It's winter break! Library hours are 8-5 Monday through Friday, CLOSED Saturdays & Sundays, and CLOSED December 26 and January 2 for holidays. The Library returns to regular hours on January 17, 2012 --after Martin Luther King Day.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
MIDNIGHT HOURS BEGIN November 29
The Library will be open until midnight beginning on Tuesday, November 29, 2011.
The extended hours are in effect on Sunday through Thursday nights through Wednesday, December 14. Hours are:
Tuesday - Thursday, Nov 29 - Dec 1
8am - midnight
Sunday, Dec 4
2pm - midnight
Monday - Thursday, Dec 5 - 8
8am - midnight
Sunday, Dec 11
2pm - midnight
Monday - Wednesday, Dec 12-14
8am - midnight
Friday hours do not change from their usual 8am-5pm, and the Library remains closed on Saturdays.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Thanksgiving holiday hours
The Library closes at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, November 23, 2011 for the Thanksgiving holiday and re-opens on Sunday, November 27 at 6 p.m.
The Library will also close at 5 p.m. on Tuesday November 22.
The Library will also close at 5 p.m. on Tuesday November 22.
Thanksgiving holiday hours are:
Tuesday & Wednesday, Nov 22 & 23 : 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Thursday through Saturday, Nov 24 - 26 : CLOSED
Sunday, Nov 27 : 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Warmest wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving!
P.S. Library hours can always be found using the "Hours" link at the top of library web pages, or go directly to Library Hours.
P.S. Library hours can always be found using the "Hours" link at the top of library web pages, or go directly to Library Hours.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Library CLOSED 11/11/2011
The Library is closed on Friday for Veterans Day 11/11/2011 and reopens on Sunday at 6 p.m. Library hours can always be found using the "Hours" link at the top of library web pages, or go directly to Library Hours.
VETERANS DAY AND VETERANS. For information about veterans of various wars, veterans' issues, and fictional works about veterans in books, ebooks, DVDs, and other formats, search the Library Catalog for the word "veterans." For magazine and journal articles about specific veteran issues, search Academic Search Premier and/or Proquest Research Library. Also, visit the website of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. For information about Veterans Day, online encyclopedia articles can be found by searching the library research databases Credo Reference or Gale Virtual Reference Library. See also U.S. National Veterans' Day ceremony information provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
HOLIDAYS. Ebooks and print books with information about holidays can be found by searching the Library Catalog for the word "holidays" or for a specific holiday. Examples of titles include Chase's Calendar of Events, which is published annually and lists events being celebrated around the world (find it in the Reference collection at GT4803 .C487). Other titles include Holiday Symbols (Reference GT3930 .T48 2000) and Hutchinson Book of Days (ebook, use link in Library Catalog).
We invite you to explore!
VETERANS DAY AND VETERANS. For information about veterans of various wars, veterans' issues, and fictional works about veterans in books, ebooks, DVDs, and other formats, search the Library Catalog for the word "veterans." For magazine and journal articles about specific veteran issues, search Academic Search Premier and/or Proquest Research Library. Also, visit the website of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. For information about Veterans Day, online encyclopedia articles can be found by searching the library research databases Credo Reference or Gale Virtual Reference Library. See also U.S. National Veterans' Day ceremony information provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
HOLIDAYS. Ebooks and print books with information about holidays can be found by searching the Library Catalog for the word "holidays" or for a specific holiday. Examples of titles include Chase's Calendar of Events, which is published annually and lists events being celebrated around the world (find it in the Reference collection at GT4803 .C487). Other titles include Holiday Symbols (Reference GT3930 .T48 2000) and Hutchinson Book of Days (ebook, use link in Library Catalog).
We invite you to explore!
Friday, October 7, 2011
Searching for vampires; finding zombies
Tips for finding vampires, zombies, and more...
You will get better results and are more likely to survive your search by learning a small set of search techniques that you can use over and over again.
Library databases and search engines can be used to find vampires and other creatures of interest to you. If you understand and use just the three techniques described here, you'll be an effective and efficient searcher, perhaps even a slayer.
The three (3) techniques:
1. AND, OR, and NOT are used to combine words to produce specific results.
With these "Boolean operators," you tell a library database how you want words combined to produce the results you want.
vampires AND house AND night
you will find items that have all 3 words (vampires, house, night).
If you do this search in the Library Catalog, you'll find the House of Night series of books by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast. In an article database like Proquest Research Library, you will find articles about the House of the Night series.
vampires NOT fiction
you will find items that include the first word but not the second word.
A research database such as Academic Search Premier will find items with vampires, but if the word "fiction" appears in the description of the item, the item will not show up in the results.
In the Library Catalog, this search will find books or other media about vampires that do not include the word fiction, so it will eliminate novels and provide a set of items about vampires that includes, for example, analyses of vampires in literature or vampires in history, myth, or legend.
vampires OR zombies
you will find items that have either the word zombies OR the word vampires
-- for those occasions when you must deal with either one or the other.
2. Quotation marks can be used to control the proximity of vampires or zombies to other things
by forcing phrase searching.
For example, in the magazine and journal database called Academic Search Premier, a search for
"vampire love"
will only find items where the two words are side-by-side and in the order typed.
It's a valuable technique for finding phrases such as "zombie horde", "living dead", "flesh eaters", or "zombies in literature".
3. The asterisk (*) serves as a wildcard character to catch alternative word endings.
For example, to search for zombie, zombies, zombify, zombification, type:
zombi*
If you want to search for zombie or zombies, type:
zombie*
The database will find any word that begins with the letters that are in front of the asterisk.
Likewise, vampir* will find articles with the words vampire, vampires, and vampirism.
There you have them - the three techniques that will make you successful in the hunt: Boolean operators, quotation marks, and the asterisk.
Don't march with the zombie hordes who let the database control the search. Take control of your searches by speaking the language of the research databases. Make them do what YOU want them to do.
You will get better results and are more likely to survive your search by learning a small set of search techniques that you can use over and over again.
Library databases and search engines can be used to find vampires and other creatures of interest to you. If you understand and use just the three techniques described here, you'll be an effective and efficient searcher, perhaps even a slayer.
Image by John LeMasney, http://365sketches.org
The three (3) techniques:
1. AND, OR, and NOT are used to combine words to produce specific results.
With these "Boolean operators," you tell a library database how you want words combined to produce the results you want.
- AND
vampires AND house AND night
you will find items that have all 3 words (vampires, house, night).
If you do this search in the Library Catalog, you'll find the House of Night series of books by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast. In an article database like Proquest Research Library, you will find articles about the House of the Night series.
- NOT
vampires NOT fiction
you will find items that include the first word but not the second word.
A research database such as Academic Search Premier will find items with vampires, but if the word "fiction" appears in the description of the item, the item will not show up in the results.
In the Library Catalog, this search will find books or other media about vampires that do not include the word fiction, so it will eliminate novels and provide a set of items about vampires that includes, for example, analyses of vampires in literature or vampires in history, myth, or legend.
- OR
vampires OR zombies
you will find items that have either the word zombies OR the word vampires
-- for those occasions when you must deal with either one or the other.
2. Quotation marks can be used to control the proximity of vampires or zombies to other things
by forcing phrase searching.
For example, in the magazine and journal database called Academic Search Premier, a search for
"vampire love"
will only find items where the two words are side-by-side and in the order typed.
It's a valuable technique for finding phrases such as "zombie horde", "living dead", "flesh eaters", or "zombies in literature".
3. The asterisk (*) serves as a wildcard character to catch alternative word endings.
For example, to search for zombie, zombies, zombify, zombification, type:
zombi*
If you want to search for zombie or zombies, type:
zombie*
The database will find any word that begins with the letters that are in front of the asterisk.
Likewise, vampir* will find articles with the words vampire, vampires, and vampirism.
There you have them - the three techniques that will make you successful in the hunt: Boolean operators, quotation marks, and the asterisk.
Don't march with the zombie hordes who let the database control the search. Take control of your searches by speaking the language of the research databases. Make them do what YOU want them to do.
Image by John LeMasney, http://365sketches.org
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Open a book with its QR code
QR codes
have now been added to Project Gutenberg's ebooks, so you can open Project Gutenberg
books on your smartphone or similar device by using the QR code. Project Gutenberg provides access to public domain ebooks on the web -- over 36,000 free ebooks to download to your PC, Kindle, Android, iOS or other portable device.
Choose between ePub, Kindle, HTML and simple text formats.
If you need a QR code reader (the software that allows your smartphone to read the QR code), the following are free and found in the market/store for each device:
To see a QR code example, go to http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17192 where you can click on the QR code tab to find the QR code for Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven.
If you scan the code below with your mobile phone and appropriate software installed,
it will open the phone browser to the mobile version of Project Gutenberg to download Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice to your device.
- iPhone: I-nigma, Barcodes, Qrafter, NeoReader, TapReader
- Android: I-nigma, Barcode Scanner, QuickMark Barcode Scanner, Google Goggles, NeoReader
- Blackberry: I-nigma, Qrem
- Palm: de CODEr
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Library Open House - Sept 29th
You're invited! The Mundt Library is having an open house on Thursday, September 29 from 4-5pm to celebrate the remodeling that took place over the summer. Stop by to see the "new" Mundt Library. All three floors have new ceilings, heating/air conditioning, and lighting. See our refreshed look and sample light refreshments, too!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Superheroes in the library
Batgirl was a librarian! In the Batman universe of comics, she was Barbara Gordon, the head librarian of Gotham City Public Library with a Ph.D. in library science, and she was the daughter of Commissioner Gordon. Later on, she became paraplegic as a result of being shot and was known as the Oracle. Oracle's prior history was preserved, and she used her information seeking skills to fight crime. Learn more about Batgirl from reading Barbara Gordon on the website The MarySue: A Guide to Girl Geek Culture and from the Batgirl article in Wikipedia.
DC Comics is now bringing Batgirl back as Barbara Gordon, releasing Batgirl #1, #2, and #3 in September,
October, and November 2011, respectively -- "and she's going to have to face the city's most horrifying new villains as well as the dark secrets from her past." (DC Comics, http://www.dccomics.com/dcu/comics/?cm=20091). The loss of her character as the Oracle is controversial. "Some comic fans say the spunky redhead is more super the way she has been portrayed in comics for the past 20 years -- in a wheelchair" (Batgirl returns. Herald Sun (Melbourne), 08/30/2011, p3).
The Mundt Library has books about comics and superheroes. See, for example, The Superhero Book: the Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-book icons and Hollywood Heroes (Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 2004). To find similar material, search the Library Catalog for "comics," "comic books," "heroes," and "graphic novels."
For more librarian superheroes, read "10 Action Librarians" on The Mary Sue: A Guide to Geek Culture website.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Constitution Day @ the Library
Answer your questions about the U.S. Constitution by visiting the Mundt Library's "Constitution Day Resources Guide." The guide provides links to web sources, books, and videos where you can learn history and facts about
the U.S. Constitution. Constitution Day is being observed
this year on Friday, September 16.
Connect, read, learn, enjoy!
Connect, read, learn, enjoy!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Library transformed!
The Library building re-opens August 29, 2011 after a summer of renovation! We welcome you to stop by to admire the sweeping soffits and locomotion lighting -- and to explore and try out a new comfy chair here or there. The project replaced ceilings, introduced energy efficient lighting, and updated the heating and air conditioning system. Greetings and welcome back!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
LIBRARY BUILDING IS CLOSED
The Library building is closed for renovation until late-August 2011. All Mundt Library and Mundt Foundation/Archives staff have relocated to "Camp Mundt" - in Kennedy Center rooms 110-113 -- where you're welcome to visit in person. Staff can be reached at their regular email addresses and phone numbers which can be found on the Library's contact-us web page.
Although library stacks are inaccessible this summer, online resources and library services continue to be provided. Please request any items that you are not able to access. Library items may be returned and equipment may be checked out in Kennedy Center room 112.
Contact us if you have questions!
Although library stacks are inaccessible this summer, online resources and library services continue to be provided. Please request any items that you are not able to access. Library items may be returned and equipment may be checked out in Kennedy Center room 112.
Contact us if you have questions!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Library extends hours to midnight
The Library will be open until MIDNIGHT on Monday through Thursday, April 25-28 and on Sunday through Wednesday, May 2-4. FREE snacks and beverages will be available beginning at about 9pm.
For all library hours, see: LIBRARY HOURS.
Library will remain open until midnight on the following days:
Monday, April 25
Tuesday, April 26
Wednesday, April 27
Thursday, April 28
Sunday, May 1
Monday, May 2
Tuesday, May 3
Wednesday, May 4
Stay focused! Have a great end-of-semester!
The Library staff
The Library: http://www.dsu.edu/library - of the curious, by the curious, for the curious
Thursday, April 14, 2011
New! downloadable ebooks & audiobooks
The Library is now providing a collection of downloadable ebooks and audiobooks for computers, mobile devices, and e-readers through Overdrive. Our collection is aimed at leisure readers and is focused on popular/bestseller fiction (mysteries, science fiction, romance, etc.) and nonfiction. In some places in Overdrive you may see mention of video and music, but the Library’s collection is limited to ebooks and audiobooks.
..........ACCESS. Link to “Overdrive ebooks & audiobooks” in the “Database quicklinks” dropdown menu on the upper right side of the Library’s home page. Or go directly to Overdrive: http://dakotastate.lib.overdrive.com
..........SETUP. On the left side of the Overdrive window, scroll down the left side to "Getting Started" to find a list of supported portable devices (direct link: http://www.overdrive.com/resources/drc/). The fastest way to get setup for download is to use the MyHelp! wizard near the top of the left navigation area in Overdrive. It walks you through the process of downloading what you need to read audiobooks and ebooks on the device you want to use.
..........CHECKOUT. You can explore the ebook and audiobook collections without login, but you will need your library ID and password to checkout/download a book.
..........LIMITATIONS. Our Overdrive collection is fairly small as we get started, so you are limited to having 3 items checked out at one time. When you finish with an e-book, you can check it back in early. Unfortunately, audiobooks cannot be checked back in early (blame the technology, not us!), so you may have to experiment a bit with how long to check them out. You are able to choose 7 days, 14 days, or 21 days. At the end of the checkout period, audiobooks and ebooks will be automatically checked back in and made available to others.
..........QUESTIONS/HELP. Help and FAQs are provided in Overdrive. If you aren’t able to solve a problem with Overdrive or need to know your library ID/password, send questions to DSU librarians at Ask-a-Librarian.
..........RECOMMEND ADDITIONS TO COLLECTION. You can recommend other titles for the Library to purchase in Overdrive by using the “Suggest a New Title” link at the top of Overdrive.
Enjoy Reading!
Library home page: http://www.dsu.edu/library
The Library staff
Monday, April 4, 2011
Timeline of Middle East Protests
In "Arab spring: an interactive timeline of Middle East protests," the Guardian (U.K) newspaper provides a useful and informative approach for keeping track of recent political protests in the Middle East.
Its "The Path of Protest" interactive timeline, by Garry Blight and Sheila Pulham, allows you to trace events in several different countries from December 2010 to the present in a single timeline. The timeline is oriented from front to back rather than left-to right, so moving through time is similar to riding a roller coaster. Clicking on an event marker in the timeline will open up a Guardian newspaper article about the event.
The timeline not only helps make clear the timing of events in each country, but also serves as an index to articles that have appeared in the Guardian about the Middle East protests. Countries included are Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, and Yemen.
You can find additional articles about Middle East protests by searching a library database such as Academic Search Premier which includes magazine and journal articles. Find Academic Search Premier in the "Database Quicklinks" dropdown menu in the upper right corner of the Library's home page. For example, in Academic Search Premier, type:
libya* AND protest*
( The asterisk * tells the database to find any word that begins l-i-b-y-a, including Libya and Libyan, and any word that begins p-r-o-t-e-s-t, including protest, protesting, protester, protesters. The AND tells the database to find any articles that include both libya* and also protest* )
The results of this search will be in "relevance" order. To re-order the list of articles with the most recent ones at the top, find the "Relevance Sort" link at the top of the results list and change it to "Date Descending Sort."
If you have questions about research, use the Ask-a-Librarian link at the top of the Library's home page to contact us, or stop by the library to talk to librarians Mary Francis or Risë Smith.
Its "The Path of Protest" interactive timeline, by Garry Blight and Sheila Pulham, allows you to trace events in several different countries from December 2010 to the present in a single timeline. The timeline is oriented from front to back rather than left-to right, so moving through time is similar to riding a roller coaster. Clicking on an event marker in the timeline will open up a Guardian newspaper article about the event.
The timeline not only helps make clear the timing of events in each country, but also serves as an index to articles that have appeared in the Guardian about the Middle East protests. Countries included are Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, and Yemen.
You can find additional articles about Middle East protests by searching a library database such as Academic Search Premier which includes magazine and journal articles. Find Academic Search Premier in the "Database Quicklinks" dropdown menu in the upper right corner of the Library's home page. For example, in Academic Search Premier, type:
libya* AND protest*
( The asterisk * tells the database to find any word that begins l-i-b-y-a, including Libya and Libyan, and any word that begins p-r-o-t-e-s-t, including protest, protesting, protester, protesters. The AND tells the database to find any articles that include both libya* and also protest* )
The results of this search will be in "relevance" order. To re-order the list of articles with the most recent ones at the top, find the "Relevance Sort" link at the top of the results list and change it to "Date Descending Sort."
If you have questions about research, use the Ask-a-Librarian link at the top of the Library's home page to contact us, or stop by the library to talk to librarians Mary Francis or Risë Smith.
Friday, March 11, 2011
E-books
E-books available through the Mundt Library to DSU students, staff, and faculty may be found by searching the Library Catalog or by searching individual e-book databases such as Ebrary, NetLibrary, Safari Tech Books Online, and InfoSecurityNetBase.
Research databases for e-books that cover a wide variety of subjects include Ebrary and NetLibrary. Research databases for e-books on information systems and assurance are Safari Tech Books Online and InfoSecurityNetBase. E-books from each of these databases may be read on your computer in a web browser and cannot be downloaded. In most cases, multiple people may read the same book at the same time; however, NetLibrary restricts the use of an e-book to one person at a time, rather like checking out a physical book.
All of these databases may be found using the "Database Quicklinks" drop-down menu in the upper right corner of the Library's home page. When off-campus, you'll need to login with your library ID and password in order to connect to the databases.
Many e-books published prior to 1923 are available on the open web through various websites such as Project Gutenberg. To find these free, no-longer-copyrighted (public domain) books, see the Mundt Library's "Ebooks, videos, and images" web page. Google Books also provides access to public domain books. For most books published after 1923, Google Books will only provide previews of the books because of copyright restrictions.
The Mundt Library will soon be adding downloadable e-books and audiobooks! Watch this blog for an announcement when our downloadable popular books become available.
Research databases for e-books that cover a wide variety of subjects include Ebrary and NetLibrary. Research databases for e-books on information systems and assurance are Safari Tech Books Online and InfoSecurityNetBase. E-books from each of these databases may be read on your computer in a web browser and cannot be downloaded. In most cases, multiple people may read the same book at the same time; however, NetLibrary restricts the use of an e-book to one person at a time, rather like checking out a physical book.
All of these databases may be found using the "Database Quicklinks" drop-down menu in the upper right corner of the Library's home page. When off-campus, you'll need to login with your library ID and password in order to connect to the databases.
Many e-books published prior to 1923 are available on the open web through various websites such as Project Gutenberg. To find these free, no-longer-copyrighted (public domain) books, see the Mundt Library's "Ebooks, videos, and images" web page. Google Books also provides access to public domain books. For most books published after 1923, Google Books will only provide previews of the books because of copyright restrictions.
The Mundt Library will soon be adding downloadable e-books and audiobooks! Watch this blog for an announcement when our downloadable popular books become available.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Children's Literature Resources
New resources for discovering good children's and young adult literature are now available through WilsonWeb. You can link to WilsonWeb in the "Database Quicklinks" dropdown menu at the top of the Library's home page to select any of the 4 resources described below. The items in each collection are selected by educators and librarians, so all are recommended.
Children's Core Collection - For collection development, readers’ advisory, curriculum support, and selection and purchasing, here is working data on fiction and nonfiction works, story collections, picture books and magazines recommended for readers from preschool through sixth grade. Listings include sources of reviews and complete bibliographic data, price, subject headings, a descriptive annotation, and evaluative quotations from a review when available.
Middle and Junior High Core Collection - For collection development, readers’ advisory, curriculum support, and selection and purchasing, here are thousands of entries for nonfiction works, fiction and collections for children and adolescents, plus review sources and other professional aids. Entries provide complete bibliographic data, price, subject headings, a descriptive annotation, and evaluative quotations from a review when available. Items in this collection are recommended for grades five through nine.
Senior High Core Collection -- Similar in purpose and design to the previous two collections, this one contains items recommended for grades 9 through 12.
Graphic Novels Core Collection -- The Graphic Novels Core Collection addresses the growing popularity of this literary form. It highlights approximately 2,000 recommended titles with descriptive and evaluative annotations (including review excerpts and awards the title has won), plus cover art. Standards for rating material by age appropriateness are strictly applied, plus all titles are searchable by author, title, subject, genre, and grade level.
For additional resources, select the Mundt Library's "Children's Literature" link in the "Course and Subject Research Guides" dropdown menu at the top of the library's home page. Send any questions about these resources to Ask a Librarian, and a DSU librarian will respond.
Children's Core Collection - For collection development, readers’ advisory, curriculum support, and selection and purchasing, here is working data on fiction and nonfiction works, story collections, picture books and magazines recommended for readers from preschool through sixth grade. Listings include sources of reviews and complete bibliographic data, price, subject headings, a descriptive annotation, and evaluative quotations from a review when available.
Middle and Junior High Core Collection - For collection development, readers’ advisory, curriculum support, and selection and purchasing, here are thousands of entries for nonfiction works, fiction and collections for children and adolescents, plus review sources and other professional aids. Entries provide complete bibliographic data, price, subject headings, a descriptive annotation, and evaluative quotations from a review when available. Items in this collection are recommended for grades five through nine.
Senior High Core Collection -- Similar in purpose and design to the previous two collections, this one contains items recommended for grades 9 through 12.
Graphic Novels Core Collection -- The Graphic Novels Core Collection addresses the growing popularity of this literary form. It highlights approximately 2,000 recommended titles with descriptive and evaluative annotations (including review excerpts and awards the title has won), plus cover art. Standards for rating material by age appropriateness are strictly applied, plus all titles are searchable by author, title, subject, genre, and grade level.
For additional resources, select the Mundt Library's "Children's Literature" link in the "Course and Subject Research Guides" dropdown menu at the top of the library's home page. Send any questions about these resources to Ask a Librarian, and a DSU librarian will respond.
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