While many CC students and faculty were away for the summer, at Tutt Library we were busy trying to make improvements for the upcoming academic year. Here is a bit of what we have been up to:
- Upgraded the student-access computers in the first floor reference area.
- Worked with ITS to install "Go Print!" stations to help reduce waste at library printers.
- Withdrew about 9,000 volumes of printed journals that are available online in full text via JSTOR to make room for more current volumes. Thanks to all faculty who helped us decide how to handle these journals.
- Updated the look of the TIGER catalog.
- Transitioned from our old Journal Finder service to Gold Rush to help you find journals online and in CC libraries. Look for the gold and black tiger paw in library databases.
- Changed the fluorescent bulbs to brighter, whiter lights. Thanks, CC Facilities!
- Put in new chairs on the second and third floor atrium study area.
- Removed the last remaining sections of the old card catalog (which hadn't been updated about twenty years). Cards were recycled and the cabinets went to other libraries.
- Added nine new journal subscriptions and several databases (including Web of Science) at the request of faculty.
- Moved the video viewing equipment to the third floor to make room for the new Help Desk space in Tutt North Basement (coming later this fall!)
- Volunteered for a day at the Bessemer Historical Society, lending a hand in organizing the archives of the CF&I company in Pueblo.
- Engaged in professional training and networking at conferences such as the American Library Association annual meeting, the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section Preconference, the North American Serials Interest Group Conference, and an Associated Colleges of the Midwest meeting on "Preparing the Next Generation of Scholars."
- Took a few vacation days; even librarians need a break sometimes.
We have resolved the problems that we were having recently with access to library databases provided by EBSCO (such as Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premier, MLA, General Science Abstracts, and many others).
As part of our Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, Denver poet Ramon Del Castillo will read and discuss his work at Slocum Commons. He will read at 7 pm on Tuesday, September 12, as part of the Visiting Writers Series. Dr. Del Castillo has worked in the fields of mental health, education and community and economic development. He is currently the Chair of the Masters Program in Nonprofit Management at Regis University. He is also adjunct faculty in the Chicana and Chicano Studies Department at Metropolitan State College of Denver. As a past columnist for the Rocky Mountain News and a current columnist for El Semanario, Dr. Del Castillo is known for his thought provoking and insightful essays regarding the plight of persons of color and public policy concerns and issues. In 2002, he was the winner of El Semanario's Journalist Award, for Writing and Literary Mentorship. He is the author of several volumes of poetry, most recently Tales from a michoacano