Staff Picks: ePodunk

Information about geography is needed for a wide range of reasons: tourism, history, sociology, relocating for a job and just plain time wasting. One of the sites which impresses me is http://www.epodunk.com/ yes, Podunk, that old term for "nowheresville" of the Beat Generation.

It has both a browse and a search feature and presents, insofar as possible, identical information about each locality, so comparison of two or more places is relatively easy. It links to official web pages of the towns, counties or other units of government and includes the names, address and contact information for libraries (YEA), government officials, museums, cemeteries, cultural groups, chambers of commerce and other places or organizations which might be of interest.

There is usually also a brief history of the place and a statement about its importance. Some of these statements seem a bit more self-serving than is entirely warranted, but, what can you say, at least it's there. Certainly not exhaustive in its coverage of each place, but, it includes more places by name than most other sites.

Adrien Taylor, Reference Librarian

Library Survey Winners

Albertsons Library conducted a LibQUAL+ survey during April 2006 to assess user perceptions of the library in order to help improve library services. LibQUAL+ is a service from the Association of Research Libraries, which will provide the Dean of Libraries with a series of statistical and text reports.

Albertsons Libraries sent an e-mail to a random sample of students, faculty, and staff so that they could provide input to the Library. Participants who chose to be entered in a drawing were eligible for prizes. Below are the winners of the top LibQUAL+ user survey prizes:


Marilyn Moody, Dean of Libraries, presents Tonya Flores with a $100 gift certificate to
the Boise State Bookstore.





Deanne Alexander receives an
iPod from Marilyn Moody.





The rest of the Library survey winners are:

Kaci Wolff - $25 Gift Certificate to BSU Bookstore
Robert Balfour - Flash Drive
Tom Clemo - Flash Drive
Amanda Hoffman - Flash Drive
Kathy Reavy - Flash Drive

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Databases: NoveList

Want to curl up with a good book but don't know where to start? Try NoveList, one of the most comprehensive fiction databases around.

You can explore and read book reviews and annotations, search by keyword and subject heading, and explore author read-alikes. With over 135,000 and growing, NoveList can help you find the perfect book and many others besides.

If you want this same kind of searching power for the younger set, there's NoveList K-8. Access these helpful databases and more @thelibrary through our Article Indexes and Databases page.

Albertsons Library Grant Recipients

On behalf of Albertsons Library and the Collection Grants committee, it is my pleasure to announce the winners of the Library's 2006 Collection Assessment Grants.

• Department of Anthropology - John Ziker, Anthropology, and Beverly Miller, Library
• Applied Technology, Culinary Arts - Kelli Dever, Culinary Arts, and Janet Strong, Library
• Department of Art: Art Education - Kathleen Keys, Art, and Elaine Watson, Library
• Department of Biology - Greg Hampikian, Biology, and Barbara Glackin, Library
• Department of Instructional and Performance Technology - Don Winiecki and Yonnie Chyung, David Cox, Linda Huglin, IPT, and Dan Lester, Library
• Department of Materials Science and Engineering - Megan Frary, Materials Science & Engineering, and Beth Brin, Library
• Department of Modern Languages and Literature: German - Rebecca Sibrian, Heiki Henderson and Teresa Boucher, Modern Languages, and Memo Cordova, Library
• Department of Theatre Arts: Theatrical Performances - Leslie Durham, Theatre Arts, and Memo Cordova, Library
  

Teaching faculty and librarians worked together to identify areas of the collection needing special attention or having serious gaps in currency and/or relevancy for a specific subject matter. They assessed the library's current collection, prepared the grant application, and developed a list of resources that will help to fill collection gaps and support new courses and programs. Albertsons Library will give each of the eight winning departments a grant of $3,000.00 for library materials.

We appreciate this opportunity to work more closely with the faculty to enhance the Library's collections.

Congratulations,
Peggy

Albertsons Collection Development Assessment Grant Committee
Peggy Cooper, Chair
Cynthia Carroll
Melissa Kozel
Elaine Watson

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Boise River Maps Web Exhibit

With the rapidly-rising Boise River in the news every day, Special Collections has created a website featuring digitized versions of eight early maps, 1802-1879, portraying the river as 19th century explorers and mapmakers saw it.

Credit goes to Lewis and Clark for bringing the Boise River to the attention of the outside world. Although he never saw the river, William Clark incorporated it into the map of western North America published with the first printed edition of the expedition’s journals in 1814. Clark derived his knowledge of the Boise River (and of the Snake River system south of the Clearwater) from the Nez Perce Indians. They drew several maps for the expedition depicting the country that Lewis and Clark did not see.

The best and most accurate map was drawn for them on May 29, 1806, by a Nez Perce named Hohastillpilp (Hohots Ilppilp). That map and seven others portraying the Boise River region are portrayed on the website.

Also newly mounted on the Internet is a description of the Boise River valley written by the explorer John C. Frémont in 1843. It is located at http://library.boisestate.edu/Special/Fremont.htm

Alan Virta, Head Librarian, Special Collections

Summer Hours at the Library

With the start of the Summer sessions from May 15th to August 11th, the Library has reduced its hours of operation. During the summer, the Library will be open:

Monday – Thursday - 7:30 am – 7:00 pm
Special Collections open 8:00 am – 5:00 pm

Friday - 7:30 am – 5:00 pm
Special Collections open 8:00 am – 5:00 pm

Saturday - Closed
Special Collections closed

Sunday - 12:00 noon – 7:00 pm
Special Collections closed

Memorial Day, Sunday, May 28 - Closed
Monday, May 29 - Closed

Independence Day, Tuesday, July 4 - Closed

For additional information, see the Library's Hours page.

Databases: Mental Measurements Yearbook

Produced by the Buros Institute at the University of Nebraska, the Mental Measurements Yearbook™ (MMY) provides users with a comprehensive guide to over 2,000 contemporary testing instruments. Designed for an audience ranging from novice test consumers to experienced professionals, the MMY series contains information essential for a complete evaluation of test products within such diverse areas as psychology, education, business, and leadership.

All MMY entries contain descriptive information (e.g. test purpose, publisher, pricing) and edited review(s) written by leading content area experts. To be included in the MMY, a test must be commercially available, be published in the English language, and be new or revised since it last appeared in the series. First published by Oscar K. Buros, the MMY series allows users to make knowledgeable judgments and informed selection decisions about the increasingly complex world of testing. MMY provides coverage from Volume 9 to the present.

For access go to the Library's Article Indexes and Databases and select Mental Measurements Yearbook from the alphabetical list.

Library Open 24 Hours during Finals

If you didn't know, only the first floor of Albertsons Library will be open 24 hours a day starting at 10:00 AM Sunday, May 7, through 6:00 PM Thursday, May 11. Staff will be on hand to provide reference services and check out reserve materials.

Security will be provided by the Boise Police Department; an officer will be on duty in the library all night and can provide escort service. Free coffee will be provided by Student Activities. Check out our Hours page for additional information on West Campus and Summer library hours.

Reference: New Books @thelibrary

Albertsons Library is in a constant state of buying and processing hundreds of materials—from music CDs to the latest research journals—to support your academic endeavors.

But did you know you can see which new titles were received by the library in the past few weeks?

To find out, simply go to the library's online catalog Voyager, select the "New Books" tab, and choose the location (Albertsons, West Campus) and time period, or sort by call number, author, or title. Tip: To search by call number, type in only the first letter of the call number.

The New Books tab is just one of several services available through the library catalog. You can also check your library account, find out if your professor has class-related items on reserve, or simply browse the library's growing book collection. Check out the New Books @thelibrary.

New Library Dean: Marilyn K. Moody

Albertsons Library has a new Dean of Libraries! Marilyn K. Moody, former Associate University Librarian for Information and Research Services at the University of California, Santa Barbara, will begin her career at Boise State on May 1st.

Marilyn administered the public service areas of the UCSB Libraries including Information Services, Access Services, the Sciences and Engineering Library, Area Studies, Special Collections, and the Arts/Music Library.

Join us in welcoming Marilyn to the Library and to the Boise State University community.