PCC Library Blog - Research Guides at Pitt Community College

Here's quick run-down of what's new in the Library for April 2024. For all the details, visit our What's New page.

Children's Books Online

The Comics Plus database now includes a huge collection of children's picture books. Topics include weather, using American Sign Language, diverse families, healthy lifestyles, manners, fiction, colors, cultural holidays, shapes, history, science, and much more.
NOTE: This database includes resources for all age levels, from Pre-K through adult.

New Print Books

Many new books have come in through our leased book program through McNaughton. They are currently on display on the 1st floor across from the Circulation Desk. Come check these out before they disappear. From romance to biography, there's a little bit of everything included in this latest haul.

Flipster Digital Magazines

You can literally flip through the pages (online) of the latest issues of National Geographic, Entrepreneur, Popular Mechanics, and Consumer Reports.

Artificial Intelligence: AI

AI ChatGPT, OpenAI, GPT-4...and the list goes on. What's all of this stuff anyway, and how can you learn more about it? That's easy! Visit our new Artificial Intelligence research guide and you'll find more than you ever wanted to know.

Dogwood Digital Library

This resource is shared among many NC Community College libraries across the state and new e-books and audiobooks are constantly being added. Learn more about Dogwood Digital and how you can access this growing collection of fiction (and even some nonfiction!) titles. Additionally, you'll find a growing number of comics, graphic novels, and manga as well.

Recent Posts

Accessing The Chronicle of Higher Education

Update: PCC Library DOES NOT CURRENTLY SUBSCRIBE to The Chronicle of Higher Education (November 2024). Access Online via Library DatabasesAcademic Search Complete (EBSCOhost) and Opposing Viewpoints (Gale) include access to full-text articles from the Chronicle of Higher Education between 1999, and the present. However, there is a publisher imposed 30-day embargo on adding full text to these databases, so you will not be able to access the most recent issues. Use Academic Search CompleteQuick Link: Go directly to the Academic Search Complete Chronicle of Higher Ed. Publication page (view by year, volume, issue, etc.).Step-by-step instructions for getting to the publication page:Go to the PCC Library homepage (opens in a new window).Click Databases.Click the letter "A" then choose Academic Search Complete. You will be prompted to login with your myPittCC username and password.Once the database is open, click Publications in the top navigation bar.Skip the top search box on the next page. Look for the text box in the Publications section.Type Chronicle of Higher Education in the search box.If not already selected, click the radial button next to Alphabetical. Click Browse.Click the link for Chronicle of Higher Education. From this next page, you can choose to view articles by year, issue, etc. There is also a Search within this Publication link that will allow you to search by keyword.The Full Text section lets you know what dates are available as full text and whether or not there are any publisher embargoes. Use Opposing ViewpointsQuick Link: Go directly to the Opposing Viewpoints Chronicle of Higher Education Publication Page (view by year, volume, issue, etc.).Step-by-step instructions for getting to the publication page:Go to the PCC Library homepage (opens in a new window).Click Databases.Click the letter "O" then choose Opposing Viewpoints. You will be prompted to enter your myPittCC username and password.Click Advanced Search.Click Publication Search.In the search box, start typing: The Chronicle of Higher Education. Click the title when you see it appear in the drop-down menu, or continue typing the complete title in the Publication Search box.Click Search.Click the link for The Chronicle of Higher Education.Click the drop-down menu to view issues from a particular year.Use the Search Within Publication box to search for articles on a topic. If you can't find the article that you need, or you are having trouble navigating the database, please do not hesitate to ask a librarian....

Helene Recovery Resources - Complimentary Access

EBSCO, a publisher of many of our online library databases, has provided free access to several of their resources to NC LIVE libraries in order to support those who are on the ground and working toward recovery in the mountains of North Carolina. Simply click the links below to be routed to an EBSCO page providing access to each group of resources. No password or login is needed and access will be provided as long as necessary.Clinical ResourcesDynaMed: Evidence-based drug and disease information and expert guidance for trusted answers at the point of care. Dynamic Health: Nursing skills and clinical resources for nurses and health professionals.GIDEON (Global Infectious Disease and Epidemiology Network): Evidence-based resources for diagnosis, treatment, and teaching of tropical and infectious diseases, epidemiology, and microbiology. Disaster Recovery ResourcesBusiness Continuity & Disaster Recovery Reference Center: A full-text database covering all aspects of business continuity and disaster recovery (BC/DR), including risk evaluation, emergency preparedness and crisis communications. Home Improvement Source: A browsable DIY resource with full-text content from leading home improvement magazines and reference books, plus a collection of images not found anywhere else online. ...

This Librarian on A.I.

There’s always something to learn…about everything, all the time, and A.I. is the latest thing we are expected to master. But how? Who has time? Do we just jump right in, or take our time? In either case, here are few things I’ve come across just in the past couple of weeks that have been helpful to me – someone who is only just beginning to stick their toes into the vast ocean of AI “stuff.” What do college students need to know about AI? Read the Student Guide to Artificial Intelligence by Elon Univ. and the AAC&U. It’s brief and to the point, which makes it very manageable for all types of learners. It has a CC BY license, which means you can use it all day long for your classes!StudentguidetoAI.org (web version) Download the PDF If you only have time to read one section of this guide… The Essential AI “How-To” Manual should be required reading for all– students and instructors alike. There is a lot of good advice here on how to use generative AI for various things, but most importantly, it briefly outlines Generative AI Cautions – all from an academic perspective. And on that note... if you don’t know how to fact-check, that is now an essential skill. What is A.I. trained on? This interactive article from The Washington Post helped me wrap my head around this in that it provides very concrete examples: Inside the Secret List of Websites that Make AI like ChatGPT Sound Smart by Kevin Schaul, Szu Yu Chen, and Nitasha Tiku (April 2024). How do I distinguish AI hype vs. what it can actually do? Aspen Digital has launched an open educational resource (OER) designed to teach students (and the rest of us) how the media portrays AI-related technologies. There’s a detailed lesson plan along with educational primers:Interpreting AI in the News: A Media Literacy Plan A.I. 101 Intro to Generative A.I.This section on How to Talk About A.I. was very enlightening! AI Snake Oil is an online newsletter (with a book on the way) by two Princeton guys who are passionate about debunking AI hype. They have a checklist of Eighteen Pitfalls to Beware of in AI Journalism. What AI tools should I try first?There are so many AI tools it’s hard to know where to start, but this librarian has decided to play around with these for right now: Perplexity: Free tool that can be described as a cross between an internet search engine and generative AI. There is a pro version too, but the free version does plenty. It’s highly recommended by library-folk. Semantic Scholar: Free, AI-driven search and discovery tools, and open resources for the global research community. It’s not for general searching, but if you create an account, you have some neat research tools. MagicSchool – A high school teacher told me about this one and it’s great for all kinds of education things. You must have a .edu email to sign up, but it has a lot of built-in prompts that are specifically useful for teachers (K-12 and College) and students. Copilot: PCC provides access to Copilot 365. To use it… Open the Copilot homepage (https://copilot.microsoft.com). Click "Sign In" and choose "school or work account." Log in using your myPittCC credentials. Important Info from PCC IT: This version of Copilot DOES use your data to train the LLM for this tenant (and the OpenAI LLM too due to their business connections). So, if you log in and utilize Copilot AI, it should have access to the same data YOU have access to.  Why log in? Logging in with your PCC credentials gives you access to everything that comes with a paid subscription to ChatGPT4o (audio generators, visual generators, agents, etc.). Well, that’s probably more than you wanted to know. I went on an AI bender earlier this year and created an Artificial Intelligence Library Guide, but things change so fast it could literally be updated every day of the week. Have fun discovering new things! If you find something cool, let us know about it. Angela Davis Instruction & Web Services Librarian, PCC ...

Atlantic Monthly in Flipster

You can now view entire issues with images of the The Atlantic Monthly online through the Library's subscription to Flipster. It includes full issues from May 2014 to the present. FlipsterView digitized versions of select magazines: Atlantic Monthly, National Geographic, Entrepreneur, Popular Mechanics, and Consumer Reports.Need help using Flipster? Take a look at our Flipster explainer page. ...

New for April 2024

Children's Books Online

New Print Books

Flipster Digital Magazines

Artificial Intelligence: AI

Dogwood Digital Library