A Word from the Dean
 |
Diane Dates Casey
|
What's New at the University Library?
On these snowy days the University Library warmly welcomes students and faculty to take advantage of the spectrum of services available to assist them in their course assignments and research pursuits.
Librarians are ready to assist in focusing research questions and identifying appropriate information resources. Moreover, tutors from the Writing Center can answer questions about writing and citation styles. Public workstations offer a full suite of productivity software, including Microsoft Office 2007. For those with their own laptops, wireless access to the Internet is available throughout the public areas of the library.
FAX Services
FAX services are now available to currently registered GSU students in the Library Administrative Office when the library office manager is present. Students must show a current GSU student identification card. Prices are posted near the FAX machine.
Kuper Collection
In December, the University Library received the scripts, costumes and accessories used by Ann Birk Kuper who presented dramatic monologues across the nation from the late 1920s until the early 1960s. The collection was donated by her son, Alan B. Kuper of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and her daughter, Joanne Kuper Zimmerman of Homewood, Illinois.
In 1987, Ms. Zimmerman donated to the University Library, play programs and publicity brochures from her mother’s career. This new gift from the Kuper family augments and enriches the previous collection. The library hopes to restore, preserve, and exhibit the costumes in the future.
Back to top
Faculty Authors Reception
Helen Benos
The library is pleased to once again host the Faculty Authors Reception on Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at 2:30 p.m., on the library balcony. All university faculty are invited to display their published works on this day.
We are pleased to announce that both the President, Dr. Elaine Maimon, and the Provost, Dr. Jane Hudak, will be speaking at the reception.
Everyone is welcome to attend.
Back to top
Web 2.0 Course offered to Library Staff on WebCT
Diane Nadler and Sarah Wegley
Diane Nadler, Library Web Manager and Sarah Wegley, Senior Library Specialist are teaming up this trimester to teach library staff about new Web 2.0 technologies and explore how they can be used to improve library services.
There are 22 students in the class representing every department in the library as well as two students from outside the library.
“Offering the course online through WebCT offers two advantages: Staff can access course material at their own convenience whether they work a day or a night schedule. Staff also get the experience of taking an online course and will be able to better understand the questions our students have,” reported Wegley.
The course will cover a wide variety of topics ranging from blogging, flickr, technorati, wikis, social networking, and podcasting. The hands on experiences will include creating a personal blog, uploading photos to a flickr account, designing their own search engine with Rollyo, and joining the MySpace and Facebook communities.
Nadler explained, “Using WebCT for the course gives students the opportunity to interact online throughout the week. The 10 week course has been designed so that each lesson builds on the previous week’s lesson. This allows the skills of students to increase as the course progresses.”
Back to top
Government Documents
Paul Blobaum
The University Library is a designated Federal Documents Depository Library and Illinois Documents Depository Library. Government document libraries safeguard the public’s right to know by collecting, organizing, maintaining, and preserving collections, and by assisting users with Government information.
The Federal Document Library Program was established in 1813. The University Library selects publications which most closely support the information needs of our educational programs, and the citizens in our legislative district.
The Illinois General Assembly passed a law in 1967 requiring each state agency to deposit copies of their publications with the State Library for its collection and distribution to 24 State Documents depositories in Illinois.
Publications received for the Government Documents collection are in many media formats: paper, microform, electronic, maps, sound recordings, etc. All items received for the collection are available for public use, and most circulate.
Types of state documents received include annual reports, special reports, statistical information, maps, environmental studies, conservation and wildlife research, tourism information, K-12 curriculum materials, posters, and verbatim debates of the Illinois General Assembly.
Government Documents are cataloged in the library catalog, I-Share, and physical formats are shelved separately in a Government Documents area. A list of Illinois documents is published monthly on the Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White’s web site. You can be notified by email when the new list is posted, if desired. Each monthly list indicates which documents are available online, which are available in depository libraries, or how to order copies of other publications.
Paul Blobaum, Associate Professor, is currently the Government Information Librarian. In addition to assisting library users to use government information, Paul teaches workshops on the Public Policy Process, and how to track legislation at the federal and state levels. Please contact him at x4139 or p-blobaum@govst.edu for more information.
Back to top
Professors Blobaum and Coldren Attend Scholarly Communications Institute
Paul Blobaum
Professor Paul Blobaum, University Library, and Professor Chip Coldren, Program Coordinator, Criminal Justice Program, College of Arts and Sciences, attended the ACRL Regional Scholarly Communication Institute on the UIC campus, in Chicago from December 5 through 7.
The Institute was sponsored by the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI) and Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). Librarians, faculty, and administrators who attended were immersed in scholarly communications issues and trends in the publication industry, which affect scholars and students at all levels of academia. Participants also developed plans and strategies to do outreach on their home campuses.
Professor Blobaum will incorporate some of the Institute’s content in his “Scholarly Publishing Process” workshop, which is taught occasionally. Other content from the Institute will be disseminated through various means during 2008.
One of the trends in scholarly communications is the online institutional repository. The University Library’s repository, The GSU Vault, is available for scholars to permanently archive their work in electronic format.
Manuscript copies of journal articles, theses, books, as well as multimedia can be archived and disseminated to scholars around the world through indexing by Google and other search engines. Or, the GSU Vault can be used as an archive for college publications, photographs, sound recordings, videos, and other works that need preservation. Instead of keeping copies of scholarly works on local hard drives or CD-ROM media, publish your scholarly work in GSU Vault and link to it from your own web pages.
Back to top
What have we done to serve you better?
Lydia Morrow Ruetten
In response to a “Why Not” suggestion, we have placed new desk lamps on the study tables on the perimeter of the library for your comfort.
Back to top
And the winner is …
Lydia Morrow Ruetten
Pumpkin-Carving Contest for Library Employees
- 1st place—Pam Taylor, Family tree (far right). Pam took home a $50 Borders gift card.
- 2nd place—Renee Rainey, Gourd nose (fourth from left). Renee received a $25 Borders gift card.
- 3rd place—Sarah Wegley, Harry Potter, complete with broom (second from left). Sarah received a $15 Borders gift card.
Thanks to all who helped us out by stopping in and voting for the winning pumpkins.
DSpace Naming Contest
We are pleased to announce that GSUVault has been chosen as the name for our new digital repository. Congratulations to GSU student, Daphne Thornton, winner of a $100 Borders gift card.
Back to top
Student Art Work
Susan Bell
 Catherine M. Ciosek, student worker in the Catalog Department of the Library, is also an artist. She has three prints on display in the Main Entrance Atrium. The prints were part of her graduate show and her master’s degree in 2005 here at Governors State. The theme of the show was "Migraines."
Cathy suffers from migraines and these prints serve to portray the effects one may suffer. It also has been said that if you look at them long enough they might give you a migraine! She is currently enrolled in a new Master of Fine Arts program here at GSU and looking forward to learning new things in independent film, as well as exploring much more in digital imaging. These images plus others are for sale. If you wish to contact her, leave a message at 235.7500.
Back to top
Friends Corner
Friends of the GSU Library
Ralph W. Ginn, D.D.S., President
Happy New Year! Our Friends group has had a great first year and is making plans for an even better 2008. Last year, we raised over $10,000. We purchased bags for library users (and marketing) and a display case for the library. We are having discussions now about how we can enhance the library’s collection. Keep your eyes open on our website (www.govst.edu/library/friends) and the GSU View for coupons for our Jewel “Shop & Share” event scheduled for March 17-19: where 5 percent of your shopping purchases will be contributed to the Friends.
Thank you to everyone for contributing in the past and we invite you to contribute to our worthy cause. The Foundation has made it fun and convenient to contribute, simply go to the GSU Foundation website (www.govst.edu/foundation.) and click on “donate online” and select “Friends of the Library” under “Other Giving Options.” And, if you’re an employee, your contribution will count in the annual staff giving campaign. Help us reach our goal of $20,000 this year!
Friends Quilt
Susan Bell
The Friends are handcrafting a bookshelf quilt to hang prominently in our library. Remember a certain occasion or honor someone special by making a donation of $50. If you have a favorite piece of material to be used, we would be happy to use it (3" by 12" minimum please). If you would like more information, check out our website at: www.govst.edu/library/friends or contact Susan at 235.7500. Your donation is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Lighted Magnifier
Lydia Morrow Ruetten
Don’t see as well as you used to? Well, we don’t either! The Friends have lighted magnifiers at the reference desk for a donation of $8. There are several designs to choose from and they make great gifts.
Friends of Mysteries
Becky Nugent
The Friends of Mysteries is open to everyone; join us on the dates below for discussions of the popular, historic, dark, idiosyncratic, and classic mysteries we have chosen to analyze this year. The “who-dunnit” is an interesting and highly flexible genre, and it is always fun. Come see. We meet at noon in the Cafeteria Annex.
- February 19— Gallows View by Peter Robinson
- March 18—She Walks These Hills by Sharon McCrumb
- April 15— No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
- May 20—Strong Poison by Dorothy Sayer
Children’s Authors Wannabes
Lydia Morrow Ruetten
In the past few months, we have met with a local publisher with one of our group submitting his manuscript; no word yet (good luck Cyrus!). Another one of our group members, Collette Andersen, has received a contract with the CLA Literary Agency to have her book, "Kyle and pennies from heaven" published. Way to go Collette!
We will be meeting with the Novel Writer Knock-Outs on Wednesday, February 20, from noon to 1 p.m. on the Library Balcony to discuss a possible merger of the two groups.
Novel Writer Knock-Outs
Valerie J. Nicholas Hughes
The Novel Writer’s Knock-Outs next meeting will be Wednesday, February 20, 2008, from noon to 1 p.m. on the Library Balcony. This group has met to discuss our interests in pursuing our writing dreams. We have exchanged ideas, resources, and examples of our writing abilities. At the last meeting, John brought to the table the wonderful idea of starting a magazine and featuring our talents. At the next meeting we will explore our pursuits of inspiring enthusiasm.
Friends of the GSU Library (FGSUL) Historical Society
Eric Nicholson
The Friends of the GSU Library Historical Society has changed its regular meeting time to noon to 1 p.m. every second Wednesday of the month. Hopefully, this will help avoid conflicts with other Friend raisers.
Monthly Movie Reviewer’s Review
John DeYoung
The first meeting of the Monthly Movie Reviewer’s Roundtable occured on Thursday, January 24 where members discussed how the group’s activity would take place. First off, the monthly movie will be on reserve behind the circulation desk and is exclusive to MMRR members only. In order to check out the movie from circulation, interested parties can contact John DeYoung at Ext. 7501 or j-deyoung@govst.edu and ask to be a part of this exciting new group.
Meetings will be held on the last Thursday of every month, from noon to 1 p.m., in the back lounge area of the Library balcony. Members will explain what they liked about a particular film and what they didn’t like. Finally, each member will give the film a grade ranging from A-F including minuses and pluses. Reviews of the films will be written here on the Library newsletters and on the group’s blog site (http://mmrr2008.blogspot.com).
As for the movie selection for February, it was decided that group will view A Dry White Season with Marlon Brando, Susan Sarandon and Donald Sutherland. The discussion will take place on February 28. We are hoping more people will participate as we continue to broaden our cinematic horizons.
Inkjet Cartridge Recycling
Susan Bell
The library continues to collect inkjet cartridges for recycling. Cartridges can be dropped off in the container at the circulation desk. Thank you to those that have contributed so far.
Back to top
|
