Library Offers Guides to Durango Microfilm Collection
The NMSU Library Archives & Special Collections Department now offers electronic access to guides to the Durango Microfilm Collection, as well as volumes 1 and 2 of New Mexico Prenuptial Investigations from the Archivos Históricos del Arzobispado de Durango.
The Archivos General de Notarías de Durango, Mexico, consists of documents created by notaries during both the Spanish Colonial and Mexican national periods. The earliest documents date from the early 1600s.
The Archivos Históricos del Estado de Durango, Mexico, is an index of important documents from the Historical Archive of the State of Durango.
The Archivos Históricos del Arzobispado de Durango, Mexico, is rich in information about northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. These church records include padrones, libros de fabrica, aniversarios, cuadrantes, ordenes, oficios, cartas, diligencias matrimoniales, diezmos and varios.
Links to these materials can be found on the Rio Grande Historical Collections web page at http://lib.nmsu.edu/depts/archives/rghc.shtml.
For more information, contact Archives at (575) 646-3839.
NMSU Library Announces Summer Hours
The New Mexico State University Library announces its regular hours of operation during Summer 2013.
- The Zuhl Library schedule is:
Monday through Wednesday, 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Thursday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday, closed. - The Branson Library schedule is:
Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday, closed.
The Archives & Special Collections desk in Branson Library will be open by appointment only beginning May 15. Researchers are requested to call (575) 646-3839 or email archives@lib.nmsu.edu to make an appointment one day in advance.
The Government Documents desk in Branson Library will be open from 1:00 p.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Documents phone number is (575) 646-5791.
The NMSU Library is closed on Memorial Day and Independence Day.
A listing of all Library hours is available at http://lib.nmsu.edu/aboutlib/libhours.shtml. A recording of library building hours is available at (575) 646-4749.
SciFinder is Rolling Out New Interface
The New Mexico State University Library announces that SciFinder, the world’s largest and most reliable collection of chemistry and related science information, is rolling out a new user interface. The changes will streamline the user experience and allow researchers to explore their essential content more efficiently than ever before.
The American Chemical Society, which developed SciFinder, has announced that the new interface is not compatible with Explorer 6. They recommend that “to ensure the best SciFinder experience, please update to one of the latest recommended Web browsers listed in SciFinder systems requirements.” The system requirements for SciFinder can be found at http://www.cas.org/products/scifinder/system-requirements-web.
If you have any questions, or would like a pdf overview of the new design, please contact Acquisitions Librarian John Sandstrom at jsand713@nmsu.edu or (575) 646-8093.
Jeanette Smith Receives National Award for Promoting Librarianship
The American Library Association (ALA), Chicago, has announced that Jeanette C. Smith, the Grants/University Relations Officer at the New Mexico State University Library in Las Cruces, has been selected to receive the 2013 ALA Ken Haycock Award for Promoting Librarianship. This special honor is given annually to an individual for “significant contribution to the public recognition and appreciation of librarianship through professional performance, teaching and/or writing.” 
“It is with distinct pleasure that the 2013 Award Jury recognizes Jeanette Smith for her exemplary and special achievements in the field of Library and Information Science,” said Ernest A. DiMattia, Jr., chair of the Ken Haycock Award Committee and president of the Ferguson Library in Stamford, Connecticut. “Jeanette is well deserving of this distinguished honor and continues to work tirelessly for the advancement of our profession.”
Smith holds Master of Arts degrees from both the University of Minnesota – Duluth and the University of Minnesota – Minneapolis. Since graduating in 1973, she has spent almost four decades working in the library field and has amassed an impressive record of accomplishments and recognition. Her work in public services, technical services, public relations and grants is widely known and has benefited a broad range of organizations. She has been involved with public and academic libraries, and has reached the rank of distinguished achievement professor at New Mexico State University.
She has spent most of her library career at the New Mexico State University Library, where she has, among other positions, been head of Government Documents, and is now Grants/University Relations Officer. She has, for many years, served on the administrative council for the Southwest and Border Cultures Institute, which she helped to create in 1998. Additionally, she has been the recipient of the 1999 Edmund Lester Pearson Library Humor Award, has chaired the Zuhl Library Naming Celebration at the New Mexico State University, which received a John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award, and has been named a Fellow of the Molesworth Institute for her library humor research. Smith has served the American Library Association as a member of the Advisory Committee for American Libraries.
As noted in the nomination submitted on her behalf, “Smith has given extensively to the library profession, and has now brilliantly promoted library history and librarianship through her book, The Laughing Librarian: A History of American Library Humor, which truly is the first study of its kind.” Published in 2012 by McFarland Publishing, her monograph examines the elements of humor in librarianship between 1876 and 2000. It is described as illuminating different types of librarians – the collector, the organization person, the keeper, the change agent – and explores stereotypes attributed to the field.
Members of the 2013 Ken Haycock Award Jury are: Nancy Dickinson, Hillsboro Elementary School, Hillsboro, Tenn.; Amy Nicole Roberson, Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas; Teri R. Switzer, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs; and Ernest A. DiMattia, Jr., (Chair), Ferguson Library, Stamford, Connecticut.
The 2013 Ken Haycock Award for Promoting Librarianship will be presented to Jeanette Smith at the Award Ceremony and Reception on June 30 during the Annual ALA Conference in Chicago.
For more information, contact ALA’s Cheryl Malden at (312) 280-3247.
Petes Pick Up is Here for You
Whether you’re studying at the Library, have a late meeting, or if you’re out late on the NMSU campus for any other reason, you can always call Pete’s Pick Up for a safe escort to your car or dorm.
Call (575) 646-1111 any time between 6:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m., Sunday through Thursday. Pete’s Pick Up will take you safely to your campus destination!
Barbara Hart Receives Carl Faubion Award
NMSU Library employee Barbara Hart recently received the 2013 Carl Faubion Outstanding Library Staff Employee of the Year Award in a ceremony at Zuhl Library.
Hart, the Library’s Business Manager, was commended for her excellent customer service, demonstrated innovation and creative thinking in problem solving and contributions to reduced operating costs and administrative efficiencies.
Library officials said that Barbara has an extraordinary knowledge base regarding Library operations and is always willing to share her expertise on complex fiscal operations with others, both of which serve to improve overall library efficiencies and effectiveness. She is dedicated to her work and meticulous in her practices, frequently going above and beyond what is typically expected of staff in order to save the library money and stretch our limited fiscal resources.
A consistently outstanding professional, Barbara exemplifies the qualities and spirit of the Carl Faubion award in so many ways: her commitment to the Library, her stewardship of resources, her deep knowledge of complex operations, and perhaps most notably, her ability to manage the library’s fiscal resources in a severe and changing economic environment.
The Carl Faubion Award is presented annually to an exempt or non-exempt NMSU Library employee who exemplifies excellence in customer service, exceptional contributions to the library, innovation and creative thinking in problem solving or contributions which have reduced operating costs or resulted in administrative efficiencies.
The award was made possible by former NMSU President James E. Halligan and Mrs. Ann E. Halligan, who established the Carl Faubion Memorial Endowment for the NMSU Library in 2007. The endowment was established in memory of the late Carl Faubion, Mesilla Valley farmer and former NMSU regent.
For more information, please contact the NMSU Library Administration at (575) 646-1508.
Final Library Bond Figures Announced
The final distribution figures for the 2012 GO Bond for Libraries have been announced. Publicly funded libraries throughout New Mexico, including the NMSU-Las Cruces Library and NMSU-affiliated libraries, are included in the distribution, which is based on student enrollment data for Fall 2012.
NMSU students for libraries
The NMSU-Las Cruces Library will receive $375,562 and the Doña Ana Community College Library will receive $83,482. The NMSU-Alamogordo Library will receive approximately $23,951, the NMSU-Carlsbad Library will receive $14,271 and the NMSU-Grants Library will receive $8,427. The funds will be used for the purchase of library materials.
NMSU Library Dean Elizabeth A. Titus said “The NMSU Library relies on bond funds in order to maintain its collection. We thank our community so much for its continuing support of the bond initiative.”
For more information, contact the Library Administration at (575) 646-1508.
Zuhl Library Offers Extended End of Semester Hours
The NMSU Library announces extended end of semester hours at Zuhl Library only:
- Monday, April 29 through Thursday, May 2, 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.
- Friday, May 3, 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Saturday, May 4, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Sunday, May 5, 9 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.
- Monday, May 6 through Wednesday, May 8, 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.
- Thursday, May 9 through Friday, May 10, regular hours
Branson Library will maintain regular hours during finals week. Both libraries are closed Saturday, May 11 through Sunday, May 12.
Coffee will be served during the evening hours at both Branson and Zuhl libraries Thursday, May 2 through Thursday, May 9. The NMSU Alumni Association will sponsor goodies in both libraries from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday, May 5 through Tuesday, May 7.
For more information, find the full schedule of Library hours at http://lib.nmsu.edu/aboutlib/libhours.shtml and on a voice recording at (575) 646-4749.
Wendy Simpson Awarded Scholarship
NMSU Library staff member Wendy Simpson of the Reference & Research Services Department was awarded a $200 Professional Development Scholarship by the New Mexico Consortium of Academic Libraries.
The New Mexico Consortium of Academic Librar
ies offers up to $2,000 each year in professional development scholarships to assist academic librarians/paraprofessionals with event expenses for professional development purposes.
Simpson used the funding to attend the New Mexico Library Association conference in Albuquerque April 17-19.
Simpson is a Senior Library Specialist who joined the Library staff in 2001. For more information, contact the Library Administration at (575) 646-1508.
NMSU Library Staff Members Win Scholarships
NMSU Library staff members Jonathan Butz and Felipe Castillo of the Library’s Reference & Research Services Department were both awarded scholarships to attend the New Mexico Library Association conference in Albuquerque April 17-19.
The scholarships were made available by the New Mexico State Library to support professional development among librarians and library staff in New Mexico. Applications from employees of all types of libraries in the state were considered and a total of nine scholarships were awarded. Each stipend provides up to $300 to reimburse registration, hotel, travel and meal costs.
Castillo is the Business Librarian and Butz is a Senior Library Specialist. Both joined the Library staff in Fall 2012.
For more information, contact the Library Administration at (575) 646-1508.