News from the Mudd

Winter Term Services at the Seeley G. Mudd Library

Happy winter term, everyone!

We are open and providing all of our usual Reference and Circulation Services.

We have safe, clean, and distanced study spaces available throughout the first and second floors anytime our building is open.

Log into your library account to request physical materials. We’re happy to locate and retrieve books and other resources for you to pick-up at the Circulation Desk, or to be sent to your campus SPC.

Check out this awesome guide if you need help accessing our resources from off-campus.

Reference Librarians are available to help you with research assistance and reference instruction. We’re also on hand to offer assistance of any kind!

We’re offering some cool Zoom gatherings this term as well, including weekly read-alouds, virtual study hall, and fiber arts hang-outs. Be on the look-out for announcements about these events through our social media accounts.

Whether through our computer screens, or from six feet away, we’ll see you soon!

Winter Break 2020 and the Mudd

Mudd Library building in the snow with text that reads Happy Holidays from your friend at the Mudd

Hooray! We made it through fall term! While you’re all safely navigating to your place to settle in for break, don’t forget that your friends in the Mudd are here for you!

The library will be open from November 30 through December 18, Monday through Friday 8 am to 4:30 pm. Access to the library building is still limited to students, faculty, and staff and your Lawrence ID is required to enter.

We’ll be available to help virtually as well! Many of the ways we were able to help you over fall term will continue into winter term!

The library will be closed (and staff will be off) from December 19th through January 3rd, as the campus will be closed during that time. Please contact us as soon as possible to help with your course reserves, set up research instruction sessions, and other library services. We’ll open again on Monday, January 4th.

Even if when the library is closed, there’s still lots the library can help you with!

  • Streaming media databases: Find documentaries, instructional videos, movies, news clips, operas, theatre performances, and much more from our varied collection of streaming video resources. Our streaming audio resources include a wide variety of music, theatre audio, and more. Many of these resources include permalinks to individual titles and the ability to make clips to use in courses, and most can be accessed off campus with a proxy login.
  • OneSearch and Article databases: Find full text articles by searching in OneSearch and in many of our databases.
  • ArtStor Image Database: Collect images for your courses and projects in ArtStor.
  • Course reserve forms: We have PDF forms of our course reserve cards available that you can fill out at home and print out (or save as and print out later). Find an article in one of our databases? Use this form to simply enter some information, and we’ll add your reading and fill out the card. We’ll still be doing just electronic reserves for winter term.
  • RefWorks citation manager: Don’t have access to a printer? Collect and organize resources in RefWorks that you can easily locate once we’re open again.

We hope everyone has a safe, restful, and happy winter break! Happy holidays from your friends in the Mudd!

It’s the End of the Term- Let us Help!

Get help from a reference librarian to figure out those tricky academic citations or last-minute research questions! 

Need help with polishing your writing?  You can request a meeting with a tutor from the Center for Academic Success (24 hours in advance, please!).

Introducing: Mudd Flix- Movies to Your Mailbox!

Text reads: "Introducing: Mudd Flix, Search & Request DVDs!"on top of a green box with green film reel images in the background.

Did you know that the Mudd Library has an excellent and varied collection of DVDs? We have loads of popular movies, documentaries, musicals, stage productions, and even TV shows! To make it even better, we now have an easy way to search all of this great stuff! Introducing, Mudd Flix!

Mudd Flix is a special search tab in Library OneSearch that allows you to search just DVDs! Search all kinds of keywords to find your favorites: performer name, director name, genre, language, and many more!

Once you’ve discovered the title you’d like, all you have to do is request it! Here’s a helpful video that shows you how to do it: Requesting Materials in the Library Catalog. Or, if you’d prefer, the directions are written out in the Remote Library Services Guide (scroll down to the Requesting Items from the Collection section).

Request to have the video delivered to your campus mailbox, or to have it held for you so you can pick it up from the library circulation desk!

Need a DVD player for your laptop? We have those available to check out! Just fill out this form: Borrowing Equipment

Remember- if you’re on campus or in the Appleton area- try out our amazing new Mudd Flix search, find what you’d like, and submit a request! We’ll pull the movie, and have it delivered right to your mailbox or hold it for you at the circulation desk.

Meet Your Reference Librarians: Lina Rosenberg Foley Edition

By now, many of you have reached out to our reference librarians by email, phone, chat, our web form, and now, our reference kiosk.

We provide solid research assistance, as well as help with navigating our wide array of electronic resources.

Have you met Lina? If so, you’ll know she is enthusiastic about helping you and supporting your academic success.

She is also our University Archivist, so she loves providing our community with access to the wealth of primary sources and interesting historical ephemera that she carefully curates.

Read on to learn more about this multi-passionate Reference Librarian-slash-University Archivist-slash-all around wonderful person (and alumna)!

Lovely Librarian Lina

Undergrad Major: Environmental Studies (from this fine institution!)

Favorite Book: Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

Favorite Hobby: Anything outside- camping, hiking, mountain biking

Favorite Database: Artstor, because not only can you find a bunch of things from the Archives and the Wriston Art Galleries, but also art and architecture from around the world. 

Pets: Only the squirrels in my backyard

Best part of being a Reference Librarian: Learning something new because of a question someone’s asked

Anything else: Vote! Register to vote, and get your friends and family to do it too- it’s easy and quick, and your civic duty.

Meet Your Reference Librarians: Andrew McSorley Edition

Considering that you may not have had the opportunity to meet all of our fantastic library faculty and staff during Welcome Week this year, given the need for social distancing, we thought it might be nice for you to get to know the librarians who are here to support you.

Reference librarians, among many other things, help you learn to engage in high-quality research and use our extensive collections in the most advantageous way. We support student scholars! We also support faculty and staff.

First up we have Andrew McSorley, our Reference and Digital Liberal Arts Librarian. Andrew is a published poet and also a published dad! If you’ve worked with him before, you know he is very intelligent, well-rounded, and has the ability to take complex ideas and information and express it all in a clear and concise way. He’s also very, very funny.

Here are a few more fun facts about Andrew, answered in his own words.

Undergrad Major: Creative Writing

Favorite Book: Sometimes it’s Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. Right now, probably either Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino or Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett (plays count, right?)

Favorite Hobby: Poetry, Ice Hockey, Magic: The Gathering

Favorite Database: This is such a fun idea, to have a favorite database. They’re all so useful. The one I use the most is probably Credo Reference, but AVON (Academic Video Online) and Oxford English Dictionary are pretty fun. 

Pets: One cat, Nikki.

Best part of being a Reference Librarian: Meeting new students!

Anything else: Stay curious, and never stop learning!

Thanks so much for all you do for Lawrence and our students, Andrew.

Our Reference Librarians can be reached in a variety of ways highlighted here.

Fall Term 2020 Library Services

Even though things are different on campus fall term, your friends from the Mudd are still available to provide the services to help you succeed! We’ve put together this guide of instructional videos about library services and resources to help you out. Additionally, here’s a list of your favorite services, and how they’re a little different this term.

Circulation- Checking out library books & other stuff:

  • For students, faculty, and staff on campus: Request items through our library catalog and they’ll be sent to you in campus mail! Here’s an informative video that show you exactly how to do this!
  • For students living off campus out of the Appleton area: Continue to request scans of book chapters and articles through the library catalog- as detailed in this video.
  • For students living off campus in the Appleton area: Select Lawrence University Library as the pickup location when requesting items through the library catalog.

Reference- Research Help and Librarian Instruction

  • Our reference librarians will continue to be available for questions, research appointments, as well as targeted in-class instruction- all over Zoom, chat, phone, or email!
    • For research help, ask us!
    • For faculty looking for a librarian to assist with their courses, contact Gretchen Revie, instruction coordinator.

Interlibrary Loan

  • All students, faculty, and staff can continue to request scans of articles and book chapters through interlibrary loan.
  • Those on campus are welcome to begin requesting physical items again- but keep in mind that wait times for the items will be extended as we follow quarantining protocols for the items.
    • Faculty and staff who would like their ILL items delivered via campus mail for contactless delivery can opt into this option by completing this form.
    • See the Interlibrary Loan page for more details on what types of items may be requested.

Makerspace

  • The Makerspace will be available over fall term, but only two individuals will be permitted in the space at a time. Reserve time in the makerspace by using the reservation form and calendar.
  • Since use will be limited, academic use of the space and equipment will be getting much higher priority. Makerspace training will be on demand by emailing the makerspace, and mostly restricted to academic use only. This is due to the limited number of individuals in the space and since makerspace staff will be in the building much less this term.
  • If you’d like us to make something for you (either for academic or non-academic use), please complete the project request form. We’re happy to help!
  • Faculty who are interested in having their students work on a makerspace-related assignment are welcome to email us with any questions or ideas.

Archives

  • Our Archivist, Lina Rosenberg Foley, will scan items as requested to facilitate remote research as well as any documents needed for classes.
  • In-person research can be scheduled on a limited basis.
  • Email archives@lawrence.edu for assistance!

Access to the Building

We know many of you have been missing the Mudd Library building (we know- we have too)! To ensure the safety of everyone, we’ve had to make some temporary changes.

  • Building hours will be limited for now. Hours will be posted on the library calendar.
  • Eating will not be permitted in the library.
  • The library stacks will temporarily be closed. This means instead of students, faculty, and staff being able to go to the shelves to get their own stuff- it will have to be requested through the library catalog. Here’s a video that explains how to request items.
  • Fewer individuals will be permitted in the building than usual. To help all of us limit the number of people in the library, and to help everyone socially distance, a number of chairs have been relocated and level A, 3rd, and 4th floors have been limited to staff only.
  • The building is card access only and access is limited to current members of the Lawrence University community only. Don’t forget your LU ID card to enter!

We know these changes will present a challenge to all of us- and we thank you ahead of time for working with us to keep all of us safe! We can’t wait until we can resume our regular hours and access to services! We’re doing all we can to ensure our students are still able to get all of the materials you’ll need to succeed while still keeping you safe! Please reach out to us with any questions! We’ll do all we can to accommodate!

Welcome Week 2020 and the Mudd

We are so excited to welcome new students to Lawrence University! Even though things look a lot different than in previous years, we’re just as eager to meet our new Lawrentians!

The Mudd Library building isn’t open over welcome week, but your (soon-to-be) friends from the Mudd are available to help you learn about the library, university, and have some fun while you settle in!

Welcome Week Schedule:

Thursday, September 10, 4-5 pm: Game Time with the Mudd Library!
Join us for a Zoomified version of the super fun game Bring Your Own Book. All you need to do is bring a book and join us! This “game of borrowed phrases” asks you to “grab a book, and then quickly skim to satisfy the chosen prompt… with the most entertaining phrase” (from game box description).
Join the Zoom gathering here!

Friday, September 11, 3-4 pm: Book Chat and Fiber Arts with the Mudd Library
Join us to chat about a favorite book you’ve read recently, a favorite show you’ve binged (or responsibly watched), a movie you’ve loved, a game you’ve played- or share a fiber arts project you’re working on! Feel free to share, or just come to listen and learn about some fun new things!
Join the Zoom gathering here!

Available All Week!
Library Reference Chat 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday
Ask us anything! We can help you get a head start on how to access course reserves, request to have a book sent to you in campus mail, search the library catalog, browse databases, find streaming music, figure out whom to contact for what, and so much more!
Ask here!

BFFs: Students, Success, and the Seeley G. Mudd Library
This welcome video narrated by our library director Peter Gilbert is especially for parents of new Lawrentians. Learn about the many ways in which your friends in the Mudd Library provide the services and resources to help your students succeed!
You can view the video now!

Virtual Campus Resources Fair: The Mudd Library
Learn about the many ways the Mudd Library can help, and all the fun ways your new library is different from other libraries you’ve used in the past with this introduction video, narrated by reference librarian Gretchen Revie.
You can view the video now!

We also have a whole lot of introductory videos to help you get acquainted with the Mudd Library and the many helpful services we offer! To accommodate COVID-19 restrictions and safety precautions, we’ve made many of these services available remotely! Take a look at the Learning About the Library guide for this informative collection!

We’re excited to get to know all of our new students- and want you to get to know us! Helping you is why we’re here!

Black Lives Matter Summer Reads Titles

For our annual summer reads coffeehouse this year, we decided to focus on books that educate and explore Black American experiences. The books that we had discussed are available on our summer 2020 coffeehouse guide (linked below). Take a look to read about the wide range of non-fiction, fiction, poetry, film, and websites that were shared.

Black Lives Matter Summer Reads Recommendations

There are a variety of ways to get these materials!

  • Your local public library- physical books: Many are doing curbside pickup. If you live in the Appleton area, here’s information on how to get items from the Appleton Public Library.
  • Local public library- eBooks: Many public libraries provide access to one or more eBook databases. Look at your local library’s website for databases such as Overdrive, Hoopla, or EBSCO eBook Collection.
  • From the Mudd Library: If you’re on campus, or faculty/staff who live in the area, requested books can get delivered to your campus SPC or office! Just log in to your library account, find the item you’d like in the library catalog, and click request to access the request form. Here’s a video that demonstrates how to request an item from the library catalog!
  • If you’re able to purchase these titles, you can support an independent Black-owned bookstore by shopping at Harambee Books.

Diversity Resources Guide

Looking for even more resources? This guide contains a selection of diversity-related materials that are available in the Mudd Library, as well as related databases and other online resources.

Contact your friendly reference librarians if you need any assistance in locating these titles, or navigating the library resources. We’re here to help!