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.

Happy semester break from the Stoxen Library staff : "Chill out. Read"

Happy semester break from the Stoxen Library staff

Bearded seal poster on display at Stoxen Library
courtesy of Highsmith c2001.

Where do I find quiet spaces in Stoxen Library?

Quiet Spaces @your Library

Quiet spaces throughout the library can be located as follows:

Study rooms. These are located on the lower level, along the east and south walls and marked as --
Study Rooms 1, 5, 6, and 8
Roosevelt Room (as available)
Viewing Rooms 1 and 2

Individual study carrels -- These are located on the balcony and main levels, behind the book stacks.

Need something fun to read over break?

For those who like biographies, pick one of these:
Media Man: Ted Turner's Improbable Empire by Ken Auletta (HC102.5.T86A95 2004)

Luckiest Man: the Life and Death of Lou Gehrig by Jonathan Eig (GV865.G4E54 2005)

Sandra Day O'Connor: How the First Woman on the Supreme Court Became Its Most Influential Justice by Joan Biskupic (KF8745.O25B57 2005)

Sinatra: the Life by Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan (ML420.S565S86 2005)

If you like the collections of "the best of," we have several of these, but here are three:
The Best American Sports Writing 2005 (PN4784.S6B47)

The Year's Best Science Fiction (PS648.S3Y43)

The Best American Short Stories (PS648.S5B446)

And here are three new fiction works:
Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan (PS3570.A48S23 2005)

The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd (PS3611.I44M47 2005)

The Game of Silence by Louise Erdrich (PZ7.E72554Gam 2005)

You will find all of these titles and more in the New Book section (the shelving you see as you walk into the library). Check it out today!

New Library Purchases

Ever wonder what's new in the library's holdings? Check out the New Library Purchases page at http://www.dickinsonstate.com/lib_coldev.asp. Updated monthly, this listing shows newly added books, reference, periodicals, videos, dvds and music. You can find it from the library's home page under Library Information, Services & Forms.

Announcing: Wall Street Journal Historical Database

Check out Stoxen Library's newest database offering! The Wall Street Journal Historical database contains the full content of every edition of the paper from 1889-1988. This database offers full-text and full-image articles. The collection includes digital reproductions of every page from every issue--cover to cover--in downloadable PDF® files so you can see each page as it was originally published.

That means you can use the database to find not only news, editorials, and letters to the editor, but also historical photos, stock and bond prices, and advertisements. And the date range searching tool allows you to search for a specific date as well as before, or between two dates.

You can link to this tool via the library's Business Resources subject page http://www.dickinsonstate.com/lib_business.asp.

Afraid of birds yet?

The avian influenza (bird flu) is in the news a lot these days and has health officials worried about a possible pandemic flu outbreak. The following are some websites that may answer some of questions about what it is and how real is the danger.

PandemicFlu.gov

- This is the official US Government web site for information about pandemic flu and avian influenza.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Avian Flu

- Provides general information for the public as well as specific information for special populations like health care workers. Also provides some links to full-text science articles.

Medline Plus: Bird Flu

- Offers the latest news about the bird flu, information about clinical trials and public policy.

National Public Radio (NPR) Q&A What is Bird Flu and Who’s at Risk

- A 2 part story from All Things Considered on National Public Radio that ran on Oct. 19 & 21, 2005.

Birder’s World: Answers to Your Questions about AvianFlu

- An article from Birder's World Magazine titled Answers to Your Questions about Avian Flu.

Announcing Stoxen Library's Common Grounds

Welcome to the Stoxen Library's Common Grounds blog. As a service to patrons of Dickinson State University's Stoxen Library, this blog will provide a forum for various announcements of interest.

Here's something new: links to specific Oxford online dictionaries under the various subjects. You'll find these on the Research Tools by Subject pull down menus. One example is The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. The complete listing of Oxford sources can also be viewed by going to Online Reference Resources/Oxford Reference Online.

These resources enriching the Learning Spaces at Dickinson State University.

For information and access to these and other resources and services of Stoxen Library go to the Stoxen Library web site.