The F&M Plot

In addition to the current campus first established west of Lancaster city in the early 1850s, Franklin & Marshall College has purchased or owned many off-campus properties. One of the earliest, but lesser known, properties was a large burial plot in Lancaster Cemetery. Today the plot includes the graves of several College presidents and other College-affiliated persons as well as a monument to one president that was once a prominent feature on campus.

choose Comments for more....

Oh the weather outside is frightful

(click on the snowman!)

Two hundred and twenty five hours

That's how long Shadek-Fackenthal Library will be open till close of business December 18 at 5pm. That's plenty of hours to complete those last-minute papers, study for exams, or catch up on sleep! Speaking of sleep, your fellow classmates would be quite happy if you kept noise in the Library to a minimum during these frantic last few days.

Librarians and staff will be available throughout to assist with research, and help with computing and printing problems.

Hey, keep it quiet down there!

The Shadek-Fackenthal Library ground level has been designated as a QUIET floor. BUT, it's up to students to maintain the silence. If it gets a bit chatty down there, kindly approach your peers and mention that they are on the QUIET floor, and to please keep it down. If all else fails, flash them a SHUSH!

I want to fly like an eagle...

Bald eagles, YES, bald eagles have been spotted flying over the campus! Most likely they make their home along the Susquehanna River, where a number of pairs have been seen. So, you might ask, how does this relate to my research, and continued happiness at F&M? Well, over the course of the term this blog has noted a number of good starter resources and ways to get research assistance. You can peruse through the various posts, or ASK ANDY for help. And why, because to fly like an eagle has GOT to be better than flopping like an old Thanksgiving turkey!

PS. 2 free ASK ANDY questions to anyone who can name the title track

Database Spotlight: Jstor

JSTOR (an acronym for Journal STORage) is a large, stable electronic backfile containing the full text of core academic journals in the social sciences, humanities and sciences (over 500 titles!). JSTOR is unique among other full text databases because complete backfiles have been scanned and are searchable online. Their digitization results in a high resolution scanned image, which is a perfect replica of the original journal page.

Printing is also unique. Choose PRINT from within Jstor so that printjob is complete, with correct margins.

Coverage starts with the first issue of each title and stops at a 'moving wall,' a period of 4 or 5 of the most recent years maintained by the journal publisher. As each year passes, another year of issues is digitized and added to the archive. This makes JSTOR a great resource for older materials, but it isn't a place to find the most recently published research on a topic.

JSTOR offers simple, advanced and expert searching, with multiple options such as using keywords, topics, titles, authors and dates. You can also limit by discipline, journal title and publication date range.

The truly interdisciplinary nature of JSTOR becomes evident as soon as you enter the database. Choose the areas you're interested in, or search the whole collection and turn up hits from journals in philosophy, history, education, anthropology and psychology, to name a few.

If you have any questions about using or accessing JSTOR or our other resources, call the reference desk at x4217, or email us at ask.andy@fandm.edu.

Building on the Campus, 1854-1940

Professor David Schuyler gave a fabulous Friends of the Library talk about the first college buildings, and the new(er) buildings that shape and define our campus. Archivist, Christopher Raab can provide more information about this talk, college history, and Friends of the Library.

Open thread

Feel free to comment about anything, including the Library!

Score at halftime

Maybe you're ahead at halftime - already know where to find good info, found some good materials and have decent leads on the rest. But if your team is trailing, and you need to put a few more points on the board before Thanksgiving, there are many ways find good research and ask for help

- at the library homepage, try Electronic Resources By Subject, to narrow your scope to relevant choices
- for quick help you can ASK ANDY, by email or IM
- to make an appointment with a librarian, you can fill this form
- and last (but not least!) you can visit librarians at the ASK ME desk

Warning: if you are counting on Google and Sparknotes, and the belief that "everything is on the Web," there is a good chance your team will not make it to playoffs!

Academy Room makeover

The Academy room, located on the second floor of the Shadek-Fackenthal Library, has recently been renovated. The room is named in honor of Franklin and Marshall Academy, a boys preparatory school affiliated with the College that operated from 1871-1943. The Academy room was originally dedicated in 1983 after renovations were completed to the old Fackenthal Library. At that time, Academy alumni donated funds for the renovation of the room in honor of the school whose original buildings on campus were razed in 1975 and 1977. The current renovation was planned by a committee consisting of Academy alumni, college employees, and an interior designer. The new look of the room is intended to more closely suggest the look and warm feel of the living area of the old Academy building (also known as Hartman Hall). Additional memorabilia displays will be added to complement the room.

On October 8th, Academy alumni met in the room to dedicate a new portrait of Academy alumnus Theodore H. Rupp, a 1931 graduate who has been instrumental in organizing reunions, documenting the Academy's history, and collecting memorabilia for the College Archives. Rupp's portrait hangs on the north wall. Now displayed prominently on the west wall are the reframed portraits of the Academy's long-time headmaster Edwin M. Hartman and his wife Helen Stahr Hartman. A new addition on the south wall is the original Hartman Hall-inscribed doorway lintel saved from the 1975 demolition by Academy alumnus Robert S. Wohlsen.

In addition to hosting Academy reunions, the Academy room is used for Friends of the Library events, and is a popular place for students to study.

Don't forget your FOB

Shadek-Fackenthal and Martin libraries are open to FOB-only access after 9pm. FOBs are available to F&M students from Facilities & Operations Monday - Friday, 8am - 4pm. Faculty and Professional Staff may obtain a FOB by submitting a key request, signed by the Department Chair or Supervisor, to the Service Response Center.

Take 2 databases and call me in the morning

Sometimes doling out research advice by phone, email or IM can feel like an on-call doctor's diagnosis. You can go a long way towards finding good resources by narrowing choices By Subject. Also, think about all the synonymous and related terms that may be connected to your topic. You might do a general Google search, or search your topic in Encyclopedia Britanica to familiarize yourself. But, if symptoms persist, you can certainly make an appointment with a doctor (uh ... librarian!).

What the cell?

As convenient as they may be, not everybody needs to take part in your cell phone conversation. So the next time that oh-so-clever ringtone goes off, you can either join the smokers on the front porch, or sit in the foyer if its raining.

Two most frequent questions

Well, aside from "Can I use this stapler?"

While in your eDisk account, be aware of where you are saving files. The default location is the local computer Microsoft Office folder. If you save to this folder, your files will ONLY exist at that one machine. Always save to Desktop. This is your eDisk desktop, which will follow you to any eDisk logon.

In order to use wireless, you will first need to find a good wireless zone (at least 3 bars on a Mac), then you will need to authenticate. VPN (virtual privacy network) is used to authenticate. The most recent VPN software can be found at http://software.fandm.edu. If you are unsure how to install and use VPN, there are a few helpful tutorials found here.

For further assistance, either see a Librarian at the Ask Me desk or visit Computing.

6 beautiful words

I - Can - Help - Someone - Down - Here

Jazzman's added a second register! This means I can get my caffeine quicker.

(predicted Library segue)

Covered drinks are allowed in the Library, but no food. We try valiantly to keep out the bugs. And, if you do spill, please tell someone. We won't yell at you, honest. The sooner we can clean up, the less damage there might be.

Random library tips

A few tips come to mind with the start of a new term...

- ignore GoPrint jobs you don't want, they will dissappear in 2 hours
- go to Ask Me desk if you want to check on your GoPrint allowance
- always save to Desktop (eDisk), NOT to Microsoft Office on the local computer
- frequently SAVE your files, machines can and do crash!
- you must athenticate in order to use wireless network, use current VPN version 4.7
- Shadek classroom is OPEN for general use when not reserved for class
- always logout of eDisk session (2-step process) when done using a public machine, a machine left logged in is vulnerable to abuse - trashed files, printing to your account...

Feel free to comment with more tips OR if you have suffered from crashes. You might save that ONE person with your story!

Welcome back!

And if you're new to F&M, welcome! Its been another busy summer at the Library - new website, new print-management system. Lots of shifting and weeding, and many additions to print and online resources. As always, Library staff are ready, willing and able to answer any of your research questions. Stop by the Ask Me desk and say hi, or submit an Ask Andy question and we'll get back to you ASAP!

New website

By now you've noticed that the Library website has been revised. Goals were to better promote Library services and to develop a look and feel similar to the college site. Many of the major links have been revised, but you will notice elements of the older site, or inactive links. The website will continue to be developed through the end of the year. TELL US! if you have suggestions or ideas, or you can comment here.

Harry Potter

Is ... really dead? Is ... really evil? If you have asked these questions, you are among the millions of people that read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. This latest book is one of the best in the series. Harry is not as angry as he was in the Order of the Phoenix, and we've been told what Harry must do before he can meet, and hopefully, kill Lord Voldemort. How will J.K. Rowling be able to fit the rest of the Harry Potter saga in the remaining book?

Nikki Rearich (yes, those are her eyes) is a Harry Potter expert, and would love to chat about the series. The Library has all the Potter books... Nikki saw to that!

What (was) new

Welcome to What (was) New. Here you will find old What's New features and other Library news. Feel free to puruse and comment. If you have questions, choose the email link on this site, or submit an Ask Andy question on the Library home page.