What's New - September 2006

Food for Thought Cafe Opens

By Joyce Huang, Library Director

University libraries across the nation have been modifying their "no food and drink" rules and adding coffee shops to make the learning environment more user-friendly. Your University Library is no exception.

Due to the UC construction creating a shortage of food serving space, the University Dining Services agreed to set up a café in the University Library for a trial period of two years. The Food for Thought café is located on the Library’s main floor close to the McNaughton Collection of leisure reading material. A rack of selected popular magazines (People, Rolling Stone, Consumer Reports, etc.) has been added to the area for the enjoyment of those who wish to read while having a bite or a drink. The area has comfortable lounge seating in addition to the café’s tables.

Food for Thought officially opened on September 11.

Hours of operation:

• Mon.-Thurs. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. & 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.
• Fri. 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Menu:

• Salads
• Packaged sandwiches (cold and microwavable)
• Coffees, teas, and cold beverages
• Fruit
• Pastries and bagels
• Yogurt
• Cookies and other treats
• Chips

We encourage you to come in and:

• Enjoy a cup of Starbucks coffee or have some light refreshment
• Socialize with friends, old or new
• Browse the leisure reading material
• Use the library-wide Wi-Fi system
• Take advantage of other library services at the same time.

We have learned that on many campuses, faculty hold office hours and/or meetings with students at the library café! The relaxing atmosphere apparently promotes a great exchange of ideas and strengthens warm and lasting faculty-student relationships.

University Dining Services plans to have a grand opening ceremony with free sampling of coffee later on. Watch for the announcement! Also they will re-assess the 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. hours depending on whether they get sufficient business.

Who's Buying What for the Library?

By Carol Elsen, Reference Librarian and Collection Manager

The Library Catalog offers a handy way to search for library materials by the academic department that ordered them. You’ll need two numbers: the first is the field name for funds (that will always be 590a); the other is the code for a department (see list below). For instance, if you are searching for books ordered by the Art Department, type the following keyword search: 590a 310 (see left-side screenshot below). This will retrieve a list of books that have been received and cataloged (but won’t include books that are on order). To see the most current titles at the top, sort the list by selecting Publish Date Descending from the Sort by menu.

Click on “RSS” after Recent Acquisitions and you will see the screen at right, from which the XML buttons may be dragged or pasted into an RSS reader, or click on “View text” to see the lists of new titles directly (see p.3 for more information).

Get Hip to What's New in the Library

By Carol Elsen, Reference Librarian and Collection Manager

Last semester, at a student focus group, we learned that “old” was a word students closely associated with libraries. While we don’t equate “old” with “bad,” we’re still doing our best to show that your University Library is anything but old! Each year we acquire thousands of new books, audiovisual materials and journal issues – not to mention the hundreds of thousands of new articles available through our online databases. Since we have so many new offerings, you’ll want to sort through them to find what’s most current and relevant to your needs. So here are some tips for getting hip to what’s new at the Library.

In Person @ The Library

• Browse New Book Island – All the latest acquisitions are shelved at the New Book Island located on the main floor beyond the Food for Thought café.
• Browse the Current Periodicals – The latest issues of journals are available on the first floor of the Library. They’re shelved by title, making them easy to browse. Current issues of some popular magazines – including Economist, Esquire, Glamour, Jet, Newsweek, People, Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated, and Time – are located at the Food for Thought café.

Online @ http://library.uww.edu

Student Group Work Support

By Patricia Fragola, Circulation Coordinator

The Library has several group study rooms, some with whiteboards or chalkboards, and three with VHS/DVD players. New this fall:

• A portable digital projector can be checked out and used in Library group study rooms. The projector is available to UW-W students on a first come, first served basis. Students must show a UW-W ID and a driver’s license and have a Laptop Responsibility Agreement form on file at the Circulation Desk.
• Student laptop check out periods have been increased from two hours to four hours, and the check out process has been streamlined. Students still show a UW-W ID and a driver’s license when borrowing a laptop, but the Laptop Responsibility Agreement form will be signed only once each semester.

Be Like Willie and Ask Us

alt="Photo of Willie, campus mascot, seeking assistance at a Library service desk"

Contact Reference about library instruction for classes, individual consultations, or Library webpages for course support:

• In-person
• Email: refdesk@uww.edu
• Phone: (262) 472 - 1032

Library Marketing Efforts

The Library’s Marketing Committee has been working hard to create new ways to inform and attract faculty and students this fall, e.g.,

• A Movie Night, featuring The Librarian: Quest for the Spear, was held Tuesday, September 12th.
• New faculty and students received highlighters and magnets with Library information on them.

Look for upcoming events and stay clued into our expanding array of services on the Library’s new TV monitor located at the front entrance. Special topic slideshows appear as well.

Is Your Office Drowning in Paper? We Can Help!

By Karen Weston, University Archivist/Records Manager

Records Management (University Archives), Library 2210, x5520, exists to help you control the paper deluge in your office or department. As many offices on campus prepare to move and/or consider transferring from paper files to electronic databases, we would like you to remember three things:

• The records you create in the course of your work are the property of the State of Wisconsin.
• The State has established procedures for retention and disposition of University records.
• Records Management is the office on campus which can help you manage your records in accordance with State procedures.

Library Staff Changes

By Martha Stephenson, Reference & Instruction Librarian

• Jennie Vano, education reference librarian, left in June to pursue further education (The search for a new education librarian should be over soon.).
• Vicky Topp, reference librarian, retired in July.
• Carol Elsen, former business reference librarian, is now a reference librarian half-time and Collection Manager half-time.
• Deronica Goldsmith moved from Circulation to Reference & Instruction in July, and is now the reference and archives assistant.
• Kyle Naff joined the Library in August as the business and distance education reference and instruction librarian. He received his library degree at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
• Carolyn Doyle joined Circulation in August, where she handles course reserves.