Campus Read @ The Library 2015-2016

This year’s Campus Read selection is A Deadly Wandering: A Tale of Tragedy and Redemption in the Age of Attention by Matt Richtel. It’s available in print http://boisestate.worldcat.org/oclc/889949815 or electronic formats http://boisestate.worldcat.org/oclc/890913503 at Albertsons Library.

If you come across this stuffed car in the library stacks, bring it to the Circulation Desk for an entry into a drawing for a $10 Starbucks gift card. Find the car as many times as you can -- entries will remain in the box till the end of the scheduled drawings. The drawings will take place on 10/16, 10/30, 11/13, and 12/4. Winners will be notified via email, and need not be present to win.

Good luck!
Access Services Crew

New: 2nd Floor Computer Space

Our space innovations continue with a new computer lab space on the second floor of the library. The space includes:

• 12 new computers
• A group study table with central plug-in for your laptop and the HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) connector for the monitor. You can check out adaptors and a remote at the Circulation desk on the first floor
• An all-in-one Printer/Copier/Scanner (Black & White or Color printing)

Let us know what you think of these and other changes to your library spaces at
http://bit.ly/library_space. #3rdspace

Bill English,
Head of Library Computing & Information Services

Try Out Your New Library Study Spaces

View of the Greenbelt, from the Library's 3rd floor.

Summer has been a busy time for Albertsons Library. While preparing space for the College of Innovation and Design, and GIMM Lab we have made a lot of changes to the library study spaces.

For several years, the 3rd and 4th floors of the library were considered quiet floors. As we have been opening up more study group rooms on those floors, we have found that the volume levels have (not surprisingly) increased in those areas. We want to develop study spaces that would accommodate multiple types of learners and the different ways students work. The 4th floor has the most group study rooms, so starting Fall 2015 semester, it will be opened up as a collaborative space. The 3rd floor will remain a quiet floor. We have also added an additional quiet space -- the McCain Room will now be designated as a quiet study area.

With all the changes we’ve been making, we want user feedback! These changes are experiments to see what works and what does not. We need to know how YOU use the library. Where is your space? Let us know via our survey or tweet us at @BSULibrary.

Mary Aagard,

Access Services

Congratulations to all of our excellent graduating seniors!

Each semester Albertsons Library honors senior graduating student assistants by placing a name plate dedicated to the student in a book of his/her choice. This semester we have 7 graduating student workers.

The Library could not function without our student employees. They tirelessly help patrons, check-out materials, pull books for staff and students, reshelve books, mail items, process new items, scan documents, assist patrons in the computer lab, move furniture and many other tasks.

Our graduates and their books:

Bader -- Don't Be Sad by Aid Quarni
Melissa -- Practical Botany for Gardeners by Geoff Hodge
Brittanie -- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Osciel -- Compañero: The Life and Death of Che Guevara by Jorge Castaneda
Belinda -- Illustrated Guide to Korean by Chad Meyer and Moon-ung Kim
Russ -- Hermetica: The Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius by Brian Copenhaver
Cassi -- The Flower Man by Mark Ludy

Congratulations to all of our excellent graduating seniors!

Mary Aagard,
Head, Access Services 

Welcome to Spring Semester!

It may not look like spring much, but we're excited to have you back on campus and the library! We strive to make your research and study spaces as comfortable and useful as possible. Here's how we can help:

• Access thousands of articles from journals and magazines, many which are mobile-friendly
• Hundreds of computers running Microsoft Office, Mac and PC laptops for checkout, scanners, and multiple BroncoPrint stations, including wireless printing from your laptop
• Streaming video databases on a wide range of subjects--watch online or on your portable device
• Check out iPads, MacBooks, and netbooks from the Circulation desk on the first floor
• The whole building is Wi-Fi enabled
• Printing stations on 1st and 2nd floors, and color printing on the 1st floor
• The library catalog sports a large & growing collection of eBooks--read books online or download it to your portable device
• A collaboration room (L109C) with scanners & computers
• Extensive subject guides in fields such as Public Administration, Radiologic Sciences, Kinesiology, Educational Technology and many more, via the library's subject guides
• Did we mention a Starbucks in the building? First floor, next to the library's entrance
• Have questions about research, campus, or anything at all? We’re available to help you via our Help page, on Facebook, and on Twitter. We're well represented on Pinterest and Instagram too. Or you can text us your questions at (208) 546-9982

 We hope you have a fantastic Spring semester!

John Streiff Retires

John Streiff of the circulation department checking out a book to a library patron, June 1995.

John Streiff, Library Circulation Manager, retired on Monday, June 17th. That was the last day he worked with student employees, answered patron questions, and closed the building. We’ll miss him and his expertise but we are very happy he is going to have more time to ride his bike, write and play music, and spend time with his wife Sandy and their family.

To quote what we wrote for the Update:

Streiff started at Boise State as an adjunct English instructor in August 1992. He was subsequently hired by Albertsons Library in 1993 as a library assistant and promoted to circulation manager in 2008. Through the years he has supervised hundreds of student employees and has served Boise State staff and students with great competence and skill.

“I feel honored to have mentored and encouraged all the students I have had the pleasure of supervising over the years,” he said. “Additionally, numerous faculty and staff relationships have given me an especially rich experience here at Boise State. Though I can’t really retire from a family (unless I want to join some crazy relatives in the basement!), I will always feel part of this educational community. I look forward to enjoying many more years of learning from this great family of friends, students and scholars.”

We hope John returns to visit us as a patron and we hope we run into him cycling on the greenbelt, flying down from Lucky Peak, or playing in a Jazz club. Good luck John!!!!

Mary Aagard,
Access Services

Time is on your side with laptop checkouts

Photo by Jen Gallardo

You check out a laptop from the Circulation Desk. You set up a study space on the fourth floor and arrange it just so.  You’re several hours into the essay that will determine your grade in the class that will ultimately determine your academic future and in turn your entire life! When suddenly, you glance at the clock and realize that the laptop was due 30 minutes ago. Panic sets in as “$.50 per minute overdue fine” echoes in your ears.  

This all too familiar scenario happens to students every day, which is why Access Services is happy to announce that starting Summer 2013 we have updated our laptop lending policy. Instead of a 3-hour check-out period, students may now check out a laptop at any time during the day and keep it until 30 minutes before closing, no renewals necessary!   

In addition, the $.50 per minute overdue fine has been eliminated. Students will now operate on a 3-strike system. If a student returns technology items late, 3 times in a single semester, they will lose their technology borrowing privileges until the start of a new semester. These students will still have access to all Library desktop computers, scanning, and printing and will be able to check out all non-technology items, such as books, periodicals, and DVDs. Their ability to borrow materials from OIT operated Labs, such as The Zone will not be affected. 

Some aspects of technology lending will not change. Except for 3-day iPads, technology items are still restricted to in-Library use only.  Also, students will not be able to “park” their materials. If students need to leave the library, they must check-in their items and check them out again when they return. Due to limited supplies, the extended checkout will not apply to certain specific items, such as iPhone 5 chargers, Apple Mag-Safe chargers, and VGA adapter kits.  

It is the Library’s hope that these new policies will better serve our students by providing uninterrupted typing and studying time, while eliminating the stress associated with large fines!

Heather Grevatt,

Access Services