Information Update - Fall 1999

From the Library Director

The summer has been a very busy one indeed for the Weinberg Memorial Library staff. New and returning students will be greeted by several enhancements to Library services.DRA Web2, the next generation of Data Research Associates' web-based Online Public Catalog (http://libcat.uofs.edu), is now available for use via the Library's Web Page. To help users find exactly what they are looking for, searches may be limited a number of ways including material type and language. Users may also view patron information and view information about the Library. This product is designed to enhance both the patron and Library staff's use of the OPC by making it easy to navigate and user-friendly.
 
ERes, Docutek Information Systems' electronic reserves system, will be introduced this Fall in a pilot project for twenty faculty members. Full implementation is scheduled for the Spring 2000 semester. With ERes, faculty can make their course reserves such as homework solutions, exams, journal articles and other course material available to their students over the Web. Copyright notices will appear on copyrighted material, and course reserves will be password protected to meet copyright requirements. Several other technological enhancements include the addition of eight new computer workstations and eight new ResNet ports for laptop connections in the Librarv's Pro Deo Room, the addition of four new wireless laptops for use within the stack area on the Library's Third Floor and an enhanced ADA workstation with ZoomText on the Library's Second Floor.
 
A few physical plant changes are underway. The Library's Second Floor was recarpeted this summer, and a major lighting upgrade will begin in October. All floors will receive a lighting upgrade. This project is planned to be done over the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 fiscal years.
 
Most Library departments experienced increased use during the past year. We attribute the increases in electronic database usage, reference inquiries and bibliographic instruction classes to the Library's growing access to full-text databases, the greater emphasis on the importance of information literacy and the participation in Freshmen Seminar.
 
Work continues on the National Endowment for the Humanities Challenge Grant Fund Campaign. My special thanks to all who have contributed to this endowment fund and to all who have worked on this campaign. It is truly an investment in the future of the Library's humanities collection. I am especially pleased to announce that the University of Scranton and the Weinberg Memorial Library have received a $23,000 grant from the Margaret Briggs Foundation in support of collection development in women's studies. This grant will be part of the matching monies we are raising for the National Endowment for the Humanities Challenge Grant Fund.
 
Most information is coming up digital today and is being delivered via the World Wide Web. lt is difficulty today to find an abstracting and indexing publication, an encyclopedia, a dictionary. or other reference work that is not available in digital form. More recently, we have seen a rapid proliferation of journals in digital form. The collection of electronic journals grows daily, and I estimate that there are more than 3000 titles available from various sources at this time. Within another five to ten years, nearly all journals will be published electronically. The Weinberg Library has access to journals from Academic Press, Johns Hopkins University Press, OCLC's First Search and Emerald Library. Check out the Library's web sir under "Electronic Indexes" to visit this extensive array of electronic publications.
Charles E. Kratz, Library Director
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