Come and get your stuff !

The Morton Library will be CLOSED from Saturday 21 Dec until Wednesday 1 Jan 2014.  We will reopen on Thursday 2 Jan.

If you will need books, periodical articles or other materials in order to work on projects during the Christmas break, please come in and get them today!

And remember, we close at 5:00 pm, so you must have your items checked out at Circulation before the computers go down at 4:45.

Paula

Carpet work starting in the Reference Room

Starting Friday, Dec. 20th, our Physical Plant staff is going to begin repair work on the torn carpeting in the Reference Room.

You won't want to be in here while they are working.  So if there are books or periodicals you need to use, for that day only you may take them from the Ref Room to the Reserve Room (near the Circulation Desk).  It should be quiet enough to study in there.

Paula

End of email reminder notices

Effective this week Morton Library will discontinue emailing loan reminder notices.  We have been experiencing difficulties with spam filters impeding the consistency of delivery, and rather than confuse members of the community with reminder notices that patrons cannot depend on, we will discontinue the notices. 

As has been our past custom, whenever you check out an item from the library, the circulation staff will provide you a loan receipt that displays the due date for each item.  As in days of yore before email notices, each patron of the library is responsible for returning items that he or she has borrowed on or before the due date or pay the fine for an overdue. 

Please remember that every patron of the library has 24/7 access to their account online.  There you can check the due dates of your borrowed items, renew items if an item can be renewed and view one’s loan history. 

Instructions for how to access your online account may be found at http://gargoyle.upsem.edu/tutorial/CATALEARN/Pages/PageL.html

 Joe Coalter

Library Director

DELAYED OPENING MONDAY

Due to the ice storm, the William Smith Morton Library (and the rest of the Union Presbyterian Seminary campus in Richmond)  with open on a two hour delay.  We will open at 10:30 on Monday morning.

Paula

Christmas party today !

Everyone looks forward to the annual Christmas party in our beautiful Library!  Please come by today, 3:00 - 4:30, and enjoy a massive array of lovely homemade treats.

Paula

Reduced holiday hours

Please remember that the Library will be operating on a reduced schedule during the Thanksgiving break.  Monday and Tuesday we will close at 5:00 pm, and Wednesday at 12:30 pm (half day).  After that, we'll remain closed till Monday, Dec. 2.

Please pop in here today or tomorrow to check out anything you might need during the break.

Paula

Okay so far

We're happy to announce that the major maintenance work on our Library and IT systems is complete, and seems to have gone forward without many difficulties.

We are cleaning up a few issues this morning, but the transition to our new catalog, circulation, acquisitions and cataloging software is underway.  Please have a little patience with us as we all become accustomed to the new workflow (some staff modules, such as circulation, are substantially different now).

If you experience any issues with our electronic services after about 10:00 am today, please let us know.  Thank you for your cooperation!

NOTE : If you have bookmarked our Library catalog, please update your bookmarks now !  The catalog has a new URL and the old one will be discontinued.

Paula

Major maintenance coming this weekend

We'd like you to know that some major work is planned this weekend on our Library systems and campus IT infrastructure. READ ON for important information on outages :

1)  On Thursday 14 Nov, there will be a backup of all of our current Oracle data, approximately 11:00 pm - 4:00 am.  The Library catalog may be inaccessible during this period.

2)  On Friday 15 Nov, our vendor will perform a data extraction on our catalog systems, about 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm.  During this time, all Circulation accounts will be unavailable.  If you need to borrow anything, the Circulation staff (both Richmond and Charlotte) will record the transaction offline and then enter it into the system later.  You won't be able to sign in to the catalog to renew a book, place a hold, request an Ask-to-Order book, or anything else that requires a catalog login.

3)  All day Saturday and Sunday (16-17 Nov), the vendors will be upgrading our data from our current software to the new program.  They will run some initial tests to see if it works.  You can still use the catalog for searching throughout Saturday, but Circulation functions will be performed offline. 

4)  On Sunday afternoon, 1:00 pm - 7:00 pm, the Library catalog will "go dark".  All Richmond-based IT services will be DOWN.  THIS INCLUDES ALL NETWORK ACCESS TO OUR CATALOG AND ONLINE DATABASES, and the Library website.  Please plan ahead so you are not in dire need of research materials on Sunday afternoon/evening!! 

5)  On Monday morning, we will update links on the Library website, restore online Circulation activity, and hope for the best!!

I want to stress that preparations for this work have been going on intensively for months, and our wonderful systems librarian, Leland Deeds, has done everything humanly possible to increase the likelihood of a smooth transition.  But of course, it is possible that something unforeseeable may arise.  Please let us know if you have problems with any Library systems after about 10:00 am on Monday morning.

We also want to thank Leland for devoting so much of his time late and night and on weekends to this work, trying to minimize the impact of outages on our users.  It's now your responsibility to plan ahead and make sure you have the materials you need to complete your assignments before this work interrupts our service.

Paula

Good advice

Tempted to post this in the Library ...

More strange noises in the Library

Good morning,

Today (and perhaps a few more days this week) you will hear the technicians working on the lower level skylight on the north side of the building. They are trying to repair an elusive water leak. Just want you to know.

Rachel

North stairwell closed for now

I want to let you know that Physical Plant has decided to temporarily close the North stairwell until the repairman comes tomorrow. The red rubber coating on the stairs is peeling back in several areas making it a dangerous tripping hazard. The South stairwell is open to use as are the elevators.

Rachel

Updated "Electronic Reference" info

As the process of replacing the old Windows XP machines in the Reference Room draws to a close, we have taken stock of the fully-loaded programs available on each new machine and updated the Electronic Reference page.

Several of these resources are new, and you probably don't even realize that they are available.  Take a look at the updated page, and try out the new programs sometime.

As for networked electronic information, you can always find that on our Electronic Resources page, or the Online Databases page.

Also, there are scores of high-quality scholarly websites on the internet offering materials and indexes for religious studies and related fields.  Our Reference Links list can help you find some of them.

Paula

New faces at Circulation

We welcome two new student workers to the Circulation Desk : Ben Brown and Kelli Eck.  Both are BTSR students in dual degree programs, so they will bring a great set of skills and subject-area knowledge to our already highly skilled and knowledgeable staff.

Please keep an eye out for them, say hello and get to know them next time you're in the Library!

Paula

Fire alarm test

Well gosh, we didn't know that they were going to blast our ears with a fire alarm test this morning!  We would have warned you.

We do apologize for the disturbance.

Paula

Fall Term hours now in effect

During the summer, Library hours are curtailed a bit to allow our faithful and hard-working Circulation Desk staff to take some time off.

But starting Monday, September 9, we are back to our regular in-session schedule :

http://library.upsem.edu/Pages/HoursStaff.html#Morton

Remember that you can always see the current semester schedule just by clicking on "Hours" on our Morton Library homepage.

Paula

Orientation time

New students are on campus, ready for the 2013-14 academic year!  We're happy to see you, and we want to help you get started.  An important part of your preparation is the tour & training session at the Library on Wednesday ... and on Thursday for students at BTSR.

Your Library is brimming with resources that will make your academic and pastoral work more successful and rewarding.  And if you learn just a few basic techniques, the collection will be a lot easier to use.  So please come with an open mind, and let us help you!

Please note that there are 20 student computers in the Multimedia Classroom, which is not quite enough for everyone.  So if some folks bring their laptops or tablets, that would be helpful.

See you tomorrow!

Paula

Charming new PSCE display

A new exhibit has opened in the Morton Library of wonderful historic photographs of the PSCE Demonstration Kindergarten, in honor of Josephine Newbury (1952-1974).

Prof. Newbury was a leader in innovative early childhood education and the weekday church school.  She helped to train 467 women and men who completed the PSCE Student Teaching Program at the Center.

Come and see these delightful photos, displayed with vintage toys from that era.  The display is found in the big glass display cases in the Morton Library entrance hall, and inside in the flat glass display case near the Circulation Desk.

Paula

Newly redesigned Children's Literature website !

Our popular children's and adolescent literature website has a new home, a new design and an official new name : Storypath ! This site is supported by the William Smith Morton Library and the Christian Education department of Union Presbyterian Seminary.

We have the same great content -- book reviews that connect great stories with our faith story, lesson plans that use children's literature, and weekly posts that link lectionary texts with children's books.

But our new site allows us to add lots of things our readers have been requesting. We have two new indexes (Scripture and theme) that offer new ways of searching for books. We've made it easier to share content there (our readers wanted Pinterest!) and to get quickly to the content that you want the most.

The redesign is primarily the work of UPSem alumna Jessica Rathbun-Cook, who took our readers' suggestions and worked with Ann Knox, Director of the Instructional Resource Center, to create a fresh, clean, easy-to-use site that we hope will continue providing useful tools for ministry. We are grateful to Jessica for her skills and good nature as we worked very hard to make this site a reality.

So come visit Storypath, sign up for notifications when new content is posted, and join the conversation with us around books, faith and ministry.

Paula

Vacation days

You may notice fewer staff available in the next two or three weeks, while we try to use our vacation days before new student orientation and classes begin.

Many of us will be out at least part of the time during August.  Please have a little patience if you are trying to reach one of us.  We'll do our best to respond to your requests as soon as we can.

Paula

Ugghh

Rather sad situation in the building today ... some unfortunate creature has apparently crawled into the building and died somewhere!  There is a very disagreeable smell in some places, especially on the lower level near the foot of the stairs and the south elevator.

We have the big fans on, and Physical Plant guys are searching for the source of this disturbance. 

The good news is that it's mostly out in the Atrium and traffic areas, while inside the Reference Room, the offices, carrels, etc. seems okay.  So you can still come and study here without a huge problem.

Hoping that it doesn't last long ....

Paula

UPSEM website maintenance Thursday, 25 July

We have been notified that the www.upsem.edu website may be unavailable on Thursday because of maintenance work.  It's not clear at this time whether the Library websites will be affected.

If our Library site is down, you may still be able to reach the specific services (such as the Catalog) by using their direct links :

E-mail:  http://mail.upsem.edu

Library:  http://library.upsem.edu

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

Blackboard: https://union-psce.blackboard.com/webapps/login/

And in the Library catalog, there is a page we have created of temporary links to our online databases -- one set for connecting within our campus network and one for off-campus :

http://morton.upsem.edu:8991/F/?func=file&file_name=base-list

And here is the direct link to this blog, where we post announcements and updates :

http://wsmlpublicservices.blogspot.com/

You may also find updated information on the Facebook pages of Union Seminary and the Library.

We recommend that you bookmark these sites on your own computer so you can use them as a "work-around" if necessary.  We can't guarantee that they will be functioning on Thursday, but it gives you one more possible way to get access.

Paula

UPSEM website is offline

Fortunately, the Library website is running this morning, but the general campus site is offline.  Here is a message about it from John Wilson :

The www.upsem.edu website is presently being scanned by the developer to eliminate some potential problems.  You may have received a warning message if you have visited the site this morning.

You are advised to stay off the page until further notice.

You may use the following links in the meantime:

E-mail:  http://mail.upsem.edu

Library:  http://library.upsem.edu

Blackboard: https://union-psce.blackboard.com/webapps/login/

Holiday hours this week

The Library will have reduced hours this week for the July 4th holiday. 

Monday - Tuesday:  9:00am - 6:00pm
Wednesday, July 3:  9:00am - 5:00pm
Thursday, July 4:  Closed for July 4th holiday
Friday, July 5:  9:00am - 5:00pm
Saturday, July 6:  1:00 - 5:00pm
Sunday:  Closed

Check out our hours and closings on our website...

http://library.upsem.edu/Pages/HoursStaff.html#Morton


Rachel

NEW summer hours schedule

We've been studying our building traffic patterns, and it had led us to revise our summer hours schedule for 2013.

Please note a later opening on weekdays, at 9:00 am.  Also, we will close a bit earlier than last summer, at 6:00 pm Monday through Thursday, and 5:00 pm on Fridays and Saturdays.

HERE is a link to the full information.

We think this will conform better to the usage patterns we have seen and will reduce waste by trimming staff hours and utility costs.

Paula

Library catalog maintenance coming

We need to do some major updates on our catalog servers over the Memorial Day weekend.  Our wonderful Systems Librarian, Leland Deeds, is giving of his precious holiday time to do this work, ensuring that it will have the smallest possible impact on our users.  I'll quote from his explanation :



The Library of Congress has begun a year-long project updating a series of subject headings. One of the areas heavily impacted by these changes in wording are subject headings related to the Bible and the Quran. For instance, the subject heading “Bible. N.T.” will become “Bible. New Testament.”  The bearing of this change on a collection like ours is, of course, quite striking; it will alter approximately 45% of our bib records.

Because this upload and overlay is much larger than usual, it will require longer periods of service interruption. Here is the plan:

Saturday, May 25:

(a) the Charlotte branch closes at 5:30pm

(b) a full-server backup is run from 11:00pm to approximately 7:00am

(c) the Library Catalog is unavailable during this time.

Sunday, May 26:

the servers will be brought back up by 7:00am and the catalog will be available

Sunday night through Monday morning, May 27: 

(a) index rebuild will run between 12:00am to approximately 7:00am Monday morning 

(b) during this time, the Authority (UTS10) and Bibliographic (UTS01) services of the catalog will be “locked”. Users attempting to access the Library catalog during the wee hours of Monday morning will see an error message when attempting to perform either a “Browse Headings” or Keyword search. As soon as the jobs are finished, both services “unlock”.

(c) by 7:00am I will check the services to confirm successful completion, that all services are “unlocked” and that all functions appear to be normal. 

If there are any unforeseen problems or snags, we'll announce them on this blog.  We do apologize for any inconvenience!

Paula

Reduced Hours This Week

Please be aware that the Library will close early this Friday, May 24, at 5:00pm. Also, the Library will be closed Saturday - Monday for the Memorial Day holiday.

Summer hours will begin next Tuesday, May 28, 9:00am - 6pm. Check our hours page for complete summer hours:

http://library.upsem.edu/Pages/HoursStaff.html#Morton


Rachel

Reduced hours Friday

Between the Spring term and May term, the Morton Library will have slightly reduced hours.  On Friday evening we will close at 5:00 pm to give our Circulation staff a well-earned break.

Paula

Gremlins abated

I'm glad to report that our HVAC system is now back to normal, thanks to our friends at Physical Plant.  Yay Keith!!  So the building is comfortably cool again.

Also, the catalog should be operating normally. 

Paula

Catalog down

Our Monday morning gremlins are at it again!  The Library catalog is offline right now ... Leland is working on the problem, which seems to be a server issue.

UPDATE : Leland has got the catalog online again, so you should be able to use it as usual.  Some other server functions are still impaired but they will not prevent use of the catalog.

Also, the air conditioning in the building has failed.  The fans are running and the lights are on, but it isn't cooling.  So, our friends at Physical Plant are working on that.  You can still come in here and study -- just wear shorts and a tee shirt!

We apologize for these problems and hope they will be resolved soon!

Paula

Brief catalog interruption

The Library catalog will be offline for a short interval this morning, for server maintenance.  We expect it to be restored by about 9:00 am today.

Paula

The reference desk

Source : https://www.facebook.com/dailycalvinhobbes

Extensive server maintenance work

Our systems librarian, Leland Deeds, will be performing extensive maintenance on our catalog server this weekend.   He is very graciously planning this work for the Easter weekend when most of us will be busy with other things and not needing to access our online catalog.

Please be aware that the Library catalog will be offline Friday night and Saturday night at least.  Because Leland is going to be doing some backup operations that we have not done before, we can't predict exactly how long this work is going to take.  So we can't be more specific about precisely which hours will involve catalog downtime.

If you have trouble accessing the Library catalog at any point this weekend, please assume that maintenance is still going on.  We intend to have everything back in operation well before we reopen on Monday, April 1st.

Paula

Library closed today - March 25

The Library will be closed today, Monday, March 25, due to inclement weather. This is the first day of spring break on the Richmond campus. We will open tomorrow at our regular time 8:00am.


Rachel

New access gate system

Recently we installed a new software system to our Library access gates.  With the new system you will need to remove your access card from your wallet, handbag, or backpack and slowly wave it in front of the gate card reader.  The new system reader will not be able to "read" your card if it is adjacent to other cards.

If you have difficulties using your access card to enter the Library please push the button on the wall next to the gate and the Circulation staff will meet you.

Rachel

Impressive new online manuscripts site

Check out this announcement from Reuters :

The Nash Papyrus -- one of the oldest known manuscripts containing text from the Hebrew Bible -- has become one of the latest treasures of humanity to join Isaac Newton's notebooks, the Nuremberg Chronicle and other rare texts as part of the Cambridge Digital Library.  Before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Nash Papyrus was by far the oldest manuscript containing text from the Hebrew Bible and like most fragile historical documents, only available to select academics for scrutiny.

"Cambridge University Library preserves works of great importance to faith traditions and communities around the world," University Librarian Anne Jarvis said in a statement.  "Because of their age and delicacy these manuscripts are seldom able to be viewed - and when they are displayed, we can only show one or two pages."

The university's digital library is making 25,000 new images, including an ancient copy of the New Testament, available on its website (cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/), which has already attracted tens of millions of hits since the project was launched in December 2011.  The latest release also includes important texts from Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism.

In addition to religious texts, internet users can also view the 10th century Book of Deer, which is widely believed to be the oldest surviving Scottish manuscript and contains the earliest known examples of written Gaelic.

"Now... anyone with a connection to the Internet can select a work of interest, turn to any page of the manuscript, and explore it in extraordinary detail," Jarvis said.  The technical infrastructure required to get these texts to web was in part funded by a 1.5 million pound ($2.4 million) gift from the Polonsky Foundation in June 2010.

Sorry !

I apologize for failing to update this blog yesterday with the unexpected closing of the Library due to snow.  I hope no one struggled over here in that storm to find the doors locked. 

I will try to do a better job of remembering to update the blog!

Paula

Catalog and databases downtime Feb 2-3

On the evening of Saturday, 2 Feb 2013, power will be shut down on the Richmond campus for electrical repairs.  We've been told that the work should be finished during the weekend so we can open as usual on Monday.

While the power is off for this electrical work, our catalog and databases will be inaccessible.  Please make plans in advance to obtain the materials you need.

Paula

OPEN AS SCHEDULED FOR ORDS

The William Smith Morton Library in Richmond will be open as scheduled this weekend for PC(USA) Ordination Exams, regardless of any announced weather closings affecting the rest of campus.

If you are engaged in the exams, please rely upon the schedule given to you by Eniko Ferenczy.

Many thanks to the intrepid Circulation staff who are going to make sure you have all of the hours you are expecting for access to the Library!!

Paula

Scheduled catalog maintenance

Our monthly full backup of the UPSem Libraries catalog will take place this weekend.  It's scheduled to run from 11:00 pm on Saturday, Jan 19th, through 7:00 am Sunday, Jan 20th.

During this period, the Library catalog will be offline.  The Library website, databases, e-journals and other electronic resources should still be operational.

Paula

New edition of the Women's Bible Commentary

Happy to say that we have received our copy of the new Women's Bible Commentary, edited by Carol A. Newsom, Sharon H. Ringe and Jacqueline E. Lapsley (Westminster John Knox, 2012). 

This is the third revised edition of this useful and popular resource.  It's heavily used by Bible and preaching classes in particular.

You'll find our copy in the Reference Room, at Ref. CH 5 W872 2012.

Paula

Catalog and databases downtime scheduled Feb 3rd

On Sunday, 3 Feb 2013, power will be shut down on the Richmond campus for electrical repairs.  We've been told that the work should be finished during the weekend so we can open as usual on Monday.

While the power is off for this electrical work, our catalog and databases will be inaccessible.  Please make plans in advance to obtain the materials you need.

Paula

Welcome, ECP students!

Our Extended Campus Program students are here for a week of on-campus study just now, and the Library is happy to welcome them!

Please note that we have added late hours on Friday this week to help.  On Friday evening the Library will be open until 10:00 pm, instead of the usual 8:00 pm.

Paula

Major reference finally complete !

Today we received Volume 13 of the massive Religion Past and Present, TOL-ZYG.  Finally!  We've been waiting for this for a while!

RPP is the English translation and adaptation of the fourth edition of the authoritative Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart (RGG), which for more than a century has been an extremely influential scholarly resource in the German language.  The four editions constitute a documentary history of theology and religious studies in the 19th and 20th centuries, and RPP "strives to be both international and contemporary, providing the reader with a summary of the state of each discipline at the dawn of the 21st century."  Christianity and Judaism are extensively covered, and non-Christian world religions are included at a less comprehensive level.

RPP/RGG aims to "offer a coherent theological vision rooted in the tradition of modern Protestantism [though Catholic scholarship is well represented] without being bound to any particular theological school" ... covering "not only all of the major theological disciplines (biblical studies, church history, systematic theology, ethics, church law and practical theology) but also allied fields such as history, philosophy, sociology, psychology, science, law and economics ... literature, music and the arts."  Every volume provides condensed, meticulously written articles with very precise technical content and selective bibliographic references.  It's especially good for identifying persons, places, movements or religious orders that are otherwise very hard to find.  The major analytical articles are landmarks of scholarship written by key authorities in their disciplines.

Don't fail to take advantage of this amazing resource!

Paula