The Dust Bowl in the 1930’s. Twin sister runaways from a small southern black community exploring their racial identities. An impending catastrophe in the 1950’s: can it be thwarted by a woman astronaut? The making of a classic movie. A murder mystery in Cádiz intertwined with the Peninsular War between the French and Spanish in 1811. Cookie recipes. A memoir of a lifelong fight against racism in housing and gentrification. A novel about passion, desire, grief, determination, and finding one’s way.
Intrigued? These titles and more are described in the 2021 edition of the Libraries’ summer reading list. This is (at least) the 15th edition of the library staff’s annual list. We hope you find it enjoyable and that it helps inspire your vacation reading interests. Remember also the Leisure Reading collections, browsable in person at the OSF and Keffer Libraries.
During the month of February, the University Libraries will be offering trials of several databases, especially in the area of the health, nursing and psychotherapy. If you are working in these disciplines, take a look at these new resources and let us know if you would find them useful for your teaching and research.
CINAHL Complete – the definitive research tool for nursing and allied health professionals. With CINAHL Complete, users get fast and easy full-text access to top journals, evidence-based care sheets, quick lessons and more. Note, this is a more expansive collection than the CINAHL that the library currently subscribes to. (Through February 28.)
APA PsycTherapy – Streaming demonstration videos for teaching and learning psychotherapy techniques (Through March 5.)
Nursing & Allied Health Database – designed to support the teaching, learning, and research needs of nursing and allied health students and educators. Includes 360 full-length clinical skills videos. (Through March 5.)
LWW Nursing and Health Professions Premier Collection – Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins (a major publisher in health field) offers this collection of over 80 core nursing journals. Our trial will also include access to Emcare, a database of scholarly, peer-reviewed literature in nursing and allied health on the Ovid platform, with access to over 5 million records. (Through March 3.)
Library of Catholic Thought – The Library of Catholic Thought presents essential resources for studying the development of Catholic thought and theology, including works on the interaction between Catholicism and modern science, and on the history of Catholic moral theology. A key element of the Library is the new fully revised third edition of the Jerome Biblical Commentary, a 2 million-word project by leading Catholic biblical scholars that features a preface by Pope Francis and is digitally exclusive to the LOCT.
We will be providing trial access to one or two more databases during Trials Month and will alert faculty in the appropriate disciplines when these resources are available for review.
Want to find available statistics or data sets for your research or for your class to use in assignments?
Wondering what that Data Management Plan requirement in your federal grant application is all about?
Need some help strategizing how to keep your research data effectively organized and documented for your own sanity and for re-use in the future?
Want to figure out the best disciplinary or local repository to deposit your data?
Want to partner with a librarian on a systematic review?
We provide research data services in the Libraries with these issues and others in mind.
I am John Heintz, Business & Data Services Librarian. I’ve served the Economics and Business departments at the University for a number of years, and data issues in the Social Sciences are the ones I’m most familiar with. But, I’ve also done work supporting the digital humanities, have developed knowledge of research data management issues across disciplines, and have access to an outstanding local and international network of research data management experts we can tap into as needed. Several of our St. Thomas librarians are also trained in supporting systematic reviews and other forms of synthesizing research techniques.
Research Data Services we can provide include:
Data discovery: consult to find statistics and data sets from our library research databases and other data archives for your personal research or for classroom use
Research instruction and collaboration: classroom sessions, individual consultations, and web documentation to instruct students on finding and using data; partner with faculty on database selection, search strategy refinement, and processing of search results for systematic reviews
Research Data Management:
learn best practices to help organize to manage your data throughout its life cycle
develop codebooks and metadata to make your data discoverable and comprehensible
access templates and instructions to meet federal grantors and other funders’ data management plan (DMP) and open access (OA) requirements (think NSF, NIH, NEH, and other funders)
help selecting appropriate repositories to deposit and archive your data
Our partners in the STELAR Center can also help with related services such as database hosting for big data research projects, statistical analysis services, and others.
Please contact me if you’d like to discuss possibilities in more depth or have a specific request. We can converse via email, telephone, Zoom, and (some day) in person.
John Heintz, Business & Data Services Librarian
jpheintz@stthomas.edu
+1 651-962-4646
As the University re-opens and people return to campus, we wanted to give everyone some information about what’s happening at the libraries and how things are a little different this Fall.
First, what hasn’t changed: we still have a robust set of resources (books, magazines, journals, datasets, films, and more) for you to use, and library staff are available to help you navigate, find, and use them. We are still here for you!
There are some changes, though, to keep you and our community as safe as possible during this pandemic. Our short video (3 min) goes through a lot of the changes, or read on for more details.
Libraries in the time of COVID
So what changes will you see in the libraries? (Note that these may change as the situation and pandemic and Department of Health dictate. Make sure to check our website for the most up to date information).
Masks, hand sanitizing stations, and work space sanitizing stations:
Masks are required to be worn in the libraries (as they are everywhere on campus).
If you are eating or drinking in the library, we ask that you have your mask covering your face whenever you are not actively eating.
We have hand and work sanitizing stations throughout the library. Please wipe down spaces before and after using them.
Research help is available online:
Our librarians love working with you to help you find and use our resources, but because our work is often in-depth, it isn’t safe to do it in person.
What this means to you: We won’t be staffing an in-person research help desk, but we’re available via the chat widget on our website, or you can just text us: (651) 504-1324. You can also make an appointment with your subject librarian and we can meet on Zoom or discuss your question over email.
Clear markers of where to line up and stand:
Pawprints on the floor in front of Stacks Café show you where to line up
You’ll see the familiar Tommie pawprint stickers on the floor in front of our desks and the Stacks Café to help you line up at a safe distance.
Spaces and furniture:
We will notice that we have moved furniture to be in alignment with our Common Good Occupancy, please do not move furniture from where it is. Rest assured that we still have many spaces available for study:
Spaces for online class participation: You are welcome to participate in your online classes in the library on the Lower Level, Sub Level and 1st floor, or in a reserved study room. You will need to use your own headphones/microphone, and keep your voice to a low level to avoid disturbing others.
Spaces for quiet study: The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors are reserved for quiet study. Please make sure you have headphones if you are listening to audio on your computer.
Study Rooms: NOTE: Effective Monday, November 23, all study rooms in the OSF Library are closed until further notice due to continued noncompliance with the university’s face covering policy.
Our study rooms in Keffer and Ireland libraries will be available to be reserved online. We are building in a 30 minute cushion between reservations to allow the space to air out. Most rooms are now single occupancy.
The study space on 2nd floor of OSF has tables and chairs spaced out for safety.
Books, Journals, DVDs, and other materials:
You can check out our books and materials just like before. You can request books from other libraries using CLIC request and Interlibrary Loan.
We are following recommendations that come from studies done by the REALM project on safe handling of library materials. Most books and other materials are quarantined for 72 hours. Glossy materials such as magazines, coffee table books and children’s board books will be quarantined for 96 hours.
What this means to you: You may notice delays in getting materials, especially if you request them from another library or if they were recently returned or received.
Technology in the library:
ITS has removed shared computers on campus including the lab computers in the library. We do have printing available and two computers to use to print documents.
We are not circulating headphones, cords, or lockers.
What this means to you: Bring your own device and headphones (if you’ll be listening to audio). Consider setting up Follow Me printing so that you can print to any printer from your laptop.
Alumni and Guests:
Alumni and guests are welcome in the library and can use and check out materials if they have a card. Because we do not have shared computers, we are unable to offer access to our electronic resources.
After a successful trial, I am happy to announce that we have subscribed to the Investext database. Investext provides the full text of investment analyst reports from major investment banking firms, as well as company and industry reports from major business information providers. Analyst reports are used in the real world to inform security buyers’ purchasing decisions, and in educational settings, in accounting and finance classes to help inform company and industry financial research projects.
Investext is provided as an add-on to our existing Mergent Online subscription. There are a couple of ways to access the content. The first way is through a regular company record. To see this, open Mergent Online, then search for and open a company record. Within the record, got to Reports, then select Broker Research Reports.
The second way to find the Investext content within Mergent Online is to login to the database, and look for the Investext tab at the far right side.
Once in the database, pick a date range, and then use one or more criteria to search. Possible criteria include company name/ticker, country, keyword, industry, report style (company, industry, ESG report, etc.), contributor (i.e. brokerage house), among others. Pick one or more items in the Search Criteria section, hit the Submit button, then hit the View link to display your search results.
Examples:
I searched for “best buy” in company name for the last 90 days, and got a list of 129 results, including analyst reports, company, and industry reports.
I used the Industry criteria and used the included lookup list to select Consumer Cyclicals>Specialty Retailers>Computer & Electronics Retailers, also for the last 90 days. I found 1716 results.
For best results, combine multiple criteria to tune the results to a manageable number. Reports are provided in PDF format.
The vendor turned on our access early so that it can still be of use in financial/investment analysis projects here as we wrap up fall semester. Please take the database for a spin and send me any questions.
John Heintz, Business & Data Services Librarian, jpheintz@stthomas.edu, 651-962-4646.
The Music and Media Collections at O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library has so many viewing categories to choose from! Be sure to visit us on the first floor and check out the many performances of classic American plays.
A Raisin in the Sun (1961) is the definitive adaptation of playwright Lorraine Hansberry’s powerful work, featuring the incomparable Sidney Poitier. A stellar cast (including Claudia McNeil) brings this drama to life in which an American family struggles against racism to achieve the American dream. This play is essential viewing. PS 3515 .A515 R3 1999 DVD
Eugene O’Neill’s play Long Day’s Journey into Night (1962) follows the story of an American family torn apart by addiction and illness. It was the first film in history in which all four leading actors won Best Acting awards at the Cannes Film Festival. Katharine Hepburn, Sir Ralph Richardson, Jason Robards, Jr., and Dean Stockwell star. PS 3529 .N5 L6 2004 DVD
Dustin Hoffman leads the cast of the 1985 adaptation of Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman. The drama centers on a Willy Loman, a traveling salesman battling demons of the past. Our DVD copy contains a feature-length documentary that takes a close look at the collaboration between Hoffman, director Volker Schlöndorff, and Arthur Miller himself. PS 3525 .I5156 D4 2002 DVD
This week, April 7-13, 2019 is National Library Week, a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation’s libraries and library workers and to promote library use and support. This year’s theme is Libraries = Strong Communities
Want to celebrate with us? The University libraries have events all week long:
Both O’Shaughnessy-Frey and Ireland libraries will be having their annual book sale, featuring donated and withdrawn material.
This year, Fallon Advertising Agency donated their entire print library. This includes hundreds of beautiful art and photography books and other books for visual inspiration. Do not miss this!
In need of an invigorating musical performance this summer? Visit The Music and Media Collections on the first floor of the O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library and pick up one of our Deutsche Grammophon video recordings. At the age of 88, world-renowned Polish American classical pianist Arthur Rubinstein performs classical piano compositions by Edvard Grieg, Frederic Chopin, and Camile Saint-Saens. Andre Previn conducts this beautifully powerful performance.
Rubenstein: Piano Concertos: M1010 .R897 P53 2006 DVD
Additional classical concerts can be found streaming on the classical music collection Medici.tv. In addition to opera, Medici has many instrumental performances like the excellent chamber music group The Psophos Quartet. This French-based group performs string compositions by Edvard Grieg and Claude Debussy with great energy and poise.
Image courtesy of the American Library Association
The American Library Association’s Midwinter Conference is usually full of committee meetings and is not necessarily the most exciting conference to attend… That is, until Monday morning when the Youth Media Awards (YMAs) are announced! The YMAs feature the selections of some of the biggest awards in children’s and Young Adult (YA) literature and non-fiction.
On Monday, January 28, the excitement ensued in Seattle as notable awards like the Coretta Scott King, Caldecott, Newbery, and Printz were announced. There were also several diverse awards given, such as: the Batchelder Award for the best children’s book from a different country translated into English; the Schneider Family Book Awards that celebrate the best “artistic expression of the disability experience for children and adolescents”; and, the Stonewall Book Awards for “works of exceptional merit for children or teens relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience”.
These awards represent some of the best books published for children or teens in the last year. They also help Trent Brager, St. Thomas’ Education and Social Sciences Librarian, select quality books for the Hubbs Children’s Literature Collection at the Keffer Library. This collection, found on the Minneapolis campus, is used most often by Education majors who learn to use children’s books for literacy instruction in K-12 classrooms. Stop by the Keffer Library to read some childhood favorites or to check out some of the new award winners!
Image courtesy of American Libraries magazine
Winners of selected book awards
John Newbery Medal:Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina
Randolph Caldecott Medal:Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall
Michael L. Printz Award:The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award:The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian’s Art Changed Science by Joyce Sidman
Theodor Seuss Geisel Award:Fox the Tiger by Corey R. Tabor
Coretta Scott King Book Award – Author:A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 by Claire Hartfield
Coretta Scott King Book Award – Illustrator:The Stuff of Stars illus. by Ekua Holmes
Pura Belpré Award – Author: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Pura Belpré Award – Illustrator:Dreamers by Yuyi Morales
A complete list of 2019 Youth Media Awards winners and honors, as well as a recording of the Award selections is available at the American Library Association’s website.
Experience the magic of musicals with the Music and Media Collections! We’re located on the first floor of the O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library to the right of the Main Circulation desk.
If you want a close-up look at the history of musicals in America, check out Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy. This feature-length documentary charts the significant contribution to Broadway by famous Jewish composers like Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, and the Gershwins. It also features classic performances by Barbara Streisand, Joel Grey, and Nathan Lane of this uniquely American art form. ML1711.8 .N3 B76 2012 DVD
Go on a thrilling ride with My Fair Lady, Lerner and Loewe’s adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s original play. The film stars a young Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle, a penniless flower girl in the dirty streets of London taken in by Professor Higgins for the sake of a linguistic experiment. Don’t miss this Academy Award-winning feature musical! M1500 L64 M9 2004 DVD
Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) is a remarkable French musical in which every word of dialogue is sung! Catherine Deneuve stars in this stylish film about the life and loves of a young woman working in an umbrella boutique in Normandy. It’s a film full of romance and heart. PN1997 .P376 2004 DVD
This is only a selection! We have titles such as Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd with Angela Lansbury, The Music Man, Roger and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! and many others!