Recent Updates to the University Libraries’ Mobile Web Site
Ball State University Libraries support the information seeking needs of users of Smartphones, BlackBerrys, and other small-screen handheld devices through its mobile Web site. FULL STORY

Upcoming Program Explores Women’s Roles and Lifestyles from Victorian Era though Early 20th Century Progressive Era
A program Before Middletown: Using Historical Archaeology to View Victorian Muncie is scheduled for Tuesday, February 27 at 7:30 p.m. in Bracken Library’s Forum Room, BL-225. Sponsored by the Friends of the Alexander M. Bracken Library and by the Center for Middletown Studies, Professor Christina L. Blanch, Ball State’s Department of Anthropology, will discuss the Victorian Period’s rapid social change, growing industrialization, and the transformation of gender roles that were taking place in Muncie, Indiana and throughout the country. FULL STORY

Ball State University Libraries’ Technology Training Specialist Linda M. Putman has a MINI Moment
Studying and creating well-designed Web sites are part of a technology class taught in Technology Training Support Service’s "Basic Web Design” course. Linda Putman, Technology Training Specialist, shares her experience of studying an excellent Web site that led her to purchasing a Mini Cooper vehicle. FULL STORY

Elaine S. Nelson Enjoys Challenges and Changes in Interlibrary Loan Services
In this profile, Elaine S. Nelson, Interlibrary Loan Supervisor at Ball State University Libraries, discusses the changes and challenges in interlibrary services over the years. FULL STORY

Ball State University’s Bracken Library Reorganizes First Floor Newspaper Area to Promote Quiet Study
Students, faculty, and staff at Ball State University will find popular city, national, and international newspapers available in a comfortable, convenient location at Bracken Library next to the University Libraries’ New Books and Bestsellers area. FULL STORY

Papers of Former Indiana Governor and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Otis Bowen Available for Research in the Ball State University Libra
Ball State University Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections Research Center acquired the papers of Otis Bowen M.D., former Indiana governor and Secretary of Health and Human Services. The rich archive of materials includes personal papers, hundreds of photographs, campaign memorabilia and correspondence from the 1970 and 1980s. FULL STORY

Ball State’s Fourth Annual Copyright Conference Earns Continuing Legal Education Credits
The Fourth Annual Copyright Conference sponsored by the Ball State University Libraries will be held on Wednesday, April 11, 2007. For the second year in a row, attorneys attending will be eligible to receive continuing legal education credits. Plan to attend the conference -- Digital Trek: To boldly explore copyright in teaching and learning. FULL STORY

Audiovox Portable DVD Player Now Available for Loan through the University Libraries’ Educational Resources Center
Portable DVD players are available for a four-hour check-out period with a one-time renewal option from Ball State University Libraries. FULL STORY

Bookmark Café @ Bracken Library Opens January 8, 2007
Bookmark Café @ Bracken Library opened on the first day of the new semester 2007, offering students another dynamic, interactive space within the University Libraries, serving great food, refreshments, and other goodies. FULL STORY

Exhibit in Ball State University Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections Research Center
The Archives and Special Collections Research Center’s exhibit Bringing the Dream to Middletown: Muncie’s Civil Rights Movement, 1955-1975 focuses on the leaders and events of the struggle to make Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream of a just society a reality in Middletown, USA. Exhibit features contributions of key individuals in Muncie’s Civil Rights Movement. FULL STORY

SirsiDynix Unicorn GL3.1 Upgrade Installed for the University Libraries’ Integrated Information System
The University Libraries’ Information Technology Services unit upgraded to the newest version of SirsiDynix Unicorn, the Libraries’ integrated library system. GL 3.1 is the latest version of the Unicorn system and provides comprehensive integrated library system functionality for the Libraries. The new Unicorn software version provides many changes and improvements for both customers and libraries’ personnel. Many of these “behind the scenes” attributes will make the online pubic access catalog, CardCat, easier to use. FULL STORY

Ball State University’s Library Instruction Sessions Strengthen Student Technical and Information Literacy
A recent study by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) supports conclusions that many undergraduate students lack needed skills in technical and information literacy. Library instruction sessions at Ball State University Libraries enable students to gain proficiency in these areas. FULL STORY

Chapbooks now Cataloged in Ball State University Libraries’ Online Public Catalog
Ball State University Libraries’ personnel completed cataloging of a collection of 173 historical chapbooks that were published in the United States and England. These small booklets of children’s literature have publishing dates ranging from 1812 through 1898, and one is a 1944 reprint of a book that was published in 1786. The collection is held in the University Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections Research Center. FULL STORY

Videoconference on Distance Learning Activities in Indiana
Academic Libraries of Indiana (ALI) Distance Education/Off-Campus Library Services Task Force representatives participated in a videoconference on distance learning with Indiana College Network Learning Center Coordinators. Video conference participants learned about the variety of library services available to distance learners through guided tours of useful Web pages. Data sheets outlining major resources and contact information are available on the ALI Web site. FULL STORY

Ball State’s Bracken Library Features Digital Photography Exhibit
Ball State’s Bracken Library Features Student Digital Artwork through March of 2007. FULL STORY

Scott R. McFadden: Provides Basic Serials Cataloging Workshops
Scott McFadden, Head of Serials Cataloging at Ball State University Libraries, presented a two-day workshop on basic serials cataloging as part of the Serials Cataloging Cooperative Training Program. FULL STORY

James A. Bradley: OCLC Live Web Event Speaker
James A. Bradley, Head, Metadata and Digital Initiatives, spoke at OCLC LIVE Web event on the structure and characteristics of a sustainable digital program and how to package digital collections into reusable learning objects and new educational resources. FULL STORY

Ball State’s Bracken Library Replaces Its Exterior Doors
Ball State’s Bracken Library, now in its 31st year, replaces its exterior doors on the north and south entrances. FULL STORY

Kelley C. McGrath: Media Finders Improve Browsability for Finding Audio Resources
Kelley C. McGrath, Cataloging and Metadata Services Librarian publishes “Media Finders: Improving the Browsability of Media Collections via the OPAC.” FULL STORY

Matthew C. Shaw: Presents Scholar Paper at Midwest Modern Language Association
Matthew C. Shaw, Electronic Resources Librarian, discussed his paper “Passionate Priests: Religious Life and Moral Redefinition in the Novels of Iris Murdoch” at the annual meeting of the Midwest Modern Language Association in Chicago, 2006. FULL STORY

John B. Straw: Bibliographer for American Author John Steinbeck
A Catalog of John Steinbeck Material in the Ball State University Libraries which was edited by John B. Straw, Director, Archives and Special Collections Research Center, was mentioned in Tracking John Steinbeck: A Bibliographer’s Perspective, compiled and edited by Robert B. Harmon FULL STORY