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News & Events

Access to employee benefits in the U.S.

Ok, just when you were getting bored, here comes the Bureau of Labor Statistics with another page-turner! They’ve just released the latest National Compensation Survey, an annual effort to compile data on who has access to various kinds of employee benefit programs in the United States. Among the findings:

Employer-provided medical care was available to 85 percent of full-time private industry workers. By contrast, only 24 percent of part-time workers had medical care benefits available.
Retirement benefits followed a similar pattern: in private industry, 74 percent of full-time workers had access to a retirement plan, significantly higher than 37 percent of part-time workers.
Paid sick leave benefits were also more commonly offered to full-time workers and those in medium and large establishments in private industry. Plans were offered to 74 percent of full-time workers and 24 percent of part-time workers.

Breakdowns of the data are available by type and size of employer, full-time vs. part-time worker, employee/employer shares of costs, and for other benefit programs like life insurance. Read the current press release and see the program home page for more information.

July 22, 2013 by

Archbishop Ireland Library, Circulation, News & Events

It’s time to get rollin’!

Dear Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity faculty and staff —

UST Libraries are changing the lending policy that governs how long you may borrow items from the circulating collection. On Monday, July 15, 2013 the fixed end-of-term due date is changing to a rolling due date of 120 days. We are pleased to make this change that ensures you and your colleagues will always have library materials for at least 4 months before needing to return or renew them. For more details about the change and its restrictions, please read the footnotes below*.

If you have any questions or concerns about this change, please contact us at IrelandLibrary@stthomas.edu.

—

* The library reserves the right to recall library materials when they are needed for course reserves. If there are no other users waiting for the item, you can renew the item for another 120 days. The overdue fine and lost book fee structure remains the same. Overdue fines do not accrue on a daily basis. Items are considered lost when they are not returned within a month. A charge of $65 per item is applied to your library account for lost materials. The library reserves the right to charge a higher fee when the cost to replace an item exceeds $65. Loans from other collections (CLIC, MTLA, or ILL) have loan lengths of varying lengths; please check your online library account or contact library staff to confirm when your items are due.

June 27, 2013 by clborchardt

Archbishop Ireland Library, Circulation, News & Events

Answer to Grad Student Prayer: Longer Loan Periods

Dear Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity Graduate Students, lay and seminarians —

Have you ever requested the intersession of Saint Jerome, patron saint of libraries, for more time with library materials? Struggled with the moral dilemma of whether to return library books with maxed out renewals even though you know you cannot check it out right away because someone else is waiting for it … you need it just a little while longer? Your Master’s thesis is so close to being done!

The libraries have heard your cries, graduate students. Your due dates are getting longer!

Hallelujah!

Starting Monday, July 15, 2013, all graduate students will be able to borrow library books from UST’s circulating collections* for 120 days with an additional 120 day renewal if no other requests are waiting.**

That’s a whopping total of 240 days! It’s more than double the time of the previous total of 98 days (42 day initial loan + 28 day renewal period + another 28 day renewal period). Instead of having a book for only one semester, you can have it for two terms!

The overdue fine and lost book fee structure remains the same. Overdue fines do not accrue on a daily basis. Items are considered lost when they are note returned within a month. A charge of $65 per item is applied to your library account for lost materials. The library reserves the right to charge a higher fee when the cost to replace an item exceeds $65.

If you have any comments or questions about this change in borrowing policy or how Ireland Library can serve you, please contact us at IrelandLibrary@stthomas.edu.

—

* Loans from other library collections (CLIC, MTLA, ILL) have loan periods of varying lengths; please check your online library account or contact library staff to confirm when your items are due.
** The library reserves the right to recall at any time for items needed for course reserve lists.

June 27, 2013 by clborchardt

News & Events

Good Times in the UST Media Collection

Good Times

There’s a time and place for everything, and summer on campus is the time for (among other things) relaxing with some movies from the UST media collection. If you find yourself with time to kill between your summer classes, why not try watching a film on the theme of time travel? Here are a few we’ve picked out – let us know if we missed any good ones!

Primer

Primer
This movie focuses on the consequences of time travel and how difficult it might be to navigate the ethics of time travel. It’s written, produced, and directed by Shane Carruth, who also plays one of the main characters, and who also was formerly an engineer, so I think we can trust his technological insights. The movie won big time at the 2004 Sundance film festival.

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure
Two high schoolers travel back in time in a phone booth and meet famous historical figures in an effort to pass a history class. Should they fail the class, their fates will be altered and the future Utopian society based on their leadership will never happen. This is why you should spend your time wisely, and study.

The Fountain
The characters in this film may not actually travel through time themselves, but the viewer is transported to many different time periods, connected by a narrative thread: a couple in love try to cope with the reality of death. Heavy stuff, but it’s worth reflecting on how to cope when your time is up.

That’s all we have time for right now – pick these up from the UST Media Collection if they interest you, or let us know in the comments what time travel movies you prefer!

June 19, 2013 by kmburke

News & Events

Lisa Bu: How books can open your mind

June 5, 2013 by kmburke

Archbishop Ireland Library, Circulation, Kudos, News & Events, O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library

UST Libraries Food for Fines (2013 Results)

The O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library and the Archbishop Ireland Memorial Library wrapped up their annual Food for Fines drive this past week.

2013_FoodForFines

UST Library patrons donated a total of 699 lbs. of canned food. Donations will go to the Emergency Food Shelf at the Saint Paul Area Council of Churches.

Library patrons were able to donate canned food in exchange for the waiving of overdue fines (1 can = $2).

Over the past 4 years we have donated a total of 2,417 lbs. of food.

Previous recipients were the Franciscan Brothers of Peace and Francis Basket Food Shelf.

Thank you to all who participated in this semester’s drive!

June 4, 2013 by

News & Events

Summertime and the reading is easy!

Hey, UST-ers! Graduation is over, the Class of 2013 is on its way to becoming productive members of the “real world” and summer has arrived in Minnesota. Okay, so the last one might be a bit of a stretch, but even if it’s not beach-y outside, you can still get plenty of R-n-R at the library this summer.

If you’re taking a little break during Summer I, don’t forget we have lots of stuff to keep you entertained: leisure books are arriving regularly. We also have Kindle ebook readers for you to check out!

If you’re sticking around and taking classes during summer, we’ve got stuff for you, too! Our reference services will still be available for all of your research questions! This summer, we will so please come and chat with us.

Just as a reminder: The O’SF library will be open seven days a week during both summer sessions. Here are UST library hours. Coffee Bene will be back in September. We miss them too!

May 30, 2013 by kmburke

News & Events, Recently Read

A Humanist Apologizes to Numbers

A fun article from the Chronicle Review by Jon Volkmer. Here’s a taste, from the beginning of the article:

“On behalf of word people everywhere, I hereby extend this general apology to numbers. We have not always counted you as friends. I myself, an educator of the literary persuasion, have sometimes failed to live up to my pan-disciplinary liberal-arts ideals. I am tacitly complicit when advisees use foul invective in re the math requirement. I break out in hysterical yawning in the presence of anisotropic fractional maximals.

In my defense, numbers have not always been nice to me, either. I think it started with that C-plus in algebra. Numbers still seem, at times, downright vindictive. At tax time, for instance. Or when I step on a scale. My idea of an irrational number is what I see in my checkbook after paying the bills each month.”

Right up my poli sci major alley.

May 30, 2013 by

News & Events

Congratulations to the University of St. Thomas Class of 2013!

Whether you finished in four years, are celebrating as a super-senior, or transferred in from another school, the O’SF library extends a big UST Congrats to all the graduating seniors this weekend! We truly hope the O’SF library was a positive part of your time here at St. Thomas, and we’re sure gonna miss seeing your smiling faces (studying is fun, right?) in the library!

If you are graduating, you don’t have to entirely say goodbye to the library, though! We’ve got great resources for graduates! Check out our library services for Alumni.

You can also keep up with the latest in O’SF Library happenings by following us on Twitter, and liking us on Facebook. (We know you’re gonna be nostalgic for the all-nighters you pulled here. It’s okay to admit it. We get it.)

If you’re not graduating yet, don’t fret! We have plenty of awesome stuff in store for the summer and next school year, too. Keep in touch, come say hello, and stake out your prime study space for next fall! Remember, we’ll be closed this Sunday and Monday for graduation/Memorial weekend, but we’ll be back up and running on Tuesday, May 28 for Summer hours.

Thank you, seniors, for helping make our work at the library special and important. After all, the library is here to support YOU! Good luck to all the graduates as you embark on your next adventure. And remember, you’ve always got a friend in the O’SF library!

May 22, 2013 by kmburke

Database Highlights & Trials, News & Events, Political Science, Services

Featured Librarian: Linda Hulbert

It’s time to feature another UST Librarian! Linda Hulbert wears many hats around UST Libraries; as both a subject liaison and the Associate Director of Collection Management and Services, she oversees quite a few resources. Let’s see what she has to say about her favorites…

What departments are you a liaison for? Political science and General
What resource – in your topic area – do you think is the coolest?
OK! I love The New York Times Historical.
What’s one cool thing that resource can do?
I don’t know that it’s the best resource for my students who work in the area – but I do know that it is so cool to have current events and see when the first time certain terms were used – like suicide bomber. I love the fact that you can look at how the country was looking at events contemporaneously – like the Civil War. For my political science research, I also really like the papers in CQ Researcher.

Getting to know Linda:

HNYT

What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Anything with chocolate, fudge, and caramel
Who is your favorite author?
I have to many: William Styron for Sophie’s Choice; Graham Greene for Quiet American; Maeve Binchy for wonderful warm fiction; Elizabeth George – Lynley mysteries; Rushdie – Enchantress of Florence.
Do you prefer the Minnesota Twins or the St Paul Saints?
Neither. Baseball, meh – now let’s talk about the Packers!
Is there something random about you that you’d like us to know?
I have a one year old grandson, and one on the way – so fun!

Linda can be contacted for research assistance or classroom sessions by email, or by phone at (651) 962-5016. See more information about her on the library website.

May 15, 2013 by

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