Barbara Mello retired in May, and we put in for a full-time Library Media Bookstore Technician! Heather Wagner, our evening clerk, got a new job at UC Merced this summer.

For now, Janet Branvold and Willie Todd are splitting the time Monday through Thursday, and Barbara is here on Fridays. Monday through Thursday, you will find Janet in the mornings and early afternoons, and Willie is here in the afternoons until closing. Janet and Willie are who you want to talk to about getting DVDs sent from the other campus and everything related to the Bookstore and Textbook Reserves.

In April, we hired two part-time faculty librarians who help out in the evenings—Leigh-Ann Thornhill and Karrie Bullock. Leigh-Ann and Karrie also work as part-time faculty librarians at the Merced Campus, and Karrie also works as a part-time faculty librarian at Modesto Junior College.

We’re welcoming back our student assistants Elizabeth George, Mark Garcia, and Abel Martinez, and we’re happy to have a new face, Tiffany Tevis.

Now that the rush is over, the Bookstore is now inside the Library. Bookstore hours are Monday-Thursday 8-7 and Friday from 8-12 noon.

Library hours are Monday-Thursday from 8-8 and on Friday from 8-12 noon.

The Open Computer Lab hours are Monday-Thursday 10:30-2:30 and on Friday from 12 noon-3. The Open Computer Lab is in A-108.

Per the company that handles our copy machine, our prices have changed at both the Merced and Los Banos Campus Libraries. Copies are now 15 cents a page.

Prices for printing have not changed. Prints in the Library are 10 cents a page and cash only. While the Bookstore counter in the Library sells blue print cards for $2 (cards get students 50 prints), the print cards are only used in the Open Computer Lab across the hall.

You may have received a handout about what the faculty librarians can offer your classes regarding information literacy instruction, library tool training, and creating mini course-specific research websites (called LibGuides) to use a way to get started with research or as an after-session reference tool. Click here to see a simple example of a LibGuide for MLA citation. These guides can be linked to Blackboard or a course blog, website, or wiki.

If you’re teaching any class that has some element of research (not just library databases!)—please let us know. We can book a computer lab through Pam Gomes for instruction. Research shows that even a limited one-time visit makes it more likely that students will ask a librarian for research assistance. See Jacalyn E. Bryan and Elana Karshmer's "Using IL Threshold Concepts for Biology: Bees, Butterflies, and Beetles" in the May 2015 edition of College and Research Library News.

This spring, the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) released the Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education, which is different from the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education adopted in 2000. While academic librarians regularly teach these concepts in the classroom and when helping students with research one-on-one, this places them in a more formal document. Please let us know if we can partner with you to create lessons or find ways to embed metaliteracy into your instruction.

Professor Dimitra Paplos is looking for magazine and book donations for students taking non-credit ESL classes. Please bring donations to the Library!

Click here to see what we received during summer school.

Click here to see what we received at the beginning of the semester.

Did you know that the Library has a ton of e-books? We have e-books through ABC-CLIO, EBSCO, Gale, Oxford, and Salem. E-books can be found in the catalog along with print books, or you can search individual collections through the ABC-CLIO, EBSCO eBook Collection, Salem, and Gale Virtual Resource Center databases. Click here for the eBook subject list (you will be prompted to log in with your Portal information).

EBSCO now has an eBook app! Click here for directions on how to download it.

The Merced County Library system also has an eBook app through 3M Cloud. Not a resident of Merced County? A lot of county libraries have an eBook app. Check out your local county library's website.

September is Library Card Sign-Up Month

If you haven't already, bring by your faculty/staff ID, so we can add a Library barcode sticker to the back of it and give you your PIN. Faculty can check out items for the entire semester. Please encourage your students to bring their student ID to get their Library barcode sticker and PIN, too.

If it’s been a while since you’ve been by the local library, please stop by learn about the resources and services they provide to our community. Check out the Merced County Library website. The local library is on 1312 Seventh Street, on the corner of Pacheco and Seventh near the overpass. You can also support the local library by joining the Friends of the Los Banos Public Library.

Displays & Events

We started a new display series featuring topics that correspond to academic majors called Major Idea. Every two weeks, we’ll be swapping out subjects. We started with psychology and just put up art history. We’re also advertising the services of our faculty counselors and career counselor for those interested in the majors we are featuring on the displays.

We had a display about water and drought, as well as a display for the 95th anniversary of the 19th Amendment.

Constitution Day is September 17th. We are in the midst of putting up a display. Professor Jennifer Gardener and the Library are holding a Constitution Day quiz about the U.S. Constitution again this year. Check for event details below.

Hispanic Heritage Month begins on September 15th and ends on October 15th.

National Voter Registration Day is on September 22nd.

Banned Books Week takes place September 27th-October 3rd. It's the week to take special time to celebrate the freedom to read and intellectual freedom and talk about censorship.