In this issue:
 Full Text Journals Now Available
 Jim Newsome Promoted
 Director's Corner
 News from Minneapolis Campus
 Student Profile
 From the Archives

The Age of Electronics

In the last few years, the Library gained access to more than 1,500 journals without adding one item to the Library’s shelves. How? Through subscriptions to electronic full-text databases, available through the Library’s Home Page, you now have even greater access to scholarly research, especially in life and social sciences. The IDEAL and JSTOR services offer a full image of the original article.

The following databases and many other useful resources are available through the Library’s Home Page at http://www.stkate.edu/library. From the Home Page follow the link Library Databases to a database listing or ask a Reference Librarian for help selecting resources appropriate to your topic. Feel free to call the reference desk at 690-6652.
Special Points of Interest
  • 1,500 full text journals in electronic format
  • Access through the Library web page
  • Many subject areas covered
IDEAL
For those conducting research in the life sciences, biomedicine, mathematics, computer science, and psychology a database called IDEAL could be the answer. IDEAL is an online electronic library containing 174 Academic Press journals. Abstracts and tables of contents are presented in HTML and full-text articles are delivered in Adobe Acrobat format. Journal article coverage begins in 1994 and continues to current issues. Users can browse through an entire issue or create search criteria for specific articles. IDEAL is accessible from the library, campus offices and dorms, but not from off-campus locations. OCLC’s Electronic Collections Online provides off-campus users with access to Academic Press journals.

JSTOR
Project JSTOR provides articles in the fields of African-American studies, anthropology, Asian studies, ecology, economics, history, mathematics, political science, sociology and statistics. Journal article coverage begins with the very first issues, many of which date from the 19th cnetury, up to a few years ago (there is a lag of 1-5 years before current issues appear online.) Currently accessible only from campus computers, JSTOR requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing and printing. Additionally, it is possible to browse the table of contents of an entire issue.
Nursing Collection
OVID’s Nursing Collection provides full text coverage of 14 nursing journals starting in 1995. Every word of the text is searchable, including references and graphics captions. Hypertext features allow users to display an outline of each document and move immediately to a selected section. All graphics, tables, and photographs are shown as they appear in print. Journal titles include Journal of Clinical Nursing, Journal of Emergency Nursing, Nurse Researcher, and Nursing Management. The web version of the Nursing Collection is available to on-campus users; a non-graphical version may be accessed off-campus.

InfoTrac
InfoTrac SearchBank is really four journal indexes within the same database. Through InfoTrac, you can search for popular and scholarly articles in a variety of subject areas including business and health sciences. The InfoTrac indexes can be accessed through CLICnet, the Library’s electronic catalog, or through the Library’s homepage. InfoTrac contains over 1,200 titles in full-text, many going back to the 1980’s. InfoTrac can be accessed on and off-campus.

Newspapers
Through the NewsLibrary database, the Library has access to over 17 million articles published by about 20 newspapers across the country including every story published by the Pioneer Press since 1988. The Wall Street Journal database offers full text articles from January 1984 to the present and a searchable index back to 1981. Full text of the most recent three weeks of the Minneapolis Star Tribune is available through a link from the Library Home page.
Written by Kelli Koob
 [Back to Top]

Jim Newsome Promoted
After ten years at the St. Catherine Library, Jim Newsome is a familiar face at the reference desk.  What readers may not know is that Jim was chosen Head of Public Services last May.  You still will see him at the reference desk, but now he also oversees reference, circulation, and interlibrary loan.  Jim replaces Mary Ellen Huls, who left to assume a position in Fresno, California.
     Jim is a graduate of St. Olaf College and the University of Minnesota.  He has devoted himself tirelessly to Minnesota libraries for twenty years--first in Minneapolis, then in Worthington, later in Mankato, and finally here at CSC.  He is characterized by an unflagging energy and sense of humor.  He takes a genuine interest in the students, faculty, and staff he meets every day.  One of the things that inspires Jim's dedication is the feeling of community on campus.  "It's a joy to work here," he says.
     Jim is a man of many talents.  As a child, he was the star of his church choir . . . until his voice changed.  Today, he is a very engaging speaker and an excellent teacher.  He has been known to teach library research to the Shakespeare class while in costume!  Now and then he regales us with poetry or witty puns.  Here is what he said about himself during a brief interview:
LAVA:  Where are you from originally?
Jim:  I was born and lived three years in the shadow of the Gillette Tire and Rubber company in Eau Claire, Wisconsin (the neighborhood smelled like rubber), but grew up mostly in Houston, Texas (the neighborhood smelled like an oil refinery).  We moved to Memphis, Tennessee before my senior year in high school (the neighborhood smelled like Elvis).

LAVA:  Why did you become a librarian?
Jim:  I became a librarian for several reasons.  I was working as the frozen foods manager in an Eau Claire supermarket when I decided it would make more sense to organize information than ice cream and pizza.  Now instead of getting free samples of new frozen food products, I get to check out all the books I want.  Also it's warmer in the library than in the freezer.  Seriously, I was already interested back in 1976 in the huge growth in information and knowledge, and wanted to be part of the efforts underway in libraries to organize and make it accessible to people.  I saw the beginnings of computers in libraries as something exciting and liberating too.  When I got to Library School I specialized in reference, which is a lot like being a detective and solving peoples' information mysteries.  I loved it, and still do.
Written by Amy Kreitzer LAVA:  Tell us about some memorable moments from your career.  Didn't you apprehend an inline skater in the stacks?
Jim:  Yes, a high school student in roller blades tried to get down the inside stairs to the stacks without taking off the blades, and sort of got hung up on the steps, ending up hanging on the railing.  I politely suggested he take off his skates.
     Another time, I received a complaint about someone snoring loudly in the reference room.  We woke her up.
     When I worked at the library in Worthington, someone set a greased pig loose in the stacks, but that has never happened here yet.  It was more of a problem for the custodian than the librarians.
     Really, though, the most memorable experiences aren't funny or weird, but the times when a student doing research and I are able to find right-on answers to her tricky questions or the necessary information to get her off and running on her paper or research project.  I'm energized by other people's successes.  And it's especially rewarding on those rare occasions when someone returns and shows off their completed project or the results of our collaboration.

LAVA:  What do you do during your free time?
Jim:  In my spare time I enjoy hiking and observing nature, reading (especially philosophy, and contemporary women mystery writers and poets), writing essays and poetry, stamp collecting with my 8-year-old son John, cooking, "hangin'out" with my wife Pam [also a librarian], and keeping up with music.  Also I watch British comedy whenever possible.  John Cleese is my acting hero.  I'm sort of the Basil Fawlty of the library world.
 [Back to Top]
Director’s Corner
Carol Johnson

The start of any new semester and the return of students and faculty to campus reminds all of us who work in campus libraries why the Library exists and how much it is a part of our students’ lives. It is energizing to see the campus crowded once more, with everyone so interested in teaching or learning, and often both at the same time. Among the newcomers, is a new president of the College of Saint Catherine, Andrea J. Lee, IHM. Her presence is an invigorating tonic for all of us as we move ahead into the academic year. Some of the new and returning students also work in the Libraries, Audiovisual Services, or Archives and the staff would like to acknowledge their role in helping the Libraries run smoothly. We thank them for their hard work and creativity, for without them our doors would literally close.

Less pleasant, external pressures on the Library must also be noted. Today, books cost forty percent more than they did five years ago, journal prices have increased by more than 400% over the past twenty years, and our culture is in the midst of a dramatic shift in the way research and scholarship is made available to researchers. Our students are becoming web aficionados and their expectations of the new information technologies are increasing dramatically, at a rate faster than libraries can meet. They want to obtain copies of journal articles and books with the click of a button in their homes and offices, quickly and easily, while libraries struggle to supply the limited numbers of books, journal articles, and electronic subscriptions they can afford.

Difficult times require new strategies. Creative methods for resource sharing and the use of consortium-negotiated subscription prices are becoming important tools in any library’s toolkit, together with the support of friends, both on campus and off. This year the College Association Governing Board provided partial funding for library membership in Project JSTOR, an electronic archive of full text journals. As a result, students can search and print copies of articles from the first journal issue up to about three years ago. (Kelli Koob’s article includes more information about JSTOR and how to view and search for articles.) The Friends of the College of St. Catherine Libraries donated over $2,500 for new books this past year, and others donated from their personal collections to the Library, e.g. the National Council on Family Relations donated over $1,500 worth of new books. Without both kinds of gifts, the Libraries would be far from the excellence that is our goal. We have much to be grateful for, and wish to thank all our Friends.

As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions. Please feel free to call me at x6650 or email cpjohnson@stkate.edu.

 [Back to Top]


 
 

News from Minneapolis Campus

The CSC-Mpls. Campus Library has experienced many changes since last spring.

     The library was re-carpeted in June. The project consumed all the physical and mental energies of our extremely dedicated staff and very sturdy students. Their efforts included the manual labor involved in book shifting, shelf and furniture moving, as well as providing on-going service to the summer session students, staff, and faculty.

     Jennifer Maybee Circulation supervisor left the CSC Mpls. Library for a full time position with the Minnesota Department of Children, Families & Learning. 
     Kendall Larson came on board in August as our new Circulation Supervisor. Kendall hails from Duluth and received her BA in Art History and French from Gustavus Adolphus College. She completed a library internship at the University of Nebraska -Lincoln and has been accepted into the CSC Master of Library and Information Science program with plans to begin her graduate studies in the fall of 1999.
     Lila Parrish Reference Librarian, resigned in August and is now working in the Minneapolis Public Library System.
     Beth Beuch is our new Reference Librarian. Beth received her BS in zoology from North Dakota State University. She received her Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of Wisconsin -Madison and is involved in environmental education teacher training. Her love of outdoor activities stems from her rural roots in Henderson Minnesota.

     The Audio-Visual staff continue to keep pace with ever changing needs of the students, faculty and staff. Namy new AV materials have been acquired and processed to support the American Sign Language (ASL) curriculum on the St. Paul campus.Written by Monica Olmschenk
 [Back to Top]

Student Employee Profile

Balance. A simple enough word, but creating balance in your life can be very challenging. There are, however, a few lucky people who have managed to find that balance in their own life. One of those people is Kristen Brunner, a senior here at the College of St. Catherine.

Kristen is originally from Durand, Wisconsin. She holds Wisconsin dear to heart as demonstrated by her prediction that the Green Bay Packers will be the 1998 Super Bowl champions. Kristen chose to study at St. Kate’s because of its outstanding Occupational Therapy program. In addition to being an OT major, Kristen is pursuing a minor in Psychology. While a student at St. Kate’s, Kristen took advantage of the Study Abroad program last J-Term to study and travel in Germany, France, Italy, and England. If she could go anywhere in the world right now she would visit France, Ireland, Switzerland and Australia. Traveling is clearly in her blood, as seen in her after-graduation plans to become a traveling therapist. In addition to working in her field, she will be able to see more of the United States while her travel and living expenses are paid for.
 
 


Besides being a full-time student, Kristen also works two jobs. Her first job is in the Technical Services Department in the library. This is Kristen’s fourth year working in Technical Services. Her main job duties include processing new books, putting the books in the CLICnet system and filing shelf-list cards. Some of Kristen’s favorite things about working in the library are the candy jar, Dilbert, harassing Becky Nargang (her supervisor), meeting new students and "learning CLICnet like the back of my hand." Working in the Library has taught Kristen some very valuable skills including becoming an expert searcher on various databases and developing her skills as a Microsoft Word and Excel user. Another valuable tool Kristen now possesses is the ability to read Roman numerals. Among her least favorite things about working in the Library are too much processing and repetitive tasks.
Written by Katy Baechler One of Kristen’s most memorable events while working at the library includes bringing up a cart of books in the elevator. While pushing the cart out of the elevator, a wheel got stuck in the space between the floor of the elevator and the hallway. In an effort to dislodge the cart, all of the books fell off, including one that fell down the elevator shaft. (We’ve been wondering where that book went!) While Kristen was trying to put the books back on the cart, the elevator doors continuously opened and shut on her. (Shortly after this incident, one of her co-workers pointed out the elevator’s Emergency Stop button.) Another memorable moment occurred when another student stuck a security strip, unbeknownst to Kristen, on her back. When Kristen tried to leave the library she set off the alarms and was apprehended by a Circulation student.

Kristen’s second job is working as an Optician at Pearle Vision. This may explain her favorite quote, "Glasses can change a person’s personality!" While working at Pearle she fits glasses, helps people pick out frames, orders glasses and contact lenses and teaches people how to put their new lenses in.

Kristen also has a very creative mind and when she is not plotting to kidnap Dilbert, the department’s mascot, she finds time for other artistic endeavors. Painting, carving wood, bending metal and swing dancing are all ways that Kristen likes to spend her free time.

Looking back over her years spent at St. Catherine, Kristen has learned many lessons from classes, work, peers and travel. She has taken these lessons and applied them to her every day routine. Kristen has found the perfect balance at St. Kate’s by working hard and enjoying life. 
 [Back to Top]

Looking Back 50 Years

Girl's Dream of Facilities in Proposed Buildings...The building fund drive is of particular interest to the students now in school because as Anne Dolan, Alumnae president said, "No one realizes the needs of teh school more than the girls who are in school now.  They can see every day just what the things are that would facilitate matters for them."  Of course, every girl has special ideas of the things that would contribute most to her enjoyment of her college days, and some of them gave us their answers, when we asked them what they would most enjoy in the new buildings.  Margery Smith [now know as Sr. Margery Smith!] wants the new library to have the music department's record library in a soundproof section with individual cubicles for listening.  She wants more provision made for displaying the library's 'art collection' and hopes that students will still have stack privileges.  her dream would be to have an outdoor patio built adjacent to the building for reading and studying outdoors in nice weather.
(St. Catherine Wheel  11/18/48)Contributed by Belinda Lawrence
 [Back to Top]