Jen Library Reference Department

SCAD Master’s Theses have a new home in Jen Library. Printed theses published from 2002 – Summer 2010 are now available behind the service desk on the first floor. This represents more than half of the entire thesis collection in Savannah.

What’s different? Previously, due to a space crunch the Library was only able to store the most recent 4 years’ worth of printed theses behind the desk. Anything older than that was kept upstairs in the Special Collections department.

Summer cleaning behind the service desk  has made this move possible. We’re excited about it because this popular collection is now accessible anytime the library building is open – including weekends and late nights. Theses published from 1992 – 2001 are still available in the Special Collections department, which is open Monday – Friday.

Theses published from fall 2010 onwards are accessible anywhere, 24/7 online in our Graduate Theses Digital Collection.

The same circulation rules apply to all printed theses: they may be checked out for two hours at a time (renewable) and used in the library only.

The Little Blue Whale - Color Key, Storyboard 16B - via the Don Bluth Collection of Animation

Great news! SCAD Libraries have just launched several new digital collections. These are materials residing in SCAD Libraries that have been digitized so that they may be accessed online, anywhere, 24/7. New materials will be added to the collections on an ongoing basis. These include…

Graduate Theses. SCAD Graduate Theses from Fall 2010 forward are now available digitally, rather than in printed form. PDFs and files of additional multi-media content are available to view. (Past, printed theses are not added to this collection.)

Don Bluth Collection of Animation. View SCAD’s collection of Don Bluth animation and related materials  – it includes selections from various animated features, concepts, and video games.

Images of Savannah. Images of historic Savannah as depicted in stereographs, postcards, slides, and other materials; categories include Aerial Views, Churches, Downtown Buildings, Hotels, and Schools.

Click the links above to view the collections. For more information, see the recent blog post by SCAD Libraries’ Special Collections Department.

CC image by Patrick Hoesly

New online resource alert: SCAD Libraries have just acquired a subscription to Safari Books Online. This 100% digital collection contains more than 5,700 eBooks and 1000+ videos focusing on the how-tos of:

• application development
• web design
• graphic design
• illustration and graphics
• animation
• audio and video production
• digital photography
• or, browse manuals for hundreds of products

The Safari collection is also a great place to look for information on math and science, engineering, and business and career topics.

Best of all, it is totally FREE to SCAD users – simply head to our databases list, find Safari Books Collection, click to enter (SCAD login required), and enjoy!

So while you’re on break, why not:

• redesign your website
• fix that cool lamp you found at the thrift store
• make your WordPress blog way more awesome
• try underwater photography
• take an animation ‘master class’
• sew electronic fashions
• ‘hack’ your kitchen

Do you like:

• Cool and unusual animation memorabilia giveaways?
• Fabulous stress-relief raffle prizes?
• Mass amounts of free sugary goodness?
• Looking at original books, artworks and rare materials not seen ANYWHERE else?
• Incredible images, graphic novels and library resources that ANY student can use?

If so, come to Jen Library’s Spring open house next week. Students, staff, and faculty are welcome to visit us on Wednesday, May 5, from 3:00 – 7:00 PM .

This casual and open even is a great opportunity to learn more about Library collections and services, especially those for Illustration, Sequential Art and Animation Majors. Drop in anytime during the event! Expect to see:

• Highlights from the Don Bluth collection, such as original cels, background paintings and character drawings
• ANIM, SEQA and ILLU images from our digital collections, and demos on how to access and use these for your projects
• Original artists books, comics, and other unique treasures
• The best of our ever-expanding graphic novels collection
• Magazines and journals that are perfect for learning about of cool artists and news in your field
• Friendly librarians, Writers Studio, and Learning Resource Hive staff
• Candy, prizes, and giveaways galore

No RSVP needed: just drop in. See you in there!

Great news! SCAD Libraries have just acquired access to 130+ streaming videos via the the Films on Demand database. This company produces educational videos on a wide range of art-related topics, such as architecture, fashion, art history, theater and performance, photography, and filmmaking; but also fiction, poetry, writing, the sciences, politics, U.S. and world history, and much more. Titles range in length from 15 minutes to an hour and make great information sources for research papers and projects.

A few features about this database that are really cool:

• Films are broken up into short segments of 2-4 minutes, so it’s easy to jump to different areas or show a brief segment for a class
• Share videos by email and cut and paste video URLs into documents and presentations
• Create a personal account to “favorite” your films
• Create a playlist of segments from many different films
• You can search the database by video or segment title. For example, you can find segments about “color” from all videos in SCAD’s streaming collection

Ready to get started? Head to our Libraries’ Databases page and look for Films On Demand. Or view any of the individual titles below (login required).

Architectural Techniques

Bauhaus: The Face of the 20th Century

Cutting Their Own Cloth: Entrepreneurial Clothing Designers

Fractals: The Colors of Infinity

Intelligence, Creativity and Thinking Styles

The Players: Costumes and Makeup

The Walls of Mexico: Art and Architecture

Watch What You Say: Free Speech in Times of National Crisis

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:

• Designing Interactions QA76.9.H85 M64 2007
• Making Meaning: How Successful Businesses Deliver Meaningful Customer Experiences HF5415 .D55 2008
• I Miss My Pencil: A Design Exploration TS171 .B664 2009
• Design Fundamentals for New Media  QA76.575 .B46 2005
• Design Research Now: Essays and Selected Projects  TA174 .D475 2007
• Contextual Design: Defining Customer-Centered Systems  QA 76.9 .S88 B493 1998
• The Design of Everyday Things TS171.4 .N67 2002
• Designing Gestural Interfaces QA76.9.U83 S24 2009
• New Media, Old Media: A History and Theory Reader P90 .N52 2006
• Second Person : Role-playing and Story in Games and Playable Media GV1469.17.S63 S43 2007
• Digital Storytelling : A Creator’s Guide to Interactive Entertainment QA76.76.I59 M55 2008
• Interactive Architecture NA2543.T43 F69 2009
• Place Advantage : Applied Psychology For Interior Architecture NA2850 .A94 2009

…  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!

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.

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:

• Art, Design & Communication in Higher Education
• Film International
• Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds
• New Cinemas: Journal of Contemporary Film
• The Soundtrack
• Technoetic Arts: a Journal of Speculative Research

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.

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!**

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:

• Sound Design for American Horror Films (Thesis)
  
• Making a Monster: The Creation of Screen Characters by the Great Makeup Artists
• Cult Horror Films: from Attack of the 50 foot woman to Zombies of Mora Tau
• Horror Poster Art
• Horror International (about horror films worldwide)
  
• Hollywood Horror: From Gothic to Cosmic
• Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, 1978-1986
• Gorehound’s Guide to Splatter Films (two books): The 1980s and the 1960s and 1970s
• The Changing Vampire of Film and Television : A Critical Study of the Growth of a Genre
• Zombie Culture: Autopsies of the Living Dead

Stuff to watch:

• Poltergeist
• Psycho
• The Exorcist
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers
• Night of the Living Dead
• Nosferatu
• Frankenstein
• American Movie (about the making of a “no budget” horror film)

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!