Hand-painted ‘Welcome to SHU Libraries’ Sign Added to Walsh Library

Over the course of the last three and a half years, the library’s appearance and functionality have steadily been revised to provide among other things, a clearer sense of place. One recent change in this vein was the addition of a hand-painted sign above the circulation desk.  The new sign gives a robust welcome to students and other patrons of the library. It was painted by a young artist and hand sign-painter named Jon Bocksel.  Jon learned the arcane trade of hand sign-painting over several years as an apprentice to experts in hand-lettering from the time preceding digitally-produced signs.  In planning for a commission, he absorbs a large amount of visual information before embarking on the design process.  For the Seton Hall sign, he spent a morning on campus conferring with University Archivist Alan Delozier and took back many images to his studio. Alan had gathered yearbooks, insignia, and the Seton family’s as well as the University’s crest as a corpus of visual context for Jon on Seton Hall.  Alan also showed Jon two fascinating and little-known murals of SHU sports teams, located in the University Sports Center and painted in the 1940’s by a recognized fresco painter of Italian cathedrals, and immigrant to New Jersey, Gonippo Raggi (https://en.wikipedia.or/wiki/Gonippo_Raggi).

Jon’s final sign references the history of SHU publications as well as sports uniforms which, according to him, are often rich carriers of institutional self-expression in the form of typeface choices.  All in all, his sign sets off the entrance space to the library in an emphatic way that provides directness and warmth. Welcome to SHU Libraries!

Jon Bocksel Still 2-final

 

Graduate Student Lounge Returns!

For the Spring 2016 Semester, the Curriculum Resource Center will once again become the Graduate Student Lounge (GSL) space. Starting Monday, January 11th for the first 11 weeks of the semester, the GSL will run Monday – Thursday, 4:30PM-7:30PM. The space features 2 hard-wired Mac computers, a digital projector and monitor, whiteboard and flexible group seating. The room will be staffed by trained graduate students who can provide basic information regarding resources on campus such as the ID process, course registration, parking, career services, PirateNet, IRB documents, and classroom locations.

In addition, ‘guest’  presenters from various areas, such as financial aid and library services, may participate at key points in the semester when those services are most needed. And of course the Library is always staffed with Reference librarians, Circulation staff, technology help, and specialized information consultation services which can be scheduled. This space provides support for the range of needs and issues that graduate students face: quiet space, group study space, research support, IT support, presentation practice/equipment, and an opportunity to connect with other graduate students.

Curriculum Resource Center / Graduate Student Lounge
Curriculum Resource Center / Graduate Student Lounge

New Database Trial: British Periodicals

A trial of ProQuest’s database British Periodicals available to SHU students and faculty until December 18th.  This resource offers research materials across many disciplines including history, literature, political science, journalism and the arts.  The trial can be accessed here.

We welcome feedback from trial users.  Please send any comments to Sebastian Derry, Assistant Dean of Public Services at sebastian.derry@shu.edu

From ProQuest:

This database provides access to the searchable full text of hundreds of periodicals from the late seventeenth century to the early twentieth, comprising millions of high-resolution facsimile page images. Topics covered include literature, philosophy, history, science, the social sciences, music, art, drama, archaeology and architecture.

Subject coverage

  • The Periodical Press
  • Victorian periodicals
  • Popular culture
  • Literary Journalism
  • Essays and Belles-Lettres
  • Illustrated Periodicals
  • Literary Criticism
  • Political Satire
  • Politics / Political Science
  • Fine Arts
  • Serial Fiction / Serialized Fiction / Serial novels / Serialized novels
  • Slavery and Anti-slavery movements
  • Temperance
  • Religion and Theology
  • Methodism
  • English Poetry
  • Book reviews
  • Science
  • Economics
  • Bibliography
  • Sport
  • English literature / English writing / English periodicals
  • Scottish literature / Scottish writing / Scottish periodicals
  • Irish literature / Irish writing / Irish periodicals
  • Women’s literature / Women’s writing
  • Theatre / Theater / Drama
  • Seventeenth-century literature / Seventeenth-century writing / Seventeenth-century periodicals
  • Eighteenth-century literature / Eighteenth-century writing / Eighteenth-century periodicals
  • Nineteenth-century literature / Nineteenth-century writing / Nineteenth-century periodicals
  • Twentieth-century literature / Twentieth-century writing / Twentieth-century periodicals
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Group Study Rooms: 8-hr Time Limit During Finals

Policy from 8AM Sunday, November 22 through 11PM December 22, 2015:

We have had many complaints from students about Group Study Rooms being monopolized during Finals for 24, 36, or even 48 hours straight.  So we created this policy to set time limits on the use of Group Study Rooms during Finals, with fines in place for going over time. This new policy, successfully piloted in Spring 2015, ensures a turnover of the rooms so that more students have access to them.

How it works:

  • 2 Students present both their ID’s to get a room key.
  • Both students must return the key after 8 hours.
  • The late fee is $3.00 every 15 minutes ($12.00 per hour) for each student.
  • There is a 10-minute grace period for returning the key.

If Rooms are all Taken:

  • If all rooms are busy, sign up on the wait list with ID.
  • Both those students must be present to later claim the room.
  • Leave 2 phone numbers.
  • Staff will text when the room is free.
  • Student will have 15 minutes to claim the room.

Please note that our goal is not to collect more fine monies.  The goal is to distribute the rooms more widely for more students to use them during finals.

Special Hours for Finals

Special Hours for Finals:

Library Hours, November 22-24, 2015

Starting on Sunday, November 22nd at 8AM, the library will be open 24 hours through Tuesday, November 24th and close at 12:00 AM (Midnight).

Thanksgiving Recess, November 25-28, 2015

The library will be closed Wednesday November 25th through Saturday November 28th.

Library Hours, November 29-December 22, 2015

The library will be open 24 hours, 7 days a week starting on Sunday, November 29th at 12PM (noon), until Tuesday, December 22nd at 11PM.

 

Thompson Reuters’ Checkpoint Tax & Accounting Software

The University Libraries are pleased to announce that we have recently acquired a site license for Thompson Reuters’ Checkpoint Tax & Accounting Software.  While we did have a few individual licenses to this premium product in the past,  we are now able to broaden the access as a part of the Libraries’ on-going efforts to provide information resources to as many of our students and faculty as possible.    Checkpoint can be accessed here.  For off-campus access, you will be asked for your SHU credentials.

From Thompson Reuters:

Tax, accounting and finance professionals rely on Thomson Reuters Checkpoint, the revolutionary, easily-searchable online system, to get straight to their answers. Checkpoint blends cutting-edge technology, editorial insight, time-saving productivity tools, online learning and news updates with intelligent linking to related content and software. Thousands of tax and accounting professionals rely on Checkpoint every day to understand complex information, make informed decisions and use knowledge more efficiently.

Judaeo-Christian Studies: Recently Acquired Resources

The library has made a significant investment in new resources in in the area of Judaeo-Christian studies.   These databases and encyclopedias were acquired to support of the Institute of Judaeo-Christian Studies’ Master of Arts in Jewish-Christian Studies program, as well as the University’s broad religious studies mission and tradition, including Catholic Studies, Religious Studies and Theology.

The Library is grateful for the support of both the Institute of Judaeo-Christian Studies, and the Foundation for Judaeo-Christian Studies that supervises the gift of Ms. H. Suzanne Jobert.  The Sharp-Jobert fund for books remembers Father James Sharp, an SHU reference librarian, and Ms. Jobert.

Recent acquisitions include:

Digital Library of Classic Protestant Texts

Extensive range of seminal works from the Reformation and post-Reformation eras.

Encyclopaedia of Judaica

Provides an exhaustive and organized overview of Jewish life and knowledge from the Second Temple period to the contemporary State of Israel.

Encyclopedia of Arab-Israeli Conflict

Presents a comprehensive look at the myriad aspects of the continuing clash between Arabs and Israelis.

Jewish Life in America, c1654-1954

Excellent resource for all those interested in understanding and exploring the history of Jewish communities in America from their first arrival in New York in 1654 to the integral part that they play today.

Oxford Handbooks Online: Religion

The religion area of OHO provides new essays on critical topics and emerging issues in the study of religion, complementing hundreds of essays on Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and cross-cultural thematic studies that are part of the rich trove of Oxford Handbooks in religion.

Oxford Islamic Studies Center

Oxford Islamic Studies Online features reference content and commentary by renowned scholars in areas such as global Islamic history, concepts, people, practices, politics, and culture.

More detail regarding the Walsh Library’s resources in these areas can be found in the Judaeo-Christian Studies research guide.

Classic Protestant Texts-cropped

Join us for UN World Statistics Day on October 20th

Supercharge your research skills at the United Nation’s World Statistics Day.  We are having an interactive program at Walsh Library’s 2nd Floor on Tuesday, October 20th, from 4:30-6:30 p.m.  See data visualization demonstrations from SHU Faculty across disciplines.  The program will feature informal discussions with the School of Diplomacy and International Relations, the Department of Mathematics, the Department of Psychology and the Department of Political Science and Public Affairs.   Hope you can join us!

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