Holiday Hours

The University Library will be closed for the holidays for Friday, 12/23/2011 - Monday, 1/2/2012

Have a good holiday season.

Library Interim Hours

The University Library is on Interim Hours beginning Thursday, December 15. Our hours are:

Dec. 15 (Thursday) - Dec. 22 (Thursday): 8:00am - 5:00pm, Monday-Friday

We are closed on weekends. For more information, see http://library.southalabama.edu/InterimDec2011.pdf

Salvage the Bones and the National Book Award

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward, USA Assistant Professor of Creative Writing, is the winner of the National Book Award for Fiction. It is set during Hurricane Katrina's landfall and tells the story of a young African-American girl and her family who are living on the Mississippi Gulf Coast during this time.

The University Library owns Salvage the Bones, but the circulating copy is currently checked out and due back 12-01-11. You can place a hold on it by clicking on the title above -- this will take you to SOUTHcat. Click on Hold/Recall and enter your login information, choose Hold, and enter your J Number again. Then submit the request.

Can't wait to read a Jesmyn Ward novel? The University Library also owns Ms. Ward's debut novel, Where the Line Bleeds. The call number is PS 3623 .A7323 W47 2008, and the novel can be found on the 4th Floor South.

Update (11/18/2011): Check out the CNN interview with Ward.

Haruki Murakami Display

Haruki Murakami is an award winning writer of both fiction and non-fiction. In 2006, his novel, Kafka on the Shore (PL 856 .U673 U4813 2005) , won both the World Fantasy Award for Novels and the Franz Kafka Prize. Check out Ellen Wilson's display of the works of Murakami that are owned by the University Library. It's on the pond side of the library near the TracCard printers.

New Computers in Reference Section! (With Software)

Thanks to the wonderful efforts of the University Library Systems Department, we now have 10 additional computers available for USA student use in the Reference section of the library. These computers are located across the back wall of windows on the 2nd floor North. These new computers are equiped with the same software that is available on the computers in the ARC computer lab.

In order to log onto these computers, students scan a barcode placed on the back of their TRACcard; these barcodes are placed on the TRACcard after students have verified with the circulation staff that they are USA students.

The Reference staff would like to send a sincere thanks to Gary Pugh for his hard work getting these new computers up and running for our students!

Art of Reading at West Regional Public Library

Ellen Wilson, Instructional Services Librarian, has a quilt hanging in the Mobile Public Libraries' (West Regional Branch) Art of Reading show. This art show is a juried exhibition and will be hanging in the West Regional Branch through December 2, 2011.

New vending machines!

In order to respond to the closure of the student center, we have installed 3 vending machines outside the library - 2 Pepsi machines and a snack machine. In conjunction with this, we have updated the library's food and drink policy:

Food and Drink Guidelines
University Library, University of South Alabama
The goals of the University Library include providing a comfortable and inviting study atmosphere for our library users and also protecting the Library’s collections, equipment, and furnishings.
The University Library allows the consumption of snack food and non-alcoholic beverages under the following conditions:
• Snack food and drinks are only allowed in library study areas.
ALLOWED: SNACK FOOD = chips, nuts, pretzels, cookies and other pre- packaged items.
NOT ALLOWED: pizza, burgers, fries, sandwiches, salads, etc.
• Use sturdy, “spill-proof” containers to minimize damage to Library resources and facilities.
• Dispose of any food and drink-related trash properly.
• Please report any spill to Library staff immediately so the spill can be cleaned ASAP.
LIMITATIONS:
1. The delivery of food to the Library for library users is prohibited.
2. Eating and drinking are NOT permitted at or near:
• Computer workstations
• Media equipment
• Printers or photocopiers
• Aisles and stacks where books are shelved
3. Eating and drinking are NOT permitted in the ARC Computer Lab.
We expect that you will make every effort to accept the responsibility that these guidelines allow. Your recognition and acceptance will minimize enforcement problems and will make the Library a more comfortable and productive place for everyone. Your cooperation will also ensure the full use and enjoyment of our resources and facilities for all current and future users.
If you fail to follow these guidelines and limitations, you will be asked to conform or leave the Library. Additional sanctions may be imposed on repeat offenders.

Library Information

The University Library has an information table by the pond-side entrance to the library that is stacked with useful information about the Library for new and returning students and faculty. The table includes campus maps, library hours and TRACcard handouts. Circulation and Reference staff the table from 10:00am - 1:00pm to answer any questions students may have.

Paul Hendrix answering student questions

USA Librarians Get In on the Jag Bike Fun!

Several University Library Librarians took advantage of the wonderful weather today to try out the new Jag Bikes on campus.

For information on the new Jag Smart Initiative, check out this site.

How to go green using Jag Bikes.

Click here for a map of Jag Bike stations and routes.

Have fun, be safe, and go green!

Check out some more pics of librarians having fun!

JagFest 2011

Beth Rugan and Ellen Wilson manned the University Library's table at JagFest on Saturday, August 20. They had swag to give away and were completely cleaned out by the end of the campus fair. Ellen and Beth gave away five or six bags of candy, 500 pencils, 100 brochures with library information for students, a stack of bookmarks, and a large stack of  blue library information sheets for students.

ebrary ebook collections

The University Library has recently subscribed to ebrary's Academic Complete collection, giving us access to over 70,000 ebook titles in 15 different subject areas including Anthropology, Psychology, Fine Arts, History, Social Sciences and Education.

Currently you can access these titles by going to the Library's homepage, choosing Electronic Books, and then choosing ebrary. We are working on adding these titles to SOUTHcat so they will appear when you do a search in our catalog as well.

Pages from ebrary titles can be printed by using the InfoTools button and choosing Print. You can choose to print the current page, a range of pages (with the maximum number of pages being 60) or an entire chapter.

You can save books to a bookshelf within ebrary by creating a free account. Then when you login and do a search, you can  add titles to your bookshelf (this will also save any annotations you may make in the book) by simply clicking on the Add to My Bookshelf button. Even though you've saved this book to your bookshelf, it is still available for others to read.

Since ebrary books cannot be saved to your computer, they cannot currently be used on an ereader. This is something the company is working on and hopes to make available soon.

Closed Monday, July 4th

The University Library will be closed Monday, July 4th in observance of Independence Day! We will resume regular summer hours Tuesday, July 5th. Have a wonderful and safe holiday!

Academic Search Complete

The University Library has upgraded its subscription to the major EBSCO general interest database, Academic Search Premier, from the Premier version to Academic Search Complete. In so doing, we have been able to provide faculty, staff and students with access to almost twice the number of journals that were available in Academic Search Premier (over 4500), as Academic Search Complete indexes over 8500 journals.

Just like Academic Search Premier, Academic Search Complete can be used on your mobile device. Use the following URL:

http://libproxy2.usouthal.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.asp?profile=mobsmart

University Librarians Attend and Present at the Alabama Library Association Conference

Six librarians from the University of South Alabama Libraries, both the University Library and Biomedical Library, attended this year's Alabama Library Association annual conference in Orange Beach, Alabama, April 19-22.

Many of these librarians also presented at the conference. University librarians Elizabeth Rugan and Ellen Wilson presented research posters at the conference's poster presentation sessions. Wilson's poster explained the citation habits of students in an undergraduate political science class, while Rugan's poster explored ways in which academic libraries can implement QR code technology to serve their patrons.

Biomedical librarian Andrea Wright, University librarian Paula Webb, and USA Baldwin County Campus librarian Angela Rand served on this year's Technoforum and discussed social media in the library. The forum was sponsored by the Technical Services and Systems Round Table of the Alabama Library Association.

University Librarians Vera Finley and Muriel Nero hosted a presentation for NAAL entitled “Outsourcing End Processing to Baker and Taylor at USA: Benefits and Cost Effectiveness.” This presentation described what was outsourced at the University Library, as well as the results of the process. Baker and Taylor provide the following physical processing of some University Library books: spine labels, label protectors, date due slips, and laminated book covers. The University Library started outsourcing these services in April of 2006 and it has proven to be very cost effective.


Ellen Wilson, Instructional Services Librarian, University Library









Elizabeth Rugan, Reference and Instruction Librarian, University Library

National Library Week, April 10-16

Celebrate National Library Week and Create your own story @ University Library, April 10-16

This National Library Week, join our nation’s libraries and librarians and Create your own story @ your library.

The University Library is celebrating National Library Week by hosting library quotation prize drawings; staffing a Disaster Preparedness table at Community Day, April 13 10am-3pm; and conducting an online e-book survey.

First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April.

For more information, contact Elizabeth Rugan 251.460.7025 or Paula Webb 251.460.7024.

We Want To Know...

...how you use e-books. As part of National Library Week, April 10-16, the University Library is surveying users regarding their use of our e-book collections.

Take this short electronic survey and Enter to Win! It's a double whammy; we get valuable information, and you get a chance to win!

The more you tell us, the better we can make your library.

-The Librarians

E-Book Survey

University Librarians Participate in USA Faculty Research Forum 2011

Two members of the University Library Reference department, Elizabeth Rugan and Kathy Wheeler, are participating in this year's USA Faculty Research Forum. The poster created by Rugan and Wheeler describes the many ways in which USA librarians are preparing college freshman for the rigors of college-level, academic research.

Stop by the Student Center Lobby sometime this week and check out the poster. Rugan and Wheeler will be present for questions Thursday, March 31 from 2-4 pm in the Student Center Lobby.

We hope to see you there!

Paula Webb -- Library Journal Movers and Shakers

Paula Webb, Reference & Electronic Resources/Government Documents Librarian, has been named as a Community Builder among Library Journal's 2011 Movers and Shakers for her work on the Government Document's Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill web page and for her work on the committee that was able to bring a branch of the Mobile Public Library to Semmes, AL.

For the complete story, see http://www.libraryjournal.com/csp/cms/sites/LJ/LJInPrint/MoversAndShakers/profiles2011/moversandshakersWebb.csp

Congratulations, Paula!

Tax Information

Need help with finding information on tax preparation? The USA University Library provides access to paper copies of the most-used, current tax forms and instructions during the tax season (Jan.-April). The materials are free and available near the Documents/Serials Department Help Desk on 2nd Floor South. If the library does not have a form you need, we can assist you in locating a copy on the web for print-out.

For more information, check out the Government Documents Libguide at http://libguides.southalabama.edu/docstaxes

Vicki Tate
Head, Government Documents/Serials

USA Librarians Conduct High School Librarian Workshop

Members of the University Library's Reference Department, Kathy Wheeler and Elizabeth Rugan, conducted a workshop for Baldwin County high school librarians at Fairhope High School Library on the topics of preparing high school students for college-level research and what students should know about research when they enter college. Topics included information literacy, plagiarism, citing sources, the need to understand the importance of databases such as those at the Alabama Virtual Library, understanding the limitations of Google for serious research, the problems with using Wikipedia, web page evaluation, and teaching students to be responsible users of information.

The Alabama Virtual Library has received trials for three career resources. These databases will remain active through June 30, 2011. They are:

1. Career Library
2. Ferguson's Career Guidance Center
3. Small Business Reference Center

These databases can be accessed from on or off-campus with a USA ID card or an AVL card. Check them out for your career information needs.

The University Library also has trials of two ebook packages through the AVL:

1. Gale Ebooks: trial through March 15
2. APA Books: psychology books

New Librarian

Elizabeth Rugan has recently joined the staff of the University Library as its Instruction and Reference Librarian, Assistant Librarian. Beth has her Masters in Library and Information Science from Louisiana State University. She also holds an M.A. in English from LSU and was a teacher before she came to USA. In addition to her reference duties, Beth will co-design and implement the information literacy program at the University Library.

Welcome Beth!