Summer Library Hours

This week the library returns to its summer schedule. We will be open Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. The library will be closed on July 3rd in honor of the July 4th holiday.

Library hours may be revised to accommodate summer programs. These changes will be posted on the blog and at the library entrance.

Congratulations Class of 2009!

The library wishes the 2009 graduating class a hearty congratulations! Each year we always feel both proud of your accomplishments and sad to lose our graduating class, and this year is no exception. We are especially sad to lose several of our student workers – you will be missed and we wish you all the best in your future endeavors!

The commencement speech featuring White House Chief of Staff  and Sarah Lawrence College alum Rahm Emanuel will be available after 5:00 pm EDT.

The library will be open from 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm Friday, May 22nd, and will be closed for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. We will reopen for our regular summer hours on Tuesday, May 26th.

Library Resources on Influenza Epidemics

The library recognizes that the recent news headlines about cases of swine flu appearing in the metorpolitan New York area have caused some alarm.

The college is taking this public health threat seriously. We have compiled a list of resources on prior flu epidemics that can be found in the library’s holdings.

Kolata, Gina. Flu : the story of the great influenza pandemic of 1918 and the search for the virus that caused it. RC150.4.K64 1999

Barry, John M. The great influenza : the epic story of the deadliest plague in history. RC150.4 .B37 2004

Homeland Security Council. National strategy for pandemic influenza : implementation plan. PR 43.8:H 75/2/IN 3/2 Also available digitally through the library catalog.

Homeland Security Council. Are you ready? Implementing the national strategy for pandemic influenza : full hearing before the Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives, One Hundred Ninth Congress, second session, May 16, 2006. Y 4.H 75:109-77 (Microfiche) Also available digitally through the library catalog.

United States. Congress. Senate. Special Committee on Aging. Preparing for pandemic flu : hearing before the Special Committee on Aging, United States Senate, One Hundred Ninth Congress, second session, May 25, 2006. Y 4.AG 4:S.HRG.109-604 Also available digitally through the library catalog.

United States. Congress. House. Committee on International Relations. The threat to the United States from emerging infectious diseases : hearing before the Committee on International Relations, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fifth Congress, first session, July 30, 1997. Y 4.IN 8/16:T 41 Microfiche.

The above represents only a small sampling of the many news and governement publications available in the library. Please contact a reference librarian at reference [at] slc [dot] edu if you are having difficulty locating specific resources, or click here to send us an email.

The 2009 Annual Library Survey is Here!

Thank you for everyone who participated in this year’s annual survey. We take your feedback very seriously and want the Sarah Lawrence College community what steps we are taking to address concerns you may have about the library’s services. We also appreciate hearing your compliments, and we take them to heart!

This year’s survey includes summaries of recent changes in the library’s structure. Next year there will be significant changes in the survey reflecting the student, staff, and faculty experience with these new groups.

Please take a few minutes to read the report linked on the library’s homepage, or follow this link.

New Poetry Display of Poetry Festival Authors

Patrons have kept the library very busy checking out poetry books from the display for National Poetry Month. We conclude that it has been a tremendous success!

We are now displaying titles by several speakers at this weekend’s Poetry Festival. Space restrictions prevent us from featuring titles by all Poetry Festival readers, as does their popularity – many of these titles are checked out! We love to see patrons using the library’s materials, so if you think we are missing something in our current display, this might be the reason why.

The library also invites our patrons to check out display books; simply take them to the circulation desk and present your SLC ID.

Last Day For Book Recalls is Monday, April 27th.

Haven’t started your research yet? Uh oh! As of Monday, April 27th, the recall function for library items will be turned off. That means that if a book is already checked out, you won’t be able to recall it back from whomever has it. That makes now  a great time to gather the research materials you’ll need to write your conference papers! If you can’t find relevant sources or are unsure how to start looking, why not schedule a research consultation with a reference librarian?

If you need to recall a book in the library catalog that is checked out to another person (or “charged” in the library catalog’s parlance), simply click on the “requests” button in the navigation bar. You will be prompted to enter your ID number minus the leading zeros and your last name. Click on “recall,” enter your ID a second time and submit. This will send an email to the person with the book notifying them that they have to bring it back to the library. Once they do, you will receive an email to let you know that you can pick it up from the library’s hold shelf.

If you get a recall notice for something you need for your conference work, please don’t just keep the book. Let us know that there is a conflict and we will attempt to arrange a share situation.

24 Hours Starts This Sunday!

It’s that time again, when the library opens for 24 hours a day. Beginning Sunday, April 26th, the library will remain open for students to come and study as long as they need to.

If you need help getting started on your papers, this is a great time to schedule a consultation with a reference librarian. Why struggle alone when you can get all your research together now and spend your time writing rather than searching alone? Let a librarian help you to be more productive! We can also help you with citations and bibliographies, and scheduling more than one appointment is great.

You can schedule a research consultation by clicking on “request consultation” under Quick Links from the library’s home page, or by following this link.

The library staff wish everyone a safe and productive end of the year, so we’d like to remind students to please follow a few guidelines to make the library a pleasant workspace for everyone, no matter what the hour:

• snacks in bags (i.e., chips, candy bars) only – if you need takeout, please take it to the Pub across the street.
• appropriate attire, including foot coverings. Pajamas and slippers are fine, but please no bare feet!
• keep the noise level to a minimum. If others do ask you to keep your voice down, please remember that the library is a study space for everyone and be considerate.

Recommend Your Favorite Poet for the Library’s National Poetry Month Display!

Some of you may have noticed that the library’s display for National Poetry Month has been looking a little ragged lately.  The display has been very successful this month, as people keep checking out the featured books! This is a good thing, and all patrons are encouraged to check out display items.

However, this means that we need your help in coming up with new ideas for the display space.  Do you have a favorite poet that you would like to see featured?  Let us know using the Super Fast Poetry Survey!

We want you to be comfortable in the library. However…

…that doesn’t necessarily mean we want to see your feet! Not that they aren’t cute – we’re sure your new pedicure is just adorable – but people walking around barefoot run the risk of stepping on sharp objects in the library. As some librarians can personally attest, stepping on a discarded  staple really hurts!

So, in the interest of ensuring everyone’s comfort and safety, please wear some type of footwear when you are in the library. Some alternatives to shoes might be:

• sandals
• flipflops
• slippers
• slipper socks

With spring approaching we know it’s tempting to go bare, but please cover up in the stacks! Thanks!

Recalling Charged Books

We’ve received a few questions recently about how to recall books that are checked out to another patron.  To recall a book, all you need to do is to search the title in the library catalog (remember to leave off the initial article! – “a,” “the”) and, once you find it, look up in the navigation bar.  You’ll see buttons labeled search, history, titles, bookbag, and so forth.  One of those buttons is called requests.

If you click on requests, you’ll be prompted to enter your last name and ID number, minus the leading zeros.  Click on “recall” and you will be prompted to enter your ID number a second time.  That’s it!

If you get an error message saying ” your patron initiated request failed, it can mean one of several things, including that you already have it checked out! (Hey, it happens even to the most organized among us!)  So if you’re sure you haven’t already checked out the item you’re trying to recall, contact a librarian by email reference [at] slc [dot] edu or by using the Ask a Librarian form.  We’ll get back to you with an answer about what the problem might be as soon as possible.