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!

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

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.

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.

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!

Students Teaching Students at Grinnell College Libraries

Have you ever needed to know how many books you had checked out from the library, or which database to use for a particular subject or class?

The Libraries have trained the 40+ students already working at service desks in Burling (circulation, Listening Room, and the Iowa Room) and Kistle Science Libraries to serve as Peer Information Advisors (PIAs). These students, as well as their desk supervisors, can now help with a range of commonly asked research questions—such as the two listed above.

The Libraries have also trained three students as Reference Assistants (or RAs) who can help with more advanced research inquires. Look for our RAs on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at Burling’s reference desk; the RAs will also be available from 10 pm-12 midnight on Sunday thru Thursday evenings.

And please send any comments or suggestions on these new services to Phil Jones [jonesphi] or Beth Bohstedt [bohstedt].

Research Pro Down Time

Research Pro will be down for maintenance from 6:00pm to 7:00pm on November 3. We apologize for any inconvenience.

“Journal Finder” and “Search for Full Text” Down Time

The library’s “Journal Finder” and “ArticleLinker” services will be down for a system upgrade on Saturday, October 24 from approximately 2:00am to 4:00am. During this time the Journal Finder, the “Search for Full Text” links in all of the campus databases, and the “Full Text @ My Library” links in Google Scholar will not be available. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Poster Making and Printing at Burling

The Grinnell College Libraries' DesignJet 1050C plotter is great for making large-format posters. It has been used to print posters for students, faculty and nearly every department for poster sessions and other presentations.

Instructions for creating and printing posters are located at http://www.lib.grinnell.edu:16080/general/facilities/printers/posterprinter.html. Questions? Please email PosterPrinting@grinnell.edu.

Grinnell College Libraries Annual Report, 2008-2009

Link to the Grinnell College Libraries Annual Report, 2008-2009 [PDF]

What's New at the Libraries Fall 2009

Library Resources in Pioneer Web

Library resources are now better integrated into P-Web course pages. When you log into a course page, you will find:

• the e-reserve password for that course


• contact information for your consulting librarian


• a message box for instant messaging with a librarian


• a link to any course-specific web pages that your consulting librarian has created, with links to recommended databases, Web sites, and other important resources, or


• a link to a subject Web page, which will have a broader array of library resources in the course's discipline.

We hope this gives you more convenient access to the library resources you will need for learning and teaching.

Changes in Burling Reference

We will experiment this fall with a new reference schedule in Burling Library and a new approach to reference service. Beginning about mid-semester, we will expand desk coverage to midnight Sunday through Wednesday, but we have dropped it for Saturday afternoon (a very slow period, according to our statistics). On Fridays (another slow period at the reference desk) a librarian will be on call but not at the reference desk.

We will also be involving students in providing reference and information services—partly to give librarians more time for individual consultations and for liaison work with their departments, and partly because research suggests that student-to-student advising can be an effective complement to professional reference service. Students at the circulation desk are receiving intensified training in basic assistance with the catalog, databases, etc., and, as the fall progresses, you'll find students working at the reference desk during certain afternoon and evening hours. We'll be working very closely with these students and monitoring the service carefully. Please let us know what you think.

You'll find our complete Reference schedule at http://www.lib.grinnell.edu/general/libhours.html.
And remember that 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!

New Face in the Libraries!

Amy Roberson has joined us as a one-year term Reference & Instruction Librarian, filling in for Gail Bonath, who is on sabbatical leave this year. Amy is a recent graduate of the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her professional interests include reference services, information literacy, and Web usability. When not at work, Amy enjoys cooking, playing music, knitting, and hiking.

Middle East Studies: New Videos

With funding from the Mellon Foundation through the Mellon 23 Consortium, we have purchased 24 documentary and feature films on the Middle East and North Africa. The films are available for loan to any of the Mellon 23 member institutions. The borrowing period is 4 weeks. For a list of films, please see http://www.barnard.edu/provost/mellon23/GrinnellCollege08.pdf. For a description of the Mellon 23 Faculty Development program, please see http://www.barnard.edu/provost/mellon23.html.

New Video Players in Burling

New video players have been installed in Burling Library’s Listening Room. Six high-definition players allow patrons to directly control their DVD and VHS playing experience. Four of those are combination VCR/DVD devices for United States/Canadian region videos, and two players are set to play multi-region (international) DVDs.

Two other stations are directly connected to the Listening Room bus control system to allow small group viewing and to provide access to video formats not available on the free-standing players.

All of the video stations are also equipped with 22-inch high-definition monitors.

Visitors are welcome to use this equipment during the Listening Room’s regular hours. For more information, please call x3365.

Selected New Library Resources

(Print, Digital, Video, and Audio)

AP Images provides access to the photo archives of the Associated Press with over 4.9 million primary-source photographs and other images from 1825 to the present documenting significant moments in history, news, sports and entertainment.

Early English Books Online contains digital facsimile page images of 100,000 works printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America, as well as works in English printed elsewhere, between 1473 and 1700. It complements Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO).

Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture (6 vols).

James Bond Collection (the entire series of 21 films).

Oxford Reference Online provides online access to 200 specialized encyclopedias and dictionaries useful to both student and faculty research.

Play Along Jazz Recordings series. Music scores with accompanying CDs by noted jazz musicians.

Russian language encyclopedias: The new edition of The Great Russian Encyclopedia and The New Russian Encyclopedia.

Roper Center Public Opinion Data: Grinnell’s subscription to the Roper Archives provides access to over 60 years of polling data from surveys conducted around the world. Roper’s iPoll Database allows users to search for results for over 400,000 questions asked in the United States; RoperExpress allows users to download over 15,000 full datasets, including over 6,000 datasets from outside the United States, for analysis.

Times Digital Archive: Access to the complete backfile of the London Times, 1785-1985, including text, images, editorials and advertisements.

Trade Analysis and Information System (TRAINS), produced by the UN Conference on Trade and Development, provides comprehensive tariff and trade information for over 140 countries. Grinnell users have access to TRAINS through the WITS (World Integrated Trade Solutions) software client.

Viva Pedro: the collected works (on video) of Pedro Almodóvar.

Web Delivery of Interlibrary Services Journal Articles

The Grinnell College Libraries are now providing Interlibrary Services journal articles by Web delivery rather than by paper. In other words, instead of printing out a copy of an article that we receive electronically from another library and then sending that print-out through campus mail, our software will automatically send you an email with information that allows you to retrieve the article through your Web browser. The articles will be in PDF format and you may then save it to your computer or storage account, or print it. This service will allow us to speed delivery of articles to our patrons and reduce paper waste. Questions about this service should be directed to Gail Bonath (bonath@grinnell.edu) or Leslie Gardner (gardnerl@grinnell.edu). Or see our FAQ at http://www.lib.grinnell.edu/general/Departments/edd.html.

Summer Notices Error

We're sorry!

When we sent you courtesy notices recently, we forgot to change the text of the notice for summer check-out. Returning students may check books out for the summer. Books will be due on the first day of classes which is Thursday, August 27, 2009.

If you tried to renew your books for summer, you probably found out that it didn't work. We fixed that and you can now renew your books for the summer at https://cat.lib.grinnell.edu/patroninfo

Remember that if you check books out for the summer they can be recalled. Check your Grinnell email during the summer. If a book you have is recalled for use by another patron, you will need to return it by the NEW due date. You will have to bring the book in or have it delivered to us in a timely manner (via UPS, USPS, FedEx, etc.). Recalled books are due in 3 days from the date of recall.

Once again, we are sorry for our errors. If you have additional questions or concerns, email Gail Bonath, bonath@grinnell.edu.

Preview the New Grinnell College Libraries' Homepage

The Grinnell College Libraries will soon launch a re-designed homepage. You can get a sneak peek by clicking the “Preview the new homepage” link at the top of the page. Please take a look and let us know what you think! To return to the original page, click on the text "Grinnell College Libraries" on the black header.

Book Jackets and Google Previews in the Library Catalog

If you've used the library catalog recently, you might have noticed that it's gotten a bit more colorful. We're now displaying book jackets (courtesy of Google Book Search) and links to the Google Book Search page for some books. From the Google Book Search page, you can click on the "Preview this book" tab at the top of the page to view a digital scan of all or part of the book. You can also use Google Book Search to search for a word or phrase within the book.

What's New in the Grinnell College Libraries: Spring 2009

Lots of Databases, Just One Search: Research Pro is a tool for searching several databases at the same time. Rather than searching each database individually, you will be able to search and view all results from a single page. This type of search is known as “federated searching” or “meta-searching” and is an efficient way to explore unfamiliar databases to see which ones might be worth searching in greater depth. Look for Research Pro on our home page.

This is our first offering of a meta-search tool. Please send us your questions and comments!

Subject Guides: A New Look and New Features. Locate sources for your next research project quickly using our new subject guides. From each subject guide page, you can now browse a list of databases and reference books directly related to your subject; search for books in the Library catalog, WorldCat, and Google Books; search for a journal; and chat with a librarian using IM. Look for Get Help With Research -- Subject Guides on the library home page.

Put the Library in Your Web Browser with LibX: LibX is a toolbar for Firefox and Internet Explorer that gives you direct access to library resources without going to the library Web site. You can search the library catalog, WorldCat, Journal Finder, and CRL right from the toolbar; drag and drop article citations onto the toolbar to locate a full-text copy automatically; go from a book’s page on Amazon.com to searching the library catalog for that book with just one click; and much more. Look for LibX on our home page.

Favorite Films Festival: The 2009 Favorite Films Festival is scheduled for January 23-25. Watch for announcements of locations and times. The festival is sponsored by the Grinnell College Libraries and the Student Government Association Film Committee. We'll have films in the following categories, including top vote-getters based on votes from 274 participants:

* Film Noir (first place selection: The Maltese Falcon)
* Foreign Film (first place: Amelie)
* Animated Film (first place: Beauty and the Beast)

See the complete list of films in Burling Library's Listening Room and on the festival blog at PioneerWeb.

New Furnishings in Burling: We continue the modest renewal to Burling's interior that started in the summer of 2007. Look for some new lamps in the center "living room" and in the Current Periodicals reading area, which are modeled after original designs created by the architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill for the Forum in 1964. Skidmore was also the architect for Burling Library in 1959.

We continue to offer complimentary hot water and tea, now located on an attractive "tea cart" in Current Periodicals. And don't forget about the vending machine for cold drinks (basement level), white boards (level 1), and laptop tables (level 2).

Looking Ahead: Self-study. The Libraries are engaged in a self study to identify our strengths, our weaknesses, and our key directions for the next several years. We'll release our report to the campus community early this semester for your comments, and host a team of external reviewers who will meet with students, faculty, and staff to prepare their own report of assessment and recommendations. We look forward to hearing from you!

Ask a Librarian via Instant Messaging

http://www.lib.grinnell.edu/ask/

And add us to your “buddy list” for online reference service!

• AIM/iChat: query@grinnell.edu
• MSN: query@grinnell.edu
• Google Talk: grinnellcollegelibraries
• Yahoo: grinnellcollegelibraries

Meet the 2008/2009 Library SEPC

Solomon A Akesseh '11 (Library)
Peter Henry '09 (SGA)
Chris Johnston '09 (Senator)
Kim Knudsen '10 (Library)
Sam Stragand '10 (Senator)
Andrew Walsh '09 (Library)
Hannah Yourd '09 (Library)

The Library SEPC (Student Educational Policy Committee) is a student/library liaison group that provides the Libraries with student input on quality of library services, performance and hiring of librarians, and other important issues. SEPC works with a group of librarians and library staff as part of a Student Outreach Committee that provides advice and suggestions to the Libraries regarding services, collections, events, facilities, library promotion, and other issues. The SEPC also helps organize the Libraries' finals-week study breaks, surveys students and summarizes their opinions regarding the professional performance of librarians during contract reviews, and participates in interviews of candidates for librarian positions.

The Library SEPC includes:

• 4 library student employees, elected at the beginning of the fall semester by all the current library student employees;

• 1 student appointed early in the fall term by SGA;

• 2 students elected early in the fall term by the representatives of the residential clusters (Joint Board) (each representing a different cluster).

LibX Browser Toolbar

The LibX toolbar gives you easy access to many of the Grinnell College Libraries' resources, right in Firefox or Internet Explorer. You can search the catalog and online journals by highlighting, dragging and dropping—no typing required!

Down load the toolbar for Firefox at http://libx.org/editions/download.php?edition=7866E019.

Down load the toolbar for Internet Explorer at http://libx.org/editions/78/66/7866E019/libx-7866E019.exe.

If you don't want the full LibX toolbar, you can also add the library catalog to your browser's search box.