Library Construction

Please pardon our mess. You may notice some noise and dust on the main level of the library close to the lobby. We are working to consolidate our offices for Interlibrary Loan (ILL). Once the project is done, both ILL Lending and Borrowing will be located on the main level of the library. This will allow for more efficient use of personnel and resources and open up space for another group study room (222) on the upper level of the library.

If you need a quieter area for studying, please try the lower or upper levels or areas on the main level that are not close to the lobby.

Linda Kott Information

Services Librarian

Librarians Participate at State Conference

Librarians from H. M. Briggs Library recently participated in the South Dakota Library Association (SDLA) Annual Conference held in Aberdeen, SD, October 7-9.

Laura Wight, Information Literacy Librarian, and Elizabeth Fox, Digital Information Services Librarian, conducted a session entitled “A Virtual Librarian in Every Classroom.”  They featured a variety of ways to provide virtual library information services, including Meebo chat widgets on Web and courseware pages, social bookmarking, online tutorials, topic-specific Web guides, and Web conferencing.  For more information view the following Web site http://lib.sdstate.edu/wight/virtuallib.htm or contact Ms. Wight at laura.wight@sdstate.edu or 605-688-5955 or Ms. Fox at elizabeth.fox@sdstate.edu or 605-688-5569.

Mary Caspers-Graper, Head of Technical Services, presented a poster session at the conference entitled “Selecting E-Books” that focused on the decision making process of e-book selection.  The poster detailed different purchasing options, the advantages and disadvantages of each, and relating decisions to the needs of library patrons. 

Linda Kott, Information Services Librarian, also presented a poster session.  Ms. Kott’s selection, entitled, “Less is More:  Content Selection in Library Instruction” addressed librarians who often try to fit too much information into one-hour instruction sessions.  Strategies for focusing content included employing outcomes, student-centered learning, and active learning.  Ms. Kott included information from her recent attendance at the 2009 Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Immersion Program for Teachers. 

David Gleim, Dean of Libraries, finished a year-long term of office as the Chair of SDLA’s Academic, Health Sciences, and Special Libraries Section.  Linda Kott finished a year-long term as Section Secretary and was elected to the Chair position for the next year.

Linda Kott

Information Services Librarian

Where is the Information Desk and where do I get help?

The short answer is: The information desk is gone, but our librarians are available to help you at the Library Services desk (formerly Circulation/Reserves desk) in the lobby of the library. The new Library Services desk provides one location where students, faculty members, and others may get help with finding information, checking out or returning books, borrowing reserve materials, and other needs. The location of the desk, immediately inside the entrance in the lobby, enhances the visibility of our librarians, which makes it easier for students and faculty to find them. Merging circulation/reserves and information services in one location also eliminates the inconvenience of referring people from the circulation desk to the information desk and vice-versa. It also enables librarians at the desk in the lobby to take advantage of opportunities for assistance and instructional interactions that may never have happened at the former information desk. While checking out or returning books and reserve materials students may talk about their information needs and/or express frustrations with their research. In addition, some students are reluctant to approach a librarian for help, but they may feel more comfortable talking with a library student employee at the desk. These situations create easy “hand-off” opportunities for these students to get help from a librarian.

Of course, not all needs can be satisfied at the Library Services desk. Some people will still be referred to the Archives & Special Collections on the library’s upper level; or to the Government Documents Department on the lower level; or to the Acquisitions Department, Serials/Bindery Department, or the Dean of Libraries’ office on the main level. However we believe inquiring at the new Library Services desk is the most efficient way to begin any trip to the Briggs Library. BTW: The old Information Desk was dismantled in June, but not totally discarded. Parts of it live on after being repurposed to provide work stations elsewhere in the library.

Clark Hallman, Head of Public Services

Rachel Manzer Takes Charge of Interlibrary Loan & Document Delivery Services

Staff member Rachel Manzer has moved to a new position within Briggs Library. On August 3rd Rachel took charge of the library’s document delivery and interlibrary loan services. Rachel began working at the library in October of 2007 as our Interlibrary Loan Lending Technician.

The Document Delivery Unit offers a vital service to SDSU students, staff, and faculty by providing access to resources not owned by Briggs Library. When researchers discover that they need a resource that is not available through the library, they may request the item using the ILLiad (InterLibrary Loan internet accessible database) system.

Once patrons place requests, Rachel is in charge of all the behind-the-scenes work. With the help of student assistants, Rachel maintains patron accounts; verifies citations; ensures copyright compliance; and places requests with other libraries, commercial vendors, or the library’s acquisitions department. She also manages fees, coordinates delivery, coordinates returns, and handles problems.

The Document Delivery unit also lends Briggs Library materials to other libraries through a worldwide interlibrary loan (ILL) network. The network allows Briggs Library to participate in reciprocal lending activity with thousands of other libraries which helps the service operate economically. This means users usually do not pay a fee for the resources provided through Document Delivery or Interlibrary Loan. In her former position, Rachel worked with ILL lending, and, in fact, she will supervise that operation when the ILL staff vacancy is filled.

Congratulations to Rachel Manzer. Questions about specific Document Delivery (ILLiad) requests can be directed to Rachel in her new office (106C) on the main level of the library. For help with finding potential sources for your research or placing ILLiad requests please contact a staff member at the Library Services Desk, by phone (605-688-5107), by e-mail, or via instant messaging.

Linda Kott
Information Services Librarian

Wolfram│Alpha

Stephen Wolfram, developer of Mathematica, has designed a new Web tool called Wolfram│Alpha.  Although its interface looks like a search engine, Wolfram│Alpha is actually a computational knowledge engine.  Search engines, like Google, search the Web and list links as results.   Wolfram│Alpha produces results by making computations from its own knowledge base. 

Clicking on the sample topics links will give you ideas of how to use this tool in areas like mathematics, engineering, dates & times, money & finance, and unit & measures.  You can enter math problems, ask for conversions, compare stocks, produce a world map with life expectancies, assess the per capita income of Brooking County, etc.  Wolfram│Alpha has a blog, a community site, and a quick video overview to help users get started.

The producers of Wolfram│Alpha plan to expand its capacities in the future.  Their ambitious “long-term goal is to make all systematic knowledge immediately computable and accessible to anyone.”  They also see opportunities to develop other forms of their product—to provide professional and corporate applications, to work with an organization’s internal data, and to work with mobile platforms. 

If you have any questions about research please contact a SDSU librarian.  You can contact us in-person at the Information Desk, send an e-mail, a text message, or set up an appointment. 

 Linda Kott
Information Services Librarian

Mountains Beyond Mountains

 If you like to read and then discuss what you’ve read, consider the book Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder.

 This fall students in twenty-five sections of freshman opportunities and orientation courses, such as General Studies 100, will be reading the book, a biography of Dr. Paul Farmer.  Farmer, a world leader in public health and medical anthropology, founded Partners in Health, an organization which has provided health care to disadvantaged populations throughout the world, conducted ground-breaking research, and influenced policy in world health organizations.

 The book focuses on Farmer, a fascinating individual, who Kidder describes as “a man who would cure the world,” but it also invites discussions of broad and varied topics like public health, poverty and wealth, land use, and the responsibilities of the individual.  

 This fall you’ll find plenty of students who have read the book, but if you can’t wait contact Tim Nichols, Dean of the Honors College, at 605-688-5268, about a summer reading group. 

 To further advance study and discussion, Dr. Farmer will speak on campus on November 19, 2009, as the Griffith Honors Forum lecturer. 

 Ready to get started?  The library has two copies of Mountains Beyond Mountains (BOOKS/UPPER LEVEL R154.F36 K53 2003) and the University Bookstore has copies for sale.

 If you are interested in further investigation of the topics addressed in the book, the library has many resources available.  Search the library’s catalog to find records for books and government documents; search databases, such as EBSCOhost Megafile and ProQuest, for articles in newspapers, magazines and journals.   Also consult the library’s Topic Guides for research guidance in a particular subject area.  Librarians are available to help you research—consult with us in-person at the Information Desk, send an e-mail, a text message, or set up an appointment. 

 Happy reading!

 Linda Kott
Information Services Librarian

Lobby Commotion

Installation of Food Booths in Library Lobby Photo by Susan Schleicher

What’s happening in the lobby of the library?  SDSU Dining Services personnel are placing booths and working on electrical connections so that food and beverages—including coffee!—can be offered in the library.  Unfortunately for those of us on campus this summer, the consumables will not be available until this fall.

 

Linda Kott

Information Services Librarian

Evening Study Breaks

Need a break from studying for your finals?  Come to Briggs Library and enjoy coffee, cookies, and lemonade to help keep you going.

 Refreshments will be offered Monday & Tuesday, May 5 & 6, starting around 7 p.m. in lobby of the library.

Linda Kott
Information Services Librarian

Librarians Make Presentations at Conferences

Three librarians from H. M. Briggs Library recently participated in regional conferences.

Laura Wight, Information Literacy Librarian and Associate Professor, conducted a session entitled “Stuck in the Social Web” at the Library Technology 2009 Conference held in St. Paul, Minnesota, March 18-19. Ms. Wight’s presentation helped library professionals analyze World Wide Web social networks and discriminate between technology fads and social networks that could improve library services. Participants discussed applications such as Facebook, Myspace, Meebo, blogs, and wikis and which of these applications would best serve particular libraries and their customers. For more information view the following Web site http://lib.sdstate.edu/wight/socialweb/ or contact Ms. Wight at laura.wight@sdstate.edu or 605-688-5955.

Elizabeth Fox, Digital Information Services Librarian, presented a session called “Embedded Librarians: Fighting for Information Literacy” at the Mountain Plains Library Association/Kansas Library Association (MPLA/KLA) joint conference held in Wichita, Kansas, April 1-3. Ms. Fox focused on her experience working with an undergraduate Sociology class over the course of several weeks as they created group poster presentations. Ms. Fox also discussed a variety of ways librarians could become more integrated in university classes. If you are interested further information, contact Ms. Fox at elizabeth.fox@sdstate.edu or 605-688-5569.

Vickie Mix, Government Documents Librarian, presented “E-Government: Documents and Services to the People” at the MPLA/KLA 2009 Conference held in Wichita, Kansas. Ms. Mix noted that government information and government services are increasingly delivered to citizens via the internet. She explored the implications of this trend for public, school, and academic libraries in delivering services to library users. She noted that electronic government services require librarians and library users to learn and employ new knowledge, skills, and collaborative strategies. For more information access “e-government” from http://lib.sdstate.edu/find/govdocs or contact Ms. Mix at vickie.mix@sdstate.edu or 605-688-5958.

Behind the Scenes at Briggs Library/ILL

A lot of work at the library goes on behind the scenes. Read about the success of one department below.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

Through Interlibrary Loan Services, SDSU students, staff and faculty members may request resources not found in Briggs Library collections. Often the ILL Department can borrow or gain access to resources from another library in a week’s time.

The flip side of ILL is that the library lends our resources to other libraries. Reciprocal lending agreements with other libraries allow us to operate ILL services economically, meaning users do not usually pay a fee for the resources provided through Interlibrary Loan.

Briggs Library is a member of a library consortium called Minitex, which provides services for Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota libraries. Minitex recently recognized Briggs Library as number four on its list of top ten ILL lenders, with 5,509 ILL requests filled in 2008.

Kudos to ILL Lending Technician Rachel Manzer and her student assistants for their hard work.

Linda Kott
Information Services Librarian