Tallman hijacks Writer-in-residence gig at DKIT

Hello all,

Ferdia Mac Anna here.

I am the newly appointed writer-in-residence at DKIT.

I am tall with invisible hair and peculiar outlook on Life.

Also, I believe that writing is a wonderful and creative and important endeavor and I am keen to encourage writers as well as beginning writers and indeed any kind of writer, to express themselves as much as possible whenever possible.

I write a Blog which you can visit by clicking here http://ferdiamacanna.blogspot.ie/

Happy Christmas
Ferdia

At busy times ...

As you will probably be only too aware, it’s assignment time and the Library is very busy at the moment. There are some things you can do to ease the pressure on yourself if you are finding it difficult to get a computer or a place to study:

1. The Training Room will be open at busy times if it is not otherwise in use. Just walk in and log on to a computer. 
2. Book a computer on the library catalogue page. Then collect your booking confirmation at the library desk. Remember, computers can only be booked for one hour, at least one hour in advance. 10 computers on each floor can be booked. 
3. Book a seminar room. The Anaverna and the Ferdia Presentation Room upstairs can both be booked for one hour at the library desk. Try and do this well in advance to avoid disappointment. 

You can also save time and avoid queues by:

1. Using the self-issue machine to check out books. Swipe your card, then the book using the DkIT Library barcode. Push the book so that it touches the back of the machine and desensitizes properly. You should get a receipt at the end showing the books you’ve checked out. 
2. Renewing your books online on the library catalogue page. If you encounter problems renewing, phone us at 042 9370310 and we will hopefully be able to help. 

Remember to save your work regularly if you are working on a computer. Computers left unattended for more than 15 minutes will automatically log out and any belongings left at them will be cleared. This is in the interests of fairness to make sure that everyone who needs to gets a chance to use a computer.

Information Literacy Prize Presentation

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The Information Literacy Prize presentation took place last Tuesday in DkIT Library. The event, which was attended by DkIT President Denis Cummins as well as other members of staff and students at the Institute, saw Oksana Redina win the prize for her excellent paper on social care students’ attitudes to ageing. Fourth year students Lawrence Torris and Yeukai Chikwamba were impressive runners up. 

The Library in DkIT has been giving training in information literacy skills for over a decade. The Information Literacy Prize is a new initiative set up both to recognize students for their information literacy skills and to allow Library staff to find out more about how information literacy skills are being applied by students. Students were invited to submit papers already created as part of their course which were examined from the viewpoint of information literacy by an assessment panel including Library staff and external assessors Ellen Breen, Sub Librarian in Information Literacy (DCU Library), and Dr. John Dallat (CELT, DkIT).

Oksana Redina, a fourth year social care student, won the first prize of an iPad for her paper on social care students’ attitudes to older people and the ageing process. Oksana is now about to graduate from DkIT. Prizes were also awarded to Yeukai Chikwamba, a fourth year science student, for her paper on probiotics, and to Lawrence Torris, also in fourth year, for his paper on exercise. All three projects evidence critical thinking skills and showcase their authors’ abilities and potential in their chosen fields. 

DkIT President Denis Cummins when awarding the prize noted that two of the prize winners are international students and spoke of the huge contribution that international students have made to DkIT.

Changes in the library

Welcome back everyone!

We’ve made a few changes to the library space over the summer. The first floor has been redesigned as a social study area, with more tables for groups of two or three people to study. To accomodate this, half the book collection, from shelf number 500 on, is located on Floor Two. You’ll notice that the Mount Oliver collection has been moved to the rolling shelves in front of the Journal Archives on Floor Two. Student Projects/ Theses are now to be found in this area as well.

If you want to work in a group of more than three people, you should go to one of the study rooms. Some of the fixed pcs have been moved from these rooms back out into the open areas in order to free up the rooms for group study. New signs on the study room doors give you all the necessary information about the rooms, including the strength of the WiFi signal in each room.

Floor Two is for quiet and individual study. Whispered conversation is okay in this area, but the silent study area (the semicircular area upstairs) should be just that!

See our opening hours for the year here.

Any questions? Just ask a member of staff - we’ll be happy to help.

Welcome all first years!

Going to college for the first time is a big step, no matter how old you are. There’s a lot to learn, new people to meet, even finding your way around the campus is a challenge at first. The library will be here to help you all the way through your course of study at DkIT, so come and visit us!

The library holds collections of books, theses, journals, DVDs, CDs. There are computers on both floors of the library and WiFi as well as points where you can plug in laptops. There are spaces for individual study and for those who want to work in groups. We give training on topics including how to search library resources, how to get started on your assignments and how to reference material – your lecturer will book sessions for the class. Meanwhile there is always a member of library staff on duty at the Library and Information Desk ready to answer your questions, or you can email your query to Library@dkit.ie.

We wish everyone starting at DkIT the best of luck with your studies.

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined."
Henry David Thoreau

Bloomsday 2012

“Dead! says Alf. He's no more dead than you are.”
[Ulysses – Cyclops episode]

The sixteenth of June is Bloomsday, the day on which James Joyce’s Ulysses is set. The novel follows Stephen Dedalus and Leopold Bloom around the streets of Dublin so Bloomsday is usually celebrated by tours of Joyce’s Dublin among other events.

Copyright restrictions on Joyce’s work were in place up to the end of last year. Joyce’s heir, his grandson Stephen James Joyce, guarded the copyright fiercely, refusing permission to stage events as innocuous as public readings of Joyce’s work. Joyce afficionados are therefore not mourning the passing of copyright, however much a wake for the copyright last January in Oslo might suggest otherwise.

This year, then, the celebrations are set to be bigger and better than ever. Anybody who wants can get up and read a passage from Joyce or stage a production.  The downside is that the Joyce memorabilia industry has also been unleashed, though Joycean tat might be viewed as a small price to pay for copyright freedom.  What do you think?  Before answering that you should read your free copy of Ulysses online courtesy of the Gutenberg project...

Poetry Launch

Dundalk-based poet Barbara Smith is launching her second poetry collection, The Angel’s Share, at 6 pm on May 23^rd at the Basement Gallery, Dundalk Town Council - everyone’s welcome.  Barbara has previously given creative writing classes in DkIT Library and we’d like to wish her every success with the new collection. 

If you’re interested you should also check out the poetry collection in the library which features local poets like Vona Groarke as well as Irish poets from further afield including Heaney, Kinsella, Kennelly and Meehan.  During the academic year DkIT Library is the venue for a writers’ group meeting on Thursdays at 7.30pm and poetry readings are a periodic occurrence … we’ll keep you posted.