Library & Archives

St. Mary’s Staff Book Club

February 21, 2013 by Amanda VerMeulen

Welcome to the St. Mary’s College of Maryland Staff Book Club. Organized by the staff and open to everyone on campus. The book club meets in person on the last Thursday of the month at 12:00pm in the Library Boardroom. You can also participate online by rating or reviewing a book, attendance is not required.

On February 28 the book club will discuss Peter Heller’s, The Dog Stars described by The San Francisco Chronicle as a “ravishing doomsday novel.” This post-apocalyptic novel centers around Hig, one of the few survivors of a superflu that wiped out most of the United States. According to The Boston Globe, “Peter Heller serves up an insightful account of physical, mental, and spiritual survival unfolded in dramatic and often lyrical prose, a difficult tale in which unexpected hope persistently flickers amid darkness.”

I hope you will read with us, if not in person – online.

— Pamela Mann

Where to Go When You Don’t Know Where to Go

February 20, 2013 by Amanda VerMeulen

Photo by Eden and Josh on Flickr

It’s a familiar problem: You’re about to start researching in a subject area that’s somewhat new to you and you just aren’t sure where to start. You might fumble around Google for a bit, do a few searches in a few different databases or the library’s catalog, but with all of the resources available it’s tough trying to figure out where to go to get the information you need.

Enter Research Guides, your research superheroes!

Accessible from the Research Help menu on the library’s homepage, Research Guides are websites created by your subject librarians to help guide you to research resources appropriate to your subject area. There are Research Guides for Arts & Humanities, Psychology, Economics, and so many other subjects. You’ll save yourself a great deal of time and frustration by simply starting your research off right. So if you haven’t looked at our research guides yet, take a peek!

EndNote Workshops Coming Soon

February 11, 2013 by Amanda VerMeulen

You may have heard people talking about EndNote in hushed tones as though it was a great research secret passed on by one in-the-know academic to the next. It will format your references and citations for you automatically. It’s the only way I can keep my research organized. It stores not just citation info but actual research articles and notes too. It’s integrated into Microsoft Word so writing up papers is a snap! Oh, and it’s FREE to SMCM students, faculty, and staff!!!!

It’s no secret. Citation management tools like EndNote are a great help to faculty and students trying to find a good computer-based system for organizing their research and easily incorporating references and citations into research papers. Librarians have been wise to the virtues of EndNote for a while now, and it’s about time we shared the basics with you.

Next week we’ll be offering 3 workshops on EndNote: The Basics. To reserve a space, email Alan Lutton at anlutton@smcm.edu.

All workshops will take place in LI 112, the library lab classroom in the Writing Center Annex.

Tuesday, Feb. 19th, 11:00am – 11:45am
Wednesday, Feb. 20th, 4:45pm – 5:30pm
Thursday, Feb. 21st, 2:00pm – 2:45pm

You can work on the computers in the lab, or if you have your own laptop, take a few minutes to install EndNote before the workshop.

You’ve Been Served

February 11, 2013 by Amanda VerMeulen

Nope, not that world-renowned SMCM Library service. I mean the legal kind.

What would happen if didn’t think that our service, or anything about us, was that great? And what if you posted in your blog that you thought the SMCM Library sucked because we had hardly any books, or you didn’t like the candy choices. I’m not sure there would be much we could do about it. We might not like it, but you have a right to your opinion.

But take the situation of Dale Askey, Associate University Librarian at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. In 2010, when he was a librarian at Kansas State University, Askey wrote a blog post that criticized Edwin Mellen Press, a publisher of scholarly books which it sells to libraries. He did not say they sucked. But he did write some things about their prices and the types of books they publish, and he offered his professional opinion about the value of books from this publisher compared with others.

You can’t find the blog post very easily any more. Can you guess why? Because Edwin Mellen Press is suing Askey for more than $1 million in damages, and suing Askey and his current university for $3.5 million for libel and damages.

Exactly what is libel? Libel is a method of defamation expressed by print, writing, pictures, signs, effigies, or any communication embodied in physical form that is injurious to a person’s reputation, exposes a person to public hatred, contempt or ridicule, or injures a person in his/her business or profession.

So – if you buy a product or services from a company and you aren’t happy with them, AND your write a blog post telling people why you think that company’s products are substandard (and you use some data, not just a rant), can you get sued? Maybe. Is that fair? What about your right to free speech?

What is likely to happen in this case? Mellen lost a similar case in 1993. This one will be argued in a Canadian court. Librarians, publishers, and universities will be watching carefully. And even if Mellen loses librarians and authors may be more reluctant in the future to express their views (lawsuits are really expensive even if you win).

Do you express your views and ideas on a blog? Could your words drive someone to sue you? Would that stop you? Think about it. And if you’d like to read Dale Askey’s original blog post, here it is (and if you don’t know about the Internet Archive’s Way Back Machine, check it out).

Author, Author!

February 6, 2013 by Amanda VerMeulen

Have you ever had the chance to meet your favorite author? Been fascinated by an author you’ve never heard of based on a book talk? This year while attending the American Library Association’s Midwinter Meeting I attended a number of author panels. To kick off the conference I saw Ruth Ozeki (My Year of Meats and A Tale for the Time Being – March 2013), Terry Brooks (The Shannara Trilogy) and the hilarious Gregg Olsen, (true crime and Young Adult fiction). I’d never heard of Olsen before and am not planning to read his books, but he’s a great speaker.

Ruth Ozeki and Terry Brooks

There was a panel for new authors and their books (sorry, no pics) including, Tara Conklin, with The House Girl, Dina Nayeri with A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea and Margaret Wrinkle author of Wash.

Amity

I finished the conference with a book talk. Jacqueline Winspear is on the far left with her book, Leaving Everything Most Loved and the panel is watching Amity Gaige, as she introduces her latest book, Schroder.

Of course not all author sightings occur in formal settings. Here is a sample of author sightings from previous conferences. Can you match the author to their book?

1) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part–Time Indian
2) The Shining
3) When It Happens to You
4) A Game of Thrones
5) It’s a Big World, Little Pig!
6) The Joy Luck Club

— Pamela Mann

Meet OneSearch

February 1, 2013 by Amanda VerMeulen

St. Mary’s community, meet OneSearch, a simplified way to search the St. Mary’s Library’s resources and collections powered by EBSCO Discovery Service. When you enter search terms in the OneSearch search box and click Find, you’ll be searching:

the SMCM library catalog,
the USMAI catalog, and
a variety of different research databases, including the always popular Academic Search Complete, PsycINFO and JSTOR databases (among many others).

There are of course, a few things to keep in mind when searching using OneSearch.

OneSearch does NOT search all of the library’s online databases (and it searches some databases better than others).
Not everything in OneSearch is available in full-text online.
If you’re doing research in a specific subject area, you might want to try searching an individual database for more subject-specific results.

Right now OneSearch is in beta mode, so changes, updates, and improvements happen from time to time. We would love to hear your OneSearch-related comments and suggestions. You can leave your feedback as a comment on this blog post or talk to any one of the librarians.

Happy Searching.

Images May be Subject to Copyright

January 30, 2013 by Amanda VerMeulen

Join the Dean of Faculty, the Library, and the Art & Art History Department on Friday, February 1, 2013 in the Glendening Annex for

Images May be Subject to Copyright, a mini-symposium on images, copyright and fair use for students, faculty and staff with Dr. Kenneth Crews, Director of the Copyright Advisory Office at Columbia University

Here’s the schedule:

9:30am-11:00am
Learn about the basics of copyright, get tips for owning your work and taking advantage of fair use for your own class work and scholarship. Bring questions!

12:30pm-2:00pm
What do you want to know? Open Q&A with Dr. Crews, light lunch, and conversation. Bring examples of your work, and of course, more questions.

To learn more about this event, contact Celia Rabinowitz.

Russia, 100 years ago – in color

January 28, 2013 by Amanda VerMeulen

While we’re on the topic of history, I’d like to take a moment to tell you about one of my favorite historical image collections: the Prokudin-Gorskii exhibit at the Library of Congress.

Beginning in 1909, a Russian photographer named Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii was given, by Tsar Nicholas II, an “all-access” pass (in order to be permitted to enter otherwise restricted areas) and a railroad car outfitted with a darkroom so that he could travel throughout the Russian Empire and document it with color photos. For most of the next six years, he traveled extensively throughout Russia – ending up with well over 3,000 negatives. Some 2,600 of these negatives were purchased by the Library of Congress in 1948 from Prokudin-Gorskii’s heirs, and they are now available for viewing on the web.

These photos provide a striking glimpse into all aspects of life in Russia in the very early part of the 20th century. From the decadent opulence of the royal palaces and the stunning architecture of Russia’s cathedrals and churches to panoramic views of towns and portraits of rural farmworkers, these vivid color photographs provide a fascinating insight to Russian life 100 years ago.

These photographs were taken on the eve of World War I and very shortly before the Russian Revolution – they are images of a country that was about to be changed forever. The juxtaposition of these tranquil images and the chaos that was to immediately follow adds to the mystique of this collection – they depict a way of life that is long gone from the Western world.

In addition to the photos themselves, the exhibit website provides biographical information about the photographer; details about the techniques and equipment used to take the photos and the processes used to restore and digitize them (Prokudin designed his own camera); and provides historical information and context for the images. In addition, the images are organized by subject area (Architecture, People at Work, Ethnic Diversity, Transportation, etc).

I know that everyone has a lot of homework to do, but if you get a chance I highly recommend taking a few minutes to travel back in time and peruse this collection. You won’t regret it. If this exhibit piques your interest about Russia (or anything else!) then feel free to check out some of the Library’s databases or stop by and see us – we’re always glad to lend a hand to your research.

Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii, from the Library of Congress exhibit

Access to History

January 21, 2013 by Amanda VerMeulen

photo courtesy of the Library of Congress

Today we commemorate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and what better way to do so than to take a look at some of the words and photos that tell his story. The King Library and Archives in Atlanta has a fascinating digital collection of Dr. King’s writings, as well as photographs and documents associated with him. As stated on the Digital Collection homepage, “There are nearly a million documents associated with the life of Martin Luther King Jr.” so what’s online is just a snippet, albeit a fascinating one.

Being able to access a fascinating primary sources online is a result of the hard work of diligent archivists, librarians, interns and technicians who not only preserve historical documents but ensure that they are accessible to the public. Our own St. Mary’s Archives include several digital collections like the Historic Campus Photographs Collection and the St. Mary’s Student Newspaper Archive. The library also provides access to historical documents and primary source materials through online databases like Everyday Life and Women in America, the Picture Post Historical Archive, Victorian Popular Culture, and Historic Documents Online.

So the next time you feel like accessing a piece of history, why not at a library?

Reading is . . .

January 14, 2013 by Amanda VerMeulen

A recent survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project asked questions about people’s reading habits and about where they live. Any guesses about what they found out? Do city mice read more than country mice? Do lots of people have library cards and still think libraries are important? Why do people say they read?

Well, 78% of Americans over the age of 16 say they read a book in the last year, and 79% of those asked said they read for pleasure. That’s 80% of the urbanites who responded and 71% of the rural residents. Americans read, on average, 17 books last year. That’s more than one a month. Pretty good numbers. About 58% of everyone surveyed has a library card and 69% say the library is important to them.

At SMCM 100% of the community has a library card (!). How many of you would say the library is important to you? How many of you read a book last year not for class or research, but for fun, to learn something, or to keep up with the news? Do you read a newspaper? Do you read?

Here a few more of those interesting numbers. 19% of those asked own an e-reader, and 93% of those asked read a print book in the past year (22% read an ebook and 14% read in both formats). And the study showed that age, education, and household income may determine your reading habits, not where you live.

So – what does it all mean? Maybe it means that formats matter, that libraries need to be sure we can offer opportunities to read in print, online, and using e-readers (and audio devices). Maybe it also means that we should be thrilled that people are reading, and they get why public libraries are so important. You may not know this but many librarians are feeling pretty insecure these days. Warnings of our impending obsolescence are everywhere and have been around for a long time [“The Obsolete Man,” Twilight Zone, June 2, 1961].

I think books, libraries, and librarians probably don’t have to worry too much about being unloved or obsolete any time soon. We want people to read, not because it keeps us employed. Because reading can help you find out how something works, or why we do the things we do, where we came from, where we might be going, or just let you escape from it all for a while.

How do you read? What do you read? Why do you read?