Did you know… |
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Standard and Poor’s is now available online with access from both on and off campus.
Beginning Monday, December 5, 2005, Maag Library will have extended hours to help
students prepare for final exams.
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Jazzman’s Café is now open from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
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Improving Library Liaisons
What do you get when librarians and faculty communicate about services
and resources? You get an exciting working environment that produces positive results.
For Maag Librarians, the library liaison program has generated a new appreciation of
changing faculty needs. This led to retooling and inventing ways to support teaching and
research across campus.
Engineering
Valerie Burnett, Science & Engineering Librarian, and Dean Cynthia Hirtzel have connected
with a mutual goal of steering students to high quality scholarly information.
On October 26, Valerie was invited by Dean Hirtzel to participate in an Open Forum with
Engineering and Technology faculty about the resources of Maag Library.
Valerie presented “The Power of Maag,” a slideshow highlighting the many
services and resources of Maag Library. Andrea Burton, Maag Library student
employee, assisted Valerie with the presentation. Feedback from Dean Hirtzel
and the faculty has been very positive.
Nursing
The Nursing faculty has expressed an ongoing need for increased accessibility to online full
text nursing journals. Working with Bob Ault,
Nursing Liaison, and Jean Romeo, Acquisitions
Librarian, the Nursing faculty now has access to the Proquest Nursing Journals online
collection. Bob coordinated an October training session with the account representative
from Proquest and the Nursing faculty to examine changes and updates to the system. The
session provided valuable insight for both librarians and faculty about the many features
of this collection.
Reading & Study Skills Workshops
This past summer, Maag Library staff began a dialogue with Dr. Karen Becker of the
Center for Reading & Study Skills, exploring ways the library could assist students of all
levels through the Center’s “College Success Workshop Series.” This dialogue led to the
addition of eight workshops with topics ranging from MLA and APA documentation to sessions
on microforms and government documents. The workshops, taught by
Becky Moore, Jan Schnall,
and Bob Ault, were a great success. As we explore new topics for workshops and ways that we
can promote and refine our existing presentations for next semester, this partnership with Dr. Becker and the
Center for Reading and Study Skills will grow and provide additional sources of support for
our students.
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Got Textbooks?
Each semester, the staff at Maag Library sees numerous students asking
about textbooks for a variety of reasons—most often “I’m planning on buying my book, but my
loan hasn’t come through yet.” According to a Government Accountability Office report on
college textbooks published in July 2005, the average cost of textbooks per student at a
four-year college for the 2003-2004 academic year was close to $900. For many students
at YSU, this represents a hardship, if not an impossibility. While OhioLINK borrowing has
eased the burden for financially strapped students, more help is needed.
So, how can the Maag Library staff help in the short term? This fall, we instituted a
program to acquire a select list of texts for 1000- and 2000-level classes based on class
size and/or the textbooks most requested. Shelved at the Circulation Desk, the textbooks
may be checked out for 3-hour use within the library. We advise students to check MaagNet,
our online catalog, for availability.
Our library professionals are watching long-term developments as well. At the federal
level, Ohio congressman Tim Ryan introduced legislation to assist students with textbook
costs.The College Textbook Tax Credit Act (H.R. 495) would allow a tax credit of up to
$1000 for textbook purchases. Another proposed bill, H.R. 3259, is exploring course
material rental programs. As these two bills are still in committee, we will do what we
can on the local level for our students.
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Promoting Maag
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The Maag Library staff welcomed students and faculty back to YSU the week
of August 29 with prize drawings, giveaways and library tours. The top prizes were two iPod
Shuffles and two flash drives. OhioLINK mugs, Maag Library ID wallets, pencils and candy
completed the give-away package.
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The celebration continued with Maag's participation in YSU’s Constitution Week activities the
week of September 19. The celebration featured a display pointing out popular myths about the U.S. Constitution, free
pocket-size copies of the Constitution and a $100 bookstore giveaway. |
Why is Maag giving away all this free stuff? According to Jean Romeo, chair of the Marketing
and Communications Committee at Maag, it is advertising, pure and simple. “We have so many
new things to offer our patrons and we don’t want them to be a secret. This is one way to
encourage our patrons to explore what the library has to offer.”
Look for more upcoming events at the library, including a 30th Birthday Celebration for
Maag Library!
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OhioLINK Offers More Renewals
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In response to patron demand, OhioLINK has changed its renewal policy.
Users involved in long-term research projects need to hold borrowed materials more than
the old policy allowed. “Users statewide have been asking to keep OhioLINK books longer
than the 6 week checkout” says Tony Maniaci, chair of OhioLINK’s Inter-Campus Services
Committee. “However, OhioLINK has to balance the needs of researchers who need to keep
a title for an extended loan period with those who have short time frames to meet deadlines.”
Under the new policy, faculty, students and staff at YSU may keep OhioLINK books for up to
15 weeks as long as another user has not requested the material. The system checks for
additional holds on an item before granting the renewal. Patrons should check their
circulation record to verify the results; multiple renewals are allowed but are not
guaranteed. Careful planning is necessary to avoid costly fines and manage research
needs wisely.
OhioLINK requests and renewals can be made online via the library’s
website at http://www.maag.ysu.edu. If you have any questions about
OhioLINK borrowing, please call the circulation desk at 330-941-3678.
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Multimedia Center – Space Redesign!
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The Multimedia Center (MMC) has undergone a redesign of its space in
recent months.
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Multimedia Librarian, Thomas Bell, said, “We had, arguably, the best view in the building,
a panoramic view, trees all around and so close that it is almost as if our space is
a nest in the trees. Yet we had these ugly listening carrels and 7-foot record bins
dominating the space, making it seem dark and a bit claustrophobic. We were able to
expand our space and create an area where the LPs can still be browsed, but they no
longer block the view. Now the MMC space is bathed in great natural light, with
comfortable couches, coffee tables, and listening/viewing equipment.”
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Other features added to enhance the atmosphere in the MMC include overhead music
(if you like what you hear, you can check the “now playing” display to see what it is!)
and several indie rock and experimental music magazines. Titles include CMJ New Music
Monthly, The Wire, Magnet, UnCut, and Under the Radar: The Solution to Music Pollution.
Most of these titles come with sampler CDs which can also be checked out in the MMC.
Bell says, “The CD samplers and magazines are a great way to discover cool new music.
To me, part of my role as a librarian is to encourage and stimulate intellectual and
artistic curiosity because I find that curiosity to be a fundamental quality of all
great scholars and artists. I believe the MMC is becoming an ideal space for discoverers
of all kinds.”
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