UST Libraries News

Library staff is close at hand! Chat with reference staff to decipher assignments, find new research leads, and to recommend a good book or recording. Available when the libraries are open.

Posted by Conie Borchardt at 05:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Musicians from the UST community are invited to perform at the next Music in the Library concert on Thu, Dec 11, noon. Sign up in the MRC (BEC 103) by Mon, Nov 24.

Posted by Conie Borchardt at 05:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Visit this list to see what goodies are new to the library’s music collection. This month’s highlights includes a handful of Jazz performers, a dash of opera, sacred choral and orchestral masterworks, plus CD's of world music from Peru, Ghana, India and Tibet.

If you'd like to suggest scores and recordings for the MRC collection, please send titles, label, and performers to mrc@stthomas.edu.

Posted by Conie Borchardt at 05:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The MRC will be closing at 4 p.m. on Wed, Nov 26 and will reopen at 4 p.m. on Sun, Nov 30 for the Thanksgiving Holiday.

During Finals week, the hours of the MRC will remain the same.

The MRC will be closed over Christmas Break and open for J-term. Stay tuned for more details.

What's the regular hours of the MRC? Click here.

Posted by Conie Borchardt at 05:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Leisure Reading Collection is available for your enjoyment. This new collection includes popular fiction and materials generally not considered scholarly or appropriate for an academic library's permanent collection. We have 50 books now, will be getting 150 more very soon, and then monthly we will be adding 10 to 12 books. One fourth of this collection will be available at the Keffer Library.

The loan period is three weeks, and the collection will be available for check out only to students, staff, faculty, and Friends of the UST Libraries. The books are searchable in the library's CLICnet online catalog.

You'll find these books on the first floor of the O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library in the middle of the reference collection surrounded by some comfy and inviting chairs. For a complete list of titles visit the Leisure Reading Collection page.

Posted by Julie Kimlinger at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Two interesting articles concerning the effect of technology on reading and learning from the Chronicle of Higher Education might be of interest to many of you. The author cites many books and articles which suggest that it is precisely the point-and-click culture of the Internet that is damaging our intelligence and our civic culture. Part 1 and Part 2.

Posted by Julie Kimlinger at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You are invited to Music in the Library to enjoy a free, eclectic concert of classical, jazz and modern music. Featured will be the UST Guitar Ensemble, under the direction of Joan Griffith, from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, November 13, in the O'Shaughnessy Room of the O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library Center. Works by Bach, Shostakovich, Danny Elfman, Brazilian music, Gypsy jazz and Michael Jackson will be performed.

Bring your lunch if you wish; light refreshments will be provided.

Posted by Julie Kimlinger at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Brian Hill from IRT Client Services reminds everyone that there are several easy ways to reduce the amount of printing when using computer workstations in UST Libraries. These steps can save you money and help the environment.

Posted by Julie Kimlinger at 09:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In August of 2006, Lisa Burke and Dan Gjelten were involved in a serious automobile accident in Portland, Oregon a few days before they were supposed to run the Hood to Coast relay race with a team of faculty, staff and alumni runners from the University of St. Thomas.

At the time, as they began a long period of active recovery from injuries, they received a generous monetary gift collected by their colleagues in IRT. Since the accident expenses were largely covered by insurance, they decided to donate that gift to the UST Libraries in honor of their colleagues and acquired a collection of books on health and healing, which are now in the O’Shaughnessy Frey Library. Each book in the collection includes a bookplate reading:

“The heart of St. Thomas is never more evident than in a crisis. This book is a gift from Lisa Burke and Dan Gjelten, with gratitude to our colleagues in the university’s Information Resources and Technologies Division.”

The books focus on all aspects of healing, from the medical to the spiritual, and many of these titles were helpful to Dan and Lisa as they struggled with broken bones and the loss of their normal level of activity, and perhaps most importantly, the emotional aspects of their experience. The collection is intended to provide similar support to all who must work through the normal and abnormal challenges of life with its inevitable pain and loss and towards health, wholeness and hope.

Posted by Julie Kimlinger at 04:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Wellness Center, in partnership with the O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library, has placed a light box (Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) lamp) in the library as a resource for students, staff, and faculty.

The lamp is located in the northwest corner of the reference room on the first floor of the O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library. Students and staff are welcome to use the lamp on a walk-in basis. Before using the SAD lamp, you are asked to read the information on the Mayo Clinic Web site regarding use of this therapy.

SAD is often called the "winter blues." During the low-light months of winter, many individuals experience decreased energy. The combination of decreased sunlight and spending significant time in dimly lit offices or classrooms can have a negative impact on one's mood and sense of well-being. The light-therapy box may assist some individuals in achieving a happier mood and increased energy.

It is recommended that you use the lamp for a period of 20 to 30 minutes each day, preferably first thing in the morning. You should be seated at a distance of 13 inches from the lamp, and it should be placed directly in front of you. You do not need to look directly at the light, although it is not harmful to glance up at it periodically.

Please note that some medications, such a lithium, melatonin, tetracycline, St. John's Wort, phenothiazines, hematoporphyrins, acme creams, creams with retinoic acid and chloroquine, can make you very sensitive to light.

Posted by Julie Kimlinger at 04:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Beginning in spring, 2009, UST Libraries is planning to implement a recall option for library materials. What this means is that when you have checked out a book and have had it out for at least two weeks, if it is needed by another patron, you will receive a notice from the library asking that you return the book within 7 days.

Recalls will be available to current St. Thomas students, faculty and staff to more efficiently share library resources and to ensure fair use of library materials among all patrons. This does not mean that the library will never purchase a second copy of a book or use interlibrary loan, but the recall option is intended to get UST-owned items to more patrons as quickly as possible. Many college and university libraries currently offer a recall option to allow better access to library materials. It is not anticipated that this will happen very often, but it may be very helpful to those who do need this option.

UST library patrons will be assured of at least two weeks' time before a recall would require them to return an item. Patrons receiving a recall notice will be allowed one week from the time of the notice to return recalled items to the library. You also will be able to place a hold on the item and be the next in line to recall it.

Only current St. Thomas faculty, staff and students will be allowed to place recalls on UST library materials. Patrons from other CLIC schools, alumni and friends of the library will not have the recall option for UST materials.

Watch for more informational articles (here and in Bulletin Today) about the recall option before it becomes effective next spring.

Posted by Julie Kimlinger at 03:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The French section invites the UST community to join it tonight for the fifth and final film of the tournees Festival, "Le Voyage du ballon rouge" (Flight of the red balloon.) The film will be shown at 7pm Monday, Nov 3, in the O'Shaughnessy Educational Center auditorium on the university's St. Paul campus. The film, subtitled in English, is free and open to the public. A reception will follow the showing. More details are found in today's Bulletin Today article.

Posted by Julie Kimlinger at 03:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)