Fair Access to Science and Technology Research (FASTR) Act

Posted by on February 18, 2013 No comments

open access logoThe FASTR Act was introduced into both the House of Representatives and the Senate last week, sponsored by a bipartisan group of legislators: Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Representatives Mike Doyle (D-PA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), and Kevin Yoder (R-KS).

FASTR will require federal agencies that spend at least $100 million/year to fund extramural research to make the products of their funding, specifically peer reviewed, scholarly research articles, open access within six months of publication.

FASTR will provide near-immediate access to taxpayer-funded research, and will impact major federal agencies, including the Departments of Agriculture, Education, Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency.

For more information about FASTR, please see the FAQ developed by the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition or the Alliance for Taxpayer Access website.

L’Annee Philologique – online resource trial begins

Posted by on February 11, 2013 No comments

L’Annee Philologique is now available for trial through March 5. Users can find it on the A-Z list; the direct url is: http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.iwu.edu/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=ehost&defaultdb=lnp

L’Année philologique, published by the Société Internationale de Bibliographie Classique,is a valuable research tool in the area of classical studies. The database covers a variety of subject matter pertaining to Greek and Roman civilization including: Greek and Latin literature and linguistics, early Christian texts and patristics, Greek and Roman history, art, archaeology, philosophy, religion, mythology, music, science, and scholarly subspecialties such as numismatics, papyrology and epigraphy.

More than 810,000 records are included in L’Année philologique, with more than 15,000 new records added every year. Abstracts of journal articles are in English, German, Spanish, French or Italian. Books entries often include tables of contents and book review information.

Feedback on this resource is due March 5 – please contact Karen Schmidt (kschmidt@iwu.edu; ext 3834) about L’Annee Philologique.

Peep Into Poetry Diorama Contest

Posted by on February 4, 2013 No comments

Celebrate World Poetry Day (March 21) by entering the Peeps Diorama Contest. Sponsored by the IWU Classics Club and Eta Sigma Pi, the contest features handmade dioramas to depict a scene from Greek or Roman myth or poetry, using Peeps. For more information, and to register, check out the link below. To get you started, a box of 5 Peeps can be picked up in 201 Library. Great prizes, good fun – and if you don’t win, you can eat your evidence!

http://iwuclassics.wufoo.com/forms/peep-into-poetry-diorama-contest/

Peep Into Poetry Inspiration - Power to the Peeple!

Peep Into Poetry Inspiration – Power to the Peeple!

Standard & Poor’s NetAdvantage – Connectivity Issues

Posted by on January 29, 2013 No comments

NetAdvantage from Standard & Poor’s is experiencing some connectivity issues. The company reports that half of their servers are in the Hurricane Sandy area and occasionally the S&P servers mirror data from these servers. When that happens, our database access is frozen. If you experience trouble accessing NetAdvantage, try again in a few minutes. S&P is aware of the problem and is working on it.

Exploring Open Access

Posted by on January 21, 2013 No comments

4:00 pm – 5:00 pm, Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Henning Room, Memorial Center

Screen Shot 2012-03-01 at 11.57.16 AM

This forum will present an overview of how Open Access (OA) arose from significant disruptions to scholarly publishing, focusing on the current state of various advocacy efforts in the United States and globally. Opposing viewpoints to OA will also be discussed. Sponsored by the IWU Chapter of the AAUP and The Ames Library, this forum aims to start a conversation on campus about how IWU faculty, staff and students from all disciplines can contribute to the OA movement through individual and collective action and policy.

“A sneeze travels 20 feet!”

Posted by on January 17, 2013 No comments

Don’t believe it? There are lots of gross-out videos on YouTube to illustrate…here’s just one (it’s actually kinda beautiful, too!) http://youtu.be/e2QAGVMlns4

The quote was spotted by one of our librarians in a local school and it seems like a helpful thing to remember since we’re all cooped up inside together. Then there’s the added joy that thoughts of the present flu season bring!

Not sure what to do? We made a resource guide with a collection of advice and links on the topic to think about, but our take away message to all staff and visitors at The Ames Library is to consider your own health as well as the well-being of those around you by remembering these tips:

1. Sneeze into your elbow (kleenex can’t stand the pressure!)

2. Wash your hands thoroughly and frequently (there’s also a supply of alcohol wipes at the 1st floor information desk in the library if you want to wipe down a keyboard)

3. Go to IWU’s Arnold Health Service if you have a fever or need medical advice.

A visual representation of this message was designed by one of our talented Ames Library Student Assistants. Click on the image below to get a halfsheet-sized poster you can put in your room or office for others to see!

HelpPreventH1N1.SecondElbow.cropped

Expansion of Wireless in Library

Posted by on January 14, 2013 No comments

Over the holiday break, The Ames Library added 11 more wireless antennae to the building, significantly increasing wireless access on all floors. Our thanks for the Campus IT staff for their great work in expanding wireless capabilities. If you have feedback on this or any other library-related item, don’t hesitate to let us know. Our suggestion box on our web page is always open!
wireless-antenna-md

Put on a public display!

Posted by on January 8, 2013 No comments

Does your RSO have guest speakers, events, achievements or other topics of interest you’d like to share with the campus community? Are you in a class with a displayable-project component? Is there a milestone to celebrate in your department or program? A topic you’d like to raise awareness about?

The Ames Library Exhibit Team invites the IWU community to contact us about utilizing display space in the library. There are several exhibit spaces in the library in a variety of sizes and locations.

If your group is interested in scheduling a display, please contact Meg Miner at mminer@iwu.edu or x1538.

Good Luck on Finals! Coffee & Cookies at the library to keep you fueled up!

Posted by on December 10, 2012 No comments

The library sends all our students best wishes for successful finals and research papers! We know how hard you work and we are honored to be part of your academic experience. As always, The Ames Library offers coffee and cookies throughout finals week in the evening to keep you fueled up.

Good activity for our earlier opening hours this past weekend, with almost 200 people coming to the library on Saturday and Sunday morning.

Day Without Art in The Ames Library

Posted by on December 1, 2012 No comments

The Ames Library participates each year in Day Without Art Day on December 1, the national day of action and mourning in response to the AIDS crisis. To make the public aware that AIDS can touch everyone, and inspire positive action, some 800 U.S. art and AIDS groups participated in the first Day Without Art, shutting down museums, sending staff to volunteer at AIDS services, or sponsoring special exhibitions of work about AIDS. Since then, Day With(out) Art has grown into a collaborative project in which an estimated 8,000 national and international museums, galleries, art centers, AIDS service organizations, libraries, high schools and colleges take part. We appreciate having our students assist us with making this important statement.