Available for Checkout: Accessibility Devices

We are very excited to roll out a new line of accessibility devices today! We have an ergonomic keyboard, a high contrast keyboard, and a trackball mouse now available at the circulation desk. They will check out until 11:30 PM, for daily, in-library use.

Michael Mitchell,
Access Services

Find KP2, enter to win $10 Starbucks Gift card

Though KP2 has found a home away from home in the library for the past semester, he is really excited that his old friend, Terrie M. Williams, the author of The Odyssey of KP2: An Orphan Seal and a Marine’s Biologists Fight to Save a Species, will be visiting campus on March 3, 2015. Details about her visit can be found on the Campus Read page.

KP2 continues to explore the reading material in the library. Though he’s a big fan of ocean voyage novels, like Master and Commander, he has eclectic tastes and can be found in any subject area in the library.

For the next 8 weeks, students who find KP2 will be entered into a drawing for a $10 Starbucks gift card. The drawings will be on 3/13, 3/27, 4/10, 4/24 - Winners will be notified via email, and need not be present to win.

If you find KP2, bring him to the Circulation Desk. You will receive a ticket to fill out and place in our drop box. Find him as many times as you can -- entries will remain in the box till the end of the scheduled drawings.

Good luck!

Access Services Crew

The Albertsons Library is going GREEN!

The Albertsons Library now has a total of 10 single stream recycling bins available. They are located on all four floors of the central part of the Library. 

These stations are co-located with a trash can to enable items to be disposed of properly in the correct bin.

 The following is a list of items which CAN be recycled on campus:

• Cardboard coffee sleeves 
• Clean Paperboard (non-greasy containers) 
• Empty Aluminum cans 
• Empty Plastic cups 
• Empty Plastic bottles 
• Empty Soup cans 
• Plastic lids 
• Paper 
• Post-It notes 
• Toilet paper rolls 
• Yogurt containers 

Here is a list of common items which CANNOT be recycled on campus:

• Capri Sun packets and juice boxes 
• Compostable service ware (composting not available at this time and NOT recyclable) 
• Condiment packets 
• Disposable drink cups from the dining areas (Coke cups, coffee/tea cups) 
• Glass bottles 
• Plastic utensils 
• Snack wrappers (chips, cookies, pop tarts) 
• Straws

Please contact the Circulation desk if you have any questions or let them know if a bin needs to be emptied.

Need A Little Quiet?

You now have options. How about a checking out a set of Earmuffs at the Circulation Desk? Check out a set of earmuffs, use them in the library until you are finished.

Or, maybe pick up a set of disposable ear plugs at the Circulation Desk. Earmuffs or ear plugs not your thing? How about trying some white noise apps or ambient music? Here are a few app suggestions to try on an iPad:

• White Noise Box
• White Noise Lite
• Rain Sounds for Sleep and Relaxation Free

There is also Pandora. You could  try out some ambient music or a white noise station. Plus check out the variety of  white noise stations on YouTube.

Audrey Williams,
Access Services

Reserve a Study Room at Albertsons Library!

Reserve me! http://goo.gl/6EsfO6

Based on student feedback, Albertsons Library has increased the number of group study rooms that can be reserved by students.

The six study rooms, located on all four floors of the library can be reserved via the online reservation form, or students can continue to place reservations at the Circulation or CRC (2nd floor) Desk.

Rooms can be reserved by current Boise State students for 3 hours at a time, 2 reservations a week, and 1 week in advance.

In addition, faculty, staff, and graduate students can reserve private study rooms on the 4th floor. Two rooms, 401 K and 401 L, are small study rooms with one desk and chair.

These offices are ideal for working in a quiet space, away from interruptions. These rooms can be reserved for 8 hours at a time, 3 time slots a week, 1 month in advance. Keys to the room must be checked out at the Circulation Desk. Reservations can be made via our online form, or at the Circulation and CRC Desks.

Other study rooms on the 3rd and 4th floor are first-come first-served. Visit the library’s Library Space page to learn more about the various study and collaborative spaces in the building.

Mary Aagard
Access Services

Who is KP2?

Albertsons Library will be hosting the Campus Read Kick-Off event on April 22nd from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM. We will display this year’s book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, and announce next year’s Campus Read selection.

Join us on the 1st floor of the Library, across from the Circulation Desk. We will have cake, past Campus Read books to check out, and a presentation of the new book. Come find out about KP2 and get a jump start on the campus wide common reading experience for 2014-2015.

Mary Aagard,
Access Services

Find our Bald Eagle

Seeking  happiness and instant gratification? Find our Bald Eagle, Clint. Bring him down to the Circulation Desk and pick out something from our prize box. Keep on looking for him because there is no limit to the number of times you can find him. 

Thanks for the help, you are AWESOME!!

Audrey Williams,
Circulation

Check Out What’s Happening at the Circulation Desk

Fall 2013 is in full swing and if you haven’t taken advantage of everything that the Circulation Desk has to offer you might be missing out on some very valuable resources!

Technology
Did you know that the Circulation Desk has more than 50 laptops available for checkout? As well as computer and phone chargers, iPads, headphones, microphone headsets, and even calculators. Although most items must remain in the library, our lending policy has recently changed and many items can now be checked out until 30 minutes before closing with no need to renew! We’ve also eliminated the $0.50 per minute fine in favor of a 3-strike policy. Return technology items late 3 times in one semester and you’ll lose technology lending privileges until a new semester begins. Visit the Circulation Desk to find out about all available items!

Reserves
You’ve ordered your textbook, but it hasn’t arrived. Maybe you just don’t want to haul around ten
pounds worth of Chemistry. Perhaps finances are tight. Whatever the reason may be, course reserves can be a wonderful resource for many students. Textbooks and required reading books are kept on special shelves behind the Circulation Desk and check out for shortened periods, usually for in-Library use only. This allows multiple students to have regular access to the materials without having to purchase them. Unfortunately, the library is not able to carry every book that is required for every class and professors must request that specific items be added to the reserve shelves, so check with your professor or the Circulation Desk to find out what materials may be available. Reserve items are arranged alphabetically, so knowing the title of the book will help us find it for you the fastest. 

Clint the Bald Eagle
Our beloved scarlet macaw had to fly away at the end of the Spring 2013 semester, but happily a new friend swooped in to take his place. Clint the Bald Eagle is currently soaring through the stacks. Find him and bring him to the Circulation Desk to choose something special from our prize box! There’s no limit to the number of times you can find our feathered friend.

Heather Grevatt
Access Services

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

Scarlet Macaw to fly away for the last time!

Have you found the Scarlet Macaw? Our dear friend, Sebastian the Scarlet Macaw, is about to fly away for the last time. He has spent the Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 semesters here at Albertsons Library as an ambassador for the Campus Read selection, but now the semester is coming to a close.

Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw, by Bruce Barcott, is a non-fiction work that recounts the story of Sharon Matola. She became embroiled in a crusade to stop the construction of a dam that would flood the nesting grounds of the only scarlet macaws in Belize. According to the Fish and Wildlife Service macaws are listed in the “Least Concern” category of the endangered species list, they are at risk of extinction in Belize due to habitat destruction.

Sebastian’s life here at the library has not been quite so dramatic, but he has certainly done his share of migration. He has traveled to the 4th floor to find out more about his fellow birds. He has traveled to the 3rd floor and perused the works of Shakespeare, Dickens, and Austen. He has visited the Curriculum Resource Center on the 2nd floor and listened to music from Coltrane to Bach. Some days, he has simply perched atop the New Books section and watched students come and go through the library entrance.

Each time he has been returned to the Circulation Desk by a keen-eyed student who subsequently received an entry into a prize drawing! The drawing will occur Thursday, May 9th at 1:00 p.m., which means there is not much time left to find the Scarlet Macaw!

Prizes will include Sebastian himself, as well as copies of next semester’s Campus Read selection Half The Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. So keep your eyes peeled! The Scarlet Macaw could be on any floor of the library, even in plain sight. Return him to the Circulation Desk for your chance to win; there is no limit to the number of times you can enter!

Heather Grevatt,
Access Services

Study rooms available at the library

Are you looking for a quiet place to study? Need to hammer out the last edit of your book chapter?  

Albertsons Library has five study offices available for check-out. The offices have a desk and chair and are meant for one-person use and are located on the 4th floor of the building. 

Three offices: 401M, 401N, and 401O can be used by all Boise State patrons: faculty, staff, graduate students, undergraduates. Two offices: 401K and 401L can be used by faculty, staff, and graduate students only.  

Keys for the rooms can be checked-out with your Boise State ID at the circulation desk. You can use the room for as long as you need it, but keys cannot leave the building and must be returned if you leave the library.

Mary Aagard

Head, Access Services/Assistant Professor