Talking in the Library

Faculty/Grad Library Day is Monday! Seats still available.

Monday is a student holiday (yeah, whoo-hooo.)  Hale Library has decided to celebrate the occasion with our final Faculty/Grad Library Day of the semester.  (Don't worry, we'll have more in the spring.)  You can see the full schedule of classes, or simply register as a grad student or faculty/staff member for a session. Heck, you could sign up for a class during each time slot if you want.  (And you know you want to.)

Hope to see you there!

Serenading optional

I don't get serenaded often.  Then again, I also haven't given a tour of Hale Library and resources to a fraternity pledge class before.  That made last night a pretty cool evening for two reasons. 

Reason number 1: My colleague, Jenny Dale, and I introduced a fraternity pledge class to all sorts of cool stuff about the Libraries (due to its clandestine status, we did not show them the helipad). Most of our tour requests come from instructors and professors.  But we're happy to introduce other groups to the Libraries, too: floors from residence halls, fraternities, sororities, student groups, random group of friends, whomever.  The tours and classes can range from the full-blown tour of the building to focusing on how to research when you are studying abroad. We're amenable to customizing the class or tour for what you want to know. To make requests, you can use the Instruction Menu (choose "Other" as your department) or email us at libinst @ k-state.edu.

Reason number 2: The half of the pledge class that toured Hale with me ended the evening by serenading me with a primo performance of, "Goodnight, Sweetheart." (The loggia acoustics aren't half bad, by the way.) Serenading your librarian is not required, but it will always earn you bonus points.

Grad Student Library Day--Guaranteed Research Methods

Grad students--ride that energy wave of first week good intentions this Friday, August 28th, by attending Grad Student Library Day.  Library Day is your opportunity to learn all about finding full text dissertations, storing and citing sources with RefWorks, or finding and using images, sound, and film for your research--or for your classes if you are teaching. But wait, there's more: business, legal, or congressional research, Google, Interlibrary Loan and Get It, plus a Hale tour and overview of very handy tools.

Library Day is designed like a conference with 50-minute concurrent sessions.  To relieve any scheduling conflicts for you, we're repeating the morning sessions in the afternoon.  Come for one session, two sessions, or stay for the whole day.Since your research pulls from many fields, we've developed sessions that feature multi-disciplinary resources and methods.

We held a Faculty Library Day before the semester started and I made a promise to them that I will also make to grad students.  I will guarantee that any session you attend will provide you with one tool, trick, or resource that will save you hours (at least) in the future.  If it doesn't, contact me and I will treat you to your non-alcoholic beverage of choice (skearns @ ksu.edu).

If you can't make this Friday, we have a joint Faculty/Grad Library Day scheduled for Monday, October 5th--the student holiday.  See the schedule and sign up for this Friday or October 5th.  Hope to see you there!

Faculty Library Day: It's all about you

We miss you.  Now that we've made it so easy for you to research online, we don't get to see faculty, staff, and researchers the way we used to. To resolve that, we decided to hold a Faculty Library Day: a day all about you and your research.  Library Day is designed like a conference with 50-minute concurrent sessions.  To relieve any scheduling conflicts for you, we're repeating the morning sessions in the afternoon.  Come for one session, two sessions, or stay for the whole day.

Since your research pulls from many fields, we've developed sessions that feature multi-disciplinary resources and methods.  I may be biased, but I will guarantee that any session you attend will provide you with one tool, trick, or resource that will save you hours (at least) in the future.  If it doesn't, contact me and I will treat you to your non-alcoholic beverage of choice (skearns @ ksu.edu).

Our first ever Faculty Library Day is Monday, August 17.  Check out the schedule and sign up for any sessions that strike your fancy.  It is all free, of course.  If you have new colleagues, this is a great orientation to the Libraries--particularly the Library Tour and Tools session.  Remember, it's always cool to be a library pusher.

If Monday doesn't work for you, we're holding a joint Faculty/Grad Library Day on Monday, October 5  (that's the student holiday)--bring your research team!  The schedule is the same, and you can sign up now.

Looking out for your grad students?  We're holding a Grad Student Library Day on Friday, August 28th.  They can sign up now, too!

Faculty and Grad Students tell us what you want to learn, when

K-State Libraries is planning a Library Day for faculty and graduate students.  During Library Day, we'll offer classes about conducting research with various tools and resources through the Libraries and beyond.  We'd like to make Library Day as useful to you as possible and would appreciate your answers to this brief survey.

In the past we've offered classes throughout the summer but your feedback indicated that a more concentrated schedule would work better with your schedules.  If the Library Day that works for the most people doesn't work for you, don't worry, we'll keep offering classes in the fall and spring semesters, too.  We're also trying to record and post more classes via the Research Help @ K-State Libraries class on K-State Online that everyone at K-State can access.  Plus, you can always contact your subject librarian!

Bring your class and experience the awesome

I think K-State Libraries are awesome. I’m not just saying that because I work here, though the Dean did give me a little $omething under the table for saying so. Recently, we had some elementary schoolers visit and here is what they have to say about Hale Library (disclaimer: spelling and grammar are preserved to preserve the awesome):

 

“I want to come and squish a beany baby in the book cases of DOOM! That’s a Joke. I Love Your Library!”

“I thought the moving book shelfs werer asome. And that place is realy clean.”

“The moving shelves were cool but unusual. I wish that could be in my library.”

“The check out ting was cool. The book rolle!!”

“I like Your moveing Book shelfs. I like cat in the hat.”

“I really liked your library. Are you sure you have 3,0000 Books there? IF you are…I’m COMEING BACK!!”

Are you a teacher or media specialist who would like your own students to experience such awesomeness? Or do you have a high school class that would benefit from using our resources? Bring ‘em over! You can find more information on our Services for K-12 Students web page.

Stop in, tour Hale

Are you new to K-State, or just wanting to finally learn the secrets of Hale Library, K-State's main library?  We have tours for you--and we're even kicking them off before the semester starts!
The Tour de Hale starts at Hale Library's Reception Desk on the 2nd floor and takes roughly 45 minutes to complete.
By the end of this tour of Hale Library, you will know:

    * where to ask for help
    * how to find something in the library using the Catalog and Stacks Guide
    * how to find your way around the building
    * short cuts that will increase your efficiency when you're in the library to study or for research

Tour de Hale dates and times:
Tuesday 1/13 11:00am
Wednesday 1/14 1:30 pm
Thursday 1/15 11:00 am
Friday 1/16 11:00 am
Tuesday 1/20 10:30am
Wednesday 1/28 10:30 am

If you're familiar with Hale, check out the Library and Research Tools class.  We're adding more to the schedule, but the first two will be held:
Friday, 1/16 1:30 pm
Tuesday 1/20 10:30am

Library and Research Tools classes run about 50 minutes and also meet at the Reception Desk.

We have a slew of other classes coming soon, so keep an eye out here and on our library calendar for dates, times, and registration information.

Questions about our classes and tours?  Shoot us an email at libinst@ksu.edu

Faculty and Grad Students: Sign up for Library Classes Today!

Library classes for faculty and grad students are back for the month of November.  In addition to our classics, we've added new ones to the calendar!

These are typically 50 minute sessions held in Hale Library. We're hoping to offer some classes online next semester.

This semester, the offerings are:
ARTstor (new!)
Free Books & News (new!)
Google & Google Scholar
LexisNexis Congressional (new!)
PubMed
RefWorks
Research & Teaching Tools
Web of Science

Faculty read the class descriptions and sign up.

Grad students read the class descriptions and sign up.

Welcome Expository Writing Students!

We need a catchy name for this time of year, when we host all of the Expository Writing classes in Hale Library's Hemisphere Room.*  My caffeine hasn't kicked in yet, so I have absolutely no witty and memorable, yet not dorky, ideas. Feel free to chime in with your own.

Well, funky name or no, we hope you enjoy your induction into Library Land.  If you want to find all of the cool resources we showed you during class, head on over to K-State Online.  When you log in, look for Research Help @ K-State Libraries.  It should show up as one of your classes (unless you hid it.)  The first page you see is standard K-State Online, but click on the link Click Here for Research Help @ K-State Libraries!  That takes you to the fancy page.  If you look to the right, you'll see there's a link just for Expos Students.  Yes, just for you.  Check it out.  Use it.  Tell us what you think.

*The Hemisphere is on the 5th floor, if you're looking, by the way.

Thanks for your patience during tours

A big thank you to those of you who gamely endured multiple iterations of the library tour spiel yesterday.  Our instruction mission ran smack dab into our study space mission when we were faced with orienting 100+ students to Hale Library over the course of 2 hours.  That meant a total of six tours for that particular group of students, plus another regularly scheduled tour.

By the time I hit my third tour, even I was sick of hearing myself speak.  So, you all rock for a) continuing to study and b) not throwing your highlighters down and screaming "Shut up!  Just shut up!" 

Although, next time, if you feel like chiming in on the spiel, that'd be a nice touch.

All together now: No, you cannot kill anyone with the moving shelves. . .