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St. Thomas Libraries Blog

Database Highlights & Trials, Music

Dylan Represents!

Did you catch Bob Dylan’s concert last week?  According to a list just published on Buzzfeed, he is the most critically acclaimed rock star ever to come from Minnesota.  I think his album cover definitely makes Minnesota stand out on this map, don’t you?

image source: buzzfeed.com

Buzzfeed cited a study from Acclaimed Music, “a website that crunches and compiles best-of lists to determine critics’ general consensus.” I liked reading through their list, but I have to admit I felt a little clueless about some of the bands.  And as I sat there scratching my head thinking about where to find more information about them, I realized: the library has entire Biography subject guide filled with great resources for finding information about your favorite musician/film star/historical figure/you-name-it. Awesome!

The guide has information about how to  articles, books, and more.  Although I know you may be thinking that Wikipedia is better, humor me for a  moment and think of this: EVERYTHING on the subject guide is from a reliable source your professor would be more than happy to let you use for your next research paper.  Even more awesome!

We have quite a few options for biography research, but my favorite library resources for finding info about musicians are the following:

Have fun searching! I’m off to listen to some music…

July 18, 2013 by
Database Highlights & Trials

Sigh. I guess cats have always ruled the Internet (even before there was an Internet)

It’s no secret that YouTube is LOADED with cat videos.  Seems like the interwebs can’t get enough of the furry garfieldcritters.  There’s LOLcats.com, the Internet Cat Video Film Festival (held last year at our very own Walker Art Center), “I can has” is a thing, and Grumpy Cat.  In fact, Grumpy Cat has even signed a movie deal (I’m sure it’ll be as good as everything Garfield).  But do we really know the origins of cat filming?  I think I might have traced it back to the very root.  One of Thomas Edison’s early films was called Boxing Cats, which is exactly what it sounds like. Apparently the boxing was part of a larger cat circus, but Tom decided only to film the cats boxing, which is a bummer cuz I’d like to see nosferatucats riding bicycles.  I found this on VAST,  a streaming video site.  It includes early films from all the great pioneering filmmakers; Cecil B. DeMille, D. W. Griffiths, Ernst Lubitsch and many others.  You can watch The Great Train Robbery, Films of the San Francisco Earthquake, and The Fugitive, and for those of you who prefer your horror cat-free, check out Nosferatu.  Maaaaaan, that is a scary movie.

Now before everyone pounces on me for not loving cats, I’ll just say this… I’m allergic to cats.

July 9, 2013 by
Archbishop Ireland Library, Circulation, News & Events

It’s time to get rollin’!

Dear Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity faculty and staff — DueDatesAreComing

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
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!SuccessKid_LongerLoans

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
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 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
Database Highlights & Trials, New Materials

Now Available! BrowZine Journal Browsing App

BrowZineLogo-FINAL COLORBrowZine is a tablet application that allows you to browse, read and monitor  content from the library’s academic journals just as you would any other ejournal.

browsable-newsstand-librarys-journals

UST’s subscription currently includes over 3,000 UST-owned titles, browsable by general subject area.  BrowZine is a free app — by Third Iron — for accessing and reading content from academic journals on the iPad and Android tablets. The app allows users to

  • select academic journals from a “shelf” display
  • browse complete journal issues,
  • read individual articles,
  • collect favorite journals on a shelf of one’s own,
  • save favorite articles,
  • and perform additional tasks with journal content.

browse-and-share-content-browzine-ipad-app-screenshot

To get started, search for “BrowZine” in the App Store or Google Play store and download the app for free; when initially launching BrowZine, select the University of St Thomas from the drop-down list, use your UST credentials to log in, and start browsing.

BrowZine is growing fast and will continue to expand, adding new titles and features as time goes on. Work is progressing to include RefWorks integration, as well as content from many more publishers.  If a favorite title isn’t available now, it is very possible it might become available in the near future!

More information about the UST libraries’ subscription is available on the library website. You can find more information about BrowZine in general – along with an introductory video – on the Third Iron website.

Please let us know what you think!  Send any comments or questions to Laura Hansen.

June 11, 2013 by
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
News & Events, Recently Read

A Humanist Apologizes to Numbers

avogadroA 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