Mardigian Library News

The list of new books and other materials added to the library’s collection in November has been posted. Click on “…more New Arrivals” on the library’s home page. Or, go directly to http://library.umd.umich.edu/newbooks/.

Examples from the November list include:

       

Congratulations to Gabe Elghoul, winner of the Brothers Grimm Trivia Contest at the Mardigian Library! Gabe won a $20 gift certificate to Club Cappuccino. He was chosen as the winner out of 26 entries.

Display cases: Check out the new exhibit Survival of the Spirit: Art Inspired by the Holocaust. This exhibit is in the display cases on the first floor by the elevator.

Second floor: See the traveling exhibit Architecture of Murder: The Auschwitz-Birkenau Blueprints. This exhibit will be on display until February 24.
Opening Reception will be on January 20 at 1:00 p.m.
Closing presentation by award-winning author Professor Robert Jan van Pelt will be held on February 24 at 2:00 p.m.
All events are free and open to the public, but please RSVP for the opening reception and the closing presentation (holocaust@umd.umich.edu or 313.583.6300).

North American Theatre Online is a comprehensive reference work covering all aspects of the American and Canadian theatre. It includes some 40,000 pages of major reference materials, together with records to approximately 30,000 plays, 57,000 people, 5,400 theatres, 22,000 productions, and 2,500 production companies. The collection also includes approximately 10,500 images, playbills, postcards, scrapbooks, and other resources.

Ethnographic Video Online now includes Volume II, which delivers 450 additional hours of classic and contemporary documentaries, unpublished footage from renowned anthropological archives, field recordings, and more. Volume II features content from Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI), ZED, and Documentary Educational Resources (DER).

The Library Research Center will be holding several open research workshops during the winter term.

Topics will include:
*Discovering what is new in the library
*How to conduct more effective research

You will also be able to ask topical questions related to your current research assignments.

If you want to improve your research skills attend one of the upcoming workshops!

Winter 2013 open research workshops will be held in 1212 Mardigian Library on:

Wednesday, February 6 from 6:00-7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, March 5 from 1:00-2:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 7 from 9:00-10:00 a.m. and
Tuesday, April 2 from 12:00-1:00 p.m. and 6:00-7:00 p.m.

If you have questions you can contact Teague Orblych at mtorblyc@umd.umich.edu or (313) 593-5562. Please RSVP to the same.

The Library Research Center will be holding several open research workshops for students during the winter term.

Topics will include:
*Discovering what is new in the library
*How to conduct more effective research

Students will also be able to ask topical questions related to their current research assignments.

These workshops are not meant to replace library research education for your course but as a supplement for students who want or need additional assistance.

Please inform students about this opportunity to improve their research skills. You can help by announcing the dates, times, and location to your students.

Winter 2013 open research workshops will be held in 1212 Mardigian Library on:

Wednesday, February 6 from 6:00-7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, March 5 from 1:00-2:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 7 from 9:00-10:00 a.m. and
Tuesday, April 2 from 12:00-1:00 p.m. and 6:00-7:00 p.m.

If you have questions you can contact Teague Orblych at mtorblyc or 3-5562.

Counseling and Therapy in Video now includes Volume III, which will grow to more than 300 additional hours of training videos, reenactments, and actual therapy sessions conducted by renowned counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists, and clinicians. Volume III presents a firm grounding in the theoretical modalities of counseling and psychotherapy, while expanding into new and emerging areas such as social media, veterans, cyber-bullying, mindfulness, and neuroscience.

When complete, Classical Music in Video will contain 1,000 hours of classical music performances and masterclasses captured on video – approximately 1,500 performances in all. The collection will contain performances of all forms of classical music, including major orchestral performances by leading orchestras, plus chamber music, oratorio, and solo performances, along with masterclasses and interviews with master teachers from around the world.

Audio Drama: The L.A. Theatre Works Collection delivers over 300 important dramatic works – by streaming audio – from the archive of the nation's premiere radio theatre company, L.A. Theatre Works. The plays, which include some of the most significant dramatic literature of the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries, are performed by leading actors from around the world and were recorded specifically for online listening. Included are plays by Shakespeare, Chekhov, Arthur Miller, and more.

Afro-Americana Imprints, 1535-1922: From the Library Company of Philadelphia contains e-books, pamphlets, and broadsides. This collection is an unparalleled record of African American history, literature, and culture that spans nearly 400 years, from the early 16th to the early 20th century. Subjects covered include the West's discovery and exploitation of Africa; the rise of slavery in the New World along with the growth and success of abolitionist movements; the development of racial thought and racism; descriptions of African American life — slave and free — throughout the Americas; and slavery and race in fiction and drama.

African American Periodicals, 1825-1995 contains more than 170 periodicals, published in 26 states, by and about African Americans. This database includes popular magazines, academic and political journals, organization bulletins, and other genres. Selection of periodicals is based on James P. Dankey's African-American Newspapers and Periodicals: A National Bibliography (Harvard, 1998) and was scanned from the collections of the Wisconsin Historical Society.

We received the following questions this morning:

I have two questions to ask about our library.

As a famous university in the US, I want to know why the UMD-Wireless is too weak and unstable to be connected in the library on the 3rd floor? And also, I think the electric sockets are too few to our laptops in the 3rd floor. So, why don’t you put enough sockets on the desks or floor for students’ laptops in the library?

Answer: Trust us, we are aware of the significant problems with access to wi-fi and electrical outlets in the library. These are the top two issues raised by students. Here is some info about the problems and the plans to fix them:

1. Wi-fi: Wireless access capacity is an issue across campus. Many of the original buildings that received wi-fi, including the library, are now experiencing inadequate wi-fi access capacity. An infrastructure upgrade is being planned by Information Technology Services (ITS), the department that manages the network and wireless access. The library will be in the first phase of the planned upgrade.

2. Electrical Outlets: The library opened in 1980, at a time when there were no personal computers or laptops, and electrical outlets were mostly needed in the public areas for vacuum cleaners. As student demand for outlets grew, additional outlets were added in the public areas. However, the electrical power available to the building is now basically maxxed out. We do continue to look for ways to add a few outlets here and there without causing power outages in the building. A major renovation of the building's electrical grid is needed, and this will be expensive, over $100,000 per floor.

Things we have done this year to help with these problems:
1) All of the wireless access points in the library were reviewed and redirected to improve coverage.

2) Nine new outlets were installed on the second floor this summer by re-purposing some existing wiring.

The library is in need of a major renovation to accommodate the needs of how students are studying today (and in the future). A campus-wide committee was formed last fall to create a library "Master Vision" so we can plan a major renovation. The building's electrical needs will be an important part of any renovation because we simply can't create the type of spaces needed without significantly more power. As part of the planning process, this semester we will be asking students to complete surveys, participate in focus groups, etc. so that they have an opportunity to tell us about their study needs and how the library should change. Students who are interested in participating in focus groups or other activities can contact Barbara Kriigel, Associate Director, at bkriigel@umd.umich.edu or 313-593-5614. We hope you participate!

Reminder: The Brothers Grimm trivia contest for UM-Dearborn students ends today! To be entered into the drawing to win a $20 gift certificate to Club Cappaccino, you can enter online. But, answers to some questions may be found in the Brothers Grimm display on the first floor in the Mardigian Library.

Welcome back students! The library is now part of the campus-wide "Uprint" print quota of 500 pages per student per semester. Uprint is maintained by ITS, so students who have problems will need to contact the ITS helpdesk for assistance with their print accounts. Get more info here: http://www.its.umd.umich.edu/students/computer-labs/uprint/