More study rooms and more laptops

Thank you for suggesting the need for more quiet study rooms and more laptops. The library staff realize that there is a great need for quiet study space in the library. During exams, several rooms were designated "no talk" zones and this practice will continue in the future. As you know, the library is almost always busy and, when you have so many people in a small space, it's impossible to control the noise. It's important for everyone who uses the library to be respectful of the needs of others and to confine talking to those areas, especially on the first floor, that are designed for collaborative work.

Laptop lending is still problematic for several reasons. The laptops frequently have bad batteries that are not charging properly; all updates need to be current before they can be connected to the network; and, many come back for check-in with just a lot of junk on them that needs to be cleared before the next checkout. For next semester, the library will be adding some MacBooks and some additional desktop computers to help alleviate the demands.

Collection Management in the Library

A recent suggestion is to add more Christian books to the library's collection. The library's collection development policy states that the library will collect materials that support the curriculum. Most of the book requests come from faculty, who need the books to support what they are teaching. The library does not look at whether a book is "Christian" or supportive of any other religious viewpoint, but rather on providing the books that are requested by faculty.

Additional extension cords

A recent suggestion was to add more extension cords. The library is in the process of purchasing some additional flat cords that can be using for laptops.
Thanks for your suggestion.

Beverages in the library

A recent suggestion asked that the library provide beverages. JAVA City does have a variety of beverages available. During exams, JAVA City provided coffee during late night hours free of charge. The library also provided water and juice and, thanks to SGA, hot chocolate was provided one evening. Thanks to everyone for making exam week special by providing beverages for students.

The other part of the comment was that "staff is wonderful!" Thank you!

Library Restrooms

I recently received a suggestion commenting on the long closure of the library restrooms for cleaning. When the restroom floors are cleaned, it's necessary to close the restrooms for a fairly long period of time to ensure that the floors are dry. This is for safety reasons. I spoke with the library's housekeeping staff and they said they would make sure that the restrooms were cleaned early in the morning and that only one floor would be closed at any one time.

Books and Authors Database Monthly Reading Recommendations

Looking for something to read during the winter break? Kimbel Library has a database called Books and Authors which will recommend fiction and nonfiction books based on criteria that you enter. There's also a Monthly Highlights feature listing seasonal books you might enjoy. This month lists recommendations for books about Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Santa Claus. If Kimbel Library does not have the books you want to read, don't forget about PASCAL Delivers, Interlibrary Loan, or your local public libraries.

When is the library open over the break?

The library will be open over the winter break, but hours will be different. Here's a quick overview:

Mon-Wed, December 14th-16th: 7:30 am - 7:00 pm
Thurs, December 17th: 7:30 am - 12:00 noon
Fri, December 18th through Jan 2nd: Closed
Sunday, January 3rd: 1:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Stay tuned for an announcement of Spring Semester hours. Spring Semester hours will begin on January 4, 2010.

New Online Resource: IEEE Xplore

Good news! Kimbel Library now has online access to IEEE Xplore. IEEE Xplore "is a digital library providing full text access to the world's highest quality technical literature in electrical engineering, computer science, and electronics. IEEE Xplore contains full text documents from IEEE journals, transactions, magazines, letters, conference proceedings, standards, and IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology) publications."

New Online Resource: Education and Information Technology Digital Library

Check out Kimbel Library's newest online resource, the Education and Information Technology Digital Library (EdITLib). EdITLib is "is a valuable online resource of peer-reviewed and published international journal articles and conference papers on the latest research, developments, and applications related to all aspects of Educational Technology and E-Learning".

New Database Trials: Pop Culture Universe and Daily Life in America

Kimbel Library is currently trialing the Pop Culture Universe and Daily Life in America databases. To check out these resources, go to the library's trials page here: http://www.coastal.edu/library/trialdb.html?sortby=Trial. We would love to know what you think of these resources. Would they help you with your coursework at CCU? If you are a faculty member, would you use them in your classroom? After you check out the databases, please fill out the feedback form and let us know what you think! These trials will be available through December 30,2009. Thanks!

Gale Application Errors

Gale / Cengage Learning is currently experiencing technical difficulties. If you are trying to access Gale databases you may receive an "application error" message. Gale is working on the problem and hopes to have it resolved very soon.