Don't forget! Return your library materials

As the spring semester winds down, don't forget to return your Hewes Library, I-Share, and Interlibrary Loan materials once you are done with them.  You can return materials to the library's circulation desk or drop boxes are available inside the library and outside, on the west terrace.

Finals Week Hours: Open until 2am!

Hewes Library will be open until 2am during finals.  Our full hours are:

Finals Week, Spring 2013 (May 2 - May 8)

• Thursday - Friday, May 2 - 3: 7:30 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
• Saturday - Sunday, May 4 - 5: 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
• Monday - Tuesday, May 6 - 7: 7:30 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
• Wednesday, May 8: 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m

Treasures of the Collection: Official War Records Part III (post-Civil War)

Official War Records Part III (post-Civil War)

After the Civil war the U.S. military engaged in a number of conflicts, among them; the Spanish-American War, various Caribbean military interventions in the early 20th century, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Iraq/Afghanistan conflicts.  Most, but not all, of these conflicts were the subject of official government histories.    For the Spanish American War and the Caribbean interventions, no “official” government histories were written.  However after World War I the Historical Section of the Army War College wrote a 17 volume official history of the conflict and the Army’s participation in it.   Published in 1948 and republished in 1988 by the Center for Military History (CMH), these 17 volumes comprise the official record of the Army Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in Europe in 1917-1918.   Hewes library has the 1988 republication found at D114.8:

In the middle of World War II, the Army created the General Staff historical branch in July 1943 which is now known as CMH.  This organization composed of historians, translators, editors, and cartographers began the publication of the Army’s official history of World War II.  Now comprising 79 volumes, the Green Books as they are called are a detailed accounting of all aspects of the Army’s participation in that war.   Go downstairs to the Ds and look for the green backed books.  These will all be volumes in the Army’s official history (but some of the titles are tan, not green).  There are also official Marine Corps histories of the conflict found in the same section. 

Subsequently, CMH wrote a series of books on the Army’s participation in the Korean and Vietnam Wars and is currently writing a history of the Cold War.  The Navy and Air Force historians have also written histories of those services’ participation in various conflicts.  

All of the more recent military histories, regardless of service are found in the D section of the basement.  Here is a breakdown of the areas to check for more these histories.
Air Force Histories: D 301
Army Histories: D 114.7
Marine Corps: D 214.13
Navy Histories:  D 207.10 and D 221.2

Digital Public Library of America

The Digital Public Library of America recently launched and strives to collect and make available the contents of libraries around the country.  It's mission states:

"The Digital Public Library of America brings together the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world. It strives to contain the full breadth of human expression, from the written word, to works of art and culture, to records of America’s heritage, to the efforts and data of science. The DPLA aims to expand this crucial realm of openly available materials, and make those riches more easily discovered and more widely usable and used, through its three main elements:
1. A portal that delivers students, teachers, scholars, and the public to incredible resources, wherever they may be in America. Far more than a search engine, the portal provides innovative ways to search and scan through the united collection of millions of items, including by timeline, map, format, and topic.
2. A platform that enables new and transformative uses of our digitized cultural heritage. With an application programming interface (API) and maximally open data, the DPLA can be used by software developers, researchers, and others to create novel environments for learning, tools for discovery, and engaging apps.
3. An advocate for a strong public option in the twenty-first century. For most of American history, the ability to access materials for free through public libraries has been a central part of our culture, producing generations of avid readers and a knowledgeable, engaged citizenry. The DPLA will work, along with like-minded organizations and individuals, to ensure that this critical, open intellectual landscape remains vibrant and broad in the face of increasingly restrictive digital options. The DPLA will seek to multiply openly accessible materials to strengthen the public option that libraries represent in their communities."
 

Visit their website to view a few of their current digital exhibitions, including The Great Depression and New Deal, Indomitable Spirits: Prohibition, and This is Your Land: Parks and Recreation. 

Preservation Week: More Web Resources

Learn more about Preservation Week on the web from the following resources:

ALCTS Preservation Week: www.ala.org/preservationweek

Site provides information and ideas to help you celebrate Preservation Week. It includes a Speakers

Bureau, tip sheets, links to basic and extensive preservation information, and information about programs to be offered during Preservation Week. It is complemented by an ALA Preservation@Your Library web page for the general public.

 

American Institute for the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works: Caring for

Your Treasures

Guidance for care of common categories of collections, printable as handsome two-sided 8.5 x 11” broadsides.  Heritage Preservation: Heritage Health Index and The Caring Books and Downloadable Documents. These provide valuable preservation information, with extremely useful information about responding to sudden emergencies in collections.

Institute of Museum and Library Services, Connecting to Collections
Links to online resources, grouped by category, at http://www.imls.gov/collections/index.htm, and a
bibliography of collections care titles distributed as a bookshelf to more than 2,500 local libraries and
museums (http://www.imls.gov/news/2008/080508_list.shtm). Includes hard-to-find categories like
audio-visual and digital materials. Information includes video and news about IMLS’s national conservation initiative.

Library of Congress: Preservation
Includes simple instructions for preserving family treasures and caring for collections with links to more comprehensive information grouped by topic and type of material.

Society of American Archivists: Preservation
Selected Links to Preservation Web Sites, Links to a wide variety of Web sites with preservation information useful to archivists and archives, among others.  Memories and treasures should last a lifetime and be passed on to future generations. President Obama once wrote, “Part of America's genius has always been its ability to absorb newcomers, to forge a national identity out of the disparate lot that arrived on our shores.” The memories and treasures of individuals, families, and communities are essential to our record of this process—they contribute to our understanding of history and its participants just as collections in libraries, museums, and archives do.

-Excerpted from What is Preservation Week?

Preservation Week: Charles Wilt on Preservation

Charles Wilt, ALCTS Executive Director, shares his thoughts on Preservation Week:

Pre-Finals and Finals Week Hours, Spring 2013

The library's pre-finals hours begin today!  We'll be open late on Friday and Saturday nights and opening early on Sunday morning so you can finish those last minute papers and projects.

 Pre-Finals & Finals Week, Spring 2013 (April 26 - May 8)

• Friday, April 26: 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
• Saturday, April 27: 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
• Sunday, April 28: 9:00 a.m. - Midnight
• Monday - Wednesday, April 29 - May 1: 7:30 a.m. - Midnight
• Thursday - Friday, May 2 - 3: 7:30 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
• Saturday - Sunday, May 4 - 5: 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
• Monday - Tuesday, May 6 - 7: 7:30 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
• Wednesday, May 8: 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m

Preservation Week: The FUNadmentals of Book Care

Originally created for National Library Week by George Mason University Libraries. The short film provides informative lessons about preservation and proper book care.

Preservation Week: Preserving Your Memories

In addition to preserving materials housed in libraries - have you ever considered ways to preserve your family memories?  The Preservation Week: Pass It On theme also include personal, family treasures that need care and attention.  Depending on the material type, different steps and processes will be required to ensure the long term care of your item.

The Association for Library Collections & Technical Services maintains a Preserving Your Memories section, which highlights reviewed resources for preservation of paper, photographs, and more. 

A few highlights include:

• Preserving Works on Paper: Manuscripts, Drawings, Prints, Posters, Maps, Documents from the Library of Congress
• Care of Photographs from the Northeast Document Conservation Center
• Storage Enclosures for Photographic Materials from the Northeast Document Conservation Center
• Caring for your Treasures: Books from the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works
• Caring for Textiles from the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works
• Care, Handling, and Storage of Motion Picture Film from The Library of Congress

Extended pre-finals library hours begin Friday!

Hewes Library will be open additional hours this weekend in anticipation of finals coming up.  We'll be open later on Friday and Saturday night as well as early on Sunday morning.

Pre-Finals & Finals Week, Spring 2013 (April 26 - May 8)

• Friday, April 26: 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
• Saturday, April 27: 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
• Sunday, April 28: 9:00 a.m. - Midnight
• Monday - Wednesday, April 29 - May 1: 7:30 a.m. - Midnight
• Thursday - Friday, May 2 - 3: 7:30 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
• Saturday - Sunday, May 4 - 5: 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
• Monday - Tuesday, May 6 - 7: 7:30 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
• Wednesday, May 8: 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m