the library was housed in a portion of the first floor of the Science Building, which is now the Math Building. The recreation hall was across the street from the Science Building in what is now the Administration Annex, directly behind what is now the Howell Education Building. Read this article and discover how different the process was then.
Library in Science Building

Wordle

Wordle is a tool you can use to make word clouds for any text you enter (copy and paste, or type). Words that are used more frequently in the text will appear in a larger size. The word cloud will appear with a random color scheme and font, which you can tweak along with the layout.

ReadWriteWeb had a recent post comparing Wordles of Obama’s inaugural address to those of other presidents. I thought it wasn’t really fair to compare Obama’s to Bush’s 2005, post 9/11 address as ReadWriteWeb did, so I did a Wordle of Bush’s 2001 address instead:


And here’s Obama’s:

While Wordle is a lot of fun, it is also a visual way to view and analyze text. Wordle instantly reveals the central points–or overused words–in a document. Try it with your own writings!

[Thanks to Tracy for the idea for this post!]

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