Holiday and Interim Hours

Holiday and Interim Hours

• December 15, Wednesday - December 22, Wednesday: 8:00am - 5:00pm. (ARC Computer Lab: 8:00am-4:00pm) CLOSED WEEKENDS
• December 23, Thursday - January 2, Sunday: CLOSED
• January 3, Monday - January 16, Sunday: Monday - Friday: 8:00am-5:00pm. (ARC Computer Lab: 8:00am-4:00pm) CLOSED WEEKENDS
• January 17, Monday: CLOSED -- MLK Day

Regular hours being of the first day of classes: Tuesday, January 18th.

Final Exam Hours

FINAL Exam Hours

The University Library's Final Exam hours begin December 6:

1. December 6, Monday -December 9, Thursday : 7:45am - Midnight
2. December 10, Friday : 7:45am - 8:00pm
3. December 11, Saturday : 9:30am - 8:00pm
4. December 12, Sunday: 1:00pm - 11:00pm
5. December 13, Monday: 7:45am - 11:00pm
6. December 14, Tuesday: 7:45am - 6:00pm (Last day of Exams)

For the complete list see http://library.southalabama.edu/studyhoursFALL2010.pdf

Points of View Reference Center

The Alabama Virtual Library has added EBSCO's Points of View Reference Center to its subscription databases, so USA students have access to it by going through either the University Library's web site or the AVL web site.

Points of View Reference Center is much like Gale's Opposing Viewpoints in that it is designed to provide users with information on current controversial topics from multiple sides. Because of this emphasis on representing various points of view on a topic, the Points of View Reference Center is especially useful for students writing persuasive or argumentative papers. Types of materials represented in the POV Reference Center are the Points of View essays, periodicals, newspapers and images. The Points of View essays, as well as taking a side on an issue, provide readers with a bibliography for further reading.

Although it is an EBSCO database, the interface for the Points of View Reference Center is different from the EBSCO databases you may be used to using, and it is not listed in our EBSCO list of databases. You will find it at the University Library's homepage (http://library.southalabama.edu/) under Articles, Indexes and Databases or Electronic Reference Sources.

New Digital Archive Collections guide

Our Reference Intern, Alisha Linam, has prepared a great new guide to Digital Archive Collections. The link is on our homepage right under the link to SOUTHcat: USA Libraries' Catalog.

New Electronic Book Collections

The University Library recently purchased the following electronic book collections from ebrary: Business and Economics, Computers and IT, Education, Engineering and Technology, Environment, Psychology and Social Work, Special Needs Education, and Sports and Recreation.

These collections add approximately 280 ebooks to the current ebook collection owned by the USA Libraries. To access them, go to the University Library's Electronic Book page at http://library.southalabama.edu/ebooks.html.

JSTOR - New Arts & Sciences Collection

The University Library has recently acquired access to the JSTOR Arts & Sciences V Collection. This multidisciplinary collection of 120 journal backfiles includes art and museum publications, state historical society journals, and literature journals which publish original literary works as well as reviews and criticism. Key titles in history and in classical studies include least 15 journals published in German, French, Spanish, or Italian. Other disciplines covered include African Studies, Archaeology, Asian Studies, and Middle East Studies.

To search the Arts & Sciences V Collection, as well as all JSTOR content, go to the University Library's "Articles, Indexes, and Databases" page at http://www.usouthal.edu/univlib/other.html and choose "JSTOR".

USA's Government Documents Department

The University Library's Government Documents Department is the Federal Depository Library Program's Spotlight Library. The article focuses on the department's reaction to providing information on the Gulf Oil Spill, but also discusses the ways in which the department provides access to other kinds of information to patrons.

For the complete FDLP article, see http://www.fdlp.gov/outreach/spotlight/748-univofsouthalabama. Congrats, Gov Docs.

Alabama Red-bellied Turtle

Barbara Jackson, in Government Documents, found a rare Alabama Red-bellied turtle on the balcony outside the University Library last week. Dr. David Nelson, of USA's Biology department, came and retrieved the turtle. According to Dr. Nelson, "After being measured (extensively), weighed, and photographed to extreme, the lovely female turtle was released yesterday. Doubtless, she is happily feeding on swamp salad of submergent macrophytes."

"The Alabama red-bellied turtle is a large herbivorous turtle that has the smallest distribution of any North American turtle species. It only occurs in streams and embayments in the lower part of the Mobile Bay Drainage System in Mobile and Baldwin Counties in Alabama. This species was listed as ENDANGERED by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1987 and was designated as the Official State Reptile of Alabama in 1990." (http://www.savetheredbelly.org/)

Dr. Nelson attached the following two photos of the University Library's Red-bellied turtle:

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Information

This satellite image is from NOAA/NASA. The Mississippi and Alabama coasts are in green at the top and the platform is the little tiny red dot the bottom yellow arrow on the left is pointing to.

The University Library Government Documents web site is a good source for the latest government information on the oil spill. For basic information, see http://www.southalabama.edu/univlib/govdocs/gd/. The Gov Docs Department has also prepared a more in-depth bibliography of sources regarding the oil spill. It includes links to maps of the spill and information about Alabama and Mobile, specifically. For this bibliography, see http://www.southalabama.edu/univlib/govdocs/gd/oilspill2010.html.

The Gulf of Mexico Sea Grant Programs web site also contains up-to-date information on the oil spill: http://gulfseagrant.tamu.edu/oilspill/index.htm. Here you will find phone numbers to call to report oiled wildlife or shorelines as well as numbers to call to discuss spill-related damage.

Excellence in Librarianship Award

The 2010 recipient of the Excellence in Librarianship Award is Ellen K. Wilson, Instructional Technology/Reference librarian. Ellen was cited as having displayed excellence in all areas of her job, including instructional technology, library instruction, professional development and service. The Excellence in Librarianship Award committee noted Ellen's development of online tutorials, her work with Freshman Seminar instructors, and her scheduling and teaching of classes.

The committee also commented on Ellen's superior work outside her job, contributing to the profession. She has presented at the Southern Political Science Association, the Mississippi Library Association, and the Alabama Library Association. Ellen presented a poster entitled Citation Analysis of Undergraduate Honors Theses at the USA Research Forum. Along with Rob Gray, Paula Webb and Andrea Wright, she conducted an in-service training session on Web 2.0 for the Mobile County Library Media Specialists. Ellen is the current secretary of the Alabama Association of College and Research Libraries.

Ellen's service activities have included serving as the chair of the University Library Public Relations Committee. She is the chair of the University Libraries' Forum, and she has represented the University Library at the HR Benefits Fair and at JagFest. Ellen was appointed to the University Writing Committee and serves on the University Library Homepage Committee and the University Library Intranet Committee.

Congratulations, Ellen!

EBSCO Academic Search Premier and AVL

From the Alabama Virtual Library help desk:

"Academic Search Premier (upgrade to Academic Search Elite) is now available on the AVL website until 9/30/10. Be sure to check it out!" at http://www.avl.lib.al.us/.

The AVL downgrade to Academic Search Elite never really affected USA's access since the University Library librarians felt that access to Academic Search Premier was important enough for our students that we needed to figure out a way to pay for it. We, in the library, hope that usage of Academic Search Premier between now and September 30 is high enough that the AVL realizes this in one database they need to make sure they keep.

Staff Appreciation Awards and Lunch

For the beginning of National Library Week, the University Library held a Staff Appreciation Lunch where awards were presented to Heather Hoven and Scotty Kirkland.

Heather Hoven began working at the library in the Circulation department in 2005 and was promoted to Library Technical Assistant in 2007. She was profiled in the USA Vanguard's section A Day in the Life Of : http://www.usavanguard.com/a-day-in-the-life-1.1305229

Scotty Kirkland began working for the University Library in Government Documents in January 2006. He moved to the Archives in September of that year and has worked there since. Scotty earned his M.A. in American History in December 2009. His thesis was on politics and the civil rights movement in Mobile from WWII to 1985.

National Library Week

Neil Gaiman, winner of the 2009 Newbery Award for The Graveyard Book, is the honorary Chairman for National Library Week. Through his blog at http://journal.neilgaiman.com/, he links to author Laurie King's fun contest for NLW -- the Fantasy Library Contest. Tell her what your dream library would look like -- you can even send her pictures and blueprints! Your favorite library could win a copy of every Laurie R. King book ever written, plus you could win Laurie King literary art for your fantasy library's walls.

National Library week begins April 11, so celebrate by designing the library you've always wanted.

Addendum: Stream the National Library Week event, An Evening with Neil Gaiman, on Monday, April 12th from 6:00 – 8:00 pm EDT, here: http://gaimanatjcpl.org/

AVL Databases

From the Alabama Virtual Library Help Desk comes some very good news:

At the AVL Executive Council meeting on Feb. 18th, the council voted to license the following databases for a limited time thru Sept. 30, 2010. Usage of the resources will be monitored, and although these databases have been restored for the remainder of the State of Alabama's fiscal year, we cannot guarantee they will be available next year.  To help secure their continued availability, please contact your State of Alabama elected officials (http://www.legislature.state.al.us/misc/zipsearch.html),
and tell them how the AVL helps you!

Has the AVL helped you finish an important school project, find a job, or start a business?  The more real-life stories we have to share with our elected officials, the greater the likelihood we can maintain and, possibly, add resources.  Please share with us your success stories (Email:  avlhelpdesk@asc.edu).

Databases licensed until Sept. 30, 2010:

    Britannica's Annals of American History
    Britannica's World Data Analyst
    Britannica's Spanish-Language Resources
        Enciclopedia Juvenil
        Enciclopedia Universal en Español
    Wilson's Biography Reference Bank

The University Library will be adding these database back to our web pages.

Mardi Gras

The University Library will be closed on Tuesday, February 16, for Mardi Gras. Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez! Here's some information from the Library of Congress about the development of the Mardi Gras tradition in Mobile which notes that Mobile is indeed the home of the first Mardi Gras celebration.

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/legacies/AL/200002665.html

Scopus Day at the University of South Alabama Libraries

The University Libraries are sponsoring SCOPUS Day on Friday, January 29. This day will consist of three separate events:

Librarian Session: 9:00am: All librarians and library staff are encouraged to attend the morning session. This update will highlight new features in SCOPUS following the January 2010 release - particularly the inclusion of new journal and article ranking metrics to aid in research evaluation.

Lunch and Learn Author Workshop: 12:00 noon[Lunch will be provided.]: This free session, in the College of Medicine Conference Room will focus on SCOPUS as a unique solution for authors. It will emphasize the features in SCOPUS that will help authors manage their online publications, find collaborators, and use metrics to make their grant applications more competitive.

A free box lunch will be provided for the first fifty who RSVP. Door prizes and a chance to win an ipod will also be offered.

SCOPUS General Information session: 2:30 to 3:30 PM [Snacks and door prizes will be provided.] at the same location. This session will provide a thorough overview of the unique features that make SCOPUS different from other available tools, including the Author and Affiliation Identifiers and the Journal Analyzer. It will also include an overview of the new features included in the January 2010 release.

RSVP to medlib@bbl.usouthal.edu or (251) 460-7044 specifying the session you wish to attend by Monday, January 25, 2010.