New UPSem library website and catalog coming soon!!

We're excited to announce that the library will soon be launching a new website and a new online catalog.

The initial roll-out of the website is scheduled for the week of October 3rd and the new catalog is scheduled to go live on October 13th, though both resources will continue to evolve and improve after that date.  We apologize for any glitches or inconveniences in the early days of this transition but look forward to offering an expanded range of online services as the new tools mature.

There will be a variety of opportunities to learn about the new catalog, in particular, in the weeks and months following its release. 

A great way to stay informed of these changes and opportunities is to "like" the library's Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/UPSemLibrary.  We will be able to post quick pointers and updates on social media as well.

 Thank you for your patience and support.  We hope that you will like what's coming!

New exhibit in the Library

60 Years of Women's Ordination in the Presbyterian Church

Sixty years ago, on 24 October 1956, the first woman was ordained to the ministry of Word and Sacrament in a Presbyterian church. Some female deacons and ruling elders had preceded her. But Margaret Towner was the first to have equal standing with male pastors in a Presbyterian church (the PCUSA).

Many more "firsts" for Presbyterian women have taken place since then, including the ordination of our own Prof. Katie Cannon, the first African-American woman ordained as a Presbyterian (in the UPCUSA), and our alumna Rachel Henderlite (PSCE 1961) in the PCUS. This summer, two women were elected together as Co-Moderators of the 222nd General Assembly in Portland.

We have created a display to honor these pioneers and to call attention to some of the extensive literature that now exists on the subject of the various roles and ministries undertaken by women in the church.

The exhibit is found in the glass display cases near the main entrance of the Library. Please come and absorb this information and honor these colleagues in ministry.

We're open

To our surprise, the Morton Library did not lose power during the recent storm-related outage.  We were able to keep the building open on Friday and Saturday.  It became a haven for people looking for coffee, a refrigerator, or a place to charge their devices.

THANKS to our wonderful Circ staff -- Lisa, Sani, Sean and others -- who faithfully kept the place secure and safe, even when they had no electricity at their own homes.  You folks are the greatest!!

New format for the CHOICE book reviews resource

Many people have expressed appreciation for the CHOICE database of current academic book reviews.  This valuable periodical, published by the American Library Association, assists in collection building across many disciplines.  It provides brief, focused reviews of current publications suitable for academic libraries.

It also offers a lot of personalized features and options that allow the user to search for and be notified about new publications in specific subject areas.  This capability allows you to keep up easily with new literature in your field of study.

Now, the CHOICE reviews program online has a whole new interface!  It's intended to make the program more intuitive and easier to use.  For further information, please click HERE.

SUMMER HOURS

Today is the first day of our summer open hours schedule.  Please be aware that the time is shortened each day :

Monday - Thursday  9:00 am - 6:00 pm

Friday  9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Saturday  1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Sunday  Closed

Jul 4 (M) Independence Day  Closed

Sep 3 - 5 (Sa - M) Labor Day  Closed

We need to give our diligent Circ workers some time off in the summer when we can. 

Feasting on the Word

We have added a full set of the 12-volume Feasting on the Word lectionary commentary in the Reference Room.

The stacks copies of these popular books are often checked out or placed on Course Reserves, making it a little frustrating for people who need to consult them.  This set in the Ref Room can't be borrowed or relocated, so there will always be at least one copy available in the Library.

PLEASE NOTE : They are not shelved with the other Ref Room commentaries, because they are considered a "Preaching" resource.  Therefore they are classified with materials on Homiletics.  Their call number is Ref. WQ 8.4 F288.

New digital learning station

On Wednesday, April 13, Morton Library will introduce a dedicated learning station in the Digital Learning Lab (Morton 203) that will give all students, faculty and staff on the Richmond campus access to a vast library of video tutorials for a wide range of technology products and services.  Our annual subscription to Lynda.com will give you access to tutorials on business applications such as Microsoft 365, presentation products such as Prezi, learning management systems such as Blackboard 9 (our version), and training in using audio editing software such as Garage Band or Audacity.  These are just a few examples of the hundreds of training courses that Lynda.com can offer you.

If you would like to check out the full range of Lynda.com training videos, go to https://www.lynda.com/ and click on Library at the top of the screen. 

We are trying out a dedicated learning station for this service this year.  The downside of this is that you will need to come to the Library to learn from the site but the Instructional Resource Center staff is available every day between 8 am – 5 pm to get you started and we’re happy to open the Lab at other times with advance notice.  If this proves to be a useful tool, we can explore other options next year that could allow you to access what you need from your office or dorm room.

We’ll have the Digital Learning Lab open from 1 – 5 pm every day next week (April 18-22) for the grand unveiling of our learning station and hope you’ll stop by to see what it can offer you.  If you can’t visit during our open house introduction, please let us know a convenient time and we’ll be glad to get you started learning!

Ann Thomas Knox

Director, Instructional Resource Center

aknox@upsem.edu

804-278-4324