A Few of Our Favorite Things
- Government Documents Blog
- Library Blog
- Library Home Page
- New Books
- LibriVox - Free Audiobooks of Works in the Public Domain
LibriVox recordings are audio books created by volunteers. All books are in the public domain, and the recordings may be downloaded to your computer or mp3 player. The variety of works available is as diverse as the interests of the volunteer readers who record them, and include Chaucer, Jane Austen, Matthew Arnold, Henry James, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and George Sand, to name just a few. This is a wonderful site that we invite you to explore.
University Library News, January / February 2010
Print Management System
As you may have heard by now, Samford University is implementing a Responsible Printing Initiative. In January 2010, print management was activated in most computer labs on campus. All the library’s public computers are now printing through the GoPrint print management system. This means that when a user sends a print request, a popup window will appear, and the user will be required to log in order to print.
Current Samford students and employees must use their Samford username and password to login. (This is the same username and password used for email). Please note that during the spring semester, the university will be monitoring but not charging for printing.
Each student receives an allocation of "print points." The allotment equates to 500 pieces of paper, single- or double-sided. That means that students can get up to 1000 printed pages on 500 sheets of paper. Students have two 500 sheet allotments: one is called a quota, and the second is called an allowance. Students who have used their quota can click the “next purse” button and continue printing from their allowance.
Please note that employees have the same quota as do students.
For our guests who are not current students or employees, the University Library has set up guest logins so that they can print. Guests should ask at any service point (circulation desk, reference desk, lab help desk, or special collection help desk) for a guest login.
We trust that this initiative will help all of us to become more mindful and selective about our printing habits.
For full details, including screenshots of the GoPrint system, please click here.
Black History Month
February is Black History Month, and the University Libraries will be hosting a display of books from our collection to honor this important event starting Monday, February 1.
A recent New York Times article discussing efforts to preserve the Rosenwald Schools is particularly well-timed. It is titled "Historic Black Schools Restored as Landmarks," and discusses the over five thousand schools, workshop spaces, and teachers' housing built for the education of African-American children in the early twentieth century with funding provided by the Chicagoan and Sears Roebuck vice-president Julius Rosenwald. Although many of these buildings no longer remain, several hundred still stand, and efforts are under way to preserve them as vital historic landmarks. Read more about this fascinating story here.
We have also constructed a new LibGuide specifically for African-American history. You may view it here: http://samford.libguides.com/afamhistory.
Tagging and Rating Features
You may not know that the library catalog has features that allow for rating and tagging by members of the Samford community. For example, click on this link: The Rosenwald Schools of the American South. Note that beneath "Publication Info." are the words "Rating," followed by a series of stars. You may rate the book by clicking on the number of stars of your choice. You will be prompted to log in using your Samford user ID and password. If multiple users rate a particular item, the average rating will be displayed when catalog users mouse over the rating area of that catalog listing.
In the Encore version of the catalog, for example, please see the title Louis Armstrong: An American Genius. Note the words "Add a Tag" immediately beneath the title and publication information. If you click on "Add a Tag," you will be prompted to log in with your Samford user ID and password. After that, you will be able to add the descriptive tags of your choice. We are working on a feature that will allow users to search for materials by tag.
Please note that ratings and tags reflect the opinions of Samford users.
Linking to Database Articles from Blackboard
Problem: You linked from your web page or Blackboard course to an article in an online database, but your students don’t see it when they click the link.
Solution: You may have used a session ID instead of a persistent link back to the article as you intended. In some databases, the URL that appears in the address bar at the top of your browser is only valid for your visit; using it for return visits will send you to the database’s home page or to an error page instead.
To make sure that you are using a persistent link, use this helpful page: http://library.samford.edu/about/li/blackboard/linksalpha.html . Choose the database vendor for the database you are using to see specific directions for persistent links.
Thanks goes to Lori Northrup for providing this content.
On February 16, Julie Williams will present a Faculty Shop Talk based on her book Wings of Opportunity: The Wright Brothers in Montgomery, Alabama, 1910. There will be a book-signing at 2:00 p.m., followed by the talk beginning at 3:00 p.m. Please click here to learn more about Wings of Opportunity.
Black & White City Paper now available in Library
Black & White calls itself "Birmingham's City Paper," and features weekly articles on the arts and culture, restaurant reviews, current events, and politics. It is an important source for Birmingham news and events, and we are delighted to be having it delivered to the library. Students and other members of the Samford community can pick up copies of Black & White at the front entrance of the University Library, next to the Samford Crimson stand. Our pick-up rate will be monitored, and if we run out (as I hope we do), there is a number I can call to ask that more be delivered.
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