Tag Archives: libspotlight

Welcome to the Libraries, Febs!

Welcome Febs!

Come to the Research Desk to claim your free unicorn!*

(*Ahem. No actual unicorns are available at this time.)

But please do come and say hello to a friendly librarian! We provide expert research help, bookmarks, collectible library pins and (sometimes) candy! Find us at the Research Desk on the main level of the Davis Family Library.

Spring Research Desk Hours
(February 11 – May 21)

  • Sunday 1pm-5pm
  • Monday 11am-5pm and 7pm-9:30pm
  • Tuesday 11am-5pm and 7pm-9:30pm
  • Wednesday 11am-5pm and 7pm-9:30pm
  • Thursday 11am-5pm
  • Friday 11am-4pm

And online anytime!
go.middlebury.edu/askalibrarian

No one’s at the Research Desk?
Visit us in our offices! Librarians are conveniently located right behind the Research Desk.

What about the Armstrong Library?
A librarian is available most days at the Armstrong Library in McCardell Bicentennial Hall, too. Just ask!

Update on New York Times access

New York TimesYou may be aware that we’ve had an access problem with the New York Times web site over the past few months. The short version of the issue is that SGA was providing online access until NYT discontinued that program…which no one on campus realized until our access ceased (there’s more detail in this Campus article). The Times’ new program is extremely expensive, and the library’s funding for this fiscal year was set last year. Partial access is still available; would that full access were, and we wish an immediate solution were at hand. We haven’t given up, though, and are still working on the problem. Please feel free to contact Douglas Black, Head of Collections Management, for more information.

Links to our remaining options for online access access to the NYT are in the Journals list New York Times. (You can get to this list on your own by clicking on the “Journals” tab on the library home page and searching for “new york times.”) For today’s paper, select “Global Newsstream,” a database that provides NYT articles with full text but without images. Need help? Ask a librarian.

More Consistent Linking from Library Databases

In order to provide a consistently satisfactory user experience, in which users of the Library’s research databases (and the Summon discovery service) don’t face dead-end blank screens when trying to reach articles and books, the Library will deactivate Index-enhanced Direct Linking (IEDL) in our link resolver (360Link).

What does this mean exactly?
Index-enhanced Direct Linking (IEDL) is available for certain article databases that cooperate with the company which provides 360Link.  IEDL takes the user from a results list to an article or book without any kind of intermediate screen. From certain databases (and from Summon), IEDL was supposed to streamline the user experience by eliminating clicks between the search results and the items themselves. This has not turned out to be the case.

What will I see?
When you click on a link for full-text, you will now see the familiar intermediate screen for all articles and books.  This “Get it @ Midd” screen is 360Link, our link resolver.  You will then click a button to access the item, as you always have in cases where you saw this screen. The intermediate screen will be similar to the following example:

Get It @ Midd page

Why did we make the change?
For several reasons having to do with commercial relationships among various database vendors, IEDL used to function better than it currently does. Now, the inconvenience of the dead-end screens occurs much more often. The dead ends (blank screens) provide little or no useful information as to how the user can access materials the Library actually has. Always displaying the intermediate “Get it @ Midd” screen will allow users to see our accurate holdings and to obtain access consistently.

Questions and/or Feedback
Please feel free to comment below or send questions to the Midd librarians at http://go.middlebury.edu/askus .

Faculty: Are you grading research papers…

…and hoping they’ll be a little better next time? Talk with a librarian! We’d love to help you build more research and information literacy support into your spring semester classes. Our new InfoLit site describes what we do, and how it makes a difference. You’ll find assignment ideas, sample workshops, and of course, lots more prompts to talk with a librarian.

InfoLit site

“Every student who met with you commented on how that meeting focused their work and led them to search the appropriate literature quickly and effectively.”
-Faculty feedback on library research consultations for students, Fall 2018

 

Is the outlet out? Report it!

Report it!Is the outlet out? Is the carrel light dark? Please, report it!

It’s finals week, and students are making use of every desk, table, carrel and recliner in the libraries. Surely, someone will find something amiss.

Please feel welcome to alert library staff to outages and other problems in the building. Visit the Circulation Desk, or report the issue via our Library Feedback Form at go.middlebury.edu/libfeedback. We want to keep our facilities in top-top shape for you!

Thank you!

Write-In 2018

a flyer

Come Visit the 4th Annual Middlebury Write-In, Wednesday, December 5th, from 8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. in Davis Family Library 201 or the Anderson Freeman Center.

On Wednesday, December 5th, from 8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m., supported by the Center for Teaching, Learning and Research (CTLR), the 4th Annual Middlebury Write-In will be held. Students can receive writing assistance from tutors and research help from librarians in Davis Family Library 201 or in the Anderson Freeman Center. Snacks will be served. For more information, visit go.middlebury.edu/writein.

You can now receive library circulation notices via text message

The library now offers patrons the option of receiving circulation notices via text message. If you choose to opt in, you will get overdue, hold pickup, and courtesy notices on your phone, in addition to via email. To opt in, login to My MIDCAT at go/renew, click the “Modify Personal Info” button, enter your mobile phone number, check the “Opt in” box, read the conditions, and click “Submit”. Opt out at any time by following the same procedure and unchecking the “Opt in” button. Contact library_circulation@middlebury.edu with any questions.