Library Collection

Reading this Summer?

June 25, 2013 by Melissa Rushing

Reading on the Beach by Courtney McGough on Flickr

Last weekend I broke down. I bought a Kindle (a Kindle Paperwhite to be exact). Despite my ambivalence towards e-reading, it’s getting harder for me to deny the conveniences of an e-reader. I’m a reader. Although chasing a toddler around the house has but a kink in my reading style, I still try to get in as much eyeball-to-text time as I possibly can. When I go on a trip, I take as much care and effort packing my reading materials as I do packing my clothes. This little 5 x 7 inch device is making upcoming travel so much more convenient and amazingly less stressful. Instead of trying to squeeze in 3-4 different volumes I can just pop that Kindle in my purse and call it a day. It’s fantastic.

Will I stop buying and checking out print books from the library? No way. In fact, as I type, I have two books on my nightstand from the St. Mary’s County Library. The Kindle is just a new addition to my reading lifestyle and a great way to kick off the summer reading season. If you’re interested in getting your summer reading off right, the SMCM Library can help.

Kindles

We have 6 different Kindles for SMCM students, faculty, and staff to borrow loaded with all kinds of fantastic fiction. Want to find out what all the Game of Thrones fuss is about? Read it on our Kindle Fire. Curious about Gone Girl or Kate Atkinson’s latest, Life after Life? Read one on a Kindle Touch. For more about our Kindles and the books on them, check out our online Kindle Guide.

Popular Reading Collection

If you’re more of a print-on-paper kind of reader. We have you covered. Our popular reading collection has a great selection of fiction and non-fiction bestsellers to help you take a break from heavy academic reading. Take a walk up to the 2nd floor and hang a left. In the reading area you’ll find a beautiful water-front view and our awesome Popular Reading Collection.

St. Mary’s County Public Libraries

I wouldn’t be doing my due-diligence as a librarian if I didn’t do a little cross-promotion. We are fortunate to have an amazing public library system in our county. If you haven’t visited one of the branches in Lexington Park, Leonardtown, or Charlotte Hall, please do it. Their book, movie, and music selection is amazing! A few weekends ago I picked up Tom Perotta’s The Leftovers, a copy of the Alabama Shakes album, and Dinosaur vs. The Potty, a board book for my son. They have fun summer programming for kids too!

Summer Book Club

Since you’re doing all this reading anyway, you might as well win a prize or two for your efforts. The SMCM Library’s Summer Reading Program continues this year and gives all SMCM students, faculty, staff, and alumni a chance to contribute book reviews to the Summer Reading Blog and win prizes.

Happy Reading,

Ronnie

Weeding: It’s Not Just for Gardens

June 18, 2013 by Melissa Rushing

All of you gardeners out there know that keeping your garden healthy means regular weeding. Weeding takes time and care. It can mean pulling out and discarding flowers that look pretty but which still crowd out the plants you really want to grow. Weeding gardens is a lot of work but novice gardeners can use guides to help them distinguish between the weeds and the plants you want to keep.

Dandelion Field by Petr Kratochvil

All of us also occasionally “weed” our belongings. Haven’t worn that shirt in how many years? Donate it. Bought that DVD and decided you didn’t want to watch it more than once? Give it to a friend. Remember when you thought it would be fun to try fishing as a hobby? Know anyone who might take a slightly used fishing rod?

Library collections need weeding, too. Why would we need, or want, to discard any of our books? Isn’t everything important and useful? How would we decide what to keep and what to withdraw? Well, turns out there are lots of articles and guidelines that help librarians decide what criteria to use when weeding. BUT . . . “throwing out” books is still a risky business. Just last week a public library director in Illinois got into trouble for deciding to withdraw a lot (!) of books just because they were published before 2003.

At the SMCM library we do a lot of weeding in the summer. That’s not because we don’t want anyone to see what we are doing. There are two main reasons. First, most of the books are here in the library so we can see how crowded the shelves are. Second, the librarians have fewer meetings and classes so we have more time to spend because weeding is time-consuming.

Why do we weed? Yes, we actually do want to get rid of books that may be getting in the way. In some areas we can’t fit any new books on the shelves. Since we’d like you to be able to see those nice, shiny new books we need to decide which are no longer useful. Sometimes books are outdated. Sometimes they are perfectly good books, but not ones which fit our curriculum anymore.

Here are some of the factors that go into our decision-making:

How long has it been since the book was last checked out? We can get reports of books that have not been borrowed in at least 10 years. BUT – we probably wouldn’t discard a version of the Bible or a Shakespeare play just because no one has borrowed them.

How many other libraries own the book? If we own a book along with only 10 other libraries in the US, we will probably keep it.

Is it outdated? A book on using MS Excel 2007 might not be that old, but it might not be very useful either.

Is it still important to our curriculum? Is it in poor condition (and if so, should we replace it)? Do we need the 1^st and 2^nd editions of that book?

See – there are lots of questions and making decisions is not always as easy as when you weed your garden. Some decisions are really judgment calls and some can be based on data.

But all libraries need to be weeded regularly in order to keep them health. And that’s especially true for small college libraries. We want you to see the brand new books we are getting. And we want you to be able to pull a book off the shelf without breaking the spine or because the books are so packed together.

So if you see the librarians up in the book stacks this summer with carts, you will know it’s just us weeding, except without the gloves or the bug spray. And if you want to know why and how we are making our weeding decisions, please ask!

Microfilm

March 26, 2013 by Melissa Rushing

OK, I know what you’re thinking…that nobody uses it any more, that it’s inferior, outdated technology, etc etc. While I will admit there is a little bit of truth buried somewhere in those sentiments, the fact is that microfilm is actually quite a viable storage medium. It takes up a small amount of space, does not have very stringent storage requirements, and lasts a long time – up to 500 years, if stored properly. Furthermore, it is easy to digitize should a user wish to do that. So microfilm actually has a lot going for it.

Here at the SMCM Library we have a robust microfilm collection, if I do say so myself – the newspaper collection on the first floor includes long runs of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The New Yorker as well as local resources such as Enterprise and St. Mary’s Beacon. In addition, we also have significant holdings of many journals – these are kept in the periodicals section on the 2nd floor. All in all we have over 18,000 rolls of microfilm! Not to mention that microfilm printing has always been free at the SMCM Library…just saying 😀

If you’ve used our microfilm before, then you know we have two microfilm readers on the first floor. Those two units are quite old, and while they’re a little bit finicky, they largely have served us well for many years. But we’re always looking to improve the user experience here at the SMCM Library, and starting on Thursday, March 28 we’re going to be having a one week trial of a brand-new, state-of-the-art microfilm reader. The ScanPro 2000 can scan microfilm into many different file formats – including searchable PDF – and has other features such as allowing users to zoom in and clip specific sections of microfilm, adjust the color/contrast of the image, and more. Users will be able to print, email, or save the images instantly, at a resolution/quality of their choice.

We’ll be testing the new unit with the idea that it would replace the two units that we have now – we just don’t have the luxury of being able to keep them both. So if you’re a microfilm user, stop by the library between Thursday, March 28 – Wednesday, April 3 and take the ScanPro 2000 for a spin. Conrad from the front desk will be glad to show you around the machine if you like. Then, let us know whether you think it would be a good investment for us.

If you’re not interested in microfilm, then come by to borrow a Kindle (preloaded with over two dozen contemporary hits), a laptop (for three hours or two weeks), one of our almost 3,000 DVD’s, get help with your research from one of the Reference & Instruction Librarians, or study in the beanbag lounge. We hope to see you soon! Thanks, and happy librarying.

Afro-Americana Imprints

March 18, 2013 by Melissa Rushing

It’s that time of year, folks. The library is trialing a variety of different online resources, including:

Afro-Americana Imprints (1535-1922)

This online collection spans nearly 400 years, from the early 16th to the early 20th century. Critically important subjects covered include the West’s discovery and exploitation of Africa; the rise of slavery in the New World along with the growth and success of abolitionist movements; the development of racial thought and racism; descriptions of African American life—slave and free—throughout the Americas; and slavery and race in fiction and drama. Also featured are printed works of African American individuals and organizations.

Give it a try and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below or emailing Celia Rabinowitz.

Latin American Newspapers

March 18, 2013 by Melissa Rushing

Ready to try something new? We are looking for feedback. We have two new online resources on trial until April 13. The more people who try them and give us feedback the better. We will be making decisions soon about which online databases to renew for next year and what new ones to license. Try them out and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below or emailing Celia Rabinowitz.

Latin American Newspapers (Series 1)

Latin American Newspapers (Series 2)

Latin American Newspapers, Series 1 and 2, 1805-1922, offer coverage of the people, issues and events that shaped this vital region during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Featuring titles from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela and a dozen other countries, these resources provide a wide range of viewpoints from diverse Latin American cultures. Together, both series of Latin American Newspapers chronicles the evolution of Latin America over two centuries through eyewitness reporting, editorials, legislative information, letters, poetry, advertisements, obituaries and other items. There are materials in English, Spanish, and French.

The Oscars and the DVD Collection at the SMCM Library

February 25, 2013 by Melissa Rushing

Last night I stayed up wayyy past my bedtime to watch the 85th Academy Awards show with Emek Köse (Mathematics), Anna Han (Psychology), Shan Sappleton (Political Science), & Colby Caldwell (Art & Art History). It got me thinking about the outstanding DVD collection that we have here at the SMCM Library – almost 3,000 strong!

First, some background information. DVD’s circulate for three days and may be renewed up to three times – so you can keep them for almost two weeks. Like so many of our other items here, they are NOT subject to daily overdue fines. The collection is behind the circulation desk so you can’t browse the titles yourself, but we have some options if you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for.

Binder: we have a binder at the circulation desk that lists our films (DVD & VHS) in alphabetical order. We’re adding DVD’s to the collection all the time so this list isn’t 100% complete, but it is very accurate – we update the binder once or twice a year.
Catalog: our online catalog can be used to search for films in many different ways – title, language, genre, actors/director/producer, etc etc. I recommend using the advanced search screen as it has many more options.

For example, let us say you want to watch something from the Criterion Collection (we have well over 200). Set the format to “DVD” and search for the series “criterion collection” – like so:

This will bring up the list of Criterion Collection films that we own. Say you click on The Life and Times of Harvey Milk, but discover that it is checked out. However, you still want to watch a documentary although you’re not sure which one. Scroll down the page a bit and find the “subjects” listing. This is all the different subjects that the film might fit into. Click on “documentary films” and the catalog will bring up all the documentary films owned by the SMCM Library.

These are just a few of the tools available to search for films in the SMCM Library catalog. You can search for actors, directors, or producers; academy award nominees/winners; foreign-language films; and almost any other bibliographic information you can think of. So if you’re in the mood to relax on the couch and take in a movie, stop by the SMCM Library. We’ve got thousands to choose from in all genres – documentaries, educational films, dramas, comedies, etc etc. Whether an Oscar winner or researching the biodiversity of the Florida Everglades, the SMCM Library has what you’re looking for – and we’ll be glad to help you out in the search process as well, either in-person at the reference desk or virtually via the Ask Us feature embedded throughout our website.

Thanks, and happy librarying!

Meet OneSearch

February 1, 2013 by Melissa Rushing

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.

Access to History

January 21, 2013 by Melissa Rushing

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?

New Database Trial: Anthropology Plus

November 12, 2012 by Melissa Rushing

The library will be providing access to the Anthropology Plus online database from now until Dec. 15, 2012 as part of our standard “Try before you buy” online resource vetting process. This resource is a compilation of information found in the Anthropological Index Online and Anthropological Literature, with the EBSCOhost interface we’re all so used to seeing.

Access Anthropology Plus online (while on campus).
For off-campus access, contact one of the librarians for a username and password.

The library relies heavily on input from faculty and students for our electronic resource purchasing decisions, so if you have a few minutes, please take a look at Anthropology Plus and leave your feedback online in our very short user survey.

You can learn more about Anthropology Plus on the EBSCOhost website.

Find The Numbers You Need

October 11, 2012 by Melissa Rushing

What’s the average travel time to work in Florida?
How many people in Colorado are registered to vote?
What’s the average science score for public school 4th graders in Nevada?

A good statistical information question is like librarian catnip. We love ’em. We know that somewhere in the vast infoverse some organization is collecting the data you need and we will try our hardest to find it. We have our usual go-to sources in print and online (I <3 the Statistical Abstract), and now we have yet another great source of numbers: CQ Press’ State Stats.

In State Stats you can find data on questions related to agriculture, the economy, education, government, health, population, transportation, crime, employment, the environment, and social welfare. It’s an easy to use collection of statistical information from a wide variety of sources, perfect for students in any discipline who need to support their arguments with hard data.

Oh, and if you’re curious about the answers to the questions above, they are:

25.5 minutes
2,299,000 people
141 out of 300 (from the National Assessment of Educational Progress)