Marx Library Interim & Holiday Hours

 

Interim Hours
Dec. 13 - Dec. 20; Jan. 2- Jan. 12

M - F:	8:00am - 5:00pm
Sat:	Closed
Sun:	Closed

The library will be closed Dec. 23 - Jan. 1.

 

We at the Marx Library hope you have a wonderful holiday!

Make Marx Library your final exam hotspot!

Final exams will soon be upon us again.  This semester make Marx Library your study space.

Remember our extended study hours start Sunday, December 8.

Sun. 12/8: 1pm - 2am
M - W, 12/9 - 12/11: 7:45am - 2am
Th. 12/12: 7:45am - 8pm
F. 12/13: 8am - 5pm

Also, Marx Library and Satori Coffee are offering free cups of joe on Tuesday, December 10 and Wednesday, December 11 from 5pm-until to help you get through those intense study sessions.  Bring your own cup or mug and fill up! The coffee will be located outside of Room 171.

Finally, if you need a study break, take a few and read one of the awesome short stories from the collections located in the 1st floor display case.  Short Story - Big Plot

Keep Calm and Visit Marx Library! 

Marx Library Final Exam Hours

Marx Library Final Exam Hours:

Sun. 12/8: 1pm - 2am
M - W, 12/9 - 12/11: 7:45am - 2am
Th. 12/12: 7:45am - 8pm
F. 12/13: 8am - 5pm

Good Luck on finals!

Construction Begins at the Marx Library-Construction Blog

As you all have probably noticed, construction has begun at the Marx Library.

The Reference Department, in an attempt to keep our students and faculty aware of what is happening and when, has created a separate Marx Library Construction Blog.  Each week we will speak with the foreman of the construction crew and find out what is going to happen that next week.  We will then post updates here.

The idea is to let y'all know when there might be construction noise or any disruption to normal library noise levels, entrances, parking, etc.  We would like to keep any inconvenience to our students and faculty to a minimum. 

Please be patient while construction is ongoing.

Marx Library Thanksgiving Hours

Don't forget. The Marx Library has different hours for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Plan your studying accordingly. 

Wednesday, 11/27: 7:45am - noon
Thursday, 11/28 - Saturday, 11/30: CLOSED
Sunday, 12/1: regular hours

Happy Turkey Day!

2nd Annual Will Read for Food Drive

This holiday season, the Marx University Library is sponsoring the 2nd annual Will Read for Food donation drive benefiting the Bay Area Food Bank.  Please bring your non-perishable food items to the Circulation Desk on the first floor of the Marx University Library.  The library will be collecting non-perishable food donations from Monday, November 4 - Monday, December 2, 2013.  Last year, the library collected 389 pounds of non-perishable food.  Let's work together to improve our collection total and provide our community's less fortunate a wonderful holiday season.

In addition to non-perishable food donations being collected at the Marx University Library, we will also pick-up food donations from academic departments.  If you prefer this option, please contact either Muriel Nero (mnero@southalabama.edu ) or Elizabeth Rugan (erugan@southalabama.edu) to schedule a pick-up date for non-perishable food donations.

We would like to thank you for last year’s awesome collection and look forward to your generosity again this holiday season.

Pardon our Progress...Marx Library Dedication Ceremony TONIGHT 10/30/13

The library will be hosting a private renaming and dedication ceremony tonight, 10/30/13, from 5-7:30 pm in the Mary Elizabeth and Charles Rodning Gallery of Art on the 3rd floor North.

Please pardon any noise or disruption that the party may cause.  If you are looking for quiet study space, we would suggest a study room on the 1st, 2nd, or 4th floors.  Remember, the 4th floor North is completely quiet study.  

Thanks for your cooperation. 

TRAC Card Color Printing Now Available

Want to live your life in color? Well, now you can.

Color printing is now available at the Marx Library!

The color printer works on the TRAC card system, and is located in the computer lab on the 3rd floor South.  You can only access the color printer from the computers located in the 3rd Floor computer lab (not the thin clients). 

All colored printed pages are $.50.

In the mood for some macabre masterpieces?

The Marx Library has scary Halloween books for your ghoulish pleasure.  Check out our Halloween book display on the 1st floor in the library atrium.

For more terrifying titles check out these links:

Neil Gaiman's Picks for Halloween 

Popular Halloween Reads from Goodreads

Season's Readings: Books for Halloween from Boston.com

Something Wicked This Way Comes: 10 Horror Novels for the Fall from Kirkus

The Books Smuggler's 10 Recommended Halloween Reads

Update to Fall Break hours

Due to Tropical Storm Karen, the hours for Fall Break have been modified.

New hours:
Saturday, 10/5: 10am - 6pm
Sunday, 10/6: CLOSED DUE TO WEATHER
Monday, 10/7: 8am - 5pm

Regular hours will resume on Tuesday, 10/8.

Marx Library Fall Break Hours

The Marx Library will be opened the following hours for Fall Break:

Sunday, October 6:  1:00pm - 10:00pm
Monday, October 7: 8:00am - 5:00pm

The Computer Lab will close a half hour before the Library on both days.

US Government Shutdown

Well, it happened.  The US government has shutdown. Let's hope you didn't have a trip planned to visit the Smithsonian or Yellowstone today.

Due to the current government shutdown, many web based resources may be affected, including databases used for research like ERIC at eric.ed.gov.  But don't worry you can still access ERIC through our EBSCO provider.  Although, you might run into some issues if you attempt to retrieve any ERIC documents that link to the eric.ed.gov site.

For a list of affected government agencies and services, check out this website.

This shutdown begins October 1, 2013, and will continue until they sort this mess out, meaning until further notice.

If you have any questions or need any assistance, please call the Reference Desk at 460-7025.

Celebrate your Right to Read!

What Is Banned Books Week?

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. It highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types –- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship. Check out the frequently challenged books section to explore the issues and controversies around book challenges and book banning. The books featured during Banned Books Week have all been targeted with removal or restrictions in libraries and schools. While books have been and continue to be banned, part of the Banned Books Week celebration is the fact that, in a majority of cases, the books have remained available. This happens only thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, students, and community members who stand up and speak out for the freedom to read.

How is the Marx Library celebrating the right to read?

• Check out our Banned Books Displays in the 1st floor library atrium!

• For more information about which titles have been banned and censored, see our LibGuide Banned Books Week.

• Check out this interactive timeline of Banned Books!  
• Banned Books Giveaway- Drawing for 2 banned books at the Circulation Desk

Continue to follow us on Facebook and Twitter @USA_Library for more awesome Banned Books Info!

Keep Calm and Ask A Librarian Welcome Desk

Get excited! The Fall 2013 semester begins Monday, August 19th!

With everyone both new and returning students flooding onto campus, the University Library thought we would help you guys out by hosting a Keep Calm and Ask A Librarian Welcome Desk the first 3 days of classes--8/19, 8/20, & 8/21--from 10am until 3pm.

Librarians will stationed at a table in the University Library atrium to answer any questions that you might have like "Where's the Humanities building?" or "How do I get my JagCard?"  We can answer all of these things and more. 

If you are new to campus or our library, we will be hosting library tours at 12:30pm on Tuesday 8/20 and Wednesday 8/21.  Come see what your library can offer you.

Keep Calm and Ask A Librarian!

"Times they are a changing" - Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan must have anticipated the changes at the University Library with his 1964 release "Times They Are A Changing."

In order to better serve our students, we have moved the computer lab to a much larger space, room 312. One of the TRACcard printers will be moving up there as well.

 

And now for a good ol' protest song...

What the Librarians are Reading Now

Check out what some of the University Library librarians are digging into right now.

Kathy Wheeler, Interim Head of Reference & Electronic Services Librarian

Countdown City by Ben Winters

"I am currently reading Countdown City -- I loved the first book, The Last Policeman, in Ben Winters' planned trilogy about a detective trying to work cases while also facing the end of the world in just a few months. Countdown City is the second book and while I'm enjoying it as well, I'm finding it a little harder to get into than The Last Policeman."

Ellen Wilson, Instructional Services Librarian

Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery by Robert Kolker

"I don't usually read true crime, but I'd read the magazine story that led to this book and was intrigued. The focus on the women, the circumstances that led them into prostitution, and their families' grief and search for the killer really humanized the victims."

Bonus: Check out this article about Lost Girls from New York Magazine 

Muriel Nero, Cataloging Librarian

Little Green by Walter Mosley

"Literally back from the dead, Walter Mosley resurrects the heroic private detective, Easy Rawlins, to return back to mystery, murder, and mayhem of 1960s Los Angeles."

Angela Rand, USA Baldwin County Librarian

Nonfiction: Reading in the Brain by Stanislaus Dehaene

"This is a fascinating book that describes the relationship between human brain plasticity/neuronal recycling with the development of alphabets and reading.  I'm just so taken with the power of writing systems (and hence, reading) to human progress!"

Fiction: Murder in Bellville by Cara Black

"Black brings Paris to life!" 

Beth Rugan, Reference & Instruction Librarian 

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling

 

 "The book felt like a snarky version of Glamour magazine.  Great if you are looking for light, amusing beach or pool reading."


Amy Prendergast, Science & Technology Reference Librarian

Meeting at Corvallis by S.M. Stirling 

"Very well-done post-apocalyptic/fantasy novels." 

Carol Ellis, University Archivist

Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin  

 

"Not as good as the first book in the series, but I do love how Martin is never predictable."

University Library Awarded the Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle NEH/Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History Grant

 The University Library at the University of South Alabama is pleased to announce that it is one of 473 institutions across the country awarded a set of four films chronicling the history of the civil rights movement. The powerful documentaries, The Abolitionists, Slavery by Another Name, Freedom Riders, and The Loving Story, include dramatic scenes of incidents in the 150-year effort to achieve equal rights for all.  Freedom Riders received an Emmy in 2012, and The Loving Story and The Abolitionists have been nominated for Emmys in 2013. 

In order to introduce four documentaries with riveting new footage illustrating the history of civil rights in America, the University Library will offer a series of screenings, lectures, discussion forums, and scholarly presentations centered around this collection of documentaries beginning in March of 2014.

Each of the films was produced with National Endowment for the Humanities support, and each tells remarkable stories of individuals who challenged the social and legal status quo of deeply rooted institutions, from slavery to segregation. Created Equal programs bring communities together to revisit our shared history and help bridge deep racial and cultural divides in American civic life. Visit www.neh.gov/created-equal for more information.  

The Created Equal film set is made possible through a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, as part of its Bridging Cultures initiative, in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

About the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Founded in 1994, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is a nonprofit organization that promotes excellence in the teaching and learning of American history. Programs include publications, teacher seminars, a national Affiliate School Program, traveling exhibitions, and online materials for teachers, students, and the general public. www.gilderlehrman.org.

About the National Endowment for the Humanities

Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities. NEH grants enrich classroom learning, create and preserve knowledge, and bring ideas to life through public television, radio, museum exhibitions, and programs in libraries and other community places. www.neh.gov.