Happy holidays, everyone!

We here at the SLIS library hope that everyone made it through finals unscathed and are now spending time relaxing, waiting for the new year to hit.  We will be back on January 3rd, 2011. 

Have a great break and we'll catch you on the flip side!

UW Forward: Get to Know it Over Break!

As most of you know, the library system has been experimenting with an alternative to MadCat: UW Forward.  The new system boasts access to over eight million volumes from UW system schools across the state, as well as searching capabilities to some of the digital collections here at Madison.  Have you played around with Forward yet?  If you're interested in getting know the new system and comment on it to the developers, visit their website, watch some videos and read through their informational materials!  The new system will only be as good as we make it, so get to know Forward over break!

Congratulations, graduating SLISers!

Commencement was this past weekend, which means we at SLIS are wishing well to our 12 December graduates!  May your paths into the future be clear; may your job prospects be bright; and may you never forget the great times here at SLIS!

When can I come to the library between now and next semester?

We made it to the end of another semester!  Hope everyone's finals go well.  Just a reminder about the schedule for the SLIS Library over Winter Break:  We will maintain regular hours through the 22nd.  On December 23rd, we are open from 8:00AM to 5:00PM.  The SLIS Library will then be CLOSED until January 2nd, 2011.  For the two weeks before classes start again, our hours are as follows:

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 9:00AM - 1:00PM
Wednesday: 1:00PM - 5:00PM
Saturday, Sunday: Closed

We will be closed on Monday, January 17th in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  Normal hours will resume on January 18th for the spring semester!

Light reading for the weekend

Library professionals deal with the distribution of and access to information.  But what is information?  Apparently, the folks at the OED have decided to revisit this word and its definitions in this new technological era.  An interesting article from the NYR Blog, titled "The Information Palace" by James Gleick discusses the changes in the word's meaning over time.  A great read for we librarians in training as we consider our responsibilities to our patron base as "information" grows at an exponential rate!

Happy Friday!

JLG Booksale Blowout!

With the holidays coming up fast, do you need some ideas for gifts that won't break the bank?  Come to the SLIS library from now to Wednesday, December 8 to peruse the JLG Booksale Blowout!  Hundreds of titles for $1.00 on Monday, $.50 on Tuesday, and $.25 on Wednesday.  All proceeds go to the Jail Library Group.

Buy some books for a good cause!

Friday fun!

As librarians, we all use computers.  Constantly.  Our laptops whirring as we type out our notes, our desktops beeping to let us know we have a new email for a group project that has been struck by disaster - computers are ubiquitous to our profession.  In this Friday fun post, we would like to share with you a video about the struggles of computer maintenance.  Namely, how to clean a fan.  Enjoy and stay warm!