Katherine Martin's blog

Rod Library has canceled its subscriptions to the Testing & Education Reference Center, Wilson Art Abstracts, and Wilson Applied Science & Technology Full Text databases, and will lose access to them by mid April.  Many of the test preparation materials available through Testing & Education Reference Center are available in other formats in the Library collection.  Wilson Art Abstracts is being replaced with Wilson Art Full Text, which not only indexes over 500 periodicals but also provides access to the full text of nearly 200 journals, with content dating back to 1997.  The Library also has canceled its subscription to Wilson Applied Science & Technology Full Text.  It is exploring alternative resources.  In the interim, you may find the Engineering Village 2, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect databases useful.

As of March 31st, NewsBank's America's Newspapers and Access World News will no longer be available.  In 2009, NewsBank lost the rights to provide access to Gannett publications, including the Des Moines Register, which had been accessible through America's Newspapers.  The Library has redirected funds to making the Register available on the ProQuest platform.  It appears on the Databases A - Z list as Des Moines Register.  Other databases with varied national and international news content to which the Library subscribes include Ethnic Newswatch, LexisNexis Academic, Newspaper Source, and PressDisplay.  The Library also subscribes to the New York Times (1851-2006):  ProQuest Historical Newspapers.

Join us for a free showing of Maquilapolis – City of Factories at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 23rd in Room 324 of Rod Library. This documentary explores globalization through the eyes of Mexican factory workers. The event, which is part of Women’s Studies Month programming, is sponsored by Rod Library and Women’s & Gender Studies.

The documentary is part of the Library’s collection, and is available for individual and classroom viewing. The Library also has acquired public performance rights for the title.

The Biological Abstracts database, previously available to Library patrons on the Ovid platform, is now accessible through the ISI Web of Knowledge database package.  The database may be searched alone or in combination with other resources that are part of the Web of Knowledge package to which the Library subscribes. 

The Library's subscription to the Biological Abstracts database on the Ovid/SilverPlatter platform expires on Saturday, October 31st.  Access via a different vendor is being investigated at this time. 

Banned Books Week “celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular.” It emphasizes the “importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them.” Banned Books Week is an annual event sponsored by the American Booksellers Association; American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression; the American Library Association; American Society of Journalists and Authors; Association of American Publishers; and the National Association of College Stores. It is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. The event highlights books that have been challenged or banned in libraries and school districts. Many titles appear regularly on the annual list of the most commonly challenged books. Rod Library has mounted two displays related to Banned Books Week. There is an informational exhibit in the flatbed display case adjacent to the Reference Desk and Electronic Resources area on the main floor. In the lobby is a display of books from the Library’s circulating collection that have been banned or challenged by libraries and schools. All of these titles are available for check-out. Stop by to browse the display, and select a title to read or re-read. For additional information, visit the American Library Association web site at http://www.ala.org/