Christmas Week Hours

The Library hours for Christmas week:

Monday, Dec. 20: 8:00am - 5:00pm

Tuesday, Dec. 21: 8:00am - 5:00pm

Wednesday, Dec. 22 - Sunday, Jan. 2: CLOSED for Christmas break



Wishing you a joyous and peaceful Christmas season.

Rachel

Library Update

The North elevator is broken and will be repaired over the Christmas break. However, the South elevator is working.

Also, the stairwell painting is complete and the North stairwell is now open.

The Library is open and we're ready to serve you.



Rachel

Where is the Reference Librarian?

Students, I know you are trying to prepare for exams and finish those term papers right now. I am very sorry to be absent from the Reference Room.

I had foot surgery today, and now I am stuck at home with my foot on a pillow.

But if I can help you at all, please don't hesitate to email me. I will try to answer whatever questions I can with the means at my disposal!

Paula

Painters in the Library

Today and tomorrow, Dec. 14-15, you may hear some noise in the Library. Painters are assembling scaffolding on the 3rd floor North stairwell. They will be painting the ceiling and walls damaged by the heavy rains earlier this year.

We apologize for the noise and inconvenience.


Rachel

Lecture Today in the Reserve room

The Reserve room looks a little different today. The room is rearranged for the Belhar Confession Discussion led by Dawn DeVries. Come to the discussion from 4:30 - 5:15.

Reserve books are still accessible, but you may need to take them to the Reference room to have a quiet place to read.

Rachel

Extended Weekend Hours

This weekend the Library will be open for extended hours in preparation for exams and final projects. The hours this weekend will be...

Friday, Dec. 10: 8:00am - 10:00pm

Saturday, Dec. 11: 1:00pm - 8:00pm

Sunday, Dec. 12: 4:00pm - 9:00pm

Problem with BibleWorks

The good news is that our IT department is installing a new server!! It will replace the trouble-prone machine on which our Library websites reside.

The bad news is that we have temporarily lost access to BibleWorks -- we regret this very much. We know you need this resource and I am assured that IT is working diligently to correct these issues as quickly as possible. With any big technology upgrade, there are always snags and unforeseeable consequences. Please bear with us while we get them straightened out.

UPDATE : IT tells us that they are waiting to hear back from BW's tech support. There is some kind of permissions issue holding things up. We'll report more news as we receive it!

FURTHER UPDATE : The program is now about half fixed. You can get to it on the four computers in the Reference Room ... it's already open, so just click on it in the status bar on the bottom edge of the screen. Our IT folks are still trying to iron out some issues with it.

UPDATED UPDATE : We have restored the program to the point where you should be able to open it yourself, if you find it not yet open on one of the Ref Room computers. I believe it is also available in the Computer Lab downstairs. It still needs a bit of attention but should be usable now.

Paula

Advent Resources

It can be easy to miss this season of waiting and anticipation for Christmas in the hustle and bustle of final exams and Christmas displays in every store. Here at the Library we have loads of resources for Advent, as well as Christmas and Epiphany. Some featured selections can be found in the displays on the 'New Books' shelf next to the Circulation desk and in the Children's section. Other titles can be found on the east side of the third floor.

Please feel free to check in with us at the Circ desk if you have any questions or need assistance locating that perfect resource. We'd love to help!

We wish you joy and blessings, that you may experience the hope that is so bountifully experienced in this season of Advent.


Jill, Circulation student worker

Last chance to see special exhibit

This week is your last chance to enjoy the display of lovely 19th-century Sunday School materials created by our rare books cataloger, Ted Winter. Take a moment to read the interpretive information he has provided, and take a look at each of these charming little artifacts.

For more information about this exhibit, click HERE.

Paula

Website down over the weekend

A server failure caused us to lose access to our Library website over the Thanksgiving holiday. This was a huge inconvenience to many of our users -- and to us as well!! We couldn't even update this blog to let you know what was happening. We sincerely apologize for this failure. It is our understanding that the server on which our site resides is due to be replaced, and we all hope this will happen soon.

Please remember that even when our homepage is down, you may still be able to use the Library catalog. To do that, go directly to the catalog's own URL :

http://morton.upsem.edu:8991/F

This should work whether you are inside the Library or at home (off our network). If you are here in the Library, you can also get to our online databases using the link that is within our catalog -- ask one of us if you can't find it. But that link will not work from an off-campus location.

Paula

Special hours this week

We want to apologize again for our unexpected closing last Friday. There was a particularly virulent virus going around our campus, and six staffers were sick that day! That included our student workers for the Circulation Desk. The Seminary administrators thought it wise to close the campus for a day and try to stem the spread of the illness.

A Library is only as good as its staff, you know! The collection is created, maintained and made available for use by our dedicated and highly-trained professional staff, with the assistance of many clerical workers and helpers. This Thanksgiving holiday might be a good time to reflect on the huge blessing we have in this excellent Library and all of the people who commit themselves to making it work for you.

During this holiday week, we will remain open on limited hours :
Monday, 22 Nov : 8 am - 5 pm
Tuesday, 23 Nov : 8 am - 5 pm
Wednesday, 24 Nov : 8 am - noon
Thursday-Sunday : closed

Come on in and borrow or photocopy anything you might need over the holiday.

Paula

OPEN SAT & SUN

We've been notified that the Library is going to be open on Saturday and Sunday, during our usual open hours. I hope we will have enough staff to open!

Paula

SPECIAL CLOSING

We've been told that all Seminary classes are cancelled for today (Friday, Nov. 19th) and all offices have been told to close, including the Library.

We are very sorry for this unexpected closing.

We have not yet determined whether we can open over the weekend. As we get more news, we will post it here.

Paula

Thanksgiving Hours

Please note our abbreviated Thanksgiving Holiday hours:



Saturday, Nov. 20: 1:00pm - 6:00pm
Sunday, Nov. 21: 4:00pm - 6:00pm

Mon - Tues, Nov. 22 - 23: 8:00am - 5:00pm
Wed, Nov. 24: 8:00am - Noon
Thurs - Sun, Nov. 25 - 28: CLOSED



Happy Thanksgiving!

Rachel

Harriet and Her Squirrel

"It was Sabbath eve, when at a friend's house, we were all sitting in the piazza conversing about the exertions now making for the heathen ... 'Father,' said little Harriet, after listening a long time to our conversation, 'Father, do these little heathen children wish to learn to read the Testament? Will half a dollar buy one Testament, for one little heathen girl?'"

Find out the answer to Harriet's question. Will she find a way to provide a Bible to a needy child? And what does a squirrel have to do with it?

Come and read the charming little short story, "Harriet and Her Squirrel," which was published in The Family Visitor in 1822. It's part of our current exhibit of 19th-century Sunday School materials and periodicals for children and families. You'll find it in the flat glass display case near the Circulation Desk.

Paula

What is the ARDA?

It's the Association of Religion Data Archives. This site (funded by the Lilly Endowment, the Templeton Fund and Penn State University) is an amazing source, just packed with statistical information of all kinds :

• Find membership data for every county, state, and urban area in the United States, based on the Religious Congregations and Membership Study collected by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, the most complete census available on religious congregations and their members.
  
  
• Access the latest in religion research, national surveys, demographic patterns, and changes over time. Obtain detailed information and family trees for over 400 U.S. religious denominations.
  
  
• View maps of the social, economic, demographic, and religious landscape of the United States, all the way down to the neighborhood level. You can even generate a summary report using a variety of options.

And much more! I often get statistical or demographic questions at the Ref Desk, and I tell people, "If you can't find it on ARDA, you probably won't find it at all." Check it out!

http://www.thearda.com/

Paula

Theological Libraries Month

Sadly, we have come to the formal end of Theological Libraries Month, which is observed by ATLA member libraries in October of every year. I know it was a thrill, and I'm sorry!

However, the wonderful special exhibit of 19th-century Sunday School materials will remain in place till Dec. 7. Please take the time to see these charming rare books and periodicals, in the glass cases near the Library entrance and in the flat glass display case near the Circ Desk. Be sure to read the carefully-written quotes, labels and explanations of the significance of these materials, prepared by our Rare Books cataloger Ted Winter.

It may be a long time before these fragile items are displayed again, so come see them now!

Paula

Leak in Reading Reserve Room

There was a leak in the Reading Reserve room over the weekend. You will notice large fans and other equipment in that room. The Reading Reserve room is open and ready for you to use, but please be aware of the large equipment and cords.

Technicians will be in and out of the building today working on repairs. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience.


Rachel

Catalog maintenance Saturday night

We want you to know that our Morton Library catalog will be offline this weekend for scheduled maintenance, from about 11 pm Saturday night till about 7 am Sunday morning.

Again, many thanks to our systems librarian, Leland Deeds, for taking on this task at a time when it will minimize inconvenience to our users.

Paula

Missing Books

Have you tried to find a book on the shelf but it's not there? If the catalog shows a due date for that book then you won't find it on the shelf, but you can place a hold. We will notify you when the book has been returned. Also, another possibility is the book could be in Cataloging for mending or repair.

If you need help locating a book that should be on the shelf ask us! The Circulation staff is ready to help.


Rachel

Encyclopedia of Religion in America online

The Encyclopedia of Religion in America is a multidisciplinary resource for the study of religion in American life. This new online reference explores the origins, development, influence, and interrelations of the many faiths practiced in North America, including major world religions and emerging sects, cults and movements.

The ERA covers the significant denominations and movements that have originated or flourished in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, from the beginning of European settlement to the present. This work provides information about religious life among indigenous peoples, specific aspects of religious life, and the relationship of religion to the political, social, economic and cultural spheres.

Topics include : church-state issues, environment and ecology, gay and lesbian issues, religion and politics, religious life of African Americans and Latinos, religious thought, roles of women, and worship. To access this resource online, go to our Online Databases page.

Paula

New Covers!

Please stop by the "new books" shelf (next to the Circulation desk) to see something new! We now have plastic covers to protect our books so we will no longer discard the colorful and informative book jackets.

Rachel

CATALOG RESTORED

I'm happy to report that our wonderful systems librarian, Leland Deeds, was able to get our catalog server back to work again. Thank you, Leland!!

Paula

CATALOG DOWN

The Morton Library catalog is down at this time ... I have no information about what's wrong or how long it will be offline.

We apologize for this failure! We'll post more information as it becomes available.

Paula

Maintenance Today

Today, October 20, repair technicians will be working in the Library. The air conditioning/filter system will be turned off on the entire (all floors) West side (the Reference room side) of the building. The air conditioning WILL be working on the East side.

Also, repair technicians and painters will be working in the North stairwell to repair damages from the previous heavy rainstorms.

We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience.


Rachel

New online resource

The Encyclopedia of Religion in America is a multidisciplinary resource for the study of religion in American life. This new online reference explores the origins, development, influence, and interrelations of the many faiths practiced in North America, including major world religions and emerging sects, cults and movements.

The ERA covers the significant denominations and movements that have originated or flourished in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, from the beginning of European settlement to the present. This work provides information about religious life among indigenous peoples, specific aspects of religious life, and the relationship of religion to the political, social, economic and cultural spheres.

Topics include : church-state issues, environment and ecology, gay and lesbian issues, religion and politics, religious life of African Americans and Latinos, religious thought, roles of women, and worship. To access this resource online, go to our Online Databases page.

Paula

Altered Hours Today, October 13

Today the Library will close at 11:00am for a campus conference and will reopen at 2:30pm.

Also, please be aware that workers are doing roof repairs today, so there may be some noise in the building. We are sorry for any inconvenience!

Rachel

New web pages keep appearing

We are gradually rewriting the pages of the Library's public website, one at a time. You have already seen their appearance change, as we have restructured and redesigned the online Administrative Manual, the Tutorials center, and many of the Library's information pages. We are planning to rewrite the Instructional Resource Center site and the Catalog Tutorial pages eventually.

As each new page is introduced, links to it on other pages are disrupted. We are trying to find all of these broken links and correct them, but we don't always find them right away.

You can be a huge help to us by sending me a little heads-up whenever you find a broken link on any Library-related page. I'll take action to correct it at once. Thank you!!

Paula

E-journals list offline on Saturday

Our alphabetical list of electronic journals is expected to be offline for maintenance on Saturday, Oct 9th, from 7:00 am till noon. This is the A-Z list you can reach from our Library homepage, by clicking on the Electronic journals list link under RESEARCH.

We had no control over the timing of this service interruption, but the EBSCO company did notify us so we can pass on the information to you.

Paula

Charming new Library exhibit!

We are delighted to announce a new special exhibit for Theological Libraries Month.

Ted Winter, our rare books cataloger, has assembled a wonderful display of 19th century Sunday School books for children. (There are only three research-level collections of this material in the US, and we have one of them.)

He has also written excellent interpretive materials explaining the aims and uses of these lovely little books … each little book represents some aspect of the uses he writes about. You'll learn about the history of Christian education, methods of teaching the Christian faith, and directing moral development & spiritual life for children in the Victorian age. For more information about the Sunday School movement and the role of Presbyterian publishing in it, please see our Library NewsPage.

In the flat glass display case near the Circ Desk, there are some charming examples of faith-oriented periodicals for families from the same era, encouraging the teaching of children at home.

Don't miss this unique CE-related display. Be sure to make a little time to see it!

Paula

Sorry if we seem a bit distracted ...

This morning we have a lot going on. The technicians are here for the annual testing of our fire sprinkler system. The physical plant people are here to repair a new set of roof leaks. And the video repair technician is here, too.

We apologize for noise or commotion going on here that might interfere with your studies. Please bear with us until these jobs are finished.

Thank you,

Rachel

Disc Cleaning Service Available

We've all had scratches on our discs that made whatever we were listening to or watching skip. Or your child may have brought you her copy of The Wiggles DVD just after eating toast and honey...and you see where all the honey is now! Well, the IRC in the William Smith Morton Library can help you!

The Instructional Resource Center has a great machine we use to recondition our compact discs and digital video discs when we believe they may be in need of repair or cleaning. (Or, when you tell us a disc isn't playing well!) We're happy to provide this cleaning service to your personal discs as well.

We generally clean discs on Fridays. If you have a DVD or CD that you'd like us to clean, please drop it off at the IRC before Friday morning and it will be ready for pickup by 12:30 p.m. As the supplies for cleaning are somewhat expensive, we do charge $.50 per disc for this service.

Ann

For new students : the Library Top Ten !

Today we welcome our guest bloggers -- the Circulation student workers.

Now that fall is officially here, classes are in session, the flag football and ultimate Frisbee teams are practicing hard, the student workers at the Circulation desk here at Morton Library wanted to share with you our Library Top Ten. We hope that this information will inspire you as you study, guide you to the books and journals you need to find, and grow fuller into the realization that our library is truly a wonderful and magical place.

10. A wonderful card for a wonderful place: your library card is required for access to the building and to check out books. Did you know that you might not have to take your card out of your wallet or back pocket to get in? We at the Circ desk love seeing your sweet moves to avoid taking that card out. Make sure that you don’t lose your card though, it’s $10 to replace it!

9. While we’re on the subject of cards, let’s talk about copy cards. You need one of these to make copies at any of the 3 copiers on the first floor of the library or to print in the computer lab. You can purchase a copy card at the machine underneath the stairs at the south end of the library on the first floor. $0.50 buys you a card and then you load money onto that card for copies. Copies are $0.10 each. These machines only take cash though, so have it ready. If you run into problems, one of us at the Circ desk would love to help you!

8. Because our library is such a wonderful place, we know that you want to spend as much time as possible here. While you are here you are more than welcome to make use of open study carrels on the second floor, any of the group study rooms found throughout the library, or any of the numerous comfy nooks. When you are done with your books though, PLEASE don’t put them back on the shelves. We have re-shelving carts located on each wing of each floor. Please leave your books there and they will get re-shelved so you can come back tomorrow and get some more studying done. Please make use of these carts, they are there for you, and they help us make sure that books are available to everyone!

7. Did you know that you can buy used books from the library? Next to the Circ desk we have a great collection of used books for sale. One of us even found a textbook for class there this semester! Hard covers are $1 and paperbacks are $0.50. We can only take cash and checks for book sales, photocopies, and the occasional (and we hope very rare) overdue fine.

6. Overnight Reserves are a wonderful resource of our library. In our overnight reserve room, located on the north side of the first floor, you will find the textbooks you use in your classes and a variety of other texts that your professors have chosen to place on reserve. The purpose of this is to make a single book available to as many people as possible. These books are to be read in the overnight reserve room and shouldn’t be removed except to make copies. There is one lovely exception to this rule. You can check out overnight two hours before closing. Make sure to have them returned by 9:30 the next morning, overdue fines are $.50 per hour and they add up fast! Accumulate more than $10 of fines on your library account and we are no longer able to allow you to check books out until the fine is paid in full.

5. The Reference room -- books here remain in the library at all times. Some of the biblical commentaries you’ll find here on the west side of the first floor are also available to check out, just check in the stacks in the basement and you might just be in luck! The Reference room also has our current periodicals. They are shelved alphabetically with the most current issue of each publication on top. Just lift up the shelf to see if there are other issues to peruse. Bound periodicals, located on the east side of the basement are also shelved alphabetically. We spent all summer working hard to get this section in shape, and we’re proud to make it as easy as possible for you to find the bound periodical you are looking for. We also keep our oversized books next to the bound periodicals, so there’s plenty to explore down there!

4. One of our favorite tips for using the computer catalog is clicking the button that says “Is it a phrase?” This allows you to search for an entire phrase in order rather than the computer picking out key words. Computers are located on every floor and should be used for catalog searches. There is a computer lab in the basement that can be used for other tasks, such as email or viewing social media sites. Our computers are wonderful and you can access tons of online journals and publications. Come and ask us about it at the Circ desk, we’d love to show you!

3. Did you know that you don’t have to drag all of your books into the library just to renew them? You can access your library account online from anywhere. All you need is the long number beneath the barcode on your library card. This is your user name when you sign in and your password is the first three letters of your last name. Once you are signed into your library account you can store records, request books, and renew books!

2. As much as we would love to be able to provide you with a 24 hour service and access to the library, we do have to head home ourselves for sleeping, eating, and studying. We shut Circ computers down 15 minutes prior to closing. Once these computers are shut down we are unable to check anything out or renew anything, so make sure you get down to the Circ desk before then so we can help you out!

1. Lastly, we are always here to help. Please don’t ever hesitate to ask and we will do everything we can to get you the answers you need. Enjoy the library!

The Circ Workers

Expanded ProQuest data store

We're happy to announce that we now have access to the entire ProQuest Dissertations and Theses full-text database. Formerly, we subscribed only to the Humanities and Social Sciences subset of this valuable resource. Now, you can use it for any discipline or subject area.

PQDT is the world's most comprehensive and authoritative collection of dissertations and theses. It is the database of record for graduate research, with over 2.3 million documents included from around the world.

In many cases, PQDT provides previews of dissertations and theses : you can download the first 24 pages of the dissertation, look at the Table of Contents and the first few pages of the introduction, in order to determine whether the work fits your needs. Often you have the option of downloading the entire text as well.

To access this resource online, click HERE (use your network login).

Paula

New shelving order for the periodicals

If you are returning to campus, you might go downstairs to the compact shelving on Lowel Level East and say, "What the heck happened to the periodicals?"

Over the summer, our hard-working Circ staff reordered the entire periodicals stacks area. Now, instead of being shelved in order by call number, they are in alphabetical order by title, just like the Current Periodicals upstairs in the Reference Room. So it's no longer necessary for you to get a call number if you know the name of the journal you are looking for.

We hope this will simplify the task of finding and using our paper periodicals. Remember : only about 30% of the scholarly journals in the field of religion are available in digital formats. It's still necessary to consult journals in print to do your research.

Paula

New feature on the NewsPage

On our newly redesigned NewsPage, you will find an attractive display of new books received into our collection in the past month. We are planning to feature about 60 titles at a given time, with older ones rotating off as new ones are added.

To see more details on any of these new books, just click on its cover image, and a box will open showing publication data, plus our Morton Library call number (under "Tags").

I will caution you that some of these are so new that they are still in the Cataloging department being processed. If you have trouble finding any of them, check our Catalog, or ask at the Circulation Desk.

Paula

New Location for Media Reserves

Beginning this term, all videos and DVDs that have been placed on reserve for courses at UPSem and BTSR will be held at the Circulation Desk. (In the past, these items have been placed in cabinets in the IRC.)

You can still view an audiovisual title in the IRC, but you will need to check it out as a 2 hour loan at the circulation desk and return it there when you are through. You can also check out one of these items two hours before the Library closes and return it by 9:30 a.m. the next day.

We had some trouble last year getting reserve material that was returned late back to the IRC when people needed it, so we're hoping this change makes it easier for you to get the reserve videorecordings when you need them!

Ann

Catalog maintenance Thursday night

Our Morton Library catalog is scheduled to run some updates tonight, starting about midnight and running till about 2:30 am.

During this period, some services or functions of the catalog may be briefly interrupted.

Paula

ILL Form Working Again

Our ILL request form link from inside the Library catalog has been down since July 1. We're happy to report that it is now back up and ready for your use. (And some of you have already discovered that since we've already had 3 requests come through this afternoon!)

You can link to our request form by clicking on the ILL Form tab at the top right of any page within the Library catalog.

For instructions on submitting an interlibrary loan request, please click HERE.

Ann

Summer hours still in effect this week

Please be aware that the Library will be on early closing hours this week -- closing at 5:00 pm. Fall term hours will begin on Monday, Sept. 13th.

Paula

Catalog maintenance this weekend

Just want you to know that we will be running a full "cold backup" of our Library catalog servers on Saturday night, into Sunday morning (about 11 pm till 7 am). This means that our Morton Library catalog and some other electronic services will be offline during this period.

Many thanks to our wonderful systems librarian, Leland Deeds, for his willingness to conduct this necessary work at a time when it will cause as little inconvenience to our users as possible.

Paula

New Addition to the Children's Literature Blog

I am delighted to announce that we began a new feature on the children's literature blog this morning.

Each Monday, the post on that blog will be about books that might help illustrate themes in the lectionary passages for the upcoming Sunday. The posts will include a link to summaries and reviews of the book, and a brief paragraph about some connections that can be made between that book and the scripture passage. The first post went live today. If you want to see the cumulative list of posts linking books and the Revised Common Lectionary, click on the "Lectionary Links" link in the Categories list on the blog home page. All of the lectionary links are written by 2010 UPSem graduate Noell Rathbun.

We hope this will be a valuable resource for you. We also hope these posts will begin a conversation with you about how you use children's books for preaching and teaching.

Ann

Late Summer Hours now in effect

Beginning Monday 23 Aug, EVENING HOURS will be curtailed at the Morton Library, and we will be CLOSED SUNDAY. While no classes are in session, we want to give our faithful and diligent student workers some time off.

Here are the open hours for 23 Aug thru 12 Sept :

Monday - Friday, 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
Saturday, 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Be aware also that we are closed for the Labor Day weekend, 4-6 Sept. You can always see the current term hours in detail by clicking on the HOURS link on our Morton Library homepage.

Paula

Catalog down Saturday night

Routine maintenance on our Library catalog server is planned for Saturday night. The Morton Library catalog will be offline for several hours, from approximately 11 pm Saturday until 7 am Sunday.

Our systems librarian tries to schedule this work at times when it will cause as little disruption to our users as possible. Thank you, Leland!

Paula

Late Summer Hours begin next week

Get ready! Beginning Monday 23 Aug, EVENING HOURS will be curtailed at the Morton Library, and we will be CLOSED SUNDAY. While no classes are in session, we want to give our faithful and diligent student workers some time off.

Here are the open hours for 23 Aug thru 12 Sept :

Monday - Friday, 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
Saturday, 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Be aware also that we are closed for the Labor Day weekend, 4-6 Sept.You can always see the current term hours in detail by clicking on the HOURS link on our Morton Library homepage.

Paula

ILL in limbo

I'm sorry to report that the Interlibrary Loan request form that is supposed to be available through our Morton Library catalog is still nonfunctional. Ironically, the contractor who updated the UPSem website is responsible for its disappearance! He is also the one tasked with restoring it. So, it is on his list of corrections waiting to be done.

If you are a current student, faculty or staff member of UPSem or BTSR, you may request ILL service. Until the form is fixed, we are asking people to send their ILL requests by email (not by phone, please) to Lisa Janes personally, at lisa.janes@upsem.edu.

Please be aware that Lisa is on vacation this week ... she expects to be back on Friday, 20 Aug.

Paula

Extended Hours Monday - Friday

This week, August 2 - 6, the Library will be open extended hours...

Monday - Friday: 8:30am - 10:00pm


We welcome our ECP (Extended Campus Program) students!

Rachel

More Commentaries!

We continue to see and enjoy the results of your comments and suggestions from this year's Public Services Survey. We recently added 3 new commentary sets to our collection - in addition to the new sets added in May. These are in the stacks and ready for check out.

Thank you for your suggestions!

Rachel

Summertime Reading

Today we welcome a guest blogger, Rachel Mastin, UPSem MACE/MDiv student...

It's summertime and for most people this means less trips to the theological library. A public library sure, they've got kids books and movies and light summer fun reading and air conditioning. But wait! The Morton Library has all of these things too! On the second floor you can find a wide variety of children's books, my favorite recent discovery is "Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!", a compilation between some old Dr. Seuss notes and drawings, Jack Prelutsky and Lane Smith. You can also find movies up on the second floor just inside the doors to the IRC - come browse and pick something up.

And what about fun, relaxing, lighter than Von Rad reading this summer? On the first floor of the Library, sandwiched between books on learning biblical Greek and Hebrew and our collection of Greek and Hebrew bibles, you can find books by C.S. Lewis, Wendell Berry, Garrison Keillor, A.A. Milne, Wally Lamb, Barbara Kingsolver, Anne Lamott, Gail Godwin, Philip Pullman, James Baldwin, Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll and more! These books are fun to read and provide potential sermon illustrations or small group discussion pieces as well. Stop by the Circulation desk to say Hi and let us know if we can help you find some summer reading!

Rachel Mastin

ILL Form Has Disappeared

We've been notified that the ILL form that can be accessed through our catalog and library web pages has disappeared. While we wait to get help recovering it, please make your ILL requests through EMAIL to Lisa Janes (lisa.janes@upsem.edu) . Lisa finds it most helpful to have your requests in writing so that nothing gets lost in telephone translation, so while the form is out, email will work. We hope the form will be available again soon.

Ann

Lovely new exhibit in the Library

Every summer when the new students arrive for their language classes, we try to have an exhibit ready for them in the Library. We try to design something that may inspire them as they begin their course of theological study.

This year, we’ve selected seven beautiful volumes from our rare books collection, calling it “Historic Bibles of the Renaissance and Baroque.” We’ve chosen three from the 1500s (when moveable type was cutting-edge technology), two from the 1600s and two from the 1700s. Each of them is unique in some important way … beside each book is a little two-sentence interpretation of why they are so special. They are placed in the large glass display cases near the entrance, and also in the flat display case near the Circ Desk.

Please come by to have a look at them. If you are a new student, I’d like you to know that this exhibit is in your honor, so to speak … that you stand in the presence of giants of biblical scholarship through the ages, and are now embarking on that path.

Paula

CATALOG IS BACK

As of 9:00 pm, our catalog is again available. We are uncertain yet whether we have experienced any data loss, but the catalog does seem to be able to search for and retrieve records.

We all want to express the greatest appreciation for our valiant systems librarian, Leland Deeds. He has devoted countless hours of effort to restoring our information systems, and we are very grateful.

If there are other developments, we will report them here.

Paula

CATALOG DOWN

Friends, our Morton Library catalog server got knocked on the head last night by a power failure. It seems to have a fault that is preventing it from rebooting correctly.

Until this fault is corrected, you will not be able to use our Library catalog. We are offering an outdated version of our data on the "test" server inside the Library only, until the Morton server recovers. We apologize for this very aggravating situation!

Please check here for further information as it becomes available.

Paula

9 am Thursday : A full diagnostic of the hardware showed no errors, so we apparently have a software issue. Our systems librarian is in close contact with the software vendor. We hope they will clarify the situation soon!

NEW platform for the ATLA Religion Database

Please note that we have replaced our former version of the ATLA Religion Database and ATLA Serials (ATLAS). We have been preparing for a transition of this resource to the EBSCO platform, but we are aware that it will seem unsettling to those who are accustomed to the old interface.

The good news is that the EBSCO platform is really the current "gold standard" for indexing databases, and we have wanted to offer this interface for a long time. Well, ready or not, here it is! To access this resource, go to our Online Databases page.

There is now a detailed new tutorial to help people learn the special features of this resource platform. To reach the ATLA-RDB/ATLAS tutorial, click HERE.

We do apologize for any problems caused by this transition ... we hope the tutorials and planned training workshops for students will help make it easier. If you have additional questions, please come see me!

Paula

I'm melting! I'm freezing!

In this scorching weather, we are lucky to have air conditioning in the Library. But people sometimes ask us if we should try to save money by not cooling it so much in the summer. Surprisingly, the answer is no.

This building uses an ice-cooling method called a "chiller." At night, when the energy cost is low, the system freezes water stored under the building. Then in the daytime, the fans circulate air over the ice to chill it, then move it around the building. So it is actually an economical and somewhat "green" system already (because it does not increase demand during peak use hours).

Now, if you would like it less air-conditioned in here because you feel cold, that's something else again! The computer is supposed to keep the temperature moderate and stable, but that doesn't always happen.

Paula

Extended hours for ECP

We'd like to welcome students participating in our Extended Campus Program, who are here in Richmond for their on-campus study period.

Please note that we have added hours this week to help our ECP-ers get their work done! The Library will be open until 10 pm on 14-18 June, and 21-22 June.

For a full view of Library hours in the current term, click HERE.

Paula

The end of SFX and MetaLib

Among the changes happening to our electronic resources this summer is the end of our subscription to SFX and MetaLib. The SFX program operates mostly behind the scenes ... it's a "links resolver" that enables our e-journals to function. MetaLib is a "metasearching" utility that allows people to search more than one of our resources at the same time ... you can search several of our databases at once, for example. MetaLib was popular with many of our users and some will be upset that it has terminated.

The good news is that we have a new links resolver in place, and a temporary e-journals A-Z list. You can get to the list by clicking HERE. This utility still needs some work, so you might get some odd results for a while. Also in the good news column is a new metasearching utility, coming soon. Stay tuned for further information.

Paula

It's time to update your Library card

Did you know your library card expires June 30 each year? In order to continue using your library card, all you need to do is stop by the Circulation desk so we may update your information.

We update this time each year to ensure we maintain your current contact information, fines are paid, and overdue/lost books are returned. Fines MUST be paid before updating your account. We accept cash or checks only.

Also, be sure we have your current email address. The Library uses this information solely for the courtesy reminder notices of upcoming due dates. We do not share or sell any of your contact information.

Rachel

Summer hours now in effect

I arrived at the Library this morning at 8:20 and found myself locked out. Duh!! Summer hours begin today ... I should have known that!

The doors will be unlocked at 8:30 am, not 8:00. During the summer we are lightly staffed, since many of our wonderful student workers have summer internships or training programs taking place outside Richmond. Full-time staff also take their vacations during the summer, so that we will be absent when user traffic is low.

So do yourself a favor and become familiar with the summer hours! Here are the DETAILS.

Please note that the schedule changes again on 23 Aug for a brief period of late summer hours.

Paula

NEW Commentaries

THANK YOU to those who completed our recent Public Services Survey. As a result of your comments and suggestions we have good news!

Morton Library has purchased an additional set of the Sacra Pagina Commentary Series. All 16 volumes, Matthew - Revelation, are currently in the stacks and ready for checkout.

Rachel

Plan ahead! Closed next weekend

Time to plan ahead for your research or study needs ... the Library will be closed next weekend for the Memorial Day holiday. So, remember to borrow or copy what you will need ahead of time.

Closed Saturday, 29 May through Monday, 31 May.

We wish everyone a safe and refreshing break -- especially our new graduates!

Paula

Catalog maintenance again

The Morton Library catalog will be offline for maintenance tonight (Thursday, May 20th), from about midnight till about 2:30 am. Another maintenance period is scheduled for Sat, May 22nd through Sun, May 23rd, approximately 11 pm till 7 am.

We are sorry for this inconvenience. Again, we are thankful to our wonderful systems librarian, Leland Deeds, who is willing to undertake this task at a time that will cause minimal disruption to our users.

Paula

Moving Periodicals

This summer the Circulation staff will be moving the lower level periodicals into alphabetical order by title instead of call number. You may find some periodicals located on carts in that area as we make the transition. There are signs to help direct. Please let us know if we can help. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience.

Rachel

Catalog maintenance tonight

The Morton Library catalog will be offline for maintenance tonight (Tuesday, May 18th), from about midnight till about 2:30 am.

We are sorry for this inconvenience. Again, we are thankful to our wonderful systems librarian, Leland Deeds, who is willing to undertake this task at a time that will cause minimal disruption to our users.

Paula

Website rewrite

One of the things people mentioned on our recent Morton Library survey is the need for updates to our websites. For some time, we have been confined to an inflexible table-based layout that limits what we can do with our information online. We are now in the process of preparing new pages that will offer greater options and capabilities.

With our institutional name change this summer, we will also need to change the domain names of all of our Library information sources -- a complex and potentially disruptive process. We ask you to bear with us as we comb through our hundreds of pages checking links. We hope to complete the transition this summer.

Paula

Calling all Graduates

Did you know that the resources of the Library are available to you after you graduate? You can continue to visit the Library with your current card, or, if you're moving away, BTSR and Union-PSCE graduates can take advantage of our Extension Program and we'll mail you books or media material that can help you with your ministry. You can see how that works by visiting this page.

We'll need an updated address and possibly a new email address from you, so be sure and contact Lisa Janes at lisa.janes@union-psce.edu when you're settled so she can update your patron status to alumni/ae and continue providing you with these great resources.

Ann

Dead Sea Scrolls electronic library

In the Spring term, Prof. Adams taught BIB 403, "Introduction to the Dead Sea Scrolls." His students were challenged to study and analyze the texts, not just from transcriptions, but as written in manuscript on these ancient scrolls. They were able to do this using an amazing Brill product that reproduces digital images of the Qumran scrolls, plus transcriptions, translations, an inventory and search software. The program includes lemmatization and morphological analyses of all the Hebrew/Aramaic words and allows searching of all words and combinations of words, separate morphemes and grammatical groups.

Probably most of our users are not aware that we offer such a tool for study. Until you need it, you are not likely to roam around looking for it! Remember that we offer much more than just our Library catalog and the ATLA Religion Database ... a whole set of specialized resources is here for your use as well.

To find out more about our electronic resources, take a look HERE, HERE and HERE.

Paula

Welcome all alumni/ae and Sprunt visitors !

It's a pleasure for us every year to welcome our returning alums, especially those enjoying their class reunions. Some folks have never even seen the new Library! Please feel free to come in, wander around, ask us questions, use our computers. Also, remember that you are entitled to alumni privileges free of charge at the Library, enabling you to borrow books and other materials, and have remote access to the ATLA Religion Database and the ATLAS full-text e-journals collection.

More details on alumni privileges are found HERE

More details on the ATLAS for Alumni/ae program are found HERE

Also, you have the chance this week to enjoy the beautiful objects in David Partington's unique art collection. This distinguished alum has loaned these lovely works to us to display temporarily -- the exhibit ends on May 7th. Please come and see them!

More information on the art exhibit is available HERE

Welcome all! And please let us know if we can help you in any way.

Paula

Library Closing Early Today

Today, April 30, the Library will be closing early at 5:00pm.

Our weekend hours will remain the same: Saturday, 1:00 - 6:00pm and Sunday, 4:00 - 9:00pm.

Enjoy the beautiful weekend!

Rachel

Why do the books stick out?

In the stacks you may see books 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 encourages minimal searching for "lost" books which have been mis-shelved.

Please don't re-shelve or push in these books. This ensures job security for our Circulation staff!

Rachel

Results of the Morton Library survey

One more big thank you to everyone who returned a Morton Library survey! We do need the information you provided, and it should directly benefit you as well.

For example, 70% of you told us that having Saturday and Sunday open hours is important to you. This confirms for us that Spring term's experiment with new weekend hours should be continued through 2010. So we will extend the Saturday and Sunday hours now in effect through May, Summer and Fall terms, then look at the traffic numbers and reassess.

We also noted a lot of information gaps out there ... people told us frankly that there is a lot they don't know about the resources we have available here and how to use them. This blog was started two years ago, after our 2008 Morton Library survey, with the intention of communicating to everyone the information we gained from it and how we were implementing their suggestions, as well as clearing up some of the confusion and lack of knowledge besetting our community.

PLEASE get into the habit of checking this blog regularly. You need this information! You can easily add an RSS feed to alert you of new posts. We try to keep to a schedule of adding posts three times a week, and of course earlier ones are always available to view. We won't waste your time with philosophical musings ... this blog is meant to distribute useful information. Help us help you!

Paula

Searching for Curriculum

"I need to teach preschoolers the story of David and Goliath."

"Do you have anything for adults about faith in the workplace?"

"We want to do an intergenerational study on the Psalms during the summer that uses DVDs."

The Morton Library catalogers do an amazing job cataloging our curriculum so you can find what you need using a number of search parameters. You can search by age level, by Scripture passage, by keyword, and all the other usual ways that you can search something in our catalog.

There are so many riches within the pages of each curriculum piece that it is helpful to have a way to find it all. As usual, our tutorials can teach you how to acess that information! Take a look here to see how to search for just the curriculum that you need.

Ann

Extended Hours this Weekend

The Library will be open for extended hours this weekend as students prepare for final exams...

• Friday, April 23: 8:00am - 10:00pm
  
• Saturday, April 24: 1:00pm - 8:00pm
  
• Sunday, April 25: 4:00pm - 9:00pm

Rachel

Podcasting and Beyond

As part of the Library's continuing efforts to support teaching and learning at the seminary, and to promote the use of our Multimedia Creation Lab, Leland Deeds and I taught a class on podcasting yesterday. We learned a lot from the class - and hope they learned something as well! Now...where do we go next? What are you interested in learning?

During the class yesterday, we worked with a free open source audio editor called Audacity but there's plenty more to learn about recording and editing audio files. Whether you're a teacher hoping to use audio in our online ECP classes or you've got a passion about something you want to share with the world through a podcast, an audio editor can be your friend. If you're interested in delving into more audio editing, we've got the space and materials for you to work with in the Library MCL.

Interested in video blogging? Want to know how to work with photographic images? We want to hear what would help you so let us hear from you as we begin to plan other learning opportunities for the seminary community.

Ann

Fire Alarm Testing

Tuesday morning, April 13, between 8:00 - 9:00 technicians will be testing the fire alarm in the Library. We want to warn you it will be VERY LOUD!

Rachel

Children's Book Displays

A lot has been written about children's books on this blog recently, which is probably a little surprising since that collection is such a small part of our library holdings! But it is full of treasures that can provide rich resources for church school teachers, educators, pastors, parents and children! Jill Isola, first level student at Union-PSCE, has taken on a special project to highlight some of the themes in these books.

Each month, children's books on a particular theme will be displayed in three places: on top of the bookcases in the hallway where the books are housed, in the center window sill on the second floor east side (in front of the bookcases) and in the "New Book" display outside of the Circulation Desk on the first level.

The theme for April is Children and Prayer. Come take a look and thank Jill for her work in this area!

Ann

Reserve Books

Books in the Reading Reserve room have been selected by professors to be shared by all students. When using these books please remember...

• DO NOT remove these books from the Reading Reserve room for reading elsewhere - other students in your class will need access to these books, too!

• Reserve books may be removed from that room ONLY for photocopying or overnight loans.

• Two books per patron may be checked out 2 hours before closing and then returned by 9:30am the following morning.

Rachel

There's still time to submit your survey!

Friends, we have extended the due date on your Morton Library surveys ... please get them to us by the end of this week, April 9th.

Due to Spring Break and Easter, and a bit of a delay getting distribution sorted out for BTSR, we decided to move the date back a bit. PLEASE don't forget that we really need this information to tailor Library services to the needs of our community. Plus, we have some nice prizes to offer!

For more details, click HERE, or contact me.

Paula

Easter Weekend Hours

Please note our limited hours for Easter weekend...

Good Friday, April 2: 8:00am - 5:00pm

Holy Saturday, April 3: CLOSED

Easter Sunday, April 4: CLOSED

Wishing you a blessed and peaceful Easter weekend.

Rachel

Morton Library is Looking for Children's Artwork!

You may have noticed the clean-up going on right inside the bridge on 2nd floor North where some of the children's books are housed. The top shelves have been taken down, giving us some wall space where we're hoping to add some color and creativity!

Children of the Union-PSCE and BTSR community are invited to submit artwork that features their favorite book. Artwork should be 8 1/2 in size and colorful! We are excited to feature our children's creativity in a rotating display. Artwork can be submitted at the circulation desk during normal library hours until May 31, 2010. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Jill Isola, jill.isola@union-psce.edu

Ann

It's Morton Library survey time !

The William Smith Morton Library invites you to express your opinion of our collections and services. We are sending our survey to all current students, faculty and staff of Union-PSCE and BTSR by email, as an attached Excel file. Please return the survey to Paula Skreslet by April 6th.

Every BTSR or Union-PSCE individual who completes the attached survey and returns it will receive a numbered coupon worth TEN FREE PHOTOCOPIES. Just bring your coupon to the Circulation Desk and we will add $1.00 to your copy card.

In addition, every respondent will be entered in our DRAWING to win one of these nice prizes:

• Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (10 volumes), like new
• The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, good condition (5 volumes)
• J.J. Owens' Analytical Key to the Old Testament, like new (4 volumes)
• Moulton-Geden's Concordance to the Greek Testament, 5th edition
• Hendrickson's Interlinear Bible, OT and NT, 1985 one-volume edition

The survey should take only a few minutes to complete. Please save it to your computer, edit it with your responses, save it again, and then send a reply email to me with your completed survey as an attachment. If you have trouble doing this, contact me and I will send you the survey form printed on paper.

We are always trying to improve our services to you, and your guidance will help us to do that. PLEASE RESPOND -- your help will be very much appreciated!!

Paula

Art exhibit official opening and reception

The special exhibit of the show "Epiphanies of Beauty," featuring objects from the art collection of David Partington, will be celebrated tonight at a special viewing and reception, 6:30-8:30 pm. David and Sarah Partington will be present at the reception. Paintings and prints will be hanging in the Atrium and downstairs below the Atrium. One painting and a selection of books & journals containing information about the featured artists will be seen in the glass display cases near the Library's main entrance.

This unique exhibit includes He Qi’s “Supper at Emmaus,” Edward Knippers’ “Baptism of Christ” and Makoto Fujimura’s “Shalom.” David Partington earned a Master of Divinity degree from Union Seminary in 1978. He and his wife are generously sharing this impressive collection for the art exhibit, funded with the support of The Carl Howie Center for Science, Art and Theology.

The display will be open to the public on Mondays-Saturdays, 1-4 pm, until May 7 (closed April 2-3).

Paula

New Titles on the Free Table....

We're in the middle of our bi-annual curriculum inventory and always have some titles that we remove and that will not go into the stacks. Our free table, located at the south end of the IRC, will be getting filled up over the next several weeks. Come by and see if there are things you might be able to use in your ministries!

Ann

What's up with the current periodicals?

You might have noticed that the area of the Reference Room where we house the current issues of journals seems to be shrinking. Some of this shrinkage is due to shelving the journals closer together ... they were very spread out on the shelves before. But it's also true that there are fewer print periodicals coming into the Library.

There are three reasons for this :
1) Some academic journals formerly maintained by universities, seminaries, learned societies and other voluntary associations have ceased publication, due to increased costs.
2) Many journals are moving to an electronic-only format, again to save money on printing, postage, etc.
3) Some journals have gone up in price so dramatically that we have decided to terminate our subscription.

An example of the third factor is the Review of Faith and International Affairs, which used to cost us $49.85 for our subscription. It has been purchased by a commercial publisher (Routledge/Taylor & Francis) and they raised the price to $264 -- a fivefold increase! This kind of thing makes it hard for us to continue certain titles.

We are always interested in hearing from you about the journals you value most. Please contact me with your comments or questions.

Paula

Loud Noise Today

Technicians are here today to repair our access gate. They will be drilling in the slate floor and installing additional parts for the gate to work more effectively.

We apologize for the loud noise and inconvenience. Thank you for your patience.

Rachel

Art Exhibit

The installation of the art exhibit in the Library atrium will continue today and tomorrow. The "Epiphanies of Beauty" exhibit will begin on Monday, March 15 and continue to Friday, May 7.

The exhibit is open to the public Monday - Saturday, 1-4pm and closed Easter weekend, April 2-3. Brochures will be available detailing the artists and their artwork.

The Library will host a reception Monday, March 22, 6:30 - 8:30pm to officially welcome the opening of the art exhibit. Please join us!

Rachel

Art exhibit installation begins Tuesday, March 8th

The special exhibit of the show "Epiphanies of Beauty," featuring the art collection of David Partington, will be installed beginning Tuesday. A professional gallery installer will hang the pieces in the Atrium. Later this month, Rev. Partington will bring additional small objects that will be placed in the glass display cases at the Library's main entrance.

This unique exhibit includes He Qi’s “Supper at Emmaus,” Edward Knippers’ “Baptism of Christ” and Makoto Fujimura’s “Shalom.” David Partington earned a divinity degree from Union Seminary in 1978. He and his wife are generously sharing this impressive collection for the art exhibit, funded with the support of The Carl Howie Center for Science, Art and Theology.

We ask you to excuse any disturbance caused by the installation work.

Paula

Catalog maintenance this weekend

We will be re-indexing the Morton Library catalog in the overnight hours, tonight at midnight and Saturday at midnight. The catalog will be unavailable for several hours during the "graveyard shift." The entire process should be finished by Sunday morning.

All of us owe our thanks to our systems librarian, Leland Deeds, who is willing to monitor this process late at night on the weekend in order to minimize inconvenience for our users. Thank you, Leland!!

Paula

Server maintenance Saturday night

Just want folks to know that the Morton Library catalog server will be down for backup on Saturday night, Feb. 27th, from about 11 pm till Sunday morning.

All functions of the catalog, SFX and MetaLib will be offline. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Paula

Restricted Curriculum

Many curriculum publishers, concerned that library and resource center patrons may be tempted to use library copies of consumable copyrighted curriculum material in their own educational settings, are licensing their curriculum products for in-house use only. For students on campus, this may not present a problem. It's easier for you to come to the Library and see something here. For those who live off campus or who are our public patrons, this makes for a challenge if you're trying to have a group evaluate a particular piece of material!

If you have a group that would like to preview this restricted curriculum, please contact me at the Library as I would be glad to schedule a time when your group could come and see it.

Ann

Karl Barth Section

The Circulation staff continues the moving project in the lower level, C-L section. Currently we're working in the Barth section (GW call numbers). This section may be difficult to navigate due to the lengthy call numbers (sometimes 8 or more lines long). Please be sure to ask the Circulation staff if you have difficulty locating what you need. We'll be glad to help!

Rachel

The sky is falling !

Well no, not really. But over the weekend, there were some serious water leaks in the Library. They were not the result of snowmelt, as you might expect, but rather a failure of the HVAC system. In a number of places on the East side of the building, water built up behind the ceiling tiles and brought them down, resulting in a big mess. Our hard-working staff dealt with it at once, so the water and debris have been cleaned up by now.

In a few places you will still see tarps or plastic sheets over the stacks, mainly as a precaution in case the HVAC system is not quite finished leaking. If you need access to materials under cover, feel free to ask the folks at the Circ Desk for help.

We apologize for the mess and noise during the weekend hours, and for any disturbance as repair work continues.

Paula

Summer's coming ... new VBS materials available for preview

I know we can still see the snow on the ground, but I've already had people coming in asking to see VBS material for their summer programming. In keeping with all the work we've been doing around here with children's literature and ministry, I thought I would mention several summer series that use children's literature as a central theme and connecting point with the Biblical story. You can preview all of these in the Instructional Resource Center.

LeaderResources has really taken the lead on producing material that connects the themes of the Christian faith with children's literature. They have produced four series based on very familiar novels for children. We have a resource center subscription to LeaderResources, so you can come preview these on computers in the Center. Unfortunately, you cannot check them out to preview with a church.

• Aslan on the Move. Uses The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (the DVD) as a focus for study.


• Wizards and Wonders. The Harry Potter books provide themes such as identity, moral choices and faith that are explored in this package.


• Dare to be Different . Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time is used in this series.


• Wild Willy's Candy Factory uses the DVD of Roald Dahl's classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to explore the story of the Prodigal Son.

If you use one of these for VBS, we'd love to see a review here!

Ann

Problem with network access -- FIXED NOW

There is a technical fault blocking access within the Library to one of our IP-authenticated online resources, the Digital Karl Barth Library. When you click on that link on our Online Databases page and attempt to make a search, you get an error message asking for another login. That's a fault -- it shouldn't be happening.

It's still possible to get to this database when you are outside of our network and you login with your network user ID and password. So if you are at home, you probably won't even notice it. Only on-campus access seems to be affected.

We apologize for this situation and hope to have it resolved soon.

Paula

The academic library

You must read this beautiful, quotable post on the nature of academic libraries and librarians (especially theological libraries). This guy really gets it!!

Faith and Theology blogspot

Paula

Another Great APCE Conference

It has always one of my great joys to attend the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators annual event, held this year in Nashville, Tennessee. While it isn't a conference that focuses on libraries and their work, it is a place where I am exposed to lots of new resources and ideas from people in ministry all around the world and I'm always grateful the Seminary sees it as important to the work of the Instructional Resource Center It helps me think about the work of theological education that we do here, and how we can connect what I am see at APCE with what might be helpful to students and faculty and other patrons. I'll be ordering resources I saw there over the next few weeks and hope they will be useful to you.

Before those new resources come in, I highly recommend a book we have on our shelves now - Leaving Northhaven: The Further Adventures of a Small Town Pastor - by Michael Lindvall. Dr. Lindvall was the keynote speaker at APCE this year and the stories he shared from this book are not to be missed! Read it while you wait for the compact discs of his reading of the stories to arrive.
Ann

Campus closed Wednesday, February 10th

We have been notified that the Richmond campus will not open today due to the stormy weather. Unfortunately, the Library must be closed as well. We are sorry to disappoint you!

Paula

Delayed opening Monday, February 8th

The administration has announced that Union-PSCE's Richmond campus will open at 10:30 am on Monday, Feb 8. The "Delayed Opening Class Schedule" will be in effect.

Please expect the Library to open at 10:30 on Monday morning, in order to give our staff sufficient time to get there, and the hard-working Physical Plant workers time to clear steps, walkways and parking areas.

Be safe, everyone!

Paula

LIBRARY CLOSED THIS WEEKEND

The Library will be closed today and tomorrow, February 6 and 7, due to the inclement weather.

Please check back regarding possible closings or delayed openings for next week.


Rachel

Open Friday, February 5 ...

We now intend to keep the Library open all day today, until 8 pm. Several of our wonderful student workers (who live on campus and are able to get home safely) have volunteered to cover the Circ Desk so we can stay open.

The Reference Librarian will be here till 2 pm, but the rest of the professional staff and department heads will not be available.

We are not yet sure about weekend hours, but we will probably have to remain closed on Saturday, since ice and heavier snow are predicted, and that will make the building (steps, walkways) unsafe. We will wait to make that decision until tomorrow morning. Please check here for further updates.

Paula

Friday, Feb 5 snowfall

We have been told that the Union-PSCE campus will close today from 9:30 am. Offices will close and classes are cancelled.

The Library will remain open as long as possible today. The current plan is to remain open until 2 pm and then re-evaluate staffing and building access. We will post further changes here ... and you can also call the Circ Desk at 804-278-4310 for updates.

Paula

Delayed opening Tuesday, February 2nd

The Union Seminary campus will delay opening until 10:30 on Tuesday, Feb 2nd.

More precipitation is forecast, and the grounds crew needs time to ensure that buildings and parking lots are accessible. It's our understanding that the Library opening will be delayed as well.

Paula

Campus closed Monday, February 1st

We have been told that, due to significant snow accumulation, the Richmond campus will be closed on Monday, Feb 1st.

I am assuming that means the Library will also be closed, though the message we received did not make that clear.

Paula

NEW Spring Term Hours

Our NEW Spring term hours begin today. Please note that Sunday hours have been added and Saturday hours have been shortened on an experimental basis during the Spring term.

• Monday - Thursday 8:00am - 10:00pm


• Friday 8:00am - 8:00pm


• Saturday 1:00pm - 6:00pm


• Sunday 4:00pm - 9:00pm

Rachel

Reminder about Media Reserves

This is just a friendly reminder that videos and DVDs that are put on reserve by professors are held in the Instructional Resource Center. There are many videos on reserve for spring term and you may no longer have a video player at home! We have two players in the Center and you are welcome to just pull a title from the reserve shelf to the left of the stairs as you enter the Center and watch it on our machines.

As with books, if you want to watch a media reserve title at home, you have to wait until two hours before the Library closes and return it by 9:30 a.m. the next day.

Ann

Story Time at Morton Library

Today we welcome our first guest blogger, Jenny Csinos, Union-PSCE M.A.C.E. student :

Everyone loves a good story, especially children. When I was young, I loved reading and hearing Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, looking at picture Bibles, and hearing the melodious rhymes of the Jillian Jiggs books. Yes, storybooks can be a wonderful way for parents to connect with children, for young people to be spiritually nurtured, and for Christian educators to connect faith and life. But some books can be quite expensive - especially when you're on a tight CE budget - and it can be hard to decide which books to purchase. If only there was a library with a good collection of children's books that are especially helpful for religious educators and parents who wish to nurture their children's faith.

Well, look no further. The Morton library has a top-notch collection of children's books that will illuminate the mind, dazzle the imagination, and nourish the spirit. This collection includes a wide variety of stories from several authors; stories like Dr. Seuss' classic rhyming tales, Sandy Sasso's marvelous books that encourage children to wonder about God and Nancy Tillman's stories that remind children that they are loved. Union-PSCE's own Karen-Marie Yust writes that there are four different types of faith storybooks: those that attempt to remain similar to biblical translations, those that tell stories about the stories in the Bible, those that connect human stories to biblical stories or messages and those that speak of biblical principles (Real Kids, Real Faith, 49). The library's collection has got all these kinds of stories! Why not stop by the children's collection on the second floor of the library and take home some books for those in your life who are young, or those who are, like me, young at heart. And for some assistance in selecting and using these storybooks, check out one of Union-PSCE's newest resources - Children's Literature: A Resource for Ministry (http://storypath.wordpress.com).

Jenny

Stacks shift -- first floor and lower level

As Rachel noted last week, the Bible collection that used to be in one of the group study rooms on the lower level as been moved upstairs to the main floor, beside the stained-glass windows (that seems appropriate, doesn't it?). So, that area now includes call numbers starting with A and B, plus the C's as far as CD 50.

Then, the collection continues in the group study room downstairs, with CD 55 and beyond. We are continuing to shift things on the lower level to spread out the collection and make a bit more space on those shelves. When the shift is finished, there will be new aisle signs to show where things are.

It's always a bit confusing when materials are shifted. Please feel free to ask us for help.

Paula

Bible Collection

Our Bible collection in the lower level "Bible room" has been moved. The collection is now located in the A-C section on the first floor across the atrium from the Reference room.

Thank you for your patience as we continue our moving project to allow more space for our collection. If you need assistance, please ask our Circulation staff.

Rachel

Library Tour Podcast Now Online!

For those of you who missed orientation, for ECP students who need a refresher after being off campus for awhile, or for any visitor who wants to know more about our Library and services and where they are located, the Morton Library podcast tour is now available!

You can go to this link to download the audio file to your computer and sync it with your mp3 player, or you can come to the Library and check out our mp3 player which has the file already loaded. (The player will be loaned to your account for a maximum of 2 hours and nothing else should be placed on it while it is your responsibility. We hope to be adding other podcasts to that player in the future.)

We hope you will find this new service helpful.

Ann

Reserved Books for Ordination Exams

Reserved books for the upcoming Ordination Exams are temporarily available at the Circulation desk. These items...

• must be signed out
• 1-hour loan time
• cannot leave the Library

These books will be available in the Reference room during the week of exams.

Rachel

We're back !

Our lovely Christmas holiday is behind us, and we're back in the trenches! Regular term hours are in effect during January term. Several classes are meeting that have an important research component, and we look forward to seeing you here in the Library and helping you as much as we can.

There is still a problem with the off-campus login for the Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception (see more info HERE). Also, alumni/ae need to be aware of changes now affecting the ATLAS service we provide for them (click HERE).

Welcome back, one and all!

Paula