Pardon our Dust!

Over the next few days, you will notice library staff on the second floor of the John T. Richardson Library shifting and consolidating our periodical collections. This work is being done in preparation for the next phase of the Library's renovation, scheduled for this summer.  We will take all measures to minimize the impact of our work on your use of the library and we apologize for any disruptions this work may cause.

Many members of the DePaul University community were saddened to hear of the recent death of Internet activist Aaron Swartz. Swartz’s life and legacy have been broadly discussed over the past few days, including stories in The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune. Given Swartz’s advocacy of the cause of open access to scholarship, the fact that the Tribune story is available only behind a “paywall” provides a notable irony.

Many scholars and scientists have decided to pay tribute to the complicated legacy of Aaron Swartz by making versions of their work freely available online through open access repositories such as DePaul’s Via Sapientiae and under the trending Twitter hashtag, #pdftribute.

The DePaul University Library has been an active participant in discussions of open access and the future of scholarly communication through its support for, and instruction in the use of, open-access content, including that found through the Directory of Open Access Journals, the HathiTrust, and the Internet Archive. The library also provides support for faculty members interested in publishing their work through open-access journals, including the Vincentian Heritage Journal, the Journal of Religion and Business Ethics and College & Research Libraries, all of which are edited by members of the DePaul community. 

DePaul faculty and students with an interest in learning more about the issues in scholarly communication inherent in the Swartz case, or in learning more about the manner in which they can better exercise their own copyrights as part of their scholarly work, are encouraged to speak with their liaison librarian or with Jim Galbraith, Associate Director of Libraries for Collections and Scholarly Resources.

This Thursday 1/10/2013, Special Collections and Archives (SPCA) will be closed from 9am to Noon.  We hope this will not cause any inconvenience.

Looking for a textbook? If an instructor places a reserves request for a textbook, the library will order one copy for students to use in the library. Otherwise, the library does not purchase textbooks because they are expensive, go out of date quickly and only help one person per class. 

If you do find a textbook in our circulating collection or through I-Share, our interlibrary loan system for books, we still recommend you buy a copy if it's something you need all quarter because the books could be recalled if others place requests for them.

While purchasing textbooks is an expected cost of going to college--along with paying tuition, dorm/rental expenses, buying school supplies, a parking pass and a meal plan--there are ways to ease the financial strain. If you choose not to buy or rent your textbooks from the campus bookstore, consider:

• Comparision shopping from local booksellers, fellow students, and the many new and used online bookstores
• Sharing textbooks with classmates (Be prepared to negotiate who gets to use a textbook the night before an exam!)
• Asking your instructor if he or she might be willing to put an extra copy of a textbook on course reserve in the library

This article from the New York Times offers additional cost-saving options:
http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/how-to-find-cheaper-college-textbooks

Welcome back, and best of luck this quarter!

Special Collections & Archives will be closing at 3:00pm on December 4 so that staff can attend a holiday party. Our apology for any inconvenience this may cause. 

Regular hours will resume December 5 (Mon-Fri 9:00am-5pm). 

The DePaul University Libraries have a new room reservation system! To reserve rooms, faculty, staff, and student organizations approved by the Office of Student Involvement may go to depaul.libcal.com or the libraries' website, click on Services then Room Reservations.

After choosing a location, request a Lincoln Park Meeting Room (JTR 300 or 400), Lincoln Park Study Room (JTR 308 or 309), or Loop Study Room (DPC 10011, 10014, 10016, 10023, or 10029). A grid will arise, showing the rooms’ availability. Rooms that are highlighted in green are available, while rooms that are highlighted in light blue are unavailable.

To request a room, click on the green block(s) of time that you would like to reserve the room. Rooms can be requested in 30-minute blocks, for up to a 4-hour period. After reading the room reservation policy, you may click Continue, fill out the requested information, and click Submit my Booking. You will receive an e-mail after your request has been submitted as well as a follow-up e-mail after the reservation has been approved/denied. 

All previously requested events up through the end of Spring Quarter 2013 will be transferred into the new system. Any requests past that time will need to be re-submitted within 6 months of the date of the event. Some previously requested events may be slightly altered to fit the contours of the new system.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the new room reservation system, feel free to contact Travis Eastham at teastham@depaul.edu or 773-325-2443.

Thanksgiving

The DePaul University Libraries will close at 6:00pm on Wednesday November 21 and will remain closed until the morning of Monday November 26th.

December Holidays & New Year's 

The libraries will be closed December 21 until we reopen January 2.

Please see our hours page for additional information on all library locations: http://library.depaul.edu/About/hours.aspx 

The entrance of the library will be locked at 11:00pm and library access will be restricted to the DePaul community at this time. Library users must present a DePaul ID to enter or remain in the Richardson Library after 11:00 p.m. At the same time, during the hours of 11:00am-7:00am, the outer doors of the building will be locked and users may enter the building using the cardswipe entrance on the west (Quad side) doors only. DePaul security will be patrolling the library throughout the night to ensure safety.

For study breaks, DePaul Dining Services will be offering coffee, tea, and other beverages as well as a variety of snacks for purchase in Kelly Hall (outside the main entrance to the Library) from 11:00pm until 7:00am. Good luck, students! 

The library will close at 6pm Wednesday November 21 and will be closed November 22-25.  We'll reopen Monday November 26.

Open Access Week is being celebrated this year between October 22 – 28, and recognizes global efforts among scholars, scientists, librarians, and publishers to promote “the free, immediate, online access to the results of scholarly research, and the right to use and re-use those results as you need.” In addition to providing access to open access journals in all fields through use of resources such as the Directory of Open Access Journals, the DePaul University Library promotes open access to content created at DePaul and/or by DePaul faculty, staff, and students, through Via Sapientiae, DePaul’s open access repository to scholarly content, including the Vincentian Heritage Collections and to DePaul’s own open access journals, including the Journal of Religion and Business Ethics.

To learn more about Open Access Week, please visit the Open Access Week Web site  or follow Open Access Now, a new initiative of the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. To learn more about open access initiatives at DePaul, or about how you can integrate information about open access, author rights, or scholarly communications into your teaching or research, please contact Jim Galbraith, Associate Director of Libraries for Collections and Scholarly Resources.