Jen Library Reference Department

Big news! SCAD Libraries’ catalog is undergoing major changes and can be previewed now! Our goal in the redesign is to provide more information about services at all Library locations, and make our resources easier to find for everyone. The overall look is much more consistent with the rest of SCAD’s website, as well.

But, we’re not done until we hear what you think! To view the beta site and submit feedback:

1. Go to http://library.scad.edu
2. Click “Catalog Beta” to be taken to the new catalog and user feedback site
3. Try some of the tasks listed on the Beta page or do your own searches
4. Give us your feedback by taking the anonymous New Website Survey.

We will collect feedback through August. The new website will launch just prior to the fall quarter in September.

Speaking of library art contests, our colleagues at the ACA Library of SCAD-Atlanta recently announced the results of their annual Student Artists Book Competition. The contest winners and their entries are posted on the ACA blog. Fantastic work! Take a look!

The 2011 Contest Winners

Please join us in congratulating the winners of the 2011 SCAD Libraries Student Art Contest. More than 60 bookmark designs were submitted overall.  All three winning designs were chosen for their visual excellence and for communicating the value of SCAD Libraries in unique and appealing ways.

• Heajung Kim (senior, Savannah, Illustration) is our first place winner. Watch for her design on our printed bookmarks soon. Heajung also received a $100 gift certificate to Primary Art Supply.
• Grace Washko (freshman, Savannah, Illustration) is our second place winner. Grace received a $75 gift certificate to Primary Art Supply.
• Tatiana Dengo (senior, Savannah, Illustration) is our third place winner. Tatiana received a $50 gift certificate to Primary Art Supply.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the contest. Watch for it again next spring!

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.

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.

CC Image by Reeding Lessons

Now that the Fall Quarter is halfway through, many of you are knee-deep in writing research papers. With all of the work that goes into research – from choosing a topic, finding and reading sources, and synthesizing your argument – it can be easy to overlook writing accurate citations. However, citing your sources (whether they are print, online, text, or image) is an essential part of this process.

Thankfully, there are some excellent resources out there to guide you in creating citations. Formatting in-text citations, reference lists, and bibliographies is not as difficult as it seems!

Citation how-to’s and tips:

• SCAD’s very own Writer’s Studio (formerly known as the Writing Center) has some excellent online handouts on creating citations in MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, as well as citing images. MySCAD login is required.
• You can also schedule a one-on-one writing consultation at the Writer’s Studio– contact them to learn more.
• I am a big fan of the OWL at Purdue website, which offers pointers on using the 2009 updated edition of MLA formatting, as well as in-depth explanations of several other citation styles.

Automatic citation generators:

• Several of SCAD’s databases, such as Art Full Text, Wilson OmniFile, and CQ Researcher have their own built-in citation generators. When viewing an article or abstract, look for a “cite” link that will give you a sample citation for that source.
• The instructify blog recently listed top 5 citation applications on the Web, including several generators.

Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t completely trust citation generators. Humans are smarter than robots, and not every research source falls into the precise citation-creation formula that the ‘bots use. It’s a good idea to double check any automatically generated citations against the most current manual. Lucky for you, we have all of the latest editions at SCAD Libraries!

• MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (2009 / 7th edition)
• MLA Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (2008 / 3rd edition)
• The Chicago Manual of Style (2003 / 15th edition)
• A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Chicago / Turabian Style; 2007 / 7th edition)
• Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2001 / 5th edition)

Happy citing!

Diller Scofidio’s Library © Carlos Solis - via archdaily.com

Fall Quarter will soon be upon us, but those of you lingering in the NYC area might want to check out this fascinating ongoing exhibit: Unpacking My Library: Architects and their Books , on view at Urban Center Books. A prolific architect’s library is featured each month; Liz Diller and Ric Scofidio are headlining September. For those of you who can’t make it there in person, the exhibition website features some interesting highlights, and a catalog will be published later this year – leave a comment if you’d like to see it at the Jen Library!

The organizers state: “Each architect’s library is unique and informs their practice in surprising ways. Their personal statements, and favorite books, show that they are not bound by architectural themes or a canonizing of architectural history.” What an interesting way to demonstrate the wide-ranging and very personal sources of inspiration and research that architects, designers, and artists require. Collections of text, images, and random bits of paper and ephemera can form a creative laboratory of sorts, and upon examination reveal quite a lot about the keeper’s interests and history.

A quick Google search reveals that there are plenty of artists and designers who love books, and are blogging about it. A few examples can be seen here, here, and here.

Do you have book collection? How does reading fit into your daily practice? Is there a book that is a must-read for others in your area of specialization? Tell us about it!

Low-slung pants on men has caused a bit of a catastrophe in a couple of communities.  A couple of towns have actually outlawed the practice of wearing one’s pants low enough to show underwear or skin.  Such is the case with Riviera Beach, Florida.

But some locals are fighting back, calling it against freedom of expression.  Others have argued that the law has unfairly targeted young black men.  It’s interesting, because no matter where you travel, you can see this style on men of all colors!  And a star witness in this case is a New York City fashion designer, now professor at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale.  She’s arguing that the look has become mainstream style.

Check out the New York Times article here.  We’d love to hear your comments on the look, too!

Itching to see the new X-Men movie?  Well, you may not have to wait that long.  Yesterday, on April Fool’s Day, techno-pirates released an unfinished copy of the movie over the internet.  What kind of implications will this have?

Studio executives spent the day trying to get web sites to take it down.  The movie is not set to release until May 1st.  If the pirates are found, this is definitely a copyright issue and the studio will have cause to sue.  This could also potentially have an effect on the market value of the film if people who saw the film online are now no longer interested in paying to see it in the theater.  Read all about it here!

What do you think of pirated movies?

Hmmm…

In the Reference Department, we often get asked questions about using images, music, and more that students find on Google. The answer is always: “NO–you should never use images, music, etc. that you find on the open web.” This is not a popular answer!

Read this article from the Chronicle of Higher Education. A student from Boston University is being sued by Sony BMG. He allegedly downloaded 7 songs illegally and can be fined up to $150,000 for each song. That’s $1,050,000!

These companies mean business–and Google does do. So think twice before sharing or using anything you find on the open web. Instead, please use either the SCAD Digital Image Database or ARTstor for images.  These are both accessible from the Visual Resources Center page linked from the library homepage; just login to your MySCAD first.

Need sounds?  Come into the library and search for “sound effects” or the name of the sound or music you need.  You can then check out the sound disc from the Circulation Desk and will have full use of it in the library for up to 4 hours.

And you can’t get sued for using the library!