Cooking at Perkins May 29, 2007
Posted by Library Answer Person in : Uncategorized , add a commentWhy is it that the thermostat levels at our “new and improved” Perkins library seem to be permanently stuck at “boiling hot” regardless of the season of the year or the temperature prevailing outside? Each time I step into Perkins, I feel I am taking my life into my own hands for fear I will either melt or spontaneously combust. Can anything be done about this? Is there anyone whom I can contact to suggest that perhaps it would be a good idea to turn down the heat just wee little bit, so as to make the library a more conducive place to study? Or should I just resign myself to the whim of the library gods and make the best of a bad situation by basting myself with butter and bread-crumbs prior to visiting Perkins and turning myself into the world’s biggest Shake-and-Bake entree?
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: You’ve got me hungry. It’s probably best to live with the temperature situation, since during the ongoing renovations the HVAC systems will be unbalanced. Although I notice some warm days (and some cold days) in the building, I haven’t really noticed the extremes that you mention except occasionally. Temperature differentials will be exacerbated if you’re in a closed room (e.g., group study room or study carrel).
It’s possible that the worst days were before the chilled water from central facilities was turned back on, but when it was hot outside. There can be problems when it’s hot out in the cooler months and the chilled water isn’t flowing, or when it’s cool in the warmer months and the hot water isn’t flowing (this might make it really cold inside).
Vending machine May 29, 2007
Posted by Library Answer Person in : Uncategorized , add a commentY’all should install a vending machine that sells highlighters, pens, pencils, note cards, paper clips, caffeine pills, etc. I think it would be really helpful and an economic boon for the library
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: We had one of these in Perkins back before the construction of Bostock and the renovation of the first floor of Perkins. I’ll pass on your suggestion to those who make decisions on these sorts of things. However, I don’t think the library made a lot of money on this.
eye-ware May 16, 2007
Posted by Library Answer Person in : Uncategorized , add a commentIf i had never worn glasses, would my eye sight be as bad as it is now? Or would I have at least not gotten bad not so fast?
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: According to the American College of Ophthalmology, on their web page entitled “Eye Care Facts and Myths: A Closer Look,” it’s just an old wives’ tale that glasses make your eyes degrade faster. To quote them:
“Wearing eyeglasses will cause you to become dependent on them.” True or False?
False. Eyeglasses are used to correct blurry vision. Since clear vision with eyeglasses is preferable to uncorrected vision, you may find that you want to wear your eyeglasses more often. Although it may feel as if you are becoming dependent on your eyeglasses, you are actually just getting used to seeing clearly.
http://www.medem.com/medlb/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZ8BUZTYIE&sub_cat=0
mobile phones May 16, 2007
Posted by Library Answer Person in : Uncategorized , add a commentIf I dial 911 on my mobile phone, which 911 does it go to? The one from my area code or the one near where my phone actually is in the country?
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: The system knows which “cell” you’re in (which receiving antenna you’re going through), so it should connect you with the 911 operator near where you currently are, not across the country.
Furthermore, the next level of sophistications currently being implemented will automatically send the fairly precise location of your phone using GPS and/or triangulation between cell towers, but since implementation depends on the technological modernity of your phone, the local 911 service, and perhaps the cell towers, it’s still very important to tell the operator where you are.
Citations May 16, 2007
Posted by Library Answer Person in : Uncategorized , add a commentWhen doing up a bibliography, when do you use the city with state? In some cases it seems obvious not to bother to cite the state = Washington:Smithsonian Institution Press. It also seems obvious when the publisher is a university = Gainesville:University of Florida Press. However, I have seen it cited like this: Gainesville, FL:University of Florida Press. Is there some rule about when to cite the city plus state?
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: In general, you can get away with leaving out the state if it’s a “well-known” city, like New York or San Francisco. That’s fuzzy, but has always seemed to be the case. The examples that we give at http://library.duke.edu/research/citing/workscited/index.html show “New York” and “Chicago,” but “Greenwich, CT” regardless of the style being used. But you should still consult the particular style manual that you’re supposed to be using (MLA, APA, Turabian, etc.) for guidance to see if/how they address this.
Don’t quote AP on this, since it’s often forgotten, but the bottom line is that the citation is supposed to provide sufficient information for a reader to look up your source, so just try to keep that in mind.
