UST Libraries News

By Jeffrey R. Young
"Once they were hosts to lively discussions about academic style and substance, but the time of scholarly e-mail lists has passed, meaningful posts slowing to a trickle as professors migrate to blogs, wikis, Twitter, and social networks like Facebook.

That's the argument made by T. Mills Kelly, an associate professor of history and associate director of the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. Naturally, he first made the argument on his blog, and he has mentioned it on the technology podcast he hosts with two colleagues.

A close look at some of the largest academic e-mail lists, however, shows signs of enduring life and adaptation to the modern world." Read more at the Chronicle of Higher Education (6/29/2009)

Posted by John Heintz at 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

IRT Client Services is now offering a walk-up service counter in the O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library Center for on-site computing support and assistance.

Tech Desktoo (TDtoo) is located in the lower-level cyber lounge of the library and offers an opportunity for face-to-face interaction with a knowledgeable IRT student employee. Like the “Scholars” counter on the Minneapolis campus, TDtoo is a walk-up help desk for the St. Paul campus.

In addition to a walk-up support presence, TDtoo features access to the UST wireless and wired networks, literature for assistance with topics ranging from general PC maintenance to phishing questions, and installing software available for checkout from the library.

All UST faculty, staff and students are welcome to take advantage of TDtoo for assistance with computing questions and configuration issues, even on personally owned laptops.

Students employees are available to assist with ensuring laptops have the latest virus protection and all operating system patches. They’ll even be able to suggest professional help, if specific problems cannot be resolved at the desk.

Posted by Julie Kimlinger at 11:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here is the new look of the CLICnet catalog. First you will see a simple search box for keyword searching, and then a variety of new options for refining results by subject, format, location, publication date, tag, etc.

The idea of this “discovery layer” on the existing catalog is to simplify searching while providing new functionality to explore the consortium’s resources. Since the updated CLICnet has a new URL, please remember to change any links you have in course pages before you teach your next class.

We’ll be incorporating the new catalog version in links from the Library Web site through the summer. Don’t worry, the “classic” catalog with its existing search options will still be available at http://clicnet.clic.edu.

Posted by Julie Kimlinger at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You are invited to take a look at a new tutorial video prepared by Jan Malcheski, reference librarian at the Ireland Library, where you'll be introduced to the new look of the CLICnet catalog. Please give it a try and be sure to send your comments to Jan who is still fine-tuning this helpful tool. You'll find this video in Jan's recent blog entry on the Ireland Library page.

Posted by Julie Kimlinger at 05:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We will be seeing a lot of interest in the new face of CLICnet as it was officially "unveiled" this week. This new look is very different than what is now fondly called “Classic CLICnet.” The information the catalog providres, and will continue to provide, is unchanged.

For the foreseeable future, and perhaps longer, Classic CLICnet will be available both as an option from the library home page and as a link within the new interface.

Many libraries are coming to terms with the fact that web search engines (like Google or Bing) are now the standard by which practically all "search" is being done online. These new library interfaces are not designed to replace current library catalogs at all, but to overlay them – we hope providing a richer environment for resource discovery of the same underlying data.

Below is a link to a preliminary video introducing this new face of CLICnet. Any comments or suggestions are appreciated!!

The New Face of CLICnet is Here. http://www.stthomas.edu/libraries/Sandbox/encore_captivate1/encore.htm

Posted by Jan Malcheski at 03:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Q: Linda, please tell why you went so public with this matter.

A: "In a publishing world with many unfair practices to their customers, it shouldn’t be that unusual for a librarian to speak out publicly. Evidently it is. When Wiley stopped talking to us as we attempted to negotiate a fair license for their online content, I wrote them and I sent the letters to liblicense and Serialist email lists. I was worried about being able to provide well-used content online where we know our users prefer it.

"From there the letters were picked up by bloggers and other lists and most recently in Library Journal's Academic Newswire.

"The positive response for UST is great and will allow us to continue to provide online access to Wiley content."

Read the Library Journal article to learn more about this issue. Congratulations and thank you, Linda!

Posted by Julie Kimlinger at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The OSF Library is conducting a book cleaning and shifting project this weekend. Noisy vacuuming will be happening on Level 1 for the rest of June.

Please use other areas of the library for study and computing. You are welcome to study on Level 1 -- just expect extra noise. We appreciate your cooperation as the library preserves the physical collection for future Tommie generations. Please expect other cleanings in the future.

Posted by Conie Borchardt at 08:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this article New Yorker staff writer and surgeon Atul Gawande visits McAllen, TX after learning that Medicare costs in this town are the highest in the country second only to Miami, which has much higher labor and living costs. He speaks with a number of MDs and hospital administrators in town to find that

a) No one here realizes that Medicare costs here are so exorbitantly high
b) Simple overutilization is the most likely reason and
c) Higher healthcare spending does not result in better health.

Links

--Compare some of Gawande's numbers at the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care.
--Read some of the news media's take on Gawande's article in Factiva. Simply type gawande and mcallen in the search box to see at least six great related articles.
--Gawande's website

Posted by Ryan Carter at 10:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The UST Libraries Summer Reading List is now available on the web site. Perhaps our biggest and best to date! Thanks to Reference Librarian Eric Kallas for compiling the list and student worker Rachael Main for constructing the web page.

Posted by John Heintz at 12:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When you next visit the O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library we invite you to go to the lower level and see a new piece of art that has been donated to the University of St. Thomas and has found a new home with us. This piece of sculpture by Loet Vanderveen is called Elephant Herd.

The description for this work reads: Loet Vanderveen grew up in Rotterdam, Holland where he visited the city zoo. He recalls the horrific day of May 14, 1940 when the Germans bombed Rotterdam and the zoo was structurally compromised. The Dutch army shot many of the animals to prevent them from roaming the city and harming residents. Vanderveen recalls a few animals survived and he describes the movement of one of the elephants this way: ". . . in the midst of it all, there was one elephant roaming. It was very, very poetic." In some of his sculptures Vanderveen explores this memory in the form of a single elephant. In the work he donated to the University of St. Thomas, Vanderveen expands on the subject and reveals the grace and beauty of an elephant herd moving together.

Take a peek at a similar work of art by this artist, and we're certain you'll want to see ours in person.

Posted by Julie Kimlinger at 05:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Take a few minutes to look at the new look of the CLICnet catalog. First you will see a simple search box for keyword searching, and then a variety of new options for refining results by subject, format, location, publication date, tag, etc. The idea of this “discovery layer” on the existing catalog is to simplify searching for users while giving them some new functionality to explore the consortium’s resources. Since the new CLICnet has a new URL, faculty should please remember to change any links you have in course pages before you teach your next class. We’ll be incorporating the new catalog version in links from the Library website through the summer. Don’t worry, the “classic” catalog with its existing advanced search options will still be available from the Libraries "Other Catalogs" page and via a link from CLICnet itself. More info

Posted by John Heintz at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May is out the door…..so we can post our new theology books (for both Ireland and OSF Libraries). Here is the link to the service we are using to display new titles added to the collection (2008 and 2009 imprints).

NEW THEOLOGY BOOKS @ UST

And below is a short video on “playing” with this list. It is easy to change the look/feel and to search.....Take a look:

.

Posted by Jan Malcheski at 09:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WordCat's free, easier to use and in some ways more powerful interface known as WordlCat.Org can make a convenient method for requesting books through ILLIAD, UST's interlibrary loan service

For a known book, it is always best (to avoid confusion and delays) to check CLICnet first for availability – a book at another CLIC library is requested via CLICnet and only takes a day or two. If a book is not in CLICnet, then go to WorldCat.Org and search there.

WorldCat searches by keyword the entire OCLC database, representing over 5000 libraries. Almost any book you need can be found and borrowed for you through ILLIAD services. If you have any questions or difficulties: Ask Jan.Malcheski@stthomas.edu

Here is a link very brief video guide to finding a book in WorldCat using ILLIAD to request a book through interlibrary loan.
WORLDcat AND INTERLIBRARY LOAN

For articles, WorldCat indexes a large number of journals but not nearly as many as UST databases cover. The best approach is to request articles through the Find It while using one of the databases.

Posted by Jan Malcheski at 01:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)