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Tag: K-State Libraries

Faculty and grad students: Tell K-State Libraries what you want to learn

Posted on by skearns

K-State Libraries is planning a Library Day for faculty and graduate students in late summer.  During Library Day, we’ll offer classes about:

So that Library Day is as useful to you as possible, please take a couple of minutes and answer this brief survey. Tell us what resources you want to learn more about, suggest others, and indicate what dates and times will work best for you.

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ARTstor database unveiled, accessible to all K-Staters

Posted on by skearns

arstor

If a picture paints a thousand words, then ARTstor has your next 10 years of lectures and research papers covered. ARTstor is a database of digital images: photographs, paintings, architecture, murals, textiles, jewelry, maps, sculpture . . . you know, art and artifacts. Since art reflects the breadth and depth of the human experience, ARTstor’s content spans the globe, from ancient times to contemporary life, incorporating cultural objects that reveal “art” in its broadest definition.

You can take advantage of ARTstor’s many high-resolution images and zoom in so close that, if you were in a museum, your nose would be pressed against the object and a guard would escort you from the premises. Thanks to the zoom tool, you can see not only the placement of individual beads, but also the netting onto which they are sewn in this image of a Christian Dior gown (please note, links in this article to images in ARTstor will only work for K-Staters). Some of the images of paintings allow you to get close enough to see individual brush strokes.

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Inauguration day activities and online coverage

Posted on by Rebecca Gould

There are two opportunities to watch the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama on Inauguration Day, Tuesday, Jan. 20.

K-State Libraries offers international coverage of the inauguration.  Ongoing inauguration coverage will be available 9 a.m.-4 p.m.in the Dow Chemical Multicultural Resource Center, on the third floor of Hale Library. Coverage will rotate among the eight international networks offered by K-State’s cable television service: ART, the Arabic network; BBC America; CCTV-4 of China; TV5 of France; TV Asia; TV Japan; TVK of Korea; and Univision, the Spanish-language network. Coverage of the actual inauguration ceremony will be at 10:30 a.m. and will be from BBC America. American news coverage will broadcast in the east end of the second floor of Hale Library.

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K-State Libraries use Libstats, an electronic reference tracking system

Posted on by dtheiss

Libstats: code.google.com/p/libstats

Libstats is an open source, web-based software program created by programmers from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. It provides a way for libraries to track reference interactions at multiple service points. This software is run on Linux or Windows and requires a PHP server. For more technology requirements, see Google’s Libstats Installation Guide.

Libstats allows library staff at each service point to systematically record details about their patron encounters in order to capture important usage data. K-State Libraries made the transition to Libstats (and away from capturing reference transactions by placing tick marks on paper tally sheets) in January 2007. A wealth of information can be gleaned from the data captured. For example, data can be analyzed to make management decisions about staffing levels; service hours; staff training and continuing education needs; and improving basic library services.

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Text yourself from the K-State Libraries catalog

Posted on by dfe

Next time you’re using the K-State Libraries catalog, check out the new feature — texting!  You know the drill — do a search, find the material you need, get the call number so you can find it in the stacks. Previously, you could get out a piece of paper, find a pencil, and write the call number down.  Or, you could try to memorize the number, and wander through Hale desperately chanting “B H four three five point C seventy-six G nine eight two one three” over and over. Now, you can text it to your phone! Continue reading “Text yourself from the K-State Libraries catalog” →

K-State Libraries move to Libraryh3lp for IM service

Posted on by dtheiss

IM logo for Libraryh3lp

In September, K-State Libraries received more than 450 questions via instant messaging, the majority from students using the Libraries’ web-based chat widgets. Also that month, the Libraries switched its web chat service from Meebo (used October 2006-August 2008) to Libraryh3lp.  It allows K-Staters to contact the library through their personal instant messaging (IM) accounts — AIM, GTalk, Jabber, Meebo, MSN, or Yahoo — as well as the Libraries’ web-based chat widgets. Continue reading “K-State Libraries move to Libraryh3lp for IM service” →

K-State Libraries has technology carts, self-checkout, overhead scanners

Posted on by dfe

Fall 2008 brings new and exciting technology to Hale Library! Three new technology carts are being installed so K-Staters can collaborate on projects and presentations. Two new self-checkout stations prevent waiting in line. Three overhead scanners installed last year allow books and other materials to be scanned into digital files that are e-mailed or saved to flash drives. Continue reading “K-State Libraries has technology carts, self-checkout, overhead scanners” →