New "Patron Lounge" !

Come and use our new Patron Lounge!  It's on the Lower Level, in the room where the computer lab used to be.  Two newer desktop computers have been installed there, with a networked laser printer.

We've added a lot of other stuff for your comfort and convenience.  There is a refrigerator, a microwave, an electric kettle, and some supplies for fixing drinks and snacks.  We've got two nice sofas in there and power strips for recharging your devices.

If you leave your lunch in the fridge, please be sure to write your name on it.  Also, try to keep the room as clean as possible so it doesn't become another burden for the custodial staff.

Many thanks to Christopher Richardson and Fran Eagan for organizing this effort!  Also, thanks to Keith Fauber for finding us some furniture, to John Wilson for setting up the computers, and to Donald Moore for improving the electrical wiring in there so we could add appliances.

It's now permitted to eat and drink in the Patron Lounge and also in the Lower Level Atrium.  Please don't carry food or open drinks to other parts of the building.  Thanks!!

Some tech issues

We are receiving reports that OCLC is having connectivity issues this morning. This means that our catalogers have had trouble cataloging, we will have periodic difficulty logging into doing ILL services, and our users may have issues getting through our EZ Proxy authentication screens from off campus.

We are getting regular updates from OCLC and will let you know when they are reporting everything fixed. In the meantime, know we are aware of the problems and hope that they will be resolved soon!

Fall break -- yes, we're open !!

Normal Library hours during the Fall Break week!  Please come in and borrow stuff, work on your assignments and papers, ask us questions, etc.  We'll be here.

Hours :

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

Reformation Day display

On 31 October 1517, Martin Luther produced his Ninety-Five Theses, "A Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences" (Disputatio pro declaratione virtutis indulgentiarum). This event is recognized as a key development in the Protestant Reformation, and now 31 October is observed as Reformation Day.

In honor of the occasion, we have placed some lovely items in the flat glass display case in front of the Circulation Desk. You can see the remarkable Nuremberg multilingual Bible, with Luther's own translation into German; Luther's commentary on Galatians first published in English in 1580, an influential text in the English Reformation; the beautiful biographical work by Jacob Verheiden with an engraving of Luther; and a precious little commentary on Amos containing a preface by Luther, printed in the Netherlands during Luther's own lifetime.

Can you think of a better way to celebrate October?

New e-journal : CHOICE Reviews Online

Would you like to know what is being published right now in your field?  Would you like to see timely reviews of those new books?  How about receiving notices about new materials that fit your own stated research interests?

If this sounds good, you'll be happy to hear about our new e-journal subscription.  CHOICE is the monthly periodical published by the American Library Association to assist in collection building across many disciplines.  It provides brief, focused reviews on current publications intended for academic libraries.

We're happy to announce that we now have access for all current students, faculty and staff of UPSem and BTSR to the online version of CHOICE, which offers a lot of special features we hope you will enjoy, including some great options for personalizing your use of the resource.  You can create lists of chosen content, save your often-used searches, and set up alerts to be notified of new content that matches your interests.

For a quick one-page introduction to this resource with instructions for using its special features, click HERE.  

Pope Francis 2015

In honor of the visit of Pope Francis to the United States, libraries everywhere are participating in a joint study of certain passages in The Saint John's Bible.  We'll be turning to a different page each day, and a brief meditation will be offered that ties to that passage.

Please look in the flat glass display case in front of the Circulation Desk for our lovely copy of The Saint John's Bible, opened to the page for the day.  The meditation will be printed each day and placed in the display case beside it.  It's a nice way to share in the joy of our Catholic neighbors at the visit of their pontiff.

Just offering this to you as a blessing.

A link for further information : http://www.saintjohnsbible.org/promotions/lp/itm/

Too warm today

Parts of our building feel uncomfortably warm today ... this is a result of the power failure on campus last week.  The HVAC system is confused and not functioning properly.  Physical Plant is working on the problem and they hope to have it repaired later today.

For now, dress lightly!