Jeremy Schwartz, Assistant Librarian for Research and Public Services

Jeremy Schwartz is the latest addition to the Cannavino Library staff. A Poughkeepsie native, he grew up attending Marist basketball games at the McCann Arena. Prior to becoming a librarian, Jeremy was a journalist whose work has appeared in many local publications, including The Poughkeepsie Journal, Daily Freeman, Taconic Press, Weekly Beat, Ulster Publishing, and Chronogram.  His news coverage has included the Dutchess County Legislature, Hudson Valley Renegades, theater and film reviews, notable court cases, and the local music scene.

As a member of the Cannavino Library Research Services team, Jeremy assists students and faculty at the Library's Reference Desk and is a Library Liaison to the Communication, Music, Religion and Philosophy, and Media Arts Departments. Additionally, he is a regular presence behind the Circulation Desk, helping to supervise and train student assistants and ensuring the efficient and courteous dispatch of public services. He looks forward to meeting faculty and assisting with research and classroom needs, such as bibliographic instructions sessions, Course Pathfinders, First Year Seminars, and other collaborative projects.

His past library experiences include stints at Mount St. Mary College, Columbia-Greene Community College, and the New York State Library. He has also served as a volunteer archivist and web page administrator for WGXC Community radio in Hudson, NY.  When not at the Library, Jeremy's interests included collecting scratchy vinyl lps, playing guitar (primitively), hiking in the Catskills, sampling the live music scene in the Hudson Valley, and following his beloved New York Mets.

Pathfinder Program Overview

PATHFINDER PROGRAM OVERVIEW

In Fall of 2012 the Library introduced their Pathfinder program. In this blog post we will give an overview of  how Pathfinders are being used on campus.

WHAT IS A PATHFINDER?

Upon the request of a faculty member, a librarian works with the faculty member to create a customized mini-website with only the resources essential to the class, or even, to a specific assignment. The Pathfinder can contain links to databases, books and ebooks, journals and journal articles, videos, forms, images, etc.  It can be structured to fit the needs of your class.  The Pathfinder as a whole can be linked into iLearn, and specific pages can be linked individually in iLearn Lesson or iLearn Resources.

Faculty response to Pathfinders has been quite positive.

THE NUMBERS. 

As you can see below, the number of Pathfinders and sections they serve has been increasing steadily.  Comparing Fall 2012 to Fall 2013, there was a 67% increase in the number of Pathfinders.  And although we are only half-way through Spring 2014, we have already surpassed the number  created in Spring 2013.

We have seen most Pathfinders reused semester after semester. In courses with multiple sections, Pathfinders have been quite popular. They help standardize the library experience that students have across the sections.

Student use of Pathfinders has been significant.  In Fall 2013 we saw an average of 11 page views per student, with one class seeing as many as 69 page views per student.

The chart below shows the distribution of Pathfinders by course level in Fall 2013.  It should be noted that 77% of all the First Year Seminars had a Pathfinder, which influenced  the high percentage of 100 level courses having them.  Also, several of the courses with Pathfinders were taught entirely online.

A Pathfinder can be created anytime within the semester.  If you would like one for your class, please contact your Library Liaison.

Trial to Video Streaming - Ambrose Digital

The Library has arranged a trial to the video streaming service, Ambrose Digital.  The database includes hundreds of broadcast-quality documentaries and educational films, many in high definition.  The films are mobile accessible, closed captioned, and allow for video clip viewing with permalinks that make it easy to include in iLearn.  

Film series include the complete BBC Shakespeare Collection, The Ascent of Man, Turning Points in US History, Childhood, A History of Christianity, The History of Western Art, and the new BBC series, Civilization: Is the West History?

If you would like the Library to subscribe to this service, please email Judy Diffenderfer at judy.diffenderfer@marist.edu.

Impact of Government Shutdown on Online Resources

Many valuable sources of information provided by the federal government are impacted by the current lapse in appropriated funding.  Some online resources are no longer available, while others will not be updated.  The U.S. Census Bureau is providing access to American Fact Finder, but other resources like Historical Censuses and the North American Industry Classification System are inaccessible. The Library of Congress will continue to offer access to Thomas.gov and beta.Congress.gov.   Limited updates will be made to PubMed.gov during the shutdown and the database is still available to researchers.  The Federal Digital System, the main resource for government documents, will receive updates to Congressional materials and the Federal Register only.  For guidance seeking alternative resources for you or your students, please contact your Library Liaison.

Arts & Sciences IV Collection Added to JSTOR

The Library has recently expanded our holdings in JSTOR by adding the Arts & Sciences IV collection. There are 112 titles in this collection with an emphasis on business, education, and law. There are also titles in over 15 other disciplines including history, political science, psychology and sociology. In the past couple years, many students and faculty have tried to access these titles through Google, so it is a welcome addition to our collection.  

Click here for the title list.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Pathfinder

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, and more. Henrietta’s cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can’t afford health insurance.

-From About The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks on RebeccaSkloot.com

This summer, all first year students at Marist College were asked to read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot.  

Librarian Nancy Lewis has created a Special Topics Pathfinder, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,  as a resource for students and Faculty working with the common reading.  This pathfinder draws together resources related to the story and the science of the HeLa cells, maps of locations in the book, as well as resources related to researching and writing about a story. A number of multimedia resources, including  a video of HeLa cells dividing are presented.

While this Pathfinder will certainly be of use to the First Year Seminars, we hope that other classes may find these resources of use and that you will direct your students to the pathfinder as well.

We hope you will also stop by and see the Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks Display in the display case on the second floor of the Library.

Recent DVD Purchases

Check out some of the dvds the Library has recently purchased at faculty request:

   The Corporation  DVD 1534-35

   Weight of the nation  DVD 1536-38

   First World War, the complete series  DVD 1539-42

   Miss representation  DVD 1543

   Amor brugo / Love, the magician  DVD 1546

   39 steps  DVD 1557

   Half the sky  DVD 1572-73

   Ghosts of Rwanda  DVD 1576 

   Margin call  DVD 1577

   Helvetica  DVD 1585 

Lowell Thomas Papers: Now Searchable Through Fox Hunt

All of the 61,369 catalog records along with 40,000 digitized images from the Lowell Thomas Papers are now searchable through Fox Hunt. This enhances the discovery process as the results from the LT Papers will be integrated to the overall search results from the library. Researchers who are particularly interested in searching Archives & Special Collections’ digital records can limit their search by selecting "Archival Materials" from the content type in the advanced search.

The Lowell Thomas Papers encompasses a wide range of materials documenting the life, family, and professional career of Lowell Thomas. These materials include correspondence, administrative and financial documents, manuscripts, printed materials, photographic materials, motion picture films, audio recordings, and memorabilia. Of particular interest are the materials relating to Thomas's travelogues, association with T.E. Lawrence, Cinerama productions, journey to Tibet, and broadcast series "High Adventure with Lowell Thomas." The overview of this collection can be viewed at: LT Paper Historical Note.

This highlights a major milestone for Archives & Special Collections. The Lowell Thomas Papers is the first digital collection from our archives to be successfully integrated in the Fox Hunt. Furthermore, we are working closely with Serial Solutions to integrate the remaining 49 manuscript collections and additional updates will be sent as we do so. In the meantime follow us on Facebook and Twitter to get a snapshot of our collections.

For a sample search of the Lowell Thomas Papers in Fox Hunt please click on the following search phrase: Lowell Thomas Tibet.

Recent Print Book Purchases

The library has recently added the following print books:

     Introduction to Presocratics : a thematic approach to early Greek philosophy with key readings / Giannis Stamatellos

     Inheriting Abraham : the legacy of the patriarch in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam / Jon D.  Levenson

     Syria : the fall of the house of Assad / David W. Lesch

     Thomas Jefferson : the art of power / Jon Meacham

     The generals : American military command from World War II to today / Thomas E. Ricks

     The Hudson primer : the ecology of an iconic river / David L. Strayer

     Fashion and art / edited by Adam Geczy and Vicki Karaminas

     What money can't buy : the moral limits of markets / Michael J. Sandel

     Intelligence in action: strategically managing knowledge assets / G. Scott Erickson and Helen N. Rothberg

     Regarding Warhol : sixty artists, fifty years / Mark Rosenthal ... [et al.]

     Dialect diversity in America : the politics of language change / William Labov

     The wire : truth be told / Rafael Alvarez


If you have books (print or electronic) you would like the library to order, please use our online acquisitions form or email your librarian liaison.

March 12, 6PM - 8PM iLearn and the Marist Library

On Tuesday, March 12th, from 6PM to 8PM there will be an "iLearn and the Marist Library" workshop in the AT&E Computer Lab,. Room 305 in the Library.    Librarian Nancy Lewis' presentation will focus on how you can integrate Library Resources into your iLearn course.  She will discuss how to link to articles in the online Library Collection and provide an introduction to Library Pathfinders.  She will demonstrate how to link a Library Pathfinder into your iLearn course. 

To register for the workshop, visit,  http://www.marist.edu/facultystaff/cte/workshops.html?cat=38