A good book and the great outdoors: the Library Terrace!

Care to sit in the fresh air while using library resources? Now you can!

We just opened the Library Terrace: a small porch area nestled on the hillside at the rear of the library, with a nice view of Levey Hall. The Terrace, once intended as an additional library entrance, can now serve as a vehicle for enjoying the warmth of a morning or the cool shade of an afternoon while studying, reading, or enjoying the campus wireless network.

Though fall is getting back on track, there is still some temperate weather remaining this year. The Terrace is open during the same hours that the library is open, except that we close it at 7:00PM on Monday through Thursday evenings (while the library stays open until 9:00PM).

We're still working on getting permanent outdoor furniture in place, but we do have chairs and tables available for you to use out there (just ask if you need help). We hope you'll find this a nice addition to our library environment.

Our thanks to the good folks in Physical Facilities for making the Terrace possible.

New Playaways; easy listening in your car

We are happy to announce the addition of 23 new titles to our Playaway digital audio device collection. The newbies range from Beowulf, read by Seamus Heaney, to Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants.

We now have a total of 103 Playaways (for more information on them, see this earlier post. Here is a link to an MU Library Catalog search showing all of them.

A new addition to help you enjoy Playaways on the road are 4 new Belkin FM transmitters. These transmitters (plugged into your cigarette lighter -- they also take batteries -- and your Playaway) broadcast your audio enjoyment onto a vacant FM radio station. Enjoy your Playaway near at hand (a half-a-deck-of-cards-sized device and your earbuds) or on the road!

Reading on Campus

Brains grow better when fed on fresh fodder. Check out the Chronicle of Higher Education, "What They're Reading on College Campuses," September 28, 2007. And if you are really famished, see the New York Times Best Sellers list too. Who knows, you may even get a jump-start on holiday gift-giving.