Talking in the Library

Short Cuts: Let's Get This Party (Semester) Started!

Well, you've been back in classes now for a couple of weeks --- are you in the routine yet? Back to planning for homework time around your work schedule and social life? Have your research times scheduled into your week? No, not yet? Well, Kansas State University Libraries have a few cool tools to help you get your research going and your study time organized.

First, let's talk about planning for your papers this semester. We have a cool tool called the Assignment Planner (I know, it's not catchy, but don't judge it by its title - it really is the bombdiggity). You can enter the due date for your paper and it will give you a breakdown of all the steps involved in research and writing the paper with a timeline for each. The tool even provides links to resources that explain what each step entails.

Second, while we're talking about research and resources, you really need to use RefWorks to organize your resources. Haven't heard of it before? Well, it's pretty much the coolest thing since sliced bread. For real. It helps you organize all of the sources for your research into separate folders, allows you to export the citations for your reference straight into RefWorks, and will even --- here's the cool part --- put together your bibliography page for you in the proper citation style. Yep, that's what I said --- does the page for you (granted, it sometimes makes mistakes so you still want to check it against a style guide). Want to learn more about RefWorks? Luckily for you, we teach classes on how to use RefWorks --- for free!!! You can sign up for one here. We'll be adding more classes throughout the semester so if you don't see a time that works for you, check back later.

And last, the best tool "evah" is really our Ask-a-Librarian service. You can get help from a librarian along the way at almost anytime (well, not at like 3am) by stopping in to see us, giving us a call, or even IMing with us when you need help. The different ways you can contact us are on the right side of the Ask-a-Librarian page. If it is 3am and you do need help, we have put together a Frequently Asked Questions list on the left side of the page to help you out --- and if you can't find your question there, just contact us during our service hours or shoot us an email and we'll get back to you as soon as we get in the building.

Most important --- just let us know if you need help with your organizing and planning --- or really, with any question you might have at all. Even if we don't know the answer, we'll try to get you to someone who does. Have a great Spring 2012 semester!

m. e. fritch

Short Cuts: The Great Shift

Genesis:

In the beginning, Special Collections in Hale Library looked upon their amassing materials and realized it was not so good. Empty space in their area was non-existent and they soon came to the conclusion that if they were going to take in anything more, they were going to have to expand the borders of their archival Eden.

So after much discussion and deliberation it was decided that Stack G would be the answer to their spatial concerns and they looked upon Stack G and saw that it was good.

Exodus:

The only thing standing in the way of giving them the space they needed was a bevy of books from Hale Library's main collection already occupying Stack G. A great migration of empty space needed to take place starting in Room 117 and working its way up to G in order to clear out the books. Thus the Great Shift began.

WIth the help of able-bodied students not afraid of tedious and repetitive work, the main collection of Hale began to move and a parting of empty shelves began to develop with every book that was shifted.

Around the halfway point of reaching Stack G, some snares were tripped.

The first was the music and art books of the main collection, traditionally very large books, would have permanently ended up in one of Hale's stack levels on shelving not designed for oversized books which in turn would have been a terrible waste of precious empty space. So the workers approached the administration and said "Let our music and art books go... from our main collection!"

It was agreed to do so, and the "Music and Art Collection" was created consisting of all books with M and N call numbers. With that, it was decided to extend the shift beyond Stack G to the beginning of the main collection to create empty space on 4th floor to place this new collection outside of call number order in its own special location.

The second snare was the prospect of the odd location of Stack F now that G would be closed to the public. Keeping portions of the main collection in Stack F would have been confusing to patrons searching for materials. However, Stack F was a perfect size to fit Hale's mass of printed government documents.

So the workers returned to the administration and said "Let our Government Documents go... to Stack F!" They agreed with this prospect as well and thus, Stack F was cleared of main collection books as well to now be a separate isolated location for these special materials.

Revelations:

Stack G was clear of books, Stack F now housed Gov Docs, and the Music and Art Collection had been placed into its new home on 4th floor. Yet an apocalyptic amount of empty space still remained on 4th floor. Far too much space to let go to waste.

The LP's return to public space and can be found on the 4th floor

So, with the final day of Fall 2011 finals week at an end, the students vanished from the campus of Kansas State University leaving behind all their school possessions. In that emptiness a roar of thunder was heard as an army of staff and librarians began changing the face of 4th floor, tearing down and building up shelving to place many more of Hale's smaller collections there for group and specialized study.

There is much group and class space to be had between Juvenile Literature (partially pictured here) and Curriculum Materials

When the flurry of transporting books died down, 4th floor became home to nearly all of Hale's detailed collections. In addition to the Music and Art Collection and the media cabinets, these collections include:

• Juvenile Literature
• Curriculum Materials
• Media and CD Oversize
• LP's
• Folio (now Oversize) and Oversize (now Oversize Plus)
• Music and Art Oversize
• Music Reference

Additional seating between Curriculum Materials (left) and Oversize (right)

For more than a year this project came to pass and with it challenges as well as enlightenment. However, it was to be for the benefit of the patron to better serve their study and research needs. The staff and faculty of Kansas State University Libraries were grateful for the patience and acceptance of the work taking place from student and non-student alike.

With the project now complete we at Kansas State University Libraries hope that the ease of research, study, and available materials be with you all.

Ben Hedges

K-State Keepsakes: Julius T. Willard--Mr. K-State History!

32nd in the Series

Numerous K-State alumni and students on campus today recognize Willard Hall, many having attended classes in the building, primarily chemistry and more recently art.  However, it is doubtful that most are aware of the structure's namesake, Julius Terrass Willard, even though he has a longer official assoication with K-State than anyone in the history of the university, 71 years!

Willard was born on a farm in Wabaunsee Country, Kansas, in 1862, the same year the Morrill Act establishing the Land Grant College system was passed and signed by president Abraham Lincoln.  Willard's father, Julius E. Willard, was a member of the New Haven colony known as the Beecher Bible and Rifle Company that settled in the area.  His mother, Mary Elizabeth Terrass, was the daughter of one of the first settlers of Alma.  In 1884 he married Lydia Pierce Gardiner of Wakarusa, Kansas; they had one son, Charles Julius Willard, who graduated from K-State in 1908.

Willard entered K-State as a student in 1879 and graduated in 1883 with a degree in general science.   In  1886 he was awarded a master of science degree (thesis title; The Extent to which Chemistry should be Taught in Agricultural Colleges and Why).  The college conferred the doctor of science degree upon him in 1908.  Except for ten months of graduate study at Johns Hopkins, he was affiliated with K-State from his freshman year until his death in 1950.  During those years he was a student, instructor, professor, chemist, head of the chemistry department, director of the Agricultural Experiment Station, dean of the Division of General Science, acting president (1914 and 1918), vice president, and college historian.  He even built his own house at the southeast corner of the college grounds in 1894!

He published numerous scientific articles related to chemistry and agriculture;many were printed in the Industrialist, the college newspaper.  A book by Willard published in 1894 on organic chemistry was adopted as the textbook for the college (An Introduction to the Organic Compounds of Every-Day Life).  He was very active in the Kansas Academy of Science, serving as president in 1902, and other professional organizations.

Willard was released from his duties including those of vice president to become the college historian beginning January 1936.  For many, this would have meant being put out to pasture but not in Willard's case!  For years he had collected historical materials related to K-State as its unofficial historian, and written pieces about the history of the college.  His new assignment allowed him the time to write a history of the college which was published in 1940 (History of Kansas State Collge of Agriculture and Applies Science).  The book is now part of the K-State Libraries digital collections.

Willard was revered by the students.  For example, when Acacia fraternity established a chapter at K-State in 1913, Willard was the first to be initiated into the fraternity.  In June 1936, Acacia presented a portrait of Willard to the college painted by David Overmyer, the artist who painted the murals in Farrell Library, now Hale.  The portrait hangs in Willard Hall.  

After a fire destroyed Denison Hall in 1934 (which housed the chemistry and physics departments), construction of a new physical science building began in 1937.  The next year the Board of Regents approved naming the building after Willard and a cornerstone was laid April 20, 1938. 

Although Willard's academic and administrative accomplishments, including the significant role he played in the development of K-State in the first half of the twentieth century, are immeasurable, to the staff of the University Archives it is his contributions to preserving the history of K-State that remains his legacy.   Willard's passion for the history of the college allowed him to save so much of its history through his book and other means.  He rescued countless archival records from departments and individuals on campus, wrote pieces on historical aspects of the college, many unpublished, and created a card index (approximately 100,000 slips filed alphabetically by person, place, and subject!) to the contents of the college newspapers, faculty and Board of Regents minutes, and other items.  The index, and a variety of other sources Willard is responsible for creating and collecting, is available to everyone. Not a day goes by that the staff of the department and/or researchers do not consult a resource attributable to Willard's efforts.

In July 1950, Julius Willard died at his desk in Anderson Hall delving into K-State's history.  As the university prepares for its sesquicentennial celebration in 2013, a large portion of K-State's history for its first 100 years would be lost and impossible to recreate without the dedication of Julius Willard, after all, he was here for 71 of those years!  It is easy to understand why Julius Willard can be considered Mr. K-State History!

Tony Crawford, Curator of Manuscripts

Sources.  University Archives: Vertical File Photographs, Willard, Julius T. and Willard Hall; Vertical Files, Willard, Julius T. and Willard Hall; Willard's master's thesis and publications.

What's the word from RefWorks?

While we've been moving one million volumes here in Hale Library, RefWorks, my favorite citation management system, has been housecleaning and renovating. And they still have a few projects in the pipeline.

Shifting away from GroupCodes. Remember how you needed to enter that code for RefWorks or Write-n-Cite if you were off-campus? Not for much longer! Instead, RefWorks is using our account information to match us to our universities.

As part of this change, some of us at K-State received an email this morning saying that an account's username had been changed to our email address. If you are like me, you may have had a tiny little stress attack because you have more than one account. It's ok, you still do! The accounts that get this message haven't been used in more than 18 months. When I read the email more closely, the original account name is provided, so I vaguely remembered which one they were talking about. You should still be able to log into your other active accounts as you always have.

Wondering just how many RefWorks accounts you have floating out there? On the RefWorks login page, you can click on "Forgot Your Login Information." Enter your email address and you will shortly receive an email that lists all of the RefWorks usernames and passwords associated with that account. Please note, if you have a shared account (like with other researchers on a team), you may not see that one listed if someone else's email was used to create it.

Write-N-Cite 4--Yes, version 4! For once, Mac has leap-frogged ahead of Windows with Write-N-Cite, so you can update your Write-N-Cite if you are a Mac user, but have to wait a few more weeks if you have a Windows machine. I have WNC4 on my Mac at home and already love it. Remember the funky placeholders? Gone. Now you see the formatted citation right away. It also handles footnotes much better. Also, WNC4 is now a toolbar (Mac) or ribbon (Windows) in Word and once you've connected, it stores your account information, including citations, in Word. You can log out if you want, like if you share yoru computer.

Unfortunately, WNC4 wasn't released until after the updates to the computer labs at the beginning of the semester. This means that if you are in the InfoCommons, you will still use WNCIII on the Windows machines and WNC v.2.5 on the Macs this spring semester.

RefWorks 2.0 -- if you haven't played with RefWorks in the past 12-18 months, the whole interface is sparkling new. And orange, very orange. Still you can see your folders and references faster and even create subfolders. Plus, clicking on a link to a reference doesn't take you away from your workspace, it just opens a smaller window. Learn more by watching this demo of RefWorks 2.0.

With all of these changes, we're working on a new RefWorks help center. It's not ready for primetime, yet. Hopefully we'll be able to make it live in the next few weeks.

Short Cuts: Tech Tips for a New Semester

A warm welcome to everyone! While you've been away, we've been busy; Hale Library has been abuzz with activity, such as moving unique collections and installing new carpet. There have also been some technology enhancements over the break. Check out the links below to popular technology and equipment topics.

• Ask a Librarian is a great way to contact us, as well as view a variety of frequently asked questions, such as:
  • Equipment topics
  • Printing topics
  • How do I use a scanner and how much does it cost?
  • How do I use a photocopier and how much does it cost?
• iTAC has implemented a mini IT Help Desk just to the west of Library Help on the 2nd floor. For the first two weeks of the semester, the desk will be staffed Monday-Friday, 9:30am-2:30pm, so feel free to stop by with your computer, eID, and printing questions.

• Hale Library InfoCommons Mac computers should no longer get stuck at the log-on screen.

• Hale Library InfoCommons Mac computers now have access to the color printer. The print dialog box will display "Hale-MDC-Color" and you can retrieve your color print jobs from the Media Development Center print station in Hale 213.

• Since it's the beginning of a new semester, Kansas State University folks are allocated $10 for printing in University Labs, including the InfoCommons.
  • For more information, see University Computing Labs and K-State InfoCommons.
  • Need to add more money to your ID? See Cat Cash.
• Good news! Personal laptop users, you can now print from your laptops to campus printers. You will, however, need to set up wireless printing on your laptop first. Follow these instructions for PCs and Macs:
  • Wireless printing instructions for PCs
  • Wireless printing instructions for Macs

We hope you have a great semester. We're happy to help you, so stop by and see us at Library Help, contact us by email, text, chat, or make an appointment with a librarian at Ask a Librarian.

Lisa Loberg

Short Cuts: Ask Dave!

Q: Hi Dave! I went to the stacks to checkout Sandman by Neil Gaimen, but I found volume one (Preludes and Nocturnes) was missing and I don't want to jump ahead. The catalog says it's not checked out, did someone steal it?

A: So, the Sandman series is pretty awesome, and if you haven't read it, you should.

Now. Go ahead. I'll wait.

Seriously, I'm not moving on until you go pick it up and read it.

Okay, so, cool, right? Told you.

But, for the poor fellow hoping to check it out, it wasn't there, even though the catalog said it was. What trickery! Are we a bunch of liars? Were we assailed by a thief? There's a clue as to what happened but it's a pretty easy thing to miss. See how on the catalog it says "v. 1 Temporarily Shelved at Hale Library Reserves--Request at Library Help, 2nd Floor?" That means it's on reserves for a class, in this case ENGL 400: The Graphic Novel. (And just so you aren't confused, you cannot see what class it's on reserve for from this screen.)

The way reserves works is a professor decides a particular work is crucial to a class. The library may own it, but with so many people potentially wanting to read that book, the professor asks us to place it "on reserve" for that class and then informs the students that it's available at Library Help on 2nd floor. If you are in Engineering or Architecture, your professor might tell you to go to Fiedler or Weigel Library for reserves.

Reserves' loan periods are always way shorter, generally two hours at a go, so that more folks get the chance to take a quick look at what they need. We'll always tell you when your reserve item is due. Pay attention because we do charge late fines for reserve items, and they start adding up the minute they are late (here's information about reserve fines in Hale).

Sometimes a professor wants us to have a book on reserves that we don't own, usually a textbook, and they bring in a personal copy. These books only live in reserves, never in another location. You won't be able to search the catalog for these titles --- we don't create a record for it in our catalog because the professor is only loaning it to us, we don't own it.

Don't worry, you can still find out if we have something on reserve for your class. In the catalog, click on the "Course Reserve" tab and search by Instructor, Department, Course, or Section to browse the books listed for your class. Textbooks on reserves are the exception rather than the rule, so don't assume we have your Principles of Soil and Plant Water Relations book here. I mean, we do in this case, but don't assume it.

If you want to check with us if something is available, just ask at Library Help on the 2nd floor or by chatting with us on IM. Your best bet is to know your professor's name and/or the course number. So, you know, bring your syllabus because who can remember that sort of thing, right?

Have more questions about reserves? Check out our Ask-a-Librarian FAQs.

Short Cuts: Welcome Back! Let's Spring into the New Semester!

Students, faculty, staff of K-State --- welcome back! Welcome back to classes, textbooks, group projects, research papers, and 50 degree weather ... in January? Gotta love Kansas!

It's a new semester and a new year, so let's make some New Year's (or new semester?) resolutions. K-State Libraries have some goals of our own this 2012. We want to make this year (and, really, every year) about you, the students. We have many new and exciting library tools and features to introduce to you this year to prove that commitment! We are super excited to present you with these new tools throughout the semester --- they will make your research, your classes, and your library experience easier and more valuable.

In order to stay up-to-date with the latest opportunities to view and try the newest tools, keep reading these Short Cuts articles by following K-State Libraries on Twitter or by making it a habit to track our news feed on the K-State Libraries home page.

Here's a sneak peak of what's to come this 2012 spring semester:

• A new search tool that will allow you to search across all of our databases and physical collections in one easy, comprehensive search.
• A new look to the K-State Libraries website. It'll appear different from our original website, but more similar to the current K-State home page.
• Tips on how to navigate the new building layout in Hale Library because the location of collections and books have undergone a Great Shift, you might call it.

ANTH 204, Expos I, Expos II, and Public Speaking students --- you'll want to check back as we'll have specialized articles for you! Other classes --- we didn't forget about you --- we'll also have articles that discuss additional tools to assist in the research, projects, and papers you'll tackle in your classes.

As you can see, spring 2012 will be an exciting, action-packed semester. You don't want to miss out on the new resources and tools to come! Ready, set? --- Let's dive right in!

Relax with a good story

Now is the time to get caught up on that best seller you wanted to read.  Or even better as you drive home and back over the break, listen to it!  From diet books to mysteries to biographies to fantasy the Leisure Reading Collection is sure to have something for you to relax with.

The collection is located on the 2nd floor of Hale Library, to the right of the main entrance.  So stop by for a good read.

Below are some of the titles that arrived in December.

Title: V is for vengeance / Sue Grafton.
Author: Grafton, Sue.
Callno: PS3557.R13 V46 2011

Title: Dance with dragons [sound recording] / George R.R. Martin.
Author: Martin, George R. R.
Callno: COMPACT DISC PS3563.A7239 D36 2011b

Title: Hot water : a novel / Erin Brockovich with CJ Lyons.
Author: Brockovich, Erin.
Callno: PS3602.R6325 H69 2011

Title: War room : the legacy of Bill Belichick and the art of building the perfect team / Michael Holley.
Author: Holley, Michael, 1970-
Callno: GV954 .H66 2011b

Title: Templar magician / P.C. Doherty.
Author: Doherty, P. C.
Callno: PR6054.O37 T47 2011

Title: Micro : a novel / Michael Crichton and Richard Preston.
Author: Crichton, Michael, 1942-2008.
Callno: PS3553.R48 M53 2011b

Title: Come a little closer / Dorothy Garlock.
Author: Garlock, Dorothy.
Callno: PS3557.A71645 C66 2011

Title: Arizona ambush / William Johnstone with J.A. Johnstone.
Author: Johnstone, William W.
Callno: PS3560.O415 A63 2011

Title: Then again [sound recording] / Diane Keaton.
Author: Keaton, Diane.
Callno: COMPACT DISC PN2287.K44 A3 2011b

Title: Three-day town / Margaret Maron.
Author: Maron, Margaret.
Callno: PS3563.A679 T47 2011

Title: And so it goes : Kurt Vonnegut : a life / Charles J. Shields.
Author: Shields, Charles J., 1951-
Callno: PS3572.O5 Z855 2011

Title: Angel makers / Jessica Gregson.
Author: Gregson, Jessica, 1978-
Callno: PR6107.R44493 A84 2011

Title: Threadbare / Monica Ferris.
Author: Ferris, Monica.
Callno: PS3566.U47 T47 2011

Title: Supervolcano : eruption / Harry Turtledove.
Author: Turtledove, Harry.
Callno: PS3570.U76 S87 2011

Title: Girl with the dragon tattoo [sound recording] / Stieg Larsson.
Author: Larsson, Stieg, 1954-2004.
Callno: COMPACT DISC PT9876.22.A6933 M3613 2011

Title: Steve Jobs / Walter Isaacson.
Author: Isaacson, Walter.
Callno: QA76.2.J63 I83 2011

Title: Covert warriors / W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV.
Author: Griffin, W. E. B.
Callno: PS3557.R489137 C69 2011

Title: Down the darkest road / Tami Hoag.
Author: Hoag, Tami.
Callno: PS3558.O333 D69 2012

Title: Sleepwalker / Karen Robards.
Author: Robards, Karen.
Callno: PS3568.O196 S57 2011

Title: Diet rehab : 28 days to finally stop craving the foods that make you fat / Mike Dow, with Antonia Blyth.
Author: Dow, Mike.
Callno: RM222.2 .D6773 2011