Tag Archives: June 5 2009

New Wireless Access Points

Submitted by Howie McCausland
We have just completed installing Wireless Access Points to provide full coverage throughout Coffrin and Stewart dorms, and have installed an extensive new network infrastructure (wired, and wireless) throughout the newly-renovated Proctor to support the new expanded College Book Store.
Good wireless signal is now available in about 90% of campus building interior spaces, as shown on the accompanying map.
 wireless map 6-09
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

CQ Researcher Report on Future of Books

Posted by Brenda Ellis

CQ Researcher is one of the resources the library subscribes to.  This week’s topic seems very relevant and timely for us. Quoting from their email announcement:

“Future of Books” by Sarah Glazer, May 29, 2009 Will traditional print books disappear?

The migration of books to electronic screens has been accelerating with the introduction of mobile reading on Kindles, iPhones and Sony Readers and the growing power of Google’s Book Search engine. Continue reading

Retirement of long-time colleague

Submitted by Bill Warren

 

As many already know, Mary-Ruth Crawford has decided to retire from her position as Senior Bibliographic Searcher (and doyenne of the Library Acquisitions Department).  Her last day will be Friday 12 June. 

 

In her three decades of exemplary service, Mary-Ruth has become a library legend.  She is a consummate worker, a treasured resource—both professional and personal—and a cheerfully-humanizing presence among us. 

 

All who work or interact with Mary-Ruth in any way regard her with admiration and affection, and will feel a sense of wistfulness at her departure.  With her goodwill, optimism, and resolute spirit, to rely on, Mary-Ruth will undoubtedly enjoy the satisfying and fulfilling retirement to which her laudable career has entitled her.

Getting to Know Drupal

drupal-logo1You’ve probably heard Drupal mentioned in discussions about our new website, but you might not know what Drupal actually is. Drupal is a web-based Content Management System, similar to the software that our current website runs on, but also different in many ways. In this session, Ian McBride will discuss the things that makes Drupal unique, why we chose Drupal as a platform for our new site, and look at some examples of the ways we can extend Drupal to improve our website.  We’ll spend some time looking at an extension developed by Amherst College, the only other school running its entire web presence on Drupal, named Monster Menus which we’ll be using as part of the core functionality of our site.

This session requires no technical knowledge of our website, content management systems, or programming, but is a great opportunity for you to ask questions on those topics.

When:  Monday, June 15 from 3:30-5 pm
Where:  LIB 105

“Looking at Library Research” – You’re Invited

Submitted by Carrie Macfarlane

Please join us at next week’s workshop called “Looking at Library Research.” It’s part of the CTLR Pedagogy Roundtable Series.

Thursday, June 11
1:30 – 2:30 pm
Looking at Library Research, Library 230
Presenters: Brenda Ellis, Joe Toth, Andrew Wentink

Conveners: Carrie Macfarlane and Terry Simpkins

Has the way you do research changed over the past few years? Have you noticed a change in the research your students are doing? Finding information has become easier than ever, but sifting out the best information remains a challenge even for experienced researchers. In this roundtable we will examine some of the changes in the resources libraries provide and in how they provide them, as well as discuss how these mesh (or don’t!) with student and faculty expectations.

a dream of one library…

Submitted by Mike Roy

I’ve started a blog called (following Tim Spears’ lead ) “Another Dean’s View” and recently posted a piece about cooperative collection development inspired by a recent meeting with my colleagues from other library’s in the northeast. The piece is called “The Dream of a Single Library” . I’m hoping this might serve as a springboard for conversations about our views on the future of our library collection in particular, and library collections in general.

– mike