Library’s Interlibrary Loan and Delivery Services Streamlined
Date: August 19, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jeanette Smith, NMSU Library, (575) 646-7492, jcsmith@lib.nmsu.edu
The NMSU Library announces that interlibrary loan and Pegasus delivery services have been streamlined and rebranded as REQUEST IT!
Look for the REQUEST IT! button in the Library’s catalog, Web pages and databases to request research materials from one of the NMSU libraries and beyond. First time users are required to register for the service at http://lib.nmsu.edu/depts/accserv/ids.shtml.
REQUEST IT DELIVERS! (formerly Pegasus) is a value-added service that provides delivery and pick-up of library materials to NMSU faculty and Ph.D. students’ offices. Visit http://lib.nmsu.edu/forms/as_pickup.shtml.
For questions relating to these services, please contact Access Services department head Norice Lee at nlee@nmsu.edu or Jivonna Stewart at jstewart@lib.nmsu.edu.
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University Library Announces Tours
Date: August 16, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jeanette Smith, NMSU Library, (575) 646-7492, jcsmith@lib.nmsu.edu
Do you know where to go for help with a research paper? Or how to get books from libraries all over the world? Or where to browse DVDs, CDs, and current magazines? According to NMSU Library Reference Assistant Wendy Simpson, the NMSU Library is a complex place, and many people do not know about the many useful resources that are available.
All members of the campus community are invited to join the Library staff for a forty-minute tour of both NMSU Library buildings. It is not necessary to sign up in advance. In addition to seeing highlights of services and collections, attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions.
Tours will begin at the Reference Desk at Zuhl Library on the following dates and times:
Monday, August 23, 11:30 a.m.-12:10 p.m.
Wednesday, August 25, 10:30-11:10 a.m. and 12:30-1:10 p.m.
Thursday, August 26, 11:00-11:40 a.m.
Tuesday, August 31, 1:00-1:40 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 2, 3:00-3:40 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 3, 9:30-10:10 a.m.
Individual tours can also be arranged. Students can get a certificate of attendance that instructors may count toward extra credit.
For more information contact Simpson at (575) 646-4129, the Reference Desk at (575) 646-5792 or visit http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/tours.shtml.
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NMSU Round-Up Digitization Celebration Planned
Date: July 19, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jeanette Smith, NMSU Library, (575) 646-7492, jcsmith@lib.nmsu.edu
Round-Up Digitization Celebration Poster
New Mexico State University’s student run newspaper, The Round-Up, and its predecessor, The New Mexico Collegian, are not only the central source of readily available material on the history of NMSU, but also an important source of regional history. The student newspaper has been published since 1893 and it is one of the most highly requested resources in the Archives’ collections at the NMSU Library. In 2009, due to the increasing fragility of the original newspapers, the NMSU Library committed to raise funds to digitize the newspapers from 1893 – 1999, both for preservation purposes and to make the historical information more widely available.
Thanks to the most generous contributions of the following organizations and individuals, issues of The New Mexico Collegian and The Round-Up from 1893 – 1999 are now searchable online at http://libcgi.nmsu.edu:8080/RoundUp/jsp/index.jsp
- Associated Students of New Mexico State University
- New Mexico Historical Records Advisory Board
- Kevin J. and Barbara Barry, Round-Up 1968 – 1970
- Lana Cunningham Cooper, Round-Up 1973 – 1974
- Barbara Funkhouser, Round-Up 1949 – 1952
- Edward R. Lucas, Round-Up 1959 – 1961
- Scott D. Merville, Round-Up 1974 – 1978
- John (Gene) Michals, Round-Up 1963 – 1965
- Barbara Wunsch O’Gwynn, Round-Up 1950 – 1951
- Barbara Kerr Page, Round-Up 1967 – 1971
- Tim Parker, Round-Up 1974-1977
- Stephanie C. Thorp, Round-Up 1963 – 1966
- Don West, Round-Up 1946-1950 – In Memory of Carroll Warren West and Ava Smith
- Jess C. Williams III, Round-Up 1982 – 1985
A celebration of the project is planned for August 20, 2010 at Branson Library, 4th Floor – Gallery from 2:00pm – 4:00pm. The event is free and open to the public. For more information about the event, or to RSVP please call 575- 646-1508 or e-mail Kristina Martinez at krismart@nmsu.edu.
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New Look and Features in the NMSU Libraries Catalogs
Date: June 15, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jeanette Smith, NMSU Library, (575) 646-7492, jcsmith@lib.nmsu.edu
Try the new NMSU library catalog. The catalog is a listing of library materials at the Las Cruces campus libraries as well as the libraries of the Dona Ana Community College, NMSU-Alamogordo, NMSU-Carlsbad, and NMSU-Grants.
New features include:
- Book covers are displayed for titles
- New Books — See new books added to the collections
- Browse the Shelf — Find more books on the same subject
- My Account permits you to save searches and lists of books
- Cite this Item provides you with the correct citation in five standard formats
Click on NMSU Libraries Catalogs to explore all of the new features.
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NMSU Library Catalog Quiz
Date: May 12, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jeanette Smith, NMSU Library, (575) 646-7492, jcsmith@lib.nmsu.edu
Visit the NMSU Library catalog at http://libcat.nmsu.edu/and take our catalog quiz. The first person to email all of the correct and complete answers to Jeanette Smith at jcsmith@lib.nmsu.edu will receive a gift certificate for dinner for two.
NMSU Library employees are not eligible to enter. The winner will be announced in the Fall 2010 NMSU Library Newsletter at http://lib.nmsu.edu/aboutlib/newsletter/choice.shtml.
1. Who is the author of “Meet Me in the Doghouse?”
2. How many copies of “Meet Me in the Doghouse?” does the NMSU Library own?
3. What breed of dog is featured in “Meet Me in the Doghouse?”
4. What profession was practiced by the author of “In My Place?”
5. Who is the author of “In My Place?”
6. Who wrote “Dateline New Mexico?
7. What year was the author of “Dateline New Mexico” born?
8. What year was the author of “Anna Karenina” born?
9. Who is the author of “Anna Karenina?”
10. Does the NMSU Library own a copy of the movie “Cabaret?”
11. What title comes up under the subject search “Graphemics?”
12. What do the initials J.R.R. in the name J.R.R. Tolkien stand for?
13. What is the call number for “The Tolkien Reader?”
14. What are the titles of the four novels in “The Alexandria Quartet?”
15. Who is the author of “The Alexandria Quartet?”
16. What was Mark Twain’s real name?
17. What materials format is “Black Birds, Red Hills” by Libby Larsen?
18. What New Mexican artist does “Black Birds, Red Hills” honor?
19. In which library, Zuhl or Branson, is the “Red and Green Chile Cookbook” found?
20. Who did the photography for the “Red and Green Chile Cookbook?”
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Library Announces Cancellation List
Date: May 12, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jeanette Smith, NMSU Library, (575) 646-7492, jcsmith@lib.nmsu.edu
The New Mexico State University Library has finalized revisions to the list of titles that it will be cancelling for FY 2011. The list is available at http://nmsu.libguides.com/BudgetCuts.
For the most part, journal subscriptions will continue until December 2010 and electronic journal subscriptions will be available until December 31, 2010. Most of the databases that are being cancelled are fiscal year subscriptions (July-June), and they will no longer be available after June 30, 2010.
In the event that research overhead funding is restored to the Library, it may not need to cut as deeply into serials subscriptions as had been planned. Criteria for removing titles from the cancellation list are:
1) Electronic journal subscriptions that comprise a publisher’s package and cannot be unbundled from the package and cancelled without cost increases.
2) Print or electronic titles for which the Library has no online access from its full text databases.
3) Titles that support new and/or emerging research and teaching programs.
4) Titles that support departments or programs which were heavily affected by the project (more than 27% of overall allocation).
The Library staff wishes to thank all of you who worked with us so tirelessly to craft a cancellation list that does the least possible harm. An update on this project will be posted prior to the start of Fall Semester.
For more information, please contact the Library’s Collection Development Coordinator Susan Beck at susabeck@nmsu.edu.
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NMSU Library Announces Summer Hours
Date: May 10, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jeanette Smith, NMSU Library, (575) 646-7492, jcsmith@lib.nmsu.edu
The New Mexico State University Library announces its hours of operation during Summer Session 2010.
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 schedule for Branson Library is:
Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday, closed.
An updated recording of library building hours is available at (575) 646-4749.
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Archives Offers Reference by Appointment Only During Summer
Date: May 3, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jeanette Smith, NMSU Library, (575) 646-7492, jcsmith@lib.nmsu.edu
NMSU Library officials have announced that beginning on Wednesday, May 12, the Research Room of the Library’s Archives and Special Collections Department will be open by appointment only for the duration of the summer.
Researchers are requested to call (575) 646-3839 to make an appointment.
Operational hours and walk-in service will resume for NMSU’s Fall Semester 2010 on Thursday, August 19, when the Research Room will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For more information, contact Archives and Special Collections department head Steve Hussman at (575) 646-4756
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Geological Specimens Showcased in Zuhl Library
Date: May 3, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jeanette Smith, NMSU Library, (575) 646-7492, jcsmith@lib.nmsu.edu
The Zuhl Collection of geological specimens works perfectly in the building that was named for Joan and Herbert Zuhl, and it makes New Mexico State University’s Zuhl Library one of the great showcases of the Southwest.
For more than thirty years Joan and Herbert Zuhl, for whom Zuhl Library is named, collected fossils, minerals and rocks, both for a private collection and to be sold at their gallery in New York City. In April 2000, the Zuhls generously donated their personal collection to New Mexico State University.
Many of the larger floor-standing and wall-mounted specimens of petrified wood are on permanent display on the second and third floors of Zuhl Library. Other pieces are exhibited in the first floor lobby, where a cast of the skull of Tyrannosaurus Rex “Stan” stands watch over all library comings and goings.
The Zuhl Collection consists of three categories of geologic specimens: petrified wood, invertebrate and vertebrate fossils, and minerals and rocks:
Petrified Wood
The bulk of the Zuhl Collection is composed of petrified wood ranging in size from twigs and stems a few centimeters long to logs over a meter in diameter. Although there are specimens of wood from all over the world, most come from three regions in the United States. Perhaps the most famous is petrified wood from northern Arizona, extracted from the Chinle Formation of Late Triassic age (about 220 million years ago). Wood from the Chinle Formation represents conifer trees and is noted for vibrant red and yellow colors.
Equally impressive are geologically younger petrified logs of middle Tertiary age (about 20 million years ago) from eastern Oregon. These logs, which consist of both conifer and angiosperm wood, have beautifully preserved growth rings. Finally, there are also many petrified twigs and stems of early Tertiary age (about 40 million years ago) from Wyoming.
Invertebrate and Vertebrate Fossils
The Zuhl Collection also contains a large number of fossils of invertebrate and vertebrate animals from all over the world, including trilobites, corals, ammonites, insects, and fishes. Included in the collection are fossils from three famous sites: the Solenhofn Limestone of Germany, the Green River Formation of western Wyoming, and the White River Badlands of South Dakota. The Solenhofn Limestone is Late Jurassic in age (about 150 million years ago) and was deposited in a shallow lagoon. Because of the stagnant nature of the lagoon, organisms that fell or were washed into it decayed slowly, resulting in exquisite preservation of vertebrate bones and impressions of soft tissue of invertebrates. Included among the Solenhofn fossils are fish, insects, crustaceans, and flying reptiles (pterosaurs).
The younger Green River Shale of western Wyoming consists of thousands of meters of sandstone, shale, and limestone deposited in a middle Eocene (about 50 million years ago) lake. Noted for a great variety of perfectly preserved fish skeletons, the Green River Formation also contains well preserved fossil leaves. Finally, river sediment and volcanic ash of Oligocene age (about 30 million years ago), exposed in the Badlands of South Dakota, contain a tremendous quantity of vertebrate fossils, including early grazers, predators and numerous tortoises.
Minerals and Rocks
The smallest part of the Zuhl Collection, but nonetheless of great quality, are minerals and rocks from throughout the world. Particularly impressive are specimens of rhodochrosite, malachite, and rutilized quartz. Many of the rocks were ground and polished into spheres ranging in size from a few centimeters to a meter in diameter.
Images of approximately 2,000 cataloged specimens in the Zuhl Collection can be viewed online at http://zuhlcollection.nmsu.edu/. More than 1,000 of the specimens are displayed on the New Mexico State University’s Las Cruces campus in either the Zuhl Museum or Zuhl Library, with the majority in the museum. Visit the Zuhl Museum at 775 College Drive (575-646-3616) and visit Zuhl Library at 2911 McFie Circle (575-646-5792).
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Library Endorses Library Bill of Rights
Date: May 3, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jeanette Smith, NMSU Library, (575) 646-7492, jcsmith@lib.nmsu.edu
The New Mexico State University Library endorses the Library Bill of Rights and refers to it in its policies and procedures. The Library Bill of Rights is the American Library Association’s statement expressing the rights of library users to intellectual freedom and the expectations the association places on libraries to support those rights.
The Library Bill of Rights was approved by the American Library Association’s Council at its meeting on June 19, 1939, during the Annual Conference in San Francisco. It was modeled on a similar statement written by Forrest Spaulding, the director of the Des Moines Public Library. It has been revised several times since. The Library Bill of Rights was originally introduced with the statement, “Today indications in many parts of the world point to growing intolerance, suppression of free speech, and censorship affecting the rights of minorities and individuals.”
In 1948, the association adopted a major revision and strengthening of the document during a new wave of censorship attempts. In this revision, “age,” along with background, origin, and views, was added to the attributes that should not be a basis for denying access to information. The document was revised again in 1980. In 1996, the American Library Association reaffirmed the inclusion of age as an attribute that should not be the basis for denying access to information.
The Library Bill of Rights affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and that the following basic policies should guide their services:
I. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
II. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
III. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.
IV. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.
V. A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.
VI. Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.
Adopted June 19, 1939, by the ALA Council; amended October 14, 1944; June 18, 1948; February 2, 1961; June 27, 1967; January 23, 1980; inclusion of “age” reaffirmed January 23, 1996.
Although the articles of the Library Bill of Rights state the basic principles that should govern the service of all libraries, questions can occur regarding the application of these principles to specific library practices. To help answer these questions, the American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee has designated a number of documents as interpretations of the Library Bill of Rights. These documents, ALA policies adopted by the ALA Council, are located at http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/librarybill/interpretations/default.cfm.
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