| Transition
to New Library System
This means that for the first time ALL universities and colleges within UW System will be using the same type of library catalog. This groundbreaking cooperation constructs the foundation for UW System libraries " . . . working together as a coordinated university library system." In the future, this will provide greatly enhanced access to the collections in all UW System libraries and expanded resource sharing among campuses for the benefit of all UW students, faculty and staff. The new library system is a big step in that direction. Before the start of the Spring Semester, you will see a web-based interface to the catalog that will provide more options on how to find information. During the coming year, you will also see other added features such as simultaneous searching of the Polk Library catalog and other UW libraries' catalogs, secured access by you to your library record and the ability to renew and recall items online. There will be a fairly short period when Polk Library will be using both the old and the new systems for some functions. This overlap period will begin sometime in early December and will end sometime in mid to late January. Polk Library staff hope to make this transition as smooth and as hassle-free as possible. Please consult article below for details. Will increase resource sharing--UW System-wide. Will provide new ways to search for information with a web-based catalog. Will allow new and expanded user services in the future.
A New Library System? Questions & Answers Some of you may have questions about Polk Library's transition to a new library system and how it will impact you . . . Do library users need to do anything to be able to check out materials once the library moves to the new system? Yes, starting December 1, 1999, all UW Oshkosh students, faculty and staff will need their current, official university ID (the yellow TITANCARD) to check out materials from Polk Library. It contains the information that is needed for using Polk Library's new circulation system. The library will not be able to accept older forms of university identification. The current (yellow) TITANCARD has been issued since mid-August and can be obtained from the TITANCARD office in Reeve Union 108 (hours below). When is the specific date that I can bring back books that were checked out on KeyNotis and renew them on the new system? When can I check out books on the new system? Polk Library's target dates for starting circulation on the new system are between December 1 and December 10. As soon as there is a specific date, Polk Library will announce it and advertise it as widely as possible. We will not be able to check out or renew any material with the old library system beyond the due date of December 17, 1999. Does this mean that faculty and staff must have their books returned or renewed by December 17 to avoid being charged for replacement costs? No. If you renew or bring your books back by January 16, you will not be charged for replacement costs. You will receive two notices, one in December and the other in January reminding you to return or renew your material. Thus, you will have over a month in which you can get your books renewed during this transition. For your information, Polk Library will likely institute some form of electronic renewal for faculty and staff by this time next year. What happens if I do not bring back my books or renew them by January 16? Before the old library system is turned off, Polk Library will run a report on all outstanding materials. All outstanding material will be handled as normal in terms of replacement charges and blocking of library privileges. To avoid this, return or renew books by January 16. If you have an unusual circumstance that makes this impossible, contact me. We can try to arrange some kind of accommodation. How are reserve materials going to be handled during the transition? Reserve materials for the January term will still be accessed through KeyNotis, the old library system. Reserve materials for the Spring Semester will be on Voyager, the new library system. The Reserve/Circulation staff will be very busy with closing down one system and learning a new one so please place your reserve requests for the January term or Spring Semester as early as possible. It will help to ensure that students have the class materials that they need when they need them. When will students, faculty and staff be able to use the new web-based online catalog? The Online Catalog will be the last of the major parts of the system to become operational. Polk Library anticipates that library users will see the new online catalog in late January. Training sessions for users are being planned. Are there other changes of which I should be aware? Yes. When the new circulation system becomes operational, government documents will be checked out from the main circulation desk on the first floor. If I have a question about the transition from the old library system to the new system, whom do I contact? You can bring your questions to me. If I do not know the answer to your question, I will track down the information. You can contact: Patrick Wilkinson, Assistant Library Director, Polk 114, 424-2147,
Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. In most cases, it takes about 10 minutes to get the current (yellow) university ID.
Eyes Wide Open: Look for New Media Are you looking for new software and videos? Then check out the wide variety of new award-winning media at the Educational Media Collection (EMC). We have purchased interactive CD-ROMs and DVDs, educational games, and fantastic videos for use with pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade (PK-12) and university students. When it comes to reviewing the media, you're in luck, because there is a new seven-day check out policy for videos and software. Look for: SOFTWARE The EMC has award-winning, recent software applications in science, math, language arts, ESL, social studies and other curriculum areas. You can use them at the four new multimedia workstations at the EMC or check them out. In science, dissect a frog in BioLab Frog, or search the tropical rainforest for a medicinal plant to save the Incas from malaria in the software program Amazon Trail: Rainforest Adventures. Learn geometry with Mighty Math Cosmic Geometry, and try Carmen Sandiego's Curriculum Library for upper elementary and middle school in history, language arts and math. KidSpeak 10-1 and Curious George Learns to Spell teach spelling, writing and speaking skills. Create a play and learn about history while viewing American Girls, or learn geography skills by creating maps in Neighborhood Map Machine. And there's more… If you're interested in simulation games then SimCity 3000 is for you. The player designs, builds, and manages a city while coping with crime, pollution and natural disasters. Or you can try the DVD-ROM, Eyes of a Nation, where you learn about the history of the American people through eyewitness accounts. NEW VIDEOS Learn how to be fit and active with the 15-part video series, Lifetime Fitness and Wellness. The EMC has many other videos on health and safety for PK-12 as well as university students. For those of you in the care giving field, the Nursing Skills Video Series and Caregivers Journey are available. If you're a coach or a physical education major these videos are a must: Coaching the Midline Option Rushing Attack, Teaching Kickoff Coverage, Coaching Special Teams and several more. If you are interested in theology then the ten-part video series, Genesis: a Living Conversation is for you. Theologians, artists, historians, and clergy discuss with Bill Moyers stories in the Book of Genesis. Check out our new Annenberg science videos: The World of Chemistry which includes a 13-video series or Cycles of Life: Exploring Biology, a 26-part series. Some other science videos include It's Eco-Logic and Global Warming. Rights from the Heart includes seven animations from around the world which focus on the rights of youth and the difficulties of growing up. There are also several new videos dealing with topics such as racism, stereotypes and prejudices. Let's not forget about classroom teachers! Here are just a few of the many videos we have for educators: Classroom Management: Setting the Tone, Successfully Educating Today's Students, and Teaching in a Hyperactive Society. MEDIA We also recently purchased board games and posters that focus on manners, cooperation and moral education. Look for Playground Rules and Mind Your Manners in the AV area, and posters on honesty and compassion in the EMC poster collection.
Forrest R. Polk Library--Schedule, Building Hours Tuesday, November 23 7:45 a.m. -
10:00 p.m. Please Note. Specific areas and services may have shorter hours than the general library building hours. Regular Fall Semester hours resume on Monday, November 29. For more information on hours, check the schedules posted outside the library, pick up the handouts of hours available at Circulation and Reference, call 424-3320 or go to: http://www.uwosh.edu/library/hours/home.html. Building admittance and services end 15 minutes prior to the closing of the building.
Government Documents Web Page Update: Federal Information Moving to the Web The web page for the Government Depository at Polk Library has been recently updated. It is divided into broad subject areas that will be useful to library clientele. You can find it at: http://www.uwosh.edu/library/depts/docs/gov.html. Most of the agency sites presented on the Government Document's web page allow the user to download or print the full text of document and publications and also graphic map images. An advantage to using government information is that there are usually no copyright restrictions on the information. Three new categories or subject areas have been added to the page--Census and Statistics Sites; Maps, Geography and Weather; and State Department and Foreign Affairs. The Census site has links to the Census Bureau and census information at Oregon State University, University of California at Berkeley and Harvard University. It also provides direct links to Statistical Abstract of the United States, Fedstats (two Census Bureau sites), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics web site. The Map category provides links to sites that have digital maps including the University of Texas's CIA Map Collection, Terraserver (a joint venture of the Microsoft Corp. and the United States Geological Survey), the USGS Digital Atlas and Winnebago County's Wings Map creation site (commercial site). The Maps category also has links to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Weather Service, Intellicast (commercial site), and the National Climatic Data center. The State Department and Foreign Affairs site has links to Country Commercial Guides, Army Area Handbooks, Background Notes, and the CIA World Factbook. If anyone has any questions about the web site or has any suggestions regarding it please call the Government Documents reference phone at 424-3347 or email the acting Government Documents Librarian-Mike Watkins at watkins@uwosh.edu.
Direct Interlibrary Loan Available For those who search for books in FirstSearch's WorldCat database, you can stop filling out those ILL forms for material that Polk Library does not have! A new feature has been added to the database that allows you to request an interlibrary loan of a book from a screen within WorldCat. Questions regarding this service can be directed to Interlibrary Loan (424-3348) or the Reference Desk (424-4333). Patrick
Wilkinson, Editor |