The end of the semester is getting close, and your big projects will be due soon...
We're here to help. From now until finals week (with the exception of the week of Thanksgiving), there will be someone at the Reference Desk to help you with your research from 9:30 am until 10:00 pm, Monday through Thursday. (We're only here until 4 on Fridays, but who wants to work on Friday, anyway?) Reference librarians are also available on Sundays, from 1-9.
Please stop by. We can help you when you get stuck on your research, if you don't know where to start, or if you just need some reassurance that you're doing it right.
For more information:
Complete schedule for both Crumb and Crane libraries
Reference hours at Crumb Library
Monday, November 14, 2005
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Finding videos in the Libraries
We get a lot of questions about how to find videos and DVDs in the Libraries. We do have a lot of them -- we have classic films, recordings of plays and operas, documentaries, and films for use by classroom teachers. Lots of people don't realize how many movies we have, because they're not kept in any special place, like in a video store. Instead, they're on the shelves with the books, so that if you're looking for criticism of Hamlet, you'll also find the videos of productions of Hamlet on the same shelf, too. Or, if you're looking at books on classroom management skills, you'll find the videos on managing classrooms right next to them.
One way is to do a search in BearCat, and if we have videos on the topic you searched, they'll show up in your search results. But if you're looking for just videos, we have a special catalog -- the Video Collection database -- that you can search. You can find it by clicking here, or by using the drop-down "Change Collection..." menu right above the search box on the main BearCat screen. The top of the screen turns pink to tell you you've changed catalogs, and now you can search for anything -- "special education", "detective films", "American history" -- and find just the videos. Once you find what you need, you can check them out at the circulation desk, and enjoy!
So how do you find videos in the Libraries?
One way is to do a search in BearCat, and if we have videos on the topic you searched, they'll show up in your search results. But if you're looking for just videos, we have a special catalog -- the Video Collection database -- that you can search. You can find it by clicking here, or by using the drop-down "Change Collection..." menu right above the search box on the main BearCat screen. The top of the screen turns pink to tell you you've changed catalogs, and now you can search for anything -- "special education", "detective films", "American history" -- and find just the videos. Once you find what you need, you can check them out at the circulation desk, and enjoy!
Friday, November 04, 2005
Contact us!
The College Libraries have revamped our directories, and we think they're easier to use, and that they'll tell you more of what you want to know.
To find out who to ask about a particular library service, use the Services Directory, found at http://www.potsdam.edu/library/home/ServiceDirectory2.php . (There's also a link under "Contact Us By Phone" on the homepage.) In the Services Directory, you can click on many of the services we offer to get to an explanatory web page about that service. Ever wondered what a "Consultation" is? Click on it, and see!
To find a person who works in the libraries, or to find out which person does which jobs in the libraries, check the Staff Directory, found at http://www.potsdam.edu/library/home/Staff_Directory2.php. (Also available under "Contact Us By Phone".) If you want to know more about a staff member, click on their name to see more info. As an example of what you might find, here's my directory page.
Let us know what you think about these new directories -- do they help you find what you need?
To find out who to ask about a particular library service, use the Services Directory, found at http://www.potsdam.edu/library/home/ServiceDirectory2.php . (There's also a link under "Contact Us By Phone" on the homepage.) In the Services Directory, you can click on many of the services we offer to get to an explanatory web page about that service. Ever wondered what a "Consultation" is? Click on it, and see!
To find a person who works in the libraries, or to find out which person does which jobs in the libraries, check the Staff Directory, found at http://www.potsdam.edu/library/home/Staff_Directory2.php. (Also available under "Contact Us By Phone".) If you want to know more about a staff member, click on their name to see more info. As an example of what you might find, here's my directory page.
Let us know what you think about these new directories -- do they help you find what you need?
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Newspapers available online...
Many newspapers now have some content online. Often however, the backfile is not available for free, and the cost to download articles can be quite high. Through the library you can access many U.S. and foreign newspapers, including some archival content. For a group of northern New York newspapers the historical content is especially deep. To explore the newspapers available to you, go to our "Articles in Newspapers" page. Within each newspaper collection, there is a way to browse what newspapers are included. All-in-all, many hundreds of newspapers can ow be searched and articles displayed.
Monday, October 17, 2005
How to access CIAO and Earthscape from off-campus
Most of the Libraries' online databases can be accessed from a computer off campus by logging in to our proxy server with your Campus Computer Account. (The proxy server is a nifty piece of equipment that makes it look like you're working from a computer on campus.) However, no matter how hard we try to keep things easy, some databases work differently than others.
Some of our users have pointed out that accessing CIAO and Earthscape (two databases from Columbia University -- one on politics, and one on environmental topics) from off campus is more complicated. To log in to CIAO and Earthscape from the dorm, from home, or from somewhere else off-campus, you have to take one extra step: Create a user account. This can be done in CIAO by clicking on the "Remote Users" link on the left-hand side, and in Earthscape by clicking on the "Work from Home" link under the compass-like-graphic.
However, you must create the user account from on campus so that the database knows which authorized user (SUNY Potsdam) you are affiliated with.
We're working on finding an easier way for our off-campus users to access these (very useful!) Columbia databases, but until then, if you have any questions please contact the reference desk by calling 267-2485, or by sending an instant message to AIM user PotsdamLibrary.
Some of our users have pointed out that accessing CIAO and Earthscape (two databases from Columbia University -- one on politics, and one on environmental topics) from off campus is more complicated. To log in to CIAO and Earthscape from the dorm, from home, or from somewhere else off-campus, you have to take one extra step: Create a user account. This can be done in CIAO by clicking on the "Remote Users" link on the left-hand side, and in Earthscape by clicking on the "Work from Home" link under the compass-like-graphic.
However, you must create the user account from on campus so that the database knows which authorized user (SUNY Potsdam) you are affiliated with.
We're working on finding an easier way for our off-campus users to access these (very useful!) Columbia databases, but until then, if you have any questions please contact the reference desk by calling 267-2485, or by sending an instant message to AIM user PotsdamLibrary.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Nobel Prize for Literature, 2005
It was announced today that Harold Pinter, playwright, has won the 2005 Nobel Prize for Literature. Reuters newswire reports,
We have a collection of Pinter's works in the library; click here to see the list. Also, we have books about his life and work, here.
The Bregman Browsing Collection, in the lobby of Crumb Library, contains many award-winning literary and non-fiction works -- if you're interested in noteworthy new publications, be sure to check the browsing shelves by the couches.
Congratulations, Mr. Pinter!
British playwright Harold Pinter, a master of sparse dialogue and menacing silences who has been an outspoken critic of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, was the surprise winner of the Nobel literature prize on Thursday.[Full story available here.]The 75-year-old Londoner, son of a Jewish dressmaker, is one of Britain's best-known dramatists for plays like "The Birthday Party" and "The Caretaker", whose mundane dialogue with sinister undercurrents gave rise to the adjective "Pinteresque".
An intimidating presence with bushy eyebrows and a rich voice, he was described by Swedish Academy head Horace Engdahl, who announced the prize, as "the towering figure" in English drama in the second half of the 20th century.
We have a collection of Pinter's works in the library; click here to see the list. Also, we have books about his life and work, here.
The Bregman Browsing Collection, in the lobby of Crumb Library, contains many award-winning literary and non-fiction works -- if you're interested in noteworthy new publications, be sure to check the browsing shelves by the couches.
Congratulations, Mr. Pinter!
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Looking for a computer? Try a laptop!
It's a Sunday evening, and the library's filling up... and so are the computers. But don't lose hope! You can still do your work here, if this is where you want or need to be -- we have 8 laptop computers available for use in Crumb Library.
You can sign out a laptop at the Circulation Desk, using your SUNYCard. Since wireless access is available in many places in the library -- we'll give you a map of the best spots when you pick up the computer -- you can get online wherever you need to be, and you can save to Helios even if you're sitting on one of the couches on the second floor. For more information, check our Laptop Policies page.
And, if the Reference computers are full, and our laptops are checked out, don't forget that more computers are available in the Levitt Center in Merritt Hall.
You can sign out a laptop at the Circulation Desk, using your SUNYCard. Since wireless access is available in many places in the library -- we'll give you a map of the best spots when you pick up the computer -- you can get online wherever you need to be, and you can save to Helios even if you're sitting on one of the couches on the second floor. For more information, check our Laptop Policies page.
And, if the Reference computers are full, and our laptops are checked out, don't forget that more computers are available in the Levitt Center in Merritt Hall.
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