Holiday Wishes

The William Smith Morton Library will be closing at 5:00 p.m. today and will reopen on Monday, January 5, 2009 at 8:00 a.m. You will still be able to access our web catalog and check your library record online during the time that the library building is closed. There will be no more blog posts until the new year.

We thank all of our patrons for their good humor and patience as we have undergone many changes this year. We are grateful for the ways in which you encourage and support the work of this Library.

We wish all of you a safe and joyous Christmas season.

Server Maintenance TODAY

A backup of catalog information will be running all day today Wednesday, December 17, 2008. We will revert to a supplemental catalog system during the day which will allow you to look up items in the Morton Library catalog. However, circulation functions will be disabled, and your personal account information will not be available for loan history, renewals, etc... We will restore these functions as soon as the backup is completed.

Rachel

Interlibrary loan service problems

We are experiencing an interruption in Interlibrary Loan services at this time. Please do not place new ILL requests. If you have an item borrowed through ILL, you may continue using it and return it whenever it is due.

For further information, please contact Dr. Coalter, Library Director.

Paula

New Copiers

Two new copiers have replaced the two old ones near the south elevator. Please let us know if you need any assistance with these new copiers. These copiers are no longer networked to the Reference computers.

The network copier is now is a new location. The Reference computers are networked to the copier in the Microfilm room (next to the Circulation desk). Instructions for printing are located at each computer workstation in the Reference room. However, please ask the Circulation staff if you have any questions.

Rachel

Christmas closing

We want to remind everyone that the Library will be closing in the afternoon on Friday, December 19th, and will remain closed over the Christmas and New Year holidays. The Library will reopen on Monday, January 5th.

Now is the time to plan ahead and make sure you borrow whatever you will need to use while the Library is closed.

Paula

Holiday Schedule for Extension Mailings

For our patrons who live outside of the Richmond area, please note that today is the last day we are mailing library items until the new year. We will resume mailing our audio and visual material and books to libraries and extension patrons on January 12, 2009. You are free to continue emailing your requests to extensionlib@union-psce.edu and they will be processed in January.

Have a blessed holiday season.

Ann

La Posada

Please join us this afternoon from 3:30 - 4:30 in the library atrium for La Posada. Refreshments will be served. We welcome you as we continue to celebrate this holy season.

Rachel

Gates are now activated

The turnstile and gate at the Library's main entrance are now activated. You now need your key-card to enter the building.

Your card does not need to be swiped like a credit card. Just hold it a few inches away from the red sensor light; it will BEEP and you will also hear a sound as the mechanism unlocks. The light will turn green. Use the turnstile on the right side as you enter. If you are in a wheelchair (pushing a baby stroller, etc), you may use the swinging gate to enter. You may exit through the turnstile without unlocking it, or you may unlock the swinging gate with your card and exit that way.

If you have not yet come to pick up your card, you may do so at the Circulation Desk. At the left of the entrance, near the portrait, there is an intercom device. If you press it, the sound will be heard inside the Circulation Office, so they will know you need attention.

Paula

Gates are now activated

The turnstile and gate at the Library's main entrance are now activated. You now need your key-card to enter the building.

Your card does not need to be swiped like a credit card. Just hold it a few inches away from the red sensor light; it will BEEP and you will also hear a sound as the mechanism unlocks. The light will turn green. Use the turnstile on the right side as you enter. If you are in a wheelchair (pushing a baby stroller, etc), you may use the swinging gate to enter. You may exit through the turnstile without unlocking it, or you may unlock the swinging gate with your card and exit that way.

If you have not yet come to pick up your card, you may do so at the Circulation Desk. At the left of the entrance, near the portrait, there is an intercom device. If you press it, the sound will be heard inside the Circulation Office, so they will know you need attention.

Paula

Personal Copies of Audio Material

The IRC staff is frequently asked to make a copy of an audio title in our collection for a patron's personal collection. Although this isn't a service we provide, there are some ways for you to know whether copying a recording is permissible.

Most speakers who come on campus sign a speaker release which governs the way that patrons can use their material. That information is transferred into the record about that title that you can see in our catalog. Each audio title will have information in a local notes field that says either permission to duplicate, no duplication, or restricted to the Library. If there is no information in the local notes field about duplication, then that is a commerical title and no copying permission is allowed.

You are free to make personal copies for study of any audiorecording that says PERMISSION TO DUPLICATE in the record.

Ann

Misplaced books

Can't find a book on the shelf but the catalog confirms the book is "on the shelf"? First try looking behind the books on the shelf where the book should be. Then look on the bottom shelf behind those books to see if the book has fallen between the shelves. Another place to search is the re-shelving cart located in each section.

If you are unable to find the book after looking in these areas please ask for our help at the Circulation desk. We will be glad to help you find the resources you need.

Rachel

Come and get your key card!

This is the week to come and pick up your new Library card!! We are stationing staff members in the entryway to help you collect your card, to cut down on waiting or crowding at the Circulation Desk. For a schedule of the hours when staff will be present, click HERE.

Next Monday, Nov. 24, the new turnstile barrier at our Library's main entrance will be activated. You will be unable to enter the building without your key card. Please, do yourself a favor and come get your card now, during the hours posted on the timetable.

Paula

Media and Copyright

Patrons frequently want to use our media collection for programs or activities at local churches. Many of our titles can be used for that purpose; others cannot. All of our titles can be used in academic coursework on campus, but for those titles that indicate they are for 'home use only', please do some research before determining whether the use you intend is allowed! You'll find some good information about the problems of using videorecordings in churches HERE.

There are ways to get permission to use copyrighted videorecordings in other settings, including asking for permission or getting a special license that covers a variety of producers of visual media.

If you have questions about your intended use outside of campus, please let me know and I'll try to help you sort through the confusion!

Ann

Collections in Reading Reserve room

In the Reading Reserve room you will find two specific resource collections. The "Chapel Collection" includes lectionaries, hymnals, and various worship aids. The "Graduate Seminar" collection includes theological and language dictionaries, lexicons, and bound editions of Interpretation.

These resources are located in the Reading Reserve room as you enter to your right in the middle of the room.

Rachel

How to get your new key-card

The access gates at the Library's main entrance have now been installed. Before they can be activated, we must distribute the key-cards that will allow you to pass through the gate or turnstile. These RFID cards are unique to each individual ... your card is tied to your Library account and created especially for you. We need to distribute as many of these cards as possible in an orderly fashion before the gates are activated, in order to avoid a huge crush of people at the Circulation Desk needing their cards all at once.

We will be taking advantage of several gatherings at BTSR and Union-PSCE in the next two weeks to set up distribution points for these access cards. Click HERE for a timetable of these events.

For more information about the new turnstile and how it will work, click HERE.

Paula

ELECTRICAL REPAIRS SATURDAY, 8 NOV

Dominion Power will be on campus Saturday morning to replace a leaking transformer at the Library. This work will require shutting down all power to the building, meaning we must close on Saturday. The work is also expected to shut down the proxy server and other systems at the campus IT center; therefore all of the Library's online databases and electronic journals will be unavailable on Saturday morning. They should be available again by Saturday afternoon.

Also, our systems administrator will come in on Friday evening to shut down our servers, so the catalog, circulation functions and your personal library account will be offline after 8:30 pm (the building will remain open till 9:00). We hope to have these electronic services restored by Saturday afternoon.

We are very sorry for this interruption to our services. Before 8:30 on Friday evening, please be sure to borrow from the Library everything you might need this weekend.

Paula

Hard-hat zone?

There will be construction work going on at the Library's main entrance in the near future. A contractor will be installing the new card-key access gates. We don't have a firm date on this yet ... it may happen early in the morning on Wed, 5 Nov. We will certainly make campus-wide announcements at Union-PSCE and BTSR as soon as we know for sure.

We are told that we will be able to come and go through the main entrance while the work is in progress, but that it will be extremely noisy. So there may be disruption for classes meeting in the building or for study time.

We'll pass on more information just as soon as we can!

Paula

Watch this space!

A huge new set of online databases with full-text e-journals content is in our future. This array of EBSCO resources will include the major comprehensive database Academic Search Complete, as well as specialized sets such as Education Research, Humanities International and Newspaper Source. We are delighted to report that it also will include EBSCO's Religion and Philosophy Collection, which we have been trying to obtain for a long time now.

We are still working out the final technical details. When we get everything functioning properly, we'll make a general announcement. But you blog-readers have seen it here first!

Paula

The Children's Collection

The Library has a small collection of children's books that are shelved in the hallway of the east side of the second floor. Because this collection is such a small part of the total collection, we have chosen to focus on religious books for children in our purchasing. We will have books that many public libraries will not have, so please remember this collection in your planning for preaching or teaching. We do have other children's books as well, and those can also serve as resources for ministry.

An excellent tool suggesting how you might use some of this collection can be found in JOY AND WONDER IN ALL GOD'S WORKS. This is a three volume set that takes every lectionary passage for all three years of the Revised Common Lectionary and matches it with a children's book. The set is out of print and impossible to find, and the book titles may be out of print as well, but it is still a very useful companion for preachers and teachers and I have a dream that some day we'll be able to do an updated version of this book online on the Library website!

Ann

Digital Karl Barth Library

The Digital Karl Barth Library is currently not accessible off campus. However, this resource is accessible while inside Morton Library and on campus.

We will post an update on this blog and the library homepage when the connection is restored. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Rachel

More about e-journals

Another way to access our full-text e-journals is through the indexing databases, such as the ATLA Religion Database, New Testament Abstracts, Old Testament Abstracts, the Catholic Periodical and Literature Index, Academic OneFile, Wilson Select Plus, Book Review Index, and the EBSCO Religion and Philosophy Collection.

If an article you want to read is available in full text, you'll find some link leading you to a PDF file, a GIF, or an HTML text. Look closely at the record for something that says "View Full Text" or an SFX button. The displays differ from one resource to another, so take a moment and look around. You might have to click through a few screens to get there.

For help with this, please ask our Serials Librarian Pam Wells, or our Reference Librarian.

Paula

Audiobooks

In the early days of books on tape, we made the decision not to purchase these because most titles weren't applicable to our academic program and because they took up lots of drawer space and were expensive. With books now being recorded on CD, there is less space taken up in storage, and the prices seem to have come down. In addition, I have been able to find more titles in the field of religion.

I'm curious about whether there is an interest in books on CD among our students. If you're reading this and have any thoughts, please share them!

Ann

Rush Request

Did you know that you may request a "rush" for a library book? As you search the online catalog for a particular book occasionally the status of that book may read "Cataloging", "Mending/Plastics", or "Preparations". This means that the book is located with our catalog librarians who prepare books for circulation.

Please let us (Circulation staff) know if you see this status listed for the book you wish to check out. We will place a rush request and contact you as soon as the book becomes available. The Cataloging staff works diligently to provide these books as quickly as possible for your convenience.

Rachel

Full-text e-journals

There are three ways to access the hundreds of full-text electronic journals in our collection. I'll describe one of those ways here.

On our Library's home page, you'll find a link that says "Electronic Journals" (in the left column under RESEARCH). A titles list offers over 150 full-text journals to which we subscribe. These come from various publishers, with different interfaces; some of them include full coverage with all issues online, which others offer more limited access.

When you reach a journal's site, look for clues such as Archive, Browse Issues, Online Access or a range of years, and follow these links to the available issues.

For individual help, contact Pam Wells or come by her office in the Reference Room behind the Current Periodicals shelves. You can also ask the Reference Librarian.

Paula

Curriculum Changes

Because of the high cost and short shelf life of print curricula, many denominations and independent publishers are moving to online material or material on compact disc. Unfortunately, they are distributing these sessions with the caveat that resource centers cannot circulate the material. So you may find curriculum in the catalog that says non-circulating. Please come ask for it because we can have you peruse it in the Center but we'll need to get it for you.

Ann

Reference Room

While you are searching for resources in the Reference room please make use of the re-shelving cart located in the center of the room. This cart is for any book or resource you no longer wish to use or check out.

Please do not re-shelve books or periodicals. The re-shelving cart in the Reference room and carts in the stacks are for your convenience. Our hard-working student library workers ensure these materials are properly re-shelved. Thank you!

Rachel

What's new? Lots, actually ...

Some folks have noticed that the new acquisitions display area is pretty interesting lately. Due to procedural changes in cataloging, new materials are coming into the collection faster than ever before. There are attractive new items in every subject area, from biblical reference to children's books.

New reference materials are displayed in the Ref Room, on top of one of the bookcases. New materials for the stacks come to the shelves near the Circ Desk. As you walk in the front door of the Library, these shelves are opposite the Palestinian pottery display case, to the left of the Circ Desk, just beside the elevator. Stop and have a look!

Paula

Making a Move

One of the more interesting challenges in changing media formats is that the great storage unit you have for one format doesn't quite fit the new format! As we work on converting some of our cassette collection to compact disc, we're fortunate that the cassette drawers can be refitted so that discs can be stored, but we did buy the last racks in the United States that fit those cabinets and there weren't enough to put in all the cassette drawers! Nevertheless, we're moving things into those refitted drawers as fast as we can, but it is a slow process and there are still some compact discs that haven't quite made it. If you find a compact disc in the catalog but don't see it in the drawers, please check with IRC staff to make sure that we don't have them stored in our offices while waiting for a space to become available! And thank you for your patience as we continue this important project.

Ann

October Exhibit

October is Theological Libraries Month and this month our spotlight is "The PCUS in China, 1867 - 1961."

Inspired by the Beijing Olympics in August, Paula Skreslet, Ted Winter and Robert Oliver prepared these displays from the Archives to include wonderful photos, artwork, evangelistic publications and weird objects donated by missionaries of the Presbyterian Church in the United States over the years.

Many UTS alumni and professors served in The China Mission, including Professor James Edwin Bear Jr., who wrote an extraordinary five-volume history documenting the church's work in China. Bear himself was born in China, as were many well-known leaders of the PCUS.

The China exhibit located in the Library entryway and atrium will continue during the month of October. Come and see it!

Rachel

I need a Bible commentary ... !

Of course you need Bible commentaries. But some students seem to be under the impression that the small number of commentary series in the Reference Room are all that we have. Wrong! We keep just a few of the most heavily-used commentary series in the Ref Room for convenience, so that there will always be copies available that have not been checked out. But the vast majority of commentaries are in the open stacks, where you can borrow them.

There are 213 scholarly commentaries in our collection on the book of Genesis alone. Plus, there are 332 works of criticism and interpretation on the book of Genesis. These works contain very important analysis and exegesis of the text beyond the traditional chapter-and-verse commentary format. How do I know this? Did I go downstairs and count them? No, I did an accurate search in our Morton Library catalog for this information. To learn how to do this type of search, consult our tutorial.

Please remember, too, that other people in your class are also trying to use this material, and be considerate. Don't monopolize more books than you need at a given time. You may take reference works to the photocopiers, but then please bring them back and leave them on the metal book truck to be reshelved (don't reshelve them yourself). And please do not take reference books to other parts of the building -- that just makes it harder for the next person to find them.

Do unto others, people. And when you need help, ask.

Paula

Why is that?

Several patrons have asked why we have books in the stacks that have been placed on their spine and extend out from the shelf. Our Circulation staff uses this method of shelving to increase accuracy as we re-shelve books. This process of re-shelving and double checking the book placement ensures minimal searching for "lost" books which have been mis-shelved.

As always, please let us know if you can't find a book that should be on the shelf.

Rachel

Research Resistance

[Curtis by Ray Billingsley. Used by permission of King Features Syndicate.]

All of us feel like this sometimes, don't we?

Paula

Cleaning Service

We won't clean your apartment or dorm room, but we do have a wonderful machine in the IRC that will make your scratched DVDs and compact discs as good as new! We've had great success in removing even the worst scratches from our own collection on disc so that they play skip-free again, and we're glad to offer this same service to students, staff and faculty at Union-PSCE and BTSR. We'll be doing the cleaning on Monday afternoons and the cost will be $.50/disc. This pays for the cleaning pads and other supplies that are used in the process.

You can drop your items off in the IRC anytime and we'll contact you by email when they are ready, or just stop by and pick them up on Monday afternoons around 4:00 p.m.

Ann

Printing Options

There are two printing options available to you while in the library. If you are using the research computers in the Reference room you may send your document (using a file name and password) to the network copier located just outside of the Reference room, under the stairs. The directions for this printing option are found at each workstation in the Reference room. As a reminder, the computers in the Reference room are for research only, not for writing papers or checking email.

Another printing option is to use the computer/printer in the computer lab downstairs (lower level). The computer lab is available for you to write papers, check email, or print from your jump drive.

Rachel

Training sessions now under way

Friends, please don't forget the demonstrations and hands-on workshops available now! Mondays at lunchtime in Lower Lingle, and Tuesday evenings in the Library Multimedia Classroom, we are offering basic training in use of the Library's catalog and databases.

Don't miss this opportunity to equip yourself ! Here is the full training schedule.

Paula

Media Reserves Again..

I wrote about this back in May, but the start of school is finding so many videos and DVDs on reserve in the IRC that I wanted to remind students that reserve media is found upstairs on the second floor. As you come into the IRC, there is a cabinet directly to the left of the stairs up to my office that houses all visual media on reserve. The reserves are located by professor name and course number - not by call number.

The media reserve shelf is never locked, so feel free to access that cabinet any time the Library is open. And like all reserves, you can borrow this media material two hours before the Library closes, and return it by 9:30 a.m. the next day.

Ann

Reading Reserve Room

Course reserve materials are placed in the Reserve Reading Room, next to the Circulation desk. Additional course reserves may be on 'Restricted Reserve', located at the Circulation desk.

Materials on reserve must be used in the Reserve Reading room except for photocopying. Also, two books per patron may be checked out 2 hours before the library closes. Such items must be returned by 9:30am the following morning.

Please let us know if you need help locating Reserve items.

Rachel

Tutorials are fixed!

We're happy to report that the audio problems that were affecting the recordings on our Tutorials page have been fixed! There was an incompatibility between the recordings and the newer releases of Adobe Flash, which is used to play back the files. We were able to download a patch and to apply it to our recordings. So you should be able to use the video tutorials again. If you do experience any problems, please let us know!

What are these videos for? Well, we realize that teaching yourself from a text tutorial can be a pretty deadly business ... a lot of people prefer to learn by watching and listening instead of reading a manual. So we created these little recordings to teach you the basic techniques for using our Library catalog and the ATLA Religion Database.

Each video is less than two minutes long, and is meant to answer one specific question. You can use them to pick up a lot of help without much time and effort. Sounds good, doesn't it?

Paula

Reserving DVDs and Videos

Did you know that you can make a reservation for a DVD or video in our collection up to a year in advance? Because many items are reserved in advance, a last minute visit to the IRC might not always provide what you need or want. So as you do your internships or plan for a class or study for the ordination exams with our theology overview videos, you might want to be aware of this service. The staff in the IRC can help you, but you can also do this yourself by logging into your library account. The instructions for advanced booking can be found here.

When you have reserved a visual media item, it will be down at the circulation desk by 8:30 a.m. on the morning that you requested, and you will receive an email reminder that your booking is ready.

Ann

Audio problems on our recorded Tutorials

We want you to know that the very popular video recordings on our Tutorials page have developed sound problems (having to do with the new release of Adobe Flash). These are the video tutorials showing you how to use our Library catalog and the ATLA Religion Database. We are working on this problem and hope to have it corrected soon.

Paula

Labor Day

This is it -- summer's over, and the new academic year is about to start. We are always happy to welcome you to the Library, especially the new BTSR and Union-PSCE students. Some of you might be feeling a little apprehensive about the programs you have joined and the demands that will be placed on you. Please be aware that we are here to help, and we'll do everything we can to ensure that you succeed.

The first thing you can do to help yourself is come to the Library orientation and workshops. Orientation will introduce you to the staff, to our collections and services, and to our building. The workshops, demonstrations and training sessions will show you how to use our most essential research tools and instruments. For the Fall Term training schedule, click HERE.

Remember, your instructors will assume that you are able to find what you need in our Library, but they are not going to show you how to do it. For that, you need us!

Paula

Ordination Exams

In the Reference room you will notice a book cart containing books and periodicals identified with blue cards. These resources have been set apart for the Master's level students who are completing their ordination exams this month.

These resources must be used in the Reference room (except for photocopying) and must be returned to the book cart. These exam materials will be available for regular circulation next week at the conclusion of the exams.

Rachel

Curriculum Boxes

Our collection of curriculum material is housed in archival boxes, with each box given a publisher name and a box number. This combination serves as a call number for all of the items in that box. When you are searching for teaching materials in the IRC, make sure you note the name of the box and its number in order to find the material you need.

We are frequently asked by patrons if they need to check out the box in which a particular piece is housed if they only want the one piece. We always like the box to remain on the shelves, so patrons are free to remove only what they need and want from our curriculum boxes, check those out at the main circulation desk, and leave the box for us.

Ann

Re-Shelving Carts

In the stacks you will notice re-shelving carts on each floor (north side). The re-shelving cart for the main floor (A-B section) is located on the southeast end next to the restrooms. Please make use of these carts for books or periodicals you don't wish to check out. This will ensure that our Circulation staff will properly re-shelve books on each floor. You may also return books to be re-shelved to the Circulation desk.

Rachel

Free Resources!

The Instructional Resource Center is the primary place to find current curriculum in the Library. When material is no longer current, we have to decide whether to move the curriculum to the stacks (where it can still be found by searching the base "CURRICULUM" through the online catalog) or to remove it from the collection.

Because of the sheer volume of curriculum that we get in any year, we cannot move everything that is not current to the stacks. In cases where the decision is made to remove the material permanently, our loss is your gain. There is a table at the south end of the IRC, right outside Norma's office, where we put weeded curriculum and it is yours for the taking. The table is labeled "FREE RESOURCES" and you are welcome to take what you find on that table if you see something that might be useful for your own Library.

Ann

Continuing Education

Once every four years -- like the Olympics! -- the International Association for Mission Studies (IAMS) meets somewhere in the world; in 2008 it will meet in Balaton, Hungary. At the same time, there is a meeting of the Documentation, Archives, Bibliography and Oral History study group (DABOH), which works on strategies for organizing, accessing and preserving materials for the study of the history of world Christianity.

I'll be heading off to that conference this week ... let me apologize in advance for not being here to help you with your reference questions! I should be back on Aug. 26, full of new knowledge and ideas.

For a description of the conference and its agenda, click HERE.

Paula

Historical Curriculum

We try to maintain a current collection of curricula that our students are likely to find when they work in local churches. This means that we collect Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist and many non-denominational titles.

Several years ago, we began to notice that more PhD students were looking at curriculum for their dissertations. Because of this, we have begun a project to archive Presbyterian curricula. We have pulled as much material as we have and located it at the south end of the IRC (right outside Norma's office). The process of organizing it and getting it cataloged will be another long term effort, but if you see "Historical Curriculum" as a collection when you are searching for an item, you'll know where to go. We made the decision to archive only Presbyterian Church materials because of space considerations and because other denominations are likely to have their own archives.

These materials will not circulate as we would not be able to replace many of them, but you are always free to look at them in the IRC.

Ann

Patron Photos

We have recently added a new feature to patron library accounts – patron photos. If you are a Union-PSCE or BTSR student, staff, faculty, alumni, or grandfathered patron of Morton Library, please stop by the Circulation Desk so we may snap your photo.

Your photo will be attached to your account. These photos are exclusively for our patron database and will not be sold or shared.

Thank you for your patience during this time of transition as we work toward serving you more efficiently.

Rachel

News, Culture, Politics

Some people are disappointed to find that we don't have paper subscriptions to certain general-interest magazines they like to read, such as Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, New Yorker and the Economist, or periodicals in the social sciences like Psychology Today. But they may not realize that we do subscribe to these journals online. There isn't even any time delay on these titles -- you can read even the most current issue (many academic journals have an "embargo" period of as long as a year, during which their content is not available through online subscription, but only on paper). You can access them either through Academic OneFile or through our MetaLib search tool.

We also have the entire text of the New York Times since 1985 in searchable form online, plus transcripts and recordings of every National Public Radio (NPR) broadcast since 1990, and lots more besides. For a fuller description of the materials you can access through Academic OneFile, have a look at this page.

Paula

Third Floor Wireless

An additional wireless router was recently installed on the third floor west. This will enable users more freedom to use your laptops in the chairs and corner study areas.

If you have a laptop with a wireless adapter card, you should be able to pick up the signal. The network name is WSML.

Please let us (the Circulation staff) know if you have any problems accessing the wireless connection.

Rachel

Academic OneFile is Back!

You might have noticed that we lost access to one of our most useful research databases recently. Academic OneFile is a comprehensive collection of articles from over 12,000 peer-reviewed journals in all subject areas, including medicine, social science, law and humanities. It also includes many news media sources, and most of the content is in full text. This is the kind of source you need if your research extends outside the normal boundaries of religious studies into psychology, education, history, sociology, political science, art, literature, economics, gender studies or some other discipline.

Well, now the crisis is over, and the database is back! You can reach it on or off campus (if you are an authorized user) through the link on our Online Databases page. Its content is also available if you are searching through MetaLib or one of the indexing databases such as OTA, NTA or CPLI.

Paula

Bound Periodicals

The Circulation staff is working hard in the bound Periodicals area in the lower level (east side). You will notice some empty shelves as we make adjustments to allow for our expanding collection of periodicals. During this transition please let us know if you are unable to locate the volumes you need.

Also, please make use of the Periodicals notebook located above the re-shelving cart. This notebook lists (in alphabetical order) all of our current Periodical holdings.

Rachel

Sudden Switcheroo

On Wednesday last week, the EBSCO company suddenly transformed the interface of three of our most valuable indexes : Old Testament Abstracts (OTA), New Testament Abstracts (NTA), and the Catholic Periodical and Literature Index (CPLI).

We worked for three days to rewrite our guide to these databases, with new explanations and images. You will now find the updated guide on our Tutorials page. We are continuing to monitor this situation, however, because some of the features of the new interface don't seem to be functioning properly. We hope these are temporary glitches that will soon be corrected.

Library users need to be aware that ALL electronic resources can morph without warning -- the access location changes, the interface is redesigned, we lose our license to a resource entirely. Unfortunately, the vendors have sole control over a lot of these factors. We try to be vigilant about these changes, post announcements and keep our instructional materals current. But if you spot problems with our tutorials and guides, or broken links on any of our web pages, please let us know!

Paula

Browsing the DVD Collection

Libraries have always offered several ways of finding material and browsing the shelves within a subject range has certainly always been an option!

In the IRC, browsing a call number range isn't particuarly helpful, because our call numbers aren't based on subject headings. The catalog becomes essential, then, for finding material.

However, it is clear that our patrons like being able to browse the DVD collection! For some time, we have put empty DVD cases in display cabinets in the IRC and you could easily see what was in at any time for loan. However, we are running out of space in the display cabinets and would like to use the display cabinets for their intended purpose - displays!

We will continue to designate one cabinet for our DVD feature films, but by September, you will need to use the catalog to search for documentary/academic or Christian education titles.

If you need help in learning how to find our visual material that isn't in a display case, please come by and Norma or I will be glad to show you.

Ann

Why Summer Orientation?

In the past, some summer language students have found it hard to get interested in Library orientation. I won't be writing papers till the Fall, you might say -- why learn this now? And my brain is so stressed trying to deal with Greek or Hebrew that I can't concentrate on it anyway!

Well, here's the thing ... summer language students generally return to campus AFTER the fall orientation events are over. So if you don't get it now, you might not get it at all. That would prove to be a big disadvantage to you, because this is your chance to start finding out how the Library functions and what it can do for you.

Remember : your instructors will assume that you are ready to cope with the research demands of their courses when the academic year begins. We are trying to help you prepare yourself to meet their expectations.

Paula

More Detail on Storage

A little more explanation about which materials have been moved into storage, and why. These are minutes of judicatories in the former Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS), which merged in 1983 with the UPCUSA to form today's PCUSA (are you confused yet?). Because these units are no longer active, there are no new records being added to the collection, making them prime candidates for removal from the open stacks into secure storage.

We have left the minutes of the Synod of Virginia in place, along with minutes of its component presbyteries, because these are used for historical research. Records of the other PCUS synods and presbyteries, and of the PCUS Women of the Church regional units, are seldom used and have been moved. For a complete list of the records now in storage, click HERE.

This move has freed 78 shelves of space on the overcrowded Second Level West! Redistribution of the materials on that floor by our hard-working Circ staff is now under way.

Paula

Second Floor Moving Project

You may notice some empty shelves on second floor west. We have moved some of the PCUS Presbytery, Synod, and Women of the Church minutes to a storage area downstairs. If you need to access these minutes and don't see the one you need, we will be glad to help you at the Circulation desk.

This summer we will continue to move books on the second and third floors to provide additional space for our expanding collection. If you have difficulty finding the book you need please let us know. Hopefully the moving will be completed before the fall term begins.

Rachel

New Access Policies

On Tuesday, 1 July 2008, our new access policies go into effect. Please be sure to read the details HERE.

Many people are questioning why we are making these changes. We all wish we could leave things just as they were, but circumstances outside our control are forcing us to limit access. It seems there is a lot of misunderstanding and false information being passed around ... we urge you not to believe every rumor you hear. We will try to clarify the issues for you.

Our Library Director, Dr. Coalter, will be happy to meet with anyone who has concerns or questions, and you may also express yourself here on this blog. We welcome comments and discussion. Just click on COMMENTS at the end of this post.

Paula

In the Good Old Summertime...

While many of the students who use Morton Library are having wonderful experiences in field work settings or getting new insights through clinical pastoral education this summer, we're already working hard to have many new things ready when you come back in the fall.

In the IRC, we have increased student help in the summer to help move our cassette conversion project along, so we hope to have a new range of compact discs ready for circulation by September. This is a period when lots of new fall curriculum comes in and Norma is busy getting that ready for your use in classes and church settings when you return. We're all updating our patron databases to make sure that our new Library access policies effective July 1 work as smoothly as possible. And we're two days away from a new budget year that gives us access to funds necessary to keep the collection growing.

And just so we won't forget the reason we're here, we've been glad to have the energy of the ECP students on campus for two weeks and look forward to welcoming our new language students in a few days. You remind us that even though the daily schedule may look a bit different from fall and spring terms, there are always students and faculty to serve and we're grateful to be a small part of your learning experience here.

Ann

Video vs. DVD

This week, I had a request for a title we had in VHS format but that needed to be in DVD format to be useful to the student. This is one of the logistical and financial challenges in the IRC right now! Academic titles were slow to move to DVD, and our earliest feature films requested by students or faculty were primarily VHS as well. DVD as a format has many advantages over VHS as a teaching medium so one of the things on tap for this summer is evaluating the video collection to see what titles we have that we should repurchase in DVD format. If you have suggestions as we work on that task, I'd love to hear from you!

Ann

Distance Learning : ECP and DMin

Are you an ECP student? Or a D.Min. candidate? If so, we salute you! We know how difficult it is for you to complete your degree while working and living far from the Seminary.

We also know that you have some special access problems when it comes to obtaining the materials you need to complete your course assignments and research. We try to provide orientation and training just for you, concentrating on the resources you are most likely to need. This year, for instance, we offered a for-credit course for the first time called "Research Methods for the Doctor of Ministry Project" (DMN 633).

Our online tutorials have students like you in mind. Also, special arrangements for ILL and access services are provided. Please let us know if you have other needs we can address.

Paula

Summer Reading

We continue to expand our collection, even in the slower months of summer. Be sure to check out our “New Books” shelf (outside the Reading Reserve room, next to the Circulation desk) to view the latest additions to our collection.

Also, we have added a lot of new books to our "Sale" bookshelves located just outside the microfilm room, next to the Circulation desk. These “gently used” books have been donated by various local ministers and laypersons. Paperbacks are fifty cents and hardbacks are one dollar. What a bargain for summer reading!

Rachel

Developing a Collection

The Library has a collection development policy that helps guide our acquisitions. It is primarily based on the level of depth that we feel we need in certain content areas, but we also look at how certain titles fit into our collection as a whole.

In the IRC, there is an added layer of consideration, particularly in the acquisition of media material. Is the content being shared enhanced by the medium? For instance, lectures on video do not take advantage of the capabilities of videorecording in a way that a documentary does. This doesn't mean I don't occasionally buy recorded lectures, but it does mean I am most often looking for media material that could enhance what a real live professor can usually do better than a video.

In terms of curriculum, I am frequently looking for materials that I think students are likely to find in churches they may serve. This sometimes means that we are buying curriculum that may be weak in some areas. But that also gives students an opportunity to learn evaluative skills!

And, a significant consideration in collection development in the IRC is titles that you would like to see us acquire! Recommendations from faculty and students are a central part of the collection of media materials and I hope you'll keep on offering your suggestions!

Ann

The Periodicals Puzzle

Our Library is fortunate enough to have active subscriptions to more than 950 scholarly journals in the area of religious studies; a typical seminary library will have about 600. The ones we receive on paper are displayed in the Current Periodicals area, but people are often a little confused by the way they are shelved.

The journals are ordered alphabetically by title. The most recent issue faces you on the shelf. If you pull up the shelf, there is a space inside where the other issues of the current volume are kept. As soon as that volume is complete, the issues are collected, and then either sent to the bindery or moved directly downstairs to the Periodicals stacks area on Lower Level East. Down there, all of the back issues of these journals are shelved by call number, just like the bookstacks.

We also have more than 250 full-text electronic journals in biblical studies, theology and related areas. Some of these are available to you through the ATLA Religion Database and other resources on our Online Databases page, and another set can be reached through our Electronic Journals page. In addition, many titles outside the religious studies disciplines may be found through FirstSearch or MetaLib. Come and ask the Reference Librarian for more information!

Paula

More on Instruction

I'd like to second Ann's comments about instruction ... our Library offers some excellent tools and resources, but if you don't know how to use them, they are more trouble to you than help.

We noticed that many of the problems people reported on their surveys could be traced to their lack of instruction in the use of our electronic resources. They'd never attended an orientation session or workshop, weren't familiar with our online tutorials, and experienced lots of frustration as a result.

Library catalogs and databases have not yet evolved to the point where their use is simple and self-explanatory. Until that day comes, you need help with them. Please, take advantage of the classes and other forms of training we offer.

Paula

The Value of Instruction

One of the challenges of the Library staff is identifying the best way to help our patrons understand how our finding tools work. Do we offer instruction in the classroom, or do we offer stand alone training sessions? Do we schedule them during lunch, at night, on Saturday? It's an important question because the power and capability of an online system or other research tools are irrelevant if no one knows how to access their capabilities.

Instruction is particularly helpful when accessing the collection in the Instructional Resource Center. Did you know you can search for curriculum by age level and scripture passage? You can limit your media search to only DVDs, eliminating all videos. You can search for everything that the IRC has - in any format - and eliminate all the books in the stacks from your search results. There is so much that you can do in our online catalog to find appropriate resources for your teaching and study, but they are not readily apparent when you're dealing with the IRC.

I encourage you all to attend a training session this fall, and if you need help before then, please use Paula's very helpful tutorials - in print or video format!

New Access Policies Coming

Starting July 1, we will be establishing new access and circulation policies for the Library. These changes will probably cause some inconvenience and confusion for our users, and we apologize for that.

There will be some improvements in security and in other problems noted on our Public Services survey, such as overcrowding in the Computer Lab downstairs. Also, there will be far fewer current student accounts, so materials that were often checked out before may be easier to find on the shelf.

Please bear with us as we prepare for the transition ... we will do our best to help our users adjust to the new system. For more information on the changes that are coming, please click here.

Paula

ATLAS for Alumni/ae

On our survey, many people expressed their appreciation for this special service we provide for graduates of Union-PSCE and BTSR. We are able to offer remote access to the full-text content of the American Theological Library Association Serials collection (ATLAS), which now contains over 200,000 articles and reviews from 117 of the top-ranked, most-used scholarly journals in biblical studies, theology and all religion-related disciplines. It's like 117 free periodical subscriptions, plus index!

The collection has its own search interface, including keyword searching of the full text of the articles themselves. You can view them as quick-downloading GIF files, or as high-resolution PDF files (good for printing). There is a valuable built-in Help function to show you how to do most of the usual searches and operations.

Look at the ATLAS for Alumni/ae page to learn more!

Paula

Media Reserves

The recent survey indicated that many of you do not know where to find media reserves. While our catalog puts books and audio and visual media items in the same reserve collection online, they are actually housed in different places within the Library building.

Professors regularly put media items on reserve in the IRC. Even if those items are in DVD or videocassette format, they are placed on a reserve shelf that is never locked - our only exception to that shelving rule. So any time the Library is open, you can retrieve a media reserve item, watch it in the Center, and place it back on the shelf. If you want to watch it overnight, you can check it out two hours before the Library closes and return it by 9:30 a.m. the next morning.

When you enter the door to the IRC, the unlocked media reserve cabinet will be in front of you on the left side of the stairs going up to my office. Reserve items are shelved by class and labeled as such, so you should have no trouble finding what you need.

Ann

Reading Reserve room

We have a new addition to the Reading Reserve room. A computer station has been set up to locate titles, authors, call numbers, etc... for your course reserves.

The library catalog page has been pre-set to "Reserves" and the 'Field to search' has been pre-set to "instructor".

Let us know what you think.

Rachel

Book Review Index Online

We are frequently asked to increase the number of full-text electronic databases available remotely to students, faculty and staff ... and we're keen to add these as quickly as we can!

We are now able to provide you with Book Review Index Online (BRIO), which offers access to more than 5 million book review citations in all academic subject areas; these include more than 634,000 full-text reviews. These will be especially valuable to you when doing interdisciplinary research in fields not limited to theology or biblical studies, which the ATLA Religion Database doesn't cover.

You can get to BRIO through our Online Databases page. If you are off campus, use your network login to gain access (for more information on logins, click HERE).

Paula

The Times They Are a-Changin'

The title of this blog could be the motto of a resource center that has media as the heart of its collection. Adapting a collection to the changing formats of audio and visual media is challenging and expensive, but absolutely necessary if the resources are to remain useful.

In the recent survey, a patron requested that we buy more compact discs and fewer cassette tapes. As a general collection development policy in the IRC, we do not, nor have not, purchased cassette tapes in some time. Because of the longevity of the Center (and the radio station on campus that provided much of the original audio material), we do have many, many more cassettes than compact discs at this point. But we are only purchasing compact discs and it will take us some time to catch up with the more than 17,000 titles we have in audio cassette form!

In addition, we are undergoing a conversion project to transfer the cassette recordings for which we have copyright permission to compact disc. This will be the third conversion of audio material since I have been here, and the conversion of an entire collection can take many many years and lots of money. (When we converted our reel to reel masters to compact disc, the process took more than 7 years!) By the time we finish, there may well be another format that means we have to rethink this process all over again!

If there are particular titles that you'd like us to order in compact disc form, please let me know. Your suggestions for material are always appreciated.

Ann

E-books and the business of libraries

Some respondents to our survey asked whether we could subscribe to e-book sources online, such as NetLibrary or Questia, or to additional e-journal sources like JSTOR. This question is really about what you might call the "business of libraries," the contractual agreements we maintain with various commercial vendors of information products & services.

It turns out that Questia will not sell subscriptions to libraries at all -- only to individual customers. And the problem with JSTOR, NetLibrary and similar vendors is that they will sell us only their entire resource package, of which only a small percentage is pertinent to religious studies, forcing us to pay a huge amount for material we can't use. These general services are very useful for a university that teaches in all subject areas, but for a specialized library like ours, they are not very suitable.

However, the "business" end of library management is always in motion, and we are monitoring this in hope that new appropriate and affordable options will become available.

Paula

The 4 day wait is over!

'Thank you' to those who completed our Public Services Survey recently. As a result of your comments and suggestions we have revised our borrowing policy at Circulation.

Patrons will no longer have to wait 4 days to check out books previously renewed. At the end of your loan time, bring your books to the Circulation desk and we will return them and then check them out to you again as a new loan (with one renewal), as long as there are no holds for the books.

The books must be returned in person. We cannot do this over the phone or through your online account.

Let us know what you think about this new policy.

Instructional Resource Center Conundrum

The recently tabulated Public Services survey pointed out that many of you have noticed something that we've been trying to figure out for years - how to most effectively provide access to ALL the resources of the Center during Library open hours. Although we were pleased with the responses about the services and materials provided in the IRC, the ability to get quick access to videos, DVDs and some CD-ROMs continues to be frustrating for some of you. We understand that, and we've tried various things through the years to make it easier for all of our patrons to get what they want when they need or want it. Until all of our collection is in open stacks, I'd like to tell you what you can do when your visits to the Library don't correspond to our working hours in the Center.

1. Generally, there is a staff member in the IRC from 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. every weekday. Norma and I try to coordinate our lunch hours and our meeting times outside the office so that someone is there at all times during those hours. It doesn't always work out, but we try very hard to have someone who can help you during those hours. After 5, you can still visit the IRC and browse our open stack collections but you run into problems if you want a video or a DVD.

2. Because we know it isn't possible to get to the Library by 5, or even during the week, we have for years left material at the Circulation Desk when we leave for the day for patrons to pick up at night or on the weekend. All it takes is a phone call to us (278-4324 or 278-4317) , or an email with at least a few hours of advance notice and the video or DVD you want will be already pulled and left for you downstairs. I know this has been effective because we do it so often, but it may be that not everyone knows they can make this request.

3. There are, however, cases in which you come to the Library during off hours and don't know what you want until you get here. We have given the Circulation Department a green light to come upstairs and get the DVDS or videos for you in cases like this, and I know that this too is happening. Because there are fewer circulation staff members at night, and especially during times when one student has to be closing, it is not always possible for the remaining staff person to leave the circulation desk, and this seems to pose the greatest problem for patrons who need material after hours. We recognize the frustration that this engenders when it happens and we will continue to try and find a better solution for this problem.

4. During the 19 years I've worked here, we have tried on at least four occasions (of one semester each) to have the IRC student staff worker work at least some evening hours. In those four semesters of work, less than 10 items were pulled and loaned while the student worker was there. Since the Library is not able to provide a staff person or a student in the Center during all open Library hours, the challenge continues to be to find the time when it might be most helpful to have someone available. That will be what we will focus on in our consideration of this continuing problem in the months ahead!

You may wonder why we lock up the DVDs and videos anyway since so much of the collection is open access. Although most of us are used to DVDs or videos that cost under $25, the majority of our academic titles are purchased with limited public performance rights and rarely cost less than $125 each. We have two excellent series that cost nearly $1600. Until the costs go down, I feel most comfortable keeping those particular media formats in closed stacks. In the meantime, we will work on developing better ease of access policies and communicating them more effectively with you.

We do appreciate the time you took to tell us what we're doing well - and what we can do to serve you more effectively. That is, after all, why we're here! We would be glad to have your thoughts and ideas about how this problem of media access can be approached in a better way, so please let me hear from you here or stop by my office. I'm here from 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Ann

GoPrint is here!

GoPrint is the new printing system in the computer lab. Students will no longer need to bring their own printing paper or purchase paper from the Circulation desk. However, students will need to bring their own copy card as each page costs ten cents.
The directions for printing are located next to the printer/computer monitor as you enter the lab.

Purpose of the new blog

The Library has just completed a major survey eliciting opinions and comments from our academic user community. We asked about all aspects of the services we offer : circulation, reference, interlibrary loan, orientation and instruction, and about your access to our collections. We also asked you about nuts-and-bolts issues like printing and photocopying, the use of study carrels, even the physical comfort of the building.

Over 140 people took the time to reply, offering us much-appreciated information about these issues. Many of the respondents wrote detailed comments and suggestions, all of which were recorded in our internal reports.

We have just begun the process of going through all of this data, figuring out which concerns we can address first. It's discouraging to offer a suggestion and then never hear another word about it, wondering whether we just ignored it or not. We thought you might like to have a blog site where you can read updates on the concerns you raised, ask questions and post further comments.

Therefore, several members of the Public Services staff at the Library have established this blog, intending to offer ongoing information about the care with which we are considering every comment we received on the survey. Also, we plan to use this blog to post news and information about our collections and services, beyond the brief announcements we place on the NewsPage of the Morton Library website. We hope you will want to participate!