Last summer, Morris Library, along with the other libraries that are part of I-Share, switched to a new version of the library catalog. That upgrade turned into a minor fiasco for CARLI, the consortial organization responsible for I-Share. By the end of summer, the public views of the catalog were reverted back to the old version.
CARLI is slowly, tentatively trying again with the new catalog interface. Sometime next week, it will be possible to go to https://i-share7.carli.illinois.edu to access I-Share or to https://i-share7.carli.illinois.edu/sic to access SIUCat. The old look for SIUCat will still be available, but Morris Library may make the catalogs default to the new interface during part of winter break.
Please let me know if you have comments about the new interface.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
One million served?
Steve Sawyer, a senior library specialist who works at the circulation desk sent the following message to library staff this morning,
"Thought everyone would be (mildly) interested in the fact that somewhere between yesterday morning and this morning, the counter on the north-end security gate rolled over one million.
We now have proof that the renovated library IS popular and people DO like us.
(never mind the fact that this number includes those of us who work here and counts people leaving as well as coming)"
"Thought everyone would be (mildly) interested in the fact that somewhere between yesterday morning and this morning, the counter on the north-end security gate rolled over one million.
We now have proof that the renovated library IS popular and people DO like us.
(never mind the fact that this number includes those of us who work here and counts people leaving as well as coming)"
Friday, October 23, 2009
Open Access Week
Open Access Day expanded to Open Access Week this year. The big news in Open Access this year is the Federal Research Public Access Act (FRPAA, which unfortunately sounds like FERPA). FRPAA is still in committee in the Senate. If enacted, it would require researchers receiving grants from the major federal funding sources to supply their manuscripts that have been accepted for publiction to the funding agency and would require free, online access to the manuscripts six months after publication. Similar requirements already apply to NIH grantees, but FRPAA would expand the requirements to include NSF, DOE, DOD, HHS, and NASA grantees, among others. Chief academic officers at many universities, including SIUC have expressed their support for FRPAA.
The other local news regarding Open Access is that there will be a forum on open access in Morris Library's auditorium at 3 PM on Thursday, November 19. The working title for the event is "Tollway or freeway: Which road leads to your research?" David Shulenberger will give a keynote presentation, followed by a panel of SIUC faculty discussing their experiences with open access.
The other local news regarding Open Access is that there will be a forum on open access in Morris Library's auditorium at 3 PM on Thursday, November 19. The working title for the event is "Tollway or freeway: Which road leads to your research?" David Shulenberger will give a keynote presentation, followed by a panel of SIUC faculty discussing their experiences with open access.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Outstanding Teacher Lecture Oct. 26 at 3:30 PM
The Outstanding Teacher Lecture has been rescheduled. It will be held on Monday, Oct. 26 from 3:30 - 4:30 PM in the library's auditorium, followed by a reception. Kim Harris will present "What Works at Work: Six Lessons for the Classroom."
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Another Morris Library Blog
The Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) at Morris Library has begun a blog to note interesting items that SCRC staff find while processing or cataloging materials held in SCRC.
The blog is called Raiders of the Lost Archives: Behind the stacks at the Special Collections Research Center, Morris Library, SIUC. I can only speculate that the rare book librarian's visit to Petra, Jordan during her summer vacation helped to inspire the title.
The blog is called Raiders of the Lost Archives: Behind the stacks at the Special Collections Research Center, Morris Library, SIUC. I can only speculate that the rare book librarian's visit to Petra, Jordan during her summer vacation helped to inspire the title.
Morris Library at Homecoming
Congratulations to the Morris Library Precision Book Cart Drill Team for taking first place out of twelve groups in the marching unit division of the SIUC homecoming parade competition.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Table of Contents for New Issues of Favorite Journals Delivered to You
If you have a favorite journal that you want to see as soon as a new issue comes out, you probably can have its table of contents emailed to you, even if you aren't a subscriber. This service is standard for the major publishers and are available for many smaller publishers too.
The publishers want to get as much traffic to their articles as they can, so they usually allow tables of contents to be sent regardless of whether you or Morris Library subscribes to the journal.
Typically the email will have a list of articles in the latest issue with a hyperlink to the journal's site for the abstract and article. Many also can send the alerts as RSS feeds instead of email messages.
For some of the major publishers, the links to set up alerts can currently be found on the following locations:
Elsevier ScienceDirect: Alert me to new Volumes / Issues near the top center of the page;
IEEE Xplore: on the "Alerts" link in the top banner on the right;
Springer (SpringerLink): In the toolbar on the left at the "Alerts" link under My Menu;
Wiley InterScience: on the Web page for an individual journal, on the Set E-Mail Alert link next to the image of the cover of the journal.
The publishers want to get as much traffic to their articles as they can, so they usually allow tables of contents to be sent regardless of whether you or Morris Library subscribes to the journal.
Typically the email will have a list of articles in the latest issue with a hyperlink to the journal's site for the abstract and article. Many also can send the alerts as RSS feeds instead of email messages.
For some of the major publishers, the links to set up alerts can currently be found on the following locations:
Elsevier ScienceDirect: Alert me to new Volumes / Issues near the top center of the page;
IEEE Xplore: on the "Alerts" link in the top banner on the right;
Springer (SpringerLink): In the toolbar on the left at the "Alerts" link under My Menu;
Wiley InterScience: on the Web page for an individual journal, on the Set E-Mail Alert link next to the image of the cover of the journal.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Next Generation Catalogs: SIUCat Beta Search
Yesterday's Chronicle of Higher Education had an article about library catalogs. One of the open source solutions mentioned in the article was VuFind, the program behind SIUCat Beta Search and behind I-Share's VuFind search.
The Virtual Library Group at Morris Library is looking at some of the other alternatives listed in the article. As the article mentions, the commercial options can cost tens of thousands of dollars each year. Customized open source software can be just as expensive because the programmers need to be paid. Morris Library has an added complication from I-Share. As part of our arrangement to get easy access to the books from other university libraries in Illinois, we all share a catalog. Almost any change that we make to SIUCat is constrained by this (otherwise awesome) arrangement. Nevertheless, the potential in some of these tools could make it a lot easier to find library materials.
The Virtual Library Group at Morris Library is looking at some of the other alternatives listed in the article. As the article mentions, the commercial options can cost tens of thousands of dollars each year. Customized open source software can be just as expensive because the programmers need to be paid. Morris Library has an added complication from I-Share. As part of our arrangement to get easy access to the books from other university libraries in Illinois, we all share a catalog. Almost any change that we make to SIUCat is constrained by this (otherwise awesome) arrangement. Nevertheless, the potential in some of these tools could make it a lot easier to find library materials.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Bargain Books: Honest Abe Ongoing Book Sale is Back
For several years, Morris Library, through Friends of Morris Library, raised money by selling books. Usually these were books that people donated to the library that duplicate items already in the collection or do not fit the scope of the library's collections. This book sale has been on hiatus during the library's renovation, but it's back now.
The Honest Abe book sale is on the honor system. The books for sale are on display on a bookshelf. Suggested donation amounts are posted near the books, and purchasers leave the money in a drop box at the end of the shelf. Books for sale are shelved next to the bronze Lincoln head in the main corridor on the first floor of Morris Library.
The Honest Abe book sale is on the honor system. The books for sale are on display on a bookshelf. Suggested donation amounts are posted near the books, and purchasers leave the money in a drop box at the end of the shelf. Books for sale are shelved next to the bronze Lincoln head in the main corridor on the first floor of Morris Library.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
UPDATED: Outstanding Teacher and Outstading Scholar Lectures Coming Soon
The auditorium in Morris Library will be busy on Sept. 28 and 29.
On Sept. 28, the inaugural (and I hope annual) university outstanding teacher lecture will be held in the auditorium at 3:30 PM. This event has been postponed due to illness. New date TBA is Oct. 26.
On Sept. 29, the annual university outstanding scholar lecture will be held in the auditorium at 3:00 PM.
These events are a chance learn from and congratulate the university's 2009 outstanding teacher, Kim Harris and the university's 2009 outstanding scholar, Carl Faingold.
On Sept. 29, the annual university outstanding scholar lecture will be held in the auditorium at 3:00 PM.
These events are a chance learn from and congratulate the university's 2009 outstanding teacher, Kim Harris and the university's 2009 outstanding scholar, Carl Faingold.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Browser Shortcut for Web of Science
The Thomson Reuters sales representative visited the library yesterday to tell us about new developments in Web of Knowledge. The development that I liked best was the Web of Knowledge browser search extension.
This tool puts Web of Science into the browser’s search bar for Firefox 2 and above and Internet Explorer 7 and above. A search in Web of Science can be done directly by using the search box in the top right corner of a browser. There’s no need to go to the Web of Knowledge Web site or to navigate through the library’s Web site first.
There are a couple limitations to the search extension.
It only will work for on-campus computers or computers connected to the university’s VPN. Off campus users not on the VPN still need to go through the library’s Web site to authenticate.
The search is sent as a “Topic” search. This works fine for searching for information on a topic and for searching for an article by title. It does not work for searching by author because “Topic” searches don’t include the author field. Even a search for a particular article will fail if the author’s name is included in the search.
This tool puts Web of Science into the browser’s search bar for Firefox 2 and above and Internet Explorer 7 and above. A search in Web of Science can be done directly by using the search box in the top right corner of a browser. There’s no need to go to the Web of Knowledge Web site or to navigate through the library’s Web site first.
There are a couple limitations to the search extension.
It only will work for on-campus computers or computers connected to the university’s VPN. Off campus users not on the VPN still need to go through the library’s Web site to authenticate.
The search is sent as a “Topic” search. This works fine for searching for information on a topic and for searching for an article by title. It does not work for searching by author because “Topic” searches don’t include the author field. Even a search for a particular article will fail if the author’s name is included in the search.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Welcome to the new home
Science Librarian Notes has its new home here, but the old site is still alive. The Daily Egyptian's free blog hosting with a .siu.edu URL was great while it lasted. Lately I've been posting more announcements of events at the library and have wanted to add video tutorials. This new home lets me embed a calendar and to embed video and audio more easily.
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