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Vol. 4 (1)
Spring 2000
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Inside:
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Emmanuel d'Alzon
Library Link
Sponsor: Assumption College
editor: Carol Maksian
cmaksian@assumption.edu
Contributors:
Dawn Thistle, Director
Andrew Clark, Carol Maksian,
Liz McDermott, Larry Spongberg
Shauna Sutherland, Kimberly West |
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NEW SATURDAY HOURS AT D'ALZON
LIBRARY
Our Saturday hours have changed to 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. These
hours were changed in response to requests to open the library
earlier on Saturdays and to our experience of low usage from
5 to 7 P.M., when most people prefer to focus on dinner.
Once the good spring weather returns, you will be able to
take care of library business in the morning before enjoying
outdoor activities during the afternoon and early evening. Our
hope is that the morning hours will be especially useful to our
evening students who have daytime jobs or other commitments during
the week.
Andrew Clark, our Weekend Supervisor, is eager to serve your
library needs. Come in on Saturday morning to see if the new
schedule makes the rest of your weekend planning easier. As always,
we are interested in your feedback concerning this change. |
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Library
Online Resources Seminar
On April 13th the Library Reference Staff will be giving a
presentation on Library Online Resources in Founders 30 from
2:00 - 4:30 p.m.. This is part of a series of Spring Training
"Web Tours" Sessions being given by Computer Services.
Find out how you can save time and frustration when using the
Internet and learn how to use the Library's Online Resources
effectively. If you would like to attend this seminar, please
contact the Library Reference Office @ 767-7273 or Ron Bishop
at 767-7544.
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FORTIN COLLECTION RECEPTION
On April 6th at 4:00 p.m., the Library will be hosting a reception
to celebrate the Fortin Collection. The library recently received
a donation of approximately 3,000 volumes from the library of
Ernest L. Fortin, A.A. Fr. Fortin, a member of the faculty at
Boston College since 1971, is an authority in the area of political
philosophy and classical Christianity. Featured speakers will
be Dr. Brian Benestad and Dr. Marc LePain. Everyone is invited
to attend.
A list of newly cataloged books from Fr. Fortin's collection
will be listed each month on the "New Books" page.
This page is found under News and Information on the Library's
homepage. You will also be able to get a complete listing of
available books by searching for "Ernest L. Fortin"
under Series Alphabetical in the Library's catalog. An inventory
list of the whole collection is available at: http://www.assumption.edu/dept/Library/FortIn/fortin.html |
Introducing the new
and improved
Faculty Publications Web Page!
http://www.assumption.edu/dept/Library/facpubs.htm
The listing of faculty publications is now organized alphabetically
and also by department. If you find any omissions, errors or
have any additions you would like us to make to your list of
publications, please notify Dawn
Thistle. E-mail submissions with or without attachments are
preferred and will be added as soon as possible. |
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A Squirrelly
Issue
By Andrew Clark |
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The Emmanuel D'Alzon library has been faithfully serving patrons
since a year that I am too lazy to look up. However, in the past
these patrons have always been human. This fails to recognize
a significant demographic of the Assumption population. You guessed
it: I'm talking about giraffes.
Unfortunately, giraffes have nothing to do with the events that
occurred the weekend of Feb. 26. An adventurous squirrel made
his way into the library sometime that Friday evening and steadfastly
refused to leave. Having a brain several times larger than the
average squirrel, I figured it wouldn't be that much trouble
to herd Gus (the squirrel's new name) toward an open door. After
all, I was sure the squirrel would want to escape, would want
to be free in the fresh and green outdoors, where it could be
promptly be eaten by the bear that was seen around the library
a few months back.
But nooooooo, this was a squirrel that prized reading and
learning, and would not leave even when clearly being herded
toward numerous escape routes. An on-call maintenance person,
and his son and daughter reported to my office after a call to
Public Safety.
"You the one with the squirrel problem?" he said, quite
businesslike.
"Yes, sir," I mumbled meekly.
Well, Gus had a fine old time with the four of us. We trapped
Gus on the 2nd floor and tried to get him into the fire escape.
But Gus knew exactly what we were planning and could be heard
laughing in a tiny high pitched squeak as he jumped from bookshelf
to bookshelf, evading our every move at the last second. I personally
came the closest to nabbing Gus with a trash bin but missed him
by 1 1/2 inches.
Other possibilities for catching Gus were suggested and then
quickly shot down. We didn't have a squirrel call, he wasn't
hungry enough at the time to go for food lures, and a discharge
of firearms would have been too loud for the library. So Gus
remained an overnight guest at the D'Alzon Inn.
In the absence of real squirrel food, we discovered a journal
that Gus chewed through to sustain himself. Mmmmm, paper. That's
good stuff. The trail of half-devoured books led to the 3rd floor,
where the final insult was discovered: Gus had dined on a copy
of Larry Spongberg's Enjoying My Shelf.
"That does it," I said out loud to nobody in particular.
"Gus has gone too far." (Fortunately we were able to
replace the book; Larry says that's why he "squirreled away"
an extra copy….)
The following day, Gus, noticeably weakened, wasn't running around
so fast. Academic Support happened to have some animal crackers
that they used as bait near a 2nd floor window. I was lucky enough
to be nearby as Gus dramatically approached the crackers suspiciously,
sniffing, looked at the open window, and sloooowwwllllyyy exited
the library. We slammed the windows shut, and the crisis was
over.
I can only imagine what Gus is telling the other squirrels
about us at the squirrel bar, or wherever they go to relax. Those
stupid humans! Ha ha! Well, I hope Gus enjoyed his stay, because
I'm going to find his house, or tree, or whatever, and make myself
at home there. Let him try and get me out! I'll show him!
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REMOTE ACCESS
Using d'Alzon Library Services from Off-Campus
Do you know that it is possible to use many d'Alzon Library
Services from off-campus? Off- campus access can be useful for
resident students that are home on vacation and for non-resident
students. Such access is vital for our distance learners who
take courses at locations beyond the Assumption Campus.
To take full advantage of remote access, you need to be registered
in the database as a library user, since our licensing agreements
limit access to members of the Assumption community. If you are
unsure of your status, you can call (508) 767-7271 for more information.
Registered students may obtain needed passwords by calling the
reference staff at (508) 767-7273.
For more information, visit our Remote Access website at http://www.assumption.edu/dept/Library/remote.html.
Try our remote access services during those times when on campus
visits are not feasible. Please alert us to any problems and feel
free to make suggestions that would help us improve these new
services.
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CLASS of 2000
Thank you and Best Wishes! |
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One of our most valuable assets here at the library is our
excellent group of work-study assistants. Our students are usually
the first ones to greet you as you walk through the door, and
they perform a wide variety of roles in helping the library to
provide efficient and friendly service.
We have been very fortunate to employ the following students
from the Class of 2000: Joe Beauchaine, Eileen Cusack, Adria
Guimond, Paula Higgins, Erin McDonough, Anne Mingolelli, and
Chris Nicoletti. We want to thank them for their years of dependable
service and wish them wonderful things for the future. |
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Web Sites to Check
Out! |
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FISONLINE is a new
business database accessible from Library's Databases & Indexes
web page, contains access to U.S. public company information
on more than 10,000 companies (including EDGAR® (SEC )filings).
Also available is, Company Data, International Company Data,
and Global Company Data blended into an expansive database containing
information on over 25,000 companies worldwide. At its main web
page (http://www.fisonline.com/), you access this source of information
by clicking on Member Services.
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MASSBEDROCK-- Reference
Librarians Carol Maksian and Liz McDermott recently attended
a workshop about a new Web resource called MassBedrock. MassBedrock
stands for Massachusetts Business Economic Development Reference
Online Center. The site focuses on business in Massachusetts
and is organized under headings such as "Company Information",
"Global Business", "Education", and "Marketing".
Other added features of this site include research tools and
direct links to other reference resources. MassBedrock can be
found from the Library's homepage by clicking on Internet Resources
and then by clicking on "Business" under the Selected
Resources by Topic section. The direct URL is http://www.MassBedrock.org.
This business resource is funded by the Massachusetts Board of
Library Commissioners. Please check it out. |
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Library Resource
Sharing
Students: Did you know that libraries in the Worcester area
house more than 3,800,000 volumes and subscribe to more than
23,000 serial titles? Several of these college and university
libraries will allow you to register as a patron using your Assumption
ID. The libraries that will grant borrowing privileges to currently
enrolled Assumption students are: |
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Anna Maria College
Atlantic Union College
Becker College
**College of the Holy Cross**
Nichols College
Quinsigamond Community College
UMass. Medical School
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester State College
**New lender |
 http://wauls.wpi.edu
Need to locate a journal quickly? Check out WAULS on the Web
for a complete listing of holdings (40,700 serial titles) in
the Worcester area. Assumption College's holdings are listed
as well as 29 other area libraries. Keyword title and subject
searching are also available. |
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Remember: In order to borrow books
from one of these participating libraries, you must present a
current, valid Assumption ID. The library staff at the other
college will enter you as a borrower in their system and provide
you with a library card (you must present that card and your
Assumption ID to borrow materials in the future). Borrowed materials
from other libraries can be returned by dropping them off at
the Assumption College Library. |
FINALS SCHEDULE
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May 1 - 3 (Mon. - Wed.) |
8:00 a.m. - Midnight |
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May 4 (Thursday) |
8:00 a.m. - 1:00 a.m. |
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May 5 (Friday) |
8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. |
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May 6 (Saturday) |
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. |
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May 7 (Sunday) |
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m. |
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May 8 - 11 (Mon. - Thurs.) |
8:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m. |
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May 12 (Friday) |
8:00 a.m. - Midnight |
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May 13 (Saturday) |
8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. |
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May 14th (Sunday) |
1:00 p.m. - Midnight |
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May 15 |
8:00 a.m. - 4:30p.m. |
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May 16-19 |
8:30 a.m. - 4:30p.m. |
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May 20 |
COMMENCEMENT (CLOSED) |
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May 21 |
CLOSED |
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EXTRA Extended
Hours
The d'Alzon Library
will be open additional hours during finals. Beginning on May
1, we will open at 8:00 a.m. on weekdays and stay open later
on nights preceding scheduled exams.
Summer hours begin May 22nd!
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Emmanuel d'Alzon