Libraries' Annual Open House, Friday, August 27 from 4-5:30 p.m.

The Libraries' annual Open House (4:00-5:30) is held the first Friday of the new academic year. Come to enjoy refreshments, find out what’s new, make a few discoveries, take a student-led tour and find out about the library from the student perspective, participate in a raffle competition for college bookstore gift certificates.

A New Way to Stay Current on Scholarship: Email or RSS Journal Alerts

When new issues of your favorite journals are published, would you like to receive the tables of contents automatically by e-mail or RSS? Now you can! To subscribe to e-mail or RSS alerts, search for your favorite journals in the Grinnell Journal Finder, then click on the "Subscribe to Alerts" link. This is a beta service, so we'd appreciate your feedback!

Grinnell College Libraries Self Study, 2008-2010

In 2008 the Libraries started a self study to identify our strengths, our weaknesses, and our key directions for the next several years. We were assisted by many faculty, students, and staff across campus. In April 2009, the Dean's Office hosted a pair of external reviewers who met with students, faculty, and staff to prepare their own report of assessment and recommendations. The Libraries submitted a formal response to the External Reviewer's report in April 2010.

We welcome responses to our original self-study located at http://www.lib.grinnell.edu/SelfStudy/index.html. Ongoing assessment of our services in light of changes at the College and in the larger higher-education, information services, and technology communities--and continuing conversation with students, faculty and staff--are fundamental to our becoming and remaining the library that Grinnell College deserves.

Update on Library Subscription Review (lists updated May 10)

Dear Faculty Colleagues,

We are nearing the end of our year-long review of the journals, magazines, newspapers, and databases to which the Libraries subscribe.

Periodic reviews are extremely useful to ensure that we are spending our money in a way that makes the greatest impact. In addition, the recent economic downturn that has caused reductions in the College budget gives this review even greater significance.

Over the past several months, your consulting librarian has worked with you and your colleagues to review the journal and database subscriptions associated with your department. Most departments have now recommended a list of journal and/or database subscriptions that could be canceled. In addition, departments have recommended journal titles that could move from print format to online-only. These savings will be used to initiate some new subscriptions (based on the recommendations you have made) and/or address a budget reduction for FY2010-2011, if there is one.

Departmental recommendations have been collated into two lists:

* Recommended journal and database subscription cancellations: http://www.lib.grinnell.edu/services/2010JournalandDatabaseCancellationsupdateMay10.pdf.

* Recommended changes to online-only: http://www.lib.grinnell.edu/services/2010journalsmovingonlineonlyupdateMay10.pdf. These titles would remain available as online subscriptions or through a pay-per-view service with the publisher (Elsevier or Wiley). Only the print portion of the subscription would end.

Please review these lists. We understand that many journals and databases are used by multiple departments, and we may have missed a key constituency for one of the titles proposed for cancellation. If you believe, based on your use of a journal or database, that a title should be removed from one of the lists, please send a note to your department's consulting librarian (http://www.lib.grinnell.edu/research/consultinglibs/). You may contact me or your consulting librarian with any questions about the process.

As feedback comes in, we will post updated lists on approximately a weekly basis.

The deadline for your recommendations is Wednesday, May 5.

I want to thank you for your patience, care, and hard work during this process. Our goal is to create a collection of subscriptions that uses our budget to best match your interests and your students’.

-- Richard Fyffe

Spring 2010 Events Hosted by the Libraries

Come join us for Wednesday Nights @ Burling, a series of events that showcase the talents of local writers, singers, and musicians!

February 24, 4:30 p.m.
Open Information Culture and Its Limits: A Faculty-Student Panel

Featuring: Matt Horowitz ‘10, Matthew Kluber, Associate Professor of Art, John Stone, Lecturer in Computer Science, Gregg Whitworth, Assistant Professor of Biology, Richard Fyffe, Rosenthal Librarian of the College.

Exploring questions like: Do operating systems have politics? If knowledge, information, and culture can be freely distributed, should they be? What good does copyright do? If it’s all free on the Web, why should anyone pay?

Sponsored by the Rosenfield Program Working Group on Information & Society

Location: Burling Northwest Corner, First Floor

February 24, 7:45 p.m.
Will Freeman reads from his memoir, "Great Thunder's Lessons"
Location: Burling Northwest Corner, First Floor

March 3, 7:45 p.m.
Open Mic: Poetry, Music, Prose
Location: Faulconer Gallery

March 10, 7:45 p.m.
Harley McIlrath reads from his short story, "Memo from the Director of the Center for Prairie Studies"
Location: Burling Northwest Corner, First Floor

April 21, 7:45 p.m.
Molly Rideout, Lawrence Sumalong, Paul Bellora, and Lucy Schiller read from their poetry and fiction
Location: Burling Northwest Corner, First Floor

April 28, 7:45 p.m.
Open Mic: Poetry, Music, Prose
Location: Faulconer Gallery

April 29, ALL DAY
National Poem in Your Pocket Day!
Pick up, carry around, share poetry
Poems available at Burling, Kistle, and JRC

Libraries Opening Earlier

In response to your requests, Burling and Kistle Libraries will be opening at 7:45 am, Mon-Fri, beginning Monday, February 22. Computing, printing, Listening Room paging, and basic circulation services will be available. We hope this offers more convenience for our students, faculty and staff.

Wednesday, March 3 All-campus Presentation on Updated Campus Master Plan for Libraries and Academic Commons

Libraries and the Academic Commons: Teaching, Learning and Research on the Liberal Arts College Campus

Wednesday, March 3 at 4:15 in JRC101

Grinnell College is updating its campus master plan, with a focus on humanities and social science buildings and on Burling Library and Information Technology Services. As part of an interactive presentation and discussion with the Grinnell College Community, Janette Blackburn from the architectural firm Shepley Bulfinch will share her view of trends affecting library and academic commons spaces on college campuses and seek your thinking on how these apply to Grinnell. All students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend.

Janette Blackburn, AIA, LEED AP, is a Principal at Shepley Bulfinch Richardson & Abbott and a leader of the firm’s education and library practice. As lead architect and planner on over 30 higher education and library projects, Janette excels at building consensus among diverse client constituents. Her work is informed by a deep understanding of teaching and learning environments and the variety of programs supporting community life on campus. Current and recent clients include Grinnell, Colorado College, Occidental College, Amherst College, and Duke, Columbia and Princeton Universities. She is a LEED accredited professional. She received her Bachelor of Architecture degree from Ball State University and was a Fulbright Scholar at the Helsinki Institute of Technology in Finland.

For more information on the Campus Master Plan Update, please see http://www.grinnell.edu/offices/institutionalplanning/updatedescription

Marci Sortor, VP for Institutional Planning
Richard Fyffe, Librarian of the College

What's New at the Libraries Spring 2010

Text a Call Number
When you search the Grinnell College Libraries catalog, you will now see a button that says “Send via Text Message.” Clicking on that button will allow you to text the book’s call number to your cellphone – no more scribbling call numbers on scraps of paper! Standard text messaging rates apply.

Autopopulation of Center for Research Libraries Interlibrary Loan Forms

Grinnell College is a member of the Center for Research Libraries (CRL), a consortium of research libraries that owns many rare and unique publications that you might want to use for your research. You might find items owned by CRL when you search the Grinnell College library catalog. Starting this semester, when you click on the link in the Grinnell catalog to request the item, the form will be filled out for you automatically.

Google Scholar
Previously, when clicking on "Search for full text" and finding that a copy of an article was not available locally either online or in print, you were given the option to request the article via Interlibrary Loan. In addition, you are now given an option to search Google Scholar to see if an open access/free copy of the article is available. If not, you can still obtain the article through Interlibrary Loan (at no cost to you).

Increased loan period for video material to faculty
By popular demand, the faculty check-out period for video materials is increased from 1 week to 4 weeks.

Academic Resource Centers (ARC) Workshops
The Libraries, Writing Lab, and Reading Lab have teamed up to offer a number of on-demand workshops intended to provide students, faculty, and staff with focused help to improve and deepen academic skills and work. ARC Workshops are available by request or referral for either individuals or small groups. For more information and a brochure of this service, contact Rebecca Stuhr via phone 3674 or email [stuhr].

Selected New Resources

Facsimiles of Mozart’s Operas
We have added seven facsimiles editions of Mozart’s operas including Così Fan Tutte, the Marriage of Figaro, the Magic Flute, and others.

Music Reference Online from Alexander Street Press

This resourcencludes an online edition of the complete text and recordings of the Garland Encyclopedia of World Music as well as African American Music Reference, Classical Music Reference Library, and Classical Scores Library.

Smithsonian Collections Search Center
The Smithsonian recently unveiled its Collections Search Center http://collections.si.edu/search. This tool provides one-stop searching of the Smithsonian’s in- house and web-based collections.

EconLit, formerly available through the OCLC FirstSearch interface, is now available through EBSCOhost. The content is the same and you can still find EconLit via the Databases A-Z link on the Libraries homepage or through a number of Subject Guides.

Extended Reference Hours
During the Fall semester, we implemented a new approach to reference service. We involved students in providing reference and information services. Students at the circulation desk (Peer Information Advisors or PIAs) received intensified training in basic assistance with the catalog, databases, etc., and student Reference Assistants began working at the reference desk during certain afternoon and evening hours, allowing us to expand those hours.

We found the experiment successful and will continue offering these services this Spring. If you have any questions or comments about the service, please let us know. You'll find our complete Reference schedule at http://www.lib.grinnell.edu/general/libhours.html.

And remember, students and faculty can always contact http://www.grinnell.edu/academic/librarylab/ or query@grinnell.edu to schedule an individual or group reference consultation with a librarian!

Earlier Opening during the Week
Starting soon, date to be announced, the Libraries will open at 7:45am Monday-Friday in order to help accommodate faculty, students, and staff who need to check-out or return materials before 8am classes.

Facebook
The Grinnell College Libraries are now on Facebook! Become a Fan of our Page to receive news and announcements via Facebook as well as view photos from events such as Wednesday Nights @ Burling and semester-end study breaks, and more.

Upcoming Events at Burling
The Libraries will once again present Wednesday Nights @ Burling featuring Grinnell College writers Will Freeman and Harley McIlrath, Grinnell College student writers, Molly Rideout, Lawrence Sumulong, Lucy Schiller, and Paul Bellora. In collaboration with Faulconer Gallery, the libraries will be hosting two open mic nights to be held at Faulconer. Look for posters advertising dates and times or contact [stuhrr].

Repeat, Reveal, React and Influence: Student and Faculty Selections from Grinnell College Collections (January 29, 2010- March 21, 2010)
In Repeat, Reveal, React: Identities in Flux, student curators examine the ways in which art contributes to the construction of identities and the role that repetition plays in this process. Influence, curated by four Grinnell College faculty members, explores the concept of influence as it is expressed historically, genetically, culturally, artistically, technically, contextually, and genealogically.

Video Streaming Services Trials Have Begun

The Libraries have arranged a 30-day trial of two video streaming services to ascertain whether their variety of videos and their functionality would prove useful in fulfilling some the campus’ wide range of video streaming needs.

Films on Demand

Films On Demand is a streaming video platform that allows incorporation of educational programs from Films Media Group into content management systems, online lesson plans, distance learning courseware, etc. Video subject areas are: humanities & social sciences, business & economics, science & mathematics, health & medicine, technical education, family & consumer sciences, careers & job search, and guidance & counseling.

This service can be reached by going to the URL below:

http://digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?cid=1637&aid=4931

From the home page, you may click on the “User Log In” button at the top of the display to create and access your personal account. You will need this to set up playlists, etc. There are a variety of links on each page with instructions on how to use the service.

Naxos Video Library

The Naxos Video Library is a performing arts video library with over 300 operas, ballets, documentaries, live concerts, and musical tours of historic places. It includes the Naxos DVD label, Opus Arte, Arthaus, Dacapo, EuroArts, among others and is continuously updated to offer the best selection of performing arts videos.

This service can be reached by going to the URL below:

http://grinnell.naxosvideolibrary.com

Patrons may access either service from any campus computer.

Please share your opinion of the service(s) you test. It would be very helpful if you let us know which service you tested, what type(s) of features you tried, what experiences you had, what successes or difficulties you had, and how much use you believe you’d make of the service, if we subscribe. Of course, please let us know whether you would recommend that the Libraries subscribe to the service and share any other comments you feel are relevant.

The trial period for Films on Demand ends March 9th; Naxos Video Library’s test period ends March 15th.

Inquiries or comments may be addressed to Randye Jones at jonesran@grinnell.edu or 269-3365.

2010 Favorite Films Festival This Weekend, January 29-31, 2010

The 4th Annual Favorite Films Festival will be held at Harris Center Cinema on the Grinnell College campus on Friday through Sunday, Jan. 29-31. The days and times:

Fri. 1/29:
4:30 p.m. Pan's Labyrinth
7:30 p.m. The Shining
10:30 p.m. Blazing Saddles

Sat. 1/30:
1:30 p.m. Blazing Saddles
7:30 p.m. Pan's Labyrinth
10:30 p.m. The Shining

Sun. 1/31:
1:30 p.m. Pan's Labyrinth

Showings are free and open to the public.

The films were selected by the college community as their favorite Western, Science fiction, and Horror films.

The festival is co-sponsored by the Grinnell College Libraries and the Student Government Association Films Committee.

Afrocentric Sounds to Honor Still on MLK Day

Afrocentric Sounds radio will pay tribute to American composer William Grant Still with a broadcast of the composer’s works on this year’s Martin Luther King Holiday. The broadcast, to be presented on January 18th, will include a wide range of Still’s compositions for solo instruments, voice, as well as chamber and large ensembles.

Known as the Dean of African American composers, Still’s educational and professional career spanned both popular and Classical music as he worked with musicians from W. C. Handy, Sophie Tucker, Paul Whiteman, and Artie Shaw to George Chadwick and Edgard Varese. Still broke many barriers, such as becoming the first African American to have a symphony performed by a major symphony orchestra, the first African American to conduct a major symphony orchestra in the United States, and the first African American to have an opera produced by a major American company.

Still is credited with over 150 compositions, including art songs, operas, ballets, symphonic and chamber works. He composed and arranged music for radio and for motion pictures, including the 1936 film, Pennies from Heaven and 1937’s Lost Horizon.

The Internet radio station Afrocentric Sounds launched in November 2009. It is the second station launched by music researcher Randye Jones (Listening Room Supervisor in Burling Library), whose recent performances and work have focused on African American musicians. Jones currently serves on the library staff at Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa.

The “All Is Still” program has been made possible by the generous donation of numerous recordings by the composer’s daughter, Judith Anne Still. The broadcast may be heard by accessing the station at http://www.live365.com/stations/singin1?site=live365. For more information about Afrocentric Sounds, visit http://www.afrocentricsounds.com.

Burling Library in the News

Smartcollegevisit.com has a short blurb on Burling's jungle gyms. Take a look at http://www.smartcollegevisit.com/2009/12/smart-see-smart-do-grinnell-college.html. Thank you Mairead O’Grady '10 for the shout out!