Get Acquainted; Plan an Orientation

Are you new to campus or do you have new staff or incoming graduate students? If so, you may wish to consult with your Steenbock library liaison to plan an orientation to library collections and services.

Steenbock librarians are happy to meet with new staff and students--be it for an individual consultation, small-group workshop, or as participant in a department welcome event. Complete a request form.

Additionally, library liaisons can provide the following services:

• Assist with library services and policies (e.g., Interlibrary Loan, UW System search and retrieval…etc.),
• Assist with customizing email alerts to keep you informed about new articles matching your topic criteria or with tables of contents to your favorite journals,
• Provide in-depth reference consultations--at our office or yours--(e.g., help with strategy and database choices, work with your citation management product…etc.),
• Supply customized instructional sessions and course Web pages for your students,
• Consult on questions related to publishing your research (e.g., identify target journals, manage copyright, measure research impact, or investigate open-access publishing options).

Watch for our Steenbock Drop-In Workshops and Tours | August/September Tours

Or see the campus-wide libraries’ Workshops/Classes/Tours calendar.

Liaison Services

Have you met your liaison? Summer session can be a good time to get acquainted. Steenbock liaisons serve as principal contacts for each department and program the library supports.

Library liaisons can provide the following services:

• Provide in-depth orientation for new faculty, staff, graduate students, and project and research assistants.

• Assist with library services and policies (e.g., Library Express, faculty runner cards, UW System search and retrieval…),

• Customize email alerts to keep you informed about new articles matching your topic criteria and tables of contents of your favorite journals,

• Provide in-depth reference consultations—at our office or yours--(e.g., help with strategy and database choices, customize your own alerts…),

• Supply customized instructional sessions and course web pages for your students,

• Consult on questions related to publishing your research (e.g., identifying target journals, managing copyright, measuring research impact, open access publishing),

Find liaisons by Department/Program/Center

Find liaisons by Name

Textbooks, Options & Alternatives

Need textbooks? Visit My UW Textbook list (Academics tab) or the University Bookstore Text Department site to see what texts may be required for your classes this coming term. In addition to the campus bookstore, you may also be able to purchase necessary texts from your local and/or independent new and used booksellers.

In addition to that which could be purchased, the frugal student may also wish to consult campus libraries and Reserve collections. Depending upon what your required reading may entail, some texts may be available in campus libraries. Search MadCat or expand your search to the UW-System to find items to borrow. Please do realize that while you may be able to renew those items from our campus and UW-System collections, demand for a particular item may initiate a recall in which you would be prompted to return the item so that another library user could also view the text.

Many texts are also placed on Reserve in campus libraries. Visit My UW (Academics tab) or Learn@UW to find information about all reserve items that may be available for your class—either in a digitized format or held physically at a library location. (In this latter instance, you can also search for Reserve items using the MadCat Course Reserve search).

A Novel Way to Travel

According to Susheila Nasta, editor and founder of Wasafiri magazine, "reading is a passport to travel elsewhere. “

In the spirit of that adventure, she has recommended several of her favorite titles (with plot synopsis) in a recent article from The Guardian. I am pleased to note that all ten of the recommended titles are available from campus libraries.

Use the MadCat catalog or speak with your favorite librarian to confirm availability. Should one these titles be checked-out to other library users, do consider a UW-System search or visit one of our area public libraries. Again, campus librarians are happy to help you find available copies.

1. The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon

2. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (other editions, multiple copies on campus)

3. Baumgartner's Bombay by Anita Desai,

4. Austerlitz by WG Sebald

5. Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah

6. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende (other editions, multiple copies on campus)

7. Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh

8. Mr. Potter by Jamaica Kincaid

9. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

10. The Emperor's Babe by Bernardine Evaristo

Reading Between the Oscars

Slumdog Millionaire swept the Academy Awards, including the award for best picture. As compelling as audiences have found the film, did you know that its genesis was the novel Q & A by Vikas Swarup? In fact, many of the films represented by winning cast and crews have their roots in text—the following (below) to be found in campus library collections.

Use the MadCat catalog or speak with your favorite librarian to confirm availability. Should one these titles be checked-out to other library users, do consider a UW-System search or visit one of our area public libraries. Again, campus librarians are happy to help you find available copies.

Curious Case of Benjamin Button (short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald)

Title: Before Gatsby: the first twenty-six stories / F. Scott Fitzgerald; edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli with the assistance of Judith S. Baughman.
Location: College Library Main Book Collection, 3rd Fl. West, Rm 3191
Call Number: PS3511 I9 A6 2001

Location: Memorial Library Stacks Regular Size Shelving
Call Number: PS3511 I9 A6 2001

Author: Fitzgerald, F. Scott (Francis Scott), 1896-1940.
Title: Novels and stories, 1920-1922 / F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Location: Memorial Library Stacks Regular Size Shelving
Call Number: PS3511 I9 A6 2000

Doubt (play by John Patrick Shanley)

Author: Shanley, John Patrick.
Title: Doubt: a parable / John Patrick Shanley.
Location: College Library Main Book Collection, 3rd Fl. West, Rm 3191
c.1 Temporarily Shelved at College Library Reserve Collection, 1st Fl. Center
Call Number: PS3569 H3337 D68 2005

Location: Memorial Library Stacks Regular Size Shelving
Call Number: PS3569 H3337 D68 2005

The Reader (novel by Bernhard Schlink)

Author: Schlink, Bernhard.
Title: The reader / Bernhard Schlink; translated from the German by Carol Brown Janeway.
Location: Memorial Library Stacks Regular Size Shelving
Call Number: PT2680 L54 V6713 1997

Location: College Library Open Book Fiction, 1st Floor, Room 1250
Call Number: PT2680 L54 V6713 1998

Slumdog Millionaire (based upon the novel Q & A by Vikas Swarup)

Author: Swarup, Vikas.
Title: Q & A: a novel / Vikas Swarup.
Location: Memorial Library Stacks Regular Size Shelving
Call Number: PR9499.4 S93 Q13 2005

As the Snow Flies

What with the dusting of snow we received this week and the anticipation of much more, I thought it would be appropriate, if not fun, to share some recommended book titles—the theme being “snow”.

Charlie English, deputy editor of the Saturday Guardian has generated a books column with his recommendations of those snowy titles.

With the exceptions of English’s own title and Snow by Ruth Kirk, campus libraries have copies of all the books recommended on this list. (Other Kirk titles are in the collections; Snow can be obtained using a UW System search and retrieval!)

Journal Collection News

Campus libraries have recently negotiated new multi-year licensing agreements with some journal publishers. As a result of these negotiations, we now have greatly increased access to journals from Elsevier.

Campus libraries have also negotiated access to all of the Nature journal titles, including Nature Protocols, Nature Photonics, and Nature Geoscience.

Despite these favorable leasing agreements, Steenbock Library has had to cancel some journal subscriptions in order to stay within budget. You can learn more about this these journal collection issues by visiting the library’s Journal Subscriptions and Related News for 2009 page.

This web page also includes a brief update on journal price increases and local budget issues, information about the UW System budget request for UW Digital Commons, and an explanation of the criteria that we use to identify journals for cancellation. As always, we have targeted lower-use journals. To comment on any of these cancellations, please contact Steenbock Library Director Jean Gilbertson by November 1, 2008.

When you need a journal article that is not available on our campus, we encourage you to use Library Express to request a copy at no charge to you. While we are aware of the potential inconvenience caused by canceling subscriptions, we are committed to providing you with the information you need in an efficient and timely manner.

Campus Book Delivery

Campus libraries can deliver available books to the library locations that are most convenient for you. Search the MadCat catalog for the book(s) you need. From each item record, click the Place Requests button (at the top of the page) in order to generate the request.

Once you have logged in with your campus ID number and last name, select “retrieve from shelf.” On the following screen, you will be prompted to select a library pick-up location and to enter your ID number once more.

Please allow 1-3 days for items to reach their destination. You may check the status of your request by logging in to “My MadCat Account.” An email message will be sent when your items are available for pick-up.

Click here for more information about Article and Book Delivery Services.