What’s New at the GSU Zach S. Henderson Library

In the present economic climate, which has seen library budgets decrease, and South Carolina’s PASCAL (their counterpart to Georgia’s GALILEO) lose 90% of its funding, one thing remains steady:  the rising prices of periodical subscriptions and electronic resource licenses.  For the rundown, including tables with periodical costs by discipline, please visit this link to Library Journal’s annual Periodicals Price Survey.

As many of you are aware, the University System of Georgia announced in September that the GIL Express service (expedited shipments of books from other USG libraries) would be suspended.  Following expressions of support from the USG community (including our own students and faculty), the Board of Regents allocated the funds to keep it going through Fall 2008.

Now we have more good news!  According to Merryll Penson, Executive Director of Library Services at the University System of Georgia’s Office of Information and Instructional Technology:

“GIL Express will continue for the remainder of FY 2009.  During this
time, we will be actively seeking ways to control the increasing costs
of this service so that it remains a viable option for the future.

Thank you for your patience during these uncertain budget times.”

We will still have the normal holiday suspension of GIL Express until the service resumes on Jan. 2, 2009.  Details about our GIL Express, Interlibrary Loan (ILL), and Document Delivery services are available here.

Today a group of our librarians talked with the graduate program directors, who then asked us to share our handouts with a wider audience.  A great idea!  So here you are…

Interlibrary Loan & GIL Express

Your Very Own Librarian:  Library Liaisons

Library Services for Graduate Students

Circulation of Library Materials: The loan period for graduate students for books and most other materials is the entire semester, but the books can be recalled after 21 days if not renewed. Books must be physically brought in to be renewed at the end of each semester. DVDs, and videorecordings circulate for three days.

Dissertations and Theses: A common request from grad students is to see theses and dissertations written by previous Georgia Southern graduate students. These are cataloged and shelved by subject just as the books are, so there is no one place in the Library to look for them. However, you may search by keyword and add the words “thesis”, “dissertation”, or “etd” and identify them that way. For additional assistance go to http://library.georgiasouthern.edu/libref/dissertationabs.pdf.

Document Delivery for Distance Learners: students who take all of their classes online or off campus and who live 30 miles from Statesboro may request books and articles be sent to them. Contact: Cynthia Frost, (912) 478-5405 or e-mail cjfrost@georgiasouthern.edu or the ILL Office at ill@georgiasouthern.edu

Eagle Source: This provides lists of helpful research resources by discipline with descriptions. It can be found on the left side of the Henderson Library Home Page or go to http://library.georgiasouthern.edu/eaglesource/.

Faculty Authorizations: By filling out our Faculty Authorization forms, faculty may give their graduate assistants permission to check out materials in their names. Contact: Debbie DeVage, (912) 478-5647 or e-mail ddevage@georgiasouthern.edu or Marjorie Gay, (478-5647) mgay@georgiasouthern.edu

GIL Express: GIL Express is a service of the University System of Georgia (USG) libraries – 35 in all. After searching the USG Universal Catalog, faculty, staff, and students may request books from any USG library. The books usually arrive at our Library in two days and are loaned for 28 days with two renewals allowed. There are no overdue fines, but a few libraries do charge recall fines and faculty as well as students are blocked at all USG libraries (including their own) if they allow materials to become overdue. Books borrowed through GIL Express can be returned to any USG library. Unlike Interlibrary Loan, books may be borrowed through GIL Express whether they are for research or not.

Contact: Debbie DeVage or the Circulation/Reserve Desk, 478-5647 or e-mail ddevage@georgiasouthern.edu, Fred Smith email fsmith@georgiasouthern.edu 478-5405 or Cynthia Frost 478-5405 or e-mail cjfrost@georgiasouthern.edu or the ILL Office at ill@georgiasouthern.edu

Group Study Rooms: Three group study rooms located on the first floor are reserved for use by graduate students only. Go to the Circulation/Reserve Desk on the second floor to check out a key to unlock them.

Information Literacy Instruction

The Information Services Librarians offer many classes on both information searching and software applications.  They specialize in course-based, assignment-focused instruction, customized according to the needs of the students.  They also offer drop-in workshops, including SPSS, Thesis/Dissertation Formatting, Graduate Assistant Research Forums, and more!  Check out the full list of drop-in workshops at http://library.georgiasouthern.edu/workshops.html

Interlibrary Loan: Almost any book or article may be borrowed. Average turnaround is about a week, and there is no charge. The Henderson Library uses ILLiad for its interlibrary loan and document delivery services. The link to ILLiad is on the left side of the Library’s home page. There is a one-time registration. After registering, faculty, staff, and students can make requests, see the status of current requests, access electronically received documents, request renewals, and see a history of all their requests. In most cases, copies of articles will be delivered electronically. We ask that ILL requests be for materials to support Georgia Southern teaching or research. The FAQ includes instructions for faculty to make additional “shared” accounts when they ask student assistants to make their ILL requests. Please call the ILL Office at (912) 478-5405 or email ill@georgiasouthern.edu with any questions.

Learning Commons: The Learning Commons is a dynamic and active feature of the Library’s efforts to meet the needs of the university community. In order to facilitate the creation of a learning commons, the following principles have guided the planning for the reconfiguration of the existing Zach S. Henderson Library building and the addition:

· A Place for Active Learning · A Place Designed to Put Users First · An Adaptable Place · A Functional Place

· A Borderless, Integrated, Efficient Place · A Place Where Noise is Managed · A Safe and Secure Place

Reference Help: When you begin work on a major paper, thesis, or dissertation, it’s always a good idea to confer with a Reference Librarian for the best approach to sources and search terms. In addition, the reference librarians have subject specialties. If you would like, you can make an appointment with the reference librarian for your discipline to discuss your research. They can also help grad students with difficult citation problems. The subject specialists for your area can be found by consulting Eagle Source. Additional information is also available at http://library.georgiasouthern.edu/libref/ISLibrarians.pdf

or http://library.georgiasouthern.edu/libref/imref.html.

Zach’s News: Keep an eye on http://zachsnews.edublogs.org/ for updates on the newly expanded and renovated library building, as well as new resources and services.  You could simply bookmark this page, but we encourage you to make use of the e-mail subscription option and/or the RSS feed option which are both located near the bottom, right side of this page.

A word from the Vice Chancellor:

We have received many concerns from faculty and administrators around
the System with respect to the negative impact a suspension of the GIL
Express service will have on core activities such as instruction and
research.  We want to be responsive to these concerns and so we are
continuing GIL Express through the end of Fall Semester with the
expressed intent of finding a way to support this service going
forward.  I believe that working in good faith with all areas of the
System Office and our campuses, we can find a way to address the
required budget cuts while maintaining this critical service. Please
share this information with your faculty.

Thanks to all who have voiced concerns about the loss of GIL Express.
We want to make the best decisions we can in these difficult times to
protect the viability of the very reasons we exist; teaching, learning,
and scholarship.
–
Dr. Tom Maier
Vice Chancellor/CIO
Board of Regents
University System of Georgia
270 Washington St.
Atlanta, GA 30334
V 404 657-1588
F 404 651-9497

Dear Georgia Southern University faculty, staff and students: Today we received the following announcement from Merryll Penson, Executive Director of Library Services at the University System of Georgia’s Office of Information and Instructional Technology, regarding how state budget cuts are leading to the October 1 suspension of the GIL Express Courier service and the cancellation of Cambridge Scientific Abstracts from the suite of GALILEO databases. Ms. Penson’s message follows.

Bede Mitchell, Dean of Henderson Library

>>> Merryll Penson <merryll.penson@USG.EDU> 9/18/2008 9:54 PM >>>
GIL Express Announcement

The recent decline in state tax revenue collections has forced the
University System of Georgia to plan for budget cuts for the current
fiscal year. Given the level of these cuts, there is insufficient
funding available to continue GIL Express operations, at least where
on-line requesting and delivery of books is concerned. The costs were
also increasing due to high fuel costs. Over 85,000 books were shared
among USG libraries during FY08. On-line requesting and delivery of GIL
Express books, therefore, will be suspended beginning October 1, 2008.
This suspension will allow continuation of most GALILEO electronic
resources for the current fiscal year.

Only on-line requesting that requires books to be shipped to another
library is being suspended. Patrons can still check out books from any
University System of Georgia library with a current and valid
institution issued-picture ID. A current and valid government issued
picture ID such as a driver’s license or a Georgia ID card, a US
passport or a US military ID are also acceptable. An example of a
walk-up request: A Georgia Tech student can walk into Georgia State’s
library and check out books from their collection as a walk-up (also
called on-site) transaction.

The CSA Illumina set of GALILEO databases/indexes will also be
cancelled effective November 1, 2008.

We hope this will be the end of any changes in the GALILEO/GIL
services for the remainder of the fiscal year. In the meantime, be
assured that our staff and the staff of other University System
libraries will continue to work with you to help you meet your
information needs.

Merryll S. Penson
Executive Director, Library Services
Office of Information and Instructional Technology
Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
2500 Daniells Bridge Road
Building 300
Athens, GA 30606

706-583-2007 (voice)
706-583-2294 (fax)

Merryll.penson@usg.edu
http://www.galileo.usg.edu
http://gil.usg.edu

Please note: new address and new phone number

Merryll S. Penson, Executive Director of Library Services for the University System of Georgia, has written to extend her congratulations to those involved with the statewide GIL Express service, which allows faculty, staff, and students to order circulating books directly from any USG Library.

The GIL Express Team has received Georgia’s Excellence Award of the Year, and Henderson Library’s own Ms. Debbie DeVage is specifically named in the announcement.  This commendation recognizes meritorious actions that enhance the public image of customer service or improve the way customer service is provided in Georgia. Recipients will receive a certificate of commendation signed by the Governor.

Congratulations to everyone involved with GIL Express at Henderson Library!