Library News

Howard Bond, a renowned photographer and former student of Ansel Adams, will give a free lecture at Syracuse University. The lecture, “Photography as Art: Trends Since 1839,” is Thursday, September 10, at 5 p.m. in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons on the first floor of Bird Library (222 Waverly Ave., Syracuse). The event kicks off the SU Library Associates 2009-10 lecture series. It coincides with an exhibition, entitled “Luminous Construction: The Photography of Howard Bond” in the Special Collections Research Center at Bird Library, running September 8, 2009 - January 14, 2010. Free parking for the lecture is available in Booth Garage, on the corner of Waverly and Comstock avenues. The event is followed by a reception, during which Bond will sign copies of his exhibition catalog. Lecture sponsors include the SU Humanities Center, as well as the SU Library and its Special Collections Research Center.

For more information, contact Pamela McLaughlin at (315) 443-9788 or pwmclaug@syr.edu.

Continue reading "Photographer Howard Bond kicks off 2009 Syracuse Symposium, SU Library Associates lecture series" »

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 9:00 AM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library welcomes new and returning students to its annual Open House on Friday, September 11th from noon to 4 p.m. in the Learning Commons on the first floor of Bird Library.

The event will feature introductions to Library resources,services, librarians and staff. Tours will also be available and refreshments will be served. Attendees may also elect to participate in an activity that facilitates self-paced exploration of the Library. Those who successfully complete the activity will be entered a raffle for a chance to win prizes.

Since the event falls on the 8th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, there will be a display of Library resources dedicated to this topic.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 8:30 AM | Permalink

The Library will offer tours of Bird Library and the Science and Technology Library during Opening Week as follows: Monday, 8/31 through Thursday, 9/3, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. To request a tour, stop by the first floor service desk in either location.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 12:55 PM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library Associates will host acclaimed large-format photographer Howard Bond for its first program of the 2009-2010 season. Bond's lecture, entitled "Photography as Art: Trends since 1839" will take place on September 10th at 5:00 p.m. in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons on the first floor of Bird Library and will be followed by a reception and book signing.

In his richly illustrated lecture, Howard Bond will trace the answers to the questions Who decides what constitutes art? Is a photograph art? A student of Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, and Brett Weston, Bond will present montages by famous photographers, in addition to his own work. He will discuss photography's relationship with major movements in the art world. The lecture will conclude with a discussion of recent digital techniques.

Syracuse University Library owns all 22 of Howard Bond's limited-edition portfolios of prints, which were donated to the Library in 2008 by alumnus Carl Armani '60. Bond's photographs have been exhibited in some 60 single-artist and 40 group shows, and examples of his work can be found in 34 permanent collections, including the Bibliotheque Nationale (Paris), the Victoria and Albert Museum (London), the University of Michigan Museum of Art, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Bond is the author of two books, Light Motifs (1984) and White Motif: The Cyclades Islands of Greece (1991), and has contributed more than 100 articles to Photo Techniques magazine.

An exhibition of Bond’s work will be on display during the fall 2009 semester in the Special Collections Research Center gallery on the 6th floor of Bird Library, in conjunction with the Syracuse Symposium’s 2009 theme of “light”. The exhibition has been curated by Master of Fine Arts student Kelli Pennington ‘10. A catalog of the exhibition will be available for purchase and signing following the lecture.

Free event parking is available in Booth Garage, on the corner of Waverly Avenue and Comstock Avenue, one block from Bird Library.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 11:47 AM | Permalink

Syracuse University Librarian Adina Mulliken and Eve Hill of the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University were instrumental in the recent passage of two resolutions by the American Library Association. The resolutions, passed during the association’s annual conference in July, recommend that libraries offer websites that are accessible for users with disabilities and ensure that their technology vendors guarantee accessible products.

Web accessibility initiatives ensure that online resources are available to all people, including, for example, those with visual or learning disabilities who may use screen readers or other assistive software, people who need multimedia to be captioned or described, and people who use an alternative to a mouse input device. Many libraries have not understood their responsibility and authority to require accessible technology from their vendors. As a result, some libraries have purchased or licensed databases, e-books and other resources that cannot be used effectively by people with disabilities, thus inhibiting their research and study.

These resolutions are intended to build awareness among libraries about Web accessibility laws and standards. Others involved in creating the resolutions were Mike Marlin, manager of the California Braille and Talking Book Library; David Vess and Camilla Fulton, both from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and Ken Nakata, director of disability initiatives and government compliance for BayFirst Solutions LLC.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 9:17 AM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library will launch its redesigned web site on Tuesday, July 28th. The new website, which has been available in a beta version since mid-spring, has a completely new look and incorporates several new tools for locating and organizing resources.

The new search box on the home page includes Discover (Start tab), a new and improved search tool for the library catalog and other collections. Discover is intuitive and user friendly and enables users to easily refine searches using a variety of facets and tags. A number of other features will be added to Discover over the next several weeks.

Access to databases has also been restructured, powered by MetaLib. Individual databases are listed by name, keyword, and subject, and also grouped by discipline or format into “QuickSets” for federated searching. Other enhancements include MYbrary, a tool for creating personalized collections of library resources, and a new collection of subject and course-related resource guides.

User input has been an important component of site development and user testing on the new site will continue. Developers will be adding content and making other refinements to the site throughout the summer. A link to the previous website will be available for a limited time following the official launch on August 25th.

The Library Web Team is very interested in receiving feedback on the new site and welcomes contributions to the site's Feedback Survey.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 10:00 AM | Permalink

The article Have You Seen Me? in the July 1 issue of Architect magazine features Theresa Franzese, longtime Architecture Reading Room student assistant and recent School of Architecture graduate. Tessa's photo also appears as the magazine's cover image. The story compares today's job market for architecture graduates with that of the "lost generation" from the early 1990's.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 12:16 PM | Permalink

The Pop and Circumstance: The Development of a Twentieth Century Style display features Library and private materials related to Pop Art, the style that largely defined American and British aesthetics during the 1960s. Books, quotations, and brief analyses of key works are included to highlight the major ideas associated with the style and to convey some of the impact of Pop Art on contemporary art. Pop and Circumstance is located on the 4th floor of Bird Library.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 1:18 PM | Permalink

For many years, the Special Collections Research Center at Syracuse University Library has collected examples of upstate New York printing from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. A selection of items from this collection is now on display in the 6th floor of Bird Library. The exhibition, entitled New York Imprints: Well beyond New York City, is open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday (excepting holidays) until September 4, 2009.

In the late 18th century, when impenetrable forests covered much of upstate New York, communities formed near the Hudson and Mohawk rivers and, later, the canals. As these communities grew, they established schools, businesses, churches, and other institutions, all of which created a demand for local printing. The relatively simple and portable printing presses then available were transported along those same waterways; and through their products one can trace the cultural and technological development of upstate New York.

Newspapers were typically the first items brought to a new locale. In order to supplement their income from newspapers, however, printers undertook other printing, such as business and legal forms; blank books; and pamphlets of a religious, educational, or even a sensational nature. These were followed by full monographs on a wide range of topics. All of these forms are represented in the exhibit.

The exhibit features some of the earliest newspapers printed in the state; scarce pamphlets about sensational murders; a broadside concerning the development of salt works in Syracuse; textbooks on spelling, geography, elocution, and logic; the first edition of The Book of Mormon; and the second iteration of Frederick Douglass’s memoir, My Bondage and My Freedom. This 1855 book was printed in Auburn, New York, then the fourth largest printing location in the United States. Other upstate cities and towns represented include Catskill, Hudson, Albany, Troy, Lansingburgh, Balston Spa, Caldwell, Salem, Saratoga Springs, Schoharie, Cooperstown, Hartwick, Hamilton, Cazenovia, Manlius, Onondaga, Syracuse, Auburn, Geneva, Plattsburgh, Watertown, Potsdam, Canandaigua, Palmyra, Rochester, and Bath.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 1:43 PM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library's Biblio Gallery on the 4th floor of Bird Library is now featuring artwork by Maire Kennedy, a graduate student studying Fiber Arts and Material Studies in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. In her artwork, Maire creates and documents installations of highly exaggerated repetitions. The show will run through June 30, 2009.

For more information, contact Melinda Dermody at 443-5332 or mderm01@syr.edu. To learn more about the Biblio Gallery, visit http://library.syr.edu/information/finearts/bibliogallery.html.

Posted by Kathleen White at 11:56 AM | Permalink

Architecture Reading Room hours for first summer session are as follows:

Monday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Tuesday 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Wednesday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Thursday 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Friday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Closed Saturday
Sunday hours for June will be posted separately.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 9:50 AM | Permalink

Jonathan Singleton, a doctoral student in the English Department in Syracuse University's College of Arts and Sciences, received the Mary Hatch Marshall Essay Award at the Syracuse University Library Associates annual Spring Luncheon held on May 1. His winning essay is titled “Religion, Radicalism, and Sympathetic Reading in Gaskell's Mary Barton.”

Mary Hatch Marshall joined the faculty of Syracuse University in 1948 and became the first woman at Syracuse to achieve the rank of full professor in the College of Liberal Arts. During her tenure, she was one of the founding members of the Library Associates. She also helped establish the Honors Program, serving as its first director. Professor Marshall retired from full-time teaching in 1970 and was awarded emeritus status. She promptly began a second career in adult education, offering courses through the Humanistic Studies Center at University College until 1993.

To honor and help perpetuate Mary Hatch Marshall's scholarly standards and generous spirit, Library Associates in 2004 established this annual award for the best essay written by a graduate student in the humanities at the University. Members of Library Associates, Marshall's friends and family, the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, and the Central New York Community Foundation all contributed to the endowment that funds this annual award.

Full- and part-time students from African American Studies; English; Fine Arts; Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics; Latino-Latin American Studies; Religion; Philosophy; the Writing Program; and the Women's and Gender Studies Program are eligible for the $500 award. Nominations are coordinated by the respective department and program chairs. Faculty members who reviewed essays submitted for this year's awards were Eileen E. Schell (chair), Kenneth Baynes, and Ernest Wallwork.

Library Associates is a society devoted to the enrichment of the University Library and the greater Syracuse community. Members share an interest in books, learning, and the preservation of knowledge. To learn more, visit http://library.syr.edu/libraryassociates.

Posted by Kathleen White at 2:24 PM | Permalink

To better meet the ongoing research needs of Ph.D. students, the Library will now deliver items from its collections directly to currently enrolled Ph.D. students who reside outside of the Central New York area, but within the continental United States. Previously, this delivery service was available only to those enrolled in one of SU’s formal distance education (ISDP) programs.

In addition to books, the Library will also provide scanned copies of articles from print journals in its collections. For detailed instructions and request forms, see http://library.syr.edu/information/isdp.htm.

For more information, contact Access Services Librarian Robert Capuano at (315) 443-6180 or rgcapuan@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 11:09 AM | Permalink

In response to requests for additional quiet study space in Bird Library, the Library has opened a quiet reading room on the lower level of the Learning Commons. The new room is for SU students, faculty and staff only and is open 24 hours, Sunday through Friday, along with the rest of the Learning Commons (floors 1, 2, and the lower level). The room is outfitted with individual study tables and carrels and is equipped with a printer, network ports for student laptops, power plugs, and Air Orange access.

We welcome additional comments and suggestions about library spaces and services via the Suggestion Box.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 11:09 AM | Permalink

Librarian Gurnek Singh, who retired on July 31, 2008, was recently awarded emeritus status by the University Senate in recognition of many years of outstanding service to the Syracuse University Library and to the Syracuse University academic community.

Before coming to the Syracuse University Library, Mr. Singh earned a B.S. degree (1955), a degree in Library Science (1958), and a B.A. in English and Bengali literature (1965) from Calcutta University. He received an M.L.S. from Syracuse University in 1975. Mr. Singh joined the Library in 1971 as Asian Studies Bibliographer and subsequently served as head of the Area Studies Department (1973-1989) and Asian Studies Librarian (1989-2008).

Mr. Singh began his career at SU as Asian Studies bibliographer, working closely with Maxwell’s South Asia Program. His initial tasks related to managing SU’s participation in the PL-480 Program , a federal government program that supplied books in 18 languages published in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. His next few years were spent in establishing a productive relationship with the South Asia Program’s faculty and students, discerning their teaching and research needs and providing a range of library services, including library instruction, research consultation, and guest lectures. He worked especially closely with faculty teaching history of India and Hindu courses and also taught a Punjabi language class for the South Asia Center. As a result of Mr. Singh’s efforts, Syracuse University’s South Asia Center, jointly with Cornell, has been recognized as one of the National Centers by the US Department of Education, on the basis of its academic program and library collections.

As Asian Studies librarian, Mr. Singh has had an active professional life, contributing articles to professional journals and giving presentations at a number of Asia-related conferences. Of particular note, he contributed the chapter on the National Library of India to the International Dictionary of Library Histories, edited by former University Librarian David Stam and published in 2001 by Fitzroy Dearborn. Mr. Singh is a life member of the Indian Library Association and a member of the Indian Association of Special Libraries and Information Centers (IASLIC), the Association of Asian Studies, the Committee on South Asia Libraries and Documentation (CONSALD), and the South Asia Microform Project (SAMP).

Mr. Singh’s has an extensive record of service to the library. He served on numerous committees, including promotion committees, search committees, and various other committees and task forces related to the improvement of the library. In related community service, Mr. Singh was President/Founder of the Sikh Foundation of Syracuse and a founding member of the India Community, Religious and Cultural Association (ICRCC). He has also served as an official translator of Bengali, Hindi, and Punjabi languages for the Syracuse Federal Court System since 1998.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 9:41 AM | Permalink

The Library has added 22 new computers, including 4 Macs, to the center area of the 1st floor Learning Commons, bringing that floor’s total to 50 machines.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 12:35 PM | Permalink

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has awarded the Syracuse University Library a $350,000 grant to create a digital scholarly edition of the works of Bauhaus architect Marcel Breuer. The project, entitled “Marcel Breuer, Architect: Life and Work, 1922-1955” will run from May 2009 through April 2011 and culminate in the release of the web-based edition in May 2011.

Breuer began donating his papers to Syracuse University Library more than forty years ago, in 1964. Today, the Syracuse Breuer collection includes thousands of original oversized drawings and blueprints, correspondence, and photographs. Upon Breuer’s death in 1981, his widow donated many of his remaining papers to the Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Art. This NEH-funded project will unite these geographically separate collections in an online edition of 50,000 items. It will also incorporate Breuer materials from other international archival repositories.

Based in the Library’s Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) and led by its director, Sean Quimby, the project is a partnership with the SU School of Architecture. SOA students and faculty will assist with usability testing as the web project develops. SOA faculty member Jonathan Massey and Barry Bergdoll, Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art will serve on an advisory board.

“The Breuer project will not only enable a new generation of Breuer scholarship, it will open a whole new set of questions about the profile and issues of American modernism from the 1930s through the late 1970s,” Bergdoll said in a letter supporting the proposal.

Marcel Breuer was born in Pécs, Hungary, in 1902. At the age of 21, he went to work in the office of Walter Gropius, founder of the modernist Bauhaus school of design. At the Bauhaus school, Breuer taught furniture design, and in 1925 earned critical acclaim for his “Wassily” chair, which combined the radical simplicity of form with tubular steel and fabric. He and Gropius emigrated to the United States in the late 1930s, where they taught at Harvard University and maintained a joint architectural firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1941, Breuer established a singular reputation for his “bi-nuclear” house, which organized physical space around new modes of day-to-day life. The “bi-nuclear” house, along with his demonstration house in the garden of New York’s Museum of Modern Art (1949), helped to inspire America’s fascination with housing in the post-war era.

By the mid 1950s, Breuer had designed some 60 private residences and had begun to undertake large-scale, institutional projects, like the UNESCO headquarters in Paris (1953), the Whitney Museum of Art in New York (1966), buildings on the campuses of New York University and St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, and the Cleveland Museum of Art (1970). The collections at Syracuse, the Smithsonian, and elsewhere document not only those buildings which were completed, but also projects that never came to fruition. Together, they document the career of a man that Time magazine in 1956 called one of the “form-givers of the twentieth century.”

For more information on the project, contact Sean Quimby at 315 443-9759 or smquimby@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 10:38 AM | Permalink

To make room for more quiet study space on the second floor, the newspaper collection is being relocated this week to the first floor, adjacent to Pages (the library cafe) on the east side of the building.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 10:37 AM | Permalink

Citrus TV produced a video of the recent Library Lock-In event. For a glimpse into the after-hours competition on a recent snowy night, scroll to February 24th on the Latest Videos section on the right side of the Citrus TV homepage. Also available on the February 24th edition of Juice and Java -- segment begins at 14:30 on the scrollbar.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 3:05 PM | Permalink

The Library "Green" Team announces the launch of a new Library Green Guide website. The site includes information about both Library and SU's Green UniverseCity sustainability initiatives, as well as links to information about similar programs across the country. The site also has a suggestion box where users can also post their green ideas.

The Library Green Team was established to research green initiatives and recommend actions that will contribute to positive environmental change within the Library and on campus. Committee members are Tasha Cooper (chair), Paul Bern, Michele Combs, Tom House, Tom Keays, and Eli Liquori. For more information, contact Tasha Cooper at nacoop01@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 10:12 AM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library, in partnership with Syracuse University's College of Visual and Performing Arts and the Syracuse City School District, is now presenting “An Alphabet in Your Own Backyard”, an exhibition of handmade accordion books.

The exhibition is currently located in the new display case on the first floor of Bird Library until the end of the February. It will then move to the sixth floor exhibition space where it will remain until the end of spring semester. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

The exhibit showcases books created by students from Henninger High School and Syracuse University. In the fall semester, VPA professor Gail Hoffman's freshman ‘Foundation 2-D Creative Processes' class worked with Henninger High School art teacher Lori Schneider's class of advanced design students. SU students were paired up with Henninger students and the teams used cameras to capture natural images resembling letters, such as a ladder resembling an “A”, to create the alphabet in images. Students used the images to create an accordion book.

“An Alphabet in Your Own Backyard” exhibition is the first stage of a two-year collaborative community project. Funded by SU's Enitiative with funds from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the project will connect Syracuse University with the broader Syracuse community, educate both Syracuse University and Syracuse City School District students about the book arts, and teach Syracuse University students entrepreneurial skills related to creating, marketing, and managing a new product. From this exhibition of handmade books, a jury of design faculty will select twenty six letters to create a final alphabet accordion book that will be professionally printed.

For more information on this exhibit, please contact Peter Verheyen, pdverhey@syr.edu or 443-9756

Posted by Kathleen White at 4:24 PM | Permalink

The Syracuse University Library has purchased Elsevier’s Materials Science backfile, consisting of online content for 108 Elsevier journal titles for years prior to 1995 (years of coverage varies by journal). The library has offered many of these journals from 1995 onward via Science Direct and has others in print. With earlier years of these important journals now accessible through Science Direct, faculty and students have much more convenient access to the articles they need. For example, the journal Polymer is now available online beginning with 1960 issues.

A complete list of titles and years covered is available at http://info.sciencedirect.com/techsupport/journals/bfmatsci.htm.

Materials science is especially important to the Syracuse University Library because it is an excellent example of the innovative and interdisciplinary research taking place on campus. Chemistry, Biomedical and Chemical Engineering, the Biomaterials Institute, Physics, Electrical and Computer Engineering, the GeoFoam Research Center, and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering are among the departments and research organizations that benefit from these titles.

In addition, the Library also recently licensed additional journals from Sage Publishers. A number of their materials science titles were part of that arrangement, with access back to 1999.

Both the Elsevier and Sage materials science titles are available via the E-journal locator.

Large backfile purchases, such as the Materials Science package, represent an excellent investment for the Syracuse University Library since they are a one-time purchase, rather than an ongoing commitment. In effect, the Library now owns this content rather than leasing it.

By pursuing innovative strategies like this to acquire online content at substantial savings, the SU Library not only stretches its dollars, but reaffirms its commitment to simultaneously providing the maximum amount of scholarly material and the highest quality journals to SU students, faculty and researchers.

For more information or assistance with the Materials Science backfile titles, contact Scott Warren at 443-8339 or sawarr01@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 3:39 PM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library’s Belfer Audio Archive now offers Web access to its collection of cylinder sound recordings. Cylinders were the earliest form of commercially produced sound recordings, popular from the late 1880s through the 1920s. Belfer’s collection of 22,000 cylinders represents 12,000 unique titles and is the largest of any private institution in North America. The collection includes a wide range of performances, including orchestral, vocal, folk and dance music, as well as spoken word such as speeches, poetry and dramatic readings.

The Belfer Cylinders Digital Connection now contains about 300 items and will eventually include 6,000 cylinder recordings that have not been available on the Internet before. Recordings can be browsed by subject and genre. Search options include title, performer, composer, time period, label and others.

Recordings are provided in both MP3 and WAV formats. The WAV files are larger in size and represent the sound of the original recording as it was played. The MP3s are smaller and have had extraneous sounds removed.

The Belfer Cylinders Digital Connection project was partially funded by a grant from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation. The library welcomes additional financial contributions to support the cylinder digitization project, as well as donations of cylinders.

Currently the fourth-largest sound archive in the country, the Belfer Archive holds more than 340,000 items in a climate-controlled facility on campus. With funding provided by Diane and Arthur B. Belfer and the Jon Ben Snow Memorial Trust, the Belfer Audio Laboratory and Archive was the first building in the world designed and constructed specifically for the preservation of recorded sound collections.

For more information on the Belfer Cylinders Digital Connection, contact Melinda Dermody at mdermo01@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 2:31 PM | Permalink

The Syracuse University Library and University Archives have created a new digital collection of Carnegie Library images.

This fully searchable digital collection of Carnegie Library photographs includes over 200 images of the Syracuse University Carnegie Library from the 1905 ground breaking to the 2007 centennial. The collection includes images of the main Reading Room, interior rooms and spaces, the exterior façade, architectural detail, construction photos, as well as students and librarians. Photographs were selected from the Syracuse University Archives’ collection of campus building photographs and digitized by the Library’s Digital Imaging Services Center.

The Carnegie Library History web page features information on philanthropist Andrew Carnegie’s $150,000 donation to Syracuse University for the construction of the new library, which opened in September 1907. The page includes a history of the Library, timeline, historical news articles, and a link to leave a remembrance.

For more information on the project, please contact Mary DeCarlo at mmdecarl@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 2:09 PM | Permalink

A new exhibition, “A Goodly Heritage of Study: The Portfolio Club of Syracuse,” is now on display in Syracuse University Library’s Special Collections Research Center. Displayed are the archives of a still-thriving women’s study club that was formed in 1875 in Syracuse.

The Portfolio Club exemplifies a post-Civil War movement in which many thousands of middle-class women came together to educate themselves in a society that restricted women’s access to institutions of higher learning. This club began a few weeks after the Association for the Advancement of Women held a congress at the Wieting Opera House in downtown Syracuse. At these congresses, which took place in many American cities, Julia Ward Howe and other presenters encouraged women to form study clubs for self-culture.

Nine young women founded the Portfolio Club, with guidance from Mary Dana Hicks, their art teacher. Though they began with a focus on art, in the middle 1880s they expanded their scope to include literature, current events, history, performing arts and many other subjects. Members have met regularly from October through April since the club’s inception to read their papers on a topic assigned by each year’s president.

Syracuse residents and those long associated with SU will recognize the married names of many past club members, such as Mrs. Donald Dey, Mrs. William Nottingham, Mrs. E.N. Westcott and Mrs. Mildred Eggers. Among Portfolio guest speakers during the club’s first several decades were Judge Charles Andrews, Dean George Fiske Comfort, Howard Lyman, professors Sawyer Falk and Irene Sargent, Paul Paine, Douglas Petit, Katherine Sibley and SU Chancellor Charles Sims.

The exhibition, which emphasizes the years 1875–1950, includes annual program booklets, many of them finely crafted. Also on display are meeting minutes, clippings, photographs, film footage of a 1935 gathering and other club documents. The exhibition will be available until May 8 on the sixth floor of E.S. Bird Library. The sixth-floor gallery is open from 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Monday–through Friday, except holidays.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 2:06 PM | Permalink

The Library will offer a number of RefWorks training sessions during the spring semester. RefWorks is an online citation management tool available to all SU students and faculty. Attend a session and learn how RefWorks can simplify and enhance the process of organizing research materials.

Hands-on sessions will include demonstrations of how to import and save citations, generate bibliographies, insert in-text references, and more. Sessions will be held in Room 046 on the lower level of E.S. Bird Library. No registration is required - drop-ins are welcome!

Sessions will be held on:
Friday, January 30 from 12:45 p.m. to 1:40 p.m.
Thursday, February 5 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:20 p.m.
Wednesday, February 11 from 2:15 p.m. to 3:10 p.m.
Monday, February 1 from 10:35 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Tuesday, February 24 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:20 p.m.
Tuesday, March 3 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:20 p.m.
Wednesday, March 4 from 2:15 p.m. to 3:10 p.m.
Tuesday, March 17 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.
Friday, April 3 from 2:15 p.m. to 3:10 p.m.

For more details about RefWorks and a copy of the class schedule, please visit the library’s RefWorks webpage.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 9:05 AM | Permalink

The Library has released a beta version of a new Library website for trial and comment. The new site is available from on-campus locations at this time and will be available from off-campus in the near future. Visitors can make comments and suggestions via a survey form prominently located on the new site.

The graphical and navigational design of the site was based on Syracuse University’s new Website Design Style Guide. The design was also guided in large measure by input from users gathered during a series of feedback sessions held in the library and elsewhere on campus during the fall.

One of the most notable features in the beta website is a new integrated search tool. Based on user needs for better guidance in navigating the website, the new search was created to direct users to all types of information, regardless of its source or location. The federated search includes a broad range of "silos" of information (the catalog, e-journals, databases, SU Library website, SU digital collections, Google, etc.) and also leads to more advanced research tools.

Other features of the new site include: new top level and 2nd-level page navigation; an interactive Library map; real time Library hours; staff directory; tagging; session recording; bread crumbs; new photo and image content; and a tool showing availability of public workstation.

Some new features and content are under development and will be added to the beta site over the course of the spring semester. In addition to more content, other functionality that will be added includes: new subject pages using LibGuides program; Mybrary, which allows users to create a personalized Library webpage with their favorite resources, saved searches, feeds, etc (similar to iGoogle and MyYahoo); blogs and wikis, video content, and a room reservations tool.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 12:58 PM | Permalink

During 2008, Syracuse University Library acquired several data sets of potential interest to SU researchers who are researching the current financial situation. Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data, 2000-2007, which comprises every mortgage application made in the United States, and Government Sponsored Enterprises data, which includes all mortgages purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, 1993-2006, are now available via the web. The data for New York are available for online statistical analysis and data for the entire country are available for extract and downloading at: http://library.syr.edu/information/mgi/nds/resources/. Updated data will be added as it becomes available.
Please direct questions and requests for assistance to Paul Bern, phbern@syr.edu, 443-1352.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 4:57 PM | Permalink

The staff, services, and collections of the Library’s Media Services Department will be relocated to other areas of the library during the semester break. They will be available in their new locations on Monday, December 22, 2008. At that time, the Media Services area on the lower level of Bird Library will no longer be open to the public. The DVD/ film collection will be unavailable Thursday, December 18 and Friday, December 19 while collections, equipment, and staff are in transit.

The following is a summary of the new media locations and service points:

• Multimedia hardware and software -- Learning Commons, 1st floor
• Macintosh computers – Learning Commons
• Color printing – Learning Commons and GSIC Lab (3rd floor)
• Heavily-used microfilm titles, readers, printers, scanners -- 3rd floor
• DVD/film collections, equipment and user support -- 4th floor
• Audio/video digitizing station and consulting -- 4th floor service desk
• Color copier – 4th floor
• Self-service scanners – 1st, 3rd and 4th floors
• Media microfiche collections and remaining microfilm titles -- by request from 1st, 3rd, and 4th floor service desks

For more detailed information, please contact Melinda Dermody at 443-5332 or mderm01@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 3:14 PM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library and the National Plastics Center in Leominster, Massachusetts have signed a memorandum of understanding transferring the Center’s collection to the SU Library. This action creates the “National Plastics Center at Syracuse University.”

Founded in 1982, the National Plastics Center and Museum has amassed one of the nation’s largest private collections of artifacts, books, and papers related to the history and use of plastics. The Center moved the collection to Syracuse University to increase its use. “We’re delighted to partner with Syracuse University Library to make our rich collections more accessible to students and scholars,” said G. Watts Humphrey, Jr., chairman of the National Plastics Center’s board of directors.

Syracuse University Dean of Libraries Suzanne Thorin commented, “When coupled with SU’s interdisciplinary curriculum, these resources will bring history to life by demonstrating how integral plastics are to modernity.”

As a result of this new partnership, SU Library will make available to faculty, students and researchers:
- Nearly 3,000 books, journals, magazines, newspapers, and industry publications
- Papers, business records, and manuscripts from plastics companies, plastics-industry entrepreneurs, and members of the Plastics Hall of Fame, including the records of Union Products, maker of the iconic pink flamingo lawn ornament
- Thousands of artifacts, including molds and machinery, fine art, toys, car parts, medical devices, housewares, and jewelry.

The artifacts in the collection include objects made of natural plastics such as horn, ivory, and tortoiseshell, semi-synthetic plastics including celluloid, and fully synthetic objects including those made of the first synthetic plastic, Bakelite®.

The collection has potential connections to the university’s curriculum in a number of areas, including chemistry, chemical engineering, industrial design, history, environmental science, and entrepreneurship. For example, a women’s studies class might consider the role of the Tupperware party in shaping postwar, American gender relations.

Scheduled to arrive in Syracuse in December 2008, the collection will be available for teaching and research in early 2009 through the Library’s Special Collections Research Center. Syracuse University welcomes additional contributions of rare or historically significant books, periodicals, and artifacts, as well as financial support to curate and promote this collection.

For more information, contact Sean Quimby, Director of the Library’s Special Collections Research Center, at (315) 443–9769 or smquimby@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 9:22 AM | Permalink

In partnership with ITS, the Library now provides information about the availability of public workstations on the Web. The URL to the system is http://surelock.syr.edu/LIB/. On the left of the page is a listing of the locations of library public workstations. Select a location to see which workstations are available in that area. To ensure up-to-date information, be sure to press the F5 key occasionally to refresh the display. A legend is provided.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 1:58 PM | Permalink

Effective January 1, 2009, the Syracuse University Library has added nearly 350 online journals to its already extensive holdings. The journals, which span numerous disciplines, are all published by Sage Publications, a respected publisher of academic titles. The library was already purchasing about 150 Sage journals and, with this addition, now makes available all of Sage’s titles. Access to the entire collection from 1999–present is provided through one easily searchable platform.

Especially important to Syracuse University librarians and researchers is the interdisciplinary nature of many of Sage’s titles. With the addition of these titles, the library has increased its support for emerging areas of excellence at SU, including materials science, health sciences, environmental sciences, air quality, hospitality and sports management, engineering and sustainability. A sampling of new titles includes: Journal of Bioactive and Compatible Polymers, Journal of Thermoplastic Composite Materials, Statistical Methods in Medical Research, Lighting Research & Technology, Environment and Urbanization, Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, Autism, Chronic Illness, Modern China, Simulation and Gaming, Journal of Consumer Culture, Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, and the Journal of Sports Economics.

The campus community is welcome to explore all of the new titles by discipline (http://www.sagepub.com/journals.nav, left side of page) or by title (http://www.sagepub.com/journalsIndex.nav).

Normally, adding 350 journal titles at one time at full market cost would be fiscally challenging, if not impossible, for most research libraries. However, this large increase was made possible by the library’s participation in the Westchester Academic Library Directors Organization (WALDO). WALDO is a nonprofit library consortium that procures online content for its members at reasonable costs by leveraging their collective negotiating power. Currently, WALDO includes 450 academic libraries, 325 public libraries and 155 hospital libraries in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states.

As an example of the impact of group purchasing, annual subscriptions to the 19 materials science journals included in this package would have cost the SU Library about $33,000 per year. However, SU’s consortial price to add all 350 titles (in addition to the base cost for the current 150 titles) is about half that amount annually.

By pursuing innovative strategies like this to purchase or lease online content at substantial savings, the SU Library not only stretches its dollars, but reaffirms its commitment to simultaneously providing the maximum amount of scholarly material and the highest quality journals to SU students, faculty and researchers.

For more information or assistance with Sage e-journals, contact Scott Warren at 443-8339 or sawarr01@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 3:25 PM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library recently received the personal book collection of Khalil I. Semaan, professor emeritus of Arabic at Binghamton University. Semaan’s gift consists of about 3,000 items and constitutes his personal research library collected over a period of more than 40 years. The extensive collection provides a strong core of research support for SU’s developing Middle Eastern Studies Program.

The collection reflects Semaan’s particular interest in the study of the Middle East, Arabic and Islamic culture and history. Additional subject coverage includes the Crusades, medieval history (Middle East and Europe), linguistics, politics, economics, modern history and development. Consisting primarily of 20th-century items, the gift includes many seminal works in Arabic, English, French and German; significant runs of several periodical titles; and a number of items in Spanish, Persian and Hebrew. A particular strength of the collection is the number of works by modern and contemporary Arab literary writers.

“Professor Semaan’s gift represents the largest donation of books related to the Middle East in the University’s history and will help us improve our collection in the vernacular languages of this important region,” says Mehrzad Boroujerdi, founding director of the Middle Eastern Studies Program at SU.

“Professor Semaan was particularly gratified for his collection to go to Syracuse University Library, in the knowledge that it would make a real contribution to the development of Middle Eastern and Islamic studies there,” says Ali Houissa, Middle East and Islamic studies librarian at Cornell University, who, along with Gurnek Singh, Asian studies librarian at SU Library (now retired), met with Semaan and conducted an on-site evaluation of the collection.

For more information on this collection, contact Martha Hanson, social sciences and area studies bibliographer, at 443-1947 or mjhanson@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 2:43 PM | Permalink

In a partnership with the Bird Library Learning Commons, the Tutoring and Study Center is now offering students the opportunity to sign up for tutoring services right in the library. The TSC provides academic tutors for Syracuse University students seeking to do better in their courses. To sign up for these services, students are invited to visit the Tutoring and Study Center desk located on the first floor of Bird Library (near the stand-up workstations) on Mondays and Tuesdays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and on Wednesdays from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

For more information, please contact the Tutoring and Study Center Office at 443-2005 or tutorctr@syr.edu. The Center is located on 111 Waverly Avenue, Suite 220 and is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Posted by Kathleen White at 12:03 PM | Permalink

The Library has activated access to the web version of SciFinder. Unlike the desktop program, SciFinder Web can be used from off-campus via the EZproxy authentication server
SciFinder Web Edition offers many of the features of the desktop version of SciFinder Scholar. In addition, in this new browser-based version, you are able to save answer sets against your account on the server; navigate to stages of your search using breadcrumbs; generate and view keep me posted results about updated searches; analyze answer set automatically; analyze substances by substance role, elements, reaction availability, or commercial availability; limit substance refine by the absence of commercially available substances; and more.
Before using SciFinder Web Edition for the first time, you need to register for an account.
There will be a representative from Chemical Abstracts at our Information Fair on Tuesday, October 7 (see http://libweb.syr.edu/librarynews/archives/001066.html ) demonstrating the web product and helping people register.

The Library has currently switched over 1 of the 6 simultaneous access seats that we have available as part of our SciFinder subscription to the web version - i.e., 1 person at a time can use the web version and the remaining 5 seats are allotted to users of the desktop program. We'll be monitoring the usage statistics to see how many people are using the web version vs. the desktop version and will make changes as necessary.

Contact Tom Keays if you have any problems or concerns.

URL: http://library.syr.edu/research/database/scifinder/
Contact: Tom Keays htkeays@syr.edu

Posted by Kathleen White at 9:42 AM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library's Special Collections Research Center (SCRC), in conjunction with this year's Syracuse Symposium and its theme of "migration," will present a fall exhibition titled "Dawn of a New Age: The Immigrant Contribution to the Arts in America."
The exhibition, which is free and open to the public, runs Sept. 8-Jan. 20 in the SCRC gallery on the sixth floor of E.S. Bird Library. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., except holidays. For more information, call (315) 443-2697.

"Dawn of a New Age" tells the story of five artists who immigrated to the United States during the first half of the 20th century: Adolph Bolm, a Russian dancer and choreographer who performed with the Mariinsky Ballet and Ballets Russes; William Lescaze, a Swiss architect who was one of the pioneers of modernism; Louis Lozowick, a Russian printmaker known for his Art Deco and Precision lithographs; Miklós Rózsa, a Hungarian composer of more than 100 film scores, including "Ben Hur"; and John Vassos, a Greek illustrator and industrial designer. The exhibition draws from the rich holdings of SCRC and showcases more than 50 of the artists' personal papers, manuscripts, photos and artifacts.

"In keeping with the theme of 'migration,' the exhibition traces each person's humble beginnings and the process by which he immigrated to the United States and later shaped modern culture," says co-curator Nicolette A. Dobrowolski. "These artists, individually and collectively, created a dynamic new vision for America."

With more than 100,000 printed works and 2,000 manuscript and archival collections, SCRC is home to some of SU's most valued treasures, including early printed editions of Gutenberg, Galileo and Sir Isaac Newton, as well as the library of 19th-century German historian Leopold Von Ranke. Twentieth-century holdings are particularly strong and include the personal papers and manuscripts of such luminaries as artist Grace Hartigan, inspirational preacher Norman Vincent Peale, author Joyce Carol Oates, photojournalist Margaret Bourke White and industrial designer Walter Dorwin Teague, as well as the records of organizations including avant-garde publisher Grove Press. SCRC regularly hosts exhibitions, lectures and classes, and offers fellowships and internships in library instruction and conservation. More information is available at http://scrc.syr.edu.

Syracuse Symposium is a semester-long intellectual and artistic festival about interdisciplinary thinking, imagining and creating, presented by The College of Arts and Sciences for the Syracuse community. More information on lectures, performances, exhibits and other special events is available at http://syracusesymposium.org.

Posted by Kathleen White at 8:36 AM | Permalink

Watch the live broadcasts of the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons, Room 114, E.S. Bird Library. The debate schedule is:

Friday, September 26th, 9 -10:30 p.m. (Obama/McCain #1)

Thursday, October 2nd, 9 -10:30 p.m. (Biden/Palin)

Tuesday October 7th, 9 -10:30 p.m. (Obama/McCain #2)

Wednesday, October 15th, 9 -10:30 p.m. (Obama/McCain #3)

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 11:20 AM | Permalink

A team of SU students is promoting the use of the GoodSearch.com search engine as a way to support the John Dau Sudan Foundation. Goodsearch is a Yahoo-powered search engine that donates a penny to the charity of your choice for every search you make. A corollary service, GoodShop.com, also donates a percentage of purchases made through the website to charity. By concentrating its efforts on the John Dau Sudan Foundation, the team hopes to raise awareness and funding for the charity. Goodsearch also allows users to track the amount of money raised. John Dau, one of the Lost Boys of the Sudan, is an SU student who started the foundation to build and sustain healthcare clinics in South Sudan.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 8:46 AM | Permalink

The Library will offer a number of RefWorks training sessions in September and October.

RefWorks is an online citation management tool available to all SU students and faculty. Students and faculty are encouraged to attend a session and learn how RefWorks can simplify and enhance the process of organizing research materials.

These are hands-on sessions and will include demonstrations of how to import and save citations, generate bibliographies, insert in-text references, and more. Sessions will be held in Room 046 on the lower level of E.S. Bird Library. No registration is required - drop-ins are welcome!

Sessions will be held on:

Tuesday, September 16, 11:00 a.m. - 12:20 p.m.
Monday, September 22, 12:45 p.m. - 2:05 p.m.
Thursday, October 2, 12:30 p.m. - 1:50 p.m.
Wednesday. October 8, 12:45 p.m. - 2:05 p.m.
Tuesday, October 14, 11:00 a.m. - 12:20 p.m.
Tuesday, October 21, 2:00 p.m. - 3:20 p.m.
Monday, October 27, 2:15 p.m. – 3:25 p.m.

For more details about RefWorks and a copy of the class schedule, please visit the library’s RefWorks webpage: http://library.syr.edu/cite/refworks.html

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 12:47 PM | Permalink

Charlotte Hess has been appointed associate university librarian for collections and scholarly communication at Syracuse University Library. She is responsible for guiding new initiatives to evaluate, strengthen and promote the collections of the SU libraries. She will also provide leadership in developing goals, and determining policies and directions to meet the challenges of the changing modes of scholarly communication.

Hess was director of library and information services at the Research Library of the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis at Indiana University since 1989. She is founder of the Digital Library of the Commons at Indiana University and served as the director from 2000-08. She previously served in several librarian positions at Indiana University.

Hess has an extensive publication record and has been a presenter or planner for numerous national and international professional conferences. She co-edited “Understanding Knowledge as a Commons: From Theory to Practice” (MIT, 2007). She has also been a key contributor to website development and has been a consultant in the research areas of the commons and knowledge management for several African universities. She has been the information officer and served on the executive council of the International Association for the Study of the Commons since 1997.

Hess received a bachelor’s degree with honors in Germanic languages and a master’s degree in library science from Indiana University. She has also done graduate work in comparative literature.

She can be reached at 443-5528 or hess@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 2:49 PM | Permalink

K. Matthew Dames (G ’01) has been appointed Copyright & Information Policy Adviser at Syracuse University Library, effective August 2008. In this newly created position, Dames provides strategy, advice, guidance, and education to the Library on copyright and information policy issues so the Library can effectively deliver information, scholarship, and related services to the University and its constituents. Mr. Dames also will work upon request with members of the University community, including faculty, who are seeking guidance on copyright or policy issues that affect scholarship and research.

Reporting to the University Librarian and Dean of the Library, Mr. Dames serves as the Library’s primary resource for copyright, fair use, and information policy, Mr. Dames also will develop a variety of educational initiatives to inform the Library and broader University community about best practices for using copyrighted information in teaching and research. He will manage the Library’s copyright website and its copyright permissions initiatives, and will continue serving as a member of the University Committee on Copyright, established by the Provost in 2007.

Mr. Dames is an alumnus of the School of Information Studies, where he was awarded the Lemke Book Award in 2001, and currently is enrolled in the School’s doctoral program, where he is researching rhetoric and framing in information policy. Dames has also served in academic positions at the Syracuse University New Technology Law Center at the College of Law, and the iSchool’s Center for Research on Collaboratories and Technology Enhanced Learning Communities and Wireless Grids Laboratory.

Mr. Dames has written extensively on copyright and information policy matters, both as the Executive Editor of Copycense and for several publications. His awards and honors include being named a University Fellow; serving as a research fellow at the Institute for the Study of the Judiciary, Politics, and the Media; receiving an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Future Professoriate fellowship; and completing a post-graduate fellowship at the Georgetown University Law Center. He received the 21st Century New Librarian award from the iSchool in 2003 and is a member of the Beta Phi Mu honor society.

In addition to his iSchool graduate degree, Mr. Dames has earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Bernard M. Baruch College, and a law degree from Northeastern University School of Law.

He can be reached at 443-8508 or kmdames@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 2:46 PM | Permalink

Scott Warren has been appointed bibliographer for science and technology at Syracuse University Library. He is responsible for evaluating, strengthening and promoting the science and technology collections of the Syracuse University Library in alignment with the teaching and research needs of the University.

Warren was associate director of the Burlington Textiles Library and Engineering Services at North Carolina State University. He served in several librarian positions while at NCSU, including librarian for the physical and mathematical sciences. Warren began his career as an NCSU Libraries Fellow, working with the Textiles Library and the Reserves Department of the NCSU libraries. He was a frequent guest lecturer in classes in the textiles, engineering, and humanities and social sciences colleges at NCSU.

Warren has published in The Journal of Interlibrary Loan; Document Delivery & Information Supply; Technical Services Quarterly; and Libri, among other journals, and has presented at numerous national conferences. He has an extensive record of library service while working at NCSU, serving on and leading numerous committees, including the North Carolina State University Librarians Association. He is also a member of the American Society for Engineering Education’s Scholarly Communication Committee (Engineering Libraries Division).

Warren received bachelor’s degrees in astronomy, mathematics and physics, as well as a bachelor’s degree in history from the Pennsylvania State University. He also received a master’s degree in library and information studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was nominated for membership in the Beta Phi Mu library honor society.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 2:44 PM | Permalink

Simmons Choices III (Experian Consumer Research) is a CD containing extensive survey data for a large sampling of American consumers and households. Available at leading business libraries across the U.S., Choices III allows cross tabulation of hundreds of consumer product categories, with usage data for over 8,000 brands, inclusive of consumer media habits, diverse demographic categories, and psychographic (attitudinal and lifestyle) profiles. Data is from the most recent CD release (Spring 2006) and includes Simmons’:

· Integrated National Consumer Study/Hispanic Consumer Study
· National Consumer Study - Teens (ages 12-17)
· National Consumer Study - Kids (ages 6-11)

Although only located at one offline location, the CHOICES III CD provides invaluable information to researchers and students investigating consumer product and media preferences. This highly sought after competitive business data is not otherwise readily obtainable by most academic communities. Interested researchers will find CHOICES III available at E.S. Bird Library’s 3rd Floor, Geographic & Statistical Information Center - Workstation A. The document, A Guide to Choices 3 Software, is also available at the Center.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 4:37 PM | Permalink

Science Reference Center from EBSCO is a comprehensive research database that provides access to a wide range of full text science-oriented content. It contains more than 630 full text titles, including leading science encyclopedias, reference books, and periodicals, as well biographies and images. Topics covered include: biology, chemistry, earth & space science, environmental science, health & medicine, history of science, life science, physics, science & society, science as inquiry, scientists, technology and wildlife. Science Reference Center is especially strong in meeting general or introductory science research needs. In addition, over 70 science-oriented educational benchmarks are aligned with relevant articles to help ensure that curriculum and/or science-specific educational standards are being met.

For more information or to arrange for a demonstration, please contact Janet Pease at 443-9768 or jlpease@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 1:56 PM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library now subscribes to China Data Online, the product of a collaboration between the University of Michigan's China Data Center and All China Market Research Co., Ltd.

China Data Online provides comprehensive information on China’s economic and social development at national, provincial, county, city, and industrial levels. Its core databases include:
• Monthly Statistics - provides the monthly macroeconomic statistics at national, provincial and city levels from 1998 to the present;
• National Statistics - provides statistical data at the national level from 1949 to the present;
• Provincial Statistics - provides statistical data at the provincial level from 1949 to the present;
• City Statistics - provides annual statistics of prefecture and county level cities from 1996;
• County Statistics - provides the annual county statistics from 1997;
• Industrial Statistics - provides monthly and yearly statistics by industries from 1999; and
• Statistical Yearbooks - includes a series of China national, provincial, city and professional statistical yearbooks, which will be expanded to cover all statistical yearbooks published by the National Bureau of Statistics of China.

In addition, its China Census Databases contain approximately 3,000 electronic census data books that provide a unique collection of various census data for all provinces, cities, counties and townships of mainland China. The databases include: Industrial Census Data; Basic Unit Census Data; Economic Census Data; Agricultural Census Data; and Population Census and Survey Data.

For more information about China Data Online, please contact Marty Hanson, mjhanson@syr.edu, 443-1947. For assistance in using the database, please contact Paul Bern, phbern@syr.edu, 443-1352.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 1:48 PM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library has developed a research guide to help students explore themes in the book A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah. A Long Way Gone is the 2008-2009 selection for the Syracuse University Shared Reading Program. As of way of introducing new students to the intellectual community on campus, the Syracuse University Shared Reading Program provides new undergraduate students with a copy of the book and facilitates programs, events, and courses throughout the academic year that incorporate the book’s theme. This is the fourth year the Library has developed a research guide in support of this program.

A Long Way Gone research guide includes book reviews, background information on Beah, and resources on topics such as child soldiers; culture and history of Sierra Leone; African rap and hip hop music culture; and more. The guide refers students to articles, audio files, videos, photographs, and web sites. Teaching guides and tips on finding relevant materials are provided in the guide as well.

The research guide is online, available to the public, at: http://library.syr.edu/instruction/class/sharread2008/.

For more information about the guide, contact Susan Miller at 443-2091 or email smmiller@syr.edu.

Posted by Kathleen White at 2:35 PM | Permalink

Beginning in the fall 2008 semester, the Learning Commons on the lower three floors of E.S. Bird Library will remain open from Sunday at 10 a.m. through Friday at 10:00 p.m. These new, extended hours will provide access to study spaces, technology, and library resources at times convenient to student schedules. Service hours will vary somewhat, with staffing generally until midnight. A Public Safety officer will be present in the building from 11 p.m. until 7 a.m. A valid SU/ESF ID is required to enter the building after 9 p.m.

For library hours, see: http://library.syr.edu/information/hours/fall2008.html

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 1:41 PM | Permalink

A fascinating collection of memorabilia associated with presidential campaigns from 1824 to 1972 is now on display on the 6th floor of E.S. Bird Library. Drawn from the artifactual collections of Syracuse University Library’s Special Collections Research Center, the exhibition of buttons, banners, bumper stickers, brochures, apparel, and other items provides a historical overview of the images and slogans candidates have used to position and advertise themselves in their quest for the White House. The exhibit is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday - Friday through January 20, 2009.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 1:38 PM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library Associates invites members and friends to a lecture, "Out of the Sky: 9/ll, a Tribute," presented by Werner Pfeiffer, sculptor and book artist. The event will take place at 4 p.m. Thursday, September 11 at the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons, First Floor, Bird Library, Syracuse University.

Free event parking is available in Booth Garage on the corner of Waverly and Comstock Avenues.

Pfeiffer, a native of Germany who emigrated to the United States in 1961, witnessed the tragedy first-hand. His book is a sculptural tribute to the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In the lecture, he will assemble "Out of the Sky" while commenting on the technique and inspiration behind it.

For more information on this lecture, please contact Anne Roth at 685-6832.

Posted by Kathleen White at 8:56 AM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library’s art librarian, Ann Skiold, will join the library staff of Syracuse University in Florence (SUF) from August 2008 through June 2009. The Florence Library and Media Lab maintain a multi-disciplinary, multi-format collection that supports teaching and research in the range of disciplines taught at SUF, including Architecture, Art History, Studio Arts, Italian, and Social Sciences.

Ann will work closely with SUF Library Coordinator Cathleen Compton to develop library programs and enable SUF faculty and students to make effective use of library resources. She will also serve as a consultant to the SUF director Barbara Deimling, SU Abroad, and the SU Library. In this role, Ann will gather user input on desired changes to the SUF Library’s overall program, assess library collections and services, and recommend strategies for strengthening the library and for integrating it more fully into SUF programs. Another important facet of Ann’s work will be to investigate and recommend options for shared collections and services between the SUF and home campus libraries. She will also assist Cathleen in developing collaborative relationships between the SUF library and other libraries in Florence.

Support for Ann’s appointment has been enthusiastic and broad-based, made possible by contributions from the Provost, the Vice President for Enrollment Management, and the College of Arts & Sciences, in addition to SU Abroad and the Library. In expressing his views about Ann’s appointment, SU Abroad Executive Director Jon Booth said, “With her international background and expertise in both the arts and librarianship, Ann is ideally suited for this position. With her help, we will rethink what the Florence Center library should be and affirm or adjust the program accordingly.”

Ann, who holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Sweden, came to Syracuse University Library from Westmont College in Santa Barbara in 2005. She is a Senior Assistant Librarian in the Arts and Humanities Services Department and is responsible for research assistance, instruction, and collection development in a number of subject areas, including Art History, Photography, Film, Applied and Decorative Arts, English, Linguistics, and Communication and Rhetorical Studies.

During Ann’s time away, the following librarians will cover her subject responsibilities: Barbara Opar (baopar@syr.edu), Art and Design; Pam Thomas (pthomas@syr.edu), Photography and Film; and Lydia Wasylenko (lwwasyle@syr.edu), English, Linguistics, and Communication and Rhetorical Studies.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 1:14 PM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library now subscribes to the Scopus database, published by Elsevier. Scopus is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary abstract and citation database covering scientific, engineering, medical, and social sciences information. In addition to title, author, and subject searching, Scopus provides cited reference searching capabilities, links to full-text, saved searches, and an alerting feature.

Scopus covers 15,000 peer-reviewed and open access journals from over 4,000 publishers, over 600 trade publications, 500 conference proceedings, 200 book series, as well as more than 386 million scientific web pages, and 22 million patent records from five patent offices. References and cited reference information are provided from 1996 forward. Abstracts go back further, with retrospective content being continually added. Scopus is updated daily with new information.

Scopus makes available an online interactive tutorial series; training sessions will be offered in the fall. For more information about Scopus or to schedule a demo, contact Elizabeth Wallace at elwallac@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 3:37 PM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library’s Belfer Audio Laboratory and Archive has received a major gift from the family of the late Morton J. “Morty” Savada—the complete inventory of his Manhattan record store, Records Revisited, including more than 200,000 78-rpm records, along with a related print collection of catalogs, discographies and other materials. With the addition of the Savada Collection, Belfer’s holdings now total more than 400,000 78-rpm recordings—second in size only to the collections of the Library of Congress.

The Savada Collection, valued at just over $1 million, is a treasure trove of popular music, including unique and hard-to-find genres. It is strongest in big band and jazz, but also represents a wide variety of other musical genres, including country, blues, gospel, polka, folk, Broadway, Hawaiian and Latin. It also contains spoken-word, comedy and broadcast recordings, as well as V-disks, which were distributed as entertainment for the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II.

In addition to the popular labels of the day—such as Columbia, Decca and Victor—Savada collected rare and specialized recordings. Dates of recordings in the collection range from 1895 to the 1950s.

“The library is grateful to the Savada family members for their generosity,” says University Librarian and Dean of Libraries Suzanne Thorin. “The rich and varied resources in this collection will greatly enhance research and scholarship done at Belfer for years to come.”

Savada, who died Feb. 11, was well known by audiophiles and the entertainment industry in New York as an exceptional source for both sound recordings and recording history. Will Friedwald remarked in his Feb. 13 obituary in The New York Sun: “For any collector looking for a rarity, historian working on a research project, or reissue producer in search of something so rare it wasn’t even in the vault, Records Revisited was generally the first call to make.

“Savada specialized in filling gaps and finding vintage single tracks that had never been reissued in any of the long-playing formats,” Friedwald wrote. “Savada regularly collected 78 collectors together for lunches and bull-sessions. His shop off of Herald Square was a hub of such activity, where younger aficionados of old music picked up folklore in addition to the discs themselves.”

Savada opened Records Revisited in 1977 but had been collecting 78s since 1937. Records Revisited was the last store exclusively selling 78-rpm recordings and was a frequent haunt for those in the film and music industries, including actor/directors Woody Allen and Matt Dillon. Savada often lent his 78s to movie and music producers rather than selling them, and never sold the last copy of a recording because he regarded his collection as an archive, not an inventory.

Savada had wanted to donate his collection to a major institution that would maintain the collection and make it available to enhance research and teaching. He was very familiar with SU’s Belfer Audio Laboratory and Archive and its staff, whom he knew from regular meetings of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC). He also had another connection to the University: his granddaughter graduated from SU in 2005.

“I am unaware of another donation of recordings as large as the Savada gift to Syracuse University Library,” says Sam Brylawski, immediate past-president of the board of ARSC. “It is an outstanding gesture by the family. It is gratifying, too, to know of Syracuse University’s commitment to preserving the work of Morty Savada and making it available to the public and the research community.”

Sound recordings are a rich resource for researchers, faculty and students in a variety of disciplines. In addition to documenting the musical styles and performance practices of the day, these sound recordings provide a glimpse into social, political and cultural history. At SU, sound recordings are regularly used by faculty teaching music, musicology, history, filmmaking, journalism, political science and many other fields.

“The Savada Collection is precisely the kind of collection music industry and Bandier Program students need to work with,” says David Rezak, director of SU’s Bandier Program for Music and the Entertainment Industries. “Students in the ‘Music Company’ course operate a functional record label and publishing company. For them, the process of exploring the recordings in the Belfer Archive for potentially releasable material is an education in itself.”

“The Savada collection is truly an archival wonder—an exhaustive survey of popular music recordings from the first half of the 20th century,” says Theo Cateforis, assistant professor in SU’s Department of Fine Arts, who also makes extensive use of sound recordings in teaching. “For students whose relationship with music and technology rarely extends beyond the confines of the iPod, it is always eye-opening to see and hear the original 78s that were the mainstay of the recording industry for many decades. As such, these recordings offer an invaluable social and historical context.”

The Savada gift constitutes an important contribution to the University’s $1 billion capital campaign, The Campaign for Syracuse University, the most ambitious fundraising effort in SU’s history. By supporting faculty excellence, student access, interdisciplinary programs, capital projects and other institutional priorities, the campaign is continuing to drive Scholarship in Action, the University’s mission to provide students, faculty and communities with the insights needed to incite positive and lasting change in the world. More information is available online at http://campaign.syr.edu.

“The Savadas’ contribution is remarkable not only for its impact on our academic and research communities but as a significant contribution to The Campaign for Syracuse University,” says Brian Sischo, associate vice president of development and campaign director. “It is one more example of a gift that has the potential to affect students, faculty and researchers across many different disciplines. It truly represents the University’s belief in Scholarship in Action.”

The Savada Collection will be relocated to Syracuse this month, when work will begin to process the collection. For additional information on the collection, contact Melinda Dermody, head of arts and humanities services at SU Library, at (315) 443-5332 or mderm01@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 8:26 AM | Permalink

This new exhibition in the hall exhibit case on the sixth floor of E.S. Bird library features an exploration of the book by students in Foundation Bookmaking (FND 116) and Hand Paper Print/Book workshop (PRT 552) in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. The exhibition will run through August 21.

During the first 2008 summer session, students in the Foundation Bookmaking class taught by Assistant Prof. Chris Wildrick learned to make books that are image-intensive from both art and design points of view. Students learned to create their own books using several book-binding techniques and approaches, including accordions and scrolls, pamphlet bindings, Japanese bindings, coptic bindings, altered books, and interactive books. The class investigated how books are structured, both within one single page and from page to page throughout the book. They also learned about digital layout techniques using InDesign as well as the options available for online self-publishing. Students in the class were drawn from diverse areas of the University, and came with a wide range of interests, experience, and skills.

One day in the month of April, the book artists of PRT 552, the book arts class in the College of Visual and Performing Arts taught by Associate Professor Holly Greenberg, were told to make an exchange of books with the sole requirement that they fit inside a wooden box. The students created two separate exchanges of eight books apiece, totaling sixteen books in all. In the end the groups came up with two greatly diverse exchanges: “Dirt,” based upon the concept of what things we may want to keep hidden or secret, and “Home,” which played off the theme of rooms in a house and associations made with the space. All students were encouraged to use a variety of binding techniques and materials, as well as raise the question of “what is a book?” Both groups collaborated with the PRT 552 teaching assistant on the exterior design of their boxes.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 12:00 PM | Permalink

On September 1, 2008, the Library will no longer subscribe to the Academic OneFile database. We are sending out this information in advance to enable those in the planning stages for the fall semester to make other arrangements.

The library continues to offer several general and interdisciplinary databases, all of which are available through the Find Articles page and the SUMMIT Catalog (Find Books). If you need assistance selecting a database, please stop by a library service desk or use our online research assistance service.

If you have questions about this change, please contact Tasha Cooper, Social Sciences/Area Studies Bibliographer, nacoop01@syr.edu; 443-9518.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 9:28 AM | Permalink

Trial access has been established for China Data Online.
Trial is through July 15th, 2008 and it is available via IP authentication.

To access the database, point your browser to: China Data Online

For Off-Campus access please point your browser to: China Data Online - Off-Campus access

China Data Online has extensive economic and social data at the city, county, provincial, and national levels; detailed census tables for 1982, 1990, 1995, and 2000; national statistical yearbooks from 1999 and provincial yearbooks from 2002; and maps including the Atlas of China. Trial access covers the following databases:
(1) Monthly Statistics
(2) National Statistics
(3) Provincial Statistics
(4) City Statistics
(5) County Statistics
(6) Monthly Industrial Data
(7) Yearly Industrial Data
(8) Statistics with Map & Charts
(9) Statistical Yearbooks

For more information or comments, please contact Natasha Cooper.

Posted by at 12:56 PM | Permalink

Effective Monday, June 30th 2008, all Blackwell journal content—including all full-text HTML and PDF versions of articles from current issues, backfiles, and issues published online before print—will be incorporated into Wiley InterScience. After June 30th, Blackwell Synergy will no longer be available.

Access to Blackwell Synergy will end at the close of business (Pacific Standard Time) on Friday, June 27th and the migration will be completed by Monday, June 30th. Over the weekend of June 28th and 29th, there will be a period when Wiley InterScience will also be unavailable while system transition and re-indexing of data occurs.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 9:08 AM | Permalink

The Syracuse University Library’s Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) has been awarded a grant of $79,440 by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) to support the arrangement and description of the library’s 134 unprocessed collections of original cartoon art. The funds will help support a full-time project archivist for a period of two years. The award to Syracuse was one of six “Detailed Processing Grants” awarded by NHPRC and the Archivist of the United States. Other recipients included Princeton University and the University of Chicago.

Syracuse’s collection of original cartoon art is among the most comprehensive in the U.S. It includes over 20,000 original works by approximately 173 artists and comprises more than 1,000 linear feet of material. Spanning the course of the 20th century, it includes both serial and editorial cartoons.

Among the serial cartoonists represented are: Bud Fisher, whose Mutt and Jeff was the earliest successful daily comic strip; Mort Walker, whose Beetle Bailey anticipated the changing notions of American masculinity and militarism during the Cold War; Hal Foster, whose lavishly illustrated Prince Valiant elevated the artistic ambitions of the genre; and Morrie Turner, whose Wee Pals was the first comic strip to chronicle the lives of racial and ethnic minorities in American life.

The editorial and political cartoonists represented in the collection include: William Gropper, whose leftist political cartoons in the Daily Worker raised working class consciousness during World War II; F.O. Alexander, whose everyman alter-ego “Joe Doakes” experienced the turbulence of the 1960s in the pages of the Philadelphia Bulletin; and Carey Orr, whose editorial cartoons appeared in the Chicago Tribune for nearly fifty years.

The physical cartoons in Syracuse’s collection are as wide-ranging and diverse as the artists that created them, assuming countless shapes, sizes, and media including pencil, pen, and gouache on paper. Over the next two years, the project archivist will take steps to ensure that the cartoons are housed in archival-quality containers. He or she will also draft online, searchable finding aids so that they are accessible to researchers and individuals all over the world.

The NHPRC grant is exciting news for scholars who specialize in the genre, casual fans, and, of course, for Syracuse University, which has held many of these collections since the 1960s. For the full list of the Commission’s 2008 grants, see http://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2008/nr08-106.html

About the Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Library

With more than 100,000 printed works and 2,000 manuscript and archival collections, SCRC holds some of Syracuse University’s most precious treasures, including early printed editions of Gutenberg, Galileo, and Sir Isaac Newton as well as the library of 19th century German historian Leopold von Ranke (1795-1886). SCRC’s holdings are particularly strong in the 20th century; they include the personal papers and manuscripts of such luminaries as artist Grace Hartigan (1922- ), inspirational preacher Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993), author Joyce Carol Oates (1938- ), photojournalist Margaret Bourke White (1904-1971), and architect Marcel Breuer (1902-1981). SCRC strives to be a “humanities laboratory” where librarians and scholars collaborate with the artifacts of history in an ongoing and vital learning process. Home to a new, state-of-the-art instructional seminar room, SCRC also regularly hosts exhibitions, lectures and classes focusing on its collections. For more information, visit the web site at http://library.syr.edu/information/spcollections/index.html

For more information on this project, contact Sean Quimby, director of the Special Collections Research Center at 315 443-9759 or smquimby@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 9:40 AM | Permalink

Pamela McLaughlin was elected to the position of chair-elect of the board of the New York State Higher Education Initiative (NYSHEI) at the group’s recent annual meeting in Syracuse. McLaughlin, who is director of communications and external relations at Syracuse University Library, was also elected to a three-year term on the board, representing very large private institutions.

Founded in 2002 and based in Albany, NYSHEI represents the interests of public and private academic and research libraries in New York State and serves as an advocacy group for academic libraries before elected officials and their staff. Its stated mission is “To develop, enhance and preserve our research and educational services, collections and resources for the benefit of faculty, students and the larger research community, and to promote new methods of scholarly communication.”

NYSHEI assists over 130 member institutions in providing the broadest possible access to information, fostering the academic enterprise, and advancing industry-academic partnerships in support of the innovation economy. The group is currently working on legislation to secure statewide funding for access to science, technology, and medical information resources.

For more information on NYSHEI and its activities, see http://nyshei.org/

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 9:35 AM | Permalink

The New York Center for the Book at Syracuse University Library has been reauthorized by the Library of Congress to continue through 2010. The New York Center is a state affiliate of the Library of Congress (LC) Center for the Book, which was founded in 1977 as a public-private partnership to “promote books, reading, libraries, and literacy.” Syracuse University Library has been the home to the New York Center since 2002 and collaborates with the LC Center in its annual, nationwide program to encourage reading and writing

Pamela McLaughlin, Director of Communications and External Relations at Syracuse University Library, was appointed Executive Director of the New York Center in November 2007. She works with an advisory board of librarians and interested others from across the state to develop the Center and its programs. Bart Harloe, University Librarian at St. Lawrence University, is the current chair of the board.

A key activity of the Center for the Book is the annual Letters About Literature contest. One of the Center’s most successful literacy programs for students, the contest invites students to write a letter to an author explaining how their work has changed the way they view themselves or the world. State winners receive a cash prize and gift cards provided by contest sponsor Target Stores. Participation in New York has grown steadily over the last three years, from 350 entries in the 2005-06 school year to over 1,800 entries in 2007-08. This year, two of New York’s first place winners also received honorable mention awards at the national level of the contest. Syracuse University Library underwrites the program and manages the related administrative functions.

Interests of the New York Center include scholarship relating to all aspects of the book, books as artifacts, the aesthetics of books, book arts, book publishing and distribution, and reading for pleasure and enlightenment. For information about the national center’s activities and programs, visit http://www.loc.gov/cfbook. For more information about the New York Center for the Book, see http://nybook.org or contact Pamela McLaughlin at (315) 443-9788 or pwmclaug@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 9:02 AM | Permalink

Arts & Humanities Services presents Inner Selves, a collaborative display created by participants in Enable (an individualized service center for people with disabilities) and Writing 205 students from Syracuse University. In this display, the students help articulate the thoughts and emotions of the Enable participants, who describe their lives and interests as they theatrically transform into a role model of their choosing. Photographs of the participants in character accompany text co-authored by the participants and the students. The display is located in the Biblio Gallery on the 4th floor of Bird Library, and will remain up until July 11th.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 2:24 PM | Permalink

Elaine Coppola, Librarian for Government Information, Political Science and International Relations in the Social Sciences and Area Studies Department at Syracuse University Library has received the 2008 Syracuse University Library Distinguished Service Award.

Elaine’s letters of support were strong and eloquent in outlining her many contributions to Syracuse University Library. One colleague wrote:

“Because human relationships are central to effective academic librarianship, employees like Elaine are priceless. Her collegial nature, sense of humor, analytical ability, and overall sense of advocacy for individual librarians and the broad field of librarianship more generally, is demonstrated on a daily basis.”

Elaine is widely known for her skill in user support, faculty liaison work, reference, and government documents. She began her career at Syracuse University Library in 1979 as a Catalog Librarian Technical Services, a position she held for the next 10 years. In a portent of things to come, Elaine volunteered at the reference desk from 1984 until 1989, when she transferred to public services and joined the Reference Department.

Elaine served in a number of key roles in the ensuing period, including Social Sciences Reference Bibliographer, Reference Desk Manager, and Head of Reference from 1999 through 2003. Elaine assumed her present position in Social Sciences and Area Studies in 2005.

Concurrently, Elaine amassed an impressive array of publications, including her most recent article, “May Day, May 1” in the Spring 2007 issue of Documents to the People, reviews for Choice magazine, and the Political Science section of The Guide to Reference Books, 10th edition supplement.

Elaine’s commitment to SU Library is also evident in her extensive record of service, serving on or chairing library committees ranging from the current MetaLib Committee, to the Electronic Resources Advisory Group, the Library Cabinet, the Collection Development Committee, various search committees, SULA, and many others.

Elaine was previously honored by the Eastern NY Chapter of ACRL with its Librarian of the Year award in 1996 for her contributions to that organization. She has also been involved in a number of ALA committees and activities over the years.

Posted by Kathleen White at 9:42 AM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library now offers access to the world’s largest archive of visual histories of the Holocaust. The Shoah Foundation Institute’s Visual History Archive, housed at the University of Southern California, includes nearly 52,000 video testimonies of Holocaust survivors, rescuers and other witnesses gathered by the Shoah Foundation. The interviews, which are in 32 languages, were conducted in 56 countries between 1994–2005. Syracuse University is one of only 10 partner universities worldwide that provide students, faculty, staff and the general public with access to the complete archive.

“Syracuse University Library is honored to become one of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute’s partners. The Visual History Archive is a welcome addition to our collection of multidisciplinary research tools,” says University Librarian and Dean of Libraries Suzanne Thorin. “The firsthand perspective provided by these interviews will be invaluable to students and scholars of history, religion, anthropology and many other disciplines.”

The USC Shoah Foundation Institute grew out of Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, established by film director Steven Spielberg following the release of “Schindler’s List.” The purpose of the project was to document the experiences of survivors and other witnesses to the Holocaust. The majority of the interviews—about 90 percent—are with Jewish survivors of Nazi persecution; also represented in the archive are political prisoners, Roma and Sinti (Gypsy) survivors, homosexuals and Jehovah’s Witnesses, along with liberators, witnesses, rescuers and aid providers.

Users can search more than 50,000 geographic and experiential keywords, the names of every person mentioned in the testimonies, and biographical information for each interviewee. A selection of testimonies will be immediately available at SU; users can request that other testimonies be delivered to SU’s local server. The Shoah system makes use of Internet2, a relatively new network that is ideally suited to transferring large files like the Shoah videos. Users must be physically present on the SU campus to access the Visual History Archive, which is located at http://vha.usc.edu/.

“The Visual History Archive is an extraordinarily useful tool for addressing the issues of the Holocaust and making it relevant to the theme of being a bystander in today’s world,” says Alan Goldberg, professor emeritus in SU’s School of Education and coordinator of the institute’s “The Holocaust, Lessons for the Classroom,” a collaboration of Syracuse University, the Holocaust Museum, Houston, and the Warren Fellowship for Future Educators.

The mission of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute is to “overcome prejudice, intolerance and bigotry—and the suffering they cause—through the educational use of the institute's visual history testimonies.” The institute relies upon partnerships in the United States and around the world to provide public access to the archive and advance scholarship in many fields of inquiry. The institute and its partners also utilize the archive to develop educational products and programs for use in many countries and languages.

For more information about Shoah or to arrange for a demonstration, contact Lydia Wasylenko at 443-4692 or lwwasyle@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 11:31 AM | Permalink

The Syracuse University Library and Renée Crown University Honors Program are presenting Invasion! The Culture of Fear in America, a student-curated exhibition of books, manuscripts and art from the Special Collections Research Center. A gallery reception will be held on Tuesday, April 29, at 5 p.m. on the sixth floor of E.S. Bird Library. The exhibition runs through Sept. 5. It is free and open to the public.

During the Spring 2008 semester, students from the Renée Crown University Honors Program taking the course American Fear, taught by Sean Quimby, director of the Special Collections Research Center, explored the history of fear in American life by immersing themselves in the Library’s primary resource collections.

The students worked diligently to produce an exhibition that accurately illustrates the concept of fear in the United States. They felt that the theme of “invasion” underlies many of our historical anxieties relating to race, religion, gender, sexual orientation and a host of other issues. The idea that different people, aliens or even epidemics, like the AIDS virus during the 1980s, might infiltrate society and bring about sweeping change has been cause for extreme fear in the American experience. Fundamentally, the exhibition raises questions of identity, and the class hopes that visitors will “understand their differences and be less discriminating in their actions.”

Among the exhibited works that illuminate the roots of our culture of fear are a 1651 edition of Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan, Cotton Mather’s 1693 account of the Salem Witch trials, the literature of the Red Scare, a variety of pulp science fiction magazines and Werner Pfeiffer’s sculptural tribute to the victims of 9/11, Out of the Sky.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 9:14 AM | Permalink

Due to growing demands for faculty and laboratory spaces in the Physics Building, the Library and the Physics Department have agreed to close the Physics Library. The last day of operation will be Friday, May 9, 2008.

Physics materials will be relocated to the Science and Technology Library at Carnegie, beginning on May 16. The move is expected to take several days. Users with an urgent need for specific material from the physics collection during the move should convey their requests directly to Science and Technology Library staff. Otherwise, the physics collection will be unavailable for use during the move. Physics materials that are currently charged out may be returned to any of the other SU Libraries.

For Science and Technology hours, please see: http://library.syr.edu/information/hours/summer2008.html

For additional information, please contact Janet Pease, head of the Science and Technology Library at 315-443-9768 or email jlpease@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 3:15 PM | Permalink

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded $250,000 to Syracuse University Library for the creation of detailed descriptive catalog records for historical 78-rpm sound recordings held by the Belfer Audio Laboratory and Archive. SU Library will join another 78s cataloging project that was previously funded by the Mellon Foundation, partnering with Yale University, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and Stanford University.

The 14-month grant project will focus on 9,000 recordings on the Decca label. Decca has historical significance as the third-largest producer of 78-rpm recordings in the United States (after Victor and Columbia), beginning in 1934. Decca had contracts with many star performers of the day, such as the Mills Brothers, Guy Lombardo & the Royal Canadians, the Ted Lewis Band, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Judy Garland, Deanna Durbin, Dick Powell, Gene Kelly, Bob Hope and the Andrews Sisters.

Access to complete and accurate information about these recordings will enable scholars and others to locate materials that document social and cultural mores, performance practices and historical theories. Until recently, information about these recordings was scattered, appearing in a variety of discographies, card catalogs, stand-alone databases and the brief catalog records in the Rigler-Deutsch Index. These newly created records will be fully searchable in SU Library’s online catalog and will be added to the Online Computer Library Center’s (OCLC) WorldCat database, along with those from Yale, New York Public Library and Stanford. Detailed catalog records will also allow the library to promote the resources in a variety of ways, such as by genre, subject and performer.

Commenting on the award, SU Librarian and Dean of Libraries Suzanne Thorin says, “I am grateful for Mellon’s support to make more of Syracuse University Library’s rich humanities collections available for scholarship. We are pleased to join Yale, New York Public Library and Stanford on this exciting project.”

SU’s Belfer Archive is one of the five largest sound recordings repositories in the United States, with a collection of nearly 337,000 recordings representing America’s cultural history in recorded sound, along with a significant number of historical playback devices and recording artifacts.

For more information about the project, contact Melinda Dermody, head of Arts and Humanities Services at SU Library, at (315) 443-5332 or mderm01@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 1:30 PM | Permalink

SU Library unveiled the contest-winning name Pages for the new Bird Library café at its grand opening celebration on February 21st. The selection panel for the naming contest included University Librarian and Dean of Libraries Suzanne Thorin, Library Communications Director Pamela McLaughlin, undergraduate student Dana Varin, History Professor Chris Kyle, and Director of SU Food Services Dave George.

The panel selected Pages from among over 800 entries submitted by SU undergraduate and graduate students during a two-week period following the café’s opening in mid-January. The new name was submitted by Benjamin Huang, a biochemistry major in the College of Arts & Sciences, and Marsha Tait, a graduate student in the Maxwell MPA program. Both were awarded a MacBook laptop.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 10:17 AM | Permalink

Leading examples of the power of a free press are on display this February at all three Newhouse School of Public Communications buildings. A Library contribution to Newhouse’s “Year of the First Amendment” celebration, the poster exhibit highlights groundbreaking coverage by journalists, such as original reporting on the 1955 murder of Emmett Till, analysis of the illicit drug trade on the SU campus during the Vietnam era, and more recent exploration of the Bush administration’s controversial domestic eavesdropping program. This historical media exhibition is co-curated by Syracuse University Library and the Newhouse School of Public Communications, with poster production services courtesy of the Library’s Digital Imaging Services Center (DISC)

For more information, contact Michael Pasqualoni, Subject Librarian for Communications, mjpasqua@syr.edu, or Professor Charlotte Grimes, Knight Chair in Political Reporting, cgrimes@syr.edu

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 8:59 AM | Permalink

When librarians are considering the purchase of new online resources, they often arrange for a trial period to preview the content, web interface, and other features of the resource. To check out resources on trial, visit the trials web page often.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 3:39 PM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library’s Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) has mounted an exhibition entitled The Small Press and the Black Arts Movement on the sixth-floor of E. S. Bird Library. The controversial Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s was a politically engaged artistic movement that explored the African American experience.

Drawing on its SCRC's holdings, the exhibit features works by participants in the movement that were published by small independent presses such as Broadside Press and Third World Press. Amiri Baraka (b. 1934) and painter Jacob Lawrence (1917–2000) are very well represented. Their works accompany those of other artists: dramatists, illustrators, novelists, and poets. Among the more well-known names are Gwendolyn Brooks, Chester B. Himes, Ishmael Reed, Sonia Sanchez, Melvin Van Peebles, Alice Walker, and John A. Williams. Also on display are a number of Black Arts Movement periodicals such as Black Theatre, Hoo-Doo, Kitabu Cha Jua (formerly the Journal of Black Poetry), Soulbook, and Y’Bird.

Free and open to the public, the exhibit is available weekdays (excepting holidays) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through May 1, 2008. Pay parking is available in the Marion visitor lot.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 2:05 PM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library and the Barclay Law Library are pleased to announce new additions to the LexisNexis Congressional database. This joint purchase provides additional full-text congressional material to researchers at Syracuse University.

The new modules include searchable collections of Congressional Hearings (1824- ), Congressional Committee Prints (1830- ), and Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports (1916- ) in pdf format. A database of high resolution color images of the U.S. Serial Set Maps (1789-1969) collection is also part of the new purchase. These new modules add to the basic content of LexisNexis Congressional, e.g., abstracts and indexing for congressional publications, full-text of selected recent publications, and the U.S. Serial Set digital collection module purchased previously.

A comprehensive online resource, LexisNexis Congressional uses a single search interface for its collections of congressional publications and legislative information. It is ideal for student and faculty research in the areas of public policy, U.S. history, and law.

Syracuse University Library users may connect to these new LexisNexis Congressional digital collections by going to the library’s databases/Find Articles page: http://library.syr.edu/research/database/ and selecting Congressional or LexisNexis Congressional.

College of Law users may access LexisNexis Congressional through the Barclay Law Library's Federal Resources web page: http://www.law.syr.edu/lawlibrary/electronic/federal.aspx

For more information or assistance with LexisNexis Congressional, please contact Elaine Coppola, Syracuse University Library, emcoppla@syr.edu or 443-9523 or Robert Weiner, Barclay Law Library, rjweiner@law.syr.edu, or 443-5424.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 9:09 AM | Permalink

The SU Library has added a new feature called RefShare to our campus site license for RefWorks. RefWorks is an online citation management tool designed to help researchers easily gather, manage, store and share all types of information, as well as generate citations and bibliographies. It allows you to save and store citations, generate bibliographies in different styles (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago) and, using the Write-N-Cite feature, automatically add references to a paper and generate a bibliography with them. You can import references from a number of SU Library’s online databases, the SUMMIT library catalog, and other bibliographic management tools, or you can manually enter the information into RefWorks.

RefShare is an add-on module to RefWorks that provides a quick and easy way to share your entire RefWorks database or specific folders with other researchers, further enhancing collaborative research. You can share your RefWorks references with members of the SU community and globally with any researcher who has access to the Internet.

For more information on RefShare, visit SU Library’s RefWorks help page at: http://library.syr.edu/cite/RefWorksHelp.html.

Our Spring 2008 RefWorks training schedule is now posted at: http://library.syr.edu/cite/RefWorksTraining.html. Classes are free of charge, and registration is not required.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 11:30 AM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library launched its new Business and Management Information Gateway on January 14th, 2008. A collaborative project of SU Library and the Whitman School, the Gateway is a customized collection of information resources specific to business and management that was designed specifically for Whitman School students, faculty, and staff. As information continues to shift towards online digital formats, the number of available information resources is increasing at a rapid pace. The Gateway organizes the best business information resources in a custom-designed and easy to use interface.

The Gateway's search functionality, powered by MetaLib, streamlines the discovery process and enables users to locate the information they need quickly and effectively. The new interface searches multiple information resources simultaneously, eliminating the need for users to learn different search protocols and interfaces. A single search will include results from a variety of information resources such as journal articles, newspapers, books, library catalogs, and other quality Internet resources. The Gateway also includes links to other library services, as well as to course-specific information developed by the library’s business subject specialist.

Gateway search results are presented in a manageable, unified format, enabling users to:

- Review retrieved items in a merged, de-duplicated list
- Group results by facets such as author, date, journal, or other attributes
- Compare the result lists of different searches
- Save relevant records and locate the actual material

The search interface accommodates the varying skill and experience levels of individual users, offering both novice and expert search modes. Options include a simple "Google-like" keyword search or an advanced search of specific fields with Boolean operators.

There are three audience-specific versions of the gateway available for student, faculty, and staff use. The gateway can be accessed through Whitman’s Blackboard Community Intranet; the student version is also available on the library website at http://library.syr.edu/information/services/whitman/students.html. Licensed online resources are accessible only by those with a current SU/ESF I.D. card.

For more information about this project, contact Angela Ramnarine-Rieks at x8709 or email auramnar@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 2:35 PM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library has begun the process of redesigning its web site, the University’s primary point of access for scholarly information resources and services. In order to develop a new site that meets user needs and expectations, the Web Redesign Team is interested in hearing the thoughts and opinions of students, faculty and staff about the site’s functionality, content and organization.

The team will organize a number of focus group sessions and is seeking volunteers. Sessions will be about an hour long and no preparation is required. To register for a session, please use this online form or send your name, telephone number, status (undergraduate, graduate student, faculty, or staff) and major, department, or discipline to Nancy Turner, Senior Program Officer for Research and Analysis at nbturner@syr.edu or phone 443-2237.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 1:42 PM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library has been awarded a $53,000 planning grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to conduct an ethnographic study of academic and library cultures. The purpose of the study is to gain insight into how teaching, learning and research in a highly ranked professional school are being conducted and how closely the library's services and resources synchronize with the school's needs.

The study focuses on the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, whose programs cover the convergence of media in society and the use of content in any format, whether it is the written word, photography or film. The grant, "Patterns of Culture: Re-aligning Library Culture to Meet User Needs," will continue a pilot study of Newhouse faculty and delve more deeply, working with students, faculty and staff.

"The library has proposed some innovative research that has the potential to provide benefits not just to Newhouse, but across campus as the library deepens its ties to academic work," says SU Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor of the grant award.

Results of the project will inform changes to library organizational structures and services, including new models for developing library collections and the creation of customized services for faculty and students. The project team, which includes librarians and a graduate assistant, is being trained in ethnographic research methods to equip them with skills in listening, observing, interviewing and understanding contemporary research practices and information-seeking behaviors. The project will create a model for data gathering and analysis that could be used to investigate other SU schools, departments and colleges, or by other institutions interested in conducting similar studies.

Suzanne Thorin, University librarian and dean of libraries, and Nancy Turner, senior program officer for research and analysis, are co-principal investigators on the project. Turner, who holds a bachelor's degree in anthropology and a master's degree in social sciences, in addition to an M.L.I.S., will serve as the project manager. She will be assisted by Ilka Datig, a graduate student in the School of Information Studies, who has a master's degree in cultural anthropology. Other project team members include librarians Nicolette Dobrowolski, John Olson, Michael Pasqualoni, Bonnie Ryan and Ann Skiold. In addition, SU anthropology professor Michael Freedman will give guidance to the team.

An advisory group of Newhouse faculty, staff and students is being formed to work with the library team, to provide assistance with access to classes and to help in identifying participants for various project activities.

The project will run through September 2008 in four phases: training, testing and team building; fieldwork and data collection at Newhouse; fieldwork and data collection at the library; and analysis, report writing and proposal for next steps.

For more information on the project, contact Nancy Turner at 443-2237 or nbturner@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 2:49 PM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library’s Biblio Gallery on the 4th floor of Bird Library is now featuring artwork by Joshua Kaplan, a painting major in the School of Art and Design. The show will run through November 2, 2007.

The Biblio Gallery web site is located at http://library.syr.edu/information/finearts/SULibraryArtExhibits.html.
For more information, contact Melinda Dermody, head of Arts and Humanities Services at 443-5332 or via email at mderm01@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 11:14 AM | Permalink

Numeric Data Services (NDS), a unit of the Social Sciences Services Department in E. S. Bird Library, announces the addition of several new resources for those interested in finding statistical information to use in a report or data for statistical analysis.

Located on the Numeric Data Services web page, the NDS Data and Statistics Search Engine, a Google Custom Search Engine, searches almost 1,300 web sites worldwide that contain data and statistical information in many subject areas.

In addition, NDS has made several new data sets available for online analysis. Of particular note are three datasets specific to Syracuse: the 2000 U.S. Census of Population and Housing, which includes Syracuse neighborhood identifiers; Public Use Microdata from the 1880 to 2000 U.S. Censuses; and the Public Use Microdata from the 2005 American Community Survey. These applications allow users to create tables and perform statistical analysis on the data over the web without need for additional statistical software. Other data sets listed on the NDS page provide data at the state and national levels.

Numeric Data Services, located on the third floor of E. S. Bird Library, provides support for students, faculty, and staff interested in finding and using statistical information and data. NDS can assist with data management and analysis; use of statistical software, especially SAS, Stata, and SPSS; and advise on research methods, study design, and questionnaire construction for those collecting their own data.

For further information, please contact Paul H. Bern, Numeric Data Services Librarian at 443-1352 or email phbern@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 4:44 PM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library has developed a research guide to help students explore themes in Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World, by Tracy Kidder, the book chosen by the Syracuse University Shared Reading Program and Central New York Reads for 2007-2008. The guide includes book reviews, background information on Tracy Kidder and Paul Farmer, and resources on topics such as Haiti; poverty; public health; the role of the U.S. in the world; voodoo; and more. The guide refers students to articles, audio files, films and videos, photographs, and web sites. Tips on finding materials are provided. The guide is located at:
http://library.syr.edu/instruction/class/sharreadMountains/index.html

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 12:00 PM | Permalink

Academic OneFile is a premier source for peer-reviewed, full-text articles from the world's leading journals and reference sources. With extensive coverage of the physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, literature and other subjects, Academic OneFile is both authoritative and comprehensive.

Full-Text: More than 6,300 full-text titles (more than 11,000 titles in all).

Newswires: 121 wire services.

Newspapers: Over 400 newspaper services covering worldwide current events with full indexing of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Christian Science Monitor.

Images: Includes some full color images.

Audio: Patrons can now listen to any National Public Radio program, as well as read transcripts, for shows produced by NPR from 1990 to present. Podcasts from government agencies such as the Census and the State Department are also available in Academic OneFile.

8 Languages: Every article in Academic OneFile can now be translated into eight different languages.

Coverage: Integrated backfile coverage from 1980 to the present. Updated daily.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 4:02 PM | Permalink

The University Library’s Special Collections Research Center has mounted an exhibition called "The Never-Ending Wrong: The Execution of Sacco and Vanzetti" on the sixth-floor of E. S. Bird Library. The exhibit is available weekdays (excepting holidays) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through December 31, 2007.

An exhibit opening celebration and reception will occur at 5 p.m. on Thursday, September 27, 2007, also on the sixth floor, directly following a 4 p.m. Library Associates lecture by Sean Quimby, director of the Special Collections Research Center. His lecture, entitled “Phobia: Collecting in the History of Fear,” will take place in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons on the first floor. The exhibit, the reception, and the lecture are all free and open to the public.

The exhibit commemorates the 80th anniversary of the execution for murder of two Italian anarchist laborers, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. On display are period ephemera issued by the Sacco-Vanzetti Defense Committee and a plethora of books associated with the trial by Paul Avrich, Felix Frankfurter, and Eugene Lyons, among others. The exhibit features artistic expressions (cartoons, illustrations, novels, plays, poems, songs and music) inspired by the trial, including the work of Maxwell Anderson, John Dos Passos, Fred Ellis, Howard Fast, Woody Guthrie, William Gropper, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Rockwell Kent, Katherine Anne Porter, Pete Seeger, and Upton Sinclair.

To see an online version of the exhibit, go to scrc.syr.edu.

Posted by Mary Beth Hinton at 9:06 AM | Permalink

What are Americans really afraid of? In this lecture, entitled "American Phobia: Collecting in the History of Fear," Sean Quimby, director of the Library's Special Collections Research Center, will consider the role of fear in American life. The lecture will take place at 4 p.m. on Thursday, September 27, in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons, first floor, E. S. Bird Library.

In the post 9/11 world, we have grown accustomed to periodic “terror” alerts, but how did fear figure into the printed discourses of generations past? Quimby will detail the Special Collections Research Center’s ongoing project to build research collections that may help answer these questions. Burgeoning recent scholarship has equipped us with the tools required to examine this elusive topic, and available historical resources—religious tracts, popular psychology texts, eugenics manifestos, as well as self-help, child-rearing, and comportment manuals—can help us begin to trace the lineage of fear in America.

Sean Quimby holds graduate degrees from the Hagley Fellows Program in the History of Industrialization at the University of Delaware and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In the fall of 2006, he came to Syracuse from Stanford University, where he served as a manuscripts librarian.

This talk, sponsored by the Syracuse University Library Associates, is free and open to the public. Pay parking is available in the Marion lot on Waverly Avenue.

Posted by Mary Beth Hinton at 8:50 AM | Permalink

Combining South African and African Studies, NiPAD provides access to two million records and integrates information from over 40 smaller databases published in Africa, Europe, and the United States. Subject coverage includes politics, history, economics, business, mining, natural sciences, environment, development, social issues, anthropology, literature, language, law, music, tourism, and many more. The database includes sources such as books, journal articles, government and NGO reports; includes some fulltext.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 4:22 PM | Permalink

The Library Arts & Humanities Services Department presents "Freedom Under Fire: Book Banning Past and Present," a display showcasing prominent books that have been challenged or banned by public institutions for religious, political, social, or sexual reasons. Offered in recognition of the American Library Association's Banned Books Week (September 29 - October 6, 2007), and in conjunction with the S.I. Newhouse School's year-long celebration of the First Amendment, the display on the 4th floor of Bird Library will remain up through October 6, 2007.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 9:28 AM | Permalink

Do you have a favorite banned or challenged book? In conjunction with the Newhouse School's upcoming year-long First Amendment celebration, the library is working on plans for Banned Books Week 2007, September 29 - October 6, 2007. We are creating a web page with a list of banned or challenged books and reasons, and hope you will contribute your favorites. Using the form available at http://library.syr.edu/information/banned_books, please send the title of the book (or film or musical work, etc.) you have selected, the reason and year it was banned/challenged (if available), and any explanatory comments you want to add.

If you are not sure what books have been banned or challenged, please see the extensive listings on the American Library Association web site at: http://www.ala.org/bbooks/.

Please contact Tasha Cooper, nacoop01@syr.edu, for additional information.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 3:28 PM | Permalink

Visit the new Biblio Gallery on the 4th floor of Bird Library, now showing the artwork of Elena Peteva, MFA candidate in Painting in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. The show will run through June 30, 2007.

The Biblio Gallery web site is located at http://library.syr.edu/information/finearts/SULibraryArtExhibits.html.
For more information, contact Melinda Dermody, head of Arts and Humanities Services at 443-5332 or via email at mderm01@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 3:42 PM | Permalink

Syracuse University students, faculty, staff, and other eligible users now have the option to use a self-service kiosk to check out books and other circulating materials from E. S. Bird Library. To access the device, users will need to bring their valid SU ID card issued by the Syracuse University ID Card Office.

The self-check unit, which is similar to those used in retail businesses, is located directly across from the main circulation desk on Bird’s first floor and may be used during regular circulation desk service hours.

For additional information, please contact Marty Hanson, Head of Access and Preservation Services at 443-1947 or email mjhanson@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 10:06 AM | Permalink

SU Library currently has a trial subscription to RefShare, which allows users to share their RefWorks database or specific folders from their RefWorks database with others. RefShare allows users to export, print, generate a list of references, and even use custom output styles at the folder or database level.

RefWorks is an online citation management service that helps users organize their references, generate bibliographies in different styles, add references to papers, and format reference lists.

For more information and instructions on how to use RefShare, see the RefShare Online Tutorial - http://www.refworks.com/tutorial/RefShare%20User%20tutorial.htm

For more information on RefWorks at SU, see http://library.syr.edu/cite/refworks.html

The trial ends May 31, 2007. Please email refworks@syr.edu for additional information.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 12:56 PM | Permalink

Librarian and NY Center for the Book director Tasha Cooper has co-edited (with Douglas Cook) a new book on information literacy, Teaching information literacy skills to social sciences students and practitioners : a casebook of applications. The title was published in 2006 by the Association of College and Research Libraries and is available in SU Library - call number ZA3075 .T43 2006.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 2:53 PM | Permalink

Janet Pease, head of the Science and Technology Library, was recently interviewed for the Institute of Physics web feature, Sixty seconds with... located at http://journals.iop.org/sixty/106. Congratulations, Janet!

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 2:20 PM | Permalink

The Library has added 10 years to the backfile of the Web of Science, which now spans from 1985 to the present. Web of Science includes the Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index, and the Arts & Humanities Citation Index. To take advantage of the new coverage, previous users should clear the cache/history in their browser before accessing the database. The URL is http://libezproxy.syr.edu/login?url=http://isiknowledge.com

Staff at any library reference desk can provide assistance in using this database. For locations and services, see http://library.syr.edu/information/reference/index.html

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 1:53 PM | Permalink

Barbara Opar, librarian in the Arts & Humanities Services Department of Syracuse University Library and liaison to the School of Architecture, contributed the chapter “Architectural Engineering” to Using the Engineering Literature, published by Routledge in 2006. The title was recently chosen as the 2007 recipient of the Best Reference Work Award by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), Engineering Libraries Division.

In hearing of the award, editor Bonnie A. Osif praised contributors, saying "I don't have the words to describe how happy I am for all of my wonderful writers. This is just an unbelievable honor. "

Opar has been architecture subject specialist librarian at SU since 1975. She is a regular contributor to the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, in which she publishes a bi-monthly booklist. She also serves as a member of the EPIC (Education/Practice/Industry Connection) steering committee, a project of the American Institute of Architects, Continuing Education System. EPIC is a partnership of the academy, the design professions, and industry to provide quality continuing professional education in architecture.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 1:35 PM | Permalink

Come enjoy an afternoon of French culture and literature at the 10th annual French Graduation Student Colloquium on Friday, April 27th from noon – 3 p.m. in the Hillyer Room on the 6th floor of E.S. Bird Library. The program will consist of presentations by the graduate students, faculty members Philippa Kim and Jean François Bedard, and librarian Barbara Opar. A reception will follow.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 8:40 AM | Permalink

Individuals interested in receiving regular updates from the library can now subscribe to library RSS feeds. In response to user requests to be alerted to new resources and services, the library developed a series of RSS feeds listed at http://library.syr.edu/feeds/. These feeds include resources newly added to the SUMMIT library catalog, library news and events, Web site updates, and Subject Guide updates. RSS (Really Simple Syndication) technology facilitates the delivery of information via a news reader or aggregator. Both MyYahoo and Google portals include feed readers; other examples include Bloglines, NewsGator, and Snarfer. The process of subscribing to an RSS feed is specific to the type of feed reader application chosen; detailed instructions can be found on the web site.

This is Phase I of this service and improvements are continually being made, along with the development of additional feeds in other subject areas. For additional information, please contact library web administrator Angela Ramnarine-Rieks at 443-8709 or email auramnar@syr.edu.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 8:57 AM | Permalink

The extended study area on the first floor of E.S. Bird Library will offer a 24- hour study schedule from April 9 through May 9. The study area will be open continuously from 10 a.m. on Sundays until 10 p.m. on Friday evenings. Saturday hours in April are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 10 a.m. to midnight on May 5.

A valid SU or ESF I.D. card is required to enter after midnight.

Complete hours information is available on the web:
http://library.syr.edu/information/hours/b-spring07.html#studyarea

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 4:34 PM | Permalink

The Belfer Audio Archive at Syracuse University Library will hold a record sale April 20-21, offering 78s, LPs and 45s, as well as some music scores and music books. The sale will be held in the Belfer lobby on Friday, April 20, from 10 a.m.-7 p.m., and on Saturday, April 21, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. The Belfer building is adjacent to E.S. Bird Library on the library’s east side.

Prices are as follows: up to 25 discs, $1 each; 26-50 discs, 75 cents each; 51–100 discs, 50 cents each; and more than 100 discs, 35 cents each. Special pricing will be offered on Saturday afternoon of $5 per grocery bagful. No advance lists or preview inspections are available.

Paid parking is available in nearby University lots or meter parking is available on the street.

For more information, contact Sue Stinson at 443-3477

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 9:53 AM | Permalink

Bobbi Gwilt, recently appointed Associate University Librarian for Academic Resources at Syracuse University Library, has been selected to participate in the 2007 Frye Leadership Institute. The Frye Institute is a two-week intensive residential program held at Emory University each June and named in honor of Billy E. Frye, former chancellor and provost of Emory University. Co-sponsors include the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), EDUCAUSE, and the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation.

In establishing the Institute, Frye said, “As we plan for the future, we must make provision for the recruitment and development of potential leaders—persons who are capable of seeing the big picture and understanding institutional relationships: persons who welcome change and have the vision, imagination and courage to take carefully considered risks; and who are unselfish in their goals, fair in their dealings, and trusted by the colleagues at all levels with whom they work."

The Frye program consists of presentations by well-known leaders in higher education and society, seminars, and group projects. The year’s program will focus on the implications of the increasing power of information technology to transform research, teaching, and scholarly communication. Following the Institute, participants engage in a yearlong study of a related topic of their choosing. Gwilt intends to investigate how overall library user services are impacted by changes in collection development operations.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 1:39 PM | Permalink

Michael Pasqualoni, Instructional Services Librarian, reviews Jeanette Woodward's "Creating the Customer-Driven Library: Building on the Bookstore Model," in the March 2007 issue of LIBRES: Library and Information Science Research Electronic Journal. http://libres.curtin.edu.au/libres17n1/index.htm

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 8:57 AM | Permalink

Information consultant and IST adjunct instructor Jill Hurst-Wahl, will give a talk on Libraries & Librarians in Second Life, on Tuesday, April 10 from 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons on the first floor of E.S.Bird Library. Second Life is a 3-D online digital world that is created by its residents. Currently inhabited by more than 4 million residents, Second Life has become home to a growing number of libraries and librarians. Jill will talk about the work that librarians are doing in Second Life, the spaces they are creating, and why we should pay attention to this activity.

Known as "Jillianna Suisei" in Second Life, Jill is a member of two active library groups and often gives tours of Info Island, an area that offers a variety of library and information services to Second Life residents. In real life, Hurst-Wahl has become a Second Life advocate by giving interviews, writing articles, and speaking formally and informally about Second Life.

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 8:54 AM | Permalink

Sue Miller, Instructional Services Specialist in Syracuse University Library, has been nominated for membership in the Phi Beta Delta honor society by Dr. Patricia Burak, Director of the Slutzker Center for International Services. As described on its web site, Phi Beta Delta “honors those who serve internationalism - the idea of a world connected, of respect for different traditions, of the need for education to enhance knowledge of the many cultures that are part of a globe that we all must share.” Sue will be installed as a member of Syracuse University's Alpha Sigma chapter on Monday, April 9, 2007 at 4:00 p.m. in Hendrick's Chapel.

Dr. Burak nominated Sue in recognition for her recent work in organizing and leading the Library's International Students Working Group. This team of librarians and library staff is committed to assisting SU's international students in making effective use of library facilities, resources, and services, and in developing information literacy and research skills. Accomplishments include the design of a special web page for international students and the delivery of several workshops on Library resources, evaluating sources, and avoiding plagiarism.

For more information of Phi Beta Delta, see http://www.phibetadelta.org/ . The library web site for international students is located at http://library.syr.edu/instruction/international/welcome.htm

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 8:50 AM | Permalink

Students, stop running around during this busy time of year. Take advantage of a special series of open research workshops at E.S. Bird Library. Come to one of these Crunch Time at 9 sessions to get personalized research help from a librarian on your final papers and projects. Sessions are March 27, 28, and April 4 from 9:00 - 10:30 p.m. and March 28 from 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. in the Electronic Training Center, Room 046, E.S. Bird Library. Contact Michael Pasqualoni for more information at 443-3715 or email mjpasqua@syr.edu. No RSVP necessary. Drop in when you can, stay as long as you need. For additional research help at other times, remember to visit the Library's "Ask Us" Reference & Research Assistance page at http://library.syr.edu/information/reference/index.html

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 11:47 AM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library’s Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) has opened an exhibition titled Lights, Camera, Music! on émigré composers Miklós Rózsa and Franz Waxman. Both men created scores for what are indisputably regarded as classic films from Hollywood’s golden age (Ben Hur and Sunset Boulevard are examples). The center is exhibiting material that commemorates the work of these musical celebrities in recognition of anniversaries associated with them.

The exhibition is free and open to the public. It will be available weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (excepting holidays) until June 30, 2007. Pay parking is available in the Marion visitor lot on Waverly Avenue.

CONTACT
Mary Beth Hinton
Syracuse University Library
315-443-9763
mbhinton@syr.edu

Posted by Mary Beth Hinton at 4:30 PM | Permalink

The Library will offer training sessions for international students on library resources and services as well as important information literacy skills such as evaluating sources and avoiding plagiarism. The sessions will be held in February, March and April in the Slutzker International Center. The complete schedule is available at: http://library.syr.edu/instruction/Internationalstclasssp07.html

An introductory web page specificially for international students is also available on the Library's website at: http://library.syr.edu/instruction/international/welcome.htm

Posted by Pamela McLaughlin at 2:14 PM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library will offer several training sessions and help clinics on RefWorks, a citation management tool, during February, March, and April.

“If you are writing a research paper, thesis, dissertation, or article, RefWorks is an excellent system for keeping track of your sources,” said Ruth Stein, interim director of the Academic Integrity Office.

RefWorks allows users to save and organize citations, generate bibliographies in different styles (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago), add references to a paper, and format a reference list. Users can import references from many other sites or enter them manually. The Write-n-Cite feature automatically enters citations and generates bibliographies as you write your papers; RefGrab-It automatically captures citation information from web sites, and then converts the information into your desired citation format.

The upcoming training sessions are structured introductions to RefWorks, while the help clinics offer one-on-one assistance with specific questions. Both are open to all SU students, faculty, and staff, and no registration is required. All sessions are held in the Electronic Training Classroom, room 046, Bird Library. To see the schedule, go to http://library.syr.edu/cite/RefWorksTraining.html

Librarians from SU’s Science and Technology Library have created a RefWorks wiki, an interactive web environment, to post information and tips on RefWorks and share experiences and questions (see http://refworks.wikidot.com).

RefWorks is available for free to all Syracuse University students, faculty, and staff, as well as visitors using the campus network on-site (see http://library.syr.edu/cite/refworks.html).

Questions about RefWorks? Contact refworks@syr.edu.

Posted by Mary Beth Hinton at 10:35 AM | Permalink

Books24X7 ITPro provides both broad and deep coverage of over 100 technology topics from over 145 publishers including premier industry publishers, such as Wrox, McGraw-Hill, Apress, and Microsoft Press. Popular book series such as The Complete Reference, Inside Out, Bibles and many others provide multifaceted, multi-skilled approaches to topics.

As of January 2007, the collection includes over 5,400 titles with, on average, over 50 new titles added per month. ITPro also includes community-driven content. This content, developed as a direct result of user requests, provides coverage of specific aspects of technology, including emerging technologies--coverage that is not readily available from traditional sources.

Note: Access limited to foursimultaneous users. Registration with SU or ESF ID is required.

To access this resource, go to:
http://libezproxy.syr.edu/login?url=http://library.books24x7.com/library.asp?^B

CONTACT
Maryjane Poulin
443-9771
mdpoulin@syr.edu

Posted by Mary Beth Hinton at 9:33 AM | Permalink

"Welcome to SU Library" is a new three-part tutorial describing Syracuse University Library's locations as well as its web site and research tools. It offers an introduction to new students or to anyone who would like to learn more about the Library's services.

The tutorials can be viewed individually in three short segments or as one tutorial, depending on preference. The tutorials are interactive, requiring some participation throughout the experience.

The tutorials will be reviewed and updated periodically. Please complete the survey at the end of each tutorial to provide important feedback.

Tutorials are available at: http://library.syr.edu/instruction/tutorials/welcome/tutorials.html

Abby Kasowitz-Scheer
Head of Instructional Services
Syracuse University Library
Syracuse, NY 13244-2010
(315) 443-1943
askasowi@syr.edu

Posted by Mary Beth Hinton at 8:56 AM | Permalink

The Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) announces a new, annual event to be hosted by ICPSR: the ICPSR Undergraduate Research Paper Competition!

The purpose of the competition is to highlight the best undergraduate student research papers using quantitative data. The objective is to encourage undergraduates to explore the social sciences by means of critical analysis of a topic supported by quantitative analysis of a dataset(s) held within the ICPSR archive and presented in written form.

Up to three cash prizes will be awarded. The winner will receive a monetary award of $1,000. Second place receives $750 and third place $500.

Deadline for submission is January 31, 2007.

For further information go to http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/prize/ or contact Paul Bern, Numeric Data Services Librarian (see contact information below).

********************************************************************************************************
Paul H. Bern, Ph.D.
Numeric Data Services Librarian
352 Bird Library
222 Waverly Ave.
Syracuse, NY 13244
315-443-1352
http://library.syr.edu/information/mgi/nds

Posted by Mary Beth Hinton at 3:42 PM | Permalink

"Welcome to Syracuse University Library 2006-2007: Your Guide to Library Services" will be of particular interest to new students. It outlines the Library's services and collections and includes tips for using the Library. Find out how to check out books, get course reserve materials, borrow laptops for in-library use, scan items, print and copy materials, use audio and video resources, and much more. Information on getting research help and advice is also included.

The guide is available online at: http://library.syr.edu/publications/WelcometoLibrary_10mb.pdf . (Please note that the file is 10 MB and may take some time to load.)

Contact:
Abby Kasowitz-Scheer
Head of Instructional Services
Syracuse University Library
Syracuse, NY 13244-2010
(315) 443-1943
askasowi@syr.edu

Posted by Mary Beth Hinton at 2:12 PM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library has developed a research guide to help students explore themes in The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the book chosen by the Syracuse University Shared Reading Program for 2006-2007 (and by Central New York Reads). The guide includes book reviews, author biographies and interviews, and resources on topics such as Afghanistan history, art and culture; discrimination; immigrants and refugees; religion; human rights; and more. The guide refers students to books, articles, audio files, films and videos, images, music, photography, and web sites. Tips on finding materials are provided.

See the web guide at:
http://library.syr.edu/instruction/class/sharreadKite/index.html

Posted by Mary Beth Hinton at 12:22 PM | Permalink

The University Library’s Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) current exhibition is entitled Imagine! Painters and Poets of the New York School. The exhibition is part of the Syracuse Symposium, which for 2006/2007 has chosen imagination as its theme.

On display is material from the recently processed Grace Hartigan Papers, as well as from the University Art Collection, the Grove Press Archives, and SCRC’s extensive holdings of art and literary magazines from the 1950s. Grace Hartigan (1922–) was a major participant in the explosion of creative energy that was the New York artistic and literary scene of the early 1950s. An important abstract expressionist painter, Hartigan was included in the famous show Twelve Americans at the Museum of Modern Art in 1956. Her friends and correspondents included Frank O’Hara, Larry Rivers, Barbara Guest, and Joan Mitchell.

The exhibition is available weekdays, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (excepting holidays) until December 15, 2006, after which time it will travel to the Palitz Gallery at the Joseph I. Lubin House in New York City.

The exhibition opening is free and open to the public. Pay parking is available in the Marion visitor lot.

CONTACT
Mary Beth Hinton
Syracuse University Library
315-443-2130
mbhinton@syr.edu

Posted by Mary Beth Hinton at 9:00 AM | Permalink

Last academic semester, E. S. Bird Library began a computing and printing pilot program for SU students. During the trial 10 General Reference Area computers were installed with Microsoft Office software (including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, and PhotoEditor), networked campus printing, and student directory files, in addition to access to the Internet and library online resources.

This fall the Library will expand this program to bring students additional computing software on these machines (similar to that of other labs around campus), as well as several more throughout the third and fourth floors of E. S. Bird Library and in the Science and Technology Library. A NetID login and password are needed to access the machines.

Posted by Mary Beth Hinton at 2:01 PM | Permalink

Starting on August 21, you can chat live with a librarian using instant messaging service and get reference and research help in realtime.

From your IM account, type in the screen name: SULibraryHelp.

Visit the SU Library web site (library.syr.edu) and click on Ask Us for IM hours.

Posted by Mary Beth Hinton at 1:59 PM | Permalink

Arts & Humanities Services currently presents The Horse in Art, a display featuring SU Library materials related to the artistic representation of horses from prehistory to the present day. The display will remain up until late August.

Contact:
Edward Gokey
eagokey@syr.edu
315-443-4160

Posted by Mary Beth Hinton at 8:49 AM | Permalink

Syracuse University, Syracuse University Law, and SUNY ESF Libraries have announced their participation once again in a “Food for Fines” amnesty day on November 29,2007. On thatday, borrowers will receive a $1 credit off their overdue fines for every non-perishable food item they donate. To qualify for credit, food may be brought to the of Bird Library circulation desk or any of the SU Library branches and reading rooms, or the SU Law Library between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.or to Moon Library between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.

All food collected will be donated to the Syracuse Downtown Emergency Services for distribution to those in need all over Onondaga County.

For more information, please contact: Bevan Angier at 443-9765.

Posted by Mary Beth Hinton at 2:45 PM | Permalink

RefWorks, the popular web-based bibliographic management database, is now available to SU students, faculty and staff through a campus-wide license purchased by Syracuse University Library. RefWorks, from Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, is a leading online tool for helping students better understand and efficiently manage proper academic citation formats. RefWorks also provides invaluable citation management assistance to any researcher working with a high volume of outside sources.

RefWorks allows students and faculty to pull citations into the RefWorks system when researching the SUMMIT catalog and compatible databases. You can also manually enter references or convert them from related bibliographic software packages like EndNote. RefWorks supports many popular citation styles, such as MLA, APA, and Chicago.

To access SU Library's RefWorks subscription, simply go to the "Cite It!" web page (http://library.syr.edu/cite) and click on RefWorks. No separate software is required. You can create your own personal RefWorks account and manage your bibliographic citations online.

For assistance in using Refworks, contact the Library's reference service in-person, by phone, or via the web at http://library.syr.edu/information/reference/index.html.

Posted by Mary Beth Hinton at 3:29 PM | Permalink

Many students would like to be able to work on papers and print them out from the Library. In response to their requests, E.S. Bird Library has launched a computing and printing trial. For the trial, 11 General Reference Area computers will provide students with access to Microsoft Office software (including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, and PhotoEditor), networked campus printing, and student directory files. The workstations are located in the first floor reference area on the east side of the Library near the windows.

Please note:
· In order to use these computers, students must login with their NETID and password.
· Students can access Microsoft Office software, online library resources, the Internet, the student printing quota system, and student directory files on these computers.
· Those without NetIDs may use other General Reference Area computers for connecting to online library resources and the Internet.

The first floor Reference Desk will provide answers to questions about this service and assistance with software problems.

Posted by Mary Beth Hinton at 10:23 AM | Permalink

As part of the School of Architecture move, the Architecture Reading Room in Slocum Hall closed on December 15, 2005, and will reopen in its new downtown location on January 17, 2006.

The Architecture Reading Room can be reached at its original phone number: 443-3518.

Melinda Dermody
Head of Arts & Humanities Services
Syracuse University Library
Syracuse University
222 Waverly Ave.
Syracuse NY 13244-2010
p: 315.443.5332
e: mdermo01@syr.edu

Posted by at 2:49 PM | Permalink

SciFinder Scholar 2006 is a major upgrade for the Windows platform with improved search tools. SciFinder Scholar 2006 for Windows requires Windows 98, Me, 2000, XP, or NT 4.0. A web browser is needed to access full text via ChemPort, online Help, and Internet resources within the Tools menu. Plug-ins must be installed in the Netscape and Firefox plug-ins and components folders for some features in ChemPort, e.g., Reference Linking. The plug-in is installed automatically during the SciFinder Scholar 2006 installation. Java and Javascript must be enabled and cookies must be accepted for some features in Chemport.

SciFinder Scholar OS X is the long-awaited version for Macintosh OS X. Researchers should see improved performance and fewer problems with retrieving full-text of articles via ChemPort. SciFinder Scholar OS X requires Macintosh OS X operating system 10.2 or newer. A web browser is needed to access full text via ChemPort, online Help, and Internet resources within the Tools menu. Java and Javascript must be enabled and cookies must be accepted for some features in Chemport.

Visit the Library's SciFinder Scholar webpage to download the new software and users manuals: http://library.syr.edu/research/database/scifinder/

Contact Tom Keays htkeays@syr.edu or 443-9769 for assistance or information.

Posted by at 3:13 PM | Permalink

To connect with ILLiad you must type "https:" (instead of "http:") at the beginning of the URL.

Posted by at 12:05 PM | Permalink

These new databases became available on July 1 and are accessible via SUMMIT, the online catalog, and the Databases Main Menu.

The new databases include:

ARTstor
A collection of 300,000 images for use in the teaching and study of art, architecture and archaelogy. Specialized image collections include Asian art, Native American art and culture from the Smithsonian, the MoMA collection for architecuture and design and the Schlesinger photograph collection on the history of women in America.

Classical Music Library from Alexander Street Press
Classical music from the earliest Gregorian chants to works by modern composers-including symphonic music, vocal and instrumental music, choral works, and other forms.

Foundation Directory Online from the Foundation Center
Extensive program details for 1,500+ leading foundations; detailed application guidelines for 7,200+ foundations; and sponsoring company information for corporate givers. This service also includes a searchable file of more than half a million grants. The Trustees, Officers, and Donors search field and its corresponding index allow users to search among over 350,000 trustee, officer and donor names.

NewspaperARCHIVE Elite from EBSCO
Search hundreds of newspapers (.pdf) by title and date or by keyword. Database includes the Syracuse Post Standard. Coverage for some papers goes back to the 1700's.

Nancy Turner

Posted by at 12:04 PM | Permalink

Web of Knowledge provides access to the content of 8,700 authoritative, high-impact journals, including 200 open-access journals covered by Science Citation Index ExpandedTM, Social Sciences Citation Index, and Arts & Humanities Citation Index.

Using �cited reference searching,� a unique search method, users can navigate forward, backward, and through the literature, searching all disciplines and time spans to uncover information relevant to their research. Users can also navigate to electronic full-text journal articles.

Access to this database is available through SUMMIT, the online catalog, through the Databases Main Menu, and directly at http://libezproxy.syr.edu/login?url=http://isiknowledge.com

Posted by at 10:27 AM | Permalink

By the opening of the fall semester current periodicals and newspapers on the second floor of E.S. Bird Library, as well as materials having call numbers that begin with B, C, and D, will have been shifted to new second-floor locations.

Current periodicals and newspapers will move to a more visible and comfortable location adjacent to the soft seating area, by the west-side windows facing the Schine Student Center.

Temporary stacks will be built near the present Current Periodicals area to house the books with call numbers in the BVs to the BZs. Temporary signage will be posted for the time that these books are �out of sequence,� and staff will be available to help locate books. By mid-August the temporary stacks will be removed, and the area will again become a reading space.

Finally, to help increase available shelving throughout E.S. Bird Library, selected JSTOR journals�that is, those journals that have an online electronic equivalent through the JSTOR program�will be removed from the general collection stacks.

Posted by at 10:26 AM | Permalink

Half hidden in the hill just east of E.S. Bird Library, the Belfer Audio Laboratory and Archive was the first facility of its kind in the world built specifically to preserve an audio collection. More and more faculty and students are discovering that its door opens upon a world of possibilities: Belfer contains 340,000 audio recordings in a variety of formats; a recording studio with two control rooms, both for studio recording and preservation mastering activities; a public research reading room; and a classroom/phonograph display gallery.

Syracuse University Library began its audio archive in 1963 with the acquisition of the Joseph and Max Bell Collection of some 150,000 sound recordings. The archive and a laboratory were housed in the off-campus Continental Can Company building until, with support from Diane and Arthur B. Belfer and the John Ben Snow Memorial Trust, the Belfer Audio Laboratory and Archive facility opened in 1982.

From the 1970s to the early 1990s, Belfer was a leader in the development of international standards for preservation and dissemination of sound recordings, and in research on sound recording and production methods. Sadly, budget cuts made it necessary to scale back the operation, which went into �maintenance mode,� with a full-time curator, Susan Stinson, assisted by a part-time cataloger and work-study students.

Nevertheless, since 1993 students in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) Music Industry Program, have been getting hands-on experience in Belfer�s laboratory. Sound engineering professor James Abbott teaches music recording by conducting sessions in Belfer�s studio. More advanced students use the studio for independent study projects.

Students of David Rezak, faculty advisor and instructor for Syracuse University Recordings, a student-run label, have used many cuts from Belfer (for example, a 1980 recording of Dizzy Gillespie with the SU Jazz Ensemble) in their CD releases.

Students also helped create a historic compilation of sounds from the University�s world-famous Holtkamp organ, which is located in Setnor Auditorium. The resulting CD continues to bring recognition to the performers, the instrument, the archive, the Setnor School of Music, and the student label.
The laboratory part of Belfer received a boost in 1999, when the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency, funded the Radius Project, which revived a project that had languished since 1985: to develop a laser cylinder playback system that could reproduce historically accurate (sonically correct) sound in a non-destructive, flexible, and cost-effective manner. With additional development, the Radius laser reader could be used to play back Belfer�s distinguished collection of cylinders for preservation, teaching, and research purposes without damaging the often-fragile cylinders themselves.

A New Vitality
Belfer acquired a full-time engineer, Robert Hodge, in December 2003, which reflects the Library�s renewed commitment to Belfer. The position is partly supported by the Fleming Educational Unitrust, directed by Fine Arts Professor Emeritus Frank Macomber.

Recently, the influx of students from CVPA, as well as other schools and colleges, has increased. For example, Belfer hosted 10 Freshman Forum classes in 2004�2005. According to curator Susan Stinson, �When students come into Belfer they see displays of historical audio formats and phonographs�an instant education in the 100-plus-year history of sound recording.�

Faculty in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences (CAS) and of Engineering and Computing Science have been using the laboratory to remaster Belfer recordings and to transfer their own LPs to compact disc for classroom use. Fine Arts faculty members plan to showcase Belfer when they host the American Musicological Society�s annual meeting in April 2006.

Revitalized interest in Belfer among campus partners has encouraged the Library�s associate university librarian for Collection Services and manager of Belfer, Peter McDonald, to pursue large-scale plans for Belfer, which involve partnerships among music industry leaders and sound archive professionals. Such plans are in concert with Chancellor Nancy Cantor�s vision for building a creative campus that is engaged in the community and in the world.

According to McDonald, �Belfer is poised to serve as a center of digital excellence. The archive could play a leading role nationally in the creation, management, and dissemination of digital sound content, which would also tie in with CVPA�s Music Industry Program and its digital rights management work.�

There are myriad opportunities for campus collaborations. McDonald continued, �The archive will become a magnet for graduate scholarship and internships�a veritable digital laboratory for theses and dissertations�with programs in CVPA, the School of Information Studies, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Newhouse School of Public Communications. Furthermore, as the material in Belfer is digitized, it will grow in utility for students working on documentaries, news clips, movies, and other media formats.�

The Belfer Audio Laboratory and Archive is poised for an exciting future. Not only will it continue to serve a growing constituency on campus with expertise and world-class collections, but it is equally rising to a national leadership position in the areas of music copyright, digital recorded-sound repositories, and public access to the world�s heritage in sound.

�Gregory Griffin and David Rezak

From the Spring 2005 Library Connection newsletter

Posted by at 11:47 AM | Permalink

The Library will sponsor a two-day workshop, Introduction to GIS Using
ArcGIS 9.1, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sept. 12 and 13, 2005. The workshop will be held in the Elecronic Training Center on the lower level of E.S. Bird Library.
The workshop was originally scheduled for July 7 and 8, 2005.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology has applications in
practically every field, and people who know how to work with it are in
demand in today's highly competitive job market. Learn how to take
advantage of this powerful technology with Introduction to ArcGIS using
ArcView 9.1. This two-day workshop will provide you with a hands-on
opportunity to begin using the world's most popular GIS software.

Description of the Workshop: The workshop will give you the
instruction you need to put ArcView to work for you right away. Through
a series of instructor-led demonstrations and hands-on exercises, you
will learn how to use ArcView to display, edit, query, and analyze
geographic data, as well as display and edit maps and charts.

Who should attend: ArcView is designed for and used by engineers,
planners, public utility managers, marketing professionals, public
safety personnel, natural resource managers, academic professionals, and
others who work with maps and other forms of geographic data.

Hands-on exercises: Each participant will have their own computer to
use in exploring the software and completing the exercises included in
the workshop.

Materials: You will also receive a 572-page introductory text "Getting
to Know ArcGIS Desktop" 2nd edition, and a CD-ROM with exercise data and
a FREE 180-day trial copy of ArcGIS 9.0 software. You will also learn
what's new in ArcGIS 9.1

Instructor: Nicholas Colas, who has more than twenty years of
experience in the use of geographic information systems. Over the last
12 years he has successfully taught hundreds of students how to
utilize GIS tools and techniques. Since 1995 his teaching has focused
primarily on ArcView, which he uses extensively in his work as an
employee of the Cayuga County Planning Department.

For more information and an application for this workshop go to the URL
below, or contact John Olson for more information.

http://libwww.syr.edu/information/mgi/GISWorkshops2005.html

John A. Olson
Maps/GIS Librarian
358 Bird Library
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY 13244
E jaolson@syr.edu
P 315-443-4818
F 315-443-9510

Posted by at 12:23 PM | Permalink

Last fall, the Vice Chancellor and Provost�s Committee on Academic Integrity (VPCAI) conducted a survey regarding academic dishonesty on campus. The committee collected survey data from current graduate and undergraduate students, TAs and faculty at Syracuse University and SUNY ESF, and compared these data to those from other post-secondary institutions. The full report of forced-choice responses to the survey is available on reserve at E. S. Bird Library. Two copies are available for two-hour loan. Ask for the following call number at the first floor reserve desk: AAO 1.

Syracuse University students, faculty and staff can find additional research reports on the MySlice portal (myslice.syr.edu).

General information on the VPCAI and its work is on the web at: provost.syr.edu/integrity.asp

Posted by at 9:12 AM | Permalink

The Library has created a web page to describe the benefits and limitations of Google�s new search tool, Google Scholar. The page includes tips for using Google Scholar and for finding the full text of articles, books, and other resources at Syracuse University Library.

Currently in beta version, Google Scholar attempts to link to scholarly research materials (e.g., articles, papers, etc.) on the web. It may be useful for some researchers looking for a few articles on a topic but is quite limited in scope. Find out more at:

library.syr.edu/instruction/questions/Google-Scholar.htm

Contact:
Abby Kasowitz-Scheer
Head of Instructional Programs
443-1943
askasowi@syr.edu
http://library.syr.edu/instruction

Posted by at 11:54 AM | Permalink

To find out what services and information the Library offers for users with disabilities, go to http://libwww.syr.edu/information/disabilities/index.html . From that page, there are links to additional pages: "Assistive Technology," "Building Access," "Parking," "Key Contacts," and "Related Links."

George Abbott
Head, Media Services Department
E.S. Bird Library

Posted by at 10:11 AM | Permalink

Beginning March 8, a passport security surcharge of $12 will be
collected on ALL passport applications, according to the U.S. State Department.
This surcharge will fund multiple security enhancements in the U.S.
Passport.

The $12 surcharge will be collected along with the regular passport
application fee of $55 for those 16 and older (total fee $67) and $40
for those under age 16 (total fee $52) for routine service. The $30
execution fee (payable to the processing agent) and $60 expedite fee
will remain the same.

The surcharge will also support the cost of upgrading passport delivery
from First Class Mail to Priority Mail. Customers will still have the
option to purchase two-way overnight delivery at an additional cost.

Also effective March 8, the fee to search Department of State records
to verify an applicant's U.S. citizenship is being increased from $45 to
$60.

More on passports:
http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html

Lesley Pease
Maps & Government Information Department
3rd floor, E.S. Bird Library
315.443.4176
mapdocs@syr.edu
http://library.syr.edu/research/internet/government/index.html

Posted by at 9:58 AM | Permalink

The Library's information bulletins are now on the web in PDF format
at: http://library.syr.edu/instruction/handouts/index.html.

Links to this resource are also available from pages within the
library.syr.edu/instruction directory and from the
publications/index.html page.

***************************************
Abby Kasowitz-Scheer
Head of Instructional Programs
Syracuse University Library
Syracuse, NY 13244-2010
(315) 443-1943
askasowi@syr.edu

Posted by at 11:38 AM | Permalink

In support of the �If All of Central New York Read The Grapes of Wrath� initiative and the Syracuse Stage production of The Grapes of Wrath, the Library�s Special Collections Research Center is now displaying holdings related to radicalism in literature and art. The exhibition, titled �Steinbeck�s Grapes of Wrath: Bitter Fruit of the Depression,� will be available Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., in the sixth floor exhibit gallery of E.S. Bird Library until May 27, 2005.

Along with examples of contemporary critical response to publication of John Steinbeck�s The Grapes of Wrath, the exhibition includes other, if less well-known, Depression-era novels by Robert Cantwell, Edward Dahlberg, and Grace Lumpkin; an assortment of 1930s cartoons by A. Redfield, Otto Soglow, and Art Young; and a retrospective look at the uses of art, particularly drama, in the service of revolutionary ideology.

The exhibition is supported by the Peter Graham Fund for Radicalism in Literature and Art. Graham was University Librarian at Syracuse University from 1998 until his death in August 2004. During the 1960s, Graham was an active member of the Young People�s Socialist League in Chicago and New York City. In 1963 he worked as an assistant to Bayard Rustin, executive director of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, managing the national office in Harlem for four months. Graham continued to be active in social organizations; in 2002, he and his wife, Lewraine Graham, were awarded the NAACP President�s Award for service to the Syracuse/Onondaga County branch. The Graham Fund was established in Peter Graham�s honor by his father, Harold Graham, and Harold�s wife, Alaine Krim, of New York City.

The Special Collections Research Center at Syracuse University Library has a rich array of materials pertaining to the expression of radical thought in literature and art. In addition to printed works, the Center holds the papers of Arna Bontemps, Granville Hicks, Lillian Gilkes, John Spivak, Horace Gregory, and Harry Roskolenko, and the records of Grove Press, to name a few of the more important collections.

Posted by at 4:07 PM | Permalink

"The Bill of Rights," a traveling exhibition by book artist Richard Minsky will be available for viewing in the Sixth Floor Gallery of E.S. Bird Library from January 31 to April 1, 2005. This exhibition is sponsored by the Special Collections Research Center.

Minsky will, in addition, deliver a lecture in the Syracuse Seminar in the History of the Book series titled "Material as Metaphor" at 4 p.m. on Friday, March 4, 2005, in the Hillyer Room on the sixth floor of E.S. Bird Library.

The following day Minsky will offer a workshop for book artists, also on the sixth floor of E.S. Bird Library.

For further information, go to scrc.syr.edu.

Posted by at 10:07 AM | Permalink

Prominent book artist Richard Minsky will deliver a lecture in the Syracuse Seminar in the History of the Book series titled "Material as Metaphor" at 4 p.m. on Friday, March 4, 2005, in the Hillyer Room on the sixth floor of E.S. Bird Library.

The following day Minsky will offer a workshop for book artists, also on the sixth floor of E.S. Bird Library.

For further information, go to scrc.syr.edu.

Posted by at 10:02 AM | Permalink

See the display of tax forms and instruction booklets in the hallway near the elevators. If you do not see the form or instruction you need, ask at our desk. Every form is available for photocopying.

In addition, forms are available at the following web sites:

Federal
http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/index.html

New York State
http://www.tax.state.ny.us/forms/default.htm

Lesley Pease
Maps & Government Information Department
3rd floor, E.S. Bird Library
mapdocs@syr.edu
315.443.3209

Posted by at 9:42 AM | Permalink

In response to Chancellor Nancy Cantor�s invitation, to campus and community, to explore the �Soul of Syracuse,� the Syracuse University Library will lead an exploration of the concept of �soul� itself. The �What Is Soul?� program will include an interactive website, a keepsake publication, a symposium, and a keynote speech at the Syracuse University Library Associates annual Spring Luncheon. The Library invites all members of the campus and local community to participate in the program.

The Library�s �What Is Soul?� web site, launched on November 16, 2004, provides a context within which faculty, staff, students, alumni, parents, friends, and the local community can share personal reflections and perspectives on soul. In addition, the �What Is Soul?� website will list resources, quotes, examples, and definitions of soul. A schedule of �What Is Soul?� programs will also be online. Click libwww.syr.edu/soul to visit the site.

Posted by at 1:35 PM | Permalink

Responding to requests from students and faculty in the Maxwell School, SU Library has added full subscription access to UNCOMTRADE. This United Nations database is a platform for exploring detailed commodity statistics pertaining to the economics of global trade. Produced by the statistics division of the UN, the UNCOMTRADE database each year captures merchandise trade statistics as reported by over 130 countries. Although international trade statistics are commonly available in a variety of sources, this database is particularly unique because of its level of specificity relevant to certain commodity classifications. Its data are arranged according to five variables: country, commodity category (referenced by both the �Harmonized System� and the �Standard International Trade Classification�), trading partner country, year (ranging from the late 1960s through to the current period) and trade flow (import, export or re-export). All reported values are converted into U.S. Dollars. While the UN allows guest users some free content from UNCOMTRADE, the new SU Library subscription will allow SU affiliated students, faculty, and staff unlimited downloads. A link to this database appears on the SU Library web site Database Main Menu. Access it from the alphabetical list of databases or, alternatively, under specific database subject categories such as �economics� and �international relations.�

-Michael Pasqualoni, Reference Librarian for Political Science, Public Administration, International Relations & Economics mjpasqua@syr.edu

Posted by at 12:15 PM | Permalink

The Comprehensive Report of the Special Advisor to the Director of Central
Intelligence on Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction (Duelfer Report) released
September 30, 2004, will be distributed to SU Library (and all other federal
depository libraries) in paper format soon.

For immediate access to the report:
http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS54633

The entire print report will be disseminated in three volumes. A separate volume of key findings, which were extracted from the report, will also be distributed. Depository libraries will receive chronologies in the form of six-foot fold-outs.

Lesley Pease
Head, Maps & Government Information

Posted by at 2:16 PM | Permalink

On Monday, September 27, Syracuse University Library will be be changing the look of its LibChat reference service.

Although the look of the chat window itself will be different, you can still expect the same great service. Log in and give it a try. Just click the AskUs link under the Services menu on the Library homepage.

For more information about LibChat, read our help page or contact Tom Keays (443-9769) or Tasha Cooper (443-9523).

Posted by at 2:12 PM | Permalink

This expansive encyclopedia contains articles describing devices, techniques, and technologies that are critical to research at atomic, molecular, and macromolecular levels, ranging from 1 to 100 nanometers. It identifies current challenges and development paths that will influence fields ranging from materials and surface science, chemistry, and biomedicine, to computer technology, information processing, and mechanical, optical, and electrical engineering. The encyclopedia contains articles on new simulation tools and computational methods, application of nanotechnologies in drug delivery, biomedical devices, recording media, environmental remediation, and many other areas.

Initially published with 324 articles and nearly 4,000 pictures, illustrations, and tables, the Dekker Encyclopedia of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology cites more than 21,000 works and offers customized content views and a personalized Table of Contents alerting service. It is updated quarterly, providing 10 percent new and updated content per year for the life of the edition.

Editors include Syracuse University�s James A. Schwarz, Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science.

Dekker is a digital publisher that offers authoritative scientific, technical, and medical content accessible at the article level with linked references.

For on-campus access, visit www.dekker.com/servlet/product/productid/E-ENN.

From off campus, access via the SUMMIT catalog (summit.syr.edu).

Posted by at 2:21 PM | Permalink

Peter S. Graham, University Librarian at Syracuse University, died Aug. 11 at his home in Syracuse after a long battle with lymphoma. He was 65.

Graham had served as University Librarian since Sept. 1, 1998. As head of the SU Library, he revitalized the staff structure by appointing nationally known leaders as heads of major Library areas. He successfully called for increases in librarians� salaries and support staff�s base wages, also obtaining a $1 million base budget increase in the Library�s acquisitions budget. Graham�s emphasis throughout his tenure was on supporting traditional scholarly materials, primarily print, as well as the new technologies of research distribution. He inaugurated the ongoing SU Seminar in the History of the Book and made library facilities home for many other campus-wide intellectual activities.

Prior to coming to SU, Graham was associate university librarian for technical and networked information services at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, from 1987-98. He also served as associate vice president for information services at Rutgers, where he transformed the capabilities of administrative and academic computing and oversaw construction of a new library technical services building. He began his career in librarianship at the Research Libraries Group in its early days and has also been a librarian and manager at Columbia and Indiana universities. His earliest professional experience was with early IBM machines at the Association of American Medical Colleges.

In 1990, Graham founded the electronic bulletin board ExLibris, a forum for more than 1,600 rare book and special collections librarians; he was moderator until 1995. Graham was elected to the Council of the American Library Association (ALA) in 1993 and re-elected in 1997. He chaired the board of the Center for Electronic Texts in the Humanities at Rutgers and Princeton universities, was elected to the Council of the Bibliographical Society of America and served as a member of its Publication and Web Advisory committees. He was a member of the advisory board of the Rare Book School of the University of Virginia.

He authored more than 30 scholarly pieces, including �New Roles for Special Collections on the Network� (College & Research Libraries, 1998) and �Requirements for the Digital Research Library� (College & Research Libraries, 1995), which received an ALA award as that journal�s outstanding article of the year. He also wrote �Intellectual Preservation: Electronic Preservation of the Third Kind� for the Council on Preservation and Access and �Electronic Information and Research Library Technical Services� (College & Research Libraries, 1990).

His writing and speaking in the 1990s primarily addressed the emerging issues of digital preservation. He emphasized an area that he called �intellectual preservation��the assurance to a reader of an electronic document that it is in fact what it purports to be.

His key professional recognitions included election to the board of the Research Libraries Group, from 1999-2003, and membership on the steering committee of the Coalition for Networked Information, from 2002-04.

During the 1960s, Graham was an active member of the Young People�s Socialist League in Chicago and New York City. In 1963, he worked as an assistant to Bayard Rustin, executive director of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, managing the national office in Harlem for four months. Graham continued to be active in social organizations; in 2002, he and his wife, Lewraine Graham, were awarded the NAACP President�s Award for service to the Syracuse/Onondaga County branch.

Graham studied English at Columbia University and earned graduate degrees in English Renaissance literature there and at Oxford University. He subsequently earned a graduate library degree at Indiana University.

He is survived by his wife, the former Lewraine Buckingham of York, Pa., a professional artist; son Andrew Graham of Boston; and daughter Rae Buckley of Carrboro, N.C. He is also survived by his father, Harold N. Graham, and his father�s wife, Alaine Krim, and by siblings Margaret Schultz, Vicki Graham, Emily Graham and Rocky Graham.

Calling hours are Sunday, Aug. 15, 1 to 3 p.m., with the service to follow at 3 p.m., at Greenleaf Funeral Home, 503 W. Onondaga St., Syracuse. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Syracuse University Library in memory of Peter Graham.

Posted by at 12:06 PM | Permalink

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9-11 Commission) is releasing its final report. The report will be available after 11:30 AM on July 22, 2004 from the U.S. Government Printing Office.

The Commission, an independent, bipartisan commission created by congressional legislation under the signature of President George W. Bush in late 2002, is chartered to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, including preparedness for and the immediate response to the attacks. The Commission is also mandated to provide recommendations designed to guard against future attacks.

The 9-11 Commission's Final Report is available on GPO Access at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/index.html. The Report has been made available in its entirety, as a single PDF file, and is also available as a collection of smaller PDFs arranged in a browse table based on the document's table of contents.

In addition, the Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9-11 Commission) will be distributed to Federal depository libraries (including the Syracuse University Library) in paper format.

Posted by at 12:32 PM | Permalink

In their Online June Update of June 15, 2004, Oxford Online Products of Oxford University Press reports that the new OED contains more than 2,800 new and revised words. Their announcment continues:

The latest alphabetical range to be revised is OLM to ORATURE. Coverage is broad�including everything from OMIGOD and OMIGOSH to OMBUDSPERSON and ONE-WORLDISM. The revisions for this update revealed an earlier origin than previously known for many words, including OPEN-MINDED (1748), OOH (as in oohs and ahs - 1602), and OPPORTUNISTICALLY (1915). (See http://www.oed.com/help/updates/olm-orature.html for full update details.)

THE LATEST VOCABULARY
Do you wear JOHN LENNONs? Have you tried PILATES or KITESURFING? Do you spend too much time in TV LAND? Do you have any CYBERPETS? These are just some of the many new words and phrases which have been added to OED Online as part of the latest update. You can explore the full list of out-of-sequence new entries at http://www.oed.com/help/latest.htm.

NEW FEATURES

SEARCHABLE HELP TEXT
The OED Online Help pages (http://dictionary.oed.com/help/) are now fully searchable and allow users quick access to the in-depth help resources available on the site. The Help section is also now available to non-subscribers and has been redesigned with a frames-free format. Users accessing the general site search option at http://dictionary.oed.com/general/search.html now have the option to limit their search to the Help text by using a drop-down menu.

COUNTER-COMPLIANT USAGE STATISTICS
A new presentation of OED usage statistics in COUNTER-compliant format will soon be available. This is in addition to the existing detailed format and can be accessed by a separate link to a new display summarizing searches and sessions. All statistics are available from the Customer Service pages of OED Online at http://dictionary.oed.com/services/

AUTHOR/BIBLIOGRAPHY LINKING COMING SOON
We are currently working on some new functionality that will offer a quick look-up from quotations to bibliography. Many author names will become hyperlinks, and, when selected, will launch a new window displaying the OED bibliography for that author. This means that the names and abbreviated work titles can be more easily seen in their full form in order to identify them for further research or library catalogue consultation.

NEW ISSUE OF OED NEWS
The June issue of OED News is now available at http://dictionary.oed.com/newsletters/2004-06/ and can be downloaded as a PDF file. This month's features: read about a day in the life of the OED through contributions from a wide range of staff. As usual, the issue also includes an appeal for help with particular words: for example, can you help us track down pre-1989 examples of "plinky-plonky" or pre-1981 examples of "plank" (as in a stupid person)? If you can help, please e-mail oed3@oup.com.

Those who wish to learn more about the OED will enjoy the following article, by Wendy Bousfield, subject librarian for English and Textual Studies.

OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY (OED) ONLINE

Researchers who want to know an English word�s various meanings or evolution consult the Oxford English Dictionary, the most comprehensive historical dictionary of the English language. In the 1980s, computer technology began to transform the method of compilation of this 118-year-old publication. In 2000 the OED became available as an online database. (Go to the SUMMIT Databases Main Menu [http://libwww.syr.edu/research/database/index.html], and click on the letter �O.�)

Researchers who wish merely to survey the chronologically arranged definitions under a �head word� may choose to consult the second edition of the OED, located in the E.S. Bird Library Reference stacks: REF PE 1625 .O 87 1989. However, the online version has advantages. Every quarter new words are added and existing entries revised. Researchers may use wildcards in their word searches, locate the time period their word was used from a �date range� chart, and e-mail entries to themselves. Furthermore, computer technology has unlocked the world�s largest dictionary of quotations. In the Advanced Search, researchers have the option of searching the OED�s illustrative quotations by date, author, title of work, and words in the text.

In 1857 the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr. Richard Trench, proposed a dictionary of the English language, compiled scientifically, to the Philological Society. Trench believed that unfolding the history of words would unfold God�s truth and provide moral guidance. Trench, Frederick Furnivall, and Herbert Coleridge (grandson of the poet) organized a reading program for Philological Society members and others. By the end of the 19th century, volunteers had submitted more than five million quotations, each documenting the use of a word at a different time period. In the 1870s, James Murray became editor. Between 1884 and 1928, Oxford University Press began to issue A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles: Founded Mainly on the Materials Collected by the Philological Society in fascicles beginning A-Ant. In 1933 Oxford published a 12-volume first edition. Four supplements followed, each including new or omitted words.

During its early years, Murray corresponded with hundreds of contributors. Among the earliest and most assiduous was Dr. W. C. Minor. After a 20-year correspondence on points of lexicography, editor Murray discovered that Minor was a murderer and long-time resident of the Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum. J. R. R. Tolkien was on the staff of the OED from 1919 to 1920. Tolkien�s entries may be still be found in the W�s, including �waggle,� �walnut,� �walrus,� �wampum,� and �warlock.� When coinages from the Middle-Earth books entered the English language, Tolkein supplied definitions. Tolkien�s definition of �hobbit� is currently found in the OED Online:

In the tales of J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973): one of an imaginary people, a small variety of the human race, that gave themselves this name (meaning �hole-dweller�) but were called by others halflings, since they were half the height of normal men. Also attrib. and Comb. Hence hobbitish a., resembling a hobbit, hobbit-like; hobbitomane, a devotee of hobbits; hobbitry, the cult of hobbits; hobbits collectively, or their qualities.

In 1989 the 20-volume second edition of the OED appeared. Computer technology made it possible to incorporate definitions from the four supplements into the original publication. In 1993 a CD-ROM version of the second edition appeared. Neither represented a genuine revision.

In March 2000 the new Oxford English Dictionary Online became available. For the first time since its completion in 1928, the OED was completely revised. Every sense of every word was updated, taking into account changes in language and scholarship. Its updates provide access to at least a thousand new and revised words each quarter. The OED�s North American Editorial Unit reviews all editorial text, ensuring that American nuances are represented in words already treated and examining such American texts as Thomas Jefferson�s memoranda books and published letters from Beat poets Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. Texts of all major world Englishes are being scrutinized. Women writers and literature of the sciences, slighted in the previous editions, are also included.

Students and researchers who become enamored of the OED Online can actively participate in the project. Today, although the OED currently has a staff of several hundred scholars, research assistants, systems engineers, specialist consultants, and others, the project is still dependent on volunteer readers. Historically arranged quotations, a vital element in the OED entries, depend on quotations supplied by readers. The OED Online provides instructions �How to contribute words to the Reading Programme�: http://dictionary.oed.com/public/readers/research.htm. Would-be contributors are invited to �find printed evidence of new words from magazines, newspapers, books, song lyrics, practical manuals,� including slang and dialect words. They are also invited to contribute a �new word from the past��words from earlier centuries that have escaped inclusion.

To most of us, however, dictionaries, even in their new online incarnation, are transparent. We use them pragmatically, not pondering their evolution or pausing to explore the value-added material its compilers have provided. My hope in writing this article is that researchers will become more knowledgeable about the capacities and history of the OED database. For example, with two and a half million quotations from literary, journalistic, and practical English-language sources, the OED is not only a dictionary of word origins, but also the world�s largest dictionary of quotations. Most important, by providing a rapid overview of the OED�s 144-year evolution, I hope that researchers will approach its riches in the spirit of reflection, play, and exploration.

Recommended reading:

Gilliver, Peter. �J. R. R. Tolkien and the OED,� Oxford English Dictionary News, Series 2, Number 21, June 2002 [online publication].

Willinsky, John. Empire of Words: The Reign of the OED (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1994), pp. 14-24.

Winchester, Simon, �The Strange Case of the Curgeon at Crowthorne,� Smithsonian, v. 29 no. 6 (Sept. 1998), p. 88-92.

Posted by at 4:12 PM | Permalink

Try LibChat, Syracuse University Library�s newest reference service. LibChat uses chat software to allow you to �converse� online with a librarian. The librarian can also show you web pages, and you can have a full transcript of the chat session, including URLs and other information shared during the session.

To start your session, click on the Library�s home page (libwww.syr.edu) and select �Click to Chat with a Librarian.�

These are the LibChat summer hours:
� Monday: 11 a.m. � 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. � 9 p.m.
� Tuesday: 11 a.m. � 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. � 9 p.m.
� Wednesday: 11 a.m. � 5 p.m.
� Thursday: 11 a.m. � 5 p.m.
� Friday: 11 a.m. � 5 p.m.

In addition to LibChat, the Library offers on-site, e-mail, and telephone reference services, all of which are described on the AskUs! Page: http://libwww.syr.edu/information/reference/index.html.

No matter which service you select, our reference librarians and staff will be happy to help you.

Tasha Cooper and Tom Keays
Syracuse University Library
nacoop01@syr.edu; htkeays@syr.edu

Posted by at 2:36 PM | Permalink

Located within the Maps and Government Information Department and part of the Digital Services Program, Numeric Data Services can provide help with:

- Identifying, locating, and acquiring data for student and faculty research.
- Data management and statistical analysis.
- Use of SAS, Stata, and SPSS.
- Advice on research methods, study design, and questionnaire construction for those collecting their own data.
- Classroom instruction in all of the above.

Students and faculty wanting help or further information on these services should contact Paul H. Bern, Numeric Data Services Librarian, at phbern@syr.edu or 443-1352.

Please feel free to forward or post this announcement.

Numeric Data Services: http://libtest.syr.edu/information/mgi/nds
Maps and Government Information: http://libwww.syr.edu/research/internet/government
Digital Services Program: http://libwww.syr.edu/information/digital_services

Posted by at 2:09 PM | Permalink

For Syracuse University's 2004 Reunion, the Library is hosting a book discussion at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 5, in the 1916 Room of E.S. Bird Library. Peter I. Rose '54 will present "Postmonitions of a Peripatetic Professor."

Peter Rose has spent a lifetime exploring patterns of culture, examining issues of race and ethnicity, working with refugees, teaching sociology, and roaming the world. In his latest book, Guest Appearances and Other Travels in Time and Space, he reflects on his adventures and the formative experiences that led him to a fascination with lives that seem quite unlike our own. In his talk, he will read from "Once an Orangeman . . . ," a chapter about his days at Syracuse University (1950-1954), and describe a few of his field trips and guest appearances.

Posted by at 11:08 AM | Permalink

Thursday, June 10, 2004
3:00-4:30 p.m.
E.S. Bird Library
1916 Room

Institutional repositories (IRs) represent a rapidly growing movement in scholarly communication to collect, preserve, and provide access to the digital resources of scholarly research. This live, interactive Web presentation brings to you information about IRs and their increasing importance to scholarly communication. By providing you with direct access to hands-on experts, this Webcast gives library staff, campus faculty, and administrators an opportunity to explore this topic in a shared learning environment.

Rick Johnson, SPARC Enterprise Director, will begin this session with an introduction to the Webcast, followed by three panelists who will discuss institutional repositories' benefits, uses, and users. In addition, the panelists will address concerns and answer viewer questions as a means to begin or further discussion on campuses.

Panelists

Susan Gibbons, Assistant Dean for Public Services & Collection Development, University of Rochester, River Campus Libraries

Daniel Greenstein, Associate Vice Provost for Scholarly Information,
University Librarian for Systemwide Library Planning and the California
Digital Library (CDL)

Kathleen Shearer, Research Associate, Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL)

Target Audience

* College and University Faculty and Administrators

* Librarians who want to stay current with developments in scholarly communication, particularly those who work with faculty and researchers

Posted by at 8:54 AM | Permalink

When: June 3-4, 2004
Time: 8:30am-4:30pm each day
Where: Syracuse University, Bird Library, Room 46 (ETC)

Click Here for Registration Form and Payment Information

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology has applications in practically every field, and people who know how to work with it are in demand in today's highly competitive job market. Learn how to take advantage of this powerful technology with Introduction to ArcGIS using ArcView 8.3. This two-day workshop will provide you with a hands-on opportunity to begin using the world's most popular GIS software.

This two-day workshop, sponsored by the Syracuse University Library, will be held at the E.S. Bird Library on the campus of Syracuse University

Posted by at 1:25 PM | Permalink

Join Mariana Lebron, Director of SU's Orientation and Transition Services, and Professor Jerry Evensky, SU's Faculty Assistant for the First- Year Experience, for a Peer to Peer discussion entitled:

Shared Reading Programs for First-Year Students: A Role for Libraries

Peer to Peer Library Dialog
Wednesday May 5
Noon - 1pm
1916 Room - E.S. Bird Library

In recent years, colleges and universities have begun to give special attention to first-year students, often introducing summer reading projects tied to the first-year experience. For example, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill chooses a book to be read by all incoming freshman, the goals being "to enhance students' participation in the intellectual life of the campus through stimulating discussion and critical thinking around a current topic, to enhance a sense of community between students, faculty and staff, and to provide a common experience for incoming students" (See UNC-CH Website listed below.).

In 2003, Syracuse University, too, established a summer reading program for entering freshmen. We will focus on ways in which libraries can contribute to initiatives for enriching students' first-year experiences.

You may wish to consider the following articles and Web sites (Articles are available via SUMMIT Catalog-online course reserve-"LBR 100."):

Rodney, Mae L. "Building Community Partnerships: The 'One Book, One Community' Experience." College and Research Libraries News. (March 2004), 65 (3), p. 130-132, 155. http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/crlnews/backissues2004/march04/communitypartnerships.htm

O'Connor, Erin. "Misreading What Reading Is For." Chronicle of Higher Education. (September 5, 2003), p. 20.

Cornell University Library's Web site, "Antigone: 2003 New Student Reading Project: Library Resources": http://www.library.cornell.edu/iris/antigone/

University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill's Web site, "Carolina Summer Reading Program" (already featuring the selection for 2004): http://www.unc.edu/srp/

Web site of the Policy Center on the First Year of College: http://www.brevard.edu/fyc/

Hope to see you there. Light refreshments provided. Bring a lunch. All are welcome!

Peer to Peer Library Dialog is a staff initiated program of monthly discussion about trends and current topics of interest in librarianship. Send comments or questions to Lydia Wasylenko lwwasyle@syr.edu

Posted by at 8:36 AM | Permalink

The weekly schedule will be:

April 11-23
Open from 10 a.m. on Sunday until 10 p.m. on Friday; Saturday 10
a.m. to 10 p.m.

April 24-30, May 1-5
Open from 10 a.m. on Sunday until midnight on Friday; Saturday
10 a.m. to midnight

May 6
Close at 10 p.m. on Thursday.

A valid SU and ESF I.D. Card will be required after midnight.

Additional information about hours can be found on the Library
web page:

http://libwww.syr.edu

QUESTIONS? CONTACT:
- Thomas House
- Syracuse University Library
- 125 E.S. Bird Library

Phone: 443-1896
Email: tdhouse@syr.edu

Posted by at 2:44 PM | Permalink

A web page of Brown v. Board of Education-related resources for educators is now available on the Education Subject Guide page. This page (http://libwww.syr.edu/research/internet/education/readings.html) was created in anticipation of the Brown v. Board of Education anniversary celebration (please see the Hendricks Chapel page for additional information: http://hendricks.syr.edu/brownvboard/)

This page of resources for educators was prepared by Jacquie Kowalczyk and Tasha Cooper, in collaboration with the School of Education. Jacquie and Tasha welcome additional suggestions for the page.

Posted by at 11:55 AM | Permalink

Have you registered to vote? Forms are available at the Maps & Government Information Reference Desk, 3rd floor Bird Library - or, via the web <http://www.fec.gov/votregis/pdf/nvra.pdf>

Posted by at 11:53 AM | Permalink

Elsevier Engineering Information, Inc. is in the process of digitizing all volumes of Engineering Index back to 1884. The library has purchased this backfile containing references of major engineering innovations pioneered throughout the 19th and 20th centuries to provide you with access to citations on topics such as the first internal combustion engine, the foundations of aviation, telecommunications and computing. As of the week of April 5, the database goes back to 1910 and contains 1,272,794 records. Over 100,000 records are being added per week. When completed later this Spring, the fully digitized backfile will comprise close to 2 million records.

Engineering Index forms the foundation of Compendex, a bibliographic database covering over 175 disciplines and major specialties within engineering. The 1970 to present-day file contains over 7,000,000 references and abstracts taken from over 5,000 engineering journals, conferences and technical reports. Updated with new material on a weekly basis, approximately 250,000 new records are added to the database annually.

When digitization is complete, the Compendex database will provide one stop search access to 120 years of engineering literature. The Backfile is available for searching at Syracuse University as fast as Engineering Information can load the data. Take a look!

Contact: Maryjane Poulin, mdpoulin@syr.edu

Posted by at 11:51 AM | Permalink

"On the Spot" with Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist Marguerite Higgins, 1920-1966. The exhibition features correspondence, writings, photographs, and other memorabilia from the Marguerite Higgins Papers housed in the Special Collections Research Center.

The exhibition is on display from April 6 through August 13, 2004, Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the 6th floor gallery of E.S. Bird Library.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter D. Verheyen
Preservation & Access Librarian / Conservation Librarian
Special Collections Research Center
pdverhey@syr.edu

Posted by at 1:19 PM | Permalink

Peer to Peer Library Dialog
Wednesday April 7
Noon - 1pm
1916A Room - E.S. Bird Library

Join Susan Berteaux, Head of Syracuse University Science & Technology Libraries, and Betsy Elkins, Library Director at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry's Moon Library, for a Peer to Peer discussion entitled Open Access Journals: The Answer to High Publisher Costs?

Stop by for a discussion touching on questions such as:

• What are the benefits and challenges in developing open access models for scholarly communication?

• Will titles from PLoS (Public Library of Science) and SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) help lower subscription costs for libraries and increase access for patrons?

• Will faculty publish in these journals?

• What other issues surround this new landscape in scholarly communication?
  

Those interested in reading more about this topic are also welcome to review the following articles (all available via SUMMIT Catalog--online course reserve-"LBR 100"):

Graham, Peter S. Open Access to Scholarship--New Opportunities for the University. The Library Connection (Winter 2003-4): 1-3
http://libwww.syr.edu/information/libassoc/connection/winter0304.pdf

Doyle, Helen J. The Public Library of Science: Open Access from the Ground Up. C&RL News, 65(3), 2004
http://www.ala.org/ACRLPrinterTemplate.cfm?Section=march04&Template=/ContentManagement/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=57423

Guterman, Lila. The Promise and Peril of Open Access. The Chronicle of Higher Education (January 30, 2004): A10-14

Reed, Christopher. Just Say No to Exploitative Publishers of Science Journals. The Chronicle of Higher Education (February 20, 2004): B16

Open Access News blog: http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/fosblog.html

The ""Public Library of Science" Web Site: http://www.plos.org

SPARC Open Access Newsletter: http://www.arl.org/sparc/soa

Hope to see you there.

Peer to Peer Library Dialog is a staff initiated program of monthly discussion about trends and current topics of interest in librarianship. Send comments or questions to Michael Pasqualoni mjpasqua@syr.edu

* * * * * * * * * *
Michael Pasqualoni
Reference Librarian - Political Science,
Public Administration, International Relations & Economics
Syracuse University Library
Syracuse, NY 13244-2010
315) 443-3715

Posted by at 10:58 AM | Permalink

On Thursday, April 15, 2004, at 4 p.m. in the Hillyer Room on the sixth floor of E.S. Bird Library, Robert Phillips will give a talk and a reading from his forthcoming collection of poems, Circumstances Beyond Our Control (Johns Hopkins University Press).

Phillips (M.A., Syracuse University, 1962) is Rebecca and John Moores Professor of English at the University of Houston, where he also served as director of the graduate creative writing program from 1991 to 1996. A prize-winning poet, fiction writer, and critic, Phillips is the author of more than 30 books, including poetry collections Spinach Days and Breakdown Lane, and short-story collections News About People You Know, Public Landing Revisited, and Land of Lost Content. Notable among his critical works are editions of the letters of William Goyen and Delmore Schwartz.

Phillips�s honors include a Pushcart Prize, an American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Award in Literature, an Enron Teaching Excellence Award, a New York State Council on the Arts CAPS Grant in Poetry, MacDowell Colony and Yaddo fellowships, a National Public Radio Syndicated Fiction Project Award, membership in the Texas Institute of Letters, and a Syracuse University Arents Pioneer Medal for distinguished alumni achievement.

This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

Note: Immediately following Phillips�s talk and reception, there will be a special program, beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the Schine Student Center�s Goldstein Auditorium, to honor Chancellor Kenneth A. Shaw and Mary Ann Shaw for their 13 years of dedicated service to the University. All are welcome.

CONTACT
Mary Beth Hinton
Syracuse University Library
315-443-2130
mbhinton@syr.edu

Posted by at 8:39 AM | Permalink

Several SUL staff members have been awarded the SU Exemplary Achievement Award for their work as members of the WebChat Action Team in implementing WebChat. These awards are given annually by the Office of Human Resources to acknowledge outstanding employee contributions to Syracuse University.

Comprised of Tasha Cooper, Tom Keays, Donna Sullivan, and Suzanne Preate, the Team was nominated for the award by their Project Manager, Elaine Coppola.

The Web Chat Action Team was formed in the summer of 2001 to fulfill the goal of extending reference service through innovative service delivery using interactive chat. The Team was asked to develop the pilot reference service and "to assess the need for, response to, and effectiveness of the service" (Web Chat Action Plan Propoasl) and to assess policies and procedures, software selection, and patron and staff responses.

The Library's users ultimately enjoy the benefits created from the initiative and hard work of this team and other efforts to create new programs and choices for meeting information needs. It is fitting that the University recognized their achievement. Congratulations to Tasha, Donna, Tom, Suzanne, and Elaine.

Posted by at 2:45 PM | Permalink

Friday, April 2, 2004
4pm
Hillyer Room
E.S. Bird Library

J.P. Carley, Distinguished Research Professor at York University in Toronto, will lecture on April 2, 2004, at 4 p.m. in the Hillyer Room on the sixth floor of E.S. Bird Library on the Syracuse University campus. His lecture is titled "The Libraries of King Henry VIII: The Ones that Got Away."

Celebrated for his magnificence, daring in his defiance of papal authority, and restless in his choice of wives, Henry VIII was also one of the most intelligent and widely read monarchs of the Renaissance. In the wake of the destruction of the monasteries, he acquired a vast quantity of books, and with them filled the shelves of his palace libraries. His is one of the foundation collections of the British Library-though, over the centuries, many interesting items escaped to the New World.

J.P. Carley specializes in the late medieval and early modern period. His previous work has included editions of texts from Glastonbury Abbey and a general history of the Abbey. He has co-edited a collection of essays on the Tudor translator Henry Parker, Lord Morley; and he is one of the editors in the Corpus of British Medieval Library Catalogues series published by the British Library; The Books of King Henry VIII and His Wives is a companion piece to his volume on The Libraries of King Henry VIII in this series.

This event is part of The History of the Book Seminar Series at Syracuse University, sponsored by the University Library; the Dean's Office, College of Arts and Sciences; the Departments of Anthropology English, History, Philosophy, and Religion, and of Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics; and the School of Information Studies.

This event is free and open to the public.

Posted by at 9:17 AM | Permalink

Thursday, April 8th, 2004
2:30 - 4:00pm
E.S. Bird Library, 1916 Room

Find out how to identify external and internal threats to your institution's cybersecurity, overcome system vulnerabilities, and act aggressively to establish cyber-defense. If you're nervous about your institution's vulnerability to hack attack or your system being used to attack others, you have good cause. Higher education is especially susceptible because of its extensive computing power, the large amounts of information it has on hand, and the relatively open access that is part of its culture. Indeed, the "it can't happen here" attitude has all but disappeared in light of an increasing number of system violations and cyber crimes by external hackers as well as dishonest, disgruntled, irresponsible or un-informed students and staff.

According to one expert, simply using the procedural and technological safeguards that are available now would make systems much more secure. Indeed, one study says that 90 percent of cyber attacks in the near future will take advantage of vulnerabilities for which a patch is already available. Of course cybersecurity must involve all users, not just system administrators.

By participating in this teleconference, college administrators and technical staff will gain essential information on:

• doing risk assessments
• identifying the most common vulnerabilities
• dealing with an attack if it occurs
• the importance of creating, implementing and policing an institutional policy
• that raises awareness of the problems and gets essential information to all users

Produced in cooperation with the American Association of Community Colleges.
Co-sponsored by Syracuse University Library and Faculty Computing & Media Services

Posted by at 12:44 PM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library recently purchased the 1962-1997 online backfiles of Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English. Similar in scope to the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Angewandte Chemie is one of the prime chemistry journals in the world, with a 2002 ISI Impact Factor of 7.671.

Published weekly, Angewandte Chemie delivers a mix of Review Articles, Highlights, and Communications. The Reviews summarize the important results of recent research on topical subjects in all branches of chemistry, point to unresolved problems, and discuss possible developments. The Highlights provide concise evaluations of current trends in chemical research. The Communications are critically selected and report on the latest research results. Angewandte Chemie also regularly publishes Nobel lectures in chemistry and related fields.

The journal and its backfiles are available through Wiley Interscience @ http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jtoc?ID=26737

For further information, contact Tom Keays in the Science and Technology Library, at 443-9769 or htkeays@syr.edu.

Posted by at 12:39 PM | Permalink

Syracuse University Library subscribes to Project Euclid, an initiative in electronic publishing by the Cornell University Library. Euclid is specifically designed to address the unique needs of low-cost independent and society journals through a collaborative partnership arrangement.

Full-text journals are available electronically through Euclid are in the areas of theoretical and applied mathematics and statistics. The complete list of journals maybe found at http://projecteuclid.org/Dienst/UI/1.0/TitleShort

Project Euclid is a growing collection and new titles will continue to be added to the list.

"Euclid is committed to community standards and interoperability. The project complies with the Open Archives Initiative protocol, and works with Math Reviews and Zentralblatt to facilitate interlinking between the services.
Euclid registers Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) for all articles with CrossRef. All article level descriptive metadata in Euclid is open access. The long-term retention of data is a project commitment and an area of continuing research." David Ruddy, Acting Director, Project Euclid

For questions about Project Euclid at Syracuse University please
contact Mary DeCarlo at mmdecarl@syr.edu

QUESTIONS? CONTACT:
- Mary DeCarlo
- Math Library
- 308 Carnegie Bldg

Phone: 443-2092
Email: mmdecarl@syr.edu
URL: http://projecteuclid.org/Dienst/UI/1.0/Home

Posted by at 11:44 AM | Permalink

See the display of tax forms and instruction booklets in the hallway near the elevators. If you do not see the form or instruction you need, ask at our desk. We have every form available for photocopying.

In addition, forms are available at the following web sites:

Federal
http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/index.html

New York State
http://www.tax.state.ny.us/forms/default.htm

Posted by at 11:39 AM | Permalink

Wednesday, March 3
Noon - 1pm
1916A Room - E.S. Bird Library

Join Yuming Tung, Head of Syracuse University Library's Information Systems Division, and SU Library systems staff, for a Peer to Peer discussion entitled: Everything You Always Wanted to Know about the Library's Network and Computer System...But Were Afraid to Ask.

Stop by for a brief explanation of the servers and computer networks we use at SU Library everyday, followed by discussion of topics such as: What are the Pros and Cons of Decentralized vs. Centralized Computing? Why the Different Configurations for Public vs. Staff Workstations? How are we Responding to Viruses, Security Holes and Spyware? Which Specific New Technologies are Impacting Academic Libraries and Campuses Most (e.g., wireless networking, etc.)

Those interested in reading more about this topic are also welcome to review the following online articles:

Bradley Mitchell's "About" page on Wireless/Networking
http://compnetworking.about.com/

Crawford, G & Rudy, Julia A. (2003). Fourth Annual EDUCAUSE Survey Identifies Current IT Issues. EDUCAUSE Quarterly, 26(2), 12-26.
http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eqm0322.pdf

Canadian Broadcasting Company (2003, July 23). Beware Using Public Computers.
http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/07/23/Consumers/Internet_030723

Peer to Peer Library Dialog is a staff initiated program of monthly discussion about trends and current topics of interest in librarianship. Send comments or questions to Michael Pasqualoni mjpasqua@syr.edu

Posted by at 11:34 AM | Permalink

Thursday, March 4
4:00pm
6th Floor Gallery
E.S. Bird Library

On Thursday, March 4, 2004, at 4 p.m. in the sixth-floor gallery of E.S. Bird Library on the SU campus, William La Moy will offer an introductory talk and guided tour of the exhibition titled Paper-Type-Image: Elements of the Fine Press Book, which is currently on display in the Special Collections Research Center. According to La Moy, fine press books are collaborative productions "in which the individual components have a unity that overcomes their disparateness." His selection of primarily recent works from the Center's holdings includes books to which local artists contributed, among them printers Michael and Winifred Bixler of Skaneateles, and the Library's conservators, Peter Verheyen and Donia Conn. The exhibition can be viewed Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through March 26, 2004.

La Moy joined Syracuse University Library's Special Collections Research Center on December 1, 2003. Previously, he was James Duncan Phillips Librarian and director of publications of the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. He has been involved in large-scale scholarly editing projects, including the catalogs of the Harvard-Yenching Library and The Yale Edition of Horace Walpole's Correspondence. La Moy holds a B.A. in English language and literature from Yale University and an M.S. from Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science.

CONTACT
Mary Beth Hinton
Syracuse University Library
315-443-2130
mbhinton@syr.edu

Posted by at 11:33 AM | Permalink

Cost is not just a matter of dollars and cents. Discover the hidden costs of creating online courses "on the cheap," how to calculate the true costs, the resources needed to develop effective online courses, and ways to control costs without degrading quality.

"Thanks, but we already know our costs," you may say. But in the same way that developing and teaching courses online requires new paradigms and methods, "costing" methodology for online courses also requires new approaches.

Colleges and universities understandably want to compare the costs of online and face-to-face instruction, but the way budgets are often built and tracked may make it difficult to know all the real costs.

To make the most of your resources--and achieve your goals--you must understand the true costs. Whether your institution is new to online courses, wants more accurate financial data for the online courses it already offers, or needs tips on how to spend its distance education dollars more effectively, this teleconference will help you discover and understand the true costs and make more informed decisions.

You'll examine:

• ways of calculating fixed and variable costs
  
• methods for reducing fixed costs
  
• the impact of "unbundling" instructor functions
  
• the importance of scalability
  
• ways the "learning curve" can be a cost factor in converting traditional courses to an online format
  
• why poor course quality and low retention rates can be a major cost
  

Panelists
Katherine Cobb is President of the Brevard Community College Virtual Campus in Cocoa, FL, where her responsibilities include overseeing the creation and implementation of over 300 online courses enrolling over 9,000 students each year.

Brian Finnegan plays a key role in evaluating, budgeting for and supporting instructional technologies to be used in online and other courses at all 34 public colleges and universities in the University System of Georgia.

Dennis Jones played a major role in the development of the Technology Costing Method, which is widely recognized as the most authoritative approach to establishing and analyzing the costs of distance education courses.

Continue reading "The REAL Cost of Online Courses: Critical Challenges in Higher Education Series a teleconference to be held February 26, 2:30pm in E.S. Bird Library" »

Posted by at 10:59 AM | Permalink