LibraryRunner

This year's Book in Common is How the Word is Passed, by Clint Smith.  Smith starts in his own hometown of New Orleans, and goes on a quest through seven locations to understand how slavery was integral to our country's history -- and how the stories we have told ourselves about that history have glossed over the parts we don't want to think about.

The Library has plenty of copies of How the Word is Passed to check out, and an ebook accessible at any time. We've also put together an online guide to the book, packed with information and extra resources for use in your class, your discussions, or your personal study.   You'll find tips on reading history at the college level, links to sources on African-American history, videos, and more.

“What [Smith] does, quite successfully, is show that we whitewash our history at our own risk. That history is literally still here, taking up acres of space, memorializing the past, and teaching us how we got to be where we are, and the way we are. Bury it now and it will only come calling later." —USA Today

September 15th through October 15th is Latinx/Hispanic Heritage Month. The library has a great collection of resources to learn all about the history, various cultures, art, contributions, and accomplishments of Latinx/Hispanic Americans. Check out our display as well as our curated collection of books on a range of topics and interests all related to the culture and contributions of Latinx/Hispanic Americans. You might find your next favorite YA author, a biography of a person you admire, or a book about a period of history you don't know much about. This collection is just a small sample of the books we have so make sure you take a look in our catalog if you are looking for something specific. We also have a related guide for Chicanx/Latinx Ethnic Studies.

Do you know of a book we don't have yet in the library's collection? You can recommend a book for purchase by filling out our book recommendation form. 

We've been working on making more materials -- especially textbooks -- available digitally so that students can access them at any time.  Instructors may wish to give the library a copy of their textbook for digitization so that it can be made available.  Read the guidelines and see if your class would benefit from access to a digital textbook!

Digital books and textbooks are not the same thing as ebooks.  We purchase ebooks, which are hosted in databases such as ProQuest and EBSCO, while digital books are books that we scan from a physical copy and make available locally through controlled digital lending (see below).  We do this when a regular ebook is not available for purchase -- which is usually the case with textbooks. 

Accessing Digital Books

If you find a digital book that you want to access, you will need to sign in before you can receive access. 

When you've signed in, the phrase Digital Version(s) will be a link, which you can click to open the textbook. 

You will also see the limitations on using the book. In some cases the book can only be viewed by a few people, or even just one person, at a time. If the textbook is already being used by its maximum number of viewers, you will see a link inviting you to add yourself to the waitlist. Click that link, then confirm on the next page.

When the book becomes available, you will receive an email notification. From the moment you receive the email, you will have 30 minutes to start viewing the resource; after that passes, if you haven't viewed the resource, it becomes available to the next person in the waitlist.

Using Digital Books

Please be aware of the following features:

• Zooming in and out. Look for plus (+) and minus (-) signs to adjust the text, to make it more readable.
• Contents pane. This area to the left will help you navigate through parts of the book (usually chapters).
• Full-screen. You might be better able to read the text if you open it in full-screen view.
• Time remaining. An hourglass icon will show you how much time is left in your session, after which the book access will end. If there is nobody waiting for the book at that point, you will be able to open it again.
• Return early. If you are done using your book, please click Return Early! Doing so will allow anyone waiting for their turn to get to access to the book more quickly.

Note that you will not be able to download the source PDF files to your computer, but you should be able to copy/paste short passages.

If you notice problems with your digital book, please use the Report a problem link, or, if you need immediate help, use the live chat service.

About Controlled Digital Lending

As noted above, there are limits on how many people can view digital books simultaneously, and the library doesn't provide PDF copies that you could save to your computer. These limitations are required by copyright law. We do not have a license to distribute online copies of the book, so we are treating each use of the digital book as a digital loan, similar to how we loan out books in print format from our circulation desk. In fact, for each student who is able to view a digital book, there is simultaneously a legally obtained physical copy sitting on a shelf in the library that cannot be checked out. This model of library access is called controlled digital lending.

It would be much easier if we could purchase licenses for books, and especially textbooks, through vendors such as EBSCO or ProQuest, from whom we purchase most of our ebooks. But many of the most common publishers of academic textbooks prefer not to allow libraries to purchase ebook licenses.

With the start of the semester upon us and fall rolling in we thought a display of Dark Academia books would be fitting. Come check out our selection of new titles and classics in the genre. The display also features "vintage" texts from our collection, books that you might find wandering the stacks of an old university library. 

On a more practical note, one of our mobile displays features a selection of books to help with the start of the semester, such as study skills and other useful college information.

Finally, we have a selection from our graphic novel collection including many new purchases. 

Come and check the new displays out!