Both of these journals are new acquisitions for the MacEwan Library. If you’d like more information about Project Muse, or any of our resources, please contact Sonya Betz (497-5251).

Project Gutenburg publishes the text of books in the public domain (in Canada, 50 years after the author’s death). The books are free to read and download, and many are items that are out of print and often difficult to find.

Visit Project Gutenburg Canada http://www.gutenberg.ca/
Visit Project Gutenburg http://www.gutenberg.org/

The Historical New York Times is being trialled for the History Department. It includes a full image archive of newspaper articles from The New York Times from 1851-2003.

I’ve set up the Orlando trial for the English Department. Orlando provides biographical and critical accounts of the lives and works of authors, together with contextual materials relevant to critical and historical readings.

Some updates on the library:

1. We’ve officially become the “Library.” Perhaps not a particularly groundbreaking new name, but on we hope will cause less confusion among our users than the rather ambiguous “LRC.” I’ve changed the name of this blog to reflect the change.

2. Library renovations are in full swing, creating a bit of an interruption in our service. The stacks are closed, meaning you and your students will need to request library materials online using the catalogue, and then drop into the 3rd floor temporary service area to pick them up.

3. We are currently piloting term loans for faculty and staff. If you check out a book from our main collection, you’ll now get to hold on to it until the end of the term.

From its first appearance in the 17^th Century with writers like Aphra Behn, epistolary fiction, fiction in the form of letters, reached its heyday in the 18^th Century . . . So why was letter writing so important to 18^th Century authors? How did this style aid the development of the novel? And why did epistolary literature fall out of favour? . . . From the  In Our Time website

Contributers to this session include:

John Mullan, Professor of English at University College London
Karen O’Brien, Professor in English at the University of Warwick
Brean Hammond, Professor of Modern English Literature at the University of Nottingham

Listen by visiting the In Our Time website and downloading the podcast here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/

eBrary is an enourmous resource, and includes over 3200 online books in the “Language and Literature” category alone. To use the collection you’ll need to download the eBrary Reader from the eBrary home page. Books from eBrary will be included in the LRC’s catalogue in the near future. For now, you can search directly through the eBrary catalogue.
If you have any questions about this resource, please contact me!

When completed, the CCC LRC will accommodate a significant expansion of the library collection and provide increased student seating, study, and computer work space. In addition, there will be improved access to service desks; separation of traffic flow from student use areas; a new library instruction lab; and wireless access throughout the facility.

To create an LRC that will meet the needs of MacEwan students and faculty will require concentrated periods of renovation and construction. We have been working with Facilities to develop a plan to provide services during the renovation period.

Attached is an overview of our proposed service operation from May to August 2007. Please share this information with faculty who are scheduled to teach at City Centre Campus in the spring or summer 2007 terms as access to the LRC will be limited during this period.

As soon as we know the exact construction schedule, we will finalize this plan and publicize it to the college community. Facilities will also post maps and signage throughout the campus showing the exact location of LRC service points.

See below for more detail 

CCC LRC Services During the May to August 2007 Renovation Period

 The LRC will provide public service points during the May to August period. However, due to safety concerns, there will be no access through the LRC or into the main collection areas during the construction period. The central staircase on the main floor leading up into the LRC will also be closed for repair and restoration.

Library Reference and Borrower Services

The Library Reference and Borrower Services department, including the Reserve collection and Photo-ID production and distribution, will be relocated to the east end of the LRC on the 3rd floor. The existing emergency exit doors will be opened to provide access for students and faculty.

Staff will provide a retrieval service for requested collection materials and there will be some work tables and computer stations located in this area for use by students. A temporary wall will be built to close off the collection area and to provide a sound barrier.

Quiet study space will be provided in the 4 glassed-in student lounges located outside the east end of the LRC on the 2^nd and 3rd floors. These lounges will be furnished with study carrels. An additional classroom may also be available for this purpose.

Learning Technology and College Help Desk Services

A temporary wall will be built across the existing Learning Technology Centre space on the 2^nd floor (reducing the amount of student computer use space). Students and faculty will be able to access LTC and College help desk services from the existing east end entrance.

We have requested the use of a computer lab to provide library instruction sessions. When not in use for this purpose, the lab will be available for drop-in student use.

CML Testing Services

The CML lab will be relocated into computer lab 6-224, with access into this lab from the outside corridor. Testing services, as usual, will only be available during May and June. The CML facility will remain in this location until the 2^nd phase of renovations (May to August 2008).

Writing and Learning Services

We are discussing alternative location(s) for WLS services. Ultimately, the plan is to relocate this service to the Student Resource Centre.

Videoconferencing Studio

The videoconferencing studio (6-201N) will not be accessible; the smaller studio (7-367D) can still be used and we may be able to book other college space for occasional usage.

We’ve just received an excellent 2 volume encyclopedia called Shakespeares after Shakespeare: An Encyclopedia of the Bard in Mass Media and Popular Culture This set documents the huge assortment of adaptations and reinventions of Shakespeare’s work, from comic strips to film adaptations to pop songs. This set also contains some good overview essays introducing each major section. You can find Shakespeares on Shakespeare in the Reference collection at PR 2880.A1 S48 2007.