Info for Year 9 chemists!

Thanks Year 9s for coming to visit College and take part in the biofuels experiment. Here are some weblinks to help you research further:

http://www.dow.com/commitments/studies/fuelcell/how.htm
A simple animation that explains how fuel cells produce electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen to make water.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2006410004-2006410815,00.html
Brief notes on each alternative to petrol.

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/fleet/Vehicles/Alternativefuels/Alternativefuelsrefuellingmap/
Where to buy alternative fuels in the UK.

http://www.world-petroleum.org/education/atfuels/index.html
Detailed information about the chemical components of petrol ad alternative fuels.


http://claweb.cla.unipd.it/home/mcanapero/greenspeak/webtasks/wbfuture_car.htm
Resources to encourage students to investigate new alternatives to petrol or gas driven vehicles.

Hope you've had a good day with us! Keep in touch: email us if you've got any questions: library@blackpoolsixth.ac.uk

Infotrac. University researchers use this - and so can you!

Infotrac is a subscription-only online database of zillions of articles culled from lots of journals. Because it's paid for by the Library, we need to ensure only the people who are entitled to use it do so - and this is where Athens comes in.

Athens - www.athens.ac.uk - is a password system which you need to log into BEFORE you get to Infotrac. I sent you all an email with your username and password - but there are of course numpties who've deleted this email - I mean, DUH! Email me if you'd like me to reset your password.


Once you're logged in, select 'Thomson-Gale databases' from the Resources list, and you're there! You can search for articles in the newspaper OR journal articles bit. You can also email the articles to yourself, download them to your desktop, or print them. And it costs you nada!

Go and have a play around with Infotrac - it's great for Sociology, Law, Biology, Media - or in fact anything. If you need to find good research info, start at Infotrac! And remember Helen and Claire in the Library can help you use Infotrac. Banzaiiii!

Suggestion for Book Club

I thought I'd kick things off for the Book Club by suggesting the 'Maus' series by Art Spiegelman.

Here's a bit of background information:

Maus: A Survivor's Tale is a memoir by Art Spiegelman, presented as a graphic novel. It recounts the struggle of Spiegelman's father to survive the Holocaust as a Polish Jew and draws largely on his father's recollections of his experiences. The book also follows the author's troubled relationship with his father and the way the effects of war reverberate through generations of a family. In 1992 it won a Pulitzer Prize Special Award.

Have a read, see what you think. I wasn't really a fan of graphic novels before but reading this changed my whole interpretation of the genre!

Moving things around in the Library

Yep, things have changed a bit. An extra bit of shelf has been added on at the front of the Library to create a nice reading area, complete with a selection of light reads, the newspapers, and some last-minute revision stuff.

There's a complete set of the 'Quick Reads' series, so if there's an author you've never tried, this is a great way to sample a short story before moving on to something else. There's everything from Kerry Katona to Anfdy McNab, so there's something for everyone, and will take, oooh, about an hour to read (just right for sitting out on the grass at lunchtime....)


Behind this shelf is a study table for groupwork, or for working with mentors - make sure you don't miss an appointment with your mentor by turning up at the wrong bit....

The magazines, reference, and Staff Development things have all moved, too, so you need to double-check you know where all the stuff is.

Ta ta for now!