Free ebook for November

Beginning November 1st, the free ebook for the month is Invisible China: A Journal Through Ethnic Borderlands.

An excerpt from the review in netLibrary:
"In this eloquent and eye-opening adventure narrative, authors Colin Legerton and Jacob Rawson, two Americans fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Korean, and Uyghur, throw away the guidebook and bring a hitherto unexplored side of China to light.

They journey over 14,000 miles by bus and train to the farthest reaches of China to meet the minority peoples who dwell there, talking to farmers in their fields, monks in their monasteries, fishermen on their skiffs, and herders on the steppe. As they uncover surprising facts about China’s hidden minorities and their complex position in Chinese society, they discover the social ramifications of inconsistent government policies--and some deep human truths as well."

To access this ebook, start at the library homepage and then choose "Online Reference Resources." NetLibrary will appear as a choice on the next page.

Book Swap

Did you read a book on summer vacation and now don't know what to do with it? Have you been cleaning out your bookcase to make room for new books? Bring them to the library for the "book swap" collection. Below see the guidelines for donating to this collection.

1. Please leave donations at the Main Circ Desk.
2. Books for this exchange may be fiction or non-fiction.
3. No textbooks, please.
4. Individuals may take a book to read and keep it or return it to the collection. To return it to the collection, please leave it at the Main Circ Desk of the Library.
5. The library staff reserves the right to not accept books for this collection.
6. The library staff will occasionally discard books from this collection.

Free ebook for October

In observance of Banned Book Week, the free netLibrary book for October is Burn This Book.

"Published in conjunction with the PEN American Center, Burn This Book explores the meaning of censorship, and the power of literature to inform the way we see the world, and ourselves. Contributors including Toni Morrison, Salman Rushdie, Orhan Pamuk, David Grossman, Nadine Gordimer and other literary heavyweights, discuss the importance of writing from various views, both political and social. They illustrate the need for freedom of speech and human rights, and they emphasize the target writers become in a tyranny."

To read this book, at the library homepage, choose "Online reference resources" and then "netLibrary" on the next page.

Banned Books Week : Puppet Book Banners

Check out the video posted September 23rd, 2009 by Greg
in American Libraries Direct Banned Books Week

"Chad, Rustle, and Mooch, the Crash Pad puppets, misinterpret the meaning of Banned Books Week, trying to throw some books with objectionable content--including Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, The Joy of Cooking, and the phone book--out of the library, until Herb points out the error of their ways."
Runtime: 2:23

Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week is September 26 - October 3 and we've already put out our book display! Banned Books Week 2009 is the twenty-eighth annual celebration of the freedom to read. The books we selected represent a small number of books that have been challenged over the years for a variety of reasons. The primary categories of objection are sex, profanity and racism. A map has been created at http://bannedbooksweek.org/ illustrating where books have been challenged from 2007-2009. You may view the map here. Take some time to celebrate your freedom to read and check out a banned book!

New database feature - Medline Plus Full Text!

MEDLINE is the premier database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. It provides indexing of articles in biomedicine, health and the life sciences. According to the National Library of Medicine website it is designed to provide information for health professionals, biomedical practitioners, researchers and educators. The database generally covers materials from 1949 to the present.

Our new Medline Plus Full Text database includes citations from Medline to more than 4800 current biomedical journals. It also provides the complete full text dating back to 1965 to 1470 of those journals including the current issue.

More information regarding the database as well as title lists can be found here.

What's New at the Library?

Here is a session especially for staff and faculty about new products/new features and tips from your librarians. Plan to attend one of the following sessions (approximately 45 minutes):

Friday, Sept. 4 – 11:00 am or
Wednesday, Sept. 9 – 3:00 pm

These sessions will be held in the classroom on the lower level of the library. Please RSVP to Eileen (483-2136 or eileen.kopren@dickinsonstate.edu) if you plan to attend.

ebook for September

Beginning Sept. 1, the ebook titled Flatlined: Resuscitating American Medicine by Guy Clifton will be available via netLibrary.

"By 2018 Medicare and Medicaid will consume about one-third of the federal budget. American businesses now pay three times as much of their payroll for health care as global competitors, a figure that is expected to worsen as health care grows at twice the rate of the U.S. economy. In Flatlined, Author Guy L. Clifton, M.D lifts the veil of secrecy on twenty-first century health care and delves into the realities of good people caught in a bad medical system. Arguing that a lack of coordinated care and quality medical practice benchmarks result in high levels of redundancy and ineffectiveness, Clifton proposes that the key to reducing health care costs, improving quality, and financially protecting the uninsured, is to reduce wastefulness, and offers a solution for achieving success."

To read this timely book, go to the library homepage, choose "Online Reference Resources," and then netLibrary. This book will be available during the month of September.

Stoxen Library Hours for Fall 2009

Monday – Thursday 8:00 am – 11:00 pm

Friday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm

Saturday 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Sunday 4:00 pm – 11:00 pm

Library Hours Labor Day Holiday

Saturday September 5 - Sunday September 6 CLOSED

Monday September 7 4:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Summer Reading Challenge

Well, the results are in...we had nineteen people participate in the "summer reading challenge." We asked participants to choose from a list of genres and pick ten outside of their normal comfort zone. Marie Hetzel won the prize for most pages read (9511) and Noel Wax, Holly Leftridge, Lisa Dolechek and Cindy Thronburg won prizes for reading from ALL of the genres. Other prize winners were Deborah Ford, Carolyn Burns and Diane Melbye. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

For anyone who noticed the lack over the past few months, we are pleased to announce that the library's display of new books is back. This displays includes a selection of the books that have been added most recently to our collection. A complete listing of the newest additions can be found on our website at Library Purchases. Stop in and check it out!

Also, the new media is back on display downstairs.

Free ebook for August

The beginning of fall semester is just around the corner (did we have summer?) and August's ebook is very appropriate. The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College by Harlan Cohen gives advice to students on issues ranging from managing money to managing stress. Included are hilarious, outrageous and telling stories from students on other college campuses.

Free access to this ebook is from August 1 - 31 through netLibrary. Begin at the library homepage, choose "Online Reference Resources" and then netLibrary.

Another Batch of Genres for the Reading Challenge

This week we have chosen the following genres to display:

Music, Technology, Plays/Monologues and Politics

Good luck as you continue the Reading Challenge! Just a reminder, the Challenge ends on August 14th.

Don't forget about our summer reading challenge!

There are four new genres on display to check out at the library for the summer reading challenge:

Art/food/craft

Poetry

Westerns

Religion/philosophy/spiritual

Creative Crafts for Clever Kids is a fun book that offers a variety of simple project ideas. One of the projects is to make a potato hedgehog using a potato, spaghetti and toothpicks.

Free ebook for July

This month's free ebook from netLibrary is a graphic novel. For those of you who have not seen a graphic novel, this is a wonderful opportunity! The classic Beowulf is retold in graphic form while sticking to the original myth/story. To find netLibrary, go to the library homepage, then choose "Online Reference Resources" and finally netLibrary. Enjoy!

Updated World Factbook

The World Factbook (a free resource published by the CIA) has just completed a major revision of their website. This resource provides information about the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military and transnational issues for 266 world entities. It has regional maps and flags of the different countries. It now has a photo gallery for nearly 100 countries. This is an easy-to-use website that provides information in a fun way.

On display now...check these out!

There are four genres on display now with sample materials for the summer reading program:

Crime/mystery
Science fiction/fantasy/horror
Travel/geography
Sports

Genres for reading program

Here is the list of possible genres for the summer reading program:
Political
Science / Nature
Sports
Spiritual / Religion / Philosophy
Technology
Music
Fantasy / Science Fiction / Horror
Plays / Monologues
Poetry
Memoir / Biography / Autobiography
Travel / Geography
Crime / Mystery
Newspaper
Cartoon / Manga / Graphic Novel
Art / Craft / Food
History / Regional Interest

Guidelines for the summer reading challenge!

Basic challenge guidelines:
· Choose ten different genres to sample. You may choose from those on the sheet in the packets or pick something we haven’t thought of. Just be sure to choose ten different types of literature.
· Read a minimum of 15 pages of each genre. (But you can go for 600 pages if you like!) This can be easily fulfilled with any combination you like of essays, short stories or magazine articles or you can certainly read an entire book if you choose.
· If you choose to include your favorite genre, try a different author. Your choice must be in some way new to you.
· You do not have to choose materials from the library collection. Friends or the public library are also great places to find something new.
· Stoxen library staff will also be putting up regularly changing displays featuring materials of the different genre types on the enclosed list.
· Keep track of your reading on the reading log from the packet.
· Turn in your log by August 14th to be eligible for prize drawings.
· Special prize for the one who reads the most pages!

In addition to the drawings, all challenge participants, who turn in their reading log by August 14th will receive:
· A complimentary beverage certificate to the Common Grounds Coffee Bar
· Your own personal read poster (see the end of our book stacks for samples featuring our students and staff)

Advanced challenge: There will be a special prize drawing for anyone who would choose to try all of the genres on the enclosed list!

Fun summer reading!

The challenge: To step out of your reading comfort zone! Try a small sample of genres outside your usual fare. Everyone is welcome to participate! Prize drawings will be held for all who complete the challenge by August 14th. Stop by the circulation desk for more information!

Free ebook for June

The free NetLibrary book for June is The Career Clinic: Eight Simple Rules for Finding Work You Love by Maureen Anderson.

According to NetLibrary "Since the Baby Boom generation, we have been raised with a sense that self-fulfillment is one of our inalienable rights—yet most of us probably do not love our work. As the longtime host of a radio show devoted to helping people find careers they love, Maureen Anderson has often invited listeners in to hear firsthand accounts of people who not only relish their work, but live without regret. The Career Clinic: Eight Simple Rules for Finding Work You Love by Maureen Anderson collects intimate and revealing first-hand accounts of people who have made the leap from the 9-to-5 doldrums into jobs that leave them feeling happy, satisfied, and filled with the sense of contentment that comes from knowing they're doing what they were put on this earth to do."

To access this book start at the library homepage, choose Online Reference Resources then NetLibrary.

Stoxen Library Summer Hours

Monday – Friday 8:00 am – 4:30 pm
Saturday & Sunday Closed

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monday May 25 Closed for Memorial Day
Friday July 3 Closed for Independence Day

Extended hours for finals!

Stoxen Library is offering extended hours to help you prepare for your final exams.

Friday May 8 - 8:00 am - 7:00 pm
Saturday May 9 - 1:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Sunday May 10 - 3:00 pm – 1:00 am
Monday May 11 - 8:00 am – 1:00 am


Stoxen Library Regular Hours
Tuesday May 12 – Thursday May 14 – 8:00 am – 11:00 pm
Friday May 15 – 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday May 16 – Sunday May 17 – CLOSED

Swine Flu Resources

So you can't miss this subject...it's everywhere! Here are some resources that might keep you up-to-date on the latest:

CDC (Centers for Disease Control)
WHO (World Health Organization)

And here is a reputable blog about the latest happenings:

Effect Measure (part of the ScienceBlogs network)

Murder in the Library!

Stop by the library and sign up for another "Murder in the Library" happening THIS FRIDAY, April 17, 2009, from 7:00pm - 9:00pm. Join the library staff for some treats, crime solving, and prizes as we wrap up National Library Week! We have a maximum of sixty spaces available for this event.

There will once again be a murderer and a victim! We will again be joined by our own "Dr. Watson" as teams compete to see who will be the first to follow their clues and discover who did the dastardly deed. Teams will consist of six members. You can put together your own team or just come and sign up and we will add you to a team that needs additional members. Pictures from last year's event can be viewed in the sidebar.

Rules of the competition are as follows:

1. Each team must work together as one unit (you may NOT break up into smaller units in order to complete the tasks).
2. Choose a captain to speak for your team.
3. Each team will receive their first clue after you have entered the library.
4. If you have a question about a clue, there will be library staff roving on both levels. Ask one of them, but do not go to one of the station workers to ask for help.
5. If you leave the library before the event is over, you will NOT be let back into the library.
6. If one team finds another team’s clue, do NOT disturb it. You will be disqualified for this action.
7. When you have all of your clues and know who the murderer is, your captain will present the clues and the name to the judges at the reference desk.

Prizes are awarded to the top three teams and everyone receives something for participating so we hope you will join us on Friday.

National Library Week

April 12th - 18th has been designated National Library Week. Stop by to see Read Posters featuring all of our workers as well as a great display of books accompanied by cartoon book reviews from the Unshelved Book Club. Please also join us on Friday for our 2nd annual Murder in the Library event.

If you would like to see a great online cartoon featuring a libray, check out Unshelved. They do a daily strip of the staff and patrons of the Mallville Public Library. Here is one of my new favorites.

April is Poetry month

To help celebrate National Poetry Month, Gale is offering free resources to students, teachers and poetry lovers at Poet's Corner. This free Web site offers biographical information on poets, a poetry quiz, a timeline of events and much more.

New books, new DVDs, and more!

Do you wonder what was added to the library's holdings during the first quarter of 2009--January, February, and March? Check out the New Library Purchases page. Updates are listed by months. The listing shows titles of books, DVDs, reference, and periodicals. For your convenience, the Library of Congress classification number is included to direct you to where the items are shelved. You will find the link on the library's home page under Library Information, Services & Forms.

Free ebook for April

NetLibrary's free ebook for April 1-30 is After the War: Nation-Building from FDR to George W. Busch by James Dobbins, Michele Poole, Austin Long and Benjamin Runkle. NetLibrary describes the book as:

"In recent decades, the United States' overwhelming military superiority has allowed it to "overawe" or overrun adversaries with comparative ease. However, consolidating victory and preventing a renewal of conflict has usually taken more time, energy, and resources than originally foreseen. Few recent efforts of this sort can be regarded as unqualified successes, and one or two must be accounted as clear failures.

After the War: Nation-Building from FDR to George W. Bush addresses the manner in which U.S. policy toward postconflict reconstruction has been created and implemented and the effect that these processes have had on mission outcomes. Through the lens of presidential decision making style and administrative structure, from the post-World War II era through the Cold War, post-Cold War era, and current war on terrorism, it is both possible and necessary to reassess how these elements can work in favor of, as well as against, the nation-building goals of the U.S. government and military and those of its coalition partners and allies."

To locate this ebook and other full-text books, begin at the library homepage and then choose "Online Reference Resources."

Free ebook for March

The free ebook from netLibrary is Two Billion Cars: Driving for Sustainability. According to netLibrary, "At present, there are roughly a billion motor vehicles in the world. Within twenty years, the number will double to 2 billion, largely a consequence of China's and India's explosive growth. Given that greenhouse gases are already creating havoc with our climate and that violent conflict in oil-rich nations is on the rise, does this mean that matters will only get worse? Or are there hopeful signs that effective, realistic solutions can be found?"

"In Two Billion Cars, transportation experts Daniel Sperling and Deborah Gordon provide a concise history of America's love affair with cars and an overview of the global oil and auto industries. They zero in on reforming our gas-guzzling culture, expanding the search for low-carbon fuels, environment-friendly innovations in transportation planning, and more. Promising advances in both transportation technology and fuel efficiency together with shifts in travel behavior, they suggest, offer us a realistic way out of our predicament."

To read this thought-provoking book, go the library homepage and choose Online Reference Resources and then netLibrary.

Presidents' Day Weekend

Library Hours for Presidents' Day Weekend:

Saturday, Feb. 14 - Closed
Sunday, Feb. 15 - Closed
Monday, Feb. 16 - 4 pm - 11 pm

He's 200 years old!

Well, maybe not! The library does have a special display in honor of the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth. There is a collection of various sources on the top of the "new book" bookcase. Come in and take a look!

The Newest...

My name is Keri Youngstrand and my title is Library Associate. Basically, my duties include helping with Interlibrary Loan and processing new books as well as various other tasks. I started in this position on January 2, 2009, which makes me the newest. I have an English degree from Jamestown College with a minor in music. Prior to beginning this position, I worked as an Assistant Cashier at Dakota Western Bank in Bowman, ND. I live on a farmstead north-east of Amidon with my husband, Jason, and our two children, Trent and Logan. We have ten cows, four horses, a dog, and more jackrabbits than I can count. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, baking, crocheting, singing, and spending time with my boys. I am the Sunday School Superintendent at Lebanon Lutheran in Amidon and a member of the Slope County Fairboard. Recently, I have learned to play the guitar and begun teaching piano again.

Office Manager and Circulation Supervisor

My turn: I am Renee Newton, the Office Manager and Circulation Supervisor at Stoxen Library. I’ve been in my position since September but as a DSU student I worked here and it’s great to be back! My duties include checking in newspapers and periodicals, training and support of the student workers, and office related tasks. When not working, I spend time taking care of my family and trying to squeeze in as much reading (am enjoying the Twilight series right now) and knitting (dishcloths are the current obsession) as possible – if only I didn’t need to sleep!

New ebook for February!

NetLibrary is once again offering us an additional free ebook for February. To celebrate African-American History month, Raising Freedom's Child: Black Children and Visions of the Future After Slavery is free until February 28. According to their website:

"Drawing on previously untapped resources, author Mary Niall Mitchell demonstrates how the black child became a figure upon which people projected their hopes and fears about slavery's abolition. From the 1850s and the Civil War to emancipation and the official end of Reconstruction in 1877, Raising Freedom's Child examines slave emancipation and opposition to it as a far-reaching, national event with profound social, political, and cultural consequences. Mitchell analyzes multiple views of the black child—in letters, photographs, newspapers, novels, and court cases—to demonstrate how Americans contested and defended slavery and abolition."

To access this resource, go to the library homepage, then choose "online reference resources" and finally "netlibrary."

Monday Night movie

This video is available to check out! DVD PN1997.2 .I76 2004

Iron Jawed Angels

Stoxen Library, Women’s Voices and the Campus Activities Board are sponsoring a showing of Iron Jawed Angels on Monday, Jan. 26th at 7 p.m. in Beck Auditorium. If you are not familiar with it, this is an HBO produced movie dealing with the early women’s suffrage movement and particularly an incident in which a group of women picketing the White House asking for the vote were imprisoned for obstructing sidewalk traffic.

This is a link to the web page at HBO for the movie.
http://www.hbo.com/films/ironjawedangels/synopsis/

This is the story of our Grandmothers and Great-grandmothers; they lived only 90 years ago. Remember, it was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote.The women were jailed for picketing the White House, carrying signs asking for the vote. They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air. They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cellmate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack. Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women. Thus unfolded the 'Night of Terror' on Nov. 15, 1917, when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right to vote. When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks until word was smuggled out to the press. It is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be permanently institutionalized. And it is inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn't make her crazy.The doctor admonished the men: 'Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity.'

Yet one more staff member!

I am Rita Ennen and privileged to be the Director of Library Services. I came to DSU in 2001 as Technical Services Librarian. I still love Dickinson and serving students at DSU. In addition to general management, I also handle all of the library's magazine and journal subscriptions, assist with collection development of audiovisual materials, and serve as systems librarian for Aleph (our integrated library system software). I am currently serving as local arrangements chair for the next North Dakota Library Association conference to be held in Dickinson Sept. 27-29, 2009.

When I'm not working I enjoy music and drama events with/for my children. (Next play at the high school is Ramshackle Inn a comedy/mystery Feb. 27 - Mar. 1.) I enjoy reading (sci fi is favorite!), playing piano for worship at my church and camping and gardening in the summer time.

Technical Services Librarian

I am S. Faith Wanner; my title is the “Technical Services Librarian.” Does that mean I am a technician for the library computers? That’s not the case. What makes my library position technical? Providing access to library resources is a complex process; it requires knowledge of bibliographic and data control. I am responsible for the jobs that pertain to resource management, including acquiring, cataloging, processing, accessing, maintaining holdings of library resources, and account management. I also coordinate interlibrary loan services and assist the other librarians in providing reference and public service to the community.

I’m starting my seventh year at Dickinson State. Previous to that, I worked in various K-12 schools in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa. I have a Masters in Library Science (MLS) for grades K-12 from Spalding University in Louisville, KY. In December 2007, I completed a MLS with an emphasis in academic/university libraries from the University of North Texas, Denton, TX.

When not working, my hobbies are quilting, reading, and spending time with family and friends. I enjoy watching HGTV, the Food Network, CSI, and science fiction.

Becky Needham

My name is Becky Needham and I am a library assistant/evening supervisor. The assistant part of my job title means I help with various tasks such as interlibrary loans, reserve items and my favorite part, helping to process all of the new materials the library receives. My evening supervisor duties involve watching over the library and all that takes place in it on Sundays and Monday thru Thursday nights. I have a degree in geology from UND and I taught my first geology lab last semester and will be teaching another one this semester.


Outside of work I enjoy the outdoors with my husband, Brock and our dog Radar. I like to take pictures with my digital camera, but by no means consider myself a photographer. Brock and I also like to hang out with our friends and play the game Rock Band.

Introducing...

We thought it might be time to introduce ourselves to all of you. Some of the library staff members have been here awhile...and we have a couple of new folk. So we are going to use the blog to tell you a little about ourselves.

I am Eileen Kopren, Public Services Librarian. What does a Public Services Librarian do, you ask? My primary responsibilities include library instruction, supervision of all circulation activities including student employees and reference work. This is my 34th year at Stoxen Library...and, yes, I do love my job! During my time here, the library has evolved and changed in numerous ways.

I am a DSU grad and proud of it! I have a Masters in Library Science from George Peabody College at Vanderbilt University.

Outside of my job responsibilities I enjoy walking and reading (what else would you expect a librarian to say!). I also sing in a church choir and play in a handbell choir.