Featured Database - Biography In Context

Are you interested in learning more about people's lives? Has your instructor asked you to write a biography? Then take a look at Biography In Context, a library resource that's authoritative and updated daily. It lets you:

• Search for people by name, nationality, occupation, or date
• Find biographies of filmmakers, musicians, scientists, athletes, inventors, and politicians (among others)
• View biographies, videos, audio, images, and current news articles
• Use text-to-speech technology to have the biography read to you
• Share, email, print, translate, save, cite, or download the biography

You can get to this resource from the OCC Libraries homepage. Click the tab for Articles & Databases, choose All Databases, then scroll down to the B's.

Need help using this resource? Check out our YouTube video or ask a librarian for help.

Here are some biographies to get you started:

Frida Kahlo Ellen DeGeneres Janet Yellen Mitt Romney Chiwetel Ejiofor Harvey Milk Jimmy Fallon

Sherman Alexie Peyton Manning Ang Lee Steve McQueen Bono Johnny Appleseed Florence Nightingale

Submitted by Christine Malmsten
Faculty Librarian
Auburn Hills Campus Library

Celebrate Women's History Month

The OCC Womencenter and Libraries invite you to celebrate Women’s History Month through recognizing women who have made significant contributions to our world.

Please visit the OCC Women's History Month Blog and consider submitting a nomination recognizing an extraordinary woman who has made our world a better place through her contribution as an educator, scientist, head-of-state, politician, environmentalist, civil rights advocate and some other significant way.

All members of the OCC community – students, faculty, and staff – are encouraged to participate. Submitted nominations may cover the range of local-to-global and include individuals from any time period.

For more resources related to this initiative, take a look at the OCC Libraries Women in Literature, History, Current Events research guide.

Free Student Success Seminars in March at Orchard Ridge & Royal Oak Libraries

Library Student Success Seminars cover a variety of topics related to library research. Ask your instructor about extra credit for attending any of these seminars. See the Library Instruction page for more information about future seminars at all OCC campuses.

Orchard Ridge Campus
(see all Winter 2014 seminars for Orchard Ridge)

• Monday March 3 - Google Scholar and Google Advanced Search
  12pm-12:30pm in King Library: Tips to enhance and strengthen your search experience.
• Monday March 10 - Evaluating Web Pages
  12pm-12:30pm in King Library: Learn techniques to determine if a web site has reliable information.
• Monday March 17 - Special Seminar:  Pinpointing Keywords For More Relevant Search Results
  12:00-12:30 in the King Library: Get tips on how to choose relevant search keywords.

Royal Oak Campus
(see all Winter 2014 seminars for Royal Oak)

• Wednesday March 5 - Help Me Use The Library Catalog
  6:00-6:30 in Room C202
• Thursday March 6 - Help Me Find Primary Sources
  10:00-10:30 in Room C202
• Monday March 10 - Help Me Find "Good" Websites
  6:00-6:30 in Room C202
• Tuesday March 25 - Help Me Narrow A Topic
  11:00-11:30 in Room C202

Featured Database - Pro/Con Articles

A good persuasive or argumentative paper should help your audience consider different viewpoints on an issue. You will need to find articles and other information to support your position.  Searching Google will return hundreds of hits, but it may be difficult to determine credibility, especially if the topic is current or controversial. 

Begin your research on the Find Articles/Databases tab in the center of the library home page and select Pro/Con Databases. These tools will lead you to thousands of reliable sources and can help you select or refine a topic, suggest additional key words or phrases, and related topics.

CQ Researcher: Features a chronology, a current assessment, pro/con statements from opposing positions, and a list of key sources.

Opposing Viewpoints In Context:  Information and opinions featuring viewpoint articles, magazines, journals, news articles, primary source documents, statistics, media, and websites.
Points of View: Provides an overview, point (argument), and counterpoint (opposing argument), supported with articles from periodicals, media transcripts, primary source documents, and videos.

You may also want to try the Databases by Subject category. For example: Newspapers may be helpful for topics that have a local or regional focus; or Sciences for an issue concerning the environment.

General Search Tips: 

• Don’t use “pro” or “con” in your search unless they are commonly used in connection with your issue (example: pro-choice movement; pro-gun lobbyists).
• Read abstracts, which will provide you with a summary of the article and help you determine if it is useful. 
• Don't look at articles that only represent “your side”. An opposing viewpoint can contain valuable information to validate your position.

Submitted by Darlene Johnson-Bignotti
Faculty Librarian
Royal Oak Campus Library

Celebrate Black History Month Through Reading

OCC Libraries in partnership with The OCC Diversity Committees are proud to participate in the 25th National African American Read-In the week of February 3-5, 2014.

OCC Students and employees are invited to hear readings or read a brief passage aloud from books written by African American authors. The goal of this event is to celebrate Black History Month and bring awareness about the contributions African Americans have made to the literary world. For more times information, contact your campus OCC Library or check out our flier.

Find out more about the 25th National African American Read-in.