News: February/March - Vol. 7, No. 3
Table of Contents
Antiques and Books Appraisal Day, 3/30
New Electronic Databases
No single library could ever afford the licensing and provision of all the electronic databases that are available today. However, through membership in various library systems and consortia, the University Library is able to offer hundreds of electronic databases to our students, faculty and staff. Unfortunately, due to cutbacks in state funding, some of our consortial partners have had to withdraw some of the databases they had been providing; please see the article on the reverse side of this newsletter for details about the cancelled databases.
However, at the same time, we bring you the good news that we continue to add new e-Resources to our collection, particularly those that meet the specific needs of our students and faculty. Below is a sampling of recently acquired databases available on the library’s Web pages under eResources.
For more information, contact the Reference Desk 508-999-8678.
CCH® Internet Tax Research NetWork Leading accounting, federal, state, international and financial content.
Criminal Justice Abstracts Comprehensive coverage of the major journals in criminology and related disciplines.
Philosopher’s Index Indexing and abstracts from books and journals of philosophy and related fields.
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts Citations, abstracts, and indexing of the international serials literature in political science and its complementary fields.
AMICO Library A growing online collection of high-quality, digital documentation of works of art from around the world, contributed by Art Museum Image Consortium (AMICO) members.
Newsbank Full-text articles from the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, the Union-News (Springfield), the Christian Science Monitor, the Washington Post, and the L.A. Times.
Antiques and Books Appraisal Day, 3/30
Collectors of antique and vintage items can learn more about their current value at the fourth annual Antiques and Books Appraisal Day to be held from 1 to 4 p.m., March 30, in the library's browsing area. Parking is in lot 13.
Duncan Gray of Compass Rose Auctions and David Nelson of D.R. Nelson Booksellers will appraise, respectively, rare and antique items and vintage books and other paper collectibles (photographs, postcards, etc.).
The event is sponsored by the UMass Dartmouth Library Associates; proceeds will benefit the library.
Appraisals will be offered at $5 per item, with a limit of two items per person. Large pieces of furniture and other oversized items are not appropriate for this event.
For more information, contact Christine Allen, 508-999-8946.
Cancelled databases
As mentioned above, we must notify our library users of the withdrawal of several databases that we had been able to provide through our consortial partners.
Below is the list of cancelled databases, and as applicable, suggestions for alternate electronic databases that provide similar depth and breadth of information. You can find the resources alphabetically on the library’s E-Resources page.
• The Basic Collection from dialog@CARL.
• Contemporary Authors from Infotrac.
Alternative: the Biography/Resource Center.
• Health & Wellness Resource Center from Infotrac.
Alternative: the Health Reference Center.
• OneFile from Infotrac.
Alternative: a database specific to your particular search.
• Promt and the Business & Company Resource Center.
Alternative: go to the Business section.
• Wilson Biographies Plus Illustrated.
Alternative: the Biography Resource Center.
The library’s reference librarians are available to help you find the information you need from the many databases we continue to offer and from a variety of other sources. Please contact the Information Services Department with your questions: in person, by telephone at 508-999-8678, via email or online.
LibQual+
This spring, the University Library will participate in LibQual+, a research and development project that measures library users’ satisfaction and expectations of library service. Using random sampling, we will be contacting faculty, students and staff via e-mail, with a request to complete the Web-based LibQual+ survey, which is a straightforward group of questions.
"The quality of the insight provided by the survey is dependent in large part on the rate of response. We urge you to respond," said Ann Smith, interim dean of the library.
You can help the library analyze its services by completing the survey if you are contacted. It should only take about ten minutes to complete. The result will be a library that matches the needs and expectations of UMass Dartmouth students, faculty and staff with continuously improving services.
LibQual+ is being used by 316 college, university and research libraries across the country this year. One of the primary goals of LibQual+ is to identify best practices in the provision of library services.
For more information about the survey, contact Ann Montgomery Smith, Interim Dean of the Library (508-999-8664).
Staff news
Geri Cubbal has joined the Information Services department as a full-time, interim reference librarian, replacing Elizabeth Lindsay, who resigned in December to take a new appointment. Cubbal has worked at the library for the past two years as a part-time reference librarian.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in French from Thiel College, a master of science degree in clinical psychology from St. Francis University and a master’s degree in library science from Kent State University. Previously, she served as a reference librarian at UMass Boston.
Cubbal’s reference responsibilities will be English and American literature, anthropology, sociology, African and African-American studies, and women’s studies. Her office phone number is 508-999-8801.
Please note that reference librarian Linda Zieper (508-999-8526) is the contact for foreign languages and Portuguese studies.
Elizabeth Winiarz attended the annual conference of IAMSLIC, the International Association of Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers held in Mazatlan, Mexico. The conference theme was "Bridging the Digital Divide."
