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
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
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
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
Thursday, September 23, 2010
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
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
Monday, September 20, 2010
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
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
Friday, September 17, 2010
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
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
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
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
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
Friday, September 10, 2010
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
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
Thursday, September 9, 2010
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
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
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.
Ann
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
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
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
Paula
Friday, September 3, 2010
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
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
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