Summer Rooftop News: The Good and the Bad

Do you want to hear the good news or the bad news first?  Ok, the good news is that the library will be getting a new roof top this summer!  The bad news is that this means our summer reading series will not be held on the rooftop.   After much consideration (who wants to really sit inside and listen to poetry on a beautiful summer evening?), Dennis & I have decided to do something unconceivable:  We are taking the summer off!  We promise to return in the fall with a full roster.  So, enjoy the upcoming Buffalo summer (keep writing) and we’ll see you in September!

Web Site Update: Easier Database Access and New Subject Guides

The new section on the left-hand side of the library home page provides faster access to our lists of library databases and subject guides.  The databases and guides pages themselves have also been redesigned in order to help you find what you’re looking for more easily.  Here is a brief overview of what’s new.  Please feel free to e-mail me if you have any further questions.

Library Databases

You can now browse database titles, and search database titles and descriptions.  On the home page, either select a letter from the drop-down menu next to “Browse databases by title” and click “Go!” or enter your search terms after “Find databases by keyword” and click “Go!”  As you browse the new database list itself, you’ll see a host of new features, including icons indicating if a database requires a Buffalo State username and password, if the resource features multimedia content, and more (hover over any of the icons on the database list for an explanation).

Subject Guides

Subject guides contain databases, Web sites, links to the library catalog, and other resources to help you with your research.  On the home page, choose a subject from the drop-down menu, and click “Go!”  Once you get to a specific subject guide, on the left you’ll see a photo and contact information for the subject’s “liaison”: a librarian who works closely with an academic department.  Below that, “Book Call Numbers” lets you know what call numbers are used for the subject, and the “Call Numbers and Book Locations” link shows you how to actually find materials in the library.

Use the categories in purple under “On this page” to jump down to specific types of sources, such as periodical databases, Web sites, local resources, professional organization, and more.  You’ll see the new subject guides also display icons next to certain resources.  As is the case with the databases, these icons let you know if a Buffalo State username and password is required, if there is multimedia content available, and more.

Subject guides are also now able to be searched from the guides’ start page.

Desktop Reference and the Electronic Reference Shelf

This section was on the library home page before, but it has now been expanded with the “Electronic Reference Shelf.”  Choose a subject for which you wish to view selected reference resources, and click “Go!”  You will be taken to the reference section of that subject’s guide, where you will find links to books in the library catalog, reference databases, Web sites, and more.

What Happened to the Support Section?

The links in the “Support” section have mostly been moved to the Information Commons Web site.  There is where you will find Advisement Assistance, the Application Support Desk, and the Writing Help Center.   Circulation and Research Help 24/7 are still on the library page, on the main orange bar, under Services and Research respectively.

Duplex Printing Is Here

As part of E. H. Butler’s green initiative program, all library printers will be programmed for double-sided printing beginning March 9th.

Please join us in “using less” and saving more!

Note:  Duplex printing applies to B&W printing only.  Single-sided options will be made available to those who require such accommodations.  Please see a student assistant at the Application Support Desk for assistance with single-sided printing.

Did You Know?

* If offices throughout the United States increased the rate of two-sided copying from the 1991 figure of 20% to 60%, they could save the equivalent of about 15 million trees?! (Goldbeck, 1995, Choose to Reuse).

* The average daily web user prints 28 pages daily–that’s a lot of trees!

Stop! Take a Screenshot

Wait!  Before you hit the “print” button, consider saving paper by taking a screenshot (or “screen capture”).

On a Mac, hold and release Apple + Shift + 3.  The screen image will be saved to your desktop.  To print just a portion of the screen,  hold and release Apple + Shift + 4.  The cursor turns into a crosshairs icon.  Drag your mouse to select the portion of the screen you want to copy.

On a PC, press the print screen (or “PrtScrn”) button to copy and save to your clipboard.

Energy Audit Demo this Saturday!

Hello!

Did you know that Buffalo has the 2nd highest heating bills of any city in the country?? This doesn’t have to be! Our old homes can be upgraded to improve their energy-efficiency and reduce heating costs, but we must first identify what the problems are and how they can be fixed.

A professional technician will be joining us at 153 Eaton this Saturday, February 21st, at 3pm to do just that, by conducting an energy audit, and we are psyched to invite you over for the demonstration. The auditing demonstration should last about an hour, and will be followed up with some great info about how to finance upgrades to reduce those heating bills, as well as plenty of time for questions.

Please invite your friends and family to join us!

Warmly, Whitney

buffalobasics@gmail.com

Print Periodicals Moving to Second Floor

We are moving our first floor print periodicals to the second floor northeast quadrant where they will be combined with the older periodicals shelved there. This semester will be a time of transition. If you can’t find what you are looking for, please ask at the reference desk.

Exhibit: Homage to a Combatant Poet: Aime Cesaire

By Musa Abdul Hakim
(Showcases, lower lobby)
This exhibit was on display February 2009

Buffalo State’s “Elm Leaves Magazine” seeking Submissions

Elm Leaves Magazine is currently accepting submissions of all forms of writing and media. This is open to all Buffalo State students, alumni, faculty, and staff.

Submission deadline is March 1, 2009. Multiple submissions are encouraged!

Submit to:

elmleaves@gmail.com

Hard copies can be submitted to Ketchum Hall, Room 309

To view past issues:

www.buffalostate.edu/library/elmleaves

All You Need is Love: Rooftop Poetry Club Valentine Day Poem Contest

We’re sorry…the contest is closed.

Congratulations to this year’s winners: David Lampe, Peter Grieco, and Tom Renzi!

Calling all love-struck poets!  The Rooftop Poety Club is hosting our 3rd annual Love Poem contest.  Ok, forget about the structure of the sonnet, and just send us your best free-form stuff.  One love poem per poet please (well you can submit more than one to the blog, but let us know which one you want as your “official submission”).  Sorry– you must be associated with Buffalo State (student, faculty, or staff) to be eligible for the big prize,  but anyone is welcome to post a love poem!  We know, we know…but times are tough.  Contest deadline: February 14th.

Exhibit: Photographs by Hayley Adelson

(Circulation gallery)
This exhibit was on display February 2009

Creative black & white portraits, silhouettes, and more by student Hayley Adelson.