Bookish Resolutions for the New Year

Are you hoping to improve your reading goals in 2024? I’ve compiled a few simple ways to kickstart your reading habits in the New Year!

1. Join your local public library!

Public libraries are your best (and freest) friend! If you haven’t already, you can sign up for a Brooklyn, New York, or Queens Public Library card today!

2. Try audiobooks

Audiobooks still count as reading! Audible is super popular, and you can also find free audiobooks through your local library. I use the Libby app with the Brooklyn and New York Public Libraries.

3. Check out Goodreads to find honest reviews of books

Sometimes it’s nice to see other’s opinions on books you’re thinking of reading. It can save you from buying a book you won’t end up reading.

Goodreads is also great as many reviewers recommend similar books.

4. Reread a book you remember from school

Often we don’t appreciate the classics we read in high school. Revisiting old books can kickstart your reading journey.

5. Share books with friends

Starting or joining a book club can be overwhelming. Asking a friend for a good book recommendation is less intimidating and gives you someone you discuss the book with!

6. Start with short stories

Reading a 300-page book is daunting. Short story collections will give you the satisfaction of completing a story in a much shorter time frame.

You can find short stories on practically anything, from memoirs to sci-fi, so it’s perfect for any reader’s taste.

7. Remember that all books are books.

Don’t be embarrassed by your preferred genre! Some people may enjoy Dostoevsky, but if you’d rather read romance, do it! You’re still reading!

Happy 2024 and happy reading!

[Post by Emma Larson-Whittaker, library and outreach assistant, Starrett City]

Library Resources at Your Fingertips!

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Through the Touro Library website, you have access to many research tools. No matter whether you prefer to learn via articles or videos, we have options for you. All of these resources can be found under the “Find” banner at the top of the Touro Library home page, or via the Databases pages. Simply select from the dropdown list. For further information, visit this LibGuide on online learning or reach out to a librarian.

Ancillary Resources for OER: More than just Textbooks!

Did you know that open educational resources (OER) can be more than simply textbooks? Many people think of a textbook, that standard tool for teaching and learning, when they think of OER. But did you know that OER can be much more than just textbooks? There are great many ancillary resources available as OER as well, and the depth and variety of what’s available is only growing.

Photo by Hal Gatewood on Unsplash

Reserve a Quiet Study Room

We are excited to share that Touro’s newest library location, at the Cross River Campus (202 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036, 3rd floor, Room 301) now has private study rooms available! In addition to getting assistance from a librarian who can help you in providing much more accurate references than ChatGPT, the new library offers several study rooms so you can prepare for your exams without being distracted by other activities in the library. The best part is that you can easily reserve a study room ahead of time, online. Study rooms can be reserved for individual use or for up to four people to work together.

Anatomy.tv Now Introduces PALMs

Touro Libraries now subscribes to PALMs in our Anatomy.tv database. PALMs allows Touro students to access a number of anatomy modules designed to combine both learning and assessment. This combination is achieved by quizzing students in a game-like fashion on identifying anatomy structures. While quizzing the student, the module is also training them to interpret anatomy images: 

Freaking Out About Finals? Help and Tips Are Here!

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It’s finals time at Touro. Here are a few tips for changing up your study routines, maximizing your ability to retain information, and using library resources you may not have known about, to ace those finals!

Faculty Orientation to Library Services: A New Video Resource!

Fall Semester is here and, after all the holidays of September had us mostly away from our work and studies, things are starting to get into full swing at Touro. So, now is the perfect time to announce that we have a fantastic new resource to help introduce faculty to, or remind them of, all the services our Libraries offer.

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur

“Maurycy Gottlieb – Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur” by Trodel is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

This year, 2021, Rosh Hoshana fell on September 7^th and 8^th and Yom Kippur on the evening of September 15^th into 16^th. 

2020-2021 Library Statistics are in!

As we close out another academic year (this one like no other) we take a look back at the library services we delivered to the Touro community.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, almost nothing was normal about this year. The Fall semester began in the thick of the pandemic, with much, but not all, of our work shifting to remote service as Touro transitioned most classes to online learning. Some of us remained working in our libraries, in-person, throughout the year, some worked remotely the whole year, and some did a combination of both. We had to learn new skills, new technologies, and adjust our workflows for just about everything we did. Yet, Touro Librarians and Library Staff found new ways to connect with our students and faculty and continued to provide the same great library services that we always have, pandemic or no pandemic.

As we had relatively few students and faculty on our campuses this year, most of our reference service moved to being remote. We had the most reference activity via email and phone, with our Chat and Ask-a-Librarian services fielding a steady stream of inquiries as well.

Our librarians regularly teach classes on research methods, and this year was no exception, only that all of these classes were shifted online and carried out via zoom. Through the year, we taught 136 classes over zoom, and had 2131 students attend our library classes. Our asynchronous educational efforts were successful as well, with 408 students and faculty using our many libguides this year. Our librarians and library staff also continued to educate ourselves, attending webinars throughout the year, with a combined total attendance of 544.

Let’s take a look at all the numbers!

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We are still hard at work over the summer and are looking forward to what the next academic year will bring, with the start of the Fall 2021 semester.

Until then, see you in the library (call first to verify hours) and online!

–post contributed by Kirk Snyder, Open Educational Resources & Instruction Librarian.

Library Resources for Alumni

This post is from a series based on responses to the 2020 Library User Satisfaction Survey. If you have feedback throughout the year, please share your thoughts on the Libraries’ website here: www.tourolib.org/contact/suggestions

Your connections to Touro don’t end when you graduate —and neither does your access to library resources.

Photo by Stas Knop on Pexels.com

Touro alumni can use the library’s materials while in the library, although these materials cannot be checked out, and alumni also have access to any of the electronic resources the library provides access to while in the library.

And if you cannot make it into the library right now, you have continuing remote access to several databases, whether you graduated just two years ago or ten.

Some highlights include:

• ABI/INFORM Complete
• ProQuest Health Management
• SAGE Premier Collection

You can find all of the databases that allow alumni access here: https://touro-alumni.libguides.com/az.php

Finally, you might also find yourself in the archives. The Touro College Institutional Archives was created in 2007 to preserve the history of Touro College. There are many galleries and newsletters, newspapers, and yearbooks available online for you to peruse for photos of your classmates and favorite professors, and maybe even yourself!