Are you giving a presentation this semester?

Are you giving a presentation for class this semester?  Are you nervous?  Do you worry that you might not be able to express your ideas in a way that can be understood?

Melissa Marshall is a Communications expert who has some advice for you!

"Make everything as simple as possible, but no simpler" Einstein

Looking for a past student thesis?

Did you know the library holds a collection of ITB student theses? They are shelved on level 1; undergrad theses are classified P1, P2, P3... and postgraduate theses are classified T1, T2, T3 etc.

We add theses to our collection in the order that we receive them.  The highest class numbers tend to be the most recent; however, subject areas are not always beside each other on the shelf.  

To browse the titles in your department or school, follow these steps:

1. Go to the library homepage (http://www.itb.ie/library/home.html) and click on Databases & Resources

2. Click on the Past Student Projects and Theses tab  

3. If you find a thesis you wish to read, have a look at the short description in the Title Notes tab.  The location of the thesis on the shelf is also present, e.g. P 444. 

The art of picking a good book...

How do you choose a really good book to read?

... do you defy all advice and judge it by it's cover?

... do you search the backcover for an interesting storyline?

It is 1948 and a newly-married Hortense Joseph has just arrived, from Jamaica, with high expectations of life of in London. But London has suffered many years of war and does not measure up to her storybook notions. Along with her irrepressible husband, Gilbert, Hortense rents a room in the home of Queenie Bligh, whose husband still hasn’t returned from the war. Queenie’s neighbours are unhappy that she taken in Jamaican lodgers but she has other things on her mind.

... do you fall in love with a great character and have to read more?

“Now, the man that answer the door was not Winston. True, him look like Winston, him talk like Winston and him dress like Winston. But Winston was half a twin. Identical as two lemons on a tree. This was his brother Kenneth. To tell him apart, try to borrow a shilling. Winston will help you out but pester you all over London till him get it back. Kenneth, on the other hand, will persuade you to give him a shilling, assuring you that he could turn into into a pound before the week's end.” -- Gilbert Joseph

However you choose your books, come browse the fiction shelves in the library. We have a world of different covers and plotlines and characters!

Reserving library books

Having trouble finding textbooks in the library?  As the semester gets busier, it can be a challenge to locate the most popular books on the shelf.  The most effective way, with minimum fuss, is to reserve the book you need!

Reserved books cannot be renewed.  Once returned you would get an email, to your ITB email account, giving you 3 college days to collect it.  We would hold it for you at the library desk.

Have a look at this quick Moodle tutorial showing you how to reserve books online: http://moodle.itb.ie/mod/scorm/view.php?id=54002 

Happy International Mother Language Day!

This 5-minute TED Talk has a look at the benefits of a bilingual brain...

It’s obvious that knowing more than one language can make certain things easier — like traveling or watching movies without subtitles. But are there other advantages to having a bilingual (or multilingual) brain? Mia Nacamulli details the three types of bilingual brains and shows how knowing more than one language keeps your brain healthy, complex and actively engaged.

A new way to print...

Great news from Computer Services this week.  There is a new way to print in the library and throughout the campus!

You can now print from any internet-enabled device (PC, laptop, phone etc) by logging into this website: https://print.itb.ie

Your account will show the documents you have sent to print and their current status (e.g. awaiting processing, printed etc).

How to print: 

In order to access the service, login to the site in the same manner as Moodle using your ITB credentials.

Once logged in you have the ability to browse to the document you want to print and then upload the file to the service.

When a document is uploaded, its status will change from Awaiting Processing to Processing to Printed

When the status changes to Printed this does not mean that the document has come out of the printer, it still must be released from the printer by logging in and selecting the job to release.

Once released the status changes to Printed(Mobile).

The print jobs can then be released from any of the multifunction printing devices that require the user to login.

Want to suggest a book for the library?

Did you know that you can suggest a book for the library to purchase?  We do our best to keep up-to-date with the textbooks used in your modules.  But sometimes you might have a suggestion we've missed...

We focus on textbooks and books directly related to your studies.  So, if you have a suggestion, just login to your library account and let us know:

• Go to the library catalogue
• Click on Login to your library account
• Login with your student number and network password
• You'll see your name at the top of the screen.  Click on it to continue.
• Click on Your purchase suggestions in the right-hand menu
• Click on New purchase suggestion and complete the form

Any questions, let us know at libraryinfo@itb.ie 

Celebrating Chinese New Year!

February 16^th marks the Chinese New Year: the Year of the Dog. China has had an illustrious past with over 4,000 years of recorded history. 

... Red is considered lucky
... Ice-cream, gunpowder & silk all originated in China
... 1 in 5 people live in China, that’s 1.3 billion people!

As the Chinese proverb says, may you live in interesting times. Or at the very least... may you read some interesting books!

Chinese literature

·                     Balzac and thelittle Chinese seamstress

·                     My life asemperor

·                     The bonesetter’sdaughter

·                     The lily theatre

·                     Farewell myconcubine [DVD]

Travel in China

·                     Red dust: a paththrough China

·                     China (Lonely Planet)

Chinese culture

·                     The art of war

·                     Mao: the unknownstory

·                     Ken Hom’sChinese cookery

·                     China and theglobal economy

Dublin celebrates the Chinese New Year in style this year. See what’s happening here: https://www.dublinchinesenewyear.com/

Academic assignments: looking forward

As Daniel and Joanna's assignment draws to a close, they have the chance to think about what they have learned.  And what they might do differently next time!

The final episode gives you a chance to reflect and grow as an academic writer!

Academic assignments: presenting your case

Today is a big day for Daniel and Joanna: they are presenting their case to a judge.  Remember, you have spent a lot of time working on your assignment.  But your reader is seeing it for the first time.  You need to present your assignment in a way that allows them to follow your arguments and evidence. 
Don't forget to introduce your assignment with the 3 Ps: Premise, Purpose, Plan!

Read more about presenting your case here.

Academic assignments: putting in on paper

Sometimes the most challenging part of writing academic assignments is taking the information from the page, the screen or your head and putting it on paper.  In today's episode, Daniel and Joanna are reminded that they must present the information in their assignment in a way that the reader can understand.  They can do this by following this formula: Describe -- Assert  -- Defend -- Conclude...

Read more in today's episode 

Academic assignments: sense-making and pattern-matching

It's Day 5 of Investigating Academic Assignments!  Now that you have:

• identified your task (understood your assignment title)
• found evidence in the right places (searched in academic sources)
• maintained your chain of evidence (refworks)
• interrogated your evidence (evaluated the information)

... it is time to:

• make sense of the information you have found by looking for patterns

Read today's episode with Daniel and Joanna

National Pizza Day 🍕🍕

🍕🍕NATIONAL PIZZA DAY🍕🍕

February 9th 2018

"A dish of Italian origin, consisting of a flat round base of dough baked with a topping of tomatoes and cheese, typically with added meat, fish, or vegetables."

Oxforddictionaries.com (2018)

Seeing as it is exam results day why not enjoy a pizza this Friday evening!

For an insight into the history of pizza or a video on how to make your own pizza visit

A Slice of History: Pizza Through The Ages

**GOOD LUCK**

Good luck with your exam results at 2 o'clock!

Make sure to check your student email account for your login details for accessing your exam results.

To access your results at 2PM go to the ITB website click on "Current Students", then click on "Exams" on the left hand menu bar. On the exams page under the heading "Provisional Exam Results" click on the link to bring you to the login page!

Today is Internet Safety Day!

"Your digital footprint is your new resume" (Ross Cooper)

Have a listen to this short video and see if you agree...

Interrogating the evidence!

It's Day 4.  Time to really think critically about the sources of information you are going to include in your assignment.

Daniel and Joanna are interviewing witnesses about the crime.  Sometimes it can be hard to stick to the question at hand.  Daniel reminds Joanna not to stray off the topic...

Reading academic sources can be challenging.  Students need to develop strategies to help them decide what to read and ensure they understand the information as they read it.  This episode looks at a couple of those strategies.

Click here to read Episode 4 on Moodle! 

Maintaining a chain of evidence!

It's Day 3 and time to think about keeping track of the sources of information you are going to use in your assignments.

Daniel is collecting evidence at the crime scene.  Joanna reminds him of the importance of keeping track so that they can include it in their crime report.

As you start to search for information for your assignment, remember to keep track of your sources.  You will need them for your reference list and to avoid plagiarism!  RefWorks can help you to keep track of your sources and to generate your reference list.

RefWorks is especially useful if your department in ITB has its own referencing guidelines.

Click here to read Episode 3 in Moodle! 

Finding evidence for your assignments!

It's Day 2 of Daniel and Joanna's search for clues! 

Daniel and Joanna are at the scene of the crime.  The amount of evidence is overwhelming.  How will they find the relevant evidence?

As you search for information for your assignment, you will see that information is everywhere.  However, as Daniel points out, there are specialised tools to help us find the information that is suitable for academic assignments.  These include the library's One Search and Google Scholar.

Remember, the judge (or your lecturer) won't be persuaded by poor quality sources.

Click here to read Episode 2 on Moodle! 

Investigating academic assignments: an adventure in eight parts!

If you are starting an assignment this week, follow Daniel and Johanna's adventures to uncover how the solving a mystery echoes the steps involved in tackling a college assignment! 

Daniel is working on his assignment in the library.  Johanna arrives with news and soon Daniel is daydreaming about a campus mystery...

Before you get started on your academic assignment, you need to make sense of what you are being asked to do.  It is tempting to just jump in, but this episode will help you to recognise the content words, doing words, time words and place words in your assignment.

Making these steps first will save you time later and help you avoid dead end leads!

Click here to read the first episode on Moodle! 

Google Art Project

Google have been adapting their street-view technology to the art world. The Google Art Project is partnering with 17 international art galleries to allow online viewers to navigate their hallowed halls and to view their artwork in high resolution. Among the galleries are the MoMA New York, Tate Britain and The Palace of Versailles.

Van Gogh’s The Starry Night, Bellini’s St Francis in the Desert and Kupka’s The Cathedral are among the paintings that are presented in intricate detail. It feels as though you are in the room. Learn some more about how this fascinating project came together with this behind the scenes footage: