UConn Greater Hartford Campus — Trecker Library

Finding “best books”, and more, to support the campus curriculum is not always an easy task for librarians or faculty members. Campuses the size of Greater Hartford have a great tool in a web site called Resources for College Libraries (RCL) http://rclweb.net/ which is described as having a “… core list [which] features 65,000 titles in 58 curriculum-specific subjects…selected… by more than 300 subject specialists and bibliographers.” One of those specialists was Trecker’s Social Sciences Librarian, Janice Mathews, who worked on the Urban Studies section.

RCL, a combined effort by the R. R. Bowker company, a prominent library publisher, and the Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association, “is the long-awaited successor to Books for College Libraries” which has for years been a basic selection tool used by librarians to build academic library collections.

The new web version has expanded features for faculty looking for the most prominent materials in their field and librarians working to assure that local collections have the most important resources.

A new service, for undergraduate students looking for solid advice on how to conduct a research project, “…lists books, websites, and other electronic resources which professors and librarians have identified as the best or most useful…”

William Uricchio — Library Director

Yes, believe it or not, another library survey process is under way and we want to encourage you to participate. To “sweeten the deal” the University Libraries will be offering three video iPods — one each to a randomly selected faculty, undergrad and grad responder.

You may have recently received an e-mail from the University Libraries about our new survey process administered by the Association of Research Libraries. Perhaps you are wondering why there seems to be a flood of library surveys at the moment and how important this new one may be?

Our recent Learning Commons survey, answered by hundreds of students, gave us very valuable information to help our local library planning. Now, the University Libraries are conducting LibQual+, a highly respected and internationally tested process, which will assist our efforts to improve not only service at the Greater Hartford Campus but also for the entire University Libraries system. You will have no more important opportunity to let us know your opinion of library service at the University of Connecticut. As in the past, LibQual results will inform our decision making for months, and perhaps years, ahead.

The confidential survey takes only about 10 minutes of your time and you just might win one of three Video iPods.

The survey link is: http://survey.libqual.org/index.cfm?ID=778684

Please respond no later than April 18, 2008!

William Uricchio — Library Director 

 

To assist with research and study, the Trecker Library will have extended end-of-semester hours as follows:

Monday, May 5th to (and including) Thursday, May 9th — Open at 8:30 a.m.

Open 1 pm to 5 pm on three Sundays: April 20th, 27th and May 4th.

If the weather looks “dicey” please call ahead before coming:

860-570-9024 (Main Service Desk)

860-570-9099 (Library Hoursline)

William Uricchio — Library Director

Business graduate student Nicholas Macsata, who hails from Broad Brook, is the winner of the Greater Hartford/Hartford Campus iPod Nano. The Nano was one of five units offered by the Regional Campus Libraries in a drawing for students who answered an online survey about desired features of the Learning Commons. As he received his prize at a location near his place of employment, Mr. Macsata commented that “surveys do work” and, while they don’t always result in Nanos, in his case that statement is certainly no exaggeration. Congratulations to Mr. Macsata and many thanks to all of the students who took time to answer our survey.

William Uricchio — Library Director

FINDING NEW BOOKS:

Like many users of the Libraries, you may have had trouble finding new books. Trecker, as with the other UConn libraries, has new book shelves but, of course, they only show the new books that are currently in the library. Two new services have been developed to help you discover all of our new books:

HOMER NEW BOOKS. The University Libraries online catalog, HOMER, now has a tab which allows you to find, library by library and for the whole system, new additions to the online catalog. This list may be directly accessed at: http://homerweb.lib.uconn.edu/cgi-bin/newbooks.cgi

It is also accessible from the Blog sidebar at left.

One caveat about this list: Trecker’s books appear in the online catalog before they actually arrive at Trecker. Please check at our front desk if you are looking for a new book that is not where it should be.

TRECKER LIBRARY RECOMMENDED NEW BOOKS. The Homer New Books List is a great advance but it only provides location and basic bibliographic information. Trecker staff have created an annotated list of recommended new books which you may find of particular interest. This list is created after the books arrive so there should be no location confusion. Also, each entry is accompanied by brief information from major review media or from publishers about the book’s content and importance. Trecker’s recommended books can be found at http://treckerbooks.wordpress.com/

It is also accessible from the Blog sidebar at left.

REQUESTING NEW BOOKS:

Funding for book purchases has been tightening as UConn faculty and students have become increasingly focused on internet based resources. While we have not lost sight of the value of books for research and knowledge, we are moving away from purchasing books with the hope that someone may find them of interest and instead we are moving toward basing our collections more on curricular needs. As a member of the UConn community, you have significant power relative to recommending library purchases and as a result we not only welcome your suggestions for additions to the library’s collections but have taken steps to make this process easier. Two approaches have proven to work well:

E-Mail. You should feel free to e-mail one of the Library Liaisons with your request(s). It will be helpful if you can include information about how you intend to use the book for your instruction or research needs.

Trecker Liaisons are:

*Jan Lambert – Social Work
*Marsha Lee – Humanities
*Janice Mathews – Social Sciences
*Bill Uricchio – History, Sciences

Online Purchase Request Form . This is an easy way for you to suggest that the library purchase a resource. By indicating the “Hartford Campus” and choosing an appropriate subject area, your request will be forwarded to the proper liaison for handling. It will be especially helpful if in the “notes field” you indicate: “Need for my ____ research” or something similar. This form is mounted on the University Libraries website and can be used at any time: http://www.lib.uconn.edu/print/services/RequestForPurchase//

William Uricchio — Library Director

With the recent retirement of a key member of Trecker’s staff, this is a good time to provide up-to-date information about public services contacts, some of which recently changed.

Circulation, Document Delivery/Interlibrary Loan & Reserves Services. Trecker’s Coordinator of Circulation Services, Claudia Lopes, has been joined by Administrative and Public Services Assistant Steve Bustamante, who joined the Treckeer Staff on a part-time basis in January. Steve will be working with Claudia to perform a number of duties related to curricular support. Please contact them if you would like materials placed on course reserve, assistance with Document Delivery/Interlibrary Loan or for other activities related to our “front desk” operations.

Library Liaison program. Trecker’s librarians have service relationships with specific academic programs. Among the services offered are the teaching of library and research skills, participation in the First Year Experience program, building collections in support of campus academic offerings, and providing various levels of support for curricular needs. Please feel free to contact one of the following to discuss your particular situation:
*Jan Lambert – Social Work
*Marsha Lee – Humanities (New)
*Janice Mathews – Social Sciences
*Bill Uricchio – History, Sciences (New)

William Uricchio - Library Director

 

Do you know of pre-1923 monographs held by any of the UConn Libraries (excepting the Health Center and Law School) that you would like to see digitized and made available on the web? If so, read on:

As reported in the latest issue of University of Connecticut Libraries, the Libraries are at the beginning stages of a two year commitment to scan and provide online access to some three thousand pre-1923 monographs from our local collections. This initiative is part of an international effort that aims to bring scholarly publications free of copyright restrictions into the online environment.

To learn more about this project please see http://www.lib.uconn.edu/about/publications/newsletters/2007/2007-11.pdf
At this time, we are particularly interested in making accessible, materials that would facilitate the research and educational programs of the University.

To this end, if there are specific pre-1923 single volume monographs held by the University of Connecticut Libraries that have not already been digitized here or elsewhere and which you would find valuable to have online, please contact one of the Trecker liaisons (list at end) who will recommend them for the Libraries’ digitizing workflow.
These digital copies will become part of the Internet Archive, which is a non-profit initiative dedicated to providing permanent access to digital surrogates of works in the public domain important to researchers, historians, and scholars.

Below are listed seven books from our collections that have already been added to the Internet Archive. To view the digitized version, just click on the title. Note that these may be viewed in a variety of ways, depending on your need (see especially the DjVu and Flip Book viewers). Note also that each digitized text is keyword searchable.

History of the Ninth Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, “The Irish Regiment,” in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865.

Knightly soldier: a biography of Major Henry Ward Camp, Tenth Conn. vols.

Illustrated popular biography of Connecticut

Address delivered to the people of Goshen, Connecticut at their first centennial celebration, September 28, 1838

North Haven in the nineteenth century: a memorial

History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut

Diary of Christopher Columbus Baldwin, librarian of the American Antiquarian Society 1829-1835

Once the quality of the digital version has been checked, a record for the online version will be added to HOMER, the University Libraries catalog.

For this initial go round, please consider recommending up to five titles meeting the following criteria:

*Held by the University of Connecticut Libraries

*Single volume monograph

*Pre-1923 imprint

*Not yet available in digital form

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Trecker Library Liaisons:
Jan Lambert for Social Work
Marsha Lee for Humanities
Janice Mathews for Social Sciences
Bill Uricchio for History and Sciences

 

William Uricchio — Library Director (with special thanks to Dr. Scott Kennedy, University Libraries Area Director for Research and Information Services for much of the text)

The Library serves many clienteles and, while the UConn community is our primary user group, we are also open to the general public. Visitors will find a welcoming atmosphere with internet connected terminals and over 80,000 books which can be consulted without charge. An annual Community Borrowers Card can be purchased for $50 ($35 for Alumni Association members) which allows the general public to borrow books from any of the University of Connecticut Libraries (including libraries in Groton, Stamford, Storrs, Torrington, Waterbury, and West Hartford — but not the Health Center or School of Law). Certain other services, such as inter-library lending, are not available to the public.

It is also important to know that UConn, like many academic institutions, has been taking steps to increase its network security. Visitors wishing to use our internet connected terminals are now required to register at a special “Guest Registration Kiosk.” More information is available at this link: http://guestreghelp.uconn.edu/guests.html

When visiting the Trecker Library be sure to use our campus visitor’s parking lot near the corner of Asylum Avenue and Trout Brook Drive. We are short walk away in the large building facing Asylum Avenue.

So, please Be Our Guest!

William Uricchio - Library Director

With the convergence of the end of the Fall Semester and the beginning of Winter Intersession, the Trecker Library will have a somewhat different schedule for the next few weeks. The most significant change is December Break, from the 17th to and including the 26th, when we will be closed to the public. Other aspects of our schedule are described via the Campus Library Hours link at left.

If, when we are closed, you receive a notice that an Interlibrary Loan item is waiting for pickup please call our Access Services Desk number, 860-570-9024, and leave a message so we can get back to you.

On behalf of the staff of the Trecker Library, please accept my best wishes for a happy and safe winter season.

William Uricchio - Library Director

“If you don’t like the weather in New England, just wait a few minutes.” Samuel Clemens was spot on about our weather and a good example is this weekend (December 2 to be exact) which features our first Sunday hours of the Fall 2007 semester. We’re due to be open from 1 to 6 but, of course, a snow storm of varying intensity and start-times is predicted for that afternoon/evening. This is being written two days before said storm is to arrive so one can envision anything from 8 feet of snow on the ground by nightfall to a sunny day in the 60’s. As noted in our earlier entry about the Sunday hours, if there is inclement weather, or the immediate threat thereof, be sure to check our Hoursline, 860-570-9099, or, even better, call our main number, 860-570-9024, to be sure we are open before you head our way. The weather gods permitting, we will also be open 1-6 on December 9th and 16th.

William Uricchio - Library Director

Photo from www.trekearth.com