Top News: August 2005 Archives

The library would like to welcome back returning students and faculty, and greet all our newcomers. We've been busy over the summer planning for the future, purchasing new resources, and improving our services.

Most recently, see the new, easier way to access online resources from off-campus. One login (your AccessNet username and password) is all you need (well, that and a computer with an internet connection) to access the wealth of online resources provided by the library.

We've also added a number of new electronic resources, including Web of Science backfiles, new JSTOR Arts journals, African-American Newspapers, and a number of new online Encyclopedias.

And, if you are one of the millions of people who Instant Message (IM), we now answer reference questions via IM. Add us to your buddy list. Our various screennames and online status is found on our Ask a Librarian page.

--Derik A Badman

The Freshman Summer Reading Project has all incoming freshman reading the same book. Discussions in class, a visit by the author, and other events follow. This year Tamim Ansary's West of Kabul, East of New York was selected.

As part of the project Temple librarians have created a resource guide to aid students in finding more information on the book, the author, and the historical and social context. We hope students will find the guide useful.

You can now start your web-based research directly from all of the Libraries' web services even if you're off-campus. All you need is your browser and your AccessNet ID. Access to the Libraries' restricted resources has never been easier!

When you click on a link to a restricted resource in the Diamond catalog or anywhere on the Libraries' web site, you'll see the LibProxy login page. Simply enter your AccessNet username and password, -- the same username and password you use for email or TUportal -- click the "login" button, and search. Beginning August 29, JournalFinder will also be accessible this way.

Your login will be valid until you end your session and close your browser. That means you only have to login once to search our entire selection of databases and ebooks.

Off-campus users can still gain access to the restricted resources via
TUportal or previous methods. If you use those, or are anywhere on campus, you won't notice anything different.

We hope you'll find LibProxy makes your off-campus research much easier. If you have any questions, just contact Brian Schoolar, our Electronic Resources Librarian, at 215-204-3258 or jbrian@temple.edu.

--Byron C. Mayes

The Temple Book Club calendar and selections for 2005-2006 are listed below. Discussions are open to anyone who is interested and generally run from 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. in Paley Lecture Hall, which is located on the ground floor of Paley Library.

It's always a lunchtime event, so you're welcome to bring your lunch if you wish. Beverages and very light snacks are provided. If you would like to be added to the book club's listserv or would like more information, contact Margaret Jerrido, mj@temple.edu or 215-204-6639.

September 22, 2005
West of Kabul, East of New York, by Tamim Ansary
A resource guide is available here.

October 27, 2005
The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera

November 17, 2005
The Honey Thief, by Elizabeth Graver

December 15, 2005
Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky

January 26, 2006
Snow, by Orhan Pamuk

February 23, 2006
Freedomtown: A Novelette, by Jacqueline T. Small
(Ms. Small will be our guest author)

March 23, 2006
Family Resemblances, by Tanya Maria Barrientos

April 27, 2006
The Forbidden, by L. A. Banks
(Ms. Leslie Banks will be our guest author)

May 25, 2006
To be determined.

-- Margaret Jerrido

On August 18th, Temple librarian Anne Harlow gave a presentation entitled "Musicians: Ambassadors for Peace" at a pre-concert talk for the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. She is a member of the Reference and Instructional Services Department in Paley Library and also serves as the library's subject specialist in music, dance, and theater.

Anne's presentation was coordinated with a rare concert appearance of Van Cliburn with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Cliburn became a national hero when he won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1958, in the midst of the Cold War, only a few months after the successful launching of Sputnik.

Anne's research into cross-cultural communications, particularly music, between the United States and the former Soviet Union during the Cold War, was inspired by her early love of Russian music. "Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Borodin, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov ... I loved all of them since I was a little girl," she says. "As a child, I spent endless hours listening to this music and wore out my records! But, in the midst of Duck and Cover drills, I could not understand how a nation that produced such beautiful music could not be our friends." Traveling to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Warsaw, and Kiev to pursue her research interests, she discovered how deeply the Russians love music, and how important these musical exchange concerts were during this stressful and dangerous time of World History. She hopes that her research inspires further musical exchange beyond political, social, and cultural boundaries, and believes that such endeavors are important to promote peace.

-- Carol Lang

We now have access to Latin American Women Writers (LAWW) from Alexander Street Press. When completed it will contain approximately 100,000 pages of prose, poetry and drama by women writers from Mexico, Central, and South America. In this prototype version there are about 4200 pages of prose and poetry. Drama will be added in the next release.