How to use Zotero to manage your citations!

If you are writing a paper and trying to keep track of your references and citations, you have probably tried a citation tool to help. There are several different options that we highlight in our How To Guide for Citation Tools. In this post we wanted to highlight one you may not have tried yet – Zotero!

Zotero is a free to use open source program that allows you to easily save, organize, and cite your sources. It includes an application that you can download to your laptop as well as a browser plug-in called Zotero Connector.

Zotero Connector detects research and you can click it any time you find a useful source to save it – whether it’s a newspaper article or a scholarly work you found in one of the Library’s databases.

Zotero Connector Icon

Zotero Connector Icon

Once you save a source, you can find it in the application. There you can organize all your sources by project or topic. Zotero also integrates directly into Word and GoogleDocs so you can easily create in-text citations and a works cited/reference page.

Screenshot of Zotero Application

Screenshot of Zotero Application

Another perk to Zotero is that it is free to use for everyone – which means you can continue to use it after you graduate!

Find more information about Zotero in this handy Guide to Zotero or visit the Zotero website. If you need help getting started with Zotero, they provide an easy quick start guide.

 

Introduction to Academic Video Online (AVON)

Academic Video Online, AVON for short is a video subscription database that students and faculty have access to through the UAA Consortium Library’s Database webpage: 

Within AVON you can browse preselected channels or search using keywords by clicking on the magnifying glass icon found on the top of both the Homepage and the Channels page.

If you are familiar with Boolean Operators, you should review AVON’s General Platform Help page for Search Tips, because AVON does not follow typical Boolean Logic. 

If you would like to create personal playlists and clips, you must create a personal user account, click on the red account button located on the top right hand side of each AVON page. 

AVON is a great place to search for curated academic audiovisual content. While you are a student take advantage of this valuable and interesting resource. 

We love Punch the Monkey

If your heart hasn’t already been broken and healed by Punch, the abandoned baby Japanese macaque who is just doing his best and trying to fit in at a zoo in Ichikawa City Zoo, you’re in for a real emotional journey. When he first arrived at the zoo, he struggled with socializing and showed signs of anxiety from the isolation. To help him with his transition, zoo-keepers gave him an orangutan plushie which he took to very fondly – photos of him cuddling and carrying the plushie around the enclosure quickly went viral and the heart of the Internet was captured.

Happily, Punch has now been seen being groomed and held by one of the adult macaques – a wonderful development for his socialization with the other monkeys at the zoo! You can read the Ichikawa City Zoo’s update here (if you don’t read Japanese, click the “translate” button!)

You can find photos and read more about Punch here.

Want to learn more about the social dynamics of Japanese macaques? Check out this search or some of the articles highlighted below (be sure to be logged in for off-campus access or connected to campus WiFi before clicking links)!

Male–male social bonds predict tolerance but not coalition formation in wild Japanese macaques by Tatsuro Kawazoe

Social play among juvenile wild Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) strengthens their social bonds by Masaki Shimada and Cédric Sueur

Have more questions about macaques or another topic? Reach out to us at the Information & Research Help Desk!

Happy Spring Break, Seawolves!

If you are working on papers or projects this week, the Research Help Desk is still staffed to help! We are open every day, with the exception of Friday, March 13th. Check the hours of the library, the Research Help Desk and other departments here: https://libcal.consortiumlibrary.org/hours/

Working on assignments from home? No problem – you can contact us by email, phone, text, or chat! Find more information on our Ask Us page: https://ask.consortiumlibrary.org/

If you’re doing research off-campus, don’t forget to log in for off-campus access to ensure you’re able to access all the articles and databases we are subscribed to. Log in using your university credentials: https://login.consortiumlibrary.idm.oclc.org/login

Wishing you all a restful and relaxing break!

Wuthering Heights

However you feel about Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Wuthering Heights, there is no denying that this classic novel is in the minds and on the lips of almost everyone right now. If your curiosity is piqued and you’d like to explore the text or its themes further, we have what you need at the Consortium Library!

We will be hosting a panel and community discussion featuring faculty from the UAA English Department both in person in Library Room 307 and on Zoom – check out the flyer below and scroll down to explore resources on your own.

Want to go back to where it all began and get your hands on the source text? There are several print copies available through the catalog. Browse copies and find an available one here (and remember that you can request a book from another library by clicking “place hold”).

Cover of Wuthering Heights
This particular copy includes historical context, background on the Brontë sisters, contemporary reviews from 1847 and 1850, and modern criticism.

Wuthering Heights is now part of the public domain, so you can also download an eBook copy to read on your phone, computer, or eReader from Project Gutenberg.

Let’s dive deeper!

Twentieth century interpretations of Wuthering Heights : a collection of critical essays, edited by Thomas Vogler, explores various aspects of the text. Through these essays, you’ll read several different viewpoints that dive into the structure of the novel, its major themes, and offer perspectives on the work as whole.

Wuthering Heights: the writing in the margin by Maggie Berg can serve as a reading companion and will guide you through some of the historical context and main characters and themes. This would be helpful for both first-time readers and re-readers.

Romantic vision and the novel by Jay Clayton explores the role of the romantic visionary moment (a moment of transcendence) in the narrative structures of English novels. The author dives into a different text in each chapter – chapter 4 is devoted to Catherine and Heathcliff’s relationship (and expression thereof) in Wuthering Heights. He also studies Mansfield Park, Clarissa, and Little Dorritt, among others.

You can also read this thesis by a UAA Masters Student from 1997: The text of subversion: mythic disruption in Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights by Sheri Denison. The thesis explores mythical interpretations of the world created by the text and argues that it “emerges as a counter-cultural, subversive narrative, a narrative seeking the origins of chaos as well as civilization, and the origins of individual identity as well as social identity.”

Charlotte and Emily Bronte by Tom Winnifrith and Edward Chitham is a short text that gives an overview of the lives of the most well known of the Brontes. The complete poems of Emily Jane Brontë presents 200 of Bronte’s poems in one place. The volume was compiled posthumously by C. W. Hatfield.

Find other texts about Emily Brontë here and about Wuthering Heights specifically here.

Heathcliff’s character has always inspired debate and conversation – it’s no wonder that the film’s casting and portrayal of him would do the same. The articles and books below explore aspects of Heathcliff’s character, including his motivations and racialization. (Be sure to be logged in for off-campus access or connected to campus WiFi before clicking links)

The relationship between Cathy and Heathcliff has drawn discussion since the publishing of the text. Is this the greatest love story ever told? How else might we interpret their relationship? These themes are explored in the following articles (and you can find many more beyond these!)

A couple other articles I thought looked interesting are included below:

Want to watch other adaptations of Wuthering Heights? There are several! These films are available on DVD through the library system – you may have to place a hold on some of them:

If you’re interested in learning more about Wuthering Heights, or any other topic, get in touch with us at the Information and Research Help Desk – we’re always happy to help!