Fall 2002 Library Newsletter

“Library” suggests different things to different people -- perhaps never more so than now, as we expand our services beyond Memorial and Science Libraries, and as we build a new library.   As you’ll see elsewhere in the newsletter, we are accelerating our use of technology to extend existing services and add new services. But equally important, we’re completing plans for furnishing Raynor Library to assure that the library as “place” will be distinctive, inviting, and functional, integrating technology throughout the building.   Your opinions on services, collections, and facilities have been the major influence on improvements in each of these areas. This year will be a challenge for all of us, as we work around relocated collections and tighter reader spaces.  We’ll try to minimize the inconvenience to you as best we can.  Please let us know how we can help.

Dr. Nicholas Burckel, Dean of Libraries

Groundbreaking!   October 1, 2001
Students joined with trustees, alumni, and university officials to celebrate the start of construction.

Beam Me Up!  An Opus crane swings one of 18 specially made 75-foot, 4.5-ton I-beams into place, where it will span the distance between Raynor and Memorial.  The beams were manufactured in Minnesota, shipped by truck from LaCrosse and came complete with a police escort.  The bridge space will feature comfortable seating and a café, and will serve as an entrance to Memorial and its collections.

Aerial view of Raynor Library in August.

The Libraries actively support the effort to build and implement the new core curriculum.  Three librarians—Jim Lowrey, Julie O’Keeffe, and Susan Hopwood—served on university-wide core committees and information literacy skills (defined as “the ability to locate, evaluate, and use information effectively”) are now included in six of the nine core knowledge areas.  O’Keeffe, Coordinator of Instruction, works with the Director of First-Year English to provide information literacy sessions to freshman English students.   A new Web site was developed to help with research assignments and related critical thinking skills.   Dr. Kris Ratcliffe, the incoming First-Year English Director, notes, “The library staff is integral to our first-year writing program.  In their sessions, librarians help students become more knowledgeable about and, therefore, more comfortable with the available resources and ever-changing technology associated with academic research.”   Another key partnership integrating information literacy skills into teaching is that of Dr. James South, Associate Professor of Philosophy, and reference librarian Dr. John Jentz.   Supported by two Mellon Grants, South and Jentz have developed a new curriculum for Introductory Logic that builds on the similarities between logic and information literacy.   “Marquette’s librarians have established a good track record for helping students think through their use of information,” O’Keeffe explains.  Faculty who would like to address student issues related to research and effective use of information should call Julie O’Keeffe (x8-5996) or e-mail .

STEVEN BURK and STEPHANIE NOLL, winners of the 2002 Dittman Research Paper Competition, receive their awards from MARIA DITTMAN (center).   Every year, the Libraries invite students to submit their "A" papers and research process descriptions as they vie for the graduate and undergraduate prizes of $100.   Congratulations, Steven and Stephanie!

Journal migration to electronic format continues: the Libraries now provide access to over 12,000 journals in full text through the various databases; almost 7,000 online journals are cataloged and hotlinked in MARQCAT.  New examples of this migration include the American Chemical Society Journal Archive and PCI Full Text, a major online archive/index for 300 significant journals in the social sciences and humanities.  Use of electronic resources doubled in the last two years, plus over 50% of the 552,000 database “hits” in the last nine months retrieved full text articles.  Several significant new electronic databases include online ERIC documents, Socrates Online, and World Shakespeare Bibliography Online .

In the last year, researchers from 46 states and 16 foreign countries contacted or conducted research in the archives.  Archivist Mark Thiel noted that within 48 hours of posting the inventory for the Bureau of Catholic Indian Mission records on the Web, a curator from the American Folklife Museum inquired about a beaded baseball held in the collection.  The one-of-a-kind baseball is now on exhibit in Manhattan.  Special Collections preserves more than 35 million documentary sources and archivists have now prepared online, folder-level descriptions for many significant collections.  Inventories describe over 75% of the holdings, including the papers of J. R.R. Tolkien and Dorothy Day, records of the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions, and almost all University records.  Keyword searching is available via MORE’s "Search Library Site" option.  Improving access to these unique sources has resulted in a significant increase in use of Marquette's archival collections.

Beaded Baseball

During the past year the Department of Special Collections acquired more than 375 cubic feet of records.  An exciting Tolkien letter was purchased at auction thanks to the Blackwelder Fund.  Written in 1963 to Nancy Smith, indexer of The Lord of the Rings, the letter details Tolkien’s development of his masterpiece and his lifelong passion for languages.  Other acquisitions highlights include: The John L. Holloway and Priscilla Holloway Papers (1,300 letters constituting one of the most comprehensive collections of personal correspondence by Wisconsin residents during World War II), and The Thomas C. Reeves, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen Research Collection (extensive research material and oral history interviews collected for Reeves’ 2001 biography, America’s Bishop).

Two appointments this year round out the Archives staff: Brother THOMAS TYNAN, S.J.,(left), has been appointed to a one-year term as Project Archivist.  Tynan holds his M.A. from Gonzaga (Christianity and Modern Culture) and an MLIS from UW-Milwaukee.  Dr. MICHAEL DOYLEN, appointed Archivist last February, holds a Ph.D. in literature from UC-Santa Cruz and MLIS from UW-Milwaukee.   Welcome aboard!

“What is the history of televangelism?”  “What does the ‘D’ in D-Day stand for?”   “I need market information on plumbing fixtures in Russia.”   “What does Ayn Rand’s phrase ‘phaleric bull’ mean?”  “What percentage of car buyers use the Internet to research their purchases?”  “ Are there English usage guidelines for the phrase ‘the fact that’?”

Yes, these are all real questions fielded by the Reference & Information Desk in recent months.  Thousands of questions like these (over 15,000 last year) are posed in person, by phone, and via the e-mail “Ask-A-Librarian” service.  Many are answered on the spot using a resource at hand, but many more involve either longer (i.e. more sources) or substantial research.  In questions like those above, librarians usually start with standard resources, like The Oxford English Dictionary or The Elements of Style, but increasingly those “standards” are online and the librarian often turns to sites found in MORE’s “Selected Internet Sites.”  There are no “dumb questions.”   Staff members cheerfully and doggedly pursue all inquiries.  Watch for the new Virtual Reference service, debuting later this fall—users will be able to pose their questions "live" and online.

Mary Croy of the College of Nursing recites original poetry during one of the Library's events celebrating National Poetry Month.  The April reading series consists of five separate sessions held in different environments, during which staff, faculty, and students read favorites or their own work to appreciative audiences.

In an effort to better understand the needs of our users, the libraries are in the midst of conducting three surveys.  Such surveys are an important part of library planning efforts, but are driven in particular by two events: the self-study required prior to the upcoming University accreditation review and the formulation of services for the new Raynor Library.  In the fall of 2001, the Libraries surveyed a random sample of faculty to gauge their opinions and usage levels of our online services and resources.  The survey data showed that faculty are largely aware of the libraries’ range of services, find our Web site easy to navigate, and 98% rate our online services and resources comparable to or better than those at other libraries.

In March 2002, the libraries participated in a national survey involving over 170 academic libraries.  Questions focused on service quality, personal control in the research process, and ease of information access.  Nearly 1,000 respondents completed the survey, and many took time to add comments.  Preliminary results showed that user expectations for service are met, that electronic resources are strong, but that the physical aspect of the library needs improvement.  Analysis of ways to implement user suggestions has already begun.  For instance, off-campus access to databases has already been improved in response to user suggestions.  The third survey, in fall 2002, will focus on Reference services.

Pick a Seat!  A group of students provide vital feedback by rating the new chair possibilities for the Raynor library.   Hundreds of students voted for their favorites.

Construction of the bridge connection to Memorial started in May and included exterior modifications to the upper floors of Memorial.

Mardi Gras comes to the Library!   The Libraries’ staff embraces the University’s mission.  Book trucks decorated as “floats” parade the halls of Memorial Library in an annual fund drive that benefits the MS Walk.  This float from the Interlibrary Loan Department took top honors.  Mardi Gras is only one of several community fund drives spearheaded by Library staff and students.  Other events included a bake sale for the 9/11 fund, holiday collection for the Milwaukee Rescue Mission and Casa Maria, and a book drive for Literacy Services of Wisconsin.

• Look for new spill-proof library mugs at the circulation desks.  Only $3!
• Now you don’t need proxy settings to connect to the Libraries’ electronic resources from off-campus!  The result is a faster, easier connection.
• Over 100,000 book records added since 1997 now include tables of contents and summaries in MARQCAT, which help users determine an item’s usefulness.
• Raynor construction has resulted in relocation of thousands of volumes, both books and periodicals, within Memorial and to off-site storage.  Please ask if you need assistance!
• The Libraries encourage all users to suggest books for the collection.  Use the online form on MORE’s “Request Services” page.
• Looking for a good movie?  Now you can easily find more than 500 feature films in the collection by using MARQCAT’s Subject search option (enter feature films)!

MORE, Libraries’ Web Site  http://www.marquette.edu/library/

Raynor Library   http://www.marquette.edu/library/raynor/

Special Collections and University Archives   http://www.marquette.edu/library/collections/archives/

Library Information & News   http://www.marquette.edu/library/information/