Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut

Author: krinaldo (Page 1 of 2)

New E-Resource Selection: What Makes the Cut?

The bulk of the library’s collection budget goes towards purchasing perpetual access or maintaining subscription to e-resources of many varieties.  But how do librarians decide which new resources to add?  There are three main factors that drive our electronic resource acquisition: enhancing the existing collection, proactive selection of resources that relate to Trinity’s unique scholarship needs, and responses to requests of students and faculty for research support.

Streaming video resources are in high demand and when librarians learned that a new set of videos was being offered as an add on to the PBS Video Collection the library already owned we jumped at the opportunity.  Experience told us these videos would be well used and a preview of the title list showed they were logical compliments to the videos already in the collection.  In addition, this collection is often the only place where PBS releases some videos for streaming, so we knew there would be exclusive content unavailable anywhere else.  All these factors told us that the purchase would be a direct enhancement to the library’s existing streaming video offerings.

PolicyMap was a statistical database the library considered in the past, but declined due to content overlap with similar resources like Social Explorer.  But when a representative reached out with exciting updates on unique new datasets relevant to urban studies, climate studies, and environmental justice studies, among others, librarians thought it prudent to request a trial to take another look.  This new data clearly supported the research needs of several disciplines and this combined with PolicyMap’s more user-friendly interface compared to our other statistical databases convinced the librarians this would be a worthwhile subscription.

It can be said that the most valuable resource helping librarians identify new electronic resources to purchase is the Trinity community itself.  This is how librarians learn about some truly unique specialty resources like Human Relations Area Files: World Cultures, an ethnographic database with information on all aspects of cultural and social life for a wide variety of cultures and ethnic groups.  Similarly, it was due to a faculty member’s report that librarians learned a previously open access journal incredibly important to ethnographic theory in anthropology, HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory, was placed behind a paywall and a subscription was duly purchased.  Just as librarians are an irreplaceable resource for students and faculty research projects, students and faculty are also invaluable partners in helping librarians identify relevant and useful resources that fulfill our collection development goal of supporting current scholarship.

Check out River Bend Bookshop, the Library’s New Local Book Vendor

Small local bookshops are rare gems and Trinity is lucky to have several close by.  Earlier this year the library set up an account with one, the River Bend Bookshop in West Hartford, and have started purchasing books from them for the Wellness, Leisure Reading, and Graphic Novels collections.  In the last two months the library has purchased more than twenty books from the River Bend Bookshop and we look forward to buying many more.

The River Bend Bookshop is an independent small bookstore with locations in Glastonbury and West Hartford.  Both locations are quintessential cozy bookshops, visiting either is a wonderful way to spend the afternoon for any book lover.  But if you can’t make it to their physical stores they also have a website that offers lists of staff picks, upcoming releases for pre-order, best sellers, indie books, banned or challenged books, and digital audiobooks.  You can place orders for pickup or delivery, and even order signed copies of certain titles.  You can visit their website at the following url: https://www.riverbendbookshop.com/

As an official collection development policy takes shape this summer the library will discuss our commitment to supporting small local businesses and finding alternative vendors to large corporations that dominate the industry.  We hope that this partnership with River Bend Bookshop is not only the start of a long relationship, but also the precursor to others as the library works to directly support small businesses in the Hartford area and beyond.

Stanford University Press Ebooks Trial

Through January 31, 2022 the library is offering trial access to Stanford University Press ebooks hosted on the De Gruyter platform.  The trial contents can be browsed here and includes books on architecture, arts, economics, cultural studies, geosciences, history, religious studies, law, life sciences, linguistics, literary studies, medicine, philosophy, physics, and social sciences.

Please send feedback on this trial to library.feedback@trincoll.edu

Textbooks at the Library

In recognition of prodigious textbook costs that can create a barrier to student learning, the library has purchased over forty texts assigned this semester and placed them on permanent physical reserve!  We encourage everyone to review the list below and use any of the available titles.

Thanks to an extremely generous donation made by the Trinity Student Government Association the library was able to purchase all required textbooks costing more than $50.00 to rent or buy from the Trinity bookstore that do not include a unique electronic access code to additional materials and that the library does not already own.  To see if the library already owns a copy of an assigned textbook you can search for the title in our electronic catalog, OneSearch.  Any book located in Trinity Library Course Reserves can be checked out and used in the library for 3 hours at a time.  A replacement fee equivalent to the cost of the textbook will be charged for books checked out and not returned.

If faculty have additional titles they would like the library to make available for print or electronic reserve please let us know as soon as possible!  Library staff are working hard to process course reserve requests as they come in.  Instructions for placing a course reserves and digital media request can be found here.

New Textbooks on Reserve Edition Publication Date
A concise introduction to logic 13th ed. 2018
A writer’s reference 10th ed. 2021
Abnormal psychology 10th ed. 2018
Abstract algebra 3rd ed. 1999
Adolescence 12th ed. 2020
American constitutionalism : powers, rights, and liberties 2015
An economic history of development in sub-Saharan Africa : economic transformations and political changes 2019
Animal physiology 4th ed. 2016
Biochemistry : the molecular basis of life 6th ed. 2016
Campbell biology 12th ed. 2021
Cinéphile : intermediate French language and culture through film 3rd ed. 2018
Corporate finance (Global edition, may not match assigned textbook exactly) 5th ed. 2020
Database system concepts 7th ed. 2020
Differential equations 4th ed. 2010
Economics 11th ed. 2020
Engineering mechanics. 14th ed. 2016
Engineering mechanics. 14th ed. 2016
Essential Soil Science 2013
Film art : an introduction 12th ed. 2020
Foundations of behavioral neuroscience 10th ed. 2020
Introduction to robotics : mechanics and control 4th ed. 2018
Introductory econometrics : a modern approach 7th ed. 2020
Introductory statistics for the behavioral sciences 7th ed. 2012
Judicial process in America 11th ed. 2020
Linear algebra and its applications 5th ed. 2016
Macroeconomics 8th ed. 2021
Microelectronic circuits 7th ed. 2015
Nuovo Espresso 1 : libro dello studente e esercizi : corso di italiano A1 2014
Philosophy of sport : critical readings, crucial issues 2002
Physics for scientists and engineers : a strategic approach with modern physics 4th ed. 2017
Political science research methods 8th ed. 2016
Psychology 13th ed. 2019
Psychopharmacology : drugs, the brain, and behavior 3rd ed. 2019
Public finance and public policy 6th ed. 2019
Soil Sciences Simplified 5th edition 2013
Soils and Geomorphology 3rd Ed 2013
Soils Genesis and Geomorphology 2013
The Oxford history of Western music 2nd ed. 2019
The study of law : a critical thinking approach 5th ed. 2020
Vertebrate life 10th ed. 2019
Voces de Hispanoamérica : antología literaria 5th ed. 2016

HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access Program Ends August 12

When the library was closed and we were unable to circulate materials, HathiTrust, in response to the COVID-19 emergency, created an Emergency Temporary Access Service (ETAS).  ETAS made 135,137 print titles we hold available in digital format to Trinity College faculty, staff and students.  As access to our print collection returns to normal, the conditions for the fair use of digital copies of these materials end and so does our access to this service.  After August 12 items that could previously not be loaned due to their inclusion in this program can be borrowed as usual and all access to these titles in digital format through HathiTrust will cease .  If you are currently using one of these items in digital format we recommend you make plans to borrow the print book after August 12.

Copyrighted items will be still available for full-text search in the HathiTrust Digital Library and can be helpful in the creation of a bibliography.  You may continue to access HathiTrust items in the public domain or available through Creative Commons licensing.  These titles are marked “Full view” in the online catalog at https://www.hathitrust.org.  Because Trinity College is a HathiTrust member, you may log in to HathiTrust using your institutional login and password and download full PDFs of those items.

Scheduled Library Systems Downtime

Over Memorial Day weekend from approximately 11:00pm Saturday May 29th to 11:00pm Sunday May 30th, library systems will be down while our cloud environment to a new data center.  During this period library items cannot be checked out or renewed and OneSearch will not be usable.  Library databases will still be accessible through the A-Z List.

Please contact the library if you have any concerns or questions.

Improving BIPOC-LGBTQ+ Representation in the Leisure Reading Collection

To ensure that our collection continues to be reflective of the many voices of our campus community a group of librarians evaluated the representation of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ authors and characters in the library’s Leisure Reading Collection.  The goal of this evaluation was to determine where the collection fell short in representation of typically underrepresented groups.  The broad results of the evaluation are as follows:

Total Leisure Reading Titles BIPOC-LGBTQ+ Author Black Main Character LGBTQ+ Main Character Asian Main Character Latinx Main Character Multiracial Main Character Indigenous Main Character
459 129 66 46 33 13 9 3
  28% 14% 10% 7% 3% 2% .01%

Now comes the exciting part: filling the gaps!  Using this data, the librarians involved in the evaluation created a list of potential new books to purchase written by authors and featuring characters belonging to the groups we identified as having the least representation in our current collection.  But what we would really love is suggestions from the Trinity community.  If you have any titles you would like the library to add to the Leisure Reading or Graphic Novels collections, particularly if they are written by authors or feature characters belonging to typically underrepresented groups, please let us know!  You can place purchase requests here.

Remote Learning and Research Support

The library would like the Trinity community to know that we are prepared to support remote learning and research for as long as needed.

Any fines that may occur for materials due while students remain off campus will be waived.  Options are being explored to extend the due dates of materials due before April 5th.

All of the library’s electronic resources are accessible off campus.  You do NOT need to sign into the VPN.  To access these databases you must do so through a link from any of the following sources:

You will be asked to sign in with your Trinity username and password before accessing the first resource each session.

If you encounter any problems please contact the library at library.feedback@trincoll.edu
or call 860-297-2007

Take a break, read a good book!

There isn’t much better on a chilly autumn day than curling up under a blanket with a good book.  If you’re looking for the right book to do just that, the library has you covered!  Along with the myriad of classic works that can be found in the main collection the library has a dedicated collection of over 1300 popular fiction novels, young adult novels, popular nonfiction books, and graphic novels in the Leisure Reading and Graphic Novels collections.

Can’t find the book you want?  Let us know and we will do our best to add it to the collection!  You can leave requests for new purchases on the suggestion whiteboard located next to the Leisure Reading collection or send requests directly to Kim Rinaldo (leisure reading) or Rob Walsh (graphic novels).

Here are just a few of the new books added to these collections this year:

  • The Cabin at the End of the World, Paul Tremblay (2018 Bram Stoker Award Winner)
  • The Calculating Stars, Mary Robinette Kowal (2019 Hugo Award Winner)
  • Celestial Bodies, Jokha Alharthi (2019 Man Booker Prize Winner)
  • Good Omens, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (Student Request)
  • Neuromancer, William Gibson (Student Request)
  • The Overstory, Richard Powers (2019 Pulitzer Prize Winner)
  • Sailor Moon Vol. 1-3, Naoko Takeuchi (Student Request)
  • So B. It, Sarah Weeks (Student Request)
  • Skyward, Brandon Sanderson (Student Request)
  • Spiderman Noir, David Hine (Student Request)
  • Umbrella Academy Vol. 1, Gerard Way (Student Request)

New this year to the library is the Wellness Collection.  Books in this collection address wellness topics relevant to young adults in general and college students in particular, such as healthy eating, self-love, fitness, social skills, and managing stress.  Feel free to request new purchases for the wellness collection too, either by writing your request on the suggestion whiteboard or sending it to Kim Rinaldo.

These collections can be found on Level A near the Watkinson Library entrance.  Books from these collections are also often featured on the displays near the library’s front desk.  October’s display theme is horror, so if you’re a fan of scary stories be sure to check it out!  You can also see a sample of the books in these three collections at the Mather Hall pop up libraries.  These pop up libraries run from noon to 1:30 on October 23, November, 6, November 20, and December 11 and can be found at a table in the front entrance of Mather Hall.

Changes to Kanopy Film Streaming Library

In July the Trinity Library switched from an instant access model to a mediated access model for the Kanopy Film Streaming Library.  While the immediate access to films in Kanopy was very appealing, rapid increases in use and associated costs made the service financially unsustainable for the library. Trinity is not alone in this: other institutions who are going to a mediated or very restricted access include Stanford, the University of Michigan and many others.

Kanopy’s pay-when-viewed model charges the library an annual licensing fee when a certain percentage of the film has been viewed or the film has been viewed three times.  The mediated access model gives viewers the option to request access to films that that library has not purchased a streaming license for in the last twelve months.  These requests are sent to the librarians for evaluation, who will look for the most cost-effective way to provide the film.  In most cases when a request is made during normal business hours it will be processed within 24 hours.

Because of costs the library will only authorize use of Kanopy films for academic use.  For any other film requests we will do our best to direct the interested user to an alternate viewing method.  We encourage you to browse the media collections of the Trinity, Wesleyan, and Connecticut College libraries.

What does this mean for you?

  • Faculty must contact the library ahead of time if they wish to screen a film in class or assign a film for class viewing. We’ll try activate titles quickly, but we’ll need a minimum one business day lead time.
  • For any film content, please just tell us the title and version, director, etc. of the film. We’ll figure out the best platform to deliver the content in a way that minimizes costs.
  • Once a film is licensed through Kanopy it will be discoverable in OneSearch. Search for the title and follow the links in the record to view the streaming content.

If you have any questions about these changes please contact Kim Rinaldo (kimberly.rinaldo@trincoll.edu) or Katie Bauer (kathleen.bauer@trincoll.edu)

 

 

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