Playaways update

If you've enjoyed using our Playaway digital books, you're in for a treat. All right, if you haven't used them before, you should be excited, too.

We have just added 22 more titles to the collection (with many thanks to Cathy Bishop Clark for her recommendations - hey, you could suggest titles, too!). You can quickly browse the whole list of 130 titles here (most of the new ones are at the top of the list).

You can also browse them in person right in front of our circulation desk in our new rotating Playaway display stand. We're populating the stand now, but it will be ready for your browsing pleasure shortly.

John

New Materials for April

We have just posted our new materials list for April, and it's a doozy. Over 240 books, DVDs, and other items have been added to the collection this month. A new feature of this month's list: a (hopefully) clearer division of the items into subject areas.

You can find our current and previous new materials lists on the left hand side of our web site under "New Materials Lists."

Have a suggestion of something to order? Email one of our staff members or drop by the library. Thanks!

John

What does the lawsuit against Georgia State mean?

Here's a well-written explanation of the recent lawsuit filed by the American Association of Publishers against Georgia State University over its use of an electronic reserves service (and perhaps also involving faculty members posting class readings in the university course management system).

NUL Copyright: What does the lawsuit against Georgia State mean?

Libraries have long provided access to materials on reserve in support of faculty members and their students. Section 108 of Title 17 of the United States Code, AKA the "Copyright Law of the United States of America" specifically guarantees the right for libraries to hold copies of works for the use of students in a given class for the duration of that class.

This case questions the ability of Section 108 to apply in a digital environment. Along with many other academic libraries, Miami University Libraries offers electronic reserves services -- see our guidelines here. We will be carefully watching this case and will post updates as they occur.

KnowItNow Academic: Virtual Reference Service

Got information woes? Need a little help with a research question? Far from a library? Turn to a new, free statewide virtual reference service known as KnowItNow Academic. The program, piloted from January to March 2008 through the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services grant has now become a permanent service available from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday and Fridays until 5:00 p.m. Academic librarians from 12 OhioLINK libraries provide reference assistance in subject queues in which they possess expertise: business, government documents, foreign languages & literature, genealogy, general, history, literature & film, music & art, science & technology, and social sciences. Outside these hours, questions are answered by the regular KnowItNow channels staffed by public librarians and After-Dark librarians, independent librarians organized by the Northeast Ohio Regional Library System so that Ohio residents have 24/7 access to reference service. Give KnowItNow Academic a try the next time you are far from your favorite physical library.

National Library Week

In celebration of National Library Week, April 13-19, 2008, Gale is offering FREE ACCESS to 21 Databases most of which are unavailable through Miami University Libraries. This is the week to work on research papers, projects, and presentations. Explore such extensive, authoritative electronic resources as Health & Wellness Resource Center, History Resource Center U.S., History Resource Center World, Nursing Resource Center, Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center: Critical Thinking, Science Resource Center, Small Business Resource Center, etc.



In addition, FREE ACCESS to Books & Authors, a new online readers' advisory resource is available throughout all of April. Build your summer reading list now of favorite authors, genres, expert picks, or award winners. Take a book along wherever you travel.

Chinese-Language Arts and Humanities Journals

OhioLINK member institutions now have access to 257 Chinese-language arts and humanities journals in the China Online Journals collection from Wanfang.

You can access the COJ journals via several links:

Browse the database: http://www.wanfangdata.com/COJ/browse.asp
or http://www1.wanfangdata.com/COJ/browse.asp

Quick Search: http://www.wanfangdata.com/COJ/quick_search.asp
or http://www1.wanfangdata.com/COJ/quick_search.asp

Advanced search: http://www.wanfangdata.com/COJ/advanced_search.asp or
http://www1.wanfangdata.com/COJ/advanced_search.asp

This resource has been added to the OhioLINK list of databases under China Online Journals and as "also recommended" under all subject areas. It will be added to the Miami University Libraries Indexes and Databases list shortly.

New Materials for March

We have just posted our new materials list for March. These are the items (books, DVDs, etc.) that were added to the collection during this month. We are awaiting a large number of items from earlier orders that should come in during April.

You can find our current and previous new materials lists on the left hand side of our web site under "New Materials Lists."
Have a suggestion of something to order? Email one of our staff members or drop by the library. Thanks!

John

Searching for a Career Direction?

An information specialist by any other name would inform and teach. Despite the long-term image management issues, librarians do more than books. In 21st century academic circles, they build Web sites, databases, repositories, and online courses; customize search engines; tag sources; provide 24/7 access to electronic resources; and create wikis, blogs, and research tools. They study up on the shifting sands of plagiarism, copyright, and digital rights management. They share resources around the university, state, and world in print and electronically. They read and write and compute and communicate. They are wizards of multitasking and problem-solving. Above all, the knowledge managers I know are intelligent, creative, and witty. They go to bat for the tentative researcher and are service-minded. In honor of who they are and what they do, take a whimsical YouTube moment and listen to: “The Librarian Song” and view “This is My OhioLINK” by Eric Rieper, OhioLINK video contest winner.

April 1: Eric Melbye Reads From Tru

The Gardner-Harvey Library and the Miami University Middletown Campus Bookstore are proud to present a reading by Eric Melbye of his novel Tru.

The event will be held on Tuesday, April 1, 2008, from 12:00-1:00 on the main level of the Gardner-Harvey Library.

Read a description of Tru here.

Eric will share some selections from Tru, take questions from the audience, and sign copies of his book (which will be available for purchase at the event). Light refreshments will be served.

Please set an hour aside for this opportunity to experience literature with a talented author and to celebrate his work.

In the lap(top) of luxury

Well, that might be overstating things a bit, but we are very happy to let you know the array of laptops that are available to Miami Middletown students, faculty, and staff thanks to a partnership between Technology Services and the library. With our combined financial support, we can now offer the following equipment for use:

For students:

• 4 laptops are available for three-hour loan
• 3 laptops are available for one-day loan

For faculty and staff members:

• 5 laptops are available for seven-day loan
• 2 tablet PCs are available for seven-day loan

We hope that these machines will assist students who would like to use a laptop anywhere on campus (given our campus-wide wireless network) or who need to take a laptop home for overnight use. Faculty and staff who need to travel and present or who need a laptop for use on campus can also benefit.

Checking out a laptop requires your Miami University ID and the one-time completion of a laptop loan form. Please let us know how we can assist you with these devices.

Let me also add that the library, thanks to Technology Services, also has on library reserve the manuals for Microsoft Outlook 2007 and Entourage for Mac OS X 2004 (five copies of each, available to students, faculty, and staff).

March 11: Book Discussion

The MUM Book Discussion Group will next meet on Tuesday, March 11, from 12:00-1:00 to discuss Eric Melbye’s novel Tru. We are so excited to have a chance to read and discuss this work by Middletown’s own notable author. We’ll meet in the reference/current periodicals area for our usual round of discussion, brown-bagged lunches, and a dessert of some sort. Please join us for this exciting event!

Stay tuned for an upcoming announcement of a campus reading/book signing by Eric which will come later in March. We may raise some questions on the 11th that Eric can solve for us at that later event. Thanks!

(see the Book Discussion page at http://www.mid.muohio.edu/library/bookdiscussion.cfm)