Happy New Year and Librarian to the Stars...

Happy New Year from the Savage Library Staff! We will be closing early today (3:00 p.m.) for the holiday.

Found the following NY Times article on David Smith, a reference librarian at the New York Public Library, who provides research help for many authors.

History of Libraries...

I came across two web-sites on the history of libraries;

• History of Libraries (Greek and English)
• Survivor: The History of the Library
  

Winter Break Hours...

The Savage Library will have reduced hours during the winter break. For a complete list, check-out our Hours web-page, http://www.western.edu/lib/info/hours.html.

Definr - Web 2.0 Dictionary

Check-out this online dictionary (http://definr.com/). The site does a fast look-up of terms.

Journal of The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition

The Library is please to announce that full-text access to the Journal of The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition is now available to campus users. Use this url, http://fyesit.metapress.com/content/1542-3077/ to access this journal.

Future of Reading...

Here is link to Princeton history professor Anthony Grafton article on the future of reading and libraries. Interesting historical perspective up to the present on how publishing and intellectual life has changed and remained similar through the centuries.

While the Internet and the digitalization efforts of corporations like Google and Microsoft seems to make the library obsolete, Professor Grafton believes libraries are and will be integral to research and reading for the foreseeable future.

Information Commons Now available...

The Savage Library is happy to announce that our new Information Commons is now available for use by the college community. Please swing by to check it out!

ScienceDirect adding new back-dated material...

From a press release from Elsevier:

. Effective January 2008, the Western State College will have peer-reviewed content back to 1995 worth thousands of dollars at no extra cost. Now you can access 7 additional years of high-quality journal articles online, complemented by authoritative reference works.

	Health & Life Sciences: 260,000 additional full-text articles totaling 540,000 across >900 journals (download title list) Physical Sciences: 650,000 additional full-text articles totaling 1,250,000 across >610 journals (download title list) Social & Behavioral Sciences: 70,000 additional full-text articles totaling 130,000 across >350 journals (download title list)

Library Arcade Games from Carnegie Mellon...

Two Flash games related to library service from Carnegie Mellon Libraries; one on LC numbers and another on patron service: http://www.library.cmu.edu/Libraries/etc/index.html

Power outage today...

The Library does not have power today due to construction on the upcoming Information Commons. We are open until 6 p.m., but remember no computers, lights, etc., we can still check-out books and magazines to your account.

PR Campaigns of Traditional Publishers vs. Open Access Journals

Article from Wired's Science blog on PR firms plans for swaying government opinion against Open Access for government funded research: Traditional Journal Publishers' Anti-Open-Access PR Plan Revealed

Constitution Day - September 17

Savage Library has created a Constitution Day exhibit and a web page with links to various resources on the U.S. Constitution. There is also a wiki page where you can comment about our efforts or add content yourself.

Gunnison Listed as Colorado's Top Adventure Town...

The latest issue of National Geographic Adventure Magazine (September 2007) lists Gunnison as Colorado's top adventure town (page 88). Check out it in Savage Library's West Wing.

NYTimes article on librarians...(we're not boring...no really!)

New York Times article on different types of people who are becoming librarians.

Librarian ranked in top 25 jobs by U.S. News & World Report

Found this interesting link. Librarians are listed among the 25 top careers. The full list of careers are here.

Trial subscription for Lyell Collection of Geologic Journals

From now until June 18 you can access this trial from our articles web page or directly at http://www.lyellcollection.org/.

Some details about this trial:
The Lyell Collection has been launched to mark the 200^th Anniversary of the Geological Society of London in 2007. This completely new service will feature both Journal of the Geological Society and Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, each journal title having been captured back to its launch issue.

Journal of the Geological Society has been digitized back to 1845 and some 6000 peer reviewed articles on 100 000 pages will be available. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology will be available from its launch year in 1967, and feature some 1200 peer-reviewed articles over 15 000 pages.

Please e-mail at jnelson@western.edu if you have any questions or comments.

Information Commons

By now many people have heard about the new Information Commons to be built in the library. Here are some answers to questions we've been getting..


What is an information commons? It's a place for students to interact, get research assistance, and work in groups together or individually on course assignments. It will contain a range of study experiences, from individual computer carrels to small group study areas with internet access or without to individual work areas and comfy chairs to group areas where you can practice presentations.

Where will it be? In the quiet study area, behind the circulation desk?

When will it be ready? We hope it will be ready when classes start this Fall.

If you have any other questions, please ask us.

Web 2.0 bibliography generator

Here is a Web 2.0 site that creates a work cited/bibliography in MLA, APA, or Chicago styles that can be downloaded and inserted into an article or paper.

A new fun tool

Spell with Flickr, is one of my favorite fun tools. You can find it at http://metaatem.net/words

Beth

Jazz Appreciation Month!

In addition to Poetry Month, April is also Jazz Appreciation Month. To celebrate jazz, Savage Library is showcasing albums from our extensive collection of vinyl records. Stop by the display case on the first floor to see some classic jazz albums. If you have a turntable, check out our records. Of course, we also carry CDs. To find out what we have in our music collection, including downloadable music, keyword search the library catalog for "sound recording" and add "music" or "jazz" or another word describing what you'd like to hear.

Poetry Month!

April is poetry month! In celebration, Savage Library has pulled poetry books by local poets and Poet Laureates for your enjoyment. The books are available on main floor display stands. Add a little poetry to your life!

The Rare Book Room site has digitalized images of a number of the greatest books ever published from some of the top libraries in the world including Library of Congress, British Library, the Bodleian Library, the Edinburgh Library, and the National Library of Scotland.

Visual Thesaurus now available!

Our Visual Thesaurus subscription is now available from campus computers. Here is the

http://www2.western.edu/vt/

Open Access Journal article from BBC

The following article on the growing support for open-access scientific journals in Europe is a good sign given the increasing cost of electronic journals. Any government funded research would be required to publish in one of these open-access journals.

The User Revolution and The Media Divide

I found the following blog entry on how companies can succeed in the new media world interesting in how some of the same strategies can be applied to the Library. The blogger's information comes from an IBM report and a couple of highlights for me:

1 Put consumers at the center of your business

3 Deliver experiences, not just content

4 Leverage virtual worlds

9 Determine entry strategy for going “open”

10 Make user behavior a competitive advantage

Step Back in Time - Visit the Jensen Room!

Interested in Gunnison's history? Looking for new ways to procrastinate? Need a reason to take a study break? Just plain bored? Come by Savage Library’s Helen A. Jensen Room (room 301). The room is open Sunday through Wednesday, 7:00pm – 10:00pm.

The Jensen Room features the Western Colorado Collection, which includes books and other materials pertaining primarily to the history and culture of the Gunnison area, as well as, groovy décor that will blast you right into the 1970’s.

If you aren’t interested in researching local history topics, like Alferd Packer and his venture into cannibalism, you can mosey on up to take in the retro setting…or at least bask in the quiet the room offers. So come visit, pull up a sofa cushion, and soak up the past.

Some things never change

If you think all this new technology is confusing and you'll never get used to it, check this out and you'll see "some things never change"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRjVeRbhtRU&NR

Search other than Google?

I found this interesting article on 100 alternative search engines, try some out and tell us what you think!

Renew your books -- it's easy!

Renewing books There are several ways you can renew your books. Two of them can even be done from the comfort of your dorm room or home. 1) Go to the library webpage, http://www.western.edu/lib and under "search the library catalog" select "Renew My Books Online" or go directly to https://www.millennium.marmot.org:444/patroninfo~S93/You will be asked for your name and library card number. For Western students, faculty and staff your library card number is the barcode on the back of your Mountaineer card.

2) Call the circulation desk at 970-943-2103 during library hours and ask to renew your books.

3) Stop by the circulation deck when you're in the library and ask to renew your books.

4) The most difficult way is to bring you books back into the library and ask to renew them.

Remember books can only be renewed if no one else has asked to check them out.

Asking for books from another library

If you need a book that isn't in the Savage Library, just do a Mamot Global search and you can directly request a book from another Marmot Library for delivery here at Savage. Here's how it works:

Marmot-wide Patron Initiated Holds: FAQ List

How will I know if an item I find in the Marmot catalog is available to borrow through Marmot-wide holds?
The Marmot catalog will display a message on the screen that tells you no copies are available to request. At this point, you still have options. Check with a librarian who can request the item for you from libraries outside of the Marmot system.

If the item I want is checked out in my home library system, can I still request it through Marmot-wide holds?
Absolutely. That’s the beauty of the system. You no longer have to wait for your library’s copy to be returned. When you place a hold on the title, the system will first look for copies in your local library. If all copies are checked out, the system will request an available copy from another Marmot library.

Can I place a Marmot-wide hold myself online or do I need to fill out a form? (or see a librarian?)
You now have the freedom to request a copy of any title you find in Marmot electronically without any staff intervention.

How long does my book check out for?
Your due date will be determined by the owning library. If your home library has a two week checkout period on books and the copy you receive is from a library where the checkout period is three weeks, your copy will be due back in three weeks.

When is a book overdue and to whom do I pay fines?
A book is overdue when it has reached the end of its lending period. That period is determined by the owning library. If you pay overdue fines, the fines will be collected by the library where you return the item.

Why don’t any Marmot libraries loan DVDs?
Many Marmot libraries do. Others have determined that local demand is too great to be able to share their collection throughout Marmot.

What do I do if I place a Marmot-wide hold and never receive the item I’ve requested?
Library staff run daily reports to monitor waiting times for outstanding requests. If you feel you have been waiting longer than you expected for an item to be received, you should contact your local library. They’ll be happy to check on the status of your requests.

Where do I pick up the item I’ve requested?
Your item will be sent to the library you designated as a pickup location when you placed the hold.

How long will it take to receive the item I’ve requested?
There are many factors to consider. If all the copies of the title you requested are checked out throughout the Marmot system, the time will be extended. When you place a hold, your request is added to a que in the order it was received. If other requests are ahead of you, your wait will be longer. If there are copies available and your request is first in the que, you should receive your copy within five business days.


If you have any other questions, just e-mail me or ask a librarian @your library.

Free Audio Book and Music Downloads Now Available @ Your Library

If you received an MP3 player as a holiday gift and want to download a book or some music, the Western State College Library Web Site.

Western State College's Savage Library now provide free downloads of audio books and music to our patrons through the Marmot Library Consortium. Marmot members have contracted with OverDrive, Inc., an Ohio company with over 20 years experience providing digital content over global networks. Western State library users can access the new digital collections at http://www.western.edu/lib or http://marmot.lib.overdrive.com.

Member libraries created a start-up collection of over 1,000 titles. They may be “checked out” for 14 days and downloaded to personal computers and laptops, then transferred to compatible listening devices. Many of the titles may be burned to CD.

Using the bar code number on the back of your Mountaineer card you can borrow items from the digital site 24/7 from your home, or anywhere over the World Wide Web. At the end of the loan period, the book or music is automatically “checked in”, so there are never any overdue fines or late fees. There is also no physical disk to lose or damage, so there is never any replacement cost. If the you want to listen to a book or music score that someone else has checked out, you can place a hold on it and be notified by e-mail when it is available.

A portion of the audio book collection is leased, rather than owned by the Marmot Library Network consortium, and can be checked out by an unlimited number of users at the same time. These are primarily classic works.

Marmot Library Network Executive Director, Joel Robinson says: “None of our member libraries could afford to offer this service on their own. The power of group purchasing and the start up Federal funds from the State Library of Colorado has made it possible. Now library card holders on the West Slope can use the library without coming to the library buildings.” In the future, the consortium of libraries intends to add videos to their digital collection.