WorldCat Mobile app now in iPhone App Store

WorldCat iPhone

iPhone users, rejoice. Now you can find Ringling College library materials through WorldCat on your iPhone or iPod Touch, wherever you are. The WorldCat Mobile app is now available for download from the iPhone App Store. Non-iPhone users can view the iPhone App Store in iTunes.

What the heck is WorldCat, you ask?  They are a website that connects you to library materials in over 100,000 libraries around the world!

Research Guides in the Library!

Feeling a little lost?

Have you ever walked into the library and stoped in your tracks, wondering which way to turn, where to look next, or what to even start looking for?  It’s more common than you might think.  Research isn’t always as easy as we would like it to be, but fortunately there’s help!

The library’s team of research consultants has put together guides on various subjects in all majors!  These research guides are a great jumping off point for your library experience.  Covering a wide range of subjects, including broad guides on entire majors, to more specific guides on certain areas of interest, each guide also has a smaller list of some related subjects that you might find useful!  The guides give suggested search strategies for their subjects, key terms to use in databases, examples that can be found in all areas of the library including reference and periodicals, as well as selected sources to search for information.

If you’re ever wondering where to begin, or just feel like learning a little more about your major, give our research guides a shot!  Printed copies can be found in the library, or you can click here and use the library’s website to search through the available guides.

Bri Meyer, 4/2009

Library Insider: Artist Book Display

Artist Book Display

It’s that time of the year again. The special, magical period of the semester when everything on earth is due and you have less than two weeks to do it. Fortunately, when the stress is really piling on, you can come to the library for a change of scenery. Right now is an especially great time to visit, as the library is currently exhibiting an awesome display of books from Patrick Lindhart’s Spring 2009 Artist’s Books class. Students in this class were assigned to create books in a series of three and each student seems to have answered the topic in a unique fashion. The contents of each book vary; some contain illustrations, some prints, some have excellent examples of typography and much more. Come check out the exhibit yourself, take a break and get inspired for all the work you have to finish in the next two weeks!

New Book Review: Life, in Pictures

Said to be the closest thing to an autobiography that graphic novelist Will Eisner ever produced, this compilation includes three stories that could be standalones as well as a couple other stories and some additional character study sketches. The three stories are dramatizations that read like movies—engaging, wonderfully written, beautifully drawn and graphically cinematic. They certainly don’t feel like a celebrity recounting the details of his past. Actually, this is largely because Eisner doesn’t talk much about himself in them: he only includes references to his career in two stories: “The Day I Became a Professional” (placed at the end of the book—only a few pages, but a fast and touching story) and “The Dreamer.”

If understanding Eisner’s life is particularly important to you, reading the introduction may illuminate how the stories relate to his life. If you just read the comics, you’ll be very entertained and get hints to his or his family’s experiences, but you won’t be able to tell the facts apart from the fiction. The interesting thing is Eisner never claimed this was his Life in Pictures.

Brett Wharton, 4/2009

New Book: Mythtym

Mythtym

New Book Review

Mythtym
Trinie Dalton

N8224.M6 M98 2008

I’ll admit, I decided to review Mythtym based solely on the fact that there is a cat dressed up as Dolly Parton on the cover. Immediately upon reading the word “unicorn” in the table of contents, however, I realized that the book would not disappoint. Mythtym addresses three extremely important topics in the format of a zine: mirrors, unicorns and werewolves. These topics are thoroughly fleshed out via multiple contributors with photos, essays, illustrations, comics, stills from film, and in one part, a Shelly Duvall stalker page complete with a Shelly Duvall crossword.

While not for everyone, all 203 pages of Mythtym are definitely an experience. Where it really shines, however, is in the articles presented. Some of the ones that sparkled include, “Unicorn Beer Garden,” an essay about the author’s particular fondness for the singer Brian Eno, “David Altmejd Talks About the Werewolf,” in which the artist discusses his famous werewolf head sculptures, and “Buck Fan Mail,” where mail addressed to Buck, the wolf from Call of the Wild, is presented.

The author, Trinie Dalton, describes the book as a “party on paper,” but I would have to disagree. Mythtym is not just a party, but a crazy carnival composed of multiple mediums made complete with a cat dressed up as Dolly Parton.

Danielle Tisdale, 4/2009

Library Insider: Gig Posters

Gig posters, or band advertisements advocating a specific time and place, are more than just promotion, they are an artistic medium utilized to express the artist’s opinion of the band. Stemming from the psychedelic posters prominent in the 60s, to the aggressive punk and new wave posters from the late 70s, gig posters have evolved artistically just as thoroughly as the music they advocated. Luckily for the library, Allen Novak has allowed his collection of awesome gig posters to be displayed for your viewing pleasure.
Most of his collection consists of numbered, limited edition silk-screened posters bought from online vendors, and while he may not be interested in all the bands in his collection, he is fascinated by the art produced for them. The silkscreen layer technique is the aspect that attracts him to these posters and I have to agree, it does create an awesome visual effect. After viewing some of these posters, I’m really interested in listening to the music behind them and I definitely saw a few that I wouldn’t mind having on my wall.
Interested in seeing more gig posters? Check out this book.

New Book: Directing the Story

New Book Review

Directing the Story
by Francis Glebas

PN 1995.9 .P7 G44 2009

“Francis Glebas was one of our most talented storyboard artists at Disney. He has a wealth of experience to share.”
–Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO, DreamWorks Animation SKG

In his new book, Directing the Story, Francis Glebas covers a wide range of topics pertaining to storytelling in the film industry, and gives expert advice on how to develop your own stories visually.  With his impressive background, and years of experience working as a story artist for Disney, he has a wealth of information to pass on to eager students.

While Glebas focuses mainly on the aspects of storytelling as they relate to directing, his book covers everything from the basics of where to begin with a good story, to structure and pacing, to shot composition.  With in-depth explanations and full pages of illustrations, Glebas lays out how a story should unfold visually, and how an audience reacts to those visuals.  Page after page of his own storyboards allow a separate story to unfold throughout the course of the book, instantly captivating his readers and further illustrating his points as he makes them.

If you’ve ever found yourself wondering where all the stories you saw as a child came from, and how they developed into the tales you grew to love, this is definitely the book for you.  Francis Glebas provides a fascinating, step-by-step guide to developing stories for the big screen.

Bri Meyer, 03/2009

Library Insider: Majors on Display

Painting Media Display

If you’ve been in the library anytime this week, you may have noticed the awesome media display clustered on top of tables across from circulation. If not, then you should definitely check it out. Assembled to spark the interest of prospective students on Admitted Student Day, the library has hand-selected fascinating books, movies and periodicals on various subjects and exhibited them according to relevant major.
While everything exhibited is congregated for the sake of display, the items displayed are definitely available for anyone to peruse through or check out. They will be up until the 6th of April, so come check out the exhibition and find something you’re interested in.