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!