UHD Library Blog

ANNUAL STUDENT SURVEY

Please take a moment to take the student survey anytime between April 20 and April 30 using this link:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YNJ7PFD

Your input will be used to improve library collections, facilities, and services.  This survey is anonymous and confidential.

Students who complete this survey and provide valid contact information will be eligible to win one of four $50 Barnes and Noble gift cards!

Research from home or anywhere

The UHD library has lots of great databases and resources online.  But, did you know that you can use them from home, or off campus in general?  All you need to know is your UHD network
account and you have access to it all anywhere you can get to the internet. 

You can browse through an A-Z listing of databases or if you are interested in subject related sources check out the Research Guides by subject. 

• Current students use your username and password. See MyUHD if you don't know your username or forgot your password. You can also use your 900# and password.

  NOTE: You must be registered during a semester to be considered a current student.

•  Current faculty and staff use your campus computer account (UHD e-mail username and password).

If you run into technical issues you might want to look at our connecting to databases webpage for some common trouble shooting.  For other issues report the problem by using Ask a Librarian or call the Information Desk at 713-221-8187. If you see an error message when you try to connect, please tell us what the message says. 

 

Books Come To You, Anywhere You Are

Did you know The UHD Library has 190,000 eBooks?  All the ebooks are viewable on a computer, but only some are downloadable. There are a few ways to access them:

They can be browsed by broad subject area by going here: http://wj2gn4jw9z.search.serialssolutions.com/?L=WJ2GN4JW9Z&tab=BOOKS.  There is a drop-down box for browsing by subject.

They can be searched by subject, title, and author via LibSearch at http://uhd.summon.serialssolutions.com/. Enter a search topic, for example “project management.”  To get just ebooks, on the resulting page, in the left column, check off “items with full-text online” and “book/ebook.”  That should get a list of ebooks.

A very important note – as mentioned above, only some of our ebooks are downloadable to an e-reader, and, unfortunately, not to a Kindle. (Amazon only uses a proprietary format which doesn’t currently allow academic ebook subscription platforms to use.)  Our primary ebook platform, ebrary, does allow downloading of most of its books, and they can be viewed using the free Adobe Digital Editions software, which can be used on many mobile devices.  If you want to just see ebooks that can be downloaded, can go straight to ebrary at:

https://ezproxy.uhd.edu/login?url=http://site.ebrary.com/lib/uhdowntown.

Support information about downloading these ebooks can be found at http://support.ebrary.com/?cat=69.

New Amazon eBook format aims to improve digital publications

From the article:

Kindle Format 8 (KF8) ... will replace Mobi 7. ... gone are the days of the black and white ebook. 

KF8, which will roll out to Amazon’s latest generation e-readers and reading apps in the next few months, provides publishers the ability to develop digital publications that require rich formatting and design functionality. The file format will be an ideal fit for children’s books, comics and graphic novels, cookbooks and even technical and engineering books. 

See the full article from website magazine.

Library service during the Winter Online Term

As we approach UHD’s first ever Winter Online Term, we at the library would like to address some questions that you may have about library service during this time.

 

Will the library be open during the Winter Online Term?

The library will have shortened operating hours December 18^th-23^rd and January 3^rd-16^th.

Winter hours are as follows:

DAY	OPEN	CLOSE
Monday	8 AM	5 PM
Tuesday	8 AM	5 PM
Wednesday	8 AM	5PM
Thursday	8 AM	5 PM
Friday	8 AM	5 PM
Saturday	CLOSED
Sunday	CLOSED

The library will be closed from December 24^th-January 2^nd.  However, we will be monitoring the library’s email Ask-a-Librarian reference service December 27^th-31^st from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Questions regarding placing items on reserve or interlibrary loans may not be resolved until the library reopens on January 3^rd.

Email reference questions can be submitted by filling out this form:

http://www.uhd.edu/library/forms/askform.html

 

Can I put items on e-reserve for my students?

Yes!  The normal rules and procedures for placing items on reserve apply.  Information about course reserves can be located here:

http://www.uhd.edu/library/about/reserves.html

To ensure your students have access to course reserve material on the first day of class, we ask that all items be submitted by December 20^th.  Please be aware library reserves staff will not be available the first week of class (Dec 27-31) to add items to the reserves modules which were submitted late.

Items submitted after this date will not be processed until after the library reopens on January 3rd.

 

I’ve never taught an online class and I’m not sure where to find information

You may want to look at the Library’s Online Instruction FAQ’s page: http://www.uhd.edu/library/about/onlineinstructionfaq.html

The Library Online Instruction FAQ’s page will provide you with contact information, information about online resources, and a wide range of other useful information to help make your online course a success.  In addition, the Library is creating general subject guides for all courses offered during the Winter Online Term.  Your subject guide will be available here by December 18: http://library.uhd.edu/.

Adding the subject guide URL to your Blackboard course will greatly assist your students in their research.

Please contact the library with any questions you may have about library service during the Winter Online Term. 

Have a great Winter Term!

5th Floor Renovation Begins February 9

Work crews will start clearing portions of the 5th floor on Tuesday, February 9, to prepare for renovation. During the first phase of renovation, two areas near the front of the library will be closed for construction.

Several library collections have been moved to accommodate construction. Current magazines, leisure reading paperbacks, videotapes, and audiobooks are now located next to the construction area near the front of 5th Floor South. The Periodicals Collection is still located in 5th Floor North, but it has been moved to the back portion of the floor. The Texas Education Collection, which was formerly located at the back of 5th Floor South, is now located next to the Juvenile Literature Collection at the back of 5th Floor North.

When complete, the renovated 5th floor will include shelving for book collections designed to make use of natural light from perimeter windows and the atrium, new study carrels and open study areas, a meeting room, and a coffeehouse. Please pardon our noise as we work to complete these improvements.

Test drive library services and research databases

Much like Google Labs serves as a place to try out new products and services from Google, on the new UHD Library Beta Testing web page you'll find trial access to databases as well as new library services undergoing Beta testing.

Items currently available on the Library Beta Testing web page include:

• AAS Historical Periodicals Collection: Series 2

• Arte Público Hispanic Historical Collection: Series 1

• Encyclopedia of Business Information Sources

• History Resource Center

• Research Centers Directory

If you have comments or feedback about anything in Library Beta Testing, please let us know at library_feedback@uhd.edu.

by Steve Bonario, Web Management Librarian

4th Floor North Grand Opening

It's finally here!

The new library space on 4th Floor North is now open.

The new space includes many features requested by students in past surveys:

• A new computer lab with color printing and an add-value station for printing
• Group study rooms for 4-10 students (some with LCD screens for laptops)
• Presentation practice rooms with LCD projectors, document cameras, etc.
• A reading room for individuals and small groups
• A vending machine area with café-style seating

Some study spaces will be available whenever One Main is open, even if the library is closed.

We wish to thank the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation, the Ray C. Fish Foundation, and the Rockwell Fund for the generous donations that made this expansion possible. We also wish to thank President Castillo, Vice President David Bradley, UHD Facilities Management staff, and UHD Information Technology staff for their work in bringing the project from dream to reality. For a look at how their contributions have transformed the library, please see the 4th Floor Construction Slideshow.

The next phase of construction will be a renovation of the 5th Floor. Work on the 5th floor will result in the consolidation of staff offices, the repositioning of book and journal shelves to provide a more rational arrangement and better access for the disabled, more individual study spaces, and a new coffee house. Construction on phase two is expected to begin in 2009.

Construction Update : September 26-28

On Friday, September 26, a work crew will beginning pouring concrete for the new library entrance near the Main Street elevators on the 4th floor of the One Main Building. This work will continue throughout the weekend. When possible, the work has been scheduled for hours when the library is closed, but some noise may be audible in library study areas on the 5th floor during library hours.

Construction Update : August

Construction for the first phase of the library renovation will be completed soon.

The 4th floor extension is expected to open by November 2008.

The extension will include:

• a computer lab with color printing and an add-value station for print accounts
• 13 group study rooms for 4-10 students (some with LCD screens for laptops)
• 2 presentation practice rooms with LCD projectors, document cameras, etc.
• an open study room for individuals and small groups
• a vending machine area with café-style seating

To see construction photos, please visit our Photo Gallery.

Funding for this renovation is provided by:

• The State of Texas Higher Education Assistance Fund (HEAF)
• The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation ($20,000)
• The Ray C. Fish Foundation ($10,000)
• The Rockwell Fund, Inc. ($500,000)