Welcome Back Issue
Fall 2011
Take your learning to new heights!: The library now has an elevator that goes from top to bottom. The new elevator is located adjacent to the circulation desk and now provides easy access to our 3rd and 4th floors.
Updates and Modifications to our Library Space: New offices for librarians have been constructed along the north wall of the reading space on the 1st floor. The group study area in the Learning Commons has been upgraded with a large wall mounted flat screen to support group work. Posters adorn our library walls and were created from a unique collection of travel brochures discovered in the University Archives. Dvds/videos and CDs have been relocated to a newly accessible space adjacent to the circulation desk. We have created a browsing collection of current periodicals and will be removing the shelving in the reading room during the next few months to create a new reading nook. We are still working on getting everything back in place after construction, so please do not hesitate to ask at the circulation desk for assistance in locating materials.
Academic Integrity and Introduction to Scholarly Values: This year all incoming students participated in a new online program designed to acquaint them with basic information about the importance of academic integrity and scholarly values. Students were introduced to best practices in research skills, information about plagiarism and the concept of academic integrity.
Piece it All Together at Collins: Is the name of our orientation program for incoming students. Students will discover the creative side of research by participating in our annual puzzle challenge. The puzzle is designed to engage students in academic detective work! We also have a collection of new books associated with college survival on display to help students with time management, financial literacy, coping with roommate issues, and learning more about our local community.
Electronic Books: Puget Sound is participating in a ground breaking Orbis Cascade Alliance pilot project involving the purchase of electronic books based on patron use. We call it “demand driven acquisitions.” Currently, a growing set of over 2,000 university press titles are available (in our library catalogs) from which to choose. The actual purchase will be made as patrons repeatedly borrow, download or read from the available titles. Multiple uses eventually initiates a purchase and we anticipate this will result in meaningful selections for the consortium as a whole. The set of titles covers a full variety of subjects and all departments have the potential to see additions made in their area. Many universities across the United States are interested in the success of this pilot as a way to stretch limited budgets.
Improved ILL Services: Interlibrary loan staff and Acquisitions staff are collaborating in a trial program which rapidly purchases books requested via interlibrary loan if they match certain criteria (e.g., age, cost, availability, appropriateness, etc.) We believe this will result in more immediate service for the patron and save on mailing costs while adding useful material to the collection.
Comings and Goings: If you are a late night library user, we have a new evening supervisor, Rebecca West. Laura Schick, Social Sciences Librarian, resigned this summer and we are conducting a search for her replacement. In the meantime, we have contracted with a former staff member, Donna Bachmann, to provide virtual reference service while our remaining liaison librarians will be sharing responsibility for the departments Laura worked with.
Need Information? Don’t forget the Collins Memorial Library Database List A-Z
Questions? Contact your liaison librarian
Comments: Contact Jane Carlin, Library Director
Remember – Your best search engine is a Librarian!