Welcome back students and faculty! To kick off our first blog post of the new school year, I thought I would write about how we spent our summer vacation here in the library. I plan on going into greater detail on some of these changes in later blog posts, but for now, just an overview of our activities.

Upon entering the library, you may have noticed something different about the main level. Over the summer, we shifted our Reference Collection down the stack so we could take the first four rows and turn them into half stacks. This allowed us to open up the library and provide easier access to our staff & librarian offices.

We spent a lot of time working in the University’s Special Collections Room, which is housed in the library.  There are a number of collections stored in this room- Marcus Aurelius Collection, Christmas Books Collection, Specialty Press Book Collection, Bruce Rogers Collection, Bookplate Collection, etc. We did a full inventory of all the items in that room and exerted some much needed organization in there.

Another exciting project involved converting all the University’s photographic slides to digital images. The conversion is finished and now the images are waiting on a quality control check to make sure they are correctly oriented.  We’re currently brainstorming ways to make this image collection available to the EU community for viewing.

There have been a number of changes to the library’s electronic resources. ProQuest now has a brand new interface, which is much more user friendly. 

Old interface

New interface

You’ll also notice that we no longer have access to NetLibrary. In late Spring, EBSCOhost announced their acquisition of NetLibrary. Now, NetLibrary is called the Ebook Collection in EBSCOhost. The same titles are available as before. Users will access this collection through EBSCOhost’s interface.

Ebook Collection in EBSCOHOST (previously NetLibrary)

We also have even more resources for you to use! Added to our growing list of databases are

• Biodiversity Heritage Library:  BHL is a consortium of 12 natural history and botanical libraries that cooperate to digitize and make accessible the legacy literature of biodiversity held in their collections and to make that literature available for open access and responsible use as a part of a global “biodiversity commons.”
• Films on Demand:  A web-based digital video database that allows you to view streaming videos from the Films Media Group any time, anywhere.  Over 800 videos are available for in-class use and remote viewing from the library, in the dorm, or at home.
• NCBI Bookshelf:  Provides free access to over 700 texts in life science and healthcare. A vital node in the data-rich resource network at NCBI, Bookshelf enables users to easily browse, retrieve, and read content, and spurs discovery of related information.
• Networked Digital Library of Theses & Dissertations (NDLTD):  Union Catalog contains more than one million records of electronic theses and dissertations. For students and researchers, the Union Catalog makes individual collections of NDLTD member institutions and consortia appear as one seamless digital library of ETDs
• Research in Ministry:  Indexes and abstracts projects and theses from over 100 Doctor of Ministry (DMin), Doctor of Missiology (DMiss) and Doctor of Educational Ministry (DEdMin) programs accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS).

Well, it wasn’t all work and no play this summer in the library! Some of our staff traveled during their vacation time.  Staff members visited family in Kansas City, MO; took in some great music in Tennessee; and relaxed with family in the Outer Banks in NC. Hopefully you’re beginning this term relaxed and ready to get to work again. We certainly are! Welcome back!!!