In the Navy?

Ok well maybe not. The closest I have come to nautical adventures was watching the Love Boat and dancing to the Village People. So it is only natural that my co-workers selected me to explore the department of Naval Science here at the University. Yes at first I thought I might write about lint, but I figured nobody enjoys the corny jokes like I do, so I have to get serious.

What is Naval Science all about?

1010 Introduction to Naval Science
A general introduction to the naval profession and to concepts of sea power. Emphasizes mission, organization, and warfare components of the Navy and Marine Corps. Included is an overview of rank structure, training and education, career patterns, naval courtesy and customs, military justice and naval terminology. The course is designed to introduce the student to the professional competencies required to become a Naval or Marine Corps officer.

I can’t say I’m surprised that the introductory class doesn’t cover storming the beaches of Fantasy Island or how naval courtesy and customs compare to cruise ship dining and dress codes, but it has peaked my interest. I am especially interested in “concepts of sea power”, that just sounds so…well powerful.

So I’m surfing the library databases for more info on Naval Science and who knows maybe next time you see me I’ll be less Love Boat and more An Officer and a Gentleman.

What's That Line From?

I was watching Lord of the Rings the other day, (I've mentioned I'm a total geek for science fiction and fantasy, right? Okay, then) and I was wondering what was the first movie I ever saw Liv Tyler in.



I think the movie came out in the mid-nineties. I know it was a bit dramatic, and I think she was a goth girl in a record store. Or there was a goth girl in a record store, but Liv was still in the movie.

And I think there was a funeral in the movie for a chick who wasn't dead yet.

Saying it out loud like that makes it sound incredibly weird and lame, but it wasn't a bad movie.

I decided I want to watch it again, just to double check on the lame vs. not-bad front.

And, you guessed it, there's a database for that. It's even freely available on the web. It's called Internet Movie Database.



So I dropped by IMDB and typed in Liv Tyler in ye olde search box.

And found out the movie was called Empire Records. Now, I just have to Netflix it, and I'm all set.

Stickin' it to the Man

With many forms of media these days there seems to be a non-profit, open-source, stickin' it to the profit takin' man version on the free and open web (aka "no login required"). You can find music, photos, illustrations, tons of information, but what about the ever elusive scholarly stuff? In the past decade or so, academic journal pricing has gone all caviar and champagne, while libraries still have their punch & cookies budgets.

One way around this problem is for libraries (and students, staff & faculty) to encourage more use of open access journals. A wonderful directory of these academically credible (scholarly) journals is DOAJ.org where you can currently find over 3000 journals.

Here's a video illustration of what access to information can do for you (kinda cute)

Librarians Geek Out

You might wonder what librarians do in their spare time. One example of this is the library bookcart decoration, races, and drill team.

You know those metal or wooden wheeled things that library staff use when they're walking around putting books back on the library shelves? Well, that's what I'm talking about.

There's even a contest for best decorated bookcarts every years called "Pimp My Bookcart."



To give you a better idea of what I mean when I say bookcart drill teams, I give you some fun and entertaining footage from YouTube.com... Enjoy!

Hoover's -no, not the vacuum

Intended for the business and marketing set, Hoover's Online is actually pretty interesting to cruise through for the uninitiated too. This valuable database gives you access to information on over 25 million corporations and organizations,( according to Hoover's 'about us' site). You can see company information, but you can also search for people, or browse particular industries. Let's take a look for George Lucas and see what there is to find -if you're a UofU student and logged into My.Utah.Edu then click this link for a canned search and follow along!. -Don't forget, this and all of our databases can be accessed at www.lib.utah.edu > article databases.

The top hits have Mr. Lucas in the obvious places, LucasArts, LucasFilm, etc. Near the bottom of the list you'll also notice that Mr. Lucas as the owner of Bunk Bed World -probably not the same fella, so be aware of that when searching. Click on Lucasfilm Ltd. next. Here's a rich record of the company information including, address/phone/web address, company overview, key info (like other names, year of founding, etc.), key people (like CEO, chairman, VP's and the like), and links to more industry information and Lucasfilm's competitors. Neat!

And this all ties us beautifully into a youtube clip that I randomly found for your viewing pleasure:

Shaking Off The Vacation

I just got back from a vacation and a week-long conference. Conferences seem to be part and parcel of the professional world. It's where you find out who's doing what research, what advances are being made in a field, and also where serious networking happens.

But it got me thinking...I know which organizations represent my profession, my hobbies, my interests, but does everyone?

Knowing your local, regional, national, international organizations can tell you a lot about your field before you even join the profession. You know what the major issues and concern of that field are, websites to find more information, important people in the field.

It also tells you where and when conferences are. (Hey, it's ALL about the networking! No, really.)

So, how do you know which organizations are important to your field? You guessed it. We have a database for that. If you've been on this blog for more than five minutes, you're shocked, I know.

The database in question? Encyclopedia of Associations.

But here's how you get to that database. Head on over to the Marriott Library homepage and click on Article Databases & More. From there, you want to click on the E under Select Database by Title, and then scroll down the alphabetical list of databases that appears until you can click on Encyclopedia of Associations.

There are a lot of ways to search for associations in the database. By name, by location, by topic or subject. Each entry tells you the kind of organization it is and the contact information for the association.

Good luck with all your future networking!

Get a Job!

There are a zillion things to think about when getting an education, but foremost in many minds is -what the heck am I going to do with my degree in Applied Brewery Appreciation!? A great resource that covers a lot of the questions you may have about many careers is produced by the U.S. Department of Labor called the Occupational Outlook Handbook. Telling you details about specific careers like the training you’ll need to land the job, what you can expect to earn, how the job market is and quite a lot more.

I tried to find information on becoming a brewer but that seems to be off the popular job market so you’re on your own with that one!