reading girl speaks

What's New in the Collections - Now Available via RSS Feeds!

2009-07-06T17:19:00.001-04:00

Check out the June what's new pages, and if you use RSS feeds you'll definitely want to set up feeds for your areas of interest!

Campus Network Outage!

2009-06-11T11:11:00.002-04:00

The CIT will be taking down the entire campus network at mid-day on Thursday, June 11; the outage may last until noon on Friday, June 12th. This will affect access to OBIS, many databases and remote access to OhioLINK resources.

New in Our Collections for May

2009-06-08T10:07:00.001-04:00

Check out the books, scores, recordings, and videos added to our collections in May.

11,000 and counting!

2009-05-18T11:54:00.004-04:00

Since the end of the semester due date the main library alone has processed more than 11,000 books -- and there are more to come.

It will take while for most of these to make it back to the stacks, so check the holding areas (there's a map near the circulation desk) if you are looking for something.

To renew or not to renew?

2009-05-12T11:22:00.003-04:00

Today is the due date for most books, scores, and government publications! So what should you do if you still need your books?

We know that many of you are still using these materials, and you should feel free to keep using your material through reading period and exams. Remember that special due dates still apply to reserve materials, periodicals, recalled items, interlibrary loans, OhioLINK materials, and other short-term loan items, and you will be responsible for fines if the items are returned overdue.

If you're finishing an incomplete, you can keep the books until you're finished with them. Please complete a Request for Summer privileges form, and after we've processed it, renew your books.

If you're a returning student who's remaining in Oberlin for the summer, you're welcome to claim summer borrowing privileges and check out books. Please do renew any materials you'd like to keep for the summer, after we've processed your summer privileges request form. We will hold your enrollment for fall semester if you don't return or renew the materials that you have checked out and that are due before the end of the semester.

Do you want to check on what you currently have checked out and when it's due? Just access your account at http://obis.oberlin.edu/patroninfo/

Do you have other questions about end-of-semester policies and procedures? Check out our FAQ, or contact any circulation supervisor for advice.

Please feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions about your library account or our policies! Best of luck in the final days of the semester!

Allison Gallaher
Head of Circulation

Mudd hours through the end of exams

2009-05-12T10:24:00.001-04:00

The A-Level and scholar studies are open continuously until Sunday, May 17 at 5:30 pm.

The whole building is open until 2 a.m. Tuesday - Saturday nights this week.

The circulation desk will offer service until 2 a.m. Tuesday - Thursday and until midnight Friday and Saturday.

Please see our hours page for the service hours of other desks and offices.

Congratulations! You're almost finished with another year! Enjoy your summer!

Study, but eat and sleep too

2009-05-12T09:26:00.002-04:00

As we head into the exam period, just a friendly library reminder to keep up your strength.

Mudd Movie Mania + Coffee with Krislov tonight

2009-05-11T11:05:00.003-04:00

Join the Student Friends of the Library at 8:30pm tonight on Wilder Bowl for screenings of student films "Reader Madness," "The Resourcerer's Apprentice," and "Catatome" on the wall of Mudd.

Refreshments will be served outside during the screening and there will be a coffee break with President Krislov immediately following in Azariah's Cafe.

Extended Hours for Mudd

2009-05-08T12:34:00.003-04:00

Mudd will be open until midnight on Friday, May 8, and the A-Level and Scholar Studies will be open all night.

Beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Mudd will be open continuously until 2 a.m. on Tuesday, May 12.

Please note that during the following hours, access is via OCID card swipe only.

May 9 at 9:45 pm - May 10 at 10 am
May 10 at 11:45 pm - May 11 at 8 am
May 11 at 11:45 pm - May 12 at 8 am

Note that this is just the building, and no services will be offered during much of this time.

Please check out our hours page for specific service points during reading period and exams.

Seriously -- exams start next week???

2009-05-05T19:53:00.002-04:00

Are you wondering what you're supposed to do to get square with the library before you leave campus? We've tried to anticipate all your questions in our end-of-semester FAQ.

Here's the abbreviated version:

You may review your library record, and see details of your account, including the due dates for checked out items, at http://obis.oberlin.edu/patroninfo/ Use the number on the back of your college ID when prompted for your barcode number. If you have turned in Problem Reports for any of the items currently checked out to you, please know that we are continuing to work to resolve the problem and no further action is necessary at this time.

The due date for semester loan materials is May 12th. If you are completing work due during the exam period, you may keep semester loan items for a few extra days and you will not be charged fines. If you wish to keep library materials beyond that, please renew them.

BUT, remember that special due dates still apply to reserve materials, periodicals, recalled items, video materials, interlibrary loans, OhioLINK materials and other short-term loan items, and you will be responsible for fines if the items are returned overdue.

If you are remaining in Oberlin for the summer and are a continuing student, you can claim summer borrowing privileges. Get all the scoop!

Contact me or any circulation supervisor if you need any further help or explanation.

Want to have a fun study break? Watch this -- filmed in Mudd last year.

Allison Gallaher
Head of Circulation
x55019

Mudd Fludd

2009-05-05T14:26:00.005-04:00

Early this afternoon a cool water line used for the air conditioning system leaked during testing, causing water to back up on the south side of the main level and on the A Level.

The current reading area has been cleared of furniture and some books to facilitate wet vacuuming and fan drying, but Azariah's is still open for business.

The green elevator, however, is out of commission until further notice (yes, we have a green elevator as well yellow and red).

April Additions

2009-05-04T13:43:00.002-04:00

Great new books, videos, scores, and recordings, ready for reading, viewing, or listening.

Spotlight on the Collections: Sista, Speak

2009-04-30T21:36:00.001-04:00

This collection features a variety of works (novels, plays, poems) by 20th century women writers of Africa and the African Diaspora. The writers included here, from American novelist Toni Morrison to Trinidadian poet Dionne Brand, explore the personal and political aspects of race, gender, slavery, and colonialism.

Visit the shelves outside Azariah's Cafe and revisit an old favorite or discover a new one!

No checks accepted for library fees after April 30th

2009-04-29T20:38:00.004-04:00

As of May 1, we'll be like Junior here. We'll no longer accept checks from student checking accounts. This is a college policy because of concerns about accounts being closed by the time the checks clear. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Allison Gallaher
Head of Circulation

Movie Time Again!

2009-04-29T09:50:00.002-04:00

The Student Friends of the Library is hosting a screening of the movie "The 11th Hour" this Thursday, April 30th at 8PM in the Electronic Classroom in Mudd Library. "A look at the state of the global environment including visionary and practical solutions for restoring the planet's ecosystems."*

"The 11th Hour is the last moment when change is possible. The film explores how we’ve arrived at this moment -- how we live, how we impact the earth’s ecosystems, and what we can do to change our course. Featuring ongoing dialogues of experts from all over the world, including former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James Woolsey and sustainable design experts William McDonough and Bruce Mau in addition to over 50 leading scientists, thinkers and leaders who discuss the most important issues that face our planet and people."** This event is open to the public so bring your friends. Some refreshments will be served in Azariah's afterwards.

Hope to see you all there. *from IMDB.com ** from 11thhouraction.com

Future of the Book media coverage

2009-04-15T17:04:00.008-04:00

The library recently hosted a symposium entitled "The Future of the Book," featuring several prominent invited speakers and a panel of faculty respondents. Read the Plain Dealer's coverage of the event in case you weren't able to attend yourself.

Help us help you!

2009-04-07T16:11:00.003-04:00

Are you doing research? Make an appointment with a librarian -- we'll help you find good sources and devise effective strategies so you'll have more time to play in the snow (or sun).

March Madness, Mudd style

2009-04-01T13:43:00.000-04:00

Check out all the new books, scores, recordings, and videos (oh my!) added to the Library's collections in March.

Books, Bites and Banter!

2009-03-31T11:49:00.009-04:00

Please join us for a book discussion of Toni Morrison's new book A Mercy!

In anticipation of Toni Morrison's visit to Oberlin as a Convocation Series speaker, the Oberlin College Library and Student Friends of the Library are hosting four one-time book discussion groups. We hope you can make it to one of them!

See the discussion groups web page for more information about the book and how to get in on the discussions. Light refreshments will be provided.

The EJC has been fully restored

2009-03-18T11:07:00.002-04:00

Here's the latest word from the folks at OhioLINK:

As of yesterday mid-day the EJC was fully restored with over 12.5 million articles. There is still general clean-up going on (let us know if any searches point you to the wrong article), but journal menus and tables of contents are complete.

Once again our apologies for the reduced services the past month. Thank you very much for your patience and support throughout this recovery process. As we originally noted, our hardware failure was a very unexpected and improbable occurrence. Nonetheless we are taking steps to minimize even further the possibility of a recurrence.

Long live the EJC!

extended A-Level and Scholar Study hours

2009-03-13T15:20:00.002-04:00

The A-Level and Scholar Studies will be open continuously beginning Sunday, March 15 and continuing until midnight on Friday, March 20. The card swipe will remain active until 8 a.m. each morning.

Even though we're open, please consider taking regular breaks for sleep, meals, and showering.

Come see Helvetica

2009-03-11T11:41:00.003-04:00

The Student Friends of the Library are sponsoring a screening of Helvetica, a documentary about typography, graphic design, and global visual culture.

Join us at 8pm on Thursday, March 12th in Mudd 113!

Spotlight on the Collections: Small Press Literature

2009-03-06T15:30:00.001-05:00

What do Allen Ginsberg, Yehuda Amichai, and Elizabeth Alexander have in common? Carole Maso, Robert Creeley, Paul Bowles, Lucille Clifton and Susan Howe? These writers have all been published by small presses.

There is a long history of small press literary publishing in the U.S., integral to the development of modern American literature. Presses such as New Directions, City Lights, and Black Sparrow have been publishing since the mid 20^th century, and continue to this day. Countless other presses have come and gone over time, sometimes lasting only a year or two. Small and independent press publishing in the U.S. remains vibrant and ever-changing, and continues to publish some of the most important and thought-provoking literary work today.

Given the critical role of small and independent press publishing in shaping the American literary terrain, Oberlin College Library has long made a concerted effort to acquire books by these publishers.

Make sure to check out the current Spotlight on the Collections display of small press literature in the Academic Commons!

Book Talk by Pam Brooks today at 4:30pm

2009-03-05T08:43:00.002-05:00

Join the Friends of the Oberlin College Library at a faculty book talk by Pamela Brooks, Associate Professor of African American Studies

Thursday, March 5, 4:30 p.m.
Moffett Auditorium, A Level, Mudd Center

Pam Brook’s new book, Boycotts, Buses, and Passes: Black Women’s Resistance in the U.S. and South Africa (University of Massachusetts Press, 2008), is a comparative history of the liberation struggles of women in the United States and South Africa. Drawing extensively on oral histories, the book portrays the rise of political consciousness and activism among black women in the two countries within the context of a larger global struggle to end the vestiges of European colonialism. “A very ambitious project, elegantly and sensitively written” (Françoise N. Hamlin, Brown University).

EJC is Almost Back to Normal

2009-03-04T11:44:00.001-05:00

OhioLINK is in the final stages of recovering from last month’s serious hardware failure.

Access to almost all records has now been restored, and the records that are still inaccessible will direct you to the journal publisher’s web site.