Ex Libris Eleanor Roosevelt

As the Metadata Librarian, one of the best parts of my job is cataloging our rare book collection. Lots of interesting and quirky things pop across my desk. Today’s item is brought to you by the David Kamansky and Gerald Wheaton gift donation.

The book, All I Want is Everything (Funk & Wagnalls Co., New York, 1957) by Marion Mill Preminger, arrived uneventfully on my desk. A Gettysburg Times article from July 29, 1964 describes Preminger as an ex-Hungarian model and showgirl who dedicated her life to working as a nurse alongside Dr. Albert Schweitzer in Africa. All I Want is Everything is her attempt to share those experiences.

There’s nothing remarkable about the book. It has a copyright of 1957, so it’s not really rare in the traditional sense. There is something special about it, though. The inscription from the author caught my eye:

Left: Bookplate from the library of Eleanor Roosevelt. Right: Inscription on the endpapers of Preminger’s book from the author to Eleanor Roosevelt.

So many questions! How well did Preminger know Eleanor Roosevelt? And why would Preminger choose to personally send a book to her? The librarian in me wants to know how big Roosevelt’s personal library was. The archivist in me needs to understand the provenance of this particular book and how it ended up in Holland, Michigan. Most importantly, what does that inscription actually say?! (Seriously, if you know, or have time to figure it out, please email me and I’ll note that in the catalog.)

Rare book cataloging backlog
Rare book cataloging backlog

But alas, so many books to catalog, so little time. These are the perils of being a librarian, I suppose.

We have so many great books at our library. Visit our special collections page if you’re a curious bibliophile, or write to us.

Borrow a Chromebook at the Library

acer-chromebookDid you forget your laptop? Want to avoid the computer labs? The library has five brand new Chromebooks available for checkout. Just ask for them at the second floor Media Services Desk.

With a Chromebook, you can write papers in Google Docs, check email, search the library’s databases, watch cat videos, or do pretty much anything else you normally do in a web browser.

These hot items can be borrowed for three hours at a time, so get yours now!

Important Notes

  • Enter your full Hope College email address when logging into the Chromebook
  • When you’re done using a Chromebook, be sure to sign out. You can either hold down the power button for 15 seconds or log out by clicking the toolbox in the lower right corner.
  • To print, type CTRL-P and then select either VWLIBCAT1 or VWLIB2ND2 as your destination printer. VWLIBCAT1 is located by the Research Help Desk on the first floor and VWLIB2ND2 is near the stairwell on the second floor.

 

  chromebook-sign-outAlways log out chromebook-change-printerChange the destination printer

Two New Database Trials

Sage Knowledge

Sage Knowledge touts itself as the “premier social science eBook platform”. Included in this database of more than 4,200 titles is content from SAGE and CQ Press. SAGE knowledge provides access to scholarly monographs, reference works, handbooks, series, professional development titles, and more. Try it today until October 31. Let us know what you think.

Sage Research Methods

SAGE research methods provides access to 1000+ books, encyclopedias, and journal articles, as well as features such as Methods Maps, a visual browsing tool that uses a custom taxonomy of 700+ methods terms. Try it today until October 31. Let us know what you think.

You can access these and other research tools we’re currently testing from our database trials page.

Plan Ahead for Disruption of MeLCat Service

Many students and faculty take advantage of Hope’s participation in MeLCat, the virtual catalog that combines resources from more than 400 libraries throughout the state.  Books, CDs, and DVDs are requested daily through MeLCat and are then delivered to the requesting patron.  This service will not be available towards the end of the Fall Semester.  Beginning on Wednesday, November 18, no new MeLCat requests can be placed while the entire system is transferred to new servers.  This outage is planned to last through December 11.  So it will be unavailable the final 3 weeks of the semester, just when students are working on their final papers for various courses.  Please take this into account when assigning papers, and make sure students know to request items sooner rather than later.  Items can be requested right up through November 17 and will be delivered as usual. No requests can be placed through MeLCat from November 18 through December 11. Interlibrary loan will still be an option to request material, but it often takes longer for items to arrive due to various shipping methods used by other libraries.

Changes Afoot at the Research Help Desk

The sign says “ASK HERE,” and ask you shall!  At least, that’s what we hope.  The Research Help Desk is the library’s epicenter for all things “research.”  Need to check if the we own a particular book?  ASK.  Want help figuring out the best database to search for your research topic?  ASK.  Don’t know how to search said database upon becoming cognizant of its existence?  ASK.  No idea where to start, or what types of sources you could be consulting for your assignment?  ASK.  Just need someone to talk to?  Okay, fine, but please do try to slip a library-related question in here and there.  Oh, and about those changes afoot mentioned in the title of this post: Starting this fall, the Research Help Desk will be solely staffed by students—highly trained and knowledgeable students.  Librarians, situated in the office suite directly behind the Research Help Desk, will be standing by for any and all research inquiries requiring their expertise.  As always, help will be available both at the point-of-need (i.e., walk-up questions) and via scheduled research consultations.

A student employee of the Van Wylen Library helps her peer find the right resource.

–by Todd Wiebe, Head of Research and Instruction, Associate Professor, All-around good guy

 

Digital Video Streaming with Films on Demand

The Library is pleased to announce the availability of Films on Demand, a new campus-wide digital video-streaming database. Films on Demand includes educational films from some of the best producers, including the BBC, MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, Open University, PBS, A&E, National Geographic, Bill Moyers, ABC, NBC, CNBC, California Newsreel, WNET/Thirteen, TED, Films for the Humanities & Sciences, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and more. The films, which are broken into segments, can be embedded in webpages or Moodle. Playlists can be created using segments taken from any number of full-length videos. Our package includes 11,000 titles in the arts, humanities and social sciences and 4,000 titles from the Archival Films & Newsreel collection. Interactive transcripts and Closed Captioning are available for many of the videos.

To create playlists, faculty need to create an account from the Films on Demand home page, which can be accessed on the Library Databases A-Z list. It is recommended that a personal account be created so that all functionality is available when accessing Films on Demand from off-campus..

Quickstart guides can be found on the support center page.

Screenshot of Films on Demand main page

Summer Projects are Finishing Up

As the summer winds down, our projects are finishing up.  There have been quite a few changes in the library from top to bottom.  Starting at the top, the 4th floor had many older, unused books withdrawn from the collection.  This finished a project that began on the lower level 4 years ago.

The 3rd floor has been reconfigured so that the call numbers begin as soon as you exit from the main stairwell.  Education materials (call numbers beginning with the letter L) have been moved to the 3rd floor from the 2nd floor.  Also on the 3rd floor, all of the bound journals have been separated out of the main collection and are now shelved together at the south end of the building.

Moving down to the 2nd floor, the video/DVD collection has been moved from the northeast corner to the shelves vacated when the Education materials went upstairs.  You can now find DVDs just west of the main stairs.  As on the 3rd floor, the bound journals on the 2nd floor are now shelved together, separate from the books.  These are located directly after the new video/DVD section.

The main floor remained relatively unscathed this year.  The lower level has been completely re-carpeted. A few splashes of new paint have also helped spruce up the lower level.  All in all, it’s been a busy summer with lots of changes.  Please ask if you need help finding anything!

Summer Projects at the Library

Summer is traditionally when the library puts aside the typical day-to-day functions and works on major projects that would be too disruptive during the academic year. This summer is no exception, with several projects in the works. The final phase of our Sustainable Collections project is under way on the 4th floor. We are withdrawing older, unused, and readily available books from the collection. The affected subjects (with the dates they will be withdrawn) are: Philosophy (May 22); Psychology (May 22); Fine Arts (May 29); Religion (June 19); World History (July 10). Faculty may come to the library and indicate which books should be kept; or they can view the withdrawal lists online, highlight the titles to be kept, and e-mail those lists to Dave O’Brien (obriend@hope.edu).

The 3rd floor will undergo a major shift as we move the Education materials (call number L) from the 2nd floor and also change the starting point of the call numbers. The call numbers on the 3rd floor will now begin as soon as patrons exit the main stairwell instead of beginning in the northwest corner of the floor. In addition, bound journals on the 2nd and 3rd floors will no longer be integrated with the collection. Each floor will have a designated area where all of the bound journals for the call numbers on that floor are located. (Bound journals on the 4th floor and lower level will be separated out in the future.)

Finally, new carpeting will be installed on the lower level. Beginning in mid-June student workers will be removing all books from the bottom shelves then lifting up the bases of all shelving ranges. Carpet installers will then remove the existing carpeting and install the new carpet. This project will take most of July. Minor painting will also occur on the lower level.

Exam Week Hours

Beginning Saturday, April 25 through Friday May 1, Van Wylen Library and the Klooster Center will operate under exam week hours. The library is closed May 2-3. Summer hours begin May 4.

Exam Week
Van Wylen Klooster Center
Friday, April 24 8am – 6pm 10am – 2pm
Saturday, April 25 10am – Midnight 10am – 6pm
Sunday, April 26 10am – 2am Noon – 11pm
Monday, April 27 8am – 2am 10am – 11pm
Tuesday April 28 8am – 2am 10am – 11pm
Wednesday April 29 8am – 2am 10am – 11pm
Thursday, April 30 8am – Midnight 10am – 11pm
Friday, May 1 8am – 5pm Closed
Saturday, May 2 Closed Closed
Sunday, May 3 Closed Closed

 

How do Students Use Library Books? 

As the circulation of print books by students continues to decline and access to e-books become ubiquitous, the library is working to develop monograph collection strategies that consider the impact of new technologies on reading styles, communication preferences and learning outcomes. The Library is seeking to understand how Hope students are using library books and which formats they prefer (print or e-books).

The library will be conducting a brief in-person iPad survey to gather information about how students use library books. This survey is not asking about textbooks, only library books in the library collections.

Students can take the survey Monday March 30 (today) through Sunday April 12. Look for it in several locations around campus including the lobby of Van Wylen, Cook Dining, Phelps, Cool Beans and the Martha Miller Rotunda.

This survey takes less than 3 minutes to complete and students will receive a small gift for their time.

The library is also conducting the HEDS Research Practices Survey for First Year and Senior students.  This survey is conducted through the Frost Center via email.  There are some great prizes for taking this one so if you are a First Year or Senior student, look for the email subject line Hope College Students: Share your experience with academic research. This survey runs through April 15.