Triboro News

I love the Thanksgiving Holiday.  It reminds me of how much I have to be grateful for. 

I am grateful for the RMCAD community and all the camaraderie around campus.  I am grateful for the occasional cat sighting.  I am grateful for library books and the SLC.  I'm grateful for all the students.  

As a holiday gift to you all, I would like to share a pie crust recipe.  I don't remember how long we have had this recipe in the family, but I'm grateful for it too.  My mom and I have always marveled at how it comes together to make a lovely, flaky crust.  This year I will be making pumpkin and mince pies.  How will you be celebrating?

Are you one of our many students whose first language is not English?  Maybe you would like to do a little research in your first language. 

You can!  If you use the Ebsco Databases available through the student portal, you can easily chose another language to search in.

When you enter the database look up in the right corner:

There are many options besides English to choose from.  The results won't all be in your chosen language, but you will be able to use your language to do the actual searching. 

Contact the library at Library@rmcad.edu if you have any trouble navigating to the Ebsco Databases.

It’s a weekend afternoon, and you’re facing a Mount Everest-sized mountain of homework that’s due on Monday. Lunch was four hours ago. Suddenly, your tummy starts to rumble, a familiar, gurgling sound that gradually crescendos into a full-blown earthquake. You try to cough and shift in your seat to stifle the noise, but it’s too late: everyone within a three-mile radius has heard.

Snacks can significantly improve the quality of your study sessions (and stop embarrassing stomach growling in its tracks). Instead of grabbing leftover Halloween candy, however, try eating foods that will keep you energized and won’t induce sugar crashes. Check out our list of favorite DIY study snacks below!

*If you’re allergic to nuts, try sunflower seed butter or tahini (sesame paste).

Dates with nut butter 

Dates are sweet and buttery; try topping them with a spoonful of almond butter or tahini for a decadent (but nutritious) treat!

Celery with nut butter (or cream cheese) 

The crunchiness of celery pairs well with the creaminess of a nut butter or cream cheese. 

Bananas or apples with nut butter 

You can’t go wrong with nut butter and fruit!

Carrots and hummus 

A classic combination. Grocery stores have many different types of hummus, but you can also try making your own. 

Pickles 

Bread and butter, dill, spicy, cornichons—the possibilities are endless when it comes to pickles! 

Hard-boiled eggs 

Sprinkle some salt and pepper on a hard-boiled egg. 

Apple slices with yogurt dip 

Mix plain yogurt with nut butter and cinnamon, and voilà! You have a tasty, protein-rich dip for some apple slices. 

DIY trail mix 

Instead of munching on store-bought trail mix, create your own! Go to your grocery store’s bulk aisle and grab any nuts, seeds, dried fruit, or chocolate that strike your fancy. 

Toast 

Try topping a slice of toast with avocado and salt, honey and butter, or hummus and tomatoes.

Chocolate 

Chocolate is a great study snack. Go for the dark chocolate, as it contains more antioxidants. 

Dried fruit 

Dried fruit doesn’t just have to be raisins and prunes. Try coconut, dried pineapple, and banana chips for a tropical twist. 

Grapes and blueberries 

Any type of fruit makes a good snack, but because of their size, grapes and blueberries are particularly fun to eat when you’re hunkering down for a long study session. 

Tomatoes and mozzarella

In the mood for something savory? Try tossing some cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. These are fun to eat with a toothpick!

A family size bag of Cool Ranch Doritos 

Not particularly nutritious, but sometimes it's just what the doctor ordered. 

Want to share some of your own favorite study snacks? Comment down below!

Back when I was in library school the internet was in its infancy and Google didn’t exist yet!  

Researchers still had a lot of access to information but it was largely in books and journals. We used paper indexes which were tedious and time consuming.  Electronic database searches were done by professionals through a dial-up system that charged a lot of money for every term we typed in. We had to plan our searches carefully on paper.  We used what is called “controlled vocabulary” to make our searches as direct and efficient as possible. Each database would have a thesaurus of acceptable controlled vocabulary.  

Databases have maintained this rigid structure even though we don’t pay per search anymore. They are more flexible than they were once, but they still use controlled vocabulary to make searching more efficient.

The problem is that internet searching allows what we can “Natural Language” or the kind of language you speak. We have all become very accustomed to asking the internet a question.  An internet search might look like “show me paintings by van gogh.” In a database you want to leave out the informality. 

Also, unlike internet searching, you want to separate different ideas.  In Ebsco searching, put individual terms in their own search boxes. You will get a better result set. 

Don’t be anxious about using the library databases, just remember that the language you use is important and can affect the results of your search.