| Vol. 1
No. 3 Fall/Winter 1997 |
http://www.assumption.edu/HTML/Library/libraryindex.html The Newsletter of the Emmanuel d'Alzon Library Assumption College, Worcester, Massachusetts USA |
Table of Contents
Staff News and Fall Highlights
We have had two major changes in staffing this Fall. In October,
Lisa Lammi was promoted to the Circulation Coordinator position. Her responsibilities
include managing both the Circulation and Reserves areas, preservation of
materials and overseeing all the student assistants. Lisa has been with
Assumption since 1986 and was formerly the Evening Supervisor. In addition
to the above duties, she is Chairman of the Worcester Area Consortium Libraries
Circulation Committee. She received her Masters degree in Library Science
from the University of Rhode Island in 1993.
Our new Evening Supervisor is Paul Johnson. Paul received his Bachelor's
in Business Management from Babson College, has an MBA from Assumption College
and an AGS from Anna Maria College. He works evenings from 4-midnight Sunday
through Thursday. Welcome Paul!
The d'Alzon Library was a very active place this past semester. Many evenings
the library was almost filled to capacity and we are most appreciative of
the students' understanding and patience during the busy times. Our 40 student
assistants have also been a great help. Numerous classes visited the library
for special research instruction sessions and over 50 people attended the
various database sessions in the fall. Business has picked up in the Interlibrary
Loan/Reference area. Requests from other libraries are up 33%. We have also
enjoyed working with faculty and students on their research projects.
Our on-line catalog has recently been updated and gives direct
links to related authors and subjects. Hopefully all the minor problems
will be solved by the time this is published. For access outside the library
users may use telnet. The Internet has allowed us to expand our resources
to include databases which sometime give full text articles of journals
not part of our print collection. There is no need to wait for the news
on TV. Online newspapers and TV web sites keep us informed about current
events and do indepth reports on a variety of issues. You can even customize
the news you want to read. Health and business sites have had phenomenal
growth in the past few months. This fall we implemented an e-mail Reference
service for times when the phones are busy or you just need an answer to
a brief, factual type question. Perhaps you would just like to give us a
suggestion or recommendation. Simply send an e-mail to: library@assumption.edu.
Still, we continue to expand our print collection and resources. We subscribe
to 1200 jourrnals and our collection is almost 150,000 volumes. New library
guides in Literature Resources and Career Resources have been created and
all of our guides and checklists will be available through our home page
soon.
We wish you a terrific semester. If you need to escape
from e-mail, pagers, computers, TV, or phones, remember that we do have
a few quiet corners, where you can relax and read a book or leaf through
a magazine without interruption....
The circulating book collection of the d'Alzon Library has been undergoing a conversion from the Dewey Decimal system to the Library of Congress system. Most academic libraries use LC because it allows for greater expansion of topics. When you find a book in our OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog), the call number will be in the upper left hand corner and will look like this:
BX 999 .X99 X99 1994 v.99 Suppl.
When you look for the book on the shelf you will find that the number on
the spine looks like this:
BX
999
.X99
X99
1994
v.99
Suppl.
The LC Classification Label and Its Elements
BX Always
present. 1-3 letters. Broad Subject
999 Always present. Numerals which may include decimals. Narrow Subject
.X99 Almost always present. A letter/numbercode (Cutter) which usually stands for the author. Sometimes there is a date in this position.
X99 Sometimes present. A letter/number code NOT preceded by a period.
1994 Sometimes present. Year.
v.99 Occasionally present. Indication of volume and/or part and/or number.
Suppl. Ocassionally present.
It is important to remember that the first number on the label is always
a whole number and that the subsequent numbers are decimals. If you are
looking for a book that is BX999, you should not be looking in BX90 or BX9000.
Books in the Reference Room on the first floor do
not circulate. They are, however, organized by the same cataloging system.
The circulating collection starts on the second floor at the end of the
bound journals and includes A's and B's. It continues on the third floor
with the C's through Z's. The ends of the book stacks are labelled. We have
computer access to the library's catalog on all three floors.
If you cannot find the item you need, please ask a member of the library
staff or a student assistant to help you.
Why
Our Library is Named The Emmanuel d'Alzon Library By Larry Spongberg
Most of our readers are aware that the Hagan Campus Center is named for our former President Joseph H. Hagan. Many may not know the story behind the naming of our library or of our two library wings.
The building itself is named for Father Emmanuel d'Alzon and was built in 1988. According to the New Catholic Encyclopedia, Emmanuel Marie Joseph Maurice d'Alzon (1810-1880) was born in France of an aristocratic family. Among his accomplishments, Father d'Alzon was the president of the College of the Assumption (France), a secondary school which he tried to raise to university status. Of greater significance for our college, Father d'Alzon was the founder and superior general of the Augustinians of the Assumption. Better known as Assumptionists, this is the religious order that founded and governs Assumption College. For more information concerning Father d'Alzon, read Andre Seve's book, Christ Is My Life, available in the library.
The Fuller wing of the library is named for the George F. and Sybil H. Fuller Foundation of Boylston, Mass., a major contributor to building costs for the library. The Fuller Foundation contributes to projects involved with higher education, cultural institutions, historic preservation, hospitals, community funds, and youth organizations. George F. Fuller was president of Wyman-Gordon Co. from 1914-1943. The Fuller academic building on campus is named for this same foundation. Several Worcester area academic institutions have also benefited from the generosity of this foundation.
The Plourde wing is named for Gloria and Roger Plourde of Paxton, Mass. According to the Assumption College Alumni Directory, Roger Plourde is the president of Custom Coating and Laminating, Worcester. He became an honorary alumnus of Assumption in 1988. The Plourdes made a major contribution to library construction with the stipulation that the entire building be three stories. Original plans had called for that wing of the library to be one story. Thanks to the Plourdes, room exists at the d'Alzon Library for the French Institute, the Academic Support Center, study rooms and the Library Technical Services area. A few years later, the Plourdes contributed one million dollars toward the construction of the Plourde Recreation Center.
Additional information on the construction of the library can be
found in issues of Le Provocateur published during 1986-1988. Feature articles
on this subject are in the following issues: Oct. 31, 1986, p. 1; Sept.
17, 1987, p.2; Feb. 18, 1988, p. 2; Sept. 22, 1988, p.3; Nov. 4, 1988, p.1.
Back issues of the college newspaper are kept behind the Circulation area.
Librarians are relying on online resources more than ever. The d'Alzon library has access to a variety of resources which cover a wide range of disciplines. Please feel free to tell us what you think. From the Databases Available button on the d'Alzon Library Home Page, you may access any of the following databases.
Communication Institute For Online Scholarship
(www.cios.org)
This website provides access to online resources pertaining to the communication
field. It includes ComAbstracts, abstracts within the communication discipline,
and electronic white pages for locating people in the field.
EBSCO (www.epnet.com/ehost/login.html)
The d'Alzon library recently purchased a subscription with EBSCO. Therefore,
this periodical database service has been extended to June 1998. The Assumption
College community has direct access.
FirstSearch (home.prod.oclc.org:3050/FSIP)
This service is now available to the Assumption College community without
a passcode. The FirstSearch network consists of many different databases.
Please be aware that the library is charged per search.
The library is in the process of upgrading the Netscape 2.01 Browser.
We have experienced lock-up problems in FirstSearch, especially when the
Advanced Search feature is clicked. If you encounter similar difficulties,
it may be time to upgrade your browser.
MLA Bibliography (webspirs.silverplatter.com/cgi
bin/customers/c111900/c111900.cgi) -
For all who have been frustrated with the print version of MLA Bibliography,
it's a relief to know that we now have this source online. With a direct
connection for the Assumption community, it's easy to use.
Searchbank
Massachusetts Library and Information Network has offered a six month trial
which is in effect until the end of February. It includes five different
databases which gives access to periodical and newspaper articles, business
and health information. You may access it in the library only. Ask a librarian
to input the passcode.
Remote access is also available for EBSCO, First Search and MLA Bibliography
but you must see a librarian for the exact address and passwords.
Trial Databases
We are planning to try several different
Wilson databases in February. Many of you are already familiar with some
of the printed Wilson indexes such as Readers Guide, Business Periodicals,
General Science, Humanities, Social Sciences and Current Biography. This
new service will not only give citations but abstracts and full text to
almost a third of the periodical titles. Periodicals that are indexed cover
the sciences, humanities, social sciences, business, and current events.
Do you need a little help using online resources?
Come to the Library
to one of the
Databases from the Desktop sessions during the month of February.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays
@ 2:00 pm
Thursdays @ 5:00 pm
Each session should
last around 45 minutes.
Space is limited so please sign up at the Reference Desk.
News from the Acquisitions Desk
by Nina Tsantinis
The Library has purchased over 1100 new books for its collection since the beginning of the fiscal year in June. For more information on specific titles, please click Library News and Guides on the Library web page. There you will see a listing of recent acquisitions.
In addition to these titles, the Library has been the recipient
of over 650 books donated in memory of Professor David Christianson by his
sister Marjory Christianson. He was a daily visitor to the library and a
dear friend to many of us. These books reflect Professor Christianson's
interest in ancient Egyptian and Greek civilizations, as well as his scholarship
in hieroglyphics, ancient Greek, French and Japanese. This generous gift
in his memory will benefit the Assumption Community for many years to come.
Notes from Neighbors |
by Allen Bruehl
Welcome back everyone!!! The Academic Support Center will be open for tutoring
beginning on Wednesday, January 21st by appointment only. If you would like
to work with a tutor, please call X5232 to set up an appointment. The ASC
will be fully operational starting on Sunday, January 25th at 6:00 p.m.
Stop in or call.
The Academic Support Center had a very busy fall semester. Tutors worked with over 500 individual students in 1580 tutoring sessions. Our busiest areas of tutoring were in mathematics, writing, and Organic Chemistry.
We have made some minor changes over the semester break. Matt Deyette has graduated leaving a large hole to fill in History tutoring, so we have hired sophomore Geoff Homoliski to fill the slot.
Diane Ouellette has taken on full-time teaching responsibilities in the English department and the First-year Program, so she can no longer devote the time and energy needed to be the Continuing Education writing tutor. We will miss her friendly face on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. The good news is that Lisa Kleman is returning to take over the Continuing Education writing tutoring. Lisa is also trained as an English as Second Language instructor and has offered to work with students who are non native speakers of English. Lisa will be available to work with students from 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.
The Academic Support Center staff looks forward to working with you this winter and spring.
Kim West, Carol Barnitt and Doris O'Keefe have devoted several hours a day to cataloging the materials in the Archives. Kim and Carol also handle the cataloging of all new materials and donations acquired by the Library. Foreign language skills in Russian and French have definitely improved for these catalogers - thanks to the Archives. Doris, who has been spending evenings and Saturdays working on the Reconversion project for nearly three years, is now devoting much of her time to cataloging rare books and materials for the Archives. There are a few items which Doris has personally cataloged and entered into OCLC where Assumption College is the only library listed as owner. OCLC has over 25,000 member libraries from all over the world so it is quite unusual for a library to be the only one. Doris has a daytime position at the American Antiquarian Society so we have been truly fortunate to have someone with her expertise working on the project. (Doris is also a professional photographer and has taken a few vacation breaks to New Zealand, Ireland and Peru.)
If you would like to see materials located in the Archives, please
contact Father Donat Lamothe. The Archives is open by appointment only.
French
Institute
On Sunday, September 28th the French Ambassador to Washington, M. Francois
Bujon de l'Estang promoted Dr. Claire Quintal, Director of the French Institute,
to Officier in the Ordre National du Merite. That same day, Assumption College
recognized the Ambassador's accomplishments as diplomat and in the area
of international world of finance and commerce by awarding him an honorary
doctor of laws degree.
Dr. Quintal has also been quite busy with the recent publication of an annotated, up-dated English edition of Mary Louise Bonner's book on the French-Canadian immigrants to Woonsocket, Rhode Island. This book was originally published in 1920. Steeples and Smokestacks, last year's French Institute publication, continues to receive numerous positive comments and reviews.
Excellent writing "runs in the family" at the French Institute. A. Leo Caisse, a senior French major and a work study at the French Institute, earned a $1000 award in a competitive essay contest administered by the Saint-Jean Baptiste Educational Foundation. Mr. Caisse has also received a $500 Archibald Lemieux Scholarship for summer study at Laval University.