The University of St. Thomas
News, Events and Musings from the UST Libraries

January, 2012

« Older Entries

CIAO : What’s New, What’s Old, What’s Unique

By: Linda Hulbert

Published on: Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

ciao[columbia international affairs online] has unique content that every political scientist should love.

Unfortunately, most of it is not indexed by Summon because most of  it is not journal articles so you have to go into the database itself. It includes books! Well, really book chapters – seldom is the whole book included; some of the included journals are also just abstracts.  Sigh. Wait, wait that’s the bad news! The good news is there are case studies, working papers that are unique and there are ready-made course packs – faculty member are you seeing this?  In partnership with the Economist it has current videos, too.  The atlas has information you might find elsewhere in bits and pieces, but in ciao, it’s all in there (like Ragu) - politics AND economy AND organized for easy access. It includes analysis, background, structure and outlook for both the politics and the economy for each country. With handy maps that allow you to click on the country you care about.  Let me know what you think about ciao.

Posted in Database Highlights & Trials, Political Science, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Mountain of Books

By: Linda Hulbert

Published on: Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

Guy Laramee Book CarvingCool new art form. If you ever wondered what to do with your old books (and the library has told you we don’t want them) and you have talent, these should give you ideas.

You might notice how the book titles and the designs often match.

Posted in Political Science | No Comments »

Solar Flares

By: Carolyn DeLuca

Published on: Friday, January 27th, 2012

So we just had a massive solar flare storm that caused GORGEOUS aurora borealis, not that we could see them cuz of cloud cover, but still… between the 22nd and 25th there were solar flares. Canada and Scandinavia (basically, the northern climes) seemed to reap the most benefit visually from it all but it got me thinking about space and stuff.  Well, it got me thinking about space and then I realized how very little I knew about it, so I started thinking about stuff I have some knowledge of (19th century whaling, for example).  If you’re like me (which, in all honesty, I wouldn’t wish on anyone) and want to learn more about space stuff, here are a few stars from our collection (did you see that? Did you see what I did?  Stars.  Get it?  Stars):

  • Philips Astronomy Encyclopedia – I like this one cuz it has lots of pics.  But then it got really physicsy and I fogged up
  • Oxford Dictionary of Astronomy – heady stuff
  • Collins Dictionary of Astronomy – I wandered around in this one and landed on planets, where I learned the sidereal period, perihelion, aphelion and inclination of the planets.  I don’t know what any of those terms mean in this context, but the Collins Dictionary defined them all for me.  Yeah, still… I’m in waaaaaaaaaaaay over my head here folks!  Are there any astronomers out there?  A little help here.

If you’re interested in astronomy and/or physics and are looking for articles, please give Summon a try.  It’s really strong in the sciences and since I so obviously am in over my head when it comes to the aforementioned topics, I don’t feel like I’m the best person to put Summon through its science paces.  Once again, I’m calling on all astronomers and scientists out there in our community to give this stuff a look-see.  HEY YOU GUUUUUUUUUUUYS!!!! (that’s gonna zooma-zooma-zoom right over most people’s heads, but if you recognize it, give a shout out).  Please report back if you found these resources useful or interesting.  Or if you recognized the “hey you guys” or zoooma.

Huge props to Havard Bartnes for the Vimeo video.

Posted in Database Highlights & Trials | 3 Comments »

Wilson resources now on Ebsco platform

By: Carolyn DeLuca

Published on: Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

That title is just a lot of fancy industry-speak.  Basically what it means is that this company   bought this company  .   If you use any of these library resources,

you’ll notice a new look and maybe a bit of additional functionality.  If you have any questions, please ask us.  We’re here to help.

Posted in Database Highlights & Trials | No Comments »

Keffer Construction Update – Moving Quickly!

By: Laura Hansen

Published on: Friday, January 20th, 2012

The last week has brought a lot of change to the Keffer Library!  As the sounds of drills and the displaced furniture can attest, construction has been moving swiftly. The new upstairs space is taking shape before our eyes –  and ahead of schedule!

Highlights this week: 

  • A newly designed one-point service desk has been installed by combining parts of the former circulation and reference desks.  In the future, both circulation and reference services will be available here.
  • Walls and door frames have been put into place for the future librarian offices.
  • The walls for the lower level collection space have been finished.

In the next few weeks, look for many more changes (and updates!) as the upstairs areas are finished and we start  moving out of the current space and into our new home.

Thank you, as always, for continuing to bear with us throughout all of this project.  We’re happy to see so many of your faces and hope you’re having a wonderful J-term.

Posted in Charles J. Keffer Library, Libraries, News & Events | No Comments »

Journal of Sports Economics now available

By: John Heintz

Published on: Friday, January 20th, 2012

This journal is now available.  You’ll also be able to link to full-text via the “Get It” buttons in the Econlit database (and others), as well as via our Summon search.

This title will be useful for research projects in Econ, Business, Sociology, and other areas. Some recent popular articles include:

The New NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Median Voter Model, and a Robin Hood Rent Redistribution
Performance Under Pressure in the NBA
The Performance-Enhancing Drug Game
Competitive Balance and Revenue Sharing in Sports Leagues With Utility-Maximizing Teams
Competitive Balance in Sports Leagues: An Introduction

Check it out!

Posted in Database Highlights & Trials, News & Events | No Comments »

RefWorks Access UPDATE

By: Carolyn DeLuca

Published on: Thursday, January 19th, 2012

A few weeks ago RefWorks updated its list of usernames in order to bypass the group code.  You may have received an email saying your username has been changed.  Please check your St. Thomas email to see if you received an email like this.  If so, login with your old username and password.  If you receive this error message,refworks_error

click on FORGOT YOUR LOGIN INFORMATION?

Refworks will then send an email to the account you registered with (probably your UST email) telling you your username/password.  You can then click on UPDATE PROFILE on the upper right of the screen (once you’ve logged in) to set an easier username/password.  As always, ask us if you have problems.

Posted in Database Highlights & Trials, News & Events | No Comments »

JAMA News

By: Carolyn DeLuca

Published on: Thursday, January 19th, 2012

For those of you used to following up the evening news with an online trip to JAMA, I have some bad news. We no longer are able to receive the current 6 months of JAMA online.  We only have this in print copy.  So you’ll have to follow up the evening news with a trip into the library if you want to read the latest JAMA study on fill-in-the-blank.  If you’re looking for an older article from JAMA, you’re in luck and can stay put.  We have JAMA online from 1998-current 6 months ago and in print for the current 6 months.  We offer you print copy all the way back to 1921-1990.  For 1991-2011 we have microfiche.

Posted in Database Highlights & Trials | No Comments »

Why the Blackouts? Info on SOPA; alternatives to Wikipedia

By: John Heintz

Published on: Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

wiki_black
Have you noticed that Wikipedia and other sites are “blacked out” today?

Many tech companies have decided to go dark for 24 hours on January 18, 2012 as an advocacy move to fight against adoption of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and a related act dubbed PIPA that seek to regulate online piracy and copyright infringement.  These opponents are concerned about potential threats to privacy and the open-ness of the internet.

For more on the issue, here are some resources:

For usable, every day quality information as an alternative (or in addition to) Wikipedia, try some of these UST Libraries subscription resources:

Ask a Librarian if you’d like some help.

google_black

Posted in Database Highlights & Trials, News & Events | 2 Comments »

Crash! Bang! What’s Happening in the Library?

By: Julie Kimlinger

Published on: Friday, January 13th, 2012

You may have noticed some really loud pounding and sawing noises in the O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library over the past few weeks and perhaps have seen some recent crane activity used to move heavy pieces of equipment up and out through the roof.   The crane will be back in a week or so to help load in the new equipment, too.

All of this is related to an aggressive heating and cooling project that is now underway.  The large air handlers that were a key part of the HVAC system that served the older part of the library are being removed and replaced with new.   When the project is complete we can expect increased comfort and greater consistency of temperatures throughout the seasons.  The loudest part of the project has been completed and by the end of March we hope to be finished.  We thank you for your patience.

Posted in Libraries, News & Events, O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library | No Comments »

« Older Entries