All Things Interactive

Posted February 5, 2010 * Comments(0)
CC image by Flickr user bolinhanyc - click to see original

CC image by Flickr user bolinhanyc - click to see original

Are you attending the Interaction Design Association’s conference in Savannah this weekend? IxD 2010 is centered at the Trustees Theater with additional events, discussions, presentations and more happening around the area. If you’re on Twitter, follow @IxD10 and #IxD10 to stay up to date on the latest conference news and reports.

During the conference, stop into Jen Library to check out special IxD participant exhibits and more. PLUS we have plenty of great materials to whet your interest in interactive design! Suggested titles:

…  more IX, UX and related design titles are available to choose from. Click the call numbers to begin exploring, or pick a title and browse the stacks nearby to see similar items. Or ask a Librarian to give you a helping hand!

Arts & Cultural Heritage Organizations Respond to Haiti

Posted January 29, 2010 * Comments(0)

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CC image by United Nations Development Programme on Flickr

Arts and culture organizations are stepping in to assist in the wake of the devastating January 12 earthquake in Haiti. The nation’s libraries, museums, universities and art organizations are experiencing significant losses of historic collections and sites. Read on to learn more about current news, relief initiatives, and ways you can contribute.

UNESCO is an excellent source for regular updates about international assistance efforts in Haiti. Though they have prioritized humanitarian aid, the organization is also working on cultural initiatives, such as a call to ban trading of Haitian antiquities in an effort to discourage looting.

The College Art Association blog recently featured a round-up of major news reports on the state of Haiti’s major arts collections, museums, and historic sites and architecture.

Via the Heritage Emergency National Task Force on Heritage Preservation :

  • The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) has posted reports on the damage to Haiti’s libraries.
  • The International Council of Museums (ICOM) recently released a statement on the status of the country’s museums.
  • The International Committee of the Blue Shield has launched an online registration form for volunteer archivists, restorers, curators, librarians, architects, and other experts. This registration will help ICBS link official missions to Haiti with appropriate experts.
  • Follow news from the International Committee of the Blue Shield on Twitter: @blueshieldcoop and join their Facebook group Haiti 2010 Blue Shield Solidarity

The American Library Association is accepting monetary donations towards their relief fund to help rebuild libraries and archives that were destroyed or damaged during the earthquake.

SCAD is responding to the crisis as well:

  • You can donate to the SCAD Emergency Relief Fund. This fund will assist SCAD students, faculty, staff and alumni with Haitian ties or relations as they deal with this very difficult time. If you would like to help, visit the SCAD Web site and select “SCAD Emergency Relief Fund” under the “Donation Information” section. Your donations are tax deductible.
  • SCAD is assembling a team to coordinate with The International Council of Monuments and Sites (US/ICOMOS). More information about this effort is on SCAD’s Historic Preservation blog The Square.

A Heap of New Full-Text Online Journals

Posted January 27, 2010 * Comments(0)

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/gadl/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Great news - SCAD Libraries have just added almost 50 new online journals to our collection. The journal contents are available as PDF full-text documents that can be read and saved anywhere, anytime you’re doing research online. Best of all, the most current issue and all of the available back issues for each title can be accessed.

Titles that sound particularly interesting:

There are plenty more covering subjects such as cinema studies, creative writing, cultural studies, sociology, and visual art. Here is a PDF of the full list.

Ready to jump in? Search for individual titles in our collection of full-text journals, browse as a group under “Atypon Link”, OR search for articles by keyword, author, etc. using “Atypon Links” in our database list  (log in with your SCAD ID and name to view full-text content).

Contact a librarian if you have any questions or feedback about using this new resource.

WoW - World of Workshops

Posted January 21, 2010 * Comments(0)
CC image by Rainer Ebert

CC image by Rainer Ebert

The Library (& friends) are offering lots of great workshops this quarter! Whether you are an undergraduate or graduate student, or teaching faculty, we have something for you:

Research Survival 101

Sunday, January 24 / 5:00 - 7:00 p.m./ O-House Ballroom
For all current SCAD students

Does writing research papers feel like an impossible task? Are you full of great ideas, but not sure how to get them down on paper? Do trustworthy, professor-approved sources seem to elude you?

If you answered YES to any of the above questions, come to Research Survival 101! This interactive workshop will provide practical strategies for staying organized, focused, and creative with research assignments. Come ready to share ideas and actively participate to solve your biggest research and writing dilemmas. No RSVP is necessary and food and drinks are provided! Presented by SCAD’s Jen Library and The Writers Studio.

Image Databases at SCAD

Thursday, January 28 OR Friday, January 29 / both 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. / Jen Library Room 108
For all SCAD faculty, staff and students

The Visual Resources Center (VRC) offers these workshops to highlight the digital image resources that are available to the SCAD community. Learn the fundamentals of using ARTstor to find and save images, download and organize images from the SCAD Digital Image Database (DID), and then incorporate these images into class presentations using the ARTstor Offline Image Viewer (OIV). Participants will also learn how to have images added to the SCAD DID to fill the needs of specific courses and student presentations.

Seating is limited so please email vrc@scad.edu, or call 525-4726 to reserve a spot. The VRC also offers individual training by appointment for those unable to make it to the workshops.

Copyright Concerns, Copyright Solutions Faculty Workshop

Friday, January 29 / 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. / Arnold Hall, #108
For SCAD Faculty

Join us for a discussion about copyright issues relating to the library at SCAD. Library representatives will be present to answer questions and provide solutions to the challenges facing copyright and fair use in the library environment. In order to better focus on the SCAD community’s unique copyright and fair use issues, we are asking for questions in advance of this event. Please email your library specific questions to: htatom (at) scad (dot) edu. Please slo RSVP to this address if you plan to attend. Co-sponsored by Jen Library and Innovative Teaching and Learning.

**And don’t forget that SCAD’s Writers Studio and Learning Resource Hive offer great workshops as well!**

Mobile Catalog and More in 2010

Posted January 5, 2010 * Comments(0)
CC image by Flickr user jcolman

CC image by Flickr user jcolman

Happy new year and welcome back, students, staff, faculty, and everyone who passes through Library doors! Winter quarter began on January 4, and we have returned to our regular building and reference desk hours.

This quarter, keep your eyes peeled for fresh service and technology updates that are NOW AVAILABLE:

  • SCAD Library Catalog has gone Mobile! Access the library catalog on Web-enabled mobile devices, such as the iPhone, iPod Touch and Blackberry. Use this simplified mobile catalog to renew books, see if a request has arrived, and search the library’s collection virtually anywhere by visiting library.scad.edu/airpac. Give it a try and tell us what you think!
  • Spell Check is another Catalog enhancement that we’re very excited about. At library.scad.edu automatic spell-check has been added to the keyword search. When you misspell a word, look for the “did you mean?” link to see recommended spelling options.
  • Jen Library Reference Desk has moved to next to the Circulation area - look for us at the end of the large, sweeping desk on the North side of the 1st floor. Get research help and check your books out in one convenient location with no more walking back and forth between desks.
  • You were probably aware that circulating Graphic Novels are located on the 1st floor just past the Reference books. But did you know that we are hoping to expand this collection? If you <3 graphic novels and wish to make a recommendation, let us know! We will do our best to purchase books that students, faculty and staff request.

We hope you have a great start to your Winter quarter and we look forward to seeing you in the Library soon!

A Snowy Holiday Message

Posted December 23, 2009 * Comments(0)

Just a reminder that all of SCAD’s libraries will be closed on Christmas Day, December 25th and New Year’s Day, January 1st. Jen Library in Savannah will close its doors a bit early tomorrow, Christmas Eve, at 3:00.

Though it’s a balmy 50 degrees in Savannah, we’re dreaming of snow. Please enjoy these images from Flickr’s Creative Commons licensed search. And a happy and safe holiday to all, no matter where you are.

Keywords to try: snow, blizzard, glacier, snowglobe, snowman, snow day, winter, snow flakes, ice sculpture

Clockwise from top-left: images by Napanee Gal, Erica Marshall of muddyboots.org, Dead Air, and seriykotik1970

Clockwise from top-left: images by Meer, AnnieBee, Andrea_R, and TM- the crocheteer!

Library Fall/Winter Break Updates

Posted November 19, 2009 * Comments(0)

Vacation time! Did you know that Jen Library has reduced hours and services between the Fall and Winter quarters, November 20 - January 3? These include:

  • Reduced building hours: Monday - Friday 8:30 A.M. - 7 P.M.; closed weekends
  • Closed on holidays: Thanksgiving & the day after (Nov. 26 and 27); Christmas Day (Dec. 25) and New Year’s Day (Jan. 1)
  • Reference Desk, IM, email, refdesk phone, Ask A Librarian: CLOSED until Jan 4. If you have a question call the Jen Library main line at 912-525-4700, or contact one of the Reference Librarians directly.
  • Visual Resources & Special Collections hours:  Monday - Friday 8:30 A.M.  - 5:00 P.M
  • Inter-Library Loan: requests received between Dec. 5 and Jan. 3 will be sent on January 4, start of the Winter Quarter

We’ll be back to our regular scheduled programming on January 4. Stay tuned here for additional updates and info. In the meantime, what will you do over break? Travel? Work on personal projects? Hang out with friends? Sleep in? Maybe even read a book (or two)?

Staying Energized, Focused and Creative During Finals

Posted November 16, 2009 * Comments(0)
CC image by Aaron Jacobs

CC image by Aaron Jacobs

The finish line is in sight! The Fall Quarter at SCAD wraps up on Thursday, November 19. During this busy time the Jen Library can offer:

  • A range of spaces - cozy chairs, group & individual study rooms, large tables - for both personal and group work. Open until 1 AM through Thursday night.
  • Research help at the ref desk, via email, Ask a Librarian, and IM from 8AM - 9PM through Thursday. Even if you’re at home in your jammies we can help!
  • Montgomery Hall too busy? Use our advanced MAC lab on level three. All of the software that is in Monty is in that room too!

Most importantly: do not sacrifice your health and sanity just to complete your assignments! There are many ways to take care of yourself during this busy time, but there are three biggies to remember:

1. Eat and sleep: Lack of proper food and rest will wear you down and make you more susceptible to sickness; the last thing you want right now is to spend the day in bed, unable to get your work done. Take extra care to eat healthy meals (ehem, candy bars from the vending machine do not count) and if you do need to pull an all-nighter, try to rest up the next day.

2. One step at a time: If finishing a project seems akin to climbing Mount Everest, try breaking it into smaller, manageable tasks. Flexibility is important too: this is just as true with the research process as it is with making art. If one material, source, or topic does not work, can you shift what you’ve started into something more ‘do-able’?

3. Take a break: Have you been re-writing the same sentence for the past half-hour? Take five minutes to walk around the block, stretch, breathe deeply, have a cup of coffee, put on some loud music and rock out, etc.  Working nonstop saps your energy and creativity. Short, periodic breaks will allow you to rest your eyes, mentally re-focus, and come back to your project refreshed and ready to make REAL progress - saving you time.

Stress management resources:

  • SCAD’s Counseling Services provide stress management workshops that are specifically geared toward the needs of artists. They also provide one-on-one counseling sessions. Login to MySCAD to learn more.
  • SCAD’s Writer’s Studio (AKA Writing Center) can provide assistance with planning and writing research papers. Make an appointment with them on MySCAD.
  • UGA has an excellent website on Managing Stress for College Students with advice on a range of topics, including exercise, nutrition, spirituality, relationships, and more.

Stars of the SAV Film Fest @ Jen Library

Posted November 6, 2009 * Comments(0)

CC Image via Tadson

The Savannah Film Fest is GO and it’s centered right across the street from Jen Library, at the Trustees Theater. While you’re in the neighborhood enjoying movies this weekend, stop in to peruse our massive collection of screenplays, cinema studies, and performance books. You might even end up rubbing shoulders with the stars: some have been popping by the Jen to talk about what they do best.

For example:

Emmy Rossum and Zach Gilford interviewed at the Jen Library

Drop in and say hello!

Cinematic Horrors Galore

Posted October 29, 2009 * Comments(0)
CC image by philip.bitnar

CC image by philip.bitnar

Happy Halloween everybody! For your spooky enjoyment, please enjoy this selection of library materials on the art of the horror film. Curl up with a book on a dark and dreary evening, or choose a VHS or DVD for late-night viewing at the library. Plus, we’re open until 1AM on Halloween night! Just don’t go down to the basement…

Stuff to read - lots more to choose from in our catalog:

Stuff to watch:

What are some of your favorite horror classics? Is there a book or film that the library should have, but doesn’t? Tell us about it by leaving a comment below!

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