Polk Library News
October 2007 - Issue 38

Periodical Review 2007 - Expanding Access Pat Wilkinson, wilkinso@uwosh.edu Ron Hardy, hardyr@uwosh.edu

In cooperation with faculty, Polk Library conducted a review of periodical subscriptions last spring. The goals of the review were twofold:

• To discontinue a sufficient number of less-needed print journal titles to stay within the library's material budget for 2007 – 2008.
• To expand, if possible, the number of high-quality, peer-reviewed journals available online for student and faculty research.

Thanks to everyone's cooperation, we were able to achieve both goals. The library discontinued 389 lesser-used print titles for a savings of $128,000. This will allow the library to stay within budget for this fiscal year. Most importantly, the library expanded the number of full text, peer-reviewed journals and other electronic information available to better meet the needs of campus academic research. This expansion includes:

Academic Search Premier – This is an upgrade from Academic Search Elite, an online source heavily used by undergraduates. It contains full text journal articles from over 3,500 peer-reviewed journals and provides coverage from a wide range of academic disciplines. This upgrade was made possible by a Student Technology Fee grant.

ATLA / ATLAS – ATLA is the premier resource for theology and religious studies, produced by the American Theological Library Association. It contains full text journal articles, book chapters, book reviews and multimedia sources in all fields of religion and theology. This resource was made available to us at an affordable price through a partnership with UW Madison. See the article below for more about this database.

CAMIO – Catalog of Art Museum Images Online, this searchable database contains around 100,000 high resolution images of works of art from primitive to modern, all from notable museum collections around the world. The images are cleared for academic and classroom use including Powerpoint presentations and have side by side presentation tools. See the article below for more about this database.

Environment Complete – This multidisciplinary database provides coverage of environmental sciences, environmental law, public policy and more. It includes abstracts from over 1,600 domestic and international journals and full text from over 600 journals and 100 monographs.

SciFinder – SciFinder (CAS) searches literature from many scientific disciplines including biomedical sciences, chemistry, engineering, material science, agricultural science, and more. Access is limited to faculty and graduate/upper division students. It has licensed software that must be installed on your computer to access SciFinder. Contact Ron Hardy (x2097) for more information.

World History Collection Online – The World History Collection offers a global look at history with content about Africa, Asia, North and South America, Europe and the Middle East. World History Collection contains cover-to-cover full text for 150 titles, including many peer-reviewed journals.

And coming in January:

Sage Premier – Sage Premier consists of cover-to-cover full text of over 450 academic journals published by Sage. Topics range from business, health sciences, humanities, social sciences, science and technology and more. As a part of this package, Polk Library will be migrating many of its 60 Sage journal subscriptions to online subscriptions.

In 2007 – 2009, the library's materials budget will face continuing challenges. There are no increases for UWS Libraries in the current budget, now under debate. It has been ten years since the funding for UWS Libraries in the state budget has increased! In fact, Polk Library's total materials budget has declined in real dollars by $56,751 since 2001. In addition, based on a conservative estimate of price increases of 6% a year, the purchasing power of our materials budget has declined approximately $330,000 during the same period.

UWS Library Directors are starting to plan for the 2009 – 2011 biennium budget process. We will need the support of students, faculty and administration to get an increase in funding so we can provide the educational and scholarly materials needed by students and faculty across system. Over the next year or so, we will be asking for your support as the budget for the next biennium is developed.

New Databases: CAMIO and ATLA Cynthia Huebschen, huebschc@uwosh.edu

After last year's periodicals review, Polk Library was able to add subscriptions to a couple of new databases: CAMIO and ATLA.

~

CAMIO attempts to document works of art from museums around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Museum of Modern Art and Fine Arts Museums in San Francisco, and the Asia Society Galleries, among others.

The database presents works of art “from prehistoric to contemporary times,” which are licensed for use for educational and research purposes by students, faculty, and researchers at subscribing institutions. The types of art offered include paintings, photographs, sculpture, drawings, “costume and jewelry,” watercolors, prints, architecture (including fragments and sections), textiles, mixed media, and “decorative arts and utilitarian objects.”

Among the “utilitarian objects” are cups and bowls, vases and containers, tools, and spoons. Examples of paintings include works by Andy Warhol, Rembrandt, John Singer Sargent, Renoir, Henri Matisse, and Cecilia Beaux, and many others, including some “unknown” artists. Photographs include some by Lewis W. Hine, Henry Callahan, and Arnold Genthe. Artists represented by drawings and watercolors include Charles Dana Gibson, Elizabeth Shippen Green Elliott, Edwin Henry Landseer, Vincent Van Gogh, and Christo.

Entries can be browsed by type of work (painting, sculpture, etc.) or by collection. Users can also search by keyword, title, description, creator, date, and other options, and then further limit by collection or collections. Clicking on an entry will bring up a larger image of the work, along with the date, the collection it can be found in, the medium, and the size of the original work. The database includes only minimal information about the artist, but in most cases the known artists could then be searched in Grove Dictionary of Art online for more detail.

CAMIO can be found under the “Art” heading of databases in our subject list, or the alphabetical “List of library search tools” from Polk Library's home page.

~

Over the past few years, Polk Library has been able to add scholarly databases in a variety of subject areas, often through UW System subscriptions. Still, a few subject areas, including religious studies, were noticeably absent from the lineup. So we were pleased to be able to add a subscription in August to the ATLA Religion Database and its full-text companion, ATLA Religion Database with ATLA Serials.

ATLA, available via the familiar EBSCO interface, is “the definitive index for religious and theological literature,” with over 488,000 citations from more than 1,500 journals. The database also includes “more than 215,000 essay citations” from books, as well as “a growing number of multimedia citations.” At present, most coverage is from 1949 to the present, though a retrospective indexing project is underway to include citations from selected journals back to their earliest dates. The ATLA Serials component includes “more than 185,000 electronic articles and book reviews, from more than 80 journals.” Both parts of the database are produced by the American Theological Library Association. They are searchable as one database.

Users will notice a few differences from other databases available through the EBSCO interface. Some of the titles which are available from ATLA Serials rather than links from other EBSCO databases will offer a link that says “Click here for ATLA Serials electronic resource.” A click will retrieve the article in a format that looks slightly different from other full-text retrievals. The “Find It” link will still attempt to find full text from other electronic resources, or in print form in Polk Library. There isn't a quick “Peer reviewed” limit available on the main search screen, as is generally the case with other databases. However, once you retrieve your search results, on the left-hand side of the screen, “Peer reviewed” will appear as one of the available options to refine your search.

There is an index of publications which will offer further information about indexed sources (publisher, place of publication, other titles if a journal, ISSN). There is also an index for "Scriptures" where users can browse and select one or more scriptures about which to search for articles. At the initial search screen, limits are offered by date, journal title, publication type (article, review, etc.) and language. Also available is a limiter for citations which include an abstract, which is available for only some citations in ATLA.

You will find links to the ATLA databases under our subject heading for Religion, or in the alphabetical “List of library search tools.”

Another criminal has been brought to justice by information-savvy students at Polk Library. On Friday, September 7th, students searched, asked probing questions, and ran through the stacks at Polk Library to discover who murdered Professor Cosmo Lorenzo Marcello Artistimo. Professor Artistimo (or "Master Artistimo," as he insisted on being called) was a visiting professor known for backstabbing, painfully dry lectures, an overestimated opinion of his ugly artwork (some made of dryer lint), and generally being oblivious to the feelings of others. Students pieced together the clues and discovered that Dr. Andrea Wahr-Hall was the culprit -- having been denied many opportunities for advancing her career for years (due to Artistimo's meddling), Dr. Wahr-Hall finally went off the deep end when the university decided to build a new gallery for his pitiful lint sculptures and fingerpaintings, instead of funding her own proposal for a grand new piece of artwork.

Comments from attendees:

• "I liked looking throughout the library for the clues and running all over the three floors. It was a help to figure out where everything was in the library."
• "Everyone was so friendly. I felt welcomed. The mystery was a great and fun way to get to know the library rather than just a tour."
• "...I found it an enjoyable experience and would definitely recommend it to others..."

Stay tuned for next year's mystery...

WisconsinEye - Live Gov't and Supreme Court Proceedings Mike Watkins, watkins@uwosh.edu

The proceedings of the Wisconsin Legislature and Supreme Court are now being made available online and on cable television. Earlier this summer live broadcasts of the proceedings of the Wisconsin Assembly aired and now Supreme Court oral arguments will be made available through WisconsinEye which can be viewed on cable television and online at http://www.wiseye.org/.

To view the video on the web site, Windows Media Player needs to be installed on your computer. Many newer computers come equipped with this software as part of the windows package, or it can be downloaded. On the top left of the WisconsinEye page is an icon that you click on to start the video stream after you have selected the program you want to view.

The site tells you which sessions are in progress and can be viewed live while they are in progress. You can also view the sessions at your own convenience from the video archive that is provided. Information is also provided on the web site about which channels are available from your cable provider to view the proceedings live.

The video archive is accessed on the third link down on the left of the screen. The archive list includes the State Assembly, the State Senate, the Joint Finance Committee, Budget committee, other committees, the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, State Supreme Court, Agencies and the UW System and other programs.

WisconsinEye opens the door of our legislature to all of the citizens of Wisconsin. In addition, it is an excellent educational tool to familiarize students with government processes and debates.

Whether you're new to campus this year or just need a review, here are some services at Polk Library that might be particularly useful to you and your students...

Authorize a research assistant

If you are busy and want to save research time you can authorize someone to pick up your items, including interlibrary loans.

One easy step: Print and fill out the Proxy Patron Authorization form and send to Polk Circulation: http://www.uwosh.edu/library/pdf/proxypatron.pdf

Fill out one form this year and the Circulation staff will send you a reminder for next year. This form is also found on the library home page by clicking on the online forms link.

Without this form your items cannot be picked up by anyone else but you. This one step also ensures that you will get email reminders when your items are due and need to be renewed.

Request library materials from 26 UW libraries with your Titancard

Go to the Polk Library home page and click on Universal Borrowing to get books and other circulating items fast from libraries in the UW System (usually only takes 2-4 business days). You can track the progress of your requests by logging into Your Record on the Polk Library home page. UW system libraries have over 20 million books, journals, maps and other documents. See detailed instructions on making requests from other UW libraries here: http://www.uwosh.edu/library/ubhandout.html

Request even more through interlibrary loan

To request articles, or books and videos not owned by any UW library, go to the interlibrary loan website: http://www.uwosh.edu/library/ill.html . Tracking your request is also available.

Borrow a laptop or calculator

Laptops are available for use within Polk Library for a checkout period of 3 hours. Polk Library also has four calculators (two TI-30X IIS and two TI-83 Plus) that can be checked out for 3 hours. Students can borrow these laptops and calculators at the Circulation desk on 1st floor North with a TitanCard.

Individual or group DVD/Videos viewing area

People can watch a video or DVD on 13, 20 or 24-in. monitors with headsets on 1st floor North. Both individual and group viewing areas are available. Just ask at the Circulation desk.

Renew library materials online 24/7 from home —avoid overdue charges

Go to this page and renew your items quickly and easily:
http://polkweb.uwosh.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&PAGE=pbLogon
Then just write the new due date on the due date card in the back of the item.

Best seller collection - Browsing Room

Polk Library has a roomful of popular book titles and magazines, including over 7,000 bestsellers in both fiction (mystery, science fiction, Westerns, romance, etc.) and non-fiction (hiking, cookbooks, sports, exercise and diet books, biographies, etc.). You'll find these on the second floor, north side, in the cleverly named "Browsing Room". You'll also find magazines such as Oprah's O Magazine, Health, Rolling Stone, Glamour, and People. See this newsletter's Browsing Room article for some recently added titles!

Electronic books

Want to get a library book without leaving your office or home?

Here's how you can access your library's eBook collection 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Go to the Polk Library home page and select NetLibrary from the "List of Library Search Tools" menu. This drops you right into the NetLibrary database, where you can search for and read copies of books completely online.

Music CDs

Polk Library has over 1,800 music CDs covering a wide variety of music. Music CDs are shelved on 1st floor North, and there is also quality listening equipment for in-house listening. Check-out period: four weeks for students, semester for staff.

Daytime and Overnight-Semester Lockers

Daytime lockers can be found near the Circulation desk for a deposit of $0.25 (returnable when re-inserting the key).

Overnight-semester lockers can be rented from the Library Office on second floor, P204, for a $10 deposit (returnable when supplied lock is returned).

Congratulations, Taste of Oshkosh Winners!

Congratulations to the winners of our Taste of Oshkosh prize drawing! Many students stopped by our table on September 4th to learn more about the library, hear about the annual murder mystery, pick up their very own Polk Library pencil, and enter our drawing. This year's winners:

• Lewis Oleksy won a $20 Reeve Union gift certificate
• Amanda Plautz won three books donated by University Books and More: Merriam-Webster's Pocket Dictionary, Merriam-Webster's Pocket Thesaurus, and Survival Secrets of College Students

New Bestsellers from This Past Summer Leah Bruckner, Student Coordinator- Browsing Room

Hope you all had a fun and exciting summer! While you were gone, we added some new books to the Browsing Room that became bestsellers of Summer 2007.

Please check out these new bestsellers.

• Janet Evanovich, Lean Mean Thirteen
• Robin Cook, Critical
• Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns
• Tina Brown, The Diana Chronicles
• Conn Iggulden and Hal Iggulden, The Dangerous Book for Boys

Enjoy the Read!

Polk Library Hosts Works of Local Artists Jeanne Foley, foley@uwosh.edu

Polk Library is fortunate to host works of two local artists during the Fall Semester:

• Karla Lauden
  Contents: Successions Series (Works on Paper, Variable Sizes)
  
• Weatherby Ornutt (aka Wm. Greider)
  Bar Series (Collagraphs, Pen & watercolor)

Both collections of works can be found on 1st Floor North in the hall between the circulation desk and the computer lab.

Karla Lauden received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1992 from UW Oshkosh, her Master of Fine Arts in 1996 from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and her Art Certification in 2000 from Lawrence University in Appleton. Karla is currently a full-time art teacher in the Appleton Area School District.

Weatherby Ornutt (aka William Greider) received his B.A. in Art and Art Education in 1984 from UW-Parkside and his M.F.A in Printmaking in 1988 from the University of Arizona. Since 1996 he has taught middle and high school in Shiocton, and from 1999 until May 2007 he taught art education and printmaking courses in the evenings at UW-Oshkosh. He is also the founding and current president of ArtSpace Collective Gallery, 7 Merritt Ave in Oshkosh.

Spotlight on Reference Cynthia Huebschen, huebschc@uwosh.edu

Encyclopedia of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era
Ref. E661 .E53 2005

This well-reviewed set covers a period of U.S. history which is rather unique in Reference books. The set is an alphabetical series of topics ranging from sweatshops to J.C. Penney to Harry Houdini. Many of the entries are biographical, some illustrated. Most entries run 4-8 paragraphs in length. All are signed, and many include a brief bibliography.

Volume three includes a number of special features. The text of thirty “Treaties and Foreign Policy Declarations” includes President Woodrow Wilson's 1919 advocating membership in the League of Nations , and a 1911 report of the United States Commission on Immigration. A section of twelve “Political Statements” includes “President Theodore Roosevelt advocates the conservation of natural resources (1907).” Political party platforms are offered, as well as “declarations and principles of organizations” of the era, such as the Anti-Imperialist League and the Niagara Movement, precursor to the NAACP. The text of selected congressional acts and constitutional amendments, as well as influential court decisions such as Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) can be found here.

There is also a fairly extensive chronology, which notes such events as “George Eastman perfecting the ‘Kodak' box camera;” the publication of such works as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and “The Yellow Wallpaper;” Hawaii being annexed to the United States; and “Charles R. Van Hise becomes president of the University of Wisconsin.” The set ends with a lengthy bibliography and general index.

Hurricanes: A Reference Handbook
Ref. QC944 .F58 2006

This book offers a summary of information on hurricanes, including how they form and dissipate, water temperatures and potential winds, forecasting of hurricanes, various editions of the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, and a chronology of historical events related to hurricanes. A chronological list is included of some significant U.S. hurricanes from 1900 up to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The book also contains a section of biographical sketches, some rankings of hurricanes historically, a directory of organizations with detailed descriptions, and world records. It ends with a long list of further sources and Web sites to consult.

Staff Highlights

• David Ruby, Reference and Instruction Librarian, was hired this past summer for a temporary reference and instruction position for the 2007 fall semester. He is a recent graduate of UW Madison's masters program in Library and Information Studies and has a bachelor's degree in English secondary education from UW Oshkosh. Welcome, David!
• Paulette Feld, Technical Services, was selected for the University's 2007 Outstanding Performance Award. This award "recognizes exemplary members of the classified staff whose activities, accomplishments and service are most deserving of acknowledgement."
• Joshua Ranger, University Archivist, was recently appointed head of the Council of University of Wisconsin Libraries (CUWL) Digital Initiatives Coordinating Committee. This committee exists to "encourage the cooperative development and growth of digital collections in the UW libraries."
• Renée Büker, Outreach Services Librarian, was recently appointed to the CUWL User Services Coordinating Committee. This committee "is charged to investigate and develop effective and innovative programs that promote the use of library resources and services, both on- and off-campus, across the UW System."
• Ron Hardy, Head of Information Resources, was recently appointed to the CUWL Collections & Resource Sharing Coordinating Committee. This committee "is charged to encourage actively cooperative collection building and resource sharing among UW libraries."
• Michael Watkins, Government Documents Librarian and Acting Chair of the Government Information Roundtable (GIRT) of the Wisconsin Library Association, coordinated the planning process for the annual Government Information Day Conference which was held at UW-Madison's Memorial Library on June 1. Twenty-eight government information specialists from all types of libraries in Wisconsin attended the conference.
• Michael Watkins, Government Documents, participated in the selection of the Distinguished Document Award from the State of Wisconsin. The award, which was selected by the Board of the Government Information Roundtable, was presented at the Government Information Day on June 1.  This year's winners were Filing a Petition for Review: A Guide to Seeking Review in the Wisconsin Supreme Court (Wisconsin Supreme Court Commissioners & the Clerk of the Supreme Court) and Wisconsin Land Legacy Report: An Inventory of Places to Meet Wisconsin's Future Conservation and Recreation Needs (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources).