Agnes Scott College’s McCain Library debuted its Text the Library service today during daytime business hours.   We believe that McCain is the first library in Georgia offering patrons the option of sending a library question via text messaging.  Since we aim to meet the needs of students and faculty wherever they use the library’s resources, it seemed like a logical expansion of services with minimal investment.  Using Mosio over the Internet, McCain librarians receive and answer texted questions in the same window in which they monitor incoming Meebo IMs, so there is still only one software to watch, along with helping patrons in person at the Reference Desk.

Fuller hours for the texting service will start in January for spring semester.  Any texted messages received when librarians are not staffing the Reference Desk will go to the library’s email account for follow up as soon as possible.

The library doesn’t charge to answer, but ASCers without unlimited texting plans on their cell phones may incur standard text messaging fees.  For patron privacy, a sender’s phone number is not seen on the library end, but abusive numbers may be blocked, if necessary.

Students encouraged the library to experiment with the idea, so here’s how:

Text to 66746

Type MCCAIN and then your question

Send

Example:

MCCAIN Which library research databases index scholarly psychology journals?

Friday, December 11

Open late until 10:30pm for studying only – NO library services after 6:00pm

Sunday, December 13           Open early at 10:00am – Circulation/Reserves staffed @ 10:00am forward; Research services on a normal schedule

Other days conform to the usual schedule for library hours.

Good luck and contact us if you need help finishing research for papers!

For fans of ebooks who own a laptop … news that you can now read Amazon Kindle-supplied books online without buying a Kindle.

McCain Library will be open with full services until 10:30pm on Fri. 12/4 and Sat. 12/5/09.  Good luck prepping for exams!

1. It’s web-based, so your citations will be available if you lose a flash drive or laptop that had them on it.

2. You can attach the text or PDFs of journal articles cited within your database, so you won’t have to track them down later.

3. Have a works cited list in MLA format but need to convert it to APA style?  RefWorks will do that for you.

Check it out on the library home page or view the quick tutorial.

You’ve heard of Sally Ride, right?  Ever heard of Jerrie Cobb or Wally Funk?  Probably not.

If you relish true tales of feisty women underdogs and lost episodes in American history, come listen to author Martha Ackmann talk about the brave women who were the “Mercury 13.”  Secretly tested in 1961 with hopes of being the first American women in space, these female pilots (in skirts, heels and white gloves per the time period) were stopped from flying into space by the “old boys’ network” at NASA and on Capitol Hill.

The Soviets sent a woman, Valentina Tereshkova, up in a rocket in 1963, but Sally Ride would not break the American stigma until 20 years later.

The public is invited and no ticket is needed.

Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009 @ 7:30 p.m.

Gaines Chapel, Presser Hall at Agnes Scott College

A reception and book signing will follow the lecture and Q&A.

Need more info?  Call 404-471-5277 or see http://libguides.agnesscott.edu/merc13.

Agnes Scott alumnae, community friends, students, staff and faculty:

Bring your lunch and join us for a book club-like discussion of The Mercury 13 by Martha Ackmann (before her talk on campus Nov. 5)!

• Tuesday, Oct. 27
  
• Noon – 1:00pm
• McCain Library Terrace (or in McCain 211 if it’s raining)

Students – if you would like some individualized research guidance, and

Faculty – for a librarian to work with your class before an assignment, or for your own research needs:

Contact Casey Long, User Education Librarian, x6343.

If you’d like to read his books, we have two in our collection:

The audacity of hope

Dreams from my father

There also are  eight that pop up if you do a keyword search on his last name in the SOPHIA catalog.  Enjoy!

We’ve just subscribed to Oxford language dictionaries online, covering Chinese, French, Italian, German, Russian and Spanish:

http://0-www.oxfordlanguagedictionaries.com.sophia.agnesscott.edu/