Jerilyn Marshall's blog

You asked, we listened!  The learning commons now has more electrical outlets.  The north wall near the comfy furniture formerly had no outlets, and now there are several running along the wall.  The paneled wall area now has several additional places to plug in electrical devices near the study tables.  Visit us during spring semester!

The online chat and text message service has reduced hours during the holiday break.  There will be no chat or text service between December 15-January 6.  The week of January 7-11 the chat and text hours will be 12 noon - 5:00 pm.

Librarians and staff are available to answer questions any time the library is open during the above dates.  Please contact the reference desk by voice phone at 273-2838, in person, or by email through this form.  The email account will be checked several times per day.

Enjoy the holiday break!

Subject Guides (LibGuides) include information and links to some of the best sources for doing research in basic subject areas.  They also give search tips that can help when preparing for papers and presentations.  Try one today!  Just click on the Subject Guides link in the left column of the library home page.

The learning commons survey is running until Friday, October 19.  We want to hear from the university community about technologies, services, and spaces that students, faculty, and staff would like us to consider when developing the learning commons, a space that will be redesigned to enhance learning and research.

The brief survey asks questions about your preferences for an ideal learning and research environment.  Please fill out the survey through MyUNIverse or through this direct link.  (CatID login is required.)

Thank you for your input!

Learning Commons Task Force

The Rod Library Learning Commons survey is currently running.  Students, faculty, and staff of UNI are invited to send us ideas and preferences for how we can develop this project now and in the future.  The survey is available through MyUNIverse, or through this link (requires login with CatID).

Note: Some people initially experienced a technical problem when trying to access or submit the survey.  This problem is now resolved, and we invite you to please try again.

About the Learning Commons:

Rod Library, in partnership with other campus units, is seeking to develop and redesign space in the library building into a learning commons.  We are in early stages of planning the learning commons, which will also include virtual space, technological upgrades, and new furniture for the area.

The reconfigured space will be designed to be open, comfortable, inspirational, and practical.  We are excited about this project and are looking forward to getting things moving in its initial year.

Thank you for your input!

If you’ve visited the library lately you may have noticed that the area north of the reference desk is looking pretty bare – or some would say, wide open!  Some people have been asking us what we will be putting there now that all of the dark brown shelves have been removed.  The library is currently developing a plan to redesign the area as a comfortable, open, flexible learning space that will be both inspirational and practical.

UNI students, faculty, and staff, please watch during fall semester for a survey.  We’d like to know what you would like to see in the new learning and research space.  In the meantime, for the coming academic year we will be equipping the space with a different combination of technology and furniture that we hope will lead to comfortable and productive research.

Watch for more information in the coming months! 

Did you know that the library has over 130 online guides in a wide variety of subject areas? These were created by librarians and library staff; they can help you to find the best and most reliable sources on a topic. Find out the best resources to use for your class assignments, or for research, quickly and easily.

The guides are searchable by keywords, tags, and subjects.  Click here to get started -- and you could save some time, finish assignments more efficiently, and go out and enjoy the summer weather!

If you can think of a new subject guide you'd like to see, please let us know!

Recently we have added several dozen reference books to the Gale Virtual Reference Library database.  The titles added include Encyclopedia of Global Health (2008); Women in World History, a Biographical Encyclopedia (2000); and Encyclopedia of Cross-Cultural School Psychology (2007).   Student technology fees funded these purchases, allowing the library to better support students in finding information needed for academic papers and presentations.

The Library's Subject Guides and Course Web Pages will be taking on a new look over the next few months as librarians and staff convert them to a new interface.  Over 40 guides have been updated already.  Check out the new look and navigation on our LibGuides site. 

We hope that UNI students and other researchers will check the guides for useful information when doing research for their classes and projects.

Britannica Online is a one-stop resource for basic background information covering many topics that can be used in student research papers, speeches, and other projects.  Students often would like to use Wikipedia, but many instructors will not allow that to be used as a source.  Britannica would make an excellent alternative for many assignments where other encyclopedias are allowed.

Britannica's new and improved site includes many features beyond just the basic encyclopedia articles.  These include

1) Videos and other media related to subjects of articles

2) Links to magazine and journal articles on many topics

3) The ability to compare basic information about two countries

4) World maps; videos and other media related to the articles

5) Definitions of words in the articles, available by double-clicking on any word

Britannica Online is available through the Databases A-Z list, or in UNISTAR, through Rod Library's paid subscription.