Ask Andy

Minty fresh!

2011-12-08T12:03:00.000-08:00

In the spirit of the holiday season, the Library offers you comfortable study spaces, convenient research resources and exceptional customer service. So come on in from the cold, grab a free mint and DO WORK!

In the Library

2011-11-13T15:56:00.000-08:00

The only scent that matters!

Oops!

2011-11-11T12:01:00.001-08:00

Happy Nigel Tufnel Day! 11/11/11

2011-11-07T20:21:00.000-08:00

Left weeping...

2011-10-30T17:25:00.000-07:00

A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs
By MONA SIMPSON
Published: October 30, 2011 New York Times

I grew up as an only child, with a single mother. Because we were poor and because I knew my father had emigrated from Syria, I imagined he looked like Omar Sharif. I hoped he would be rich and kind and would come into our lives (and our not yet furnished apartment) and help us. Later, after I’d met my father, I tried to believe he’d changed his number and left no forwarding address because he was an idealistic revolutionary, plotting a new world for the Arab people.

Even as a feminist, my whole life I’d been waiting for a man to love, who could love me. For decades, I’d thought that man would be my father. When I was 25, I met that man and he was my brother.

By then, I lived in New York, where I was trying to write my first novel. I had a job at a small magazine in an office the size of a closet, with three other aspiring writers. When one day a lawyer called me — me, the middle-class girl from California who hassled the boss to buy us health insurance — and said his client was rich and famous and was my long-lost brother, the young editors went wild. This was 1985 and we worked at a cutting-edge literary magazine, but I’d fallen into the plot of a Dickens novel and really, we all loved those best. The lawyer refused to tell me my brother’s name and my colleagues started a betting pool. The leading candidate: John Travolta. I secretly hoped for a literary descendant of Henry James — someone more talented than I, someone brilliant without even trying.

When I met Steve, he was a guy my age in jeans, Arab- or Jewish-looking and handsomer than Omar Sharif.

We took a long walk — something, it happened, that we both liked to do. I don’t remember much of what we said that first day, only that he felt like someone I’d pick to be a friend. He explained that he worked in computers.

I didn’t know much about computers. I still worked on a manual Olivetti typewriter.

I told Steve I’d recently considered my first purchase of a computer: something called the Cromemco.

Steve told me it was a good thing I’d waited. He said he was making something that was going to be insanely beautiful.

I want to tell you a few things I learned from Steve, during three distinct periods, over the 27 years I knew him. They’re not periods of years, but of states of being. His full life. His illness. His dying.

Steve worked at what he loved. He worked really hard. Every day.

That’s incredibly simple, but true.

He was the opposite of absent-minded.

He was never embarrassed about working hard, even if the results were failures. If someone as smart as Steve wasn’t ashamed to admit trying, maybe I didn’t have to be.

When he got kicked out of Apple, things were painful. He told me about a dinner at which 500 Silicon Valley leaders met the then-sitting president. Steve hadn’t been invited.

He was hurt but he still went to work at Next. Every single day.

Novelty was not Steve’s highest value. Beauty was.

For an innovator, Steve was remarkably loyal. If he loved a shirt, he’d order 10 or 100 of them. In the Palo Alto house, there are probably enough black cotton turtlenecks for everyone in this church.

He didn’t favor trends or gimmicks. He liked people his own age.

His philosophy of aesthetics reminds me of a quote that went something like this: “Fashion is what seems beautiful now but looks ugly later; art can be ugly at first but it becomes beautiful later.”

Steve always aspired to make beautiful later.

He was willing to be misunderstood.

Uninvited to the ball, he drove the third or fourth iteration of his same black sports car to Next, where he and his team were quietly inventing the platform on which Tim Berners-Lee would write the program for the World Wide Web.

Steve was like a girl in the amount of time he spent talking about love. Love was his supreme virtue, his god of gods. He tracked and worried about the romantic lives of the people working with him.

Whenever he saw a man he thought a woman might find dashing, he called out, “Hey are you single? Do you wanna come to dinner with my sister?”

I remember when he phoned the day he met Laurene. “There’s this beautiful woman and she’s really smart and she has this dog and I’m going to marry her.”

When Reed was born, he began gushing and never stopped. He was a physical dad, with each of his children. He fretted over Lisa’s boyfriends and Erin’s travel and skirt lengths and Eve’s safety around the horses she adored.

None of us who attended Reed’s graduation party will ever forget the scene of Reed and Steve slow dancing.

His abiding love for Laurene sustained him. He believed that love happened all the time, everywhere. In that most important way, Steve was never ironic, never cynical, never pessimistic. I try to learn from that, still.

Steve had been successful at a young age, and he felt that had isolated him. Most of the choices he made from the time I knew him were designed to dissolve the walls around him. A middle-class boy from Los Altos, he fell in love with a middle-class girl from New Jersey. It was important to both of them to raise Lisa, Reed, Erin and Eve as grounded, normal children. Their house didn’t intimidate with art or polish; in fact, for many of the first years I knew Steve and Lo together, dinner was served on the grass, and sometimes consisted of just one vegetable. Lots of that one vegetable. But one. Broccoli. In season. Simply prepared. With the just the right, recently snipped, herb.

Even as a young millionaire, Steve always picked me up at the airport. He’d be standing there in his jeans.

When a family member called him at work, his secretary Linetta answered, “Your dad’s in a meeting. Would you like me to interrupt him?”

When Reed insisted on dressing up as a witch every Halloween, Steve, Laurene, Erin and Eve all went wiccan.

They once embarked on a kitchen remodel; it took years. They cooked on a hotplate in the garage. The Pixar building, under construction during the same period, finished in half the time. And that was it for the Palo Alto house. The bathrooms stayed old. But — and this was a crucial distinction — it had been a great house to start with; Steve saw to that.

This is not to say that he didn’t enjoy his success: he enjoyed his success a lot, just minus a few zeros. He told me how much he loved going to the Palo Alto bike store and gleefully realizing he could afford to buy the best bike there.

And he did.

Steve was humble. Steve liked to keep learning.

Once, he told me if he’d grown up differently, he might have become a mathematician. He spoke reverently about colleges and loved walking around the Stanford campus. In the last year of his life, he studied a book of paintings by Mark Rothko, an artist he hadn’t known about before, thinking of what could inspire people on the walls of a future Apple campus.

Steve cultivated whimsy. What other C.E.O. knows the history of English and Chinese tea roses and has a favorite David Austin rose?

He had surprises tucked in all his pockets. I’ll venture that Laurene will discover treats — songs he loved, a poem he cut out and put in a drawer — even after 20 years of an exceptionally close marriage. I spoke to him every other day or so, but when I opened The New York Times and saw a feature on the company’s patents, I was still surprised and delighted to see a sketch for a perfect staircase.

With his four children, with his wife, with all of us, Steve had a lot of fun.

He treasured happiness.

Then, Steve became ill and we watched his life compress into a smaller circle. Once, he’d loved walking through Paris. He’d discovered a small handmade soba shop in Kyoto. He downhill skied gracefully. He cross-country skied clumsily. No more.

Eventually, even ordinary pleasures, like a good peach, no longer appealed to him.

Yet, what amazed me, and what I learned from his illness, was how much was still left after so much had been taken away.

I remember my brother learning to walk again, with a chair. After his liver transplant, once a day he would get up on legs that seemed too thin to bear him, arms pitched to the chair back. He’d push that chair down the Memphis hospital corridor towards the nursing station and then he’d sit down on the chair, rest, turn around and walk back again. He counted his steps and, each day, pressed a little farther.

Laurene got down on her knees and looked into his eyes.

“You can do this, Steve,” she said. His eyes widened. His lips pressed into each other.

He tried. He always, always tried, and always with love at the core of that effort. He was an intensely emotional man.

I realized during that terrifying time that Steve was not enduring the pain for himself. He set destinations: his son Reed’s graduation from high school, his daughter Erin’s trip to Kyoto, the launching of a boat he was building on which he planned to take his family around the world and where he hoped he and Laurene would someday retire.

Even ill, his taste, his discrimination and his judgment held. He went through 67 nurses before finding kindred spirits and then he completely trusted the three who stayed with him to the end. Tracy. Arturo. Elham.

One time when Steve had contracted a tenacious pneumonia his doctor forbid everything — even ice. We were in a standard I.C.U. unit. Steve, who generally disliked cutting in line or dropping his own name, confessed that this once, he’d like to be treated a little specially.

I told him: Steve, this is special treatment.

He leaned over to me, and said: “I want it to be a little more special.”

Intubated, when he couldn’t talk, he asked for a notepad. He sketched devices to hold an iPad in a hospital bed. He designed new fluid monitors and x-ray equipment. He redrew that not-quite-special-enough hospital unit. And every time his wife walked into the room, I watched his smile remake itself on his face.

For the really big, big things, you have to trust me, he wrote on his sketchpad. He looked up. You have to.

By that, he meant that we should disobey the doctors and give him a piece of ice.

None of us knows for certain how long we’ll be here. On Steve’s better days, even in the last year, he embarked upon projects and elicited promises from his friends at Apple to finish them. Some boat builders in the Netherlands have a gorgeous stainless steel hull ready to be covered with the finishing wood. His three daughters remain unmarried, his two youngest still girls, and he’d wanted to walk them down the aisle as he’d walked me the day of my wedding.

We all — in the end — die in medias res. In the middle of a story. Of many stories.

I suppose it’s not quite accurate to call the death of someone who lived with cancer for years unexpected, but Steve’s death was unexpected for us.

What I learned from my brother’s death was that character is essential: What he was, was how he died.

Tuesday morning, he called me to ask me to hurry up to Palo Alto. His tone was affectionate, dear, loving, but like someone whose luggage was already strapped onto the vehicle, who was already on the beginning of his journey, even as he was sorry, truly deeply sorry, to be leaving us.

He started his farewell and I stopped him. I said, “Wait. I’m coming. I’m in a taxi to the airport. I’ll be there.”

“I’m telling you now because I’m afraid you won’t make it on time, honey.”

When I arrived, he and his Laurene were joking together like partners who’d lived and worked together every day of their lives. He looked into his children’s eyes as if he couldn’t unlock his gaze.

Until about 2 in the afternoon, his wife could rouse him, to talk to his friends from Apple.

Then, after awhile, it was clear that he would no longer wake to us.

His breathing changed. It became severe, deliberate, purposeful. I could feel him counting his steps again, pushing farther than before.

This is what I learned: he was working at this, too. Death didn’t happen to Steve, he achieved it.

He told me, when he was saying goodbye and telling me he was sorry, so sorry we wouldn’t be able to be old together as we’d always planned, that he was going to a better place.

Dr. Fischer gave him a 50/50 chance of making it through the night.

He made it through the night, Laurene next to him on the bed sometimes jerked up when there was a longer pause between his breaths. She and I looked at each other, then he would heave a deep breath and begin again.

This had to be done. Even now, he had a stern, still handsome profile, the profile of an absolutist, a romantic. His breath indicated an arduous journey, some steep path, altitude.

He seemed to be climbing.

But with that will, that work ethic, that strength, there was also sweet Steve’s capacity for wonderment, the artist’s belief in the ideal, the still more beautiful later.

Steve’s final words, hours earlier, were monosyllables, repeated three times.

Before embarking, he’d looked at his sister Patty, then for a long time at his children, then at his life’s partner, Laurene, and then over their shoulders past them.

Steve’s final words were:

OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW.

Mona Simpson is a novelist and a professor of English at the University of California, Los Angeles. She delivered this eulogy for her brother, Steve Jobs, on Oct. 16 at his memorial service at the Memorial Church of Stanford University.

MARCH ON

2011-10-09T07:39:00.000-07:00

And no shushing!

Between two columns

2011-09-27T10:16:00.000-07:00

Second level Shadek is a good vantage point, to watch the Class of 2015 march in. Some 600 new faces. Maybe a few will enter through those columns, into the welcoming arms of the Library!

Dry spell

2011-07-06T12:06:00.000-07:00

Quite a long time has passed since last blog post, but that doesn't mean nothing has happened. Since April..

- We have a new college president, and Porterfield is my facebook friend.
- The 2011 class graduated, and a few CRA friends have become CRA alums.
- Doris (wife) and I returned to Bermuda, and discovered a wonderful rail-trail, which we intend to revisit often!
- A fun & successful SNRG conference occurred at F&M, some 130 participants from 11 states and Canada.
- The "New" College House is a complete, and is a palace! For the first time in a bunch of years, there is NO major construction project happening on campus, which is NICE! Although you do have to watch for all the CTY middle-schoolers all about, or they might get stuck in your bike spokes!

Looking forward to a few music festivals in July and August. Then we're back into another school term. Should mention, of some interest, this August 5 will mark 20 years for me at F&M. Just 20 more to go till retirement!

Library conference

2011-04-08T11:12:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to see if this embed code worked. Feel free to fill the form if you are interested in attending the SirsiDynix Northeast Regional Group Conference at Franklin & Marshall College, June 13-15, 2011.

SNRG 2011 Conference @ F&M

Early to bed, early to rise

2011-03-16T07:39:00.000-07:00

Ben Franklin kept a reasonable schedule, allowing plenty of time for contemplation, reflection (and occasional womanizing!). With all our gadgets and social networking, do we no longer afford time for examination or introspection? Have we allowed technology to control us, or can we still put technology into perspective?

Gag order

2011-02-22T09:57:00.000-08:00

Ben was bound and gagged yesterday, presumably to celebrate President's Day. Of course Franklin was covered with "John Marshall is my homeboy, so I guess poor John was (once again) feeling slighted by Ben's outsized notoriety!

More snow pictures.

Addendum: As it turns out this was an administrative prank. Sure wish I was there whilst Burness was snickering over plastic and green tape. Who knows, maybe this is the beginning of (any?) tradition at F&M.

I've been working on the railroad...

2011-02-08T14:45:00.000-08:00

I am REALLY going to miss the rusty, old Armstrong bridge when the Norfolk rails are finally moved, uniting north and south.

If you like to watch moving and installing rails, this video is fascinating, if not mesmerizing... http://bit.ly/h83jtW

Brand new term!

2011-01-17T14:22:00.000-08:00

Very busy winter break with a cruise to the Bahamas, and another CRA hurricane relief trip to Galveston. Have to say, we really missed Bermuda. It was good to work with old and new friends in Galveston. Not sure yet where the next CRA trip will take us.

I'm sort of looking forward to the routine of a new term. I had considered team-teaching a class, but there doesn't seem to be the time. Instead, I will concentrate on hosting a library conference here at F&M in June. Quite a challenge really. Could involve 2 to 3 other libraries, and the active participation of our ILS vendor, SirsiDynix.

Already I'm thinking about summer! Might wedge another cruise into May. There was talk about a return to China, but with another Vivace festival in July and the Endless Mountain Music Festival in August, there doesn't seem to be enough days to go abroad. My pref would be to skip China for a possible trip to Germany & Switzerland.

Of course all of this is music related. Someday we will travel without working!

Hypnotic Snowmen

2010-12-17T12:56:00.000-08:00

EVEN MORE Best enjoyed after LOTS of egg nog!

Have a wonderful & relaxing winter break. Happy Holidays!

All night long

2010-12-11T12:55:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the term again, when all good students flock to Shad-Fack to study and write like never before.

Of course, I will never understand what can be accomplished between 2 and 6am. But so many students will valiantly try make the most of the wee hours & stay awake.

We will do our part by keeping the doors open, serving up the coffee and snacks, and taking pictures of all-nighter failures whenever possible!

Noisy Neighbor

2010-11-11T08:24:00.000-08:00

For so many months Old Main has sounded with clinks and clanks and BANGS, as workers dismantled and remantled the tower.

But today we have finally arrived at the Great Unveiling. Click on the picture above for more photos.

Now perhaps we will return to peace & quiet.

Big Event that nobody noticed

2010-10-29T08:57:00.000-07:00

It's actually a VERY good thing that nobody noticed the Library website migrated from one server to another. Taking just 5 minutes! For the first time in many years, the Library site moved and is now lives permanently on a brand new VIRTUAL server.

Virtualization still mystifies me (almost spooky!), but essentially our server now coexists with many other servers on a single physical machine. This is great for operating system management, network bandwidth needs and emergency preparedness.

Please enjoy our (secret) great leap forward!

Printer virus

2010-10-12T12:50:00.000-07:00

Have to admit, I'm a bit less inclined to refill paper at this printer!

Look up!

2010-09-20T06:58:00.000-07:00

Look up at the new shiny steeple atop Barshinger. Look up at the work atop Old Main. Look up at the slightly changing Fall leaves. Look up at the new granite sculptures. Look up at the friendly neighborhood hawk. Look up at the crystal blue Fall sky. Look up from your texting, and smile at your fellow students & friends!

Trying out post by email

2010-09-03T12:39:00.001-07:00

For the longest while I was able to readily post to the Library blog by using email. So simple, just sent an email and up goes the post for all the word to see (or whoever stumbled on the blog).

Now I'm trying this easy-breezy method on the Ask Andy blog. After I send this, I will race to the blog and see what happened. It will be SO exciting!

Yikes, too few days left!

2010-08-20T09:52:00.000-07:00

Still so much to do before the start of the term. There's plenty of work to do on the website. Patron data needs to be imported to account for some 600 new students, and edits to older records. Scheduling needs to be done for library instruction sessions. And last minute cleanup of public machines and printers.

Where did the summer go!

It will be fun to see the libraries again fill with new faces and old friends. If you find yourself on second level Shad-Fack, two doors down from the computer classroom, stop by to introduce yourself or sit down and chat.

One last dip in the old swimming hole!

Goings & comings

2010-08-09T18:29:00.000-07:00

Today the new library website was launched, minus Ask Andy. Today library assistance is more accurately labeled "Ask Us," to best reflect all the many talented staff that field library and research questions.

This blog will continue, but in a different way. The voice will be mine. I will talk about stuff, mostly library stuff. But other things happen, life beyond the library. Those things might show up here, in words or pictures or video.

Best wishes Renate Sachse!

2010-06-30T12:49:00.001-07:00

Renate served the college library for 35 years! She's seen everything; extensive library renovations in 1983, advent of catalog automation in 1988, dedication of Martin Library of the Sciences in 1991, lobby flood and system migration in 2002, and all sorts of new staff, new duties, new products and services and THOUSANDS of students!

Renate was one of the first librarians to represent the library at SirsiDynix conferences, traveling for a dozen years to St. Louis, then Nashville, Colorado Springs and Detroit. Renate was an enthusiastic champion of many of our marketing efforts, such as Wake Up in the Library and Librarian House Calls, and a regular at so many Modern Language events.

We will truly miss Renate's good humor and genuine spirit, and we wish her all the best and safe & fun travels in retirement!

Alles Gute = Good Luck

Renate gets the first piece of cake, with a bright red rose.

Renate and Carol Kornhauser, with Jeff Brethauer and Chuck Leayman in the background.

Mike Horn put together a terrific memory book, with staff pictures and best wishes.

Wake Up in the Library!

2010-06-30T12:40:00.000-07:00

The Library held our semi-annual Wake Up event on June 5, to meet & greet our alumni. We got to meet and re-unite with over 50 alums from so many classes, many from 1960, 1980, 2000, and of course 2005, which gifted the Library with the wonderful new patio shown in the previous post.

Good to see everyone. Please come back soon!

Shad-Fack has a new patio

2010-06-03T08:26:00.000-07:00

In just a few days our old concrete patio at the Shad-Fack front steps was removed, and a sparkling new brick patio was installed. Here are a few pics of before & after.

(photo credit: Jenn Buch)

(photo credit: Mike Lear/Christopher Raab)

(photo credit: Mike Lear/Christopher Raab)

(photo credit: Mike Lear/Christopher Raab)

Many thanks to the Class of 2005 for funding our new patio!

Best wishes Dale Riordan!

2010-05-03T17:32:00.000-07:00

Dale Riordan served as our Science Librarian for 10 years. Under her leadership, science research instruction & resources grew enormously. We could always count on Dale's expertise, easy manner and terrific humor. The Library will surely miss Dale, and we wish her all the best as she enjoys the sun & fun of Florida. Please Dale, when you get a chance, send us a few bright yellow grapefruits up North!

Dale cuts a sunny cake.

Dale and Pam Snelson, College Librarian.

Perhaps the last time we'll see this wonderful mix of people all together at the same time in the same place. Roughly from left-to-right: Pam Snelson, Dale Riordan, Mike Lear, Denise Chmielewski, Renate Sachse, Andy Gulati, Scott Vine (back), Sue Wood, Jenn Buch, Mike Horn, Chuck Leayman (back), Louise Kulp, Marty Gordon (back), Nikki Rearich, Andrea Hartranft, Linda Danner, Lisa Stillwell (back), Pat Miller, Rick Thompson, Christopher Raab, Ken Siegert

Comings & Goings

2010-05-03T07:18:00.000-07:00

Not since 1996-1997 has there been this much staff activity at the Library. As noted in a previous post, both evening supervisors Bill Coventry and Sabine Caldwell left us in late winter. And just this Spring, Dale Riordan (Science Librarian) flew off to sunny Florida to rejoin family.

Andrea Hartranft recently joined us at Martin, as our Evening Circulation Supervisor. And we just celebrated Tom Karel's 25th year with the Library. Renate Sachse (Cataloging & Circulation Librarian) was also honored, as she will be retiring at the end of June (stay tuned for pictures!).

Andrea Hartranft and Riley

Andrea will graduate with a MLS from Clarion in August. She started with an internship at the Lancaster Historical Society and was employed by the Lititz Public Library, followed by an internship at F&M. Andrea is thrilled to be working at Martin and looks forward to a fulfilling career in libraries.

Tom Karel at the Honoring Distinguished Service event.

Tom, our Collection Development Librarian and Government Documents Guru, was honored for his 25 years of service. Tom can't leave us as long as he has interesting Congressional hearings to read and share!

Marilyn Kennard

Marilyn worked for many years at Shadek-Fackenthal before moving to the Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium. Marilyn will join her husband Ron in retirement after June.

Studying on the steps

2010-04-08T14:49:00.000-07:00

And why not study on the Library steps. Its April and 85 degrees!

Become a Facebook FAN of the Library!

NEW LIBRARY WEBSITE!!

2010-03-30T20:54:00.000-07:00

The Library website is being updated! At this point, only critical services are enabled. There is still considerable work to be done. We are interested in your feedback as we finish our website design. Please visit

http://web1.fandm.edu/library/

Using this Library Blog, you can anonymously provide feedback about what you like OR don't like (see Comments below). Or you can email...

libwebteam@fandm.edu

Our main goals are to provide a site that's intuitive to use, with quick & easy ways to ask for help, that looks & feels like the College website, but with a touch of Library pizazz!

From now through May, we'd like to know

- can you readily find books, journals and other resources?
- can you easily find services such as E-Z Borrow or Order Materials?
- can you readily find help and ask questions?
- do you find that the language and link choices are obvious and intuitive?

Thanks for you kind consideration & valuable feedback!

A Sincere Apology

2010-03-17T14:53:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to say this for awhile; and now that it's spring break and I've had some time to catch up on sleep (and episodes of Greek) after a rigorous week of (typical) F&M midterms, I must post a most sincere apology.

If you've known me at all the last 3.75 years, you know that I love working the closing shift at the Shad-Fack on Saturday evenings. I really do enjoy doing the closing rounds: walking through the library, turning off lights, and pushing in chairs from approximately 9:20PM - 9:45PM. I used to get scared walking through the stacks (c'mon, it is dark, quiet, and spooky), but then I loaded a "Closing the Library" playlist onto my iPod. It's full of lively, happy music that makes me want to sing along and dance.

Last Saturday, while pushing in the vacant chairs on the Mezzanine, I must have forgotten where I was, and did start humming along. I probably danced a little too. And disturbed the serious studying of serious students (because you must be very serious and doing something very serious to be in the library at quarter-to-ten on a Saturday nigh, seriously!).

So, here it is. I am sorry.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Hope everyone enjoys the rest of Spring Break! See you in a few days!

-Colleen

Spring has Sprung!

2010-03-11T10:36:00.001-08:00

Even if the calendar doesn't agree, and even if we get a freak snowstorm before Easter, everyone knows that familiar smell in the air.

On days like this, frisbees are flying and bulbs are blooming. Overheard on the Quad, "Are you kidding me, I've got 2 midterms tomorrow, but I want to play wiffleball!"

In another day, nearly every student will flee campus for Spring Break. Between sun & fun, there's a good chance research might happen.

If you have trouble connecting to Library databases, remember to use VPN (directions). And if you need a bit of assistance finding resources, you can always Ask Andy.

Departures

2010-02-19T11:58:00.001-08:00

Its always sad to see staff leave, and at the Library it doesn't happen very often. In February we had two departures.

Sabine (Buckius) Caldwell served for over 5 years as our Evening Supervisor at Martin Library of the Sciences.

Bill Coventry served nearly 10 years as our Evening Circulation Supervisor at Shadek-Fackenthal Library.

Sabine now serves as Circulation Supervisor at Penn State's Hershey Medical Center, and Bill is off to explore new challenges.

We wish both Sabine and Bill best of luck and tremendous success!

Even more snow

2010-02-10T18:35:00.000-08:00

After some 18 inches of snow only a few days back, we got a fresh batch of wintery wonderfulness, mostly likely another foot and half. That's 3 feet of snow in less than a week!

Usually the Library never closes, but we didn't open on Wednesday. Plans are to open for some hours on Thursday, then back to full strength on Friday.

Feel free to email if you have any research questions. Even with the blustery drifts, the Library is still not much further than ask.andy@fandm.edu.

Snowed In!

2010-02-06T16:25:00.001-08:00

Hello all!

This is my first attempt at serious blogging, so please be kind.

The tremendous amount of snow that has blanketed Lancaster over the last 24 hours has definitely made for an exciting weekend. Some people's travel plans were disrupted, dining options limited, and even classes cancelled on Friday afternoon (though the impending storm didn't get me out of Bio Lab... thanks Dr. Blair). It has also provided some novel forms of entertainment (I hear that when snowballs hit the screens in open dorm windows, they make a very satisfying explosion of sorts.)

It is nice to know that when everything else is up in the air, the library, like the postal service (the actual mail deliverers, not the band), can be counted on. Both libraries operated normal hours despite the tundra outside. (Dedicated Shad-Fack regular Weston Fillman was thankful for this as he trekked here in his Uggs all the way from the Lofts to print out journal articles and read his preceptees' papers.) And even those who weren't brave enough to face the wintry mix could request EZBorrows and Interlibrary Loans from the comfort of their rooms via the library website. (One of my housemates actually did spend a good chunk of her afternoon requesting ILL Articles. I spent that time watching the Real Housewives of Orange County marathon on BRAVO. She was definitely more productive.)

I've got about two hours left in my shift at the Circulation Desk at the Shad-Fack, but then I'll be off to enjoy the rest of my weekend! Hope everyone stays warm and dry and enjoys the Superbowl tomorrow.

-Colleen

Introducing Colleen!

2010-02-02T13:13:00.000-08:00

Colleen Bechtel '10 has kindly (and enthusiastically) volunteered to write for the Library Blog.

Stay tuned for fun features posted by our newest Blog author!

Galveston relief effort

2010-01-18T10:44:00.000-08:00

Andy Gulati, Systems Librarian and CRA (Catastrophic Relief Alliance) advisor, returned to Galveston, to assist with Hurricane Ike relief, with an eager and hardworking group of students, staff, alumni and friends.

CRA worked on 2 homes on a variety of projects, ranging from framing and drywalling, to flooring and painting. Work was coordinated by the Episcopal Relief and Development. More worksite pictures can be found here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ask-andy/sets/72157623177873262/

Snow scenes

2010-01-05T17:20:00.000-08:00

Pictures taken from the snowy Shad-Fack steps, on the last day of finals. Nearly 12 inches of snow, but brave librarian Scott Vine was on the scene, helping students and taking pictures.

Perfectly perky

2009-12-16T15:51:00.000-08:00

(adapted from email report)

Finding the candle is in the top spot for unexpected things during 24/7, but today's find probably comes in second. A young lady was perking her own personal pot of coffee on the second floor lobby space, just past the 'silent' easel. She was asked to take it into the periodicals room which has been set aside for food and drink. She was SO happy to hear that - it was the FIRST time she knew that there was a special place for food and drink.

Ambiance

2009-12-11T06:12:00.001-08:00

(adapted from email report)

Last night, a Library staff member found a lighted candle in the Reference room. The students with it said they wanted ambiance. Obviously, they put it out when asked. Please be on the alert for a repeat of this. No need to burn the building down while studying or writing!

Wintery Mix

2009-12-09T06:49:00.000-08:00

What to do when the temps get chilly? Why, c'mon over to the Library of course!

We have LOTS of different study spaces, and you can reserve for group study at Circulation.

We have LOTS of print and online resources. At the Library website you can search Books and Articles.

And at the Ask Me desk we can offer LOTS of advice on how best to develop a research topic and find materials.

Its never too late to snag a comfy spot, get good resources, or elicit expert help!

Moving files

2009-11-17T16:57:00.000-08:00

Just when it seemed like the need for email was dead, an outage occurs, leaving many searching for alternatives.

In library-land, without email to assist with research needs, at the Ask Me desk we use iChat or texting.

To move files, we might use a flash-drive or eDisk. In general, when moving files, its best to use a local drive or file server, instead of email attachments, since email has a way of messing up file formats.

While the ups-and-downs of email can make people crazy, its good to know that there are effective alternatives to get help and move files.

Staring out windows

2009-11-15T20:11:00.000-08:00

Going upstairs, ground level to first, Shad-Fack. Glorious glowing leaves.

Fall fell

2009-10-11T14:54:00.000-07:00

Leaves are turning, leaves are falling. And the squirrels are getting fat on acorns.

In the Library, even as the outdoor temps cool, students are feeling the heat. Fall Break will soon be upon us, proceeded by lots of tests and papers.

If you're feeling the heat, and would like a little relief, checkout some of the Library offerings, listed By Subject. Or better yet, stop by the Ask Me desk for research assistance.

ps. Can you name that famous foot above?

Family Weekend

2009-10-04T15:50:00.001-07:00

The weather could not have been nicer for all the parents and family, visiting F&M and students for Family Weekend. Amongst all the sports, revelry and visiting profs and advisors, the Library held an open house. Parents got to checkout the facilities and study space, and discover quick & easy ways to tackle research assignments.

So the next time you're faced with a pesky paper, give mom & dad a break, and checkout what the Library has to offer, or at the very least Ask Andy.

Please

2009-09-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

Thanks!

100,000 printed pages

2009-09-14T07:09:00.000-07:00

While it's still too early to tell, our printing pace is only slightly off from this time last year. As you know, the College had to make some changes to printing policies, to offset tremendous costs & waste. There are still ways that you can save time & money.

- use simple filenames with proper extensions, example PsycPaper1.docx
- consider reading PowerPoints (PPTs)and PDFs onscreen when practical
- print double-sided and multiple pages per page side whenever possible
- avoid dark backgrounds in Powerpoint, saves toner and speeds printing

More detailed information about GoPrint and printing policy can be found at http://library.fandm.edu/printing.html.

Lonely Labor Day?

2009-09-07T12:17:00.001-07:00

With a skeleton staff in the Library, and most of the working world enjoying the LAST weekend of the summer, one would think Shad-Fack would be a ghost town. But its actually been a bit busy. Students are looking for books. Others are requesting items we don't own, or that are currently checked-out through E-Z Borrow, and there's LOTS of printing.

The Library is buzzing with activity!

RENEWAL

2009-09-02T15:12:00.000-07:00

Renewal can means so much, from the anticipation and excitement of a new school term, to the renewed sense of purpose in a simple library blog.

It is hoped that this post might mark the start of something new & interesting for What (was) New, and that informative bits are offered, library musings are shared, and people read and comment.

RENEWAL!

F&M students help city woman in need

2009-05-14T17:55:00.000-07:00

Below is a story of the college and community working together to help a Lancaster city resident rebuild her house. What connects this story to the Library is that two librarians were involved, Scott Vine and Andy Gulati. Hopefully by blogging the video and newspaper article, the event will be captured (forever!).

Fox43 story from May 14.

(Fox video was removed, but you can view this short Youtube clip to get an idea of work performed. And pictures can be found here.)

Lancaster Newspapers story from May 13.

By BERNARD HARRIS, Staff Writer

After rebuilding flood-ravaged homes in New Orleans and Galveston, Texas, Franklin & Marshall College students this week are tackling relief work closer to home, or at least closer to their dorms.

Students of the college's Catastrophic Relief Alliance and faculty mentors are helping to renovate a home in Lancaster City's southeast area.

"You go on these trips and you see so much destruction, but you never realize that there is so much need in your own backyard," said Grace Gallagher, president of the student disaster relief organization.

Gallagher and three fellow students were working this morning to repair a water-damaged wall at the home of Betty Jones, 222 S. Ann St.

On Monday they began hauling out debris from a first-floor apartment. By the end of the week, they hope to have the space ready to house Jones' elderly and blind mother.

"When you have so much happen to you, you just freeze," Andy Gulati, a college librarian and the student group adviser, said of Jones.

Jones, who recently had a knee replaced, lost her father, sister and a brother in the past few years, said neighbor Darlene Byrd, who helped direct the students to her.

Gulati said the student group was formed in early 2006, a few months after Hurricane Katrina had ripped through the Gulf of Mexico. After an initial two-week trip to Picayune, Miss., the group has gone twice to New Orleans and once to Galveston to help with rebuilding efforts.

But Gulati said the group also has been looking for ways to help people closer to home.

His heating oil dealer, the East King Street Improvement District and Byrd sent him to Jones to offer student help with home repairs.

The oil dealer, Conquistador Oil Heating & Air Conditioning, is splitting the cost of roof and gutter repair with the student group.

The business and F&M students also are splitting the cost of materials for an electrician, Macias Home Improvement, to upgrade the electrical service and wiring in that part of the house. Macias is donating the labor. York Waste Disposal is contributing the use of a trash bin.

Through arrangements by Byrd, the nearby Ray's Temple Church is organizing meals for the students. They will have food from Venezuela and Belize and African-American soul food prepared by residents of the multi-ethnic neighborhood.

The F&M students and the neighborhood's South Ann Concerned Neighbors group hope to keep the relationship going with later projects.

"It seems like this will be good for the college and the community," said Winston Bowen, 20, of Norristown.

And this, from our college web'zine, The Diplomat, June 25

Bringing Relief Closer to Home

Franklin & Marshall’s Catastrophic Relief Alliance (CRA) has brought willing workers to help in recovery efforts in destinations such as Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Out of a desire to respond to the crises of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Ike, student, faculty and staff volunteers have helped to rebuild homes in storm-damaged regions since 2005.

Now, the CRA is setting its sights on providing aid closer to campus, said adviser Andy Gulati, systems librarian and senior assistant librarian. “I had been thinking about having our group work locally, so we quickly aligned with the South Ann Concerned Neighbors organization and got involved.”

The CRA devoted five days in mid-May to helping a Lancaster resident make her home suitable for an aging family member and is currently seeking other worthy nearby projects. “We want to help our college neighbors,” said Gulati, pointing out that national crises may be the ones that grab the headlines, but smaller crises also deserve attention.

Anyone who would like to contribute financial support or supplies to the CRA is invited to contact Sandi Smoker at the Ware Institute for Civic Engagement.

another 24/7

2009-05-08T12:20:00.000-07:00

A few pics from another non-stop Library season

circ desk is a beehive of activity

overload

Rachel Martin was at the Library EVERY single day, for four years, it's true

Naomita is under suspicion

mousetrap

making good use of the microform room

beach blanket bingo, and coffee

this might end poorly

she used ALL those books!

Jenna is stressed

fishbowl

Nicole turned an art paper from a pamphlet into a book

smoking 30 feet from the entrance

Computer, coffee, bed, pillow, ventilation - what more could you want?

melts in your mouth, not on your Library books

lobby living room

second level sliver

Rachel multitasks - research, makeup bag and Powerbars

over & out

Birdwatcher is Friend of the Library

2009-04-16T09:39:00.000-07:00

Author Elizabeth J. Rosenthal spoke about “Roger Tory Peterson: World Naturalist and Inspiration to Generations,” on April 9 to an enthusiastic audience

Rosenthal is author of Birdwatcher: The Life of Roger Tory Peterson.

A lifelong civil servant, Rosenthal became fascinated with birds in 2002. She is an avid reader of birding books and takes frequent trips to watch and study birds. Her Burlington, N.J., home is surrounded by bird feeders frequented by loyal patrons.

Below are a few photos from the event.

Christopher Raab, Archivist, introduces Elizabeth Rosenthal.

Hot Topics & Dry Documents

2009-03-26T11:39:00.000-07:00

Do you ever feel like reading the federal budget? Do you want to know EVERYTHING that's contained in the Stimulus Bill? Worried about Afghanistan? Nervous about flu pandemics?

Have we got a resource for you!

Tom Karel (above), Collection Development Librarian and government documents guru, maintains a web page containing a section of noteworthy and timely government reports called, Hot Topics & Current Issues.

Recent additions include:

Proposed Fiscal 2010 Budget (Obama's budget)

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (PL 111-5)

Recovery.gov (tracks stimulus spending)

House Reports on President Bush's Abuse of Executive Privilege

Financial Crisis Timeline

GAO reports on gas prices

The Strategic Posture of the United States

Be sure to check Hot Topics & Current Issues frequently for more essential reading.

And contact our Gov Guru, Tom Karel by email or phone at tom.karel@fandm.edu or 717.291.3845 for all your Gov Doc needs!

F&M 360

2009-03-20T07:50:00.000-07:00

Standing on top of the rusty bridge, taking a 360 view of all the activity taking place at the former Armstrong property. New athletic fields to the west, and LGH(?) activity to the east.

You can take your own 360 with our resources from All Around the World!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T12:47:00.000-07:00

Irv, our Lucky Library Leprechaun!

By the numbers...

2009-03-15T01:34:00.000-07:00

A few fun facts & figures from the Spring term...

- 402,799 - pages printed in the Library and Martin Workroom
- 39,435 - pages deleted by GoPrint, that would have been wasted
- 70,354 - Library homepage visits (counted once per browser session)
- 1,029 - items added to Library collections, with the 2009 pub year
- 192 - students in Shad-Fack the night of March 10, busiest so far
- 14 - brand new recycling units added in Shadek-Fackenthal
- 1 - new roof added to Shad-Fack (maybe we'll leak a little less!)

Celebrating Scholarship

2009-03-11T09:48:00.000-07:00

The 7th Annual event was held March 5 in the Shadek-Fackenthal Library Academy Room. Sixty professors and professional staff produced 111 pieces over the previous calendar year.

That's A LOT of scholarship!

Here are a few pictures of the celebration.

NEW Recycling containers

2009-02-24T10:33:00.001-08:00

Big, bright blue and green recycling units have been added to various locations in Shad-Fack.

The BLUE units will handle any plastic, aluminum and glass containers. Currently, this doesn't include coffee cups.

The GREEN units are for office or printer paper.

Please help us stay clean and green!

NEW Library food policy

2009-02-24T10:18:00.000-08:00

Starting this term Shad-Fack is experimenting with a new space where students can enjoy snacks and other food, along with their studies. Muffin & potato chip eating students no longer need to step out to the foyer or porch.

The Periodicals Reading Room is to the left as you enter the Library lobby. We've changed the furniture a bit to provide a cafe-like feel.

While food and snacks are restricted to the Reading Room, covered beverages are still permitted throughout the Library.

This is a work-in-progress, so there may still be future changes.

Suggestions welcomed!

What's all that banging!

2009-02-13T08:19:00.000-08:00

Shad-Fack is getting a new roof. While new shingles are not as glamorous as a new dining area in the Library, it will finally end year's of leaks.

Here are a few photos of roof work involving BIG equipment, which is always exciting!

Something for nothing

2009-02-11T20:27:00.000-08:00

In these days of belt-tightening, its reassuring to know that your favorite Library is here to serve all of your research needs, for FREE!*

Books checkout for free. Articles can be obtained for free. Interlibrary Loan and E-Z Borrow are free services. We won't even ask for a nickel at the Ask Me desk for research help!

So before you consider paying for articles, or buying books through Amazon, stop by the Ask Me desk or Ask Andy for assistance.

* i.e. paid for by the Library

a few 24/7 moments

2008-12-21T11:57:00.000-08:00

Just a few snaps of students, enjoying (OK, tolerating) their stressful end-of-term.

Happy Holidays from your friends at the Library!

Winter scene, looking out Shad-Fack onto Gerhart.

Shy Corinne and smiling Nicole.

The remaining 3 seem unaware that number 4 has imploded, in a pile of paper.

Cute couple, enjoying the best seat in the house, the second-level lobby corridor.

The always busy, always buzzing first-level.

Lauren finds a comfortable spot.

The Lobby Lounge.

Who knew the Library had a gang. Good thing I knew their sign.

Irv was a college dean in another life. He had had enough of ALL THOSE CIGARETTE BUTTS!

Lockup your laptop!

2008-12-12T08:48:00.000-08:00

It's reassuring to know that students feel safe and comfortable in the Library. But unattended and unsecured laptops and valuables provide a would-be thief with opportunities. Don't create that opportunity!

Shad-Fack and Martin have security cables and locks available for checkout. There are many mounts available throughout the Library, and locks are programmable.

All Around the World

2008-11-26T14:25:00.000-08:00

(Balading, Great Wall, China)

The Library has many sources to obtain information on countries. History, policies, economics and social issues.

JStor is excellent for historic events and primary resources.

Lexis-Nexis is good for current events, in national and international newspapers.

PAIS provides a range of materials, including politics, economics and social issues.

CIAO offers research in international affairs from NGOs, conferences and policy briefs.

World Development Indicators contains statistical data for over 200 countries.

Our Catalog contains a wealth of country info, including materials written in native languages.

and many more!

Stapling 101

2008-11-06T11:34:00.000-08:00

Many people know that the Library prints more than 1.5 million pages each year. But what they don't know is that we go through more than 5 million staples! Here's why...

Some students conduct stapling at Olympic levels, exerting more force on one staple than a 20 foot crock might exert on the leg of an unwitting gazelle.

In a mere 15 minutes, we might accumulate a snarling pile of staples, looking something like this

A beautifully executed staple job might look like this

Whereas a poorly executed job might turn out to be a ghastly horror

But with careful practice, and a healthy dose of patience, you too can become a happy and content stapler!

T * E * X * T * I * N * G

2008-10-25T16:29:00.000-07:00

It's all the rage. Thumbs flying, people yapping silently, in jibs and jabs of language.

And the good news, the Library is right here, ready to handle your next research question. Just text our email address

ask.andy@fandm.edu

and we'll get back to you ASAP.

Answers will be quick but brief, as most cell carriers won't allow for more than 160 characters.

The BIG SHIFT

2008-09-15T13:22:00.000-07:00

All summer, (almost) the ENTIRE Shad-Fack book collection was shifted, to escape tight spots on many shelves. More than a 1/4 MILLION books were moved!

Call numbers still run A-to-Z, from 3rd level to the Ground floor, including compact-shelving. Please see our call number guide for details.

This GIGANTIC job would not be possible without A LOT of help. Many thanks to Library staff for their assistance.

Special thanks to summer-staff students for their tireless efforts: Chao Bian '11, Melissa Farr '08, Phil Friedrich, Jason Owens, Jeremiah Paskus '09, Sam Price '09, Sam Sprunk '09, and Abigale Zoltick '10.

Obama rally at Buchanan Park

2008-09-06T09:12:00.000-07:00

Barack dropped by the park on Sept. 4. With only a few days notice, some 15,000 people showed up to see the Democratic candidate for president.

More photos can be found here.

F&M Votes invited McCain to appear, and now we'll get to see the Republican candidate on Sept. 9.

More information about candidates and voter registration can be found here.

Wake up at the Library

2008-06-24T12:16:00.000-07:00

Alumni weekend & Shad-Fack.

Just a few pics from the "Wake up at the Library" event on Saturday morning, June 7th from 8:30am to 10am. Sort of an interesting contrast to the "24/7" feature below!

the 24/7 that was

2008-05-09T14:02:00.000-07:00

24/7 was on the tame side this term. Maybe everyone planned so well in advance that papers and exam prep were done WAY before Spring Arts.

Or maybe not!

While there weren't the campers and sleepers of years past, there were still a few good pictures to be had. Enjoy the photos and have a great summer.

Congratulations seniors!

Louise Stevenson holds court.

Cut-and-paste, like the old days.

Happy Birthday!

Caught in the act with the BIG salad.

Miles is just SO embarrassed (or annoyed).

Smokers' Lounge.

Wendy finds a cool, quiet corner on the ground level.

Pat is "buried" in her work.

Axe Andy

2008-05-08T15:31:00.000-07:00

Written and filmed by student Carlos Ridolfi. For the *REAL* Ask Andy, and answers to ALL of your research questions, visit us HERE.

Busiest April Ever!

2008-05-02T19:38:00.000-07:00

The Library website had more hits this April than any other April over the last 8 years. That's 24,528 unique hits! Only last October exceeded last month's count, by 524 hits. What does this mean? It means, despite everything - Google, Wikipedia, Sparknotes - you still find enormous value in the Library website and Library resources. It's either that, or your profs find your Wickipedia citations less than impressive!

JStor has new L@@K

2008-04-25T04:12:00.000-07:00

Just in time for peak research periods, JStor decided to (again) change their looks and functions.

As before, JStor starts with a Basic search. You would be best served by choosing Advanced Search.

At Advanced Search, you can narrow your query according to Disciplines. After arriving at relevant articles, choose PDF to launch and print files in Preview or Acrobat. Note: Often Firefox will deliver PDFs more effectively than Safari.

For fun and fortune, JStor can be added to Facebook.

Ask Andy if you have any questions.

Anatomy of a car crash

2008-04-23T13:35:00.001-07:00

A car took an erratic left, squeezed between the brush and a light pole, and ended up on the library lawn. Fortunately no one was seriously hurt.

More pics

Can this be Spring?

2008-03-20T05:31:00.000-07:00

How's your Spring break? Ours' has been soggy, although today is quite nice.

If you take a moment to pull your sun-tanned toes out of the sparkling sands to do a bit of research, refer to Frequently Asked Questions for the basics. And by all means, email Ask Andy if you get perplexed.

We know you miss us enormously. Here's what the campus looked like yesterday, just in case you were feeling homesick.

NEW Scanner

2008-03-07T17:11:00.000-08:00

By popular demand, we have added a scanner at Shadek-Fackenthal. The scanner is attached to a computer behind the ASK ME desk.

Scanner files can be moved to your eDisk space or flash drive. And files can printed to the new color printer.

See a librarian at the ASK ME desk for assistance.

Best Places for Studying

2008-03-06T18:31:00.000-08:00

I have been studying at Franklin and Marshall, our fine institution, for four years and have, over time, learned the value of location, location, location. Where do you find yourself getting the most work accomplished? Is it in the privacy of your dorm room or off-campus apartment, surrounded by the noise of the espresso machine in Jazzman's, at a nice big table in Shad-Fack, or amidst the choas of the college center? Let me divulge my secrets to acheiving academic success with you. The campus is full of unknown places to study, so get your pen out and take note...

If you're looking for a place to do work on your laptop, try:
The Academy Room (2nd floor Shad-Fack)
The Periodicals Room (1st floor Shad-Fack)
The Atrium in the Life Sciences & Philosophy Building
Joseph International Center (open until 8pm Sunday-Thursday)
The Women's Center Lobby (Lower Level of College Center)
The Writer's House (open until 10pm, Sunday-Thursday)

If you want a quiet place to read/ write:
All of the above places are great
2nd and 3rd foors of Shad-Fack
East or West Patio of College Center
The Other Room (North Pine Street)
Lawn of the Theological Seminary
English Department Common Room (3rd floor Keiper)

Places with a little more action/ people:
Ben's Underground
Commons of MBT and Ware College Houses
College Center (between 2pm and 5pm, and after 9pm are tranquil, for the most part)
College Corner Cafe (the bagel place)

Hope this helps. Once you find a good spot, it's up to you if you want to share it with the world. I was selfish and waited until my last 7 weeks of college!

Peace,
Erin

Erin's first blog

2008-02-26T18:41:00.000-08:00

Erin Statler, Library student assistant, works in the Shad-Fack computer classroom, helping students with tech and basic research questions. STARTING TODAY (okay, maybe in a day or so), Erin will contribute to the Library Blog. Erin hopes to provide a student prospective on how to best use the Library, for research, for studying, or for catching up on some much needed sleep!

Freeman's Journal

2008-02-25T09:16:00.000-08:00

(click on picture for larger view)

Dr. Russell and Judith Eaton of Mount Joy, PA recently gifted a significant collection of the Freeman's Journal newspaper to the F&M College Library. The newspapers are contained in a single, period-bound volume and cover the years 1789-1792

The collection consists of 173 four-page issues, tax-related and New Year's broadsheets.

The volume was the personal copy of renowned 18th century printer Francis Bailey, containing ink annotations and corrections.

Stop by Archives & Special Collections to take a look at Freeman's.

Color printer

2008-02-25T08:37:00.000-08:00

By popular demand, we've added a

COLOR PRINTER

at Shad-Fack. ALL computers (except those in the classroom) can print to the new printer.

Cost is $.50 per sheet. Follow THIS LINK for more information regarding GoPrint, or stop by the ASK ME desk if you have color or B&W printing questions.

Hawk vs. squirrel

2008-02-21T10:22:00.000-08:00

Well, in this case the squirrel lost. Don't allow yourself to fall prey to faculty hawks. Let the Library provide research sanctuary!

5 random pictures

2008-02-12T13:34:00.000-08:00

On the snowy walk through campus.

tours continue

smiling tree

contrast

the brave

toasty Library

An Exciting New Resource

2008-01-07T13:45:00.000-08:00

Your tax dollars at work, courtesy of the US Department of Labor -

January 7, 2008

The Wirtz Labor Library of the U.S. Department of Labor has just launched it's Wirtz Labor Digital Library!

This Digital Archive collection is intended to bring the diversity of
the Wirtz Labor Library's collections to those not able to reach the
library in person. The collection includes: U.S. Department of Labor
publications, trade union and labor history materials, labor leaders'
biographies, statistical abstracts and more. The Digital Library includes features that allow users to search or browse the Digital
Archive collection. For more information on the Digital Library and its
collections view the User's Guide, Conditions of Use statement, and
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

We hope this will be a valuable resource for you and your libraries.
Currently we have uploaded only approximately 45 titles but have
digitized over 400. We are working to mount these additional titles and
they should be available shortly. This will be an ongoing program so
eventually it should be a resource for those interested in the targeted
issues.

Please access this web page through our home page. In the Yellow Find it box, click on Wirtz Labor Digital Library.

This resource, and many others, can be found on the Library's Government Information Page.

Chilly

2007-12-13T16:11:00.000-08:00

The Library is open 24/7 till Sunday at 5pm.

Flood Flashback

2007-12-05T19:31:00.000-08:00

Back in the summer of 2002, we had a terrible flood in Shadek-Fackenthal. About 2500 gallons of water deluged the lobby and floors below and above. Below are a few shots taken during the renovation.

P.S. Don't forget that Frequently Asked Questions is a good source for answers to basic access and research questions.

5 random pictures

2007-11-12T08:55:00.000-08:00

5 seasonal shots, on the way and in Philadelphia

P.S. Academic Universe (Lexis-Nexis) is a good source for full-text newspapers, as well as legal and business information.

Recent Events

2007-10-31T07:12:00.000-07:00

Bill Seeley attracted a crowd for the first-ever Library lecture on October 25.

The Library again hosted "Wake Up in the Library," which is sure to become a regular event during Homecoming.

Rockies will win in 5

2007-10-12T16:50:00.000-07:00

I will bet the blood on Curt Shilling's sock that the Colorado Rockies will beat the Boston Red Sox in 5 to win the World Series.

P.S. JStor is a good resource for full-text journal articles.

5 random pictures

2007-10-05T06:07:00.000-07:00

Pictures taken in and around F&M in the last 24 hours.

If in doubt... RESTART!

2007-09-26T16:30:00.000-07:00

A restart on any public computer in the Library will return the computer to its original condition, and ready for anything. A restart on your personal computer will clear out old cache, and help your computer run more efficiently.

Rock Me Amadeus!

2007-09-26T16:16:00.000-07:00

Classical Music Library offers an impressive classical music collection, allowing unlimited access to a continually growing collection - currently over 20,000 titles.

New & Improved Tech Room at Martin, new furniture at Shadek-Fackenthal

2007-08-16T06:03:00.000-07:00

Returning students will notice renovations to the Science Library's Tech Room. You'll find two distinct study spaces furnished with comfortable seating for four. Everything is movable and adaptable - wheeled chairs with storage space and swivel desktops, wheeled tables which can be expanded for group-work, a large white board, and of course enhanced wireless connectivity! The room still accommodates microfilm/fiche viewing and printing, and access to Windows-based software for the sciences.

Shadek-Fackenthal added 10 chairs (same model as Martin), and had many study chairs reupholstered.

First study space, tech equipment along the room perimeter.

Second study space, with whiteboard.

New chairs in Shadek-Fackenthal, in Diplomat blue!

One librarian's sneak peak at Life Sciences

2007-08-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

It's happened. There is now a building on campus that is bigger than Shad-Fack. Oh well, we can always build out back! PICTURES HERE

24/7, another term-end in pictures.

2007-05-27T04:37:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Class of 2007! Choose the smiling Jennie Keifer pic above for "24/7" snapshots.

Baby Catherine

2007-04-13T13:13:00.000-07:00

Catherine Eichler Raab was born to Christopher (Archivist) and Kristin Raab, Monday, March 26th at 10:57 am - all 6 lbs., 6 ounces and 21 inches of her!

Baby C above, sporting her warmer with numerous ID bracelets, heart monitor, umbilical cord clamp, and "low jack" anti-theft leg bracelet.

- Andy

COMPUTER ROOM OPEN ‘TIL LATE!

2007-04-09T18:18:00.000-07:00

As Finals approach and the work-load gets worse, REMEMBER that the computer work room on the second floor of Shadek-Fackenthal Library is OPEN UNTIL 11:45pm SUNDAYS to THURSDAYS!

It’s open to everyone for general use- whether you’re working individually on a paper or on a group research project. There are plenty of computers available. It’s a pleasant and quiet atmosphere. There’s also a student assistant to help you!

- Roshni

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something BLUE

2007-03-17T18:56:00.000-07:00

Over Spring Break, the Shadek-Fackenthal lobby had a bit of a makeover. Our rose-pink undertones were traded for Diplomat blue, to give the lobby a regal look.

Click on the thumbnails, or stop by the Library to take a gander.

The rose relief was a vestige of Library additions and renovations in 1983.

A lovely palette of blue, black and white. Many ladders, many chances for bad luck.

Holding our breath till we turn BLUE. Spring Break is over - we can breathe!

- Andy

One Half Million Books!

2007-02-22T13:45:00.000-08:00

The Franklin & Marshall College Library adds 10,000 to 12,000 books to the collections each year. The Library has been developing its fine resources since the first documented library collection of 136 books was bequeathed to Franklin College in 1821 by William Reichenbach, Professor of Mathematics from 1787-1821. The collection has grown by leaps and bounds - 50,000 volumes in 1928, 100,000 in 1944, 200,000 in 1969, 300,000 in the mid-80s, 400,000 in 1996, and NOW ... One Half Million volumes in 2007.

It just so happens that the celebrated book is Reading Greek Vases by our Provost & Dean of Faculty, Ann Steiner. Imagine the odds!

CLICK HERE to follow the route our 500,000th volume took, from ordering to acquisition to cataloging to circulation before it could be checked out and enjoyed by our patrons.

- Andy

Things you MUST know (like DUH!!):

2007-02-21T18:50:00.000-08:00

You can check out a book for 4 weeks at a time.

You can renew your book ONLINE…so easy….
1) Go to MY ACCOUNT in the library catalog
2) Choose “renew my materials”
3) Enter your FandM ID barcode for user ID, and the last four digits of your SS# for the PIN.
4) Check-mark the items you want to renew

You can check out up to 50 books at one time!

Books on reserve can only be checked out for two hours at a time.

You CANNOT check out reference books.

- Roshni

DID you KNOW?

2007-02-12T19:52:00.000-08:00

Hello!

My name is Roshni. I blackmailed Andy (yes, the “Ask Andy” cartoon boy is real but I’m not quite sure if the black cape gives him flying powers…) to get the password for this blog so I can tell you more about this library. We have access to some amazing resources! I am a senior and I regret not making the best of what this library provides.

DID you KNOW?

….IF you don’t find the book you’re looking for here, you can check E-Z borrow or Interlibrary loan. I’ve never had to wait more than 10 days for the book to arrive.

…The library website has a “How To CITE” link. Helpful hints on MLA, APA and CHICAGO style. GO NO FURTHER….you’ve got the information you need right here.

…The COMPUTER ROOM on the second floor is open until 11:45pm from Mondays to Thursdays. Not quite 24/7….BUT GOOD ENOUGH!

…You can make an appointment with a librarian and learn about effective search strategies (print and online resources) for your research papers.

- Roshni

5 random pictures

2007-02-07T19:41:00.000-08:00

On the walk to work, enjoying the first significant snow of the season.

Life Sciences roof holds up quite well under the snowy burden.

These bikes haven't moved in months, and aren't budging now.

Quiet moment over the steam vents.

Ben is undaunted.

Yet, there is still swimming.

- Andy

Ask Andy

Minty fresh!

In the Library

Oops!

Happy Nigel Tufnel Day! 11/11/11

Left weeping...

MARCH ON

Between two columns

Dry spell

Library conference

Early to bed, early to rise

Gag order

I've been working on the railroad...

Brand new term!

Hypnotic Snowmen

All night long

Noisy Neighbor

Big Event that nobody noticed

Printer virus

Look up!

Trying out post by email

Yikes, too few days left!

Goings & comings

Best wishes Renate Sachse!

Wake Up in the Library!

Shad-Fack has a new patio

Best wishes Dale Riordan!

Comings & Goings

Studying on the steps

NEW LIBRARY WEBSITE!!

A Sincere Apology

Spring has Sprung!

Departures

Even more snow

Snowed In!

Introducing Colleen!

Galveston relief effort

Snow scenes

Perfectly perky

Ambiance

Wintery Mix

Moving files

Staring out windows

Fall fell

Family Weekend

Please

100,000 printed pages

Lonely Labor Day?

RENEWAL

F&M students help city woman in need

another 24/7

Birdwatcher is Friend of the Library

Hot Topics & Dry Documents

F&M 360

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

By the numbers...

Celebrating Scholarship

*NEW* Recycling containers

*NEW* Library food policy

What's all that banging!

Something for nothing

a few 24/7 moments

Lockup your laptop!

All Around the World

Stapling 101

T * E * X * T * I * N * G

The BIG SHIFT

Obama rally at Buchanan Park

Wake up at the Library

the 24/7 that was

Axe Andy

Busiest April Ever!

JStor has new L@@K

Anatomy of a car crash

Can this be Spring?

*NEW* Scanner

Best Places for Studying

Erin's first blog

Freeman's Journal

Color printer

NEW Recycling containers

NEW Library food policy

NEW Scanner