Library project aimed at reducing stress

trevor.kenney — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 22:15:59 +0000

Students zonked out from studying in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Library can take a break in a new Stress-Free Zone on Level 11 (L1114).

Nightly, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. until Dec. 21, students can take a break, have a snack, watch a movie, play a game or maybe even get a free massage.

In addition to Library Administration funding, several campus offices have pitched in with information, giveaways, and tips for students on how to be stress-free during exams.

Since the Library is open almost as late as most fast-food restaurants – extended hours run until 11 p.m. during exams – the Stress-Free Zone is an innovative idea that Library staff had only previously read about in U.S.-based library journals.

"We see our students get more and more caught up in the stress of studying as exams start to hit, and the Library is where a large number of them wind up cramming," says Nicole Eva, a Library staff member and the main organizer of the Stress-Free Zone.

"This idea is in place at a number of American universities, and we thought we'd give it a try this year."

The space is decked out with a projection screen TV, games, cards, healthy snacks and, on certain evenings, campus massage therapist Jarvis Larson, who is on hand to deliver short duration massages to students who've been hunched over a computer for hours.

"If this space proves to be a hit with the students, we'll certainly consider it for next term," Eva says. "This is a pilot year for this activity, so feedback and opinions are always welcome."

Visit the Library website to learn more about extended hours and other services available to students: http://www.uleth.ca/lib/
Student Study tips: http://www.uleth.ca/ross/counselling/study_skills_handouts.html

New library databases speak to financial interests

trevor.kenney — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:13:10 +0000

With all the financial turmoil in the news these days, there is heightened interest in the stock market; even those of us less financially-inclined can't help but pay attention to the dire speculations on the news every day.

To that end, two databases the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Library has recently acquired might be of interest to the wider ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community.

The Canadian Financial Markets Research Centre (CFMRC) Summary Information database includes historical Toronto Stock Exchange trading information such as daily and monthly prices and indices, and information on price adjustments such as dividends, stock splits, recapitalizations, etc. up to December 2007.

The database is easy to search by company name or ticker symbol and you can compare more than one company at a time. You might be pleasantly surprised at just how user-friendly it is. It is interesting to see how stocks have performed
historically – perhaps even to console yourself that markets have indeed rebounded in the past, and give some hope for the future.

The Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP) database works in much the same way, but provides access to the big American exchanges such as NYSE, AMEX and Nasdaq. Here you can find daily and monthly security prices and other historical data related to over 25,000 companies traded on these markets – again, up to December 2007.

To access these databases, go to the library home page (http://www.uleth.ca/lib) and click on Databases by Title in the centre of the screen – you'll see an alphabetical listing of all of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's databases, with both of these listed in the 'C's. You will have to log in with your student/staff ID before being allowed in to these databases.

Note that these databases have licenses which stipulate they be used for academic purposes only – but it is an interesting exercise to see the historical data on these companies.

The databases were purchased by the Faculty of Management (everybody now: THANK YOU!) and the library has provided access through the user-friendly CHASS interface from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Toronto.

So while you won't be able to check how your stocks are doing today, you might be interested in how the market has performed in the past.

Nicole Eva is the management liaison librarian for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Library

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Library project aimed at reducing stress

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New library databases speak to financial interests

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