It’s hard to believe that fall semester 2011 is almost half over.  I hope that you are all hanging in there and doing well in your classes.  If you’ve fallen behind in any of your classes or if you have any papers or projects that you’ve been procrastinating doing, realize that you can choose to do better at this moment.  Don’t beat yourself up over what you’ve done, or haven’t done, in the past.  That time is over, and there’s nothing you can do about it.  However, you have this present moment to choose to do differently.
 
A wise man once said:

The man who lives in the present, forgetful of the past and indifferent to the future, is the man of wisdom.
 
The best preparation for a life to come is to live now and here.  Live right up to your highest and best!  If you have made mistakes in the past, reparations lies not in regrets, but in thankfulness that you know better.
 
It is true that we are punished by our sins and not for them; it is true also that we are blessed and benefitted by our sins.  Having tasted the bitterness of error, we can avoid it.  If we have withheld the kind word and the look of sympathy in the past, we can today give doubly, and thus, in degree, redeem the past.  And we best redeem the past by forgetting it and losing ourselves in useful work.
 
It is a great privilege to live.  Thank God!  There is one indisputable fact:  We are here!
 
(An excerpt from The Notebook of Elbert Hubbard)

Tips on Library Research

Selecting a Topic

• If possible, pick a topic you really care about or have some interest in.
• Make sure your topic is not too narrow or too vague.
• Consult the Library of Congress Subject Headings.
• Look through your textbook for ideas.
• Limit your topic by geography and/or time period.
• Start with a general encyclopedia.
• Ask your librarian to suggest some handbooks, journals, or guides that might cover your topic.

If you are still having trouble selecting a topic, consult your instructor. Unless you are writing a very short paper, it is best to avoid current events as your topic. Popular topics may not be a good choice because it is often difficult to handle them in an original and creative way.

Starting your Research
There is a lot of materials available and many different ways to access it.  The best place to start depends on the length and depth of your paper.

• For longer papers, you may want to start with books and supplement them with a variety of other sources, such as journal articles and government documents.
• Shorter papers may need only books and journal articles as sources. 

Depth of coverage and currency of information are two important points to consider.  Journal articles tend to be more current, but books usually offer more information.

Formatting Footnotes
Information needed for the footnotes and bibliographies include the following:

• Title of the article or book chapter
• Author(s)
• Title of the periodical or book
• Page Number
• Date of publication, publisher name, and location where the item was published

Indexes and Abstracts
Indexes and Abstracts offer access to journal (magazine or periodical) articles according to author and subject.  An index provides a list of articles and an abstract gives a summary of each.
Both indexes and abstracts provide the following information:

• Author and title of the article
• Title of the journal, the volume number, and date
• Page numbers where the article is located

Overcoming Procrastination

• If the task is unpleasant and you lack self-discipline, promise yourself a reward as an incentive to get started.
• If the task seems too complex, divide the task into more manageable parts and begin with the easiest task.
• Read a book on visualization techniques and try them.
• Chart your progress and consider posting the results.
• If you are a perfectionist and cannot complete a job until it is perfect, learn how to decide when “enough is enough.”