Possible Interruption in Services

On Monday, December 28th, 2009, a scheduled power outage will take place in many buildings on the UH campus, including the M.D. Anderson Library. Although it is anticipated that power will be restored by 10 a.m. when the Library is scheduled to open that day, it is possible that the power outage might extend beyond its scheduled down time. Online access and the computers would be unavailable during that time.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

If you have any questions, please contact Paul Sharpe, Head of Access Services, psharpe@uh.edu, 713-743-9714.

Call for Artists

The UH Libraries is now accepting artwork for its Third Annual Student Art Exhibit. Artwork may be submitted at both the M.D. Anderson Library (room 220) and the Architecture and Art Library. This is a competitive exhibit, juried by representatives from local museums, art galleries, and the UH School of Art faculty. Work will be accepted through February 2, 2010.

Submission requirements:

2D in any medium: Ready to hang with wires and brackets or on foam core, not to exceed 5’x5′, 5 pounds, or extend more than 4 inches from the wall.

Sculpture: Pedestal required, no more than 20 pounds for work and pedestal combined. Must fit in library elevator.

Contact Catherine Essinger at cwessinger@uh.edu for more information.

Remote Access Issues Resolved, PeopleSoft Login Reinstated

Beginning on Saturday December 6th, the UH Libraries experienced network issues that affected off-campus patrons’ ability to log in and access web databases. The only way to temporarily resolve these issues and restore access was to change remote login from using PeopleSoft ID to CougarNet. We have now resolved the network issues and have changed the login back to using PeopleSoft ID. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

WIN a $15.00 Barnes and Noble Giftcard!

The UH Libraries are conducting a short survey to learn more about how you use library resources for your research projects. Take our short survey (15 questions) and you could win one of five (5) BN $15.00 gift cards we’re giving away!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3QFNRYZ

Questions? Contact Lee Andrew Hilyer (lahilyer@central.uh.edu | 3-9721)

It’s not too late! We will draw for gift cards on Friday, January 29th!

Possible Wireless Interruption in M. D. Anderson Library

Due to construction activities and a planned power outage in certain buildings on the campus, wireless service may be unavailable in the M. D. Anderson Library on Saturday, December 5, 2009. We apologize for the inconvenience. We anticipate that all other library services will be available that day.

Sparky Awards Reception

The locally held version of the Sparky Awards has come to an end! There will be a small reception in the Learning Commons on November 19th at 2pm to celebrate the winning video and award prizes, including an iPod Touch!

There will also be light refreshments of juice and cookies.

Here is the winning video:

The Light of Knowledge from Faizan Majid on Vimeo.

Want to know more about the Sparky Awards? Check out the UH Libraries Sparky Awards website.

Please join in the celebration of the winning video, which will be submitted to the National Sparky Awards competition in December and give the creator a chance at winning fame, glory, an actual Sparky award, and $1000.

Hope you can come!  And watch for the competition to return next year!

Sparky Awards Committee
Rachel Vacek, Chair
Nate McKee
Alex Simons
Miranda Bennett
Nora Dethloff

“At My Library” Creative Essay Contest – Entries Due December 7th

atyourlibrary.org, the public Web site for the American Library Association’s Campaign for America’s Libraries, is offering cash prizes and Apple iPod Nanos for the winners of two contests for the public.

The At My Library Creative Essay Contest seeks original, creative essays about users’ unique experiences at libraries and why American libraries are important.

The grand prize winner will receive $350, and a People’s Choice Award winner will receive $100. In addition, the top 10 finalists will have their essay published on the homepage of atyourlibrary.org.

The essays must be about library users’ experience(s) at libraries and include the name of the library or libraries (or their Web sites) where the experience(s) took place.  The contest is not limited to written essays.  Library users can make a video or photo slideshow.

All entries must be mailed to atyourlibrary@yahoo.com before Dec. 7, 2009.

Voting for the People’s Choice Award ends Dec. 14, 2009, and is open to everyone.  All members of atyourlibrary.org can use the ranking function to vote for a favorite essay.  To become a member, click on “Become a New Member” in the upper right corner of the screen.

The grand prize winner will be selected by an internal @ your library team. Both the grand prize winner and People’s Choice Award winner will be announced Dec. 21, 2009.

For more information, go to http://www.atyourlibrary.org/essay-contest or send an e-mail to atyourlibrary@yahoo.com

The site is also raffling off two Apple iPod Nanos over the next two months for anyone who signs up for the atyourlibrary.org newsletter.  To sign up, members of the public can enter a valid e-mail address in the “Sign Up for e-newsletter” form: http://www.atyourlibrary.org/newsletter .

Problems Reported With Ebsco Databases and RefWorks/EndNote Web

There are problems being reported with exporting records from EBSCO databases to EndNote Web or RefWorks. This is a problem with Ebsco’s software and the fix is estimated to be completed on Friday.

You can try a manual text file import, or wait until the fix has been applied and the functionality has been restored.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely

Lee Hilyer
UH Libraries
lahilyer@uh.edu
3-9721

Library Web Sites Unavailable on Nov 1st, 7-10am

Electrical power to the Library will be shut off on Sunday November 1st from 7 AM to 10 AM.  During this period there will be no access to the Libraries’ servers. This includes all library web sites, electronic resources, and the library catalog. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Early English Books Online (EEBO) Training Oct. 9, 1pm

Edward Loera from Proquest will provide training and an extended question & answer session on this database. To explore the database, click Early English Books Online

The training session will be help in room 10-F, in the basement of the library, at 1pm, Friday, Oct. 9, 2009.

To RSVP for the session, please email Kerry Creelman at kcreelman2@uh.edu.