Brand New Website

You might notice that the Van Wylen Library website looks a bit different these days. Check it out here –

hope.edu/library

With the help of Public Affairs & Marketing, we’ve made the site mobile-friendly, introduced new features, and streamlined the navigation. All of your favorite resources and services are still available, but now they’re even easier to find and use.

Here are just a few of our recent updates –

  • Ask a Librarian: whether you prefer email, texting, talking on the phone, online chatting, or good old fashioned face-to-face conversations, a librarian is standing by to answer any question you can think of
  • Borrow from Other Libraries: if you need an article, book, or movie that Van Wylen doesn’t own, our simplified Interlibrary Loan forms make it a cinch to place a request
  • Featured Resource: the library offers a ton of resources and services. With this new section on the front page, we plan to showcase individual people, databases, books, and tools for you to enjoy
  • New Materials at the Library: near the bottom of the library landing page is a bookshelf that showcases our latest purchases. If you spot something that catches your fancy, either stop by and pick it up yourself, or place a hold and we’ll grab it for you
  • Suggest a Purchase: we’re interested in what you’d like added to our collection. Fill out this form and we’ll do our best to acquire it!

As always, we welcome any comments or suggestions you might have. Either fill out the form below, or send an email to askalibrarian@hope.edu. And remember, for cyborgs and old school humans alike, Van Wylen Library remains the perfect place to “upgrade your mind”!

Rearranging the Lower Level

This summer, the task of grouping bound journals together on each floor continues with the lower level. When complete, bound journals will all be shelved at the south end of the floor. The main staircase will be the approximate dividing line between journals and books. The books will be shelved with the “P” call numbers beginning just to the right as you exit the main stairwell and head north. Browsing the print books will be easier since they will not have large runs of bound journals interspersed amongst them. This process has already been completed on the second and third floors. The fourth floor journals will be separated from the books and shelved at the south end of the fourth floor at a later date.

Rearranging the entire floor is like a giant jigsaw puzzle. While this process is proceeding, the books on the lower level are being kept on tables, in study rooms, on the floor, and in just about any random space we can find. If you want a book during this time we will be happy to go find it for you. In HopeCat you can click the Place a Hold link at the top of the record and we will retrieve the book for you, bring it to the circulation desk, and e-mail you when it is available. We hope to be finished with the entire project by early July.

Exam Week De-Stress Events

Photo source: ©2010 p.v,"bubbles", (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Photo source: ©2010 p.v,”bubbles”, (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Many of us around campus can feel the upcoming finals week stress in the air. We wanted to take this time to remind you to relax, unwind, and breathe. You’ll find therapy dogs to pet, doughnuts to eat, bubble wrap to stomp, and so much more.

Special thanks to our partners throughout campus: Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), Physical Plant, Kruizenga Art Museum, Phelps Dining, Club Animalia, Student Development, Campus Catering, Faculty, Staff and Student Volunteers. Check out the following exam week happenings on campus:

Thursday 4/28 6-9pm ‘COLOR ME CALM’ Kruizenga Art Museum
Friday 4/29 SPRING FLING Activities
Sunday 5/1 All Day SANITY CENTRAL
(Coloring, board games, writing prompts)		 Granberg Room
Van Wylen Library
10am COFFEE & DOUGHNUTS Van Wylen Library
9pm POPCORN & LEMONADE Van Wylen Library
Monday 5/2 All Day SANITY CENTRAL
(Coloring, board games, writing prompts)		 Granberg Room
Van Wylen Library
9am-12pm SIDEWALK CHALK
(Rain activity – Bubbles)		 Van Andel Plaza sidewalk by Van Wylen Library
9pm STUDY BREAK BREAKFAST Phelps Dining
Tuesday 5/3 All Day
(Not open 1:30- 3:30 PM)		 SANITY CENTRAL
(Coloring, board games, writing prompts)		 Granberg Room
Van Wylen Library
1:30-3:30pm THERAPY DOGS DeWitt Lobby
9pm POPCORN & LEMONADE Van Wylen Library
9pm GUIDED MEDITATION Granberg Room
Van Wylen Library
Wednesday 5/4 All Day SANITY CENTRAL
(Coloring, board games, writing prompts)		 Granberg Room
Van Wylen Library
10am-1pm PLAYDOUGH Phelps Dining Entrance
2-4pm BUBBLE WRAP STOMP DeWitt Front Entrance
9pm GUIDED MEDITATION Granberg Room
Van Wylen Library

Time And Life Magazine Online Archives Available On Trial

TIME_100px Time Magazine Archive collects the prominent weekly news magazine from its first issue in March 1923 through December 2000. The magazine conveys to a broad audience news and analysis on a spectrum of subjects. Try it today until May 26th. To search the archive, follow the on-campus or off-campus link and then select the Time Magazine Archive option.

Life Magazine Archive collects the famed phoLIFE_100pxtojournalism magazine from its first issue in November 1936 through December 2000. The magazine featured story-telling through documentary photographs and informative captions. Each issue depicted international events, topical stories, and intimate views of real people. Try it today until May 26th. To search the archive, follow the on-campus or off-campus link and then select the Life Magazine Archive option.

You can access these magazine archives we’re currently testing from our database trials page.  Let us know what you think by giving us your feedback.

¡Hola! Guten Tag! Bonjour!

Want to brush up on your foreign language skills?  The library subscribes to several popular foreign language magazines.  Among them are People en Espańol (Spanish), das Fenster (German), and L’Express (French).  They are available on the library’s current periodical shelves at the north end of the first floor.  We also have many foreign language books, including recently purchased German editions of the Harry Potter and Hunger Games series.  To find other foreign language books and videos you can limit your searches in the library catalog by choosing the Advanced Search.  Please stop by the Research Help desk or meet with a librarian if you want to learn more about searching HopeCat.

Post Those Secrets

I have a severe donut addiction.The library wants all your dirty secrets. For the month of January, Van Wylen Library is collecting your secrets and posting them to a board in the entrance. Don’t worry, you can deposit these completely anonymously in a box next to the board. For the brave among you, we’ve provided markers and thumbtacks so you can post your own.  Your secret can be a regret, fear, betrayal, confession or childhood humiliation. Reveal anything – as long as it is true and you have never shared it with anyone before. At the end of the display, we’ll post the best secrets to our blog.IMG_1293

If you’re too busy to come into the library, we’ve created an online, anonymous form. You can find it at http://www.hope.edu/lib/postsecret.

If you’re not familiar with PostSecret, crawl out from under that rock and join us in the 21st century. PostSecret began as an art project and has blossomed into a community, spawning numerous books and even a live show. From the website:

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard. Your secrets, posted here, every Sunday.

Community Action House Holiday Food Drive

Van Wylen Library continues to  host a food drive to benefit Community Action House of Holland.  Please consider picking up a few extra items next time you go grocery shopping to help families and individuals who are in need in our community.  Donations can be dropped off at the display in the first floor of the Library beginning Monday,November 23.  We appreciate your participation!

Healthy food pantry items:

Spaghetti Sauce
Whole Grain Brown Rice
Canned Fruit (in 100% juice)
Shelf-Stable Fruit Cups (in 100% juice)
Canned Vegetables (low sodium or no salt added preferred)
Diced Tomatoes and Tomato Sauce (low sodium or no salt added preferred)
Whole Wheat Flour
Canned Meats (tuna, salmon, chicken – in water, with 140mg sodium or less per serving)
Dried or canned beans with no salt added
Peanut Butter (with non-hydrogenated oil)
100% Vegetable Juice – no salt added
100% Fruit Juice
Low Sodium Broths
Soup with less than 400 mg sodium per serving
Sugar Free Pudding and Jell-O
100% Whole Grain Pasta and Crackers
Whole grain/High Fiber Cereals without added sugar (Shredded Wheat)
Oatmeal/Cream of Wheat
Shelf-Stable, Low-Fat Dairy Products (dry milk, evaporated milk, boxed milk)

Donations of personal items are also welcomed, as these cannot be purchased with food stamps:

Laundry soap
Dish soap
Multi-purpose cleaners
Shampoo and conditioner
Bar soap
Toilet paper
Tooth paste

By Michelle Yost, Interlibrary Loan

Welcome Josh Miller

Josh Miller, Circulation Evening Supervisor
Josh Miller, Circulation Evening Supervisor

Who has experience preparing legal documents, managing a bakery, teaching algebra/geometry/math as well as grades pre-K to 12, and leading a wine training program?

Who has done graduate studies at Notre Dame, Yale University, and the University of Michigan?

Who owns approximately 500 social and strategy board games?

If you guessed Joshua B. Miller, Van Wylen Library’s new Library Evening Supervisor, you would not be wrong! In all of Josh’s previous positions, he has most enjoyed teaching, training, and working with young people in any capacity. With his commitment to superior customer service, Josh is dedicated to helping the library run as smoothly as possible during the evening hours. He also will serve as the resource person for all of the library student staff.

Josh grew up primarily in Douglas, Michigan, and graduated from Oberlin College with a major in religion, along with concentrations in mathematics, history, and physics. His wide ranging interests and skills contribute to an obvious sense of adventure and curiosity.

Josh invites anyone who’s curious about board games for grown-ups to visit the amazing Out of the Box Games in Zeeland.

Come and meet Josh when you get a chance. You’ll be glad you did.

By Patti Carlson, Office Manager for Van Wylen Library

MeLCat Service Interruption

MeLCat requesting will be suspended beginning Wednesday, November 18 and will be back up by Friday, December 11 because of a server change.  We can still get your material to you just as fast!  Fill out a request form at http://www.hope.edu/lib/illoan/book.php
Please contact Michelle Yost at ill@hope.edu if you have any questions or concerns.