Skeleton man

With the coffee gone and his last final turned in, Mr. Bones finally has time to relax with his favorite book...

Stop by the library booksale before you leave for break and see if there's anything you like!

Coffee break in Armacost Library

It's a little before 11 PM at Armacost Library and many students are still hard at work! Time for a coffee break...





Gerry Collins, Marisa Aguilar and Sanjeet Mann of Armacost Library enjoy free coffee courtesy of Stell Coffee in Redlands.

Late Night Library Hours during Finals Week

We are pleased to announce Armacost Library will be open from 8 AM to 2 AM each weeknight during the week of Monday, December 14 through Friday, December 18, in honor of finals week.

The reference desk will also be open from 9 AM to 2 AM as well, with a reference librarian on duty to help you with any questions you have. Good luck preparing for finals, and best wishes from your friends at Armacost Library!

Serials Solutions outage this Saturday

We have been notified that our Serials Solutions e-resource knowledgebase will be down for maintenance for up to 6 hours early Saturday morning.

This means that the Citation Linker and Index List to Full Text Journals may be unavailable between midnight and 6 AM on Saturday, October 24. Also the Article Linker service that automatically links you to articles in our databases may be nonfunctional.

Serials Solutions has planned the outage to cause as little inconvenience as possible and estimates that all services will be up and running again by 6 AM. Nevertheless, those of you who are late night researchers may want to make other plans Friday night.

Information Wants to be Free!

Have you seen the flyers around campus and the posters hung in the Library? Open Access Week has begun!
Open Access (OA) is a movement toward more freely available information for users, largely made possible by the use of online platforms. The goal is for scholars to access the research and writing resources you need without having to pay inflated publishing costs. Publishing or archiving in online OA journals and disciplinary repositories removes the need for expensive print publication, and is within the reach of anyone with web access.
Please check out the LibGuides created for students and faculty on this topic.

October 2009 Information Literacy Awareness Month

President Barack Obama has declared October 2009 NATIONAL INFORMATION LITERACY AWARENESS MONTH.

"Though we may know how to find the information we need, we must also know how to evaluate it. Over the past decade, we have seen a crisis of authenticity emerge...The ability to seek, find, and decipher information can be applied to countless life decisions, whether financial, medical, educational, or technical."

Read the entire proclamation by following the link above.

Open Access Week 2009: October 19-23

The University of Redlands will be participating in Open Access Week this year! Armacost Library will be working with students and faculty to promote awareness for the cause.

Check this spot for more information on what the Open Access Movement is and why you should be involved. Read up for yourself at http://www.righttoresearch.org/ and let us know what you think.

Scholarly Journals drop-in workshop

Do you need to use scholarly journals in your research? Do you have questions about why these sources are so important, or where this knowledge comes from?

Come to Jones Center room 116 this Thursday, October 1 from 11:00 AM to noon for a drop-in workshop on journals and scholarly communication led by Armacost librarian Sanjeet Mann.

No reservations required - just bring your curiosity and interest in learning!

Sparky Awards

The Sparky Awards, a contest to promote the open exchange of information, is calling for entries.

The Sparky Awards are organized by SPARC, the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, who promote the universal benefits of sharing ideas of all kinds. SPARC

Jimi Hendrix

On September 18, 1970, the famed rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix died in London of "unknown causes," according to the New York Times obituary that ran the following day. As one account relates his final days:

"His final concerts were largely frustrating, as the aims of the artist and the expectations of his audience grew increasingly separate. His final UK appearance, at the Isle of Wight festival, encapsulated this dilemma, yet still drew an enthralling performance. The guitarist returned to London following a short European tour. On 18 September 1970, his girlfriend, Monika Danneman, became alarmed when she was unable to rouse him from sleep. An ambulance was called, but Hendrix was pronounced dead on arrival at a nearby hospital. The inquest recorded an open verdict, with death caused by suffocation [...] Eric Burdon claimed at the time to possess a suicide note, but this has never been confirmed."

Source: "Hendrix, Jimi" in Encyclopedia of Popular Music, ed. Colin Larkin (London: Muze, 1998), 3:2489-2491.

New York Times, "Jimi Hendrix, Rock Star, is Dead in London at 27," September 19, 1970.

Armacost Library holds old New York Times articles on microfilm. If you already know what year you are looking for, just ask for it at the periodicals desk. If you're not sure what date your article was printed, try looking up the name of the person or topic you are researching in the New York Times Print Index, shelved on the study carrels by the reference desk.

Mexican Independence Day

Yesterday, September 16, was Mexican Independence Day. On September 16, 1810, the creole priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla led a revolt against Spanish rule in Guanajuato province. Hidalgo's force quickly swelled to 80,000 creoles, Indians and mestizos, but was defeated by a small Spanish force in November before they could reach the capital. The following year Hidalgo was captured and executed, but the revolt continued under the leadership of Jose Maria Morelos and led to the formal declaration of Mexican independence from Spain on November 6, 1813.

Source: Langer, William E. The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of World History, vol. 2. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1972:792.

For more information about the struggle for Mexican independence try subject searches in the catalog for Mexico -- history or Latin America -- history.

National Day of Service and Remembrance

Yesterday President Barack Obama proclaimed September 11 a National Day of Service and Remembrance as per Public Law 111-13 ("Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act"). This morning he spoke at a Pentagon wreath-laying ceremony honoring armed forces members killed on September 11, 2001:

"Let us renew the true spirit of that day. Not the human capacity for evil, but the human capacity for good. Not the desire to destroy, but the impulse to save, and to serve, and to build. On this first National Day of Service and Remembrance, we can summon once more that ordinary goodness of America -- to serve our communities, to strengthen our country, and to better our world."

Proclamations are preserved as official Presidential documents. You can find transcripts of these statements for 1945-present in print in the Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States.

You can also find Presidential documents for the years 1991-present available online via GPO Access.

Older Presidential proclamations can be found in a variety of sources. Our librarians will gladly help you find anything you need!

The Old Man and the Sea

Fifty-seven years ago today Ernest Hemingway published his seventh novel The Old Man and the Sea. This was the last novel Hemingway published during his lifetime, and it won him the 1953 Pulitzer prize for literature. Kurt J. Krueger writes that "the story of Santiago, an old Gulf Stream fisherman, depicts a world filled with struggle, pain and loss but also shows how a human being may find meaning in such a tragic world."

Two years later, Hemingway accepted the Nobel prize for literature with the following words: "For a true writer each book should be a new beginning where he tries again for something that is beyond attainment. He should always try for something that has never been done or that others have tried and failed. Then, sometimes, with great luck, he will succeed."

Sources: Kurt J. Krueger. "Ernest Hemingway." Encyclopedia of the Novel, Ed. Paul Schneider. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1998. 535-537.

World Almanac and Book of Facts. New York: World Almanac Books, 2008.

Calling all Students, Faculty, and Staff with an interest in Open Access publishing.

Don’t know what Open Access means?

Open Access is the basic assumption that all research should be freely accessible online, immediately after publication (See About the OA Movement @ http://www.openaccessweek.org/about-the-oa-movement/). According to the Budapest Open Access Initiative, “[r]emoving access barriers to this literature will accelerate research, enrich education, share the learning of the rich with the poor and the poor with the rich, make this literature as useful as it can be, and lay the foundation for uniting humanity in a common intellectual conversation and quest for knowledge” (http://www.soros.org/openaccess/read.shtml).

Interested in participating in Open Access Week, October 19-23, 2009? The Armacost Library wants you! Please contact one of your friendly librarians if you are an author that publishes in open access journals, that serves as a reviewer or editor for an open access journal, or uses Creative Commons licensing for your creative/scholarly input. Please also contact us if you simply have a passion for the Open Access movement or have a related project you would like to share.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,

The Armacost Library

Celebrating Labor Day

Today, Monday, September 7, the United States and Canada celebrate Labor Day. According to Robert E. Weir, the holiday originated from rallies and protests held by late nineteenth-century workers. In 1882, Knights of Labor members helped organize a large rally in Providence, Rhode Island. A few weeks later, the New York Central Labor Union (a consortium of local unions related to the Knights of Labor) planned an even larger event for Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in which approximately 30,000 to 40,000 laborers marched. Over the next ten years, workers in other states began to celebrate on the first Monday in September, and state legislatures began to recognize the day as a holiday. On June 28, 1894, Congress declared Labor Day a federal holiday. Weir concludes that "since the mid-1950s, the holiday has moved from a day of protest to a more commemorative event. Ideologues hold that Labor Day wraps America's bloody labor history in a false cloak of respectability, while its defenders see it as an important affirmation of working-class heritage and culture."

Source: Robert E. Weir, "Labor Day." Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor, v.1. Westport: Greenwood, 2004: 267-268.
Call number: REF HD 8066.H57 2004
Library subject heading: Labor -- United States -- History -- Encyclopedias

While most federal and state offices are closed to observe Labor Day, Armacost Library is open today from 8 am to 5 pm. Stop by and take a moment to learn more about the history of the American labor movement!

Welcome back!

It's been an eventful summer at Armacost, filled with the noise of construction on the new front entrance and ground floor offices for student services, University Human Resources and the new computing center. Several new librarians have arrived and settled in to life on campus, and our whole staff has been busy preparing for the new school year.

For those of you who are new to campus, we encourage you to take a moment to stop by the library, say hello, and ask any questions you have. We offer a full range of services, including remote access to electronic journals and databases, interlibrary loans, and print and electronic course reserves. Our helpful librarians can be found at the reference desk by the second-floor library entrance, online via IM and Facebook, and even visiting your class to provide instruction specific to your course. This semester we're offering new drop-in workshops to make it easier than ever to get help when you need it. And keep checking this blog for more information about library events, cool research tools and helpful tips to learn more about events on campus and in the news.

This semester our regular hours will be:
Monday-Thursday 8 am - midnight
Friday 8 am - 9 pm
Saturday 10 am - 9 pm
Sunday 1 pm - midnight

Good luck with the start of the semester. We look forward to seeing you around the library!

Meet the New Librarians

Please join the Armacost Library in welcoming our two new permanent hires, Melissa-Cardenas-Dow, Technical Services/Reference Librarian and Sanjeet Mann, Electronic Services/Reference Librarian and visiting Reference/Instruction Librarian, Paige Mann.

Their self-penned introductions, below, will help you get to know them a bit better.

Melissa Cardenas-Dow
Melissa came to Armacost Library in January 2009 as a
Visiting Assistant Librarian. During that time, she participated in
selecting library materials, staffing the reference desk, visiting
classes during library instruction sessions, developing course guides
and investigating access issues to library electronic resources. Over
the summer, Melissa transitioned into the Technical Services Librarian
position. She will continue the roles and tasks she had assumed while
still a Visiting Librarian and will assume new ones that primarily deal
with how library materials get acquired, processed, stored and shelved,
and into patrons' hands.

Fun Facts: Melissa grew up in the Philippines. She nurses gamer's guilt
and strives to juggle time spent in World of Warcraft's Azeroth with her
real-life responsibilities.

Sanjeet Mann
After a whirlwind year in which he graduated from library school, moved
twice, was baptized, got married and made plans to buy a house, Sanjeet was delighted to plant his feet at the University of Redlands,
where he began work as Electronic Resources/Reference Librarian in July
2009. His responsibilities include managing electronic journals and
databases, coordinating development of the library website, and serving
students and faculty through reference, instruction, and collection
development for the English, Music and French departments. In his free
time Sanjeet enjoys playing piano and composing.

Fun fact: One of Sanjeet's favorite composers, Erik Satie, not only
shares Sanjeet's middle name (Eric) but also gained notoriety through
his eccentric compositions (one supposedly short piece requires the
performer to repeat it 840 times in succession), eclectic wardrobe
(featuring seven identical gray velvet suits) and unconventional
housekeeping habits (after his death, friends found his tiny one-room
apartment filled with papers and two pianos, one atop the other, the top
one apparently functioning as a mail sorter). Sanjeet assures us he is
not that strange... yet.

Paige Mann
Paige is a Visiting Librarian and passionate about equipping and empowering people to live life to the fullest. She finds life more rewarding when approached as a learner and has taken opportunities to work as an AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteer, live in foreign countries, study serial killers, lead an online symposium, and play with (and harass) children during story time. Curious by nature, she learns by traveling, socializing, reading, observing, etc. and finds the library perfect for inquiring minds. In her spare time she is spoiled by her husband, antagonized by her mom, and blessed by God.

Fun Fact: She and her husband are easing into a car-lite lifestyle by relocating within walking distance of work, the gym, and other essentials. They aim to be a one-car family in the future.

Farewells

The Armacost Library is saying goodbye to our two Visiting Assistant Librarians, Allison Fox and Eugene Owens. Allison has been "visiting" since the fall term of 2006. You may have met her at the Reference Desk or leading a library research session for your class. Allison has also spent substantial time working on the Barney Childs Collection, curating and creating a finding aid for the collection. Allison, and former University of Redlands librarian Verletta Kern, co-presented on the Barney Childs collection at the Music Library Association Annual Meeting, 2008. The Walter Martin Sheet Music Collection is another curatorial project Allison has worked on, in relation to which she has created a bibliography. Allison has been actively involved in surveying and making decisions regarding the Armacost Library's music collection. She has also sorted through a whole lot of donated books over the past few years.

Eugene Owens started his tenure at Armacost Library in November 2008, ready to make a lasting impression on the University of Redlands community. Eugene led the Library's move to Meebo for our IM Reference services and took on responsibility for updating the Library's web pages. Eugene is an enthusiastic reference librarian, and has enjoyed evaluating and making recommendations on our reference and religious studies collections, amongst others.

Please join us in wishing the best of luck to Allison and Eugene in their future endeavors.

Library Plastic

You may have noticed that many of our bookstacks are wrapped in plastic. This is due to sprinklers being installed throughout the library. If you need any books, library staff will be very happy to assist you in retrieving them. This work began on April 20th and will continue for 6-8 weeks. There will be intermittent noisy drilling. Thank you for your patience and your continued support during our "transition period."

~Eugene Owens

Sierra Powell, first recipient of the Armacost Library Undergraduate Research Award

Congratulations, Sierra Powell! Sierra is a graduating senior double-majoring in Government and Philosophy. She received the Armacost Library Undergraduate Research Award for her paper, "A Depth Study of Buck v. Bell, 274. U.S. 200," in which she traces a case from its origins in Virginia to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1927. The decision of the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Virginia statute that provided for the eugenic sterilization for people considered genetically unfit, leading the way for other states to enact similar laws.

In the process of researching and writing her paper, Sierra had to develop an understanding of complex legal concepts related to due process, cruel and unusual punishment, and equal protection.


The selection committee for the Armacost Library Undergraduate Research Award included (from left to right): Shana Higgins, Reference/Instructional Services Librarian; Jen Ostermiller, Director of Academic Support & Disabled Student Services; Anne Shea, Associate Professor of English and Director of Writing Across the Curriculum; and Lua Gregory, Reference/Off-Campus Services Librarian.