Labor Day hours for the library

Carmichael Library will be closed over the Labor Day weekend.  Regular semester hours resume on Tuesday, September 4 at 8:00 a.m.

Saturday: Closed

Sunday: Closed

Monday: Closed

Harbert Writing Center Hours for Fall 2012

Photo provided by Harbert Writing Center

The Harbert Writing Center (HWC) has announced their hours for the Fall 2012 term. The Center is open from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 9:00 - 3:00 p.m. on Friday. No appointment is necessary. Dr. Glenda Conway, Professor of English and Director of the HWC, provides this explanation of the Center's services:

The Harbert Writing Center provides free assistance to writers at all stages of the writing process. HWC's peer consultants are trained to direct and coach student writers in understanding course assignments, making decisions about focus and content, composing initial drafts, and determining the best strategies for revising and polishing.

The HWC is located in room 311 of Comer Hall. The Center can be reached at (205) 665-6438.

Schedule Time in the Digital Media Lab

Welcome back to Montevallo, everyone!  The first few days of a new semester are always exciting.  One of the things I always did as a student was scan the syllabus once it got handed to me in class and figure out what I would have to do to succeed that semester.  Some might call this "planning ahead." Others might call it "missing the moment at hand."

Either way, you may find yourself doing something like that this week.  If you do notice your professor is requiring you to create a video, podcast, oral history, blog post, infographic, digital story, or some other strange kind of assignment that isn't a conventional class presentation, you may be interested in the Digital Media Lab at the Carmichael Library.

The Digital Media Lab offers a range of technology, equipment, and assistance on your multi-media and digital assignments.  We have microphones, mixing boards, video editing software, digital voice recorders, and more.  Mike Price is happy to help you out at any time, and this semester, we've released a completely automated scheduling system.  You can log on to our new website and book a time in the Digital Media Lab whenever you'd like.  Just click here to see when the lab is available.

When you book a time, click on the green time slots, and then you'll fill out a short form with some questions about your assignment.  Someone will write you back to confirm your appointment.  If you need time that's longer than an hour, click on multiple slots at the same time.  We look forward to seeing you this semester.

Heaviest Vogue ever and a little about Bill Cunningham

Vogue's September 2012 Special Anniversary Issue is the heaviest Vogue ever.  Weighing in at a whopping 5 lbs. and 916 pages, it's the biggest issue ever for Vogue.  The Library has subscribed to Vogue since 1950.  You can take a look through the bound print issues now shelved on the 2nd floor of the Library.   

Vogue was described by book critic Caroline Weber in The New Times in December 2006 as "the world's most influential fashion magazine.  Vogue features some of the world's best fashion photographers.  Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Peter Linbergh, and Annie Leibovitz have all contributed to Vogue. 

But one of the most endearing fashion photographers is New Yorker Bill Cunningham. "We all get dressed for Bill", says Vogue editor Anna Wintour.  For over 50 years, the Schwinn-riding New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham has been chronicling fashion on the streets of New York.

Library Hours for Fall 2012

From Carmichael Library director, Kathy Lowe:

Colleagues and Students,

The Carmichael Library faculty and staff have worked hard this summer to complete renovations on the Library’s ground floor Learning Commons. The new ground floor entrance is now open to all members of the campus community and the public. When the library is open after 9:00 p.m. Access to the ground floor is available to UM students, faculty, and staff with a valid UM ID. You will need to swipe your UM ID after 9:00 p.m. to enter the ground floor entrance. After 9:00 p.m. individuals without a valid UM ID should enter through the Main floor entrance of the library.

Just a reminder that the Learning Enrichment Center, EBSCO classroom, a computer lab, and the University Archives are located on the Learning Commons ground floor of the Library.

Regular University Library Hours for Fall 2012

Sunday 2:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Monday 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 a.m.
Tuesday 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 a.m.
Wednesday 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 a.m.
Thursday 8:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Friday 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Exceptions to the schedule will be posted.

Sunday August 26, the Library will open at 3:00 p.m. and close at 11:00 p.m.

Photo credit: Kaja Kozłowska, Creative Commons license

A Ghostly Welcome to Carmichael Library

Ever since I headed off to the first day of kindergarten in an awesome watermelon-print jumpsuit, I have loved the beginning of a new school year. For me, the start of this year is a milestone that rivals that melon-clad day, because I am as new to the University of Montevallo as the freshmen who will arrive on Thursday.

In my transition to Montevallo I’ve managed to avoid some of the perils that will inevitably befall these new students: the mad dash to claim the “good” side of the dorm room, the indigestion from too much dining hall pizza, the shock of sitting in a college classroom for the first time.  But as I’ve started my new position as a Reference and Instruction Librarian at Carmichael Library, many of my experiences reflect those that await UM’s incoming freshmen: exploring a beautiful new campus, meeting new friends and colleagues, and having discussions with them that inspire “new little firecrackers of ideas going off every day” (to quote The Bell Jar, a book I read and loved while sitting at my desk on the “good” side of my freshman dorm room).

Since I feel such a connection to the UM freshmen who will be launched into college life through the backseats of minivans later this week, I’m especially excited about the Library Mystery that we’ve been planning as part of Take Flight Weekend.  Students will explore library spaces and resources, led by some of UM’s longest residents: the King family members who are buried in the graveyard on campus.

 

The ghosts of the King family have all kinds of stories to tell the new students: tales of settling the area in 1817, building the King House on the land that would become UM, and having near-death experiences on Civil War battlefields.  One ghost, Lylleton King, even comes to grips with his accidental death at the hands of his scatterbrained brother, Nathanial King:

 

To wish the new freshmen luck in college, these friendly ghosts will lead students to Edmund King’s gold, which is rumored to be buried somewhere on campus.  The ghosts are surprisingly tech-savvy: all the clues will be delivered using QR codes that students will scan with the library’s new ipads.

Working with my new friends and colleagues on the Library Mystery has helped me appreciate some of Montevallo’s history, and we hope that this will be true for the students who participate as well.  I look forward to working with our new freshmen, returning students, faculty and staff as I start fresh at Montevallo.

The Library Mystery will take place on Thursday (8/23) at 10 pm.  Students can register here.

Learning Commons ground floor entrance now open

The Library's Learning Commons ground floor entrance is now open.  Starting this week, you will not need your ID card to enter the ground floor entrance.  During regular semester hours, the ground floor entrance will be open until 9:00 p.m. After 9:00 p.m. only students, faculty and staff with valid UM IDs can enter the ground floor entrance.

EBSCO databases are up and running

All EBSCO databases should be working both on campus and off campus. If you are still experiencing technical difficulties with connecting, please call the library at 665-6100.

EBSCO database access is down

We are working to resolve problems with connections to all EBSCO databases.  Both on campus and off campus connections are down.  All other databases are working.  Consider using Academic One File and the new World Cat Local system to locate articles and books.

We will continue to monitor the situation and let you know as soon as EBSCO resolves the problem.

Library Interim Hours

The library will be open during the Interim on Monday - Friday from 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
The library will not be open on weekends.  During the Interim, the ground floor entrance is open to users with a valid UM ID.   Access to the ground floor entrance without a UM ID will begin the week of New Faculty Orientation and Take Flight Week.