Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category

1968 & 2008: Years of Transformation

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tammerarace
on November 13, 2008
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What made 1968 notable as a year of transformation? What changes still impact us today? How are 1968 and 2008 similar? During the week of November 10th, faculty, staff, students, and community members will be examining these questions as they relate to politics, education, science, and culture. As part of this retrospective, our Library exhibit focuses on 1968 themes of Civil Rights, controversy and war, and life on college campuses.

Community members are invited to attend any of the planned events. Of special note, Richard Dudman, award-winning journalist and author of 40 Days with the Enemy, will lead a discussion on Friday evening, November 14, at 6:30 p.m. Dudman served as the Chief Washington Correspondent for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch during the 1950’s, ‘60’s, ‘70’s and ‘80’s. He was captured by the Vietcong guerrillas in Cambodia while covering the Vietnam War. 40 Days with the Enemy chronicles this experience. Dudman’s discussion is titled 1968 Through the Eyes of One Journalist. For more information about all of the retrospective events, please visit www.umpi.edu/1968.

November 11

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Greg Curtis
on November 4, 2008
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In honor of Veteran’s Day, the library will be closed all day November 11.  This includes the computers in the library.

New Interlibrary Loan Service Now Available

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Greg Curtis
on October 27, 2008
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The Library has a new interlibrary loan service called ILLIAD available for you and your students to use starting immediately.  This service allows you to make requests and track your request status online through a web page.  ILLIAD also reduces the amount of typing you need to do if you locate something in the EBSCO database that we don’t own.  By choosing the Article Linker option on the EBSCO record the bibliographic information will be input into the correct ILLIAD fields automatically.  To use the features of ILLIAD you will need to create a user account.  Set up of an account may be accomplished by following this link http://illiad.library.umaine.edu/illiad/UPQ/FirstTime.html.  If you have any questions about this new service please don’t hesitate to contact Nancy Fletcher at X9595 or nancy.fletcher@umpi.edu

Banned Books Week September 27 to October 4

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tammerarace
on October 2, 2008
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Our current library exhibit encourages patrons to “Celebrate Your Freedom to Read – Party with a Banned Book!” This week marks the 27th annual national celebration of the freedom to read. Begun in 1982, Banned Books Week draws attention to the threat of censorship, and spotlights books and authors that have been challenged or banned. Banned Books Week sponsors include: The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, The American Library Association, The Association of American Publishers, The American Society of Journalists and Authors, and The National Association of College Stores.

Each year, the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) compiles a list of the most challenged books and authors. In 2007, the OIF received 420 reports of challenged books. The OIF defines a challenge as “a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.” The OIF estimates that 420 is a fraction of actual incidents. For each reported challenge, four or five challenges are unreported. In 2007, the ten most challenged books were:

#1. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

Reasons: Anti-Ethnic, Sexism, Homosexuality, Anti-Family, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group

#2. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier

Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Violence

#3. Olive’s Ocean, by Kevin Henkes

Reasons: Sexually Explicit and Offensive Language

#4. The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman

Reasons: Religious Viewpoint

#5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain

Reasons: Racism

#6. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker

Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

#7. TTYL, by Lauren Myracle

Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

#8. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou

Reasons: Sexually Explicit

#9. It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris

Reasons: Sex Education, Sexually Explicit

#10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky

Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

News from other URSUS Libraries

Published
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Greg Curtis
on September 23, 2008
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We have added RSS feeds from other URSUS libraries that currently have blogs.  We will add others as additional blogs appear.

Talk about my Constitution: Constitution Day, September 17

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tammerarace
on September 16, 2008
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The Constitution of the United States was signed on September 17, 1787. To commemorate the original signing, Congress designated September 17 as Constitution Day - a day to celebrate, and educate about the Constitution. Our Library exhibit focuses on the Constitution as a product of debate and discussion, and emphasizes that those debates and discussions are ongoing. Featured resources available through URSUS include:

Our Constitution: A Conversation [videorecording], The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands (2005)

How Democratic is the American Constitution? Robert Alan Dahl (2001)

Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution, Woody Holton (2007)

A More Perfect Constitution: 23 Proposals to Revitalize Our Constitution and Make America a Fairer Country, Larry Sabato (2007).

Two hundred and twenty one years of discussion continue at UMPI on September 17, from 1 to 2 PM, in the Campus Center. President Don Zillman and Dr. John Zaborney will discuss the origins of the Constitution,  key provisions, Amendments (including the Bill of Rights), and the importance of the Supreme Court to interpreting Constitutional language. Please join us at the Campus Center and the Library as we celebrate, and talk about, our Constitution. And for more information about the Constitution, visit an interactive version at www.constitutioncenter.org/constitution/.

Collaboration area established on first floor

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Greg Curtis
on September 8, 2008
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The Library staff, in conjunction with the IT Dept staff, have created a collaboration area on the first floor of the Library. Located near the conference room the area includes seating, a computer with dual monitors, a vcr/tv, laserdisc player, and dvd player included in the computer. If you need to collaborate on a project, watch a dvd, or create a group presentation, try out the new area. We hope you find it useful. If you would like additional areas like this let us know.

New databases added this year

Published
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Greg Curtis
on September 3, 2008
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We have several new databases available for you to use in your research this year, a description of each follows.

Facts On File World News Digest @ FACTS.com presents the full text of Facts On File World News Digest since 1940, plus a live newsfeed from Reuters® and thousands of in-depth features, images, charts, and primary documents.

 

ProQuest has partnered with MyFamily.com to create Ancestry® Library Edition, one of the most important genealogical collections available today. It has unparalleled coverage of the United States and the United Kingdom, including census, vital, church, court, and immigration records, as well as record collections from Canada and other areas. This collection, with thousands of databases and billions of names, is essential to having a broad genealogy collection, and its valuable content is a strong complement to HeritageQuest™ Online. The Ancestry Library Edition collection has approximately 4,000 databases including key collections such as U.S. Federal Census images and indexes from 1790 to 1930; the Map Center containing more than 1,000 historical maps; American Genealogical Biographical Index (over 200 volumes); Daughters of the American Revolution Lineage (over 150 volumes); The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1630; Social Security Death Index (updated monthly); WWI Draft Registration Cards; Federal Slave Narratives; and a strong Civil War collection. Ancestry Library Edition updates continually, with more indexes and original images added all the time.

 

The Electronic Tax, Payroll & Accounting Library is designed for community colleges and small universities who need financial management and reporting research for their undergraduate and graduate Accounting programs. You’ll find information including: * Financial Management on Checkpoint where information and tools are provided to help you drive continuous process improvements at the corporate and departmental levels. * Controllership, the comprehensive Web-based resource designed specifically for controllers. Get solutions concerning management as well as accounting. * GAAP Compliance on Checkpoint, where you’ll find concise analysis and useful examples for every GAAP requirement. * Internal Auditing on Checkpoint, including analysis on critical auditing concerns and today’s best ideas and guidance. * SEC Compliance on Checkpoint is the place to find sample disclosures of all SEC accounting, auditing & financial reporting requirements in a usable, easy-to-understand format. * Payroll Compliance: Payroll Guide is a comprehensive and coherent payroll reference and research tool. It provides detailed explanation and analysis of Federal, State, and local income tax withholding

You may access these databases from the library home page by choosing the databases link.  If you have quesitons please don’t hesitate to ask one of the staff for assistance.

Welcome to the start of the semester

Published
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Greg Curtis
on September 3, 2008
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Welcome to the start of the semester at the University of Maine at Presque Isle.  The library staff is here to assist you in your research endevours.  If you have any questions on how to search, where to look, or need assistance in citing material you have located don’t hesitate to ask one of the staff for help.  We hope you have a good semester.

Armchair Travels in June

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tammerarace
on June 25, 2008
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Looking for a great summer read?  Our Library and Computer Services Staff selected the following favorite picks.  Whether you’re looking to share a family book, experience a reading adventure, learn more, or gain a different perspective, one of the following titles could be your ticket to a wonderful book vacation.  Stop by to see our selections on exhibit at the Library this month.  Better yet, check one out.  All of the titles are available through URSUS or MaineCAT.  Happy reading!

Our favorites…

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

The Cider House Rules by John Irving

The Dark Tower Series: The Gunslinger by Stephen King

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien

The O’Hurley’s Series by Nora Roberts

One Child by Torey Hadyn

Salem’s Lot by Stephen King

She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb

Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin

For kids of all ages…

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

For young adult readers

Alanna, The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce