New African American History Library Research Guide

Check out the Library’s newest Research Pathfinder: “African American History.” The Pathfinder highlights not just books, ebooks and articles, but images, videos and other less-frequented resources that may stimulate interest or support research.

 It also links to “Historical African American Newspapers Available Online” a related guide listing of over 65 newspapers of interest for African American History - organized alphabetically, chronologically and geographically.  This list - already one of the most comprehensive on the internet - is dynamic and growing.  More entries will be added as we uncover them.

Research Pathfinders guide students to library resources targeted at either a specific topic or a Marist course.   Faculty can request a Pathfinder for a specific course and research assignment or discipline specific subject, e.g. “Advertising” or “Painters of Florence”.  Click here for some recent examples.  Contact your Library liaison for more information on having one created for you, or call the Reference Desk x3292, or email us via Ask A Librarian. 

Who is Lowell Thomas? Get to Know the Man Behind the Building!

Join in the fun and become part of the Archives and Special Collections’ social media campaign to learn about Lowell Thomas. You can now follow Lowell Thomas’s exploits on Twitter @LowellJThomas, FaceBook, or the Archives and Special Collections’ website.

It is an interesting time to consider the historical memory of Lowell Thomas. He is in transition from being remembered as a celebrity to a historical figure. Thomas died in 1981, and as his fans follow him they are being replaced by researchers attempting to document his remarkable career as a journalist, entrepreneur, and adventurer.

Thomas was a pioneer journalist and developed into one of the foremost radio broadcasters during the golden age of radio. Today little is recalled of his ground breaking work as a commentator or as a world traveler. In the early 1920s he launched his career presenting lectures concerning his travels in the Middle East. A three-month stint in England turned into a 5 year world tour. During this time over 4 million people came to experience the multi-media extravaganza entitled The Lowell Thomas Travelogues. In recalling his travels and encounters in Arabia, Thomas made T.E. Lawrence known worldwide as Lawrence of Arabia and established himself as one of the great public speakers of his day. In the 1930s Thomas continued his pioneer work in the broadcasting industry. He was the first person to air a simulcast and he became the voice of Fox Movitone Newsreels. In the 1950s he co-created Cinerama and his movie “This Is Cinerama” broke every known record for income and total audience when it showed on Broadway in New York City in 1952. Later that decade he founded Capital Cities, a major broadcasting group which is now part of the Walt Disney Company. He created his very popular High Adventure television series in the 1960s, and continued his world travels. In 1977 Thomas retired from his radio news program, which had been on the air for 46 continuous years. Later that year he published Good Evening Everybody, the first volume of his autobiography, and just one of the over 50 books he authored. Thomas returned to radio in 1978. National Public Radio aired his series “The Best Years” until just before his death on August 29, 1981.

Follow @LowellJThomas on twitter today to experience it for yourself!

Quick Tips for African American History Month

Most instructors are, of course, already aware of many resources in their disciplines that are appropriate to this national period of reflection. The Library of Congress's Historic American Newspapers and the Oxford African American Studies Center are just two of hundreds of possible examples.  But here are a couple quick, less well-known tips for finding material within libraries' peculiar system of organization.

In Marist's Collections
The phrase "African Americans" is a powerful tool in the Advanced Search section of the library catalog. Most materials can be retrieved using this term, then narrowed by factors such as medium: print, video or digital - or discipline: history, literature, politics, economics, anthropology, etc.  The search below retrieves 113 audiovisual materials by or about African Americans. (By the way, our MLK Day post includes some extraordinary a/v links, just in case you missed it.)

(Click on images to enlarge)

Biology of Race
"Race and biology" as a library catalog keyword search is effective in a collection of our size (as would be "eugenics" or "phrenology"), but can be overly broad in larger databases.

In Academic Search Elite for example "race and biology" yields useful results, but with some unhelpful outliers). To clean this up, go to Advanced Search (an option in almost any database), and limit your search to Subject Terms.

More Help Available
Obviously, these tips are short and general. Give a call (x3292) for quick, more specific help, or contact your liaison or Ask A Librarian for a detailed consultation.

Library Help For The New Semester

Now, early in the semester, is an excellent time to check in with your department’s Library liaison.  S/he can deliver in-class instruction in library research or help you craft a research assignment or assessment.

If time is already pressing, bear in mind our popular tutorials on common library research topics, linkable from your iLearn course or website. Each video, such as "What is a Scholarly Journal" (2:45 min, below) is under 5 minutes and specific to the James A Cannavino Library. 

Other available titles include:

• "Finding Scholarly Articles in Databases" (2:00);
• "Is this a Scholarly Journal?" (2:00); and 
• "Library Catalog Overview Tutorial" (4:46) 

plus more on the Library's iLearn site.  (Didn't know about the Library's iLearn site?  Forgot how to get there? Call your liaision!)

Liaisons can also help with your own scholarship and departmental work. We're glad to offer brief presentations on discipline-specific resources for department meetings, manage requests for new acquisitions, answer questions about print and electronic information resources, and keep you informed about new Library resources and programs.  Schedule an appointment using our online form or just call.

Bookmark the Library Liaison listing now, so it's available when you need us, and have a great Spring semester!

Reserve and E-Reserve readings

It is the beginning of the semester and many faculty will be placing library materials of all sorts "on reserve".  These will include ejournal articles, photocopies of print article, books, ebooks, DVDs, and online videos.

Electronic Reserve (e-books, e-videos, e-articles)

Helping faculty integrate the library’s electronic resources into iLearn is a top priority.  We have written guides to linking e-resourses in iLearn in the Library iLearn Site.   If you would like personal assistance linking to periodical articles, ebooks, ebook chapters, Artstor images, or online videos, please contact Katy Silberger (Kathryn.Silberger@marist.edu or 575-3419).  We are happy to help you by email or over the telephone or in person.

Print Books / Photocopies

If you are placing print books or photocopies of journal articles on reserve, we have an online form which is submitted directly to the Library.  It is also available as a downloadable Word document.

Videos (DVD and VHS)

An online form  or a downloadable Word document are available to place DVDs and VHS tapes on reserve in the Library.  If you want to show the video in class, please remember to fill out the Media Center Equipment Reservation Form.

Martin Luther King, Jr. -- Resources in the Cannavino Library

In addition to books and videos, our Library provides access to many less-well-known sources of information on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the American civil rights movement.  As you peruse these, remember that, whatever your discipline, your library liaison can help you discover unexpected and stimulating resources to support your teaching.

Online Videos Collections

American History in Video has several  videos focusing on Dr. King. For example, there is a Universal Newsreel from August 29, 1963 reporting on the historic March on  Washington with Dr. King’s "I have a Dream" speech.

A 10 minute video tour of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institution and a 15 minute video of Professor Jonathan Bass discussing Dr. King’s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" are among the many videos that can be found on C-Span’s American History TV.

Dr. King also can be seen in the July 2, 1964 C-Span video of President Lyndon Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He is one of the people to whom President Johnson gives a pen.

 

Photographs in Artstor

Photographs of Martin Luther King Jr. during the Selma March, the March on Washington, at an Alabama Press Conference, and upon his return from receiving the Nobel Peace Prize  are but a few of the many images of Dr. King available in Artstor.

Follow Lowell Thomas Travelogue on Twitter

Throughout the month of December the Marist College Archives and Special Collections twitter account @LowellJThomas will have a Lowell Thomas Travelogue Theme, tweeting pictures and quotes from Thomas's famous World War I travelogue series "With Allenby in Palestine and with Lawrence in Arabia".

In 1918 Lowell Thomas went overseas to photograph the allied war effort. After first visiting the western front, it was in Egypt, Palestine and Arabia that Thomas and his photographer Harry Chase took their most spectacular motion pictures and photographs. It is at this time that Thomas also met T.E. Lawrence, whom, through Lowell Thomas's Travelogue, would become legendarily famous. The multimedia show about Lowell Thomas's travels through Palestine and Arabia became a sensation in America and Europe due to the incredible photographs and Thomas's commentary. Follow @LowellJThomas on twitter today to experience it for yourself!

Library help over the break

As the semester draws to a close The James A. Cannavino wishes you all happy holidays.

During the mid-winter break many faculty will be using the time to work on research and prepare classes for the coming semester.  The Library will be open many days during the break.  If you are working from home and have library-related questions, please contact us.

• Day by day Library hours are posted on the Library calendar.
• Phone us at 845-575-3292 when the Library is open.
• Send an email anytime to Ask-A-Librarian@marist.edu.
• ILL  will be available and fully staffed  throughout the break.
• Librarians will be available all days the Library is open to work with you in person or by telephone.

Katy Silberger will be available throughout the break to work with you on iLearn/Library issues.  If you would like help creating an “electronic reserve reading list” or linking to the Library instructional videos, please contact her.  If you would prefer to work from home, she can offer assistance by telephone and email.  Her direct phone number is 845-575-3419.

Collaborate with Students in the Library

Do you ever want to meet with a small group of students in the Library?

 Four collaborative rooms in the Library are available for faculty and staff use from 8:00am to 5:00pm, Monday through Friday.  They are located on the second floor in the Alumni Reading Room area of the Library.

The rooms accommodate between 5 and 8 people and may be reserved for 1 to 3 hours up to a week in advance.

 This space is made available for occasional meetings rather than regularly scheduled activity.

To reserve a room, please contact the Academic Learning Center at 575-3300.

Room #	# Seats	Features
300A	8	Whiteboard
300B	6	Computer
300C	6	Computer
300D	5	Computer

Why doesn't the Library have this journal?

Recently a faculty member asked me why Marist's library doesn't receive two respected journals of Catholic thought: America and First Things, yet does receive the similarly respected Commonweal.  The short answer is, we do get all three, but not in print.

Marist College Library's long-term commitment to build a digital library has enabled us to move from  1200 serial titles in print to more than 55,000 titles accessible digitally.  A complete, searchable list can be found by visiting the Library Catalog and clicking the "Journals" link.

Search tip: use the drop down option for one-word titles, as below.

.
Many digital editions lack the glossy, eye-catching covers and stimulating layouts of corresponding print versions.  This is especially true if they are part of a massive library database, and especially troubling if you rely on covers and headlines - catching your eye as you casually browse the library main floor -  to remind you of the valuable content inside.  But one often overlooked advantage of these digital serials, is that they allow any Marist community member to create, essentially, their own personal email subscription.

All of our major content providers offer this service - typically styled "Alert"

Examples below:

WilsonWeb














Ebsco

Once activated, this service will deliver the tables of contents of any journal with links to the full text article, on a schedule you can set.  And for the more adventurous, most can create RSS feeds too.

Of course there are many more valuable features of digital publications, and many challenges in working with them.  Please don't hesitate to contact me (Mark Colvson, 845-575-5218) or any of my colleagues to ask about finding digital serials, building them into your pedagogy, or any other features you nay have wondered about.