Farewell and Welcome

We are sad to say goodbye to one of the library's most familiar faces. Beth Smith has served the Samford community for over five years as our Reserve Specialist at the Circulation Desk. In this capacity, she has been in close contact with faculty all over campus to ensure that the library provides access to necessary resources for our students. We are grateful for Beth's excellent service, for her genuine investment in our students, and for the cheerful spirit she has brought to this place. Beth's last day at the Circulation Desk will be Friday, September 30.

We are very excited to welcome Jordan Hughes as our new Reserve Specialist. A Samford alumna, Jordan is familiar with our campus and passionate about serving this community. Jordan worked in the library as a student, and we could not be more pleased that she has joined our staff. Please join us in welcoming Jordan back to Samford.

A Look Inside the NPR Library

American Libraries recently posted an illuminating article about the National Public Radio library:

http://www.americanlibrariesmagazine.org/columns/next-steps/broadcast-collaboration

Beethoven for Free

If you are a music lover, you may want to follow Alexander Street's music blog. For the next week or so, Alexander Street Press is offering a free download of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony. Although themes from the Fifth and the Ninth are more famous, the Seventh is easily my favorite. Beethoven himself considered it one of his best works. The second movement of this symphony has been used effectively in a number of movie soundtracks, including Mr. Holland's Opus (1995) and The King's Speech (2010).

Ode to Instruction

Because I serve on staff at the University Library, I usually think of library instruction as a service we offer at the library. Recently, however, I experienced library instruction as a service offered to me as a graduate student in a research class.

On the first day of class, as our professor described our formidable research assignment, I felt a distinct pang of anxiety. Never before had I been assigned a paper of this magnitude. I inwardly fixated on questions like "How do I do this?" and "Where do I start?" Minutes later, under the expert guidance of Harold Goss, my anxieties dissipated. I enjoyed the relief of knowing that I had the tools I needed for my research paper, coupled with the mild amusement that I still have much to learn even after years of library service. Harold patiently demonstrated the capabilities of Multi-Search to our class and reassured us that the reference librarians were here to help us. By the end of our instruction session, I knew how to sift through all the Library’s holdings to find what I needed, and the research paper seemed much less intimidating to me. To be honest, it's starting to look rather friendly.

I am delighted to report that the University Library has met my needs as a student. This has broadened my perspective and deepened my satisfaction as a library staff member. I commend all those responsible for the instruction program here at Samford and recommend it to any faculty members who may not have considered it for their own classes.

New Britannica Media Collection

Encyclopaedia Britannica now has thousands of audio and video files online. This media collection is very rich in content, and you can browse it on the Britannica Public Library website.

Vital Documents (Yours) & Disasters

Should you need to replace your vital documents, for example a Social Security card, then use this list to help identify the correct office for replacements.

9/11 Resources

As we near the 10th anniversary of 9/11, Credo Reference, one of the University Library's newest online resources, has shared a topic page on "September 11." This topic page combines summary information, links to articles and book reviews, links to books here in the library and elsewhere, and links to images. As we remember this tragic event, you might be interested in these resources, some of which have been very recently published.

With thanks to Lori Northrup, Associate Director and Chair, Collection Management/Acquisitions.

Music Databases

Thanks to support from the School of the Arts, the University Library has acquired access to the Classical Scores Library through the Music Online platform. This enables you to access several databases simultaneously:

• African American Music Reference
• Classical Music Library
• Classical Music Reference Library
• Classical Scores Library
• Garland Encyclopedia of World Music

Please enjoy your access to this impressive array of music scores, recordings, and other resources.

Entre Nous Online

In celebration of the class of 1961 and their upcoming golden anniversary, the University Library is excited to announce that the 1958–1961 Entre Nous are now available on the Internet Archive. The digitization of these volumes has been made possible with the help of Dr. Heather West (in honor of Ira L. West) and alumnus Joe W. McDade (in honor of Elizabeth Wells). The library plans to have more yearbooks available in time for the 2012 homecoming celebration. There is still time for alumni and friends to support this digitization effort.

With thanks to Jennifer Taylor, Special Collection Department.