Tutt Library News

Prospector unavailable Tues, Dec 16

The Prospector catalog will be down the morning of Tuesday, Dec. 16 for a software upgrade. 

Prospector is the union catalog of regional libraries that allows you to request items from other libraries and have them delivered for you to the Circulation Desk at Tutt Library.  While Prospector is down, you will not be able to submit any of those requests.

The upgrade will begin at 8:30am and should conclude by 12pm noon. 

If you have any questions or need any help, please get in touch with Tutt Library Circulation at 389-6184 or Reference at 389-6662.

Ask Chas: What's the most used library book and movie?

Note: We have a bulletin board outside the first-floor map room where people can leave their questions or comments and Chas, the statue of Charles Leaming Tutt that stands outside the library, responds. Chas was wondering why he couldn't post his answers to the internets, and we thought we'd go ahead and help him out. Here' s the most recent question and answer for "Ask Chas."

Question: What's the most used library book? And movie?

Chas answers: A fascinating question. I asked the librarians to go through every book in the library and check the number of due dates stamped in the back, but they told me that’s not how it works anymore. They ran a little report instead.

This isn’t very scientific. If a book or video is lost and replaced, it’s likely that the checkout counter would get reset to zero. But it’s close enough for now.

In the top five we have two titles that are really multiple copies of the same out-of-print book that faculty ask us to keep on permanent reserve so they can use as textbooks (A History of Argentine Political Thought, and Introduction to Modern Behaviorism), the binder of Venture Grant Applications (now available as PDFs on the library web site) and two classic movies that make an odd couple: Schindler’s List  just edges out Monty Python and the Holy Grail for the most checked-out movie.

And then it’s lots of movies. Lots and lots of movies. And then a 24-volume set of Freud, then lots more movies. Finally, with 108 checkouts, we get to the first appearance of a book that’s not a textbook or multi-volume set. You may not be surprised to learn that Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire is Tutt Library’s most used library book.

Prospector and ILL Request Deadlines due to Winter Break

IMPORTANT: In the past, Tutt Library was open for very limited service over Winter Break, but this year we will be closed. Prospector or Interlibrary Loan books that do not arrive before Dec. 19 cannot be picked up until the library reopens on January 2.

PROSPECTOR BOOK REQUESTS:
The Prospector system for borrowing books not owned by Tutt Library will be turned off during Winter Break. The last day to request Prospector items will be Friday, December 19th. Prospector requests will be possible again on Tuesday, December 30th.

INTERLIBRARY LOAN BOOK REQUESTS:
If you need to request a book from out-of-state through the Interlibrary Loan system, you must do so before December 10 in order for it to have the best chance of arriving before Winter Break starts (and even this cannot be guaranteed). Requests submitted over Winter Break will not be ordered until Jan. 2, 2009.

ARTICLE REQUESTS:
Requests for articles will continue to be ordered by the Interlibrary Loan Dept. through the last day, Dec. 19. If your requested article does not arrive by closing on Dec. 19, it will not be available on your ILLiad account until Jan. 2, 2009.

A visit from the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind

On November 12, eight students and two teachers from the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind visited Colorado College Special Collections. They worked with 4,000-year-old Sumerian clay tablets and with a Hebrew text on vellum (animal skin). Some of the students used magnifiers; others used just their sense of touch. The students, who were in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade, had recently made their own clay tablets; they were surprised at the small size of the ones at CC.

See more photos of this visit.

So we have a Presidential Elect, now what?

There's lots of change going on with the transition from President Bush to President-Elect Obama.
If you want to keep up with what's going on see Presidential Transition guide we've got going.

"Today we begin in earnest the work of making sure that the world we leave our children is just a little bit better than the one we inhabit today" says President-elect.

Find out more about what he has planned.

Office of the President Elect - daily news on the Presidential transition; agendas; biographies; or  apply for a job or "share your story"

You can get updates too

• Obama weekly radio address - the weekly Democratic address has been released as a web video. It will also continue to air on the radio.

Background information

The Presidential Transition Resources link provides background information on records and ethics for nominees and appointees, transition laws and inaugural information, etc.

Also included is a non-governmental resource:

Brookings: The Presidential Transition - 2008-2009 presidential transition will examine "policy challenges, with public discussions, memos to the president-elect, and a weekly podcast." Browse sections for the memos, podcasts, briefing room, online chats, events, and historical political advice and policy on the presidency. From the Brookings Institution.

Do you have a good link to check up on what's going on? If so, send a comment.

Voting and Election info @ a click!

Interested in looking at voting and election information?
Then CQ Voting and Elections Collection is the place for you.

Find analysis and explanations for both current and historical material on topics like major and minor political parties, campaigns and elections, voter demographics, and races for Congress, the presidency, and governorships. 

And there is plenty of data: generate customized data about various aspects of elections in America, in addition to searchable, linked tables, one:

•     Candidate and Office Histories to track a candidate's political career   and how percentage of the vote changed in the move from challenger to   incumbent. Or in Office Histories, view trends in the total Democratic and Republican vote.    
•     Seat Status and Competition to study incumbency and reelection rates,   open seat races, and races based on competitiveness, for example, by looking   at all candidates who won between 45 to 55% of the vote or who won over 60% of   the vote.   
•     Party Control, Split Districts, and Third Parties to analyze party   control and strength in the House and to understand the impact and activity of   third party candidates.  
•     Party Switches and Special Elections to find all the changes that   affect officeholders outside of the regular election cycle.

Have fun with it!
And don't forget to vote.

What's up with RefWorks?

If you haven't learned and used RefWorks you are missing out!
It is a fabulous tool for your research projects keeping you organized as well as saving you a lot of time.

• import citations from catalogs, databases and webpages
• link back to full-text articles
• organize citations
• keep notes and abstracts on sources
• add footnotes to papers
• generate bibliographies in a variety of citation style formats

Training available during drop-in sessions

• on Wednesdays
• block weeks 1, 2, and 3
• from 1 - 2 p.m.
• at Tutt Library. 

Meet in TLC2.

TIGER interface updates

The TIGER catalog will be undergoing a series of updates over the next few days.

On Sunday, Aug. 10, the TIGER interfaces will be updated to the latest templates issued by our vendor.  Though the overall goal was to maintain the current functionality of the online catalog, you will notice an updated "CC" look and feel. 

On Tuesday, Aug. 12, the background module that powers the TIGER interfaces will be  updated to its latest version.  This update lays the groundwork for new features and other improvements we may make to the online catalog in the future. 

There should be no downtime with either of these updates, but please do let us know if you're having any trouble accessing the catalog.

If you have any questions about these updates, please contact Carol Ou, Systems Librarian at 389-6895. For help, you can also reach Circulation at 389-6184 or Reference at 389-6662.

Mini-exhibit: Robert Ormes: Cartographer and Mountaineer 1904-1994

Robert Ormes, former Colorado College professor, made lasting contributions to the hiking and climbing community of Colorado.  Best known for his book, Guide to the Colorado Mountains, Bob produced several other guides and atlases to the region.  Never trained as a cartographer, his hand sketched trail notes reflect the basic mountaineering skills he used his entire life.  Worn wool pants and an old army pack worked for him all of his life. No need for gortex, ultralight equipment or a GPS.  Two exhibit cases in the Tutt 2nd floor atrium highlight a few examples of Bob's love of the mountains.

Drill Team performing in Rodeo Parade

The Tutt Library Tiger Tales Precision Book Truck Drill Team is performing in the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo Parade at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday night.  Where: Downtown Colorado Springs on Tejon St. from St. Vrain to Colorado Blvd. Come watch the amazing moves, daring twirls, and more cowbell than you can imagine.