Gov Docs Blog Series: 1

 UIS Government Documents Depository

GPO Approves Action Plan for Illinois Federal Depository Libraries

During the past year, the federal Government Printing Office began laying groundwork to require libraries in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), like the Illinois State Library, to complete a forecast survey for their institution. Out of those individual forecasts, each region was then asked to create a State Forecast and Focused Action Plan that would cover the next five years.

With input from the Illinois Federal Depository community, the Illinois Government Depository Council completed and submitted a plan for Illinois. The State Action Plan outlines activities that the Federal Government Documents community will work on in an effort to improve and strengthen the FDLP in Illinois. The plan is located at:

http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/library/depository_programs/pdfs/focused_action_plan.pdf

(source: Illinois State Library E-news, 9/7/2012)

Why is Information Literacy Important?

Information literacy, which encompasses the skills used to access, evaluate, integrate and communicate information, is about empowering individuals to become self-sufficient lifelong learners. This truly interdisciplinary endeavor is expressed in the UIS Goals and Learning Outcomes for Baccalaureate Education.

Information literacy is the foundation of research ability. From identifying and locating the resources you need, to evaluating the quality of those resources, information literacy instruction gives the individual the tools to be successful in the classroom and the workplace.

Contact your Librarian Liaison for ways to improve the information literacy of your students: http://libguides.uis.edu/librarians

Information Literacy Month

Now that Information Literacy Awareness Month is in full swing, we thought we’d take some time to talk about the folks behind all this:  the National Forum on Information Literacy.

The NFIL was created in 1989 as a response to the recommendations of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Presidential Committee on Information Literacy. These education, library, and business leaders stated that no other change in American society has offered greater challenges than the emergence of the Information Age.

Today, the NFIL is a robust collaborative of 93 + national and international organizations working together, on various levels, to mainstream this critical, 21st century educational and workforce development concept throughout every segment of society.

It is the work of the National Forum to maintain the visibility of information literacy by collaborating on a variety of activities with a host of organizations, schools, colleges/universities, businesses, and governmental agencies to insure that information literacy is not overlooked and/or undervalued in the corridors of public policy as it moves forward with empowering all Americans to their fullest economic and social potential.

You can read more information about the National Forum on Information Literacy and its mission here:  http://infolit.org/about-the-nfil/what-is-the-nfil/

-Retrieved from http://infolit.org/

EVENT: Lincoln’s Decision Making 10/19

Join us on Friday, October 19th in the Brookens Auditorium for an exciting and engaging program on Lincoln’s decision making: How a Railroad Lawyer Became the Great Emancipator: Lincoln and the Constitutional Limits on Emancipation.

Friday, OCTOBER 19th
Reception: 6pm – PAC Restaurant
Program: 7pm – Brookens Auditorium
Free and open to the public

This event is a part of the the Wepner Symposium on the Lincoln Legacy & Contemporary Scholarship. Sponsored by the Friends of Brookens Library

For more information about the Wepner Symposium visit: http://www.uis.edu/wepner/

University Scholar 2012

Congratulations to Associate Professor Lan Dong, English for being named the 2012 University Scholar! Professor Dong is a great example of Leadership Lived and we are proud to have her as a part of our staff.

Brookens Library is currently featuring published works from faculty in a display on the main level near the entrance. Check out some of the faculty publications we have added to our collection in the past year here: http://bit.ly/PT6I3o

Congratulations Professor Lan Dong!

Brookens Book Sale 10/5

Join us Friday, October 5 (9am – 4pm) for the Annual Friends of Brookens Library Book Sale! The Book Sale will be located on the Lower Level of Brookens Library – you must go through the media to get there (directional signage will be posted). Prices range from $0.50 to $3.00 so be sure to stock up!
We will accept cash or checks (make check payable to the Friends of Brookens Library). All proceeds go to helping Brookens Library provide users with the best resources, services, and programs possible. Support the library and get a great deal on books!

Library Offers iPad Tours

We are offering several opportunities for students to learn about our resources and services. Using one of the library iPads, your student will get to experience the virtual library offerings while touring our building all at the same time!  By the end they’ll know where to find books and articles, how to access resources from off-campus, where to get research help, and more!

We also offer Online Registration Here

Faculty Open House 9/11 (2-4pm)

You are invited to the Brookens Library Faculty Open House! This is a great opportunity to meet your library liaison and learn about the many  resources and services we provide to you and the UIS community. Archives, CINRC (Central Illinois Nonprofit Resource Center), the Media Lab, CTL (Center for Teaching and Learning), & COLRS (Center for Online Learning, Research & Service) will also be at the open house. We’d love to see you there.

Congratulations Jan Waterhouse

Brookens’ own Jan Waterhouse has been selected as one of the newest members of the WorldCat Local User Group leadership team. WorldCat Local is the University of Illinois Springfield – Brookens Library’s Quick Search.

What is WorldCat Local:

WorldCat Local delivers single-search-box access to more than 969 million items from your library and the world’s library collections. You’ll find:

• 674+ million articles with one-click access to full text
• 29+ million digital items from trusted sources like Google Books, OAIster and HathiTrust
• 13+ million eBooks from leading aggregators and publishers
• 44+ million pieces of evaluative content (Tables of Contents, cover art, summaries, etc.) included at no additional charge
• 221+ million books in libraries worldwide

Your WorldCat Local service gets users the results they’re looking for and then connects them right to local, group and global resources through the services you already provide. It also gives your library visibility on the Web through the cooperative’s partnerships with leading search engines, social networking services and other popular sites.

WorldCat Local lets people explore the full breadth of resources your library provides in a single, streamlined search experience. Once they identify the items they need, integration with your library’s delivery options lets users get to those resources quickly and easily.

Learn more about Jan!

Janetta (Jan) Waterhouse is the Director of Library Information Systems and Technical Services at the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS). She worked in IT for over a decade before completing a MA in Library and Information Science at The University of Iowa. She has been working in the area of library technology for nearly ten years and has been at UIS since December 2010. UIS was an early adopter of WorldCat Local and has been easing its way into making it the single search, recently branded Quick Search, for the campus since 2008. This summer each subject- and course-specific Research Guide will include database-specific WorldCat Local searches and WorldCat Knowledge Base will become the primary OpenURL resolver and knowledge base for link resolution and journal/citation searches. Jan’s upcoming focus is training UIS librarians and staff with WorldCat Local and WorldCat Knowledge Base to be able to use them to the fullest extent possible with user assistance and operational workflows. She has recently completed a year-long IT Leadership Program with the University of Illinois and is excited to put these skills to use in this new role with the WorldCat Local User Group.

Contact Jan

Jan Waterhouse
Director of Library Information Systems & Technical Services
University of Illinois – Springfield
Springfield, IL 62703
Office: 217-206-7114 Fax: 217-206-6757
waterhouse.jan@uis.edu

Summer Research Support

Do you have plans for your research this summer? Don’t forget about the Brookens Library. We, librarians, are here throughout the summer to assist you with all of your research needs. If you fancy yourself a DIY researcher we have created a set of short video tutorials made with you in mind. Are you teaching a summer course? If so, be sure to let your students know we are here to ensure their academic success. Encourage your students to contact their librarian or direct them to the video tutorials.