Commons Knowledge

Steve Gamblin has been with UNBSJ since 2005.

As Manager of Network & Communications he helps ensure that you have Internet access on campus and that your personal files held in Netstorage are safe and secure.

Before coming to UNBSJ, Steve worked as a systems consultant and instructor for CGS and as the Information Technology manager for school districts 6 and 8.

When he’s not at work, he enjoys spending time with family, watching horror movies (he recommends Donnie Darko [2001] and the films of Clive Barker), playing sports (you’ll often see him at the campus gym), and helping coach his son’s hockey team.

When he was young, Steve wanted to be an NHL star when he grew up. Thankfully for all of us, he changed his mind and decided to be a technology superstar instead.

The imaginative folks in Australia have created a great tradition, they have declared Valentine's Day "Love Your Library Day". Since we'll use any excuse for a party we've stolen the idea and are hosting our own "Love Your Library Day" event on Thursday, February 12 in the Learning Commons. Bring your sweetheart over to enjoy hot chocolate, fruit punch and some treats. The fun starts at 10:30 am, and everyone is welcome, hope to see you there!

In the spirit of our upcoming “Love Your Library Day” we want to hear what book you love, one that you could read over and over again. Is it a murder mystery or a historical drama? Or maybe it’s a book of poetry or Stephen Kings latest thriller? Email us your most loved book (and a short explanation on why you love it) to wcl@unb.ca. Everyone who responds before Thursday Feb 12th will be entered in a draw for a $10.00 UNBSJ Bookstore Gift Certificate.

Have you seen the above symbol when searching e-journals and wondered just what that was? It is the UNB Resolver, designed to save you time and effort when searching for electronic journal articles. The resolver will search UNB’s large collection of licensed full text e-resources at the same time you search the on-line indexes and abstracts. It works behind the scenes to see if UNB holds the article in our licensed software. With the UNB Resolver you don’t have limit yourself to the articles with a direct link to a full-text PDF file; the resolver will look at all our databases for you and let you know where else you can find it. When you click on the UNB Resolver logo you will either be given a link to the article or receive a notice letting you know that it is not in UNB Library holdings. You can still ordered the article through Document Delivery, and if you choose to, the resolver will fill out the form for you (though you might want to check Quest first to see if we have the article in our periodical holdings). For even more information on the UNB Resolver talk to the Research Help Desk Staff.

Congratulations to Stephanie Doucette, the latest winner of a $10.00 UNBSJ Bookstore gift certificate. Stephanie let us know that the book she loves the most is The Book of Negroes. We’ll have another contest next week, so enter for your chance to take home the prize.

Are you familiar with our Enhanced Subject Guides? You can find them on the Library’s home page and they can make your research more efficient and effective. Our Librarians and Reference staff have compiled key resources for many fields of research at UNB; there is everything from Anthropology to Writing, and lots in between. Just choose your topic from the list provided and you will be given lists of Key Resources, Related Resources, Academic Journals, Terms to use when searching Quest, Related Internet Sites and much more, all specifically for your area of study. They are a great place to start any of your research projects.

For the past 25 years the the Freedom of Expression Committee has organized Freedom to Read Week. It is an annual event that encourages Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom, which is guaranteed them under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Check out the Freedom to read display at the Ward Chipman Library to see some of the books that have been banned over the years. Or go to the Freedom to Read web page for more information.

Have you ever schlepped across campus only to find the computer lab full when you got there? Use Lab Display next time to see how many computers are available from anywhere on campus. Not only will you see how full the computers labs are but you will see how many laptops are available at the Ward Chipman Library Circulation Desk, and what time the next laptops are due to be returned. In addition, you can search for labs containing certain hardware (e.g. DVD-burner) or software (e.g. Dreamweaver).

Did you know that you can search two or more library databases at the same time? A tool called SingleSearch (no, it isn’t a dating service), lets you send keywords or author names or titles to different databases, and then view a single, combined list of records from all the databases that match your words. This can save a lot of time, since you don’t have to repeat searches in one database after another to get a list of the best and latest articles and books on your topic. SingleSearch allows users to search multiple electronic resources in two ways: through the Subject Guides which provide access to pre- determined subject-related databases,or through the "SingleSearch Interface" which offers the opportunity to make individual selections from more than 100 options. The choice is yours.