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Library News 2009

November 2009

Journal of Applied Crystallography backfiles added

We purchased the 1968-1996 backfiles for the Journal of Applied Crystallography.  These files will be available soon.

Video Series this Month

EMSL continues its fall video offerings.

There will be no video during the week of Thanksgiving.

Library Classes

  • Library Research Basics is scheduled for November 6 and 19 in Gateway Lab. 
  • Refworks classes are scheduled for November 16 and 24 in W211APattee.
  • Endnote class will be held in W315 Pattee on November 17. 
See Library Research Classes for more information.

Functions at Foster (Room 101, Pattee Library)

Coming Up

Bulletin Board displays this month feature "American Indian Heritage Month" through November 23, then "Blacksmithing" through December 7.

October 2009

October is Disabilities Awareness month

You are invited to "Accessibility in Online Education," on October 12, 10 a.m to noon, in Foster Auditorium, 101 Pattee Library. Experts in accessibility and online instructional design will demonstrate what is and is not accessible on Penn State Web sites and will discuss best practices and Penn State policy.

Web of Science

The Web of Science database now includes conference proceedings from 1990 onwards.

Video Series this Month

EMSL continues its fall video offerings with Inside an Earthquake on October 7th, 12:15 pm.  Then a two part film, Liquid Assets: the Story of our Water Infrastructure, will be shown on 14th and the 21st.  Finally, Fighting Goliath: Texas Coal Wars ends October's offerings on the 28th..

PAMS Library continues their film series October 2, 3:35 pm with The Atom Smashers, in 201 Davey. On the 9th, Monster of the Milky Way: A Supermassive Black Hole. October 16 is The Uncertainty Principle: Making of an American Scientist.

Library Classes

Library Research Basics is scheduled for October 5 and 20 in Gateway Lab.  Refworks classes are scheduled for October 9 and 28 in W211APattee, Endnoteclass will bee held in W315 Pattee on October 6 and 29.  See Library Research Classes for more information.

Coming Up

Bulletin Board displays this month feature "Venice" through October 12, then "PA Geological Surveys" through October 26.

September 2009

SciFinder Scholar

SciFinder Scholar is now available in a web-based version.  Users are no longer required to download software however individual profiles must be created by each user.

Sparky Awards

Penn State will host the Sparky Awards, an international student video contest to create a two-minute film based on the "value of information sharing."   Monetary prizes and gift certificates are offered and winners will be featured on WPSU's On-Demand channel. Deadline for submission is December 6. More information for students and faculty is available.

Video Series this Month

EMSL kicks off its fall video offerings with Miracle Planet.  The first in this five-part series, starting at 12:15, Sept. 2, is The Violent Past which chronicles the innumerable catastrophic events the earth has gone through.

PAMS Library starts their film series Sept. 11, 3:35 pm with "Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives," in 201 Davey. In this 56 minute film the parallel worlds of quantum physics are investigated.

Library Classes

Library Research Classes have been scheduled for the fall semester.  Sign up for classes in Library Research Basics, Refworks, Endnote, and Alerts via RSS feeds/email..

Coming Up

Bulletin Board displays this month feature "Gemstones" through Sept. 13, then "Tundra" through Sept. 27 and ending with "Venice."

August 2009

Trash to Treasure

The premier of "Trash to Treasure" movie will be held in Eisenhower Auditorium on Saturday, Aug. 29, 7:30 PM. Produced by libraries employee John Patishnock, the movie will be followed by a live panel discussion.  Free parking at Eisenhower.  The full story can be read in Interview, page 3.

Society of Petroleum Engineer's eLibrary

The SPE eLibrary has become part of OnePetro, a multi-society database of resources related to the oil and gas production industry.

Changes

Over the summer, the library acquired new shelves to better display the current print periodicals.  With the ongoing budget constraints, the number of subscribed titles is being reduced by about sixty titles.

The renovations to the main (west) entrance to Deike Building are proceeding on schedule.  The plan of the new entrance and photos of the renovation are available on the College of EMS web site.

Library Technology

Want a fast way to connect to the CAT?  You can download the Library Toolbar, a Firefox browser plugin. Turn it on for handy access to the CAT at the top of your computer screen or hide it when you don't need it.

A "Meet Google Analytics" forum will be held in Foster Auditorium on Tuesday, August 11, 1:30pm-3pm. Google Analytics gives web creators the ability to view and analyze the traffic data on each web page. It also allows easy sharing of customizable reports.

Library Classes

Library Research Classes have been scheduled for the fall semester.  Sign up for classes in Library Research Basics and in  Refworks and Endnote (bibliographic management programs).

Coming Up

August starts off with the bulletin board display Rocks and Minerals.
The EMSL video series starts on September 2 with the first of a five-part series entitiled Miracle Planet.

July 2009

Fletcher L. Byrom

We are saddened by the death of the man for whom our library was named: Fletcher L. Byrom. Hailed as "the outspoken statesman of American business and champion of capitalism," by The New York Times, he was also a mentor to many, a humble philanthropist, a galvanizing speaker, and an inspiration to all. He will be sadly missed.  See Centre Daily Times obituary.

Oxford University Press electronic journal backfiles acquired

The Libraries recently purchased the backfiles of all Oxford University Press  journals.  Prominent titles related to EMS include: Journal of Petrology (1960+), Journal of Electron Microscopy (1953+), and ICES Journal of Marine Science (1903+).

June 2009

Demographic database added

Social Explorer provides easy access to demographic information about the United States, from 1790 to present.  It allows you to easily create maps and reports showing population trends over time to very small geographic areas.  It also includes a tool for creating slide shows that can be easily exported into a Powerpoint presentation.

Scopus trial through August 2009

Scopus is an abstract and citation database of research literature and quality web sources.   The coverage is similar to that of Web of Science and it features citation tracking and the ability to produce various journal analyses.

May 2009

Backfiles of journals published by Sage are now available online

Of particular interest are their titles in materials science and geography, including Cultural Geographies, High Performance Polymers, and Journal of Biomaterials Applications.  We now have online access from v.1 onward to the contents of the Journal of Economic Geography.

April 2009

Library hours for Summer 2009

The EMS Library will be open during the following hours from Monday, May 18 through Friday, August 14, 2009:

  • Monday – Thursday     8 a.m. – 9 p.m.
  • Friday                        8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
  • Saturday                    1 p.m. – 5 p.m.
  • Sunday                      1 p.m. – 9 p.m.

The library will be closed Monday, May 25 for Memorial Day and July 3 - 4 for the Independence Day holiday.

Other library hours

MIES Bulletins Now Online

From 1922 to 1974, the Mineral Industries Experiment Station (MIES) published a series of bulletins which have now been scanned and are available from the Libraries.  The MIES circulars are in the process of being scanned as well.

Return on Investment for E-Journals

A study conducted at the University of Illinois reported that library electronic collections contributions to grant proposals resulted in a ROI of $4.38 for every dollar invested in 2006.  
 

March 2009

Libraries add access to Environment and Energy Newswires

The Environment and Energy Newswires consists of five newswire services: Environment & Energy Daily, Greenwire (energy and environmental policy), E&E News PM (late-breaking news on energy and environment), ClimateWire, and Land Letter.  These services compile information on policy and technology related to energy and environmental issues.  There is some overlap with the coverage of the BNA Environment Reporter, which has more historical information on court cases and legislation.

February 2009

Libraries website has a new look

As part of the transition to a content management system, the Libraries web pages have all  been redesigned. Be aware that most pages have new URLs so you may need to update your bookmarks from last year. We hope that you will find them more functional and efficient.  For example, the journal pages which feature shortcuts to the journals of most interest have been subdivided by subject for easier browsing.  Let us know what you think of the new look and please offer suggestions for improvements.

Taylor & Francis journals going print only for PSU

Beginning with 2009, the Libraries will no longer provide electronic access to the current issues of journals published by Taylor & Francis.  In a memo to the faculty, Dean of Libraries, Nancy Eaton, explains: "Three years ago the University Libraries negotiated an agreement with the Taylor and Francis Group, a United Kingdom-based publishing company, to provide electronic access to a designated list of about 550 scholarly journals. In December, without prior notice, the publisher presented Penn State with a new agreement that had new terms that we considered unacceptable. Our attempts to reach a mutually-agreeable compromise with Taylor and Francis have been unsuccessful. As a consequence the University Libraries have chosen not to renew the agreement."  In some cases, the Libraries will continue to subscribe to a print version of important titles.  Faculty can request article delivery via the Libraries article delivery service. For more information or a copy of Dean Eaton's memo about the Taylor & Francis decision please contact one of the EMS librarians.

Titles affected include: Aerosol Science & Technology; Annals of the Association of American Geographers; Bioremediation Journal; Combustion Theory and Modelling; Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects; Energy Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning and Policy; Fullerenes, Nanotubes, and Carbon Nanostructures; International Journal of Mining, Reclamation and Environment; Particulate Science and Technology

January 2009

MediaTech Videos Available Using "I Want It"

On January 5, 2009,  library users will be able to place holds for videos in the MediaTech collection using the “I Want It” button in The CAT; the location and circulation status of MediaTech videos will display as it does for other library materials; and MediaTech videos charged out to a user will display on that user’s Library Account.  MediaTech videos requested via "I Want It" will be delivered to the user's selected pickup location, and will circulate for the standard 7-day video loan period. The location in The CAT for MediaTech videos will display as MediaTech, Wagner Annex. MediaTech staff will continue to provide a booking service for users who wish to request in advance the use of a MediaTech video on a certain date and will continue to maintain the Medianet public catalog, which supports the booking service.

24 Hour Loan Period for Bound Periodicals

Effective January 22, 2009, the default loan period for bound periodicals is 24 hours with no renewals allowed.  The 24 hr loan period should promote collection use by allowing more flexibility to patrons who need to take volumes out of the library, while still maintaining accessibility to our print journal collections.  This loan period extension also will allow patrons the flexibility to use annexed periodicals in the same manner as they may currently use periodicals available on open shelving.

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