Call Numbers

The Circulation staff has completed replacing the call number signs in the stacks. You will find these call number signs at the end of each shelving unit throughout our entire collection. Since completing our large moving/cleaning project last summer, we have adjusted the signs to reflect the new location of our books. The Periodicals and Reference areas have also been updated.

Rachel

The Drawers are Moving!

Well, to be more accurate, the contents of our audio storage drawers are being moved. We had a student for the summer who helped get a large number of our cassettes converted to compact disc. Those discs are now coming back into the IRC after being cataloged and labeled, and we need to find new drawer space! Things will calm down in a few weeks, but for now, be sure and read the labels on the drawers carefully to figure out where the specific item you're looking for might be!

As we receive new compact discs in, the IRC, we have to move the remaining cassettes to other drawers to make room for the new formats. This constant moving will be going on for another year or two, but it definitely gears up right after our summer student has been here!

And remember that you can always ask Lisa or me if you need help!

Ann

MetaLib working again

For a few weeks, we have been unable to access subscription content in our databases and e-journals through MetaLib, our metasearching instrument. It was not recognizing the logins of authorized users, for some reason.

Well, it seems to be working again now! When you connect to MetaLib from our Library homepage, you may click on the little padlock symbol in the upper right corner, and then enter your network user ID and password. If you are a Union-PSCE student, this is the same login you use for campus email and Blackboard. If you are a BTSR student, this is the network login we created for you when you applied for a Library card and account. It's not the same login you use for our Morton Library catalog.

Please contact our Reference Librarian, Paula Skreslet, or our Librarian for Academic Computing Support, Leland Deeds, if you need any further information or assistance.

Paula

Course Reserve Readings

There are 2 types of course reserve materials. 'Restricted Reserve' materials are books or articles chosen by the professor that are only available at the Circulation desk. Restricted Reserve items may be photocopied and cannot leave the library.

Regular course reserve books, located in the Reading Reserve room next to the Circulation desk, 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. For a longer loan time you may check out reserve books on Saturdays beginning at 4:00pm. Books checked out on Saturdays will be due on Monday morning by 9:30am.

Rachel

Welcome Back!

September is always an exciting month around here as we pull reserves, provide library orientation, and greet returning students and meet new ones. We think that in choosing Union-PSCE for your graduate theological education, you've gotten a real gift in this wonderful Library. We hope you'll find its print, media and online resources useful and challenging during your time here, but we also hope you'll find our staff an equally valuable resource.

You can contact us by email or phone whenever you need help, but we also would really like to meet you and get to know you by name as we work together serving Christ's church. We hope you'll stop by and introduce yourself when you're in the building!

Blessings on your studies this year, and we look forward to working with you!

Ann

Problem with MetaLib search utility

Please be aware that our MetaLib metasearching program is having problems authenticating authorized users. It is not communicating properly with our exchange server, so it is unable to recognize valid login information.

It's still possible to use it to search our catalog and other public data, but the "locked" or proprietary resources (databases and e-journals) are not available, either inside the Library or remotely. Our systems librarian has reported this problem to the vendor and is awaiting their response.

We apologize for this failure and hope to have this valuable instrument restored soon.

Paula

Library Orientation this week

We know that some new students feel they don't really need a Library orientation. They think, "I already know how libraries work," or "I'll wait till I have a paper due and then go find my way around," or even "I'm not intending to use the Library at all, so why bother?" Our response to each of these statements is AAAAUUUUGGGHHHHHHH!!!

In fact, every academic library is different -- each one has its own practices and policies. Probably, you don't know as much about our Library as you think you do. Also, the worst time to walk through the door cold is when you are under deadline pressure and need information now. As for not using the Library, I hope you are not one of those ignorant souls who believes that all information is now freely available online. It is NOT. In biblical and theological studies, essential materials for research are published in print or are available electronically only through paid subscriptions to online databases, available to you through this Library.

BTSR's new students have a scheduled orientation session Wednesday, 9 Sept (that's tomorrow!), 1:30-2:45. New Union-PSCE students are scheduled for Thursday, 10 Sept, 1:45-2:30. Be sure to come and meet us, and get a very quick overview of the building & services.

Paula

Server maintenance Saturday night

We will be performing a server shutdown and cold backup starting on Saturday, 5 Sept, at 9 pm. The process should be complete on Sunday, 6 Sept, at about 9 am.

During this period, our Morton Library catalog will be unavailable. The MetaLib search utility and SFX will also be offline, so you will be unable to retrieve articles from some of our full-text electronic journals.

We regret this inconvenience. But we figure you shouldn't be trying to do this overnight Saturday on Labor Day weekend, anyway!! Many thanks to our systems librarian, Leland Deeds, for being willing to give up his holiday time to make this happen when it will be least disruptive to our users.

Paula

Huge stacks shift complete

The hard-working Circulation staff has just finished their complete cleaning and stacks shift of the whole collection! You will immediately notice cleaner and less crowded conditions in much of the building. Thank you, Circ staff!!

However, please note that in many areas, the labels attached to the end of the ranges have not been updated yet. The call numbers on those labels don't match the call numbers of the books on nearby shelves. It's a long, slow process to update those labels, and it will be a while before they are all correct.

Please bear with us, and look at the spine stickers on the books to find out where you are in the stacks.

Paula