Category Archives: Ames Highlights

New trial database: Naxos Music Library

Posted on October 9, 2018 by | Leave a comment

Are you a music major? A music faculty member? Someone with a current IWU affiliation who just likes classical music?

If you answered yes to any of these, then you’ll want to want to check out our new trial of Naxos Music Library, which expires on October 31st. Naxos Music Library is described as “the worlds largest online classical music library. Currently, it offers streaming access to more than 140,700 CDs with more than 2,177,700 tracks of both standard and rare repertoire. Over 800 new CDs are added to the library every month.” Users can also create custom playlists and access NML using iPhone and Android apps.

If you like it enough, The Ames Library will subscribe on a more permanent basis, so be sure to leave us your feedback here or at askames@iwu.edu!

Leave a comment

Posted in Ames Highlights, Library News

Tagged , , ,

Top Five Hidden Resources at The Ames Library: #1. Librarians

Posted on October 5, 2018 by | Leave a comment

Contrary to popular belief, librarians don’t spend our 9 to 5 shelving books. Our main job is to help you succeed during your time here at IWU! We’ll help you find sources for your research papers and projects, manage those citations that you’re swimming in, and develop information-literacy skills. Studies from ACRL Assessment in Action (AiA) programs found that library use increases student success. A study at California State University, East Bay showed that “[s]tudents who participated in course integrated library instruction were much more likely to use library resources and were also more likely to have a higher GPA than students who did not receive the instruction.” (Source.)

Each of the librarians at The Ames Library is responsible for different subject areas, like biology or religion, meaning that we know all the best sources in those areas to make your life easier. And if you’re not sure which librarian to turn to? Not to worry, you can approach any of us with questions! Our email addresses, office locations, and phone numbers are all under our pictures on The Ames Library homepage.

Leave a comment

Posted in Ames Highlights

Tagged , ,

Top Five Hidden Resources at The Ames Library: #2. ILLiad

Posted on October 4, 2018 by | Leave a comment

#2. ILLiad

At this stage in your IWU career, you’re probably aware that we have a ton of books, journals, and databases to help you out with all your assignments, and that if we don’t have a book at Ames, you can borrow it from I-Share. You might not know, though, that we have a service that allows you to access articles and books that aren’t in our collections or I-Share–for free.

ILLiad is an interlibrary loan service that lets you request the full text of articles that we don’t have access to and books that aren’t available via Ames or I-Share. Requesting the materials you need is easy, but requires a separate account from your regular library account. On average, articles requested through ILLiad arrive within 48 hours and books arrive within 8 days. However, in some cases articles can take up to a week to arrive and books can take up to two weeks, so don’t wait until the last minute!

Leave a comment

Posted in Ames Highlights

Tagged , , , , ,

Top Five Hidden Resources at The Ames Library: #3. Archives & Special Collections

Posted on October 3, 2018 by | Leave a comment

#3. Archives and Special Collections

Did you know that the library owns a book printed in Nuremberg, Germany in 1482? A program signed by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? Photos of School of Theatre Arts productions dating from 1916 to the present day? And that you can use them any time you want?

It’s just one of the many cool offerings at the Tate Archives & Special Collections on our fourth floor, which is devoted to rare, valuable, and fragile materials, as well as records of IWU’s history. You can also explore the mysteries of IWU’s history and many of these artifacts of human knowledge online.

Leave a comment

Posted in Ames Highlights

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Top Five Hidden Resources at The Ames Library: #4. One Button Studio

Posted on October 2, 2018 by | Leave a comment

#4. One Button Studio

“One Button what?” you ask.

Located on the library’s third floor in the Thorpe Center, our new One Button Studio is designed for people who don’t have experience with video editing. All you need to record your presentation for class or that cool green-screen project is a USB flash drive. So far, students have use the One Button Studio to film themselves conducting choral arrangements, interviewing “patients” for our School of Nursing, and practicing mock interviews. No more fussing with lighting, camera, or mics–it’s all taken care of for you! Just be sure to give us a 24-hour notice before you book an appointment.

Leave a comment

Posted in Ames Highlights

Tagged , , ,

Top Five Hidden Resources at The Ames Library: #5. Technology and Equipment

Posted on October 1, 2018 by | Leave a comment

This week, we’re doing a countdown of the top five hidden resources at The Ames Library! We’ll be highlighting cool things that you may not have been aware of which will help you excel during your time here at Illinois Wesleyan. Check back each day to learn about a new hidden resource.

#5. Technology and equipment for checkout

Did you know that you can check out a GoPro Hero5 Session at the Library Services Desk on our first floor? What about a MacBook? The Ames Library isn’t just about books; we also have a variety of digital equipment and accessories for checkout. You can check out laptops, audio-visual equipment, and even bikes and umbrellas at the Library Services desk. All you need is a library account and your student ID. You’ll find the borrowing periods for these items here.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in Ames Highlights

Tagged , , ,

Library Exhibition on Transgender Issues

Posted on September 5, 2018 by | Leave a comment

On September 5th, Amy Ellis Nutt, author of Becoming Nicole, will speak at the Illinois Wesleyan University President’s Convocation. Becoming Nicole is the university’s Summer Reading Program selection and follows the story of the Maines family and their transgender daughter Nicole, who was born male.

After the convocation and throughout the month of October, we invite you to view our exhibition “Changing Climates: Born this Way,” which includes eight books from The Ames Library collection about transgender issues. There are also handouts that explain how to be a trans ally and the spectrum of sex and gender. You can check out any of these books at the Library Services Desk if you’re interested, and grab a handout or two as well!

Leave a comment

Posted in Ames Highlights, Library News

Tagged , , , , ,

One Button Studio at the Library

Posted on September 2, 2018 by | Leave a comment

The Thorpe Center at The Ames Library is now offering a One Button Studio. Designed for users who may not have prior experience with video software, the One Button Studio requires only a USB flash drive and yours truly. With the push of a single button, you can record a presentation for class or practice your public-speaking skills. Faculty and staff can use the One Button Studio to record lectures and professional-development videos. No more fussing with lighting, camera, or mics–it’s all taken care of for you!

Where do you start? Book an appointment online up to four weeks in advance, but please be sure to give us a 24-hour notice. For tips about design and copyright, see our LibGuide about the One Button Studio. Happy recording!

Leave a comment

Posted in Ames Highlights, Library News

Tagged , , , , , ,

Ames Library’s Stephanie Davis-Kahl Makes Reading List

Posted on August 30, 2018 by | 1 comment

Earlier this month, Credo profiled “4 Essential Summer Reads for Librarians” on their blog. Second on the list? The Ames Library’s own Scholarly Communications librarian Stephanie Davis-Kahl with her co-edited book Undergraduate Research and the Academic Librarian: Case Studies and Best Practices. Says Credo:

This edited volume contains over 50 contributions on how academic libraries can plan new services and resources, and collaborate across departments to support new modes of research including the creation of undergraduate journals, managing data services, or organizing undergraduate research conferences. These activities can be considered high-impact practices to support student success and retention as well.

Whether you’re a librarian or an undergraduate research yourself, you’re sure to find this book helpful. To read it, drop by Archives and Special Collections on the 4th Floor and ask for call number Z682.4.C63 U534 2017!

1 Comment

Posted in Ames Highlights, Faculty/Staff, Library News

Tagged , , , ,

Exploring Ames: Center for Resource Libraries

Posted on August 22, 2018 by | Leave a comment

As a Titan, one of the many electronic resources that you have free access to is the Center for Research Libraries. This international consortium of libraries makes available “approximately five million newspapers, journals, books, pamphlets, dissertations, archives, government publications, and other resources” from areas which include “Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Central, South and Southeast Asia, North America, and Europe.” (Source.) You also have access to physical CRL collections through interlibrary loan.

If you’re not quite sure where to start, CRL provides topic guides to give you a boost. For example, if your research area is South Asian studies, you can find complete runs of Indian, Sri Lankan, and Nepalese newspapers on microfilm. CRL’s digital resources include periodicals and pamphlets from the 1848 French Revolution and Chinese “street literature” from the earliest days of Mao Zedong’s newly formed republic.

Still feeling overwhelmed by this amazing resource? Ask a librarian! We’re always happy to help guide you to the materials that you need to get started on your research, whether you’re a first-year student or longstanding faculty member.

Leave a comment

Posted in Ames Highlights

Tagged , ,