October 1, 1999 For September Library News,

We had several staffing changes in September.

Jean Campbell, our Circulation Supervisor, left in mid-September to take on the directorship of the Forsyth Public Library, a position which allows her to make deserved use of her Masters degree in Library Science. Because of the heavy service demands at our Circulation Desk during the academic year, we needed an interim Circulation Supervisor immediately. We have been very fortunate in the availability for that appointment of Cindy Dothager who previously performed circulation and interlibrary loan tasks in Staley Library on a part-time basis, and who is thus already familiar with much of the work of her new position.

Returning to Staley Library is Amy Still, a 1995 Millikin University graduate who was a student worker in Staley Library between 1993 and 1995. Amy is our new Acquisitions Associate, or "the new Shirley Eubanks." (Shirley, as you recall, retired at the end of August 1999.) We are pleased to say that Amy has "hit the ground running."

(See the Library's staff page for a full listing of, and contact information for, our staff.)

From the bottom of the Music Index home page, you can choose either a Basic or an Expert (assisted Boolean) search mode. I believe that you will find this search engine to be an improvement over the one we had for the CD-ROM version!

I note here that this brings to seventy-two (72) the number of online (WWW) databases available to Millikin students, faculty and staff, either singly (as with Music Index) or through aggregators like IBIS and FirstSearch. In fact, the true number is even higher, in that Lexis-Nexis, which we count as just one, also provides access to multiple databases! Some of the databases provide some full texts as well. And of course, any documents referenced by these databases but which we do not own, we can almost always provide through interlibrary loan.
We have initiated a project to add records for our periodicals (journals) subscriptions in our ILLINET Online catalog, as the initial step in using the system's serials management module. What this means is that when the project is completed, you will be able to find any periodical we own, and how much of it we own, in the ILLINET Online catalog.

This is proving to be a time-consuming project, and we expect that it will not be completely finished until into the Spring 2000 semester. Until then, if you do not find a periodical title we own listed in the ILLINET Online catalog, you will need to continue to check the periodicals ring binders in the library. (This online system is being implemented in parallel with the computerized system for placing orders for books which I mentioned in the September Library News.)
Even as our technology applications continue to grow, we are also initiating a series of paper handouts of a "how-to" nature which we make available in a rack to the left of the stairs. To date, they include ideas on how to make the most productive use of IBIS, Lexis-Nexis, and FirstSearch, with more guides to come.
 

New Books shelves

We are gratified to note that several of our August changes in the library's physical environment have proven particularly successful. The increased number of plain study tables on the first floor are seeing constant use, as is the reading/new books area in front of you on the right as you enter the library (picture left). Also, since we moved the videos to the first floor, many more of them seem to be getting used.

Check on the library's Web site for our library hours in October. Wishing you a good month!

Director of Staley Library