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St. Thomas Libraries Blog

Health and Well Being, Libraries, Library Week, News & Events

Students, Staff, and Faculty are all warmly invited to hear about the Power of Sleep!

 

We hope you all have a fun and safe upcoming Spring Break!  But upon your return, you may discover that you feel more pressure than ever to get your projects and assignments completed – finals and other end-of-semester due dates are not far away!  You may be tempted to try to go without sleep to get everything done.

Please plan to join us on Wednesday, April 7 from Noon to 1pm and hear many reasons why that is not a good idea and how sleep is an essential strategy for your success.   This timely session on the Power of Sleep presented by doctoral interns from CAPS – Max Mikesell, Max Crowder, and Phil Imholte – is intended to give you the encouragement and boost you need to finish strong this semester!

As explained by Max: “Sleep is an essential function that allows your body and mind to recharge, leaving you refreshed and alert when you wake up. Although getting a good night’s sleep is essential, it isn’t always easy – academic and work schedules, day-to-day stressors, a disruptive bedroom environment, and medical conditions can all prevent us from getting enough sleep.”

We know you want to have success in your work and we are here to help.  Please join the doctoral interns for a conversation on the power of sleep as well as tips and tricks to help you sleep better!

REGISTER HERE for the Zoom link.  The first 25 people to sign up will receive treat baggies, and all who attend will be entered for a chance to win the door prize!

We look forward to seeing you on April 7 at noon!

March 17, 2021 by
Libraries, Media/Music Collections, News & Events

Celebrate Women’s History Month with the Music & Media Collections!

In honor of Women’s History Month, the Music & Media Collections has a new display right outside our door. We are located on the first floor of O’Shaughnessy Frey Library in room 104A. All these films center around the stories of women and the efforts of women filmmakers, and they can be found on our shelves or are available through our online streaming services found on the Library Films Page.

Check out The Color Purple—the 1985 film based on the novel of the same name by Alice Walker. The film follows the life of Celia, an African American woman in early 1900s Georgia.
The newest adaption of Little Women hit our shelves last year. Greta Gerwig wrote and directed this version.
The Joy Luck Club chronicles the relationships between Chinese-immigrant mothers and their American born daughters.
If you like the works of Ava DuVernay, the producer/director of Selma, check out I Will Follow which is her first feature film.
Roma, the Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Drama and best Cinematography, centers around the year in the life of Cleo Gutiérrez, a maid for a Mexican middle-class family in the 1970s.
The biographical legal drama, Erin Brockovich, follows the woman of the same name as she works to uncover what exactly a California power company is doing to a town’s water supply.
If you’re looking for some comedy, check out Clueless or Nine to Five. Clueless remixes Jane Austen’s Emma into the 1990s high school experience, and Nine to Five which features women getting revenge on their sexist boss. (And includes a great song sung by Dolly Parton too!).

By Jayde Hoppe

 

March 15, 2021 by
Media/Music Collections, News & Events

Welcome in Spring with the Music & Media Collections

Welcome in springtime with the Music & Media Collections at O’Shaughnessy Frey Library! The Collections is open to everyone—if you haven’t visited us before, come on over! We are located on the 1st floor across in room 104A which is right across from Stacks.


Our physical collection includes a huge variety of DVDs. From Game of Thrones to Citizen Kane to educational documentaries—we’ve got it. The Collections also has many foreign films available, so if you want to brush up on your Spanish, come and check out what we have! For less casual viewing, we can help you find movies or documentaries assigned in class. The Library’s Catalog includes the Collections, but if you want to browse in person feel free to stop by.

Interested in Music? We have hundreds of CDs available to students. Genres include Classical, Folk, and World Music. If you would rather use streaming services, check out Medici.TV and Naxos Music Library for thousands of titles.

The Music & Media Collections offers streaming services which are located on the Libraries Films Page. With just your UST email and password, you will have access to thousands of documentaries and films from your laptop. Check out Films on Demand: feature films for Education for recent movies like The Favourite or Academic Video Online for documentaries from PBS.

The Music & Media Collections is open every day, and our hours are listed on the Library Hours and Information Page. We are reachable at libmedia@stthomas.edu or by phone at 651-962-5447.

Like the rest of the University of St. Thomas, we are committed to the Common Good and have implemented COVID-19 precautions, which include a limited browsing capacity and required mask usage.

 

By Jayde Hoppe

March 2, 2021 by
News & Events

The Librarian War Against QAnon: As “Do the research” becomes a rallying cry for conspiracy theorists, classical information literacy is not enough

This timely and thought-provoking article in the Atlantic should be of interest not only to librarians but to faculty and anyone who is concerned with information and misinformation in a democratic society. Written by librarian and emeritus professor Barbara Fister (Gustavus Adolphus College), it is a compelling read that provides some good food for thought about how our approach to teaching Information Literacy may have been harmful and how it needs to change.

“It’s time for a thorough revamping of the purpose of inviting students to engage in inquiry as a civic practice. Educators, including librarians who teach, will need to confront and clarify their own beliefs and assumptions about how they know what is real and what isn’t. It will take work. But there are some promising places to start.”

 

February 19, 2021 by
A student sits behind a desk, the plexiglass barrier is decorated with lights. There is a white board that says "Peer Research Assistants" next to the desk
O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library, Services

New Service! Peer Research Assistants

The University Libraries are excited to announce our new Peer Research Assistants program.  Our Assistants are undergraduate students who have been trained in library research strategies and techniques as well as library resources and services. 

The Assistants are located at the east side of the Tech & Research Desk in the O’Shaughnessy-Frey library – look for the whiteboard and lights.  They are available for drop-in research help Monday – Friday 10 am – 6pm (5 pm on Fridays). We’re planning on extending those hours soon. 

Wondering what kinds of help you can get from a Peer Research Assistant? We asked Josie Morss, one of our PRAs, to fill you in:

For much of my shift I spend most of my time sitting. I never turn down a good ol sit, but revel in the exercise of brain power and properly stretching my legs. Before you walk past me next time consider me the person with answers – or the person that will lead you on the path toward them.

Feel free to poke my brain about any of the following:

A CLICsearch driver
CLICsearch is a resource that helps you find all the library’s treasures. The books. The articles. The videos. And more. It’s a user-friendly tool that makes finding books, articles, and reviews so much easier. You’re given a golden opportunity to master this site on your own time. If you’re not into mastery though, worry not because myself and the rest of the Peer Research Assistant folks are embarking on our black belt mastery skills. If you don’t want to find it – we can.

Research & Librarian Guides
College research projects are hard work. They require tons of time, extreme effort, and meticulous planning. The hardest part though is usually figuring out where to start. I could certainly give you the highlight reel of the library guides based on what’s beneficial for you. The databases could be of help in the wake of such a project, but if hungry for more knowledge I could definitely slide over a business card of our subject librarians – who specialize in different fields – and who would love nothing more than to help you dive deeper into learning.

Printing Problems
I’m no computer wiz, but when our tech experts are off-duty or helping someone else, I’m the inevitable stand in. Computers are confusing and the printing process doesn’t make it any easier. If you find yourself getting in fights with our sometimes uncooperative technology. Give me a holler and I’ll be sure to ease your frustrations with a friendly introduction to print.stthomas.edu and it’s army of printers.

The Human Map
If you’re directionally challenged, like me, eagerly attempting to locate a bathroom, or on the hunt for a building you’ve never explored look no further than to me. I’m able to point you in the right direction (most of the time). If you come to me in search of a bathroom I’d tell you that every floor in O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library is graced by its presence, except the main floor. If confused on how to find a specific building, I will be sure to nudge you in the right direction. Just like Dora’s close friend the map – I will help get you where you need to go.

February 18, 2021 by
Health and Well Being, Just for Fun, Libraries, News & Events

Library Invites you to a Winter Boost Zoom – Feb 24

Throughout the centuries, writers and poets have described a phenomenon often referred to as the “winter blues.”  People develop feelings of sadness, loss, and lethargy in the shorter, darker days of winter. They notice more tiredness, weight gain, and lack of interest in activities and social events.

However, some people experience a more exaggerated form of these symptoms. This condition is known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

The St. Thomas Libraries invite students, faculty, and staff to a cozy noon-hour virtual discussion, Wednesday, February 24, 2021.  You’ll meet and hear our panelists: Max Crowder, Phil Imholte, and Matthew Mikesell – doctoral interns from Counseling and Psychological Services.

They’ll lead a discussion on Seasonal Affective Disorder, answer your questions, and offer some proven tips and strategies to help us all get a much needed Boost this Winter.

Be sure to REGISTER HERE.  Bring any questions you may have as well as any tips that have worked for you!

P.S.  You could win a door prize — and goodie bags for all!

February 11, 2021 by
Archbishop Ireland Library, Charles J. Keffer Library, Database Highlights & Trials, Libraries, News & Events, O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library

February is Database Trials Month

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.

January 31, 2021 by
News & Events, Recently Read

The antidote to fake news is to nourish our epistemic wellbeing

An article from the online magazine Psyche, brought to my attention by Dr. Amy Muse/English, is  shared above. It is particularly relevant to Information Literacy and the role it plays/should play in our lives, and society, especially now.

“Knowledge is good for us not only because we generally want to know the truth, but because knowledge dramatically affects our ability to navigate the world and accomplish our goals. Ignorance, on the other hand, is bad for us in that it prevents us from having an accurate representation of the world and stands in the way of our achieving those goals.”

January 29, 2021 by
Library Research Help Zoom drop-in hours
News & Events

Library Help Zoom Drop-in sessions

Join us at one of our Library Research Help Zoom drop-in sessions.  Drop in during one of these sessions to meet with a librarian and a peer research assistant to get help with any library research questions you may have.  Wondering what we can help with?  Here’s a few of the types of questions you can ask (but feel free to come with other questions!):

  • How do I start a research project?
  • How can I find a specific book or article?
  • How do I know if an article or book is a good one to use?
  • How do I cite a source in my bibliography?
  • What types of sources would be good for my project?
  • How do I know if an article is peer-reviewed?
  • I’m trying to find research on a topic and I’m just not finding any, what should I do?
  • I’m trying to find research on a topic and I have way too many results, what do I do?
  • I found an article on my topic but it’s too old, how do I find something newer?
  • How do I know if I’ve found enough sources for a research assignment?

Schedule of Drop-in Sessions

(click on the date for details on TommieLink – St. Thomas log-in required):

You are always welcome to Ask a Librarian at other times, too! You can chat with us or text us or make an appointment with your subject librarian for more in-depth research help.

December 4, 2020 by
Charles J. Keffer Library, Data Services, O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library

Research Data Services @ the Libraries

  • 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.

John Heintz photoI 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 cycleData 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

Resources:

Datasets & Statistics research guide: data sources from the Libraries’ research databases and other data providers

Research Data Management guide: services and tools

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

December 2, 2020 by