Enter the essay contest

The Andrus Library government documents unit is sponsoring the 2011/2012 Sunshine Week essay contest. Sunshine Week is a national initiative to increase the public's awareness of their right to know about what their government is doing. To enter the contest, right 600-700 words on the topic of "WikiLeaks: Responsible Journalism or Dangerous Leaks?" The deadline is November 28. Cash prizes run $100-$250.  The winning essay will be published in the Press Enterprise during Sunshine Week, in March 2012.  For more information, contact Katie Yelinek, government documents coordinator, at kyelinek@bloomu.edu or visit http://guides.library.bloomu.edu/sunshineweek.

What Students Don't Know

from What Students Don't Know - Inside Higher Ed:

The ERIAL (Ethnographic Research in Illinois Academic Libraries) project -- a series of studies conducted at Illinois Wesleyan, DePaul University, and Northeastern Illinois University, and the University of Illinois’s Chicago and Springfield campuses -- was a meta-exercise for the librarians in practicing the sort of deep research they champion. Instead of relying on surveys, the libraries enlisted two anthropologists, along with their own staff members, to collect data using open-ended interviews and direct observation, among other methods.

The goal was to generate data that, rather than being statistically significant yet shallow, would provide deep, subjective accounts of what students, librarians and professors think of the library and each other at those five institutions. The resulting papers are scheduled to be published by the American Library Association this fall, under the title: “Libraries and Student Culture: What We Now Know.”

One thing the librarians now know is that their students' research habits are worse than they thought.
Read more...

Ebrary ebooks in the classroom

The Library has published a brand new subject guide on how to use ebrary ebooks for educational and instructional purposes. Chockful of helpful information, the sections include:

• What is ebrary?
• Searching ebrary
• Navigating an ebook
• Personal Bookshelf & Managing the Bookshelf
• For Faculty: Linking to ebrary
• Highlighting & notes
• Citing in ebrary
• Ebrary Reader
• InfoTools

If you've been thinking of using ebrary but were unsure how it works, then this guide will answer your questions!

Debt Ceiling Guide

For information on the ongoing debate on the US debt ceiling, check out http://guides.library.bloomu.edu/debt .  This guide will be updated regularly.

Career Development Guide Updated

Looking for a job?  Planning ahead for life after graduation?  Among the resources available through Bloomsburg University is the Career Development Guide.  You may find other helpful subject guides under the Internet Resources tab of the Andruss Library homepage http://library.bloomu.edu/.

New Library Research Center

Whenever you need help with your research, finding something in the Library, or need helpful information, you may now come to the Research Center  on the 1st floor of the Library.  The services previously offered at the Reference Desk on the 2nd floor have been moved to the 1st floor to a more open environment for consultation and collaboration.  Stop by today and a Research Librarian will be pleased to help you.

Library Classroom - AL 243

Due to the Sutliff Hall renovation delay, the Library instruction lab (Andruss Library 243) will be unavailable for much of the semester. Regular classes have been scheduled in AL 243 that normally would have been scheduled in Sutliff. All possible options for scheduling were explored, and using AL 243 was viewed as a necessity. This obviously will affect the librarians' fall instruction schedule (they typically teach 100 sessions fall semester) as well as have an impact on faculty and staff who use the room for instructional purposes. While we hope the delay may last only 5-6 weeks, we don't know for sure. We ask for your patience during this time and suggest the following:

1) Check to see if one of the time slots the classroom is NOT scheduled will work for you:

Mondays:
8 am - 10 am
11:30 am - 12:30 pm
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
4:30 pm - 10 pm

Tuesdays:
8 am - 9 am
5 pm - 10 pm

Wednesdays:
8 am - 9:30 am
11:30 am - 12:30 pm
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
4:30 pm - 5:30 pm
8 pm - 10 pm

Thursdays:
8 am - 9 am
5 pm - 10 pm

Fridays:
8 am - 10 am
11:30 am - 12:30 pm
1:30 pm - 4:30 pm

If one of these times will work for you, call the Library Administration Office at x4704 to verify that the room is available and to request the room be reserved.

2) If none of the above times work for you, then you may try scheduling your session in an 'open computer lab' on campus (although these may have regularly scheduled classes too). Here's how:

• View a complete list of open computer labs here; the most likely options are:
  Bakeless 205 (34 stations + IMP)
  Bakeless 307 (34 stations + IMP)
  McCormick 2205 (22 stations + IMP)
  McCormick 2229 (28 stations + IMP)
  McCormick 3225 (30 stations + IMP)
  McCormick 3234 (32 stations + IMP)
  Centennial 217 (24 stations + IMP)
• Search in ISIS to see if a lab is available, by doing the following:

1.       Log into ISIS

2.       Click on Campus Solutions

3.       Click on Curriculum Management

4.       Under the heading for Facility and Event Information, click on Class Facility Usage (at this point, you may want to add this page to your favorite, using the tab on the upper left corner). 

5.       Enter the building name that you want and the room number.  Click on Search.

6.       Enter the term (start typing 211, and it will come up), the session (click on the magnifying glass for help), and the day of the week.  Click on Fetch class meetings.

7.       A list of the classes scheduled for that room on that day will come up. 

8.       I don’t know of a way to get special, one-time events scheduled in a room to come up, but at least this is a start. 

•  Email Facilities Management to reserve the lab, facsched@bloomu.edu

If you have any questions or would like to schedule library instruction, please contact your library liaison.

Thank you for your patience!