History and Science, Oh My!

This little bit of science history just crossed my desk. I went to the website to post it here and really like what it has to offer. Check out http://trailblazing.royalsociety.org/ to find some great pieces of - sometimes overlooked - science history.

Interim Hours Update

Another update in the hours for the interim period between the Fall 09/Spring 10 semesters.

Both Hamilton and Sinclair Libraries will be closed from Saturday, December 19 through Sunday, January 3.

Hamilton and Sinclair Libraries will re-open with limited hours and services Monday, January 4 - Sunday January 10. The buildings will be open 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. at this time. The Sinclair Wong AV Center will remain closed.

Go here to see the library hour page and stay tuned for Spring 2010 hours.

Final Days to View the Exhibits!

From our Library PR maven:

Last chance to see the Hamilton Library
exhibits! During exam week, December 14-18, both of the
Hamilton Gallery exhibits, will be taken down. If you
have not yet seen the exhibits, or would like to take one
last look, please stop by before the winter break begins
on December 19th.


The Year of Astronomy exhibit in the Bridge Gallery, The
Universe: Yours to Discover, will be taken down on
Monday, December 14 and the beautiful 5 X 5 canvas photos
taken with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope will return
to Waimea, HI!

If you haven't had the chance to see this exhibit, definitely try to stop by this week. The photos taken with the Canada-France telescope are amazing and the old-fashioned astronomical equipment and documents are really cool!

Astronomy Lecture in the Library - Wednesday, Nov. 18

The second-to-last event in this semester's Astronomy Lecture Series will be held in Hamilton Library room 301 on Wednesday, November 18, from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.

Here's the blurb:
Paul H. Coleman
Institute for Astronomy

This talk will center on the often strained relationship between modern astronomers and indigenous peoples with their sacred mountains. Examples from the Tahono O'odham, San Carlos Apache, and Zuni tribes will be presented. Finally the situations on Maunakea and Haleakala will be presented.

Check out the flier for more details.

Get your ILL requests in by Dec. 4!

From our Interlibrary Loan Librarian:

ILL Office Winter Interim Preparation and Schedule

Due to the upcoming Winter Interim Closure and reduced staffing related to Library and University budget cuts, please note the following:

UHM patrons should submit their ILL requests by December 4^th

To assure processing and receipt before winter interim closure.

Closed to the public

Dec. 19, 2009 – Jan. 10, 2010

Reopen to the public on Jan. 11, 2010

Online ILL system will be unavailable

Dec. 18^th 5 p.m. to Jan. 3, 2010

Requests cannot be submitted; electronic articles cannot be accessed.

We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause.

Stargazing at Hamilton Library

Sounds like fun! From a press release from the UHM Library Events & Communications Coordinator:

Look Up!

An Evening of Sky Viewing

Honolulu, HI – Celebrate the International Year of Astronomy 2009 [IYA2009] with the Institute for Astronomy and the UHM Library with an evening of star viewing on Sunday, November 22, 2009 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm on the lawn in front of Hamilton Library.

Join us for this special IYA2009 star party and have some hot chocolate and a peppermint candy cane (while supplies last)! View the wonders of the heavens as dusk turns to dark – the moon, planets and stars – as revealed by Institute for Astronomy [IfA] telescopes. Visit the Hamilton Library Bridge Gallery to see the exhibit The Universe: Yours to Discover Before the exhibit closes in December!

http://library.manoa.hawaii.edu/about/exhibits/bridge_2009.html#universe

Enjoy free campus parking on Sunday evening. Bring the family and pack your dinner!

For more information, call Teri Skillman at 956-8688 or email skillman@hawaii.edu.

Where In The Library Is That Book?

Finding a book in the library just got a little bit easier.

Late last week, the folks behind the UH Voyager catalog added the floor where the book is shelved to the location information in the records for all Hamilton Library materials. Now, when you look for the call number of a book, you'll also find where in the building it lives as well as a map of the floor.

Here's a screenshot (click to enlarge):















Now you won't need to divine what floor or what side of Hamilton to head to! Note that this location information does not appear for journals - this is because new issues are found on the first floor of the Addition, while older issues are on the upper floors, according to their call number. If you need to know the location of an older journal (or just want to memorize all the call number locations) you can always consult this diagram of the SciTech Wing.

Also, if you haven't tried the "Text me this call number" feature yet, you can read all about it in this post I wrote for Eileen's blog this summer.

Graduate Student Survey Closing Soon

If you haven't yet had the chance to fill out the library survey, you still have time.

The survey will be closing at the end of October, so take a few minutes to share your feedback soon. It's important for us to know what we can do in the library to help out our graduate students. We have a good idea of what you need, but only you can tell us exactly what your needs are. Research assistance, help with writing, tips on using technology, teaching methods, strategies for professional development - you name, it we'll connect you with what you need.

Speak up here!

Open Access Week at UHM

What is Open Access? More importantly, why is it important and why should you care?

For starters, think about this: all over the world, university libraries are paying exorbitant fees to publishers for access to journal articles penned by their own campus' faculty - meaning that research has already been payed for by the university. What's more, the public - whose tax dollars have also funded that research - must also pay the publisher out-of-pocket to access the same article.

Open Access (OA) seeks to change this. Universities around the world are turning to institutional repositories to maintain access to their own research. OA journals are also gaining ground in publishing peer-reviewed research using a non-profit model. The groundwork has been laid, now we just need to get informed and get involved - starting with Open Access Week later this month!

The week of October 19-23 is Open Access Week - an international effort to draw attention to scholarly communication, authors rights and open access publishing. UHM library is hosting two talks that week as well as an information booth in Campus Center. Please join us to learn more about OA, meet others and join the conversation. Take a look at the announcement below and email me (asjordan[at]hawaii.edu) with any questions.

OAweekGSannounce

Other SciTech Workshops

We're getting going on offering workshops beyond the standard EndNote fare!

This month, Carol Kellett from the Systems Office in Hamilton Library will be giving a hands-on demonstration of the UH Voyager catalog. She'll go over search strategies as well as a number of tricks and tips to optimize your search and keep up-to-date on library holdings.

In November, Elieen Herring from SciTech will be giving her popular workshop on staying current in your subject area. Geared specifically for students in the sciences, Elieen will show you how to receive alerts on your topic and utilize blogs and RSS feeds to stay on top of things.

As always you can view the schedule and sign up for workshops using our handy SciTech Workshop calender, linked right here or over on the right sidebar. Space is limited so sign up today!

New Fall 2009 EndNote Workshop Dates

I just added some more dates in October and November for both EndNote Basics and Advanced EndNote.

In looking at the preliminary results from the Graduate Student Needs Assessment Survey that went out earlier this semester, I noticed quite a few people mentioned workshop attendance was difficult due to busy schedules. With this in mind, I decided to add a few evening and weekend workshop dates.

You can view the workshop calendar and sign up here.

E Komo Mai!

Have you ever thought to yourself, "Self, where I can keep up to date on news and events going on at the library - especially what those Science and Technology librarians are up to?" If so (and who hasn't, really?) your answer has arrived!

Welcome to the new blog from the Science & Technology Reference Department in Hamilton Library. Here, I'll be keeping you up to date with library announcements, workshop schedules, SciTech department news, helpful research tools, and more.

Check back often to stay in-the-know or subscribe to the RSS feed over on the right side of the page. Also, I'd love to hear from you, so let me know what you think in the comments - ask a question, remark on a post, etc. Content will be added with UHM science graduate students in mind, so definitely speak up if there are topics or information you would like to see covered more in-depth. Do this in the comments or you can always email me at asjordan[at]hawaii.edu.

To get things started, I've added some helpful resources in the sidebar on the right:

• The RSS feed sign up - use your favorite reader to keep track of this blog
• Links to SciTech workshop calendars - view the schedules and register for upcoming sessions
• Important library resources, including a link to the Electronic Resources page
  
• A news feed of science headlines

There's more to come, so stay tuned!

Aloha,
Allie