“John Adams and the Origins of American Diplomacy”

Posted by on September 29, 2009 1 comment

Illinois Wesleyan University Professor of History W. Michael Weis will present “John Adams and the Origins of American Diplomacy” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, September 29, in Beckman Auditorium in The Ames Library. The event is free and open to the public.

Weis will speak on the significance of Adams as a founder of the U.S. diplomatic efforts across the Atlantic, including his work developing treaties and keeping the country out of war in the aftermath of the French Revolution. A specialist in U.S. foreign relations, Weis has been a member of the Illinois Wesleyan faculty since 1988.

More information on this event is available in the full news release by University Communications.

Personal Research Assistance Available!

Posted by on September 18, 2009 No comments

Let us help you learn how to go beyond Google™ and

earn better grades!

Librarians offer personal research assistance to all students.

We provide tips on how to:

Find the best scholarly resources

Develop a search strategy to save you time

Refine a topic

Cite your sources

And much more!

Have a question? AskAmes!

Get help the following ways:

• In person: Visit the Information Desk (Entry Level) to work with a librarian during the following hours:

Monday – Thursday: 9:00 – noon, 1:00 – 5:00, & 7:00 – 9:00 pm

Friday: 9:00 – noon & 1:00 – 5:00 pm

Sunday: 7:00– 9:00 pm

• Chat with a librarian: IM your questions to IWU librarians.

• Personal appointment: Each major has a librarian specifically assigned to work with students. Click on the AskAmes link on the library’s website to find contact information for your subject’s librarian. Feel free to stop by during office hours or schedule an appointment to work one-on-one with your Library Liaison.

• By phone: Call the Information Desk (309-556-3350). If you are in the library, help-phones at the Scholarly Workstations (located on each floor) connect directly to the Information Desk.

• Via email: Ask questions by email (AskAmes@iwu.edu).

www.iwu.edu/library

Author Louise Erdrich to visit IWU.

Posted by on September 15, 2009 No comments

The Ames Library is pleased to announce that author Louise Erdrich has been selected for the 8th Annual Ames/Milner Visiting Author Program.

Ms. Erdrich will be on campus the evening of Thursday, October 22nd 2009.

3:00 – 4:00 Presentation and Q and A, Milner Library, Illinois State University

7:30 – 8:30 Presentation, Presser Hall, Illinois Wesleyan University

8:30 Book signing, The Ames Library Illinois Wesleyan University

If you have questions or would like to reserve seats for your class, please contact lduke@iwu.edu.

Louise Erdrich is the author of twelve novels as well as volumes of poetry, children’s books, and a memoir of early motherhood. Her debut novel, Love Medicine, won the National Book Critics Circle Award. The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse was a finalist for the National Book Award. Her most recent novel, The Plague of Doves, a New York Times bestseller, received the highest praise from Philip Roth, who wrote, “Louise Erdrich’s imaginative freedom has reached its zenith—The Plague of Doves is her dazzling masterpiece.” Louise Erdrich lives in Minnesota with her daughters and is the owner of Birchbark Books, a small independent bookstore.

http://www.harpercollins.com/authors/2905/Louise_Erdrich/index.aspx

Display space available at Ames Library

Posted by on September 3, 2009 No comments

Does your group have something to share?  A milestone to celebrate?  A topic you’d like to raise awareness about?

The Ames Library Exhibit Team would like to invite any group on campus to contact us about utilizing display space in the library.  Throughout the library, there are several exhibit spaces available to promote student work, class projects, guest speakers, organizations, events, achievements or any topic of interest you’d like to share with the campus community. If your group is interested in scheduling a display, please contact Meg Miner at x1538.

Learning about Three Cups of Tea

Posted by on June 25, 2009 No comments

This year’s Summer Reading Program selection, Three Cups of Tea, tells the story of Greg Mortenson and his amazing work bringing schools to remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Check out the library’s resource guide to learn more about Mortenson, the Central Asia Institute, and how you can help.

Online Access to Science and Nature

Posted by on May 21, 2009 No comments

The Ames Library is happy to announce enhanced online access to Science and Nature is now available directly from the publishers’ web sites!

Science is now available online from 1997 to the most recently published issue.  Older issues (1880-1996) are available through JSTOR (an online journal archive).

Nature is now available online from 2005 to the most recently published issue.  Older issues (1997 to 2008) are available through the database Academic Search Premier.

Both publications offer IWU faculty, staff and students the option to create a personal profile and establish weekly web site updates via e-mail or RSS feeds.  Please note that for off-campus access, you must use the URL’s listed above to connect to the magazine through the campus proxy server.  Using this URL will allow you to sign into the University’s proxy server and access resources as if you were on campus.  You will be asked to log in with your MyIWU NetID and password once per session.

Ames Library Art Purchase Award Winner

Posted by on April 28, 2009 No comments

(from the IWU News Blog)

Laura Murray, a senior Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) art major, has been chosen to receive the fourteenth annual Ames Library Art Purchase Award.

Murray’s winning artwork, titled “Design & Music,” is a graphic design poster. Her other pieces in the Senior BA/BFA Art Show included a branding identity, a package design, logo designs, magazine spreads, poster and book layouts and charcoal drawings.

“I feel very privileged to have a piece of work that reflects my college experience at Illinois Wesleyan hanging in a beautiful building where future students can appreciate it,” Murray said.

Since 1996, The Ames Library has purchased a piece of artwork every year from a collection of work done by a senior BFA art student. The chosen piece is displayed on the entry level of The Ames Library for one academic year, after which it is moved to the permanent collection of student artwork on the second floor.

For additional information, contact Robert Delvin, fine arts librarian for The Ames Library, at (309) 556-3003.

To view images of past Art Purchase Award winners, please visit our online collection.

Ames Library Research Strategies Award Announced

Posted by on April 27, 2009 No comments

Rachael Miller ’09, who will be graduating in May with a double major in Hispanic Studies and Greek and Roman Studies, has won The Ames Library Artistic and Scholarly Research Strategies Award. The award was established to recognize outstanding information access strategies used by students in the development of their scholarly and artistic/creative projects while at Illinois Wesleyan.

Miller’s research, “Las bibliotecas públicas y la comunidad Latina (Public libraries and the Latino community)” was completed for her Spanish for Social Justice class with Professor of Hispanic Studies Carolyn Nadeau. Miller’s research analyzed the library resources needs of the growing Hispanic population in our community. In her winning essay, Miller chronicled her research journey that took her from library databases and research discussions with Ames librarians to interviews with librarians in both the Bloomington and Normal public libraries. Professor Nadeau’s letter of support for the application cites Miller’s work as “…an extraordinary example of the well-researched paper that Illinois Wesleyan students are capable of producing.” In addition to a $500 award, her essay is online in Digital Commons, the online archive that houses IWU student journals, vetted student artistic and scholarly research, and faculty scholarship. (As reported IWU’s Campus Weekly)

Faculty research grant

Posted by on March 6, 2009 No comments

Effective immediately, the Ames Library is sponsoring an Archives Exploration and Research Award designed to increase faculty awareness of archives and special collections material available on campus and as a means for encouraging integration of this material into their coursework and research.

The Faculty Development Committee approved a program description and submission guidelines document today and will act as the review authority.

Tate Archives & Special Collections has launched a blog describing collection highlights and offering links to known portions of the collection. Many unexplored corners in the vaults on the 4th floor await!

Additionally, the Archives is devoting one page of its blog to photographs that need additional description. As viewers offer leads, photos will be moved into the official photo site for the historical IWU images.

You can subscribe to keep up-to-date with new additions to the Archives & Special Collections blog or you can stop by the 4th floor and ask in person!

Want to receive a $10 gift certificate to the IWU book store?

Posted by on February 12, 2009 No comments

Interested in helping the library understand what you need in order to do your research for class assignments?

Want to receive a $10 gift certificate to the IWU book store?

You can do both!  We need students to participate in the following research activities:

  • an interview with an anthropologist (about an hour)
  • videotaping your research process (about an hour)
  • taking photos of some of your daily activities and favorite places

If you are willing to participate in one of the above activities, please contact Andrew Asher at libstudy@iwu.edu or x3362.