Tired of reading textbooks? Need some holiday reading? Check out the new books shelf adjacent to the main entrance.

Happy Holidays -- the Stoxen Library staff.

The Common Grounds coffee bar finally has its dry run!

The first cups, good to the last....! Pictured are Dr. Rich Brauhn, Vice-President of Academic Affairs and Shawna Egli, Educational Enhancement Services staff, enjoying the first pot of coffee on today's dry run of the Common Grounds Coffee Bar. The coffee bar, the first Dickinson location serving Starbucks coffee, will have a soft opening in early January. Watch this blog for announcements of the grand opening to come early in 2007!

The Library has thousands of e-books for your use

Stoxen Library provides access to over 12,000 e-books for your use!

A whole lot of checkouts

Stoxen Library checked out 22,057 items to students, 3,113 to faculty, 1,014 to staff, 999 to off-campus patrons, and 340 items as interlibrary loans.

Even more statistics

In fiscal year 2006, Stoxen Library staff answered 13,624 reference questions and circulated over 22,000 items. The online licensed databases received 112,737 searches!

More numbers

In fiscal year 06 Stoxen Library added 1,568 books to the collection and 4,897 issues of periodicals (journals and magazines).

Statistical Highlights

Statistical snapshots:

Stoxen Library's holdings includes 164,567 volumes, including 5,970 videos, DVDs, and music CDs. Additionally the library owns 12,238 e-books, and subscribes to 21,000 print and online journal titles. Patrons can access 77 licensed databases via the Library web page.

The halls are decked

The halls are decked at Stoxen Library. Stop in and pick out a few books for Christmas break reading. As finals approach, hours are extended by the library staff by opening on Saturdays, Dec. 2nd and 9th from 1-4 p.m.

Typical fall day at Stoxen Library

Typical fall day at Stoxen Library

Pass the turkey, please!

Displayed on the top of the new book shelving are books about Thanksgiving, pilgrims and turkeys. Enjoy!

To honor our veterans!

In observance of Veteran’s Day, there are books pertaining to military service located on the top of the New Book shelving. Many of them are narratives of personal experiences.

Biographies...we've got them!

What do Sandra Day O’Connor, John Lennon, Eleanor Roosevelt, Ted Turner and Lance Armstrong all have in common? Their biographies and many others are the current feature on the special book display just inside the library doors. Stop by and see who you might want to read about!

Educator of the Year

Congratulations
Eileen!

Please join the library staff in celebrating Eileen, the Chamber of Commerce Educator of the Year! Come to the library foyer at 1:00 today for cookies and lemonade. Way to go, Eileen. We are so proud of you!

Trick or Treat?

Check out the books and videos on witches, ghosts and goblins. The items are displayed on top of the New Book shelving.

Literary Reference Center

Looking for information on an author or their works? Check out the Literary Reference Center – a full text database featuring literature of all types, both classic and contemporary. You can access this database via a link on the Online Reference Resources page on the library’s website.

Content includes:
More than 10,000 plot summaries, synopses and work overviews
75,000 articles of literary criticism
130,000 author biographies
Full text of over 300 literary journals
500,000 book reviews
25,000 classic and contemporary poems
Over 11,000 classic and contemporary short stories
3,000 author interviews
Over 1,000 images of key literary figures

books by Symposium authors

Books by the visiting authors for the Roosevelt Symposium are now on display in the library. Patricia O'Toole, Douglas Brinkley, Candice Millard, and Tweed Roosevelt are all represented in this display. The Roosevelt Symposium begins today and runs through Saturday evening.

Library homepage overview

Need to do some research and don’t know where to begin?

The next session on using the Library homepage should be useful to you!

Wednesday, Oct. 11 – 3:00 pm

Please register by Wednesday, Oct. 11 by 2 pm. (call 483-2135 or stop at the Main Service Desk)

These sessions are for transfer students, international students, students returning to school after an absence and other DSU folks wanting to see a brief overview of the Library homepage. This does not substitute for the library instruction provided in Freshmen Seminar and Composition 120 classes.

Class sessions are 45 – 50 minutes in length and have a maximum enrollment of 30 students (minimum of 5). Topics covered include a general review of the Library’s webpage, ODIN, accessing one’s library account and Academic Search Premier.

Sessions begin at the Library Main Service desk with a 5 minute walk through the library.

Online Biography @ your library

Looking for information about an individual? Check out our newest biography database!

The cornerstone of biography research at all levels and in all disciplines

Biography Resource Center is a one-stop resource for those who made history in literature, arts, multicultural studies and more. Biography Resource Center provides quick and accurate access to:

* Full-text periodical articles from more than 300 magazines selected for their biographical coverage in a broad range of subject areas
* More than 427,000 biographies on more than 335,000 people, including narrative biographies More than 214,000 "thumbnail" biographies which also includes citations for additional resources
* More than 80,000 new and/or updated biographies added each year
* Recent Updates that present more than 5,300 recent news events linked to more than 4,200 high-interest individuals

Gate counts continue steady increase

Academic Success Center completely moved in

This is a view of the Academic Success Center, now completely moved into the lower level.

Banned Books Displayed

The most frequently challenged books from 1990-2000 are displayed on the top of the New Books shelving. Banned Books Week is September 23 -30. Please feel free to check out any of these "banned books!"

upgraded classroom

Pictured here is the newly upgraded smart classroom in the Library. Public Services Librarian Eileen Kopren is teaching information literacy to Freshmen Seminar.

New computer lab area located on the lower level of Stoxen Library

Pictured here is the new computer lab located on the lower level of Stoxen Library, open to all students' use.

Also on the lower level are the Academic Success Center, the media collections, viewing/study rooms, the classroom, periodicals, the restrooms, and the office of the Theodore Roosevelt Scholar in Residence.

Displays. We've got displays.

This month's eye-catching display features items from the collection written by the authors visiting campus for the Everett C. Albers Humanities Festival on September 28 & 29. Take a minute to read some poetry or prose by Robert Bly, Mark Vinz, David Martinson, Larry Woiwode, and more.

The compelling and attractive displays are assembled by Mrs. Corina Zalesky, Library Secretary, and are often inspired by staff and patron suggestions. Student librarian Jessica Knopik assisted with the Albers Festival display. Don't forget to also view the Albers memorabilia from Special Collections, featured this fall in the Foyer display.

Thank you so much, Mrs. Zalesky, for the work you do at Dickinson State University's Stoxen Library.

The "parts" have been delivered for the soon-to-be-installed compact shelving in the print periodicals area. At this point, the staff has shifted the print periodicals three times in the past year in preparation for this. Once the installation is complete, the collection will need to be shifted a fourth time! Three cheers for the staff for their herculean efforts.

September 11 Remembrance

Check out the display of books on the top of the New Books shelves for some great materials in commemoration of the five year anniversary of September 11.

New York Times access

If you need access to the NY Times, the Library has the COMPLETE run...1997 to today's issue is included on the NY Times link on the Newspaper page and 1851-2001 is available at the NY Times Historical link.

Today's issue of the NY Times is available by 8 a.m. our time each day. The articles can be sorted by either title or page number. This issue is available at the NY Times link described in the next paragraph.

To access current issues of NY Times or the Historical NY Times, click on the Newspaper Articles link on the library homepage http://www.dickinsonstate.com/library.asp, then Online Newspapers. The two links are about halfway down the page.

It is also possible to register to receive the daily headlines from the New York Times via e-mail. Registration for this service is free at http://www.nytimes.com/gst/regi.html. Once you have filled out the registration you can subscribe to e-mail via a link at the Member Center.

Please let us know if we can be of any assistance in the use of the New York Times.

Display of items from Special Collections

Check out the Fall 2006 display of items from Special Collections. Thank you to Library Secretary Corina Zalesky for this lovely display.

Stoxen Library's Common Grounds Coffee Bar soon to open

Opening soon!

Stoxen Library's Common Grounds Coffee Bar

Located on the Main Level

(Name suggested by Professor Debora Dragseth, approved by Library staff vote)

More computers!

There are now 18 additional computers for use in the library. They are located on the lower level and are attached to a networked printer. Check it out!

Verb, an Audioquarterly

Check out the newest addition to our periodicals collection. An audioquarterly, published on CD - Verb!


Looking for something new and different? Would you like to check out new poetry and fiction, but you don't have the time? Then take a listen to a new kind of literary magazine. Hear some of the best writers in the country reading their own work - new stories and poetry and a little bit of music too.

Here is what some reviewers are saying about Verb:

What happens when you take a quality literary journal and send it out on a CD? A great sampling of contemporary poetry, fiction and music, as Verb adeptly proves with its inaugural issue.--Lit Kicks

Verb ably demonstrates that the sound of poetry and fiction being read aloud reaches into territories that simply cannot be mapped by the printed page. --Library Journal

Today's renovating post

Today's renovating news is that the media collections are currently inaccessible as construction and other setup continues on the lower level.

Due to the bathroom construction, the water is turned off and all bathrooms are unavailable.

For assistance with library services, please inquire at the Main Level Service Desk or phone 483-2135.

The Library is open M-F, 1:30-4:30 p.m. until the fall semester commences.

More scenes from the summer 2006 updates

Today's scene is from the lower level where a bathroom is being upgraded to meet ADA standards.

The lower level area is currently restricted to those working on these projects, and, on a limited basis to the library, maintenance and ASC staff members. Others are asked to please not enter through any open doors being used to service this project.

The stairwells to the lower level are closed at this time. Signs are posted throughout the building. For assistance, inquire at the Main Level Service Desk when the Library is open or call 483-2135.

More scenes from the summer 2006 revamping. Pictured is the lower level of Stoxen Library. Bathrooms upgrades and computer lab installation has commenced.

Remodeling continues

Scenes from the Summer 2006 Stoxen Library revamping!

Summer library hours

Please note that starting July 3rd, Stoxen Library will be open limited hours FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SUMMER. These restricted hours are in place in order to allow Dickinson State University staff to proceed with the remodeling and other projects including but not limited to: the addition of computers on the lower level, the ODIN Aleph software transition, the completion of the transition of the Academic Success Center to the lower level, re-location of a number of collections, as well as many other ongoing projects too numerous to list.

Note also that other library services will be very limited including reference assistance and interlibrary loan. Any library tour or orientation sessions will be available on a very limited basis, and only by special arrangement with the Public Services Librarian, Eileen Kopren (eileen.kopren@dickinsonstate.edu). Access to video/dvd viewing stations will at times be unavailable. The media collections are housed on the lower level and access at times will be unavailable or limited as the
construction project continues. Various collection areas will be marked
as unavailable. For assistance in accessing collection areas marked as restricted, please inquire at the Library main level service desk.

For returning materials, there is a book drop located at the south entrance to the Library foyer.

For computer needs, when the library is not open, check the computer lab availability in the lower level of May Hall, or other campus locations.

For sending and receiving faxes, please note that one alternative location on campus would be the University Store.

SPECIAL NOTE TO FACULTY: planning to place items on course reserves for fall 2006? Please allow ample advance processing time for placing any items on reserve in the upcoming academic year.


The hours will be as follows:

July 3, 2006 - August 11, 2006
Monday-Friday
1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Closed on July 4, 2006
Closed on weekends

Please plan your library visits accordingly and anticipate some delays in service. On behalf of the Stoxen Library staff, we appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

Disarray

Areas throughout the Library are being remodeled this summer. Please forgive the disarray, and don't hesitate to ask for assistance.

Music files @ your library

Two exciting new databases containing music files are now available on the library's Music Resources page. Smithsonian Global Sound offers selections of traditional music from more than 150 countries. The Classical Music Library offers a range of classical music from Medieval to contemporary, including choral works, symphonies, operas and avant-garde. Available at no cost to Stoxen Library patrons - check out some new sounds today!

Staff news #1

Congratulations, Public Services Librarian Eileen Kopren, this year's recipient of a Dickinson Chamber of Commerce Educator of the Year award. Eileen was recognized for her years of service to Dickinson State University.

Featured here is the fall 2006 pilot project Eileen developed for faculty/librarian research collaboration.

Way to go, Eileen!

Thank you for all that you do!

Check out the great display celebrating student library workers and volunteers, keeping up with some of the myriad tasks that make Stoxen Library a great campus destination -- and one where you can find the materials you need to complete your research, too.

Thank you, Corina, for creating such an eye-catching display, and thank you to the Dickinson State University art class for the beautiful book ends.

Podcasting Legal Guide

Some of you may be considering (or already are) using podcasting in your classes. Creative Commons has just created a Podcasting Legal Guide that addresses such topics as legal issues in creating your own podcast, issues in distributing your podcast and the basic background of podcasting. They have also included several links to other helpful websites including how to podcast, search engines and directories for podcasts and other websites with legal information regarding podcasts.

End of Semester

Information regarding extended hours and end of semester and summer hours is available on the Library web page. The Stoxen Library staff wishes you the best of luck with finals. Have a great summer.

Summer reading, anyone?

Most of you are probably swamped with "end of the semester" issues at the moment. Please remember to check out the "new book" section of the library when you start contemplating your summer reading. This section of books is one of the first things you see when you enter the library.
Some suggestions are:
"Flying Through Midnight" by John Halliday (DS558.8.H36 2005)
"First Man - the Life of Neil A. Armstrong" by James Hansen (TL789.85.A75H36 2005)
"Winning" by Jack Welch (HF5386.W384 2005)
"The Painted Drum" by Louise Erdrich (PS3555.R42P35 2005)
"The Beatles" by Bob Spitz (ML421.B4567 2005)

More JSTOR!

We have added four new collections to our JSTOR content.

Biological Sciences Collection - This will include at least one hundred journals when completed at the end of 2007. Coverage in this collection offers greater depth in fields such as biodiversity, conservation, paleontology, and plant science, in addition to introducing new areas such as cell biology and zoology.

Arts & Sciences III Collection - Focused on the arts and humanities, the Arts & Sciences III Collection contains 150 titles. The collection makes available additional journals in language and literature, as well as important titles in the new fields of music, film studies, folklore, performing arts, religion, and the history of art and architecture.

Arts & Sciences IV Collection - The Arts & Sciences IV Collection will include a minimum of one hundred journals when completed at the end of 2006. The collection features titles in the disciplines of business, education, health policy, law, psychology, and public policy and administration.

Arts & Sciences Complement - The Arts & Sciences Complement allows participants to seamlessly add journals related to the core Arts & Sciences I, II, III, and IV Collections. For the Arts & Sciences Complement, journals may be focused in any of JSTOR's more than thirty arts, humanities, and social sciences disciplines. JSTOR's aim is to introduce important titles not included in earlier collections and to capture journals that cross discipline boundaries. A minimum of 150 journals will be added over five years, concluding by the end of 2008.

PsycBooks & PsycExtra

Your library now provides full text access to more content than ever from the American Psychological Association. Check out PsycBooks to find access to 600 titles from the APA + 1500 entries from the Encyclopedia of Psychology. PsycEXTRA is a "gray literature" database which supplies a wide variety of credible information in psychology, behavioral science, and health most of which is written for professionals and disseminated outside of peer-reviewed journals in documents such as newsletters, technical and annual reports, government reports, consumer brochures, and more. Links for these databases can now be accessed on the Psychology Research page.

Charles Johnson visiting campus tonight for the Heart River Writers' Circle

Award-winning author and cartoonist Dr. Charles Johnson will appear at Dickinson State University on Wednesday, April 5 at 8 p.m. in Beck Auditorium located in Klinefelter Hall as part of the Heart River Writers’ Circle. A reception and book signing will follow the reading.

During his presentation, Johnson will read from and discuss “Soulcatcher and Other Stories.” In this collection of 12 short stories, Johnson presents life during the era of African-American slavery. Writing from the perspective of a dozen different individuals in American history was an interesting assignment for the experienced author, who was asked to write the stories based on the PBS series “Africans in America: America’s Journey through Slavery.”

“Rarely is a writer given the opportunity (like an actor) to climb into the skin of both Frederick Douglass and Martha Washington, to descend into the fetid hold of a slave ship and join a nineteenth century slave revolt, to play Jefferson’s consul to Haiti and inhabit the psyche of both a runaway slave and his pursuer,” he wrote in his preface.

Johnson, who published his first novel in 1974, gained prominence when his novel “Middle Passage” won the National Book Award in 1990. Born in Evanston, Ill., Johnson began his career as a cartoonist and saw his work published by the time he was 17 years old. His two published collections of cartoons were acclaimed for their subtle but pointed satire of race relations and their success led to “Charlie’s Pad,” a 1971 series on public television that Johnson created, co-produced and hosted.

Johnson’s presentation is co-sponsored by Dickinson State University’s Theodore Roosevelt Honors Leadership Program as part of the Heart Rivers Writers’ Circle. The Writers’ Circle is sponsored by Stoxen Library and the Dickinson State University Department of Language and Literature through the use of university fees. The Circle brings in significant contemporary writers whose work interests a wide range of readers in the west river area. The group also involves faculty members, students, and area community members in follow-up discussions of books by featured writers.

Dr. Jim McWilliams, associate professor of English at DSU and author of “Passing the Three Gates: Interviews with Charles Johnson,” will lead a follow-up discussion on Johnson’s book of short stories April 20 at 7 p.m. in the Roosevelt Room at Stoxen Library.

It's National Library Week at Stoxen Library

Spring break ends

A warm welcome back to campus from the Library staff


On your way into the Library, check out the new display in the foyer, featuring the dozens of student workers who perform myriad, essential tasks at Stoxen Library.

Featured also is Mr. James Martz, volunteer in the fall of 2005. Jim Martz was a librarian at Stoxen Library from 1967-2001. He holds a Master of Library Science degree from George Peabody College, and an undergraduate degree from Dickinson State University. Thank you, Jim, for generously sharing your expertise and many decades of wisdom with your alma mater!

We are appeciative to all who work behind the scenes at Stoxen Library.

You asked for it, you got it

You asked for it – you got it! Many of you indicated that you missed our online listing of new materials available in the library. Well, it’s back. You will find it from our home page under Library Information, Services & Forms or follow this link http://www.dickinsonstate.com/lib_coldev.asp. The January listing is especially long as we are finally catching up with the backlog created by our new computer system. There’s sure to be something for everyone. Enjoy!

Award winning poet visits today's Business Policy classes

Award winning poet Ron Slate, on campus tonight for a reading (Beck, 8 p.m.) is shown here visiting Professor Debora Dragseth's Business Policy classes. His unique voice is informed by his world travels as a business executive. In more than twenty-five years in corporate business, he has been vice president of global communications for a major computer technology company and chief operating officer of a biotech startup.

New links on homepage

On the library homepage, we have added three links under the heading “More Helpful Links.” These three links are to either guides or tutorials on general research, plagiarism or copyright. Under the general research tools, there are tutorials for Academic Search Premier, CINAHL, Boolean connectors, evaluating the web, etc. There are also some general “this is how you do research” guides. The plagiarism list points to some really creative and “fun” sites that teach what is and isn’t plagiarism and how to avoid it. The copyright sites aren’t nearly as fun, but are extremely helpful if one is looking for copyright information. Although, all three categories have sites that are specific to particular universities, any of them have a wealth of helpful information. Kudos to Tyler Manolovitz (Library Evening Supervisor) for all his assistance in getting this up and running.

Loads of information, at your fingertips

Usage of Stoxen Library's many databases continues to increase, as users find scholarly information 24/7, on the library web page, for a wide variety of topics. Since July 2005, Stoxen Library's users have logged more than 48,000 searches!

Renewals without coming to the library

Want to renew materials without coming to the library? Start at the Library Homepage and click on My Library Account. You will be asked to sign-in with your DSU ID (the seven numbers on your ID…please do NOT include a W) and your password which is your last name. You will see your library card details. To renew materials (or see what you have currently checked out), click on the “loans/renew” link. Next click on the underlined number of the item you wish to renew. On the next screen, you will see the word “renew” underlined (or an error message if the material cannot be renewed). Click on this to complete the process.

Snapshots from the annual report

Did you know?

That gates counts at Stoxen Library have increased steadily since 2001?
2001-2002 110,645
2002-2003 115,367
2003-2004 128,325
2004-2005 145,863
July 2005-Dec.2005 82,058

Comparisons to peer institution's group average for gate counts per typical week was 1,837 to Stoxen Library's 3, 375.

Did you know?

That Stoxen Library checked out computer laptops to students 982 times in November 2005 alone! Other November 2005 highlights include 1,334 books and 1,174 items from the reserve collection.

How about that purchased database usage statistics continue a sharply upward trend.

Another: the Library employs 30+ federally funded student workers and four institutionally funded student workers.

Regarding gains in information literacy delivery for students, for fall 2005, representing instruction for 55 sessions

• 19 sections of Freshmen Seminar (2 lectures for each section; 376 students)
• 3 sections of Composition 120 (2 lectures for each section; 50 students)
• Science 389 (34 students)
• 2 sections of Business Communications 210 (65 students)
• 2 sections of Nursing 198 (40 students)
• 2 sections of Business Policy 485 (31 students)
• Art in the Elementary and Secondary 290 (10 students)
• Speech 110 (20 students)
• Theodore Roosevelt Honors Leadership (10 students)
• Volleyball players (12 students)

Scheduled for spring 2006 semester:

• 13 sections of Composition 120 (2 lectures/sessions for each section)
• 2 sections of Business Policy
• 3 sections of Freshmen Seminar (2 lectures/sessions for each section)
  
• 1 section of Freshmen Seminar for International Students (3 lectures/sessions)
  
• Sophomore Nursing students (12 students and 3 faculty)
  
• Nursing Research
  
• Business Communications (2 sections)
  
• Art in the Elementary

Exercise your brain today!

The literature these days says we should be as concerned about exercising our brains as we are exercising our bodies. So I want to point you to a fun website with over thirty “brain games.” If someone figures out how to play Reversi, please let me know! Enjoy!

How do I order something the library doesn't own? (AKA interlibrary loan/document delivery)

With the recent changes in the library's software system (no, not PeopleSoft), many patrons have questions about the current process for ordering copies, books, and other materials from other libraries.

The full instructions for this process as well as other helpful links can be found on the Library's web page under Interlibrary Loan Instructions.

Note that the "Listing of Periodical Titles" might provide access to the thousands of journals owned by Stoxen Library (print or online), and thus avoid the need for interlibrary loan.

If you wish to order a specific item, and cannot locate it either by using the "Listing of Periodical Titles" (in the case of journals) or by using ODIN (in the case of books, videos, dvds, and other types of items), use the "Blank Interlibrary Request" form as described on the Instructions page, and the library staff will determine the best possible location for obtaining the item.

All you need is love (do, do, do, do, do)

February's special display is, you guessed it, focused on LOVE. Thank you Eileen Kopren and Corina Zalesky for the latest eye-catching display at Stoxen Library.

Dickinson Public Library moving on!

News from the Dickinson Public Library is that they will be moving into the spiffy new addition starting Wednesday, February 1st. Congratulations to our valued colleagues down the street from Stoxen Library -- and best of luck. Moving a library collection is a monumental task.

Patrons of Stoxen Library should note that the Dickinson Public Library will be closed from Feb. 1st through Feb. 13th, and traffic at the Dickinson State University library will likely increase.

And y'all thought Stoxen Library was already a busy information commons! Come early to find a seat.

2006 National Book Award finalist to visit campus

Finalist for the 2006 National Book Award for poetry, Ron Slate will appear on March 7 for the Heart River Writers’ Circle program in Beck Auditorium at 8 p.m., co-sponsored by the Department of Language and Literature and Stoxen Library.

Update on Library's webpage

The "Library Instruction" page has been updated on the web. A list of suggestions for creating effective library assignments has been added. Contact Eileen Kopren (483-2136 or eileen.kopren@dickinsonstate.edu) if you wish to schedule instruction sessions. Instructors are expected to attend scheduled instruction.