Geography Trivia Fans!

The Columbia Gazetteer of the World, 2^nd edition, is on the shelves in Stoxen Library.

The three-volume set is in Reference with the call number of
Ref. G 103.5 .C65 2008

With over 170,000 entries, the Columbia Gazetteer of the World is an A to Z encyclopedia of geographical places and features. Whether you're looking for the ten highest mountain peaks in North America, the major commercial crops in Brazil's economy, all the rivers in Southeast Asia, the former name of the city of Yangon, or the natural resources available in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Gazetteer is the one-stop resource for all your information needs.

The Gazetteer features new entries and extensive revisions to reflect recent administrative divisions in countries around the world. It also contains new maps, population figures, and an expanded glossary of geographical and geological terms. With its long history of accuracy and authority, there is no other encyclopedia like Gazetteer.

The Columbia Gazetteer covers:

* Political world-countries, provinces, regions, states, counties, capitals, cities, towns, villages, and neighborhoods.

* Physical world-continents, oceans, seas, lakes, lagoons, rivers, bays, inlets, channels, and streams, along with islands, archipelagos, peninsulas, atolls, mountains, mountain ranges, canyons, deserts, valleys, and volcanoes.

* Special places-national parks and monuments, historic and archaeological sites, harbors, ports, airports, nuclear plants, canals, and destinations of interest.

http://cup.columbia.edu/book/978-0-231-14554-1/the-columbia-gazetteer-of-the-world

Library now open 7 days a week!

Beginning this Saturday, Sept. 6, the library will be open 7 days of the week! Regular library hours will be:
Monday – Thursday – 8 am – 11 pm
Friday – 8 am – 5 pm
Saturday – 2 pm – 5 pm
Sunday – 4 pm – 11 pm

Please note the library is also now open until 5 on Fridays (versus 4:30 pm).

Library hours vary over University breaks and holidays.

We moved this summer!

We haven’t actually moved the library, but we did spend time this summer re-arranging the books and periodicals so we thought we would let you know where some of your favorite items may now be located.

First of all, we evaluated books in the reference collection and moved some of them to the open book stacks. That means you can now check out, for example, such resources as the Dictionary of the Middle Ages, the Folklore of American Holidays, the Encyclopedia of Human Emotions and the Encyclopedia of Sports Science. For those of you that require students to use reference books, you might want to double-check the stacks to see what remains. There are still plenty of resources there.

We also moved the oversize books from the north end of the balcony down to the main floor at the beginning of the reference shelving. There are some real treasures in this collection, so check it out.

We then shifted (and vacuumed) every other book in the library. For most books this means they moved several sections from where they were. I know there are some who will need to “re-learn” the location of your favorite section. Believe me when I say that I’m still in the process of relearning where those frequently used sources are…I feel your pain!

We now have a “new” collection in the library called the Curriculum Library. These are textbooks and curriculum guides used in the elementary and secondary schools. You will find these materials on the lower level of the library in the compact shelving.

Have a great school year and come see us in the library.

Free netLibrary book for August

The free book from netLibrary until August 31 is Competition and Development: the Power of Competitive Markets. netLibrary describes this book as:

"The growth of international trade and investment has brought about many changes in the economies of developing countries, including a move away from state-controlled enterprise. However, it has also made developing countries more vulnerable to new and potentially harmful types of anticompetitive business practices.
Competition and Development: The Power of Competitive Markets demonstrates the importance of true and fair competition to sustainable development and an effective marketplace, touching on issues of globalization, consumer welfare, cartels and monopolies, and trade liberalization. It provides an introduction to competition, and competition law and policy in developing countries. It focuses on the practical problems faced in developing countries and the steps that have been and can be taken to overcome those problems."

To access this online book, go the the library homepage, then choose Online Reference Resources and then netLibrary.

Need an Interesting Book?

Visit Stoxen Library soon to pick from this interesting display.

Free ebook for July

Our extra special free book from netLibrary this month is Encyclopedia of World Religions by Wendy Doniger. This resource can be accessed from July 1 - 31, 2008 via the netLibrary homepage.

Browse the list of items added during April

Remember to check the New Library Purchases page for a complete listing by month of all new materials added to the library collections. The list for April 2008 is now posted.

Stoxen Library Hours

May 12 – August 15

Monday – Friday ........ 8:00a.m. – 4:30p.m.

May 26 – Closed…Memorial Day

July 4 – Closed …Independence Day

"Enjoy the Break"

Take a break during Finals Week.
Toss some puzzle pieces around then...
check out a "New Book" for summer reading.
Best of Luck to all DSU Graduates.
We will miss many of your faces at Stoxen Library.
Success and happiness to you.

Free ebook on netLibrary

The New Paradigm for Financial Markets is the May eBook of the Month in netLibrary. To access netLibrary, go to the library homepage and choose Online Reference Resources. netLibrary is a choice. Look for the cover of this ebook on the right-hand side of the homepage of netLibrary. Print editions of this new work will not be released until May 19. This ebook will be available to Stoxen Library patrons from May 1-31.

According to the press release from netLibrary, "In The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What It Means, George Soros, the legendary financier, philanthropist and bestselling author, explores the origins of the current financial crisis and its implications for the future. Soros, whose breadth of experience in financial markets is unrivaled, places the current crisis in the context of decades of study of how individuals and institutions handle the boom and bust cycles that now dominate global economic activity. In a concise essay that combines practical insight with philosophical depth, Soros makes an invaluable contribution to our understanding of the great credit crisis and its implications for our nation and the world."

Stoxen Library Drawing Winners

Listed below are Stoxen Library's prize drawing winners! Please stop by the library to pick up your prize! Thank you to all who participated!

BOOKS

Samantha Kiemele

Alexey Uliyanov

Melissa Pavlicek

Josh Nichols

MUSIC CD’S

Lizette Hunt

Shawna Egli

Lucy Meyer

KEYCHAINS

Alicia Erickson

Lindsey Grooms

David Meier

Briannna Sherman

COFFEE MUG

Amy Haugen

BASKET

Mary Anne Marsh

JUMPDRIVE

Shi Yin

DESK SET

Brian Kopp

Stoxen Library Extended Hours

Extended Hours

Friday, April 25…….8a.m. – 7 p.m.

Saturday, April 26…. 1p.m. - 5p.m.

Sunday, April 27 ……4 p.m. – 11 p.m.

Friday, May 2……………8a.m. – 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 3…………1p.m. – 5 p.m.

Finals Week Hours

Sunday, May 4…………..4p.m. – 11 p.m.

Monday, May 5...................... 8a.m. – 11:00p.m.

Tuesday, May 6..................... 8a.m. – 11:00p.m.

Wednesday, May 7................ 8a.m. – 11:00p.m.

Thursday, May 8.................... 8a.m. – 11:00p.m.

Friday, May 9......................... 8a.m. – 4:30p.m.

May 12 – August 22

Monday – Friday 8:00a.m. – 4:30p.m.

May 26 – Closed…Memorial Day

July 4 – Closed …Independence Day

Regular Hours

Monday-Thursday 8a.m. – 11p.m.

Friday 8a.m. – 4:30p.m.

Sunday 4p.m. – 11p.m.

Recap of Murder in the Library

It began with a blood-curdling scream and the statement “Adam is dead…someone has murdered him!” Stoxen Library held a “Murder in the Library” on Friday, April 11, 2008 as the kick-off for Library Week.

We had ten teams of six people each. We used the names from the Clue game and added a few of our own: Colonel Mustard, Mr. Green, Mrs. White, Officer Peach, Instructor Mint, Librarian Azure, Reporter Pink, Detective Rusty, Professor Plum and Miss Scarlet. We then used the colors of each team when we photocopied their clues. We placed the picture of the murderer on the back side of the clues and then cut the clues apart like a puzzle. When each team had collected all of their clues, they then put their puzzle together to solve the crime. We had both the picture of her face and the murderer’s name on the sheet.

Each team had thirteen clues/activities to complete in order to solve the crime including finding a book via ODIN, locating a DVD/video, using various library databases, checking out a reserve item and stopping at the Academic Success Center. In some cases, their next clue was hidden inside something (book, periodical, DVD) and in some cases they reported to “clue stations” to prove they had the necessary information to receive their next clue.

Participants were instructed to bring their flashlights as only a few “necessary” lights were on. They seemed to enjoy the atmosphere of a darkened library and there was a goodly amount of screaming as unsuspecting individuals were grabbed in the stacks or from under a computer. Once the event was underway, there always seemed to be a team running to their next clue.

Prizes were awarded for the top three teams and everyone who participated received a free drink from the coffee bar, an ID holder, certificate of attendance and a set of “Blue Hawk pride” beads.

One of our speech/theater professors (Don Ehli) taped a DVD as Dr. Watson with a clue and then attended the event in costume.

Students really seemed to enjoy the event and are already asking when we will do it again. Several expressed how much fun it was to use the library in this fashion. Some said they enjoyed finding out about resources they had never used before.

The complete slide show of the photos can be seen via the link in the left hand column of this blog.

North Dakota Reads

Please join us tonight (April 17th) at 7:00 p.m. in Klinefelter 107 as Stoxen Library and the North Dakota Humanities Council sponsor the final North Dakota Reads Book Discussion. We will be talking about Susan Power ( a Native American author) and her book the Grass Dancer. Our facilitator is Karen Foster from the English Department here at Dickinson State University.

National Library Week: College Reference Desk

Check out this video for a fun take on the 72.8 million reference questions answered each year in academic libraries!

Library week & Stoxen Library Survey

National Library Week 2008

April 13-18 is National Library Week. We kicked it off early this year with a Murder at the Library event last Friday night. Check back later this week for photos and video of the event. A special thank you to Chadee Moss for suggesting and organizing this event. Thanks also to all of the students, ACS, EES and library staff who helped make it so much fun. Congratulations to the Mr. Green team on their first place finish!

Please take a minute sometime this week to complete a survey regarding your experiences at the library. Be sure to leave your contact information at the end of the survey to be entered into a random prize drawing.

Click Here to take survey

JSTOR has a new look!

JSTOR, the complete full-text archive journal database that covers the humanities, social sciences and sciences, has just completed a major upgrade to their product. The new interface has a cleaner look to it and additional searching/limiting features. Check it out...we think you will like what you see. Contact the library if you have any questions about this product.

Murder in the Library - Happening @ Your Library!

Stop by Stoxen and sign up for "Murder in the Library" happening THIS FRIDAY, April 11, 2008, from 7:30pm - 9:00pm. Join the library staff for some treats, crime solving, and prizes galore...all to kick off Library Week 2008! Spots for teams are still available so come by TODAY!

New books and AV

Remember to check the New Library Purchases page for a complete listing by month of all new materials added to the library collections. The list for March 2008 is posted.

Next North Dakota Reads book

Do you want to learn more about the deep connections between past and present generations in Sioux belief and culture? Read The Grass Dancer by Susan Power, the next North Dakota Reads title. Books are available at Stoxen Library. The book discussion is Thursday, April 17.

The author won the Ernest Hemingway Foundation Award for first fiction, 1995, for The Grass Dancer. The book conveys the stories of people on a Sioux reservation whose lives intersect and intertwine, briefly, or over a lifetime, and how their relationships affect one another. The reader meets them much as one does in real life, starting with the present and working backwards. The story unravels the mystery of why the characters behave the way they do. Each chapter is told from the perspective of one character and charts the incidents which develop his or her personality.

The characters are complex and often troubled; they struggle with the magic that swirls around them. Power hits on many aspects of an Indian's life: the gap between Indian and white culture, the problems that arise out of dual heritage, disease, spirits, magic, ancestral powers, religion, and love.

This is a book that can be read at different levels. The first read can be confusing, but a second reading reveals the depth of the work. Through her story, Powers weaves the past, present and future into the present.