Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Changes to five OCLC FirstSearch databases

As of December 2010, the Arts & Humanities Citation Index is no longer available via the Marygrove College Library.

Beginning June 30, 2011, the following databases will also become unavailable:
  • ABI/Inform
  • Biology Digest
  • Dissertation Abstracts
  • GEOBASE
All five databases are (or were) offered via the OCLC FirstSearch service. OCLC has decided to drop certain databases in order to focus on providing other services. You can read more about its plan here:

http://www.oclc.org/ca/en/firstsearch/content/questions/default.htm

The library subscribes to a wealth of other resources designed to meet your research needs, but if you feel that Arts & Humanities, ABI/Inform, Biology Digest, Dissertation Abstracts, or GEOBASE are essential to your work, please don't hesitate to call your librarian Christy at 313.927.1378.

Our eBooks will soon look different - but content remains the same

The Marygrove College Library gives you access to more than 25,000 electronic books, offering you another convenient way to do research from both on- and off-campus.

Soon you'll notice that these ebooks look slightly different from what you're used to. Their content won't change, but their interface will. This includes the colors on your screen, and the location of links and tools for turning pages and searching content. At the same time, the name that we give this collection of ebooks will change from "NetLibrary eBooks" to "eBooks on EBSCOhost."

These changes won't go into effect until July, but you can preview them now. Be sure to let us know what you think by calling your librarian Christy at 313.927.1378.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Help protect Michigan libraries

Michigan libraries are in danger due to new proposed budget cuts at the state level. Read more about what's at stake, and learn how to join the fight to protect these invaluable resources:

http://www.milibrariesforthefuture.org/

Please add your voice to the conversation. "The future of Michigan depends on it."

Friday, March 4, 2011

Libraries roar! HarperCollins is limiting e-book check-outs to 26

There's a storm a-brewin' between one of the largest book publishers (HarperCollins) and the library world. On February 24, 2011, new e-book licensing terms were released by Overdrive, a library e-book vendor. Overdrive reported that HarperCollins would begin restricting the number of times an e-book could be checked out before its license expired. That number is 26.

For libraries that have a two week lending period, their license for a HarperCollins e-book will last about a year. For libraries with a three week lending period, their license will last about a year and a half. After 26 check-outs, the book that the library paid for will disappear and they'll be forced to buy a new one.

What are the problems with this new arrangement? Let us count the ways....
  • This is a huge step backward in lending rights and library access
  • Libraries' budgets are strained enough without this added burden
  • Libraries with a shorter (two week) lending period will be disproportionately affected
  • Publishers such as HarperCollins do not demand that libraries return their *paper* copies after 26 check-outs. This arrangement seems designed to encourage libraries to buy paper books rather than increasingly popular e-books for their patrons
  • This creates a huge new workload for libraries who now have to add an e-book to their catalog, track the number of check-outs, and then remove the e-book from their catalog
  • Imagine the impact on the 27th patron, who sees that a book is available in a library's catalog, but oops! No, you're too late, that book no longer exists here (read more
  • Libraries are losing "the rights to lending and preserving content that we have had for centuries.  We have lost the right to buy a piece of content, lend it to as many people as we want consecutively, and then donate or sell that item when it has outlived its usefulness (if, indeed, that ever happens at all)" (source)

The publishing world has been reluctant to fully embrace the world of e-book lending. Libraries and e-book vendors like Overdrive can not allow HarperCollins' example to set the precedent.

Read more:

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Meet library assistant (and corset-wearing) Theresa!

Theresa Spiteri is one of our full-time library assistants in the circulation department. She is a history major with a minor in English and will graduate from Marygrove College in May of 2012. After graduation, she plans to attend Wayne State University to obtain a master's degree in library science & information with a concentration in archival work. But she won't stop there! Next she'll obtain her master's degree in history with a military concentration from Norwich University in Pennsylvania, with the long-term goal of earning her Ph.D.

Theresa's path from work study student to full-time assistant has been circuitous. She was our work study student for one semester; when her financial aid package changed she was no longer eligible for work study but remained with us as a volunteer (that's right, folks, a volunteer!) for the remainder of the academic year. The following year she was hired as a part-time employee until finally a full-time position became available. She jumped at the chance, and we were thrilled to hire her.

She enjoys reading, hiking, camping, swimming, and spending time with her family and friends (when she's not studying or working, that is). She also enjoys participating in any activity that relates to history; this year, for example, she visited the Renaissance festival for the first time - corset and all.