Library Newsletter
          New Mexico Tech Library                        December 2000

WHAT’S NEW:

Tech Library would like to welcome Zoe Beatrice Whitehorse to the world. She was born on November 2, 2000 to proud parents Lucinda and Byron Whitehorse. Zoe weighed 7 pounds and 11 ounces, and measured in at 21 inches long. Her mother Lucinda is the Library's Night Circulation Superviser and father Byron works at the Property Office as the Property Control Clerk.

New Resources

Did you know that the Library subscribes to full text articles in petroleum and sedimentary geology?   You can search by author, author and keyword in a database which goes back to 1917.  The American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) Datapages include the AAPG Bulletin, 1917 to the present, AAPG Special Publications including  all books through 1997, and all meeting paper abstracts since 1990 which amounts to over  1400 per year.   The AAPG also provides access to SEPM (Society for  Sedimentary Geology) Journal of Sedimentary Research from 1931 to the present.
http://pubscorp.petris.com

   --Kay Krehbiel

New Books

Reference Books of Note:
Desk Reference on the Federal Budget           HJ2051.W43 1998
Encyclopedia of Computer Science                 QA76.15.E48 2000
Encyclopedia of the American Constitution    KF4548.E53 2000
Historical Atlas of Exploration                         G95.K66 2000
Rocky Mountain Petroleum Directory            TN867.K5 2000
Science and Technology Almanac                    Q173.S395 2000

    --Brigitte Schimek

Tech Library Internet Policy Enacted

Tech Library recently formulated an Internet Policy for patrons who use the computers in the reference area.  In part, the policy delineates acceptable and unacceptable activities.

Acceptable use of Internet resources includes research and information retrieval.  NMT students will be given priority over non-students if all of the computers are being used.  While email is an acceptable use, patrons are asked to limit time spent on email to ten minutes to allow maximum access to online resources.

Unacceptable use includes reconfiguring hardware or software, use of chat lines, and playing games.  Prohibited activities include use of the computers for illegal, inappropriate, or obscene purposes.  Failure to follow the guidelines could result in loss of library privileges.

Children under the age of 18 [this does not apply to Tech students] must apply for an Internet Usage card, and must present this card to the library staff before using the Internet computers.  Tech students may also use the computer lab in room 208 to access the Internet through their TCC account.

     --Marty  Jonas
    NMT Library, Circulation

LIBRARY SERVICES:

Business Journal and Magazine Articles at Your Fingertips

Connect to Business Source Elite® to find complete text of articles from over 1000 journals and magazines covering business, management, economics, banking, finance, and accounting. This database also covers the business, financial or legal aspects of technology and engineering; for example, a search on IEEE brings up over 1400 citations and a search on environmental engineering brings up over 1500 citations. You can find information on local or regional businesses from all over; for example, New Mexico Business and Inside Tucson Business are included.

Want to quickly find a definition of a business term or phrase?  What do ‘IPO’ or ‘unrealized gains’ mean? Business Source Elite® provides a quick look-up in its glossary, Wall Street Words, along with a company directory which includes company officers, addresses, products and phone numbers.

You can restrict your searches to full text only, by date of publication or by journal title. Or you can select from natural language searching, expert and advanced search modes.  If your instructor requires that you find peer reviewed or refereed journals, you can easily limit your search by this factor.

You can access Business Source Elite® through EBSCO from the Library’s web site,  http: //www.nmt.edu/~nmtlib   With the addition of Business Source Elite® the Library now offers you 3 databases with full text articles. ProQuest Direct® covers many general topics in the news plus some technology resources while Health Reference Center offers resources on health, nutrition, medicine, and drugs taken from not only journals and magazines but also from medical encyclopedias and dictionaries.

Help Sessions for Graduate Students and Students Taking Upper Levels Classes

Do you want to learn about specialized databases and resources, such as electronic journals, in your field? Take a few minutes to learn how to find information more effectively in the Library and save yourself hours in the long run.

We have specialized databases for Environmental Engineering, Chemistry, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Petroleum Engineering and several high quality general indexes, such as SciSearch at LANL ®, in science and technology. You can arrange an introduction to resources in your field at a time convenient to you, for one person or for a group. Contact Kay Krehbiel (-5615, kkrehbiel@admin.nmt.edu) or any staff member.

    --Kay Krehbiel

YOUR COMMENTS:

    Q. Being that it is the 21st century, and Tech is daily faced with the threat of attack  by terrorists with particle beam weapons, I think it is in the Library’s best interests to purchase a plasma shielding system.  Not only will this system keep us safe from Mid-Easterner terrorists with energy weapons, but it will allow the Library to appear invisible on enemy radar. For more information on this technology, please visit:
http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/cold_plasma_000724.html
    A. Wow – that’s really cool!  At the web site I learned that cold plasmas are ambient-temperature, ionized gases related to those found deep within the sun’s core. On the other hand, if you knew what we went through to make the Library a relevant part of campus life, you would understand that making the library invisible is not part of our mission.  Now if I could get the deflector shields on my car . . .

    Q. Do you have any scerry [sic] movies?
    A. It may depend on your definition of scary, but we do have several science fiction movies, and thrillers.  Our video collection is intended for recreation al purposes and we don’t try to compete with video stores, thus, we don’t have many new releases.

    May I suggest:

Please note that we accept donations of videos – many of our more current videos are donations from students and faculty.

    Q. Get more computers and Internet access.
    Q. You put up more computers.
    Q. Get more computers.
    Q. That you get more computers and lets [sic] kids play games on them.
    Q. Get more information on the web.
    Q. Email on the computers.
    A. It has been said that you can never be too rich or too thin.  In the same vein, you can never have enough computers!  We have been adding computers and Internet access in Tech Library since we put in the first PC in 1994, when we started with one PC in the reference area.
    We recently networked two CD-ROM PC’s in the reference area to add more stations to access the Internet.  Additionally, this week we replaced three telnet terminals used for accessing the online catalog, LIBROS, with three more PCs.  This brings the total of Internet PCs in the reference area to eight.
    Additionally, room 208 on the upper floor of the library has been converted into a TCC Lab.  You can use the lab to access your TCC account unless there is a class in session.
    We do allow patrons to use the computers for email, but we ask that users limit their time to ten minutes for email.  The PCs in the reference area are designated for reference and research.  This is also the reason we ask children not to play games on the computers.
    If you are looking for information on the Web, the Library’s homepage is a good starting point.  Not only do we have links to databases such as Proquest (full text) and FirstSearch (60 + databases), and a list of internet search engines, but we also have a subject directory which provides links to web resources on a variety of both academic and popular subjects (including a kids page).
Check us out! http://www.nmt.edu/~nmtlib

     Q. Please put children’s books in this library because there are a lot of college students with kids and kids get board [sic].
    Q. Get more books on reptiles.
    A. Tech Library is primarily an academic library, and as such, our limited resources are focused on academic resources, including books, journals and online resources.  Books are selected based on the academic programs taught at Tech, so we don’t have an exhaustive selection on all popular subjects, but do have resources available on most subjects.  Please ask at the reference desk if you can’t find information on a particular topic.  We do try to include videos and some web resources that would be of interest to children, but we suggest that Socorro Public Library’s collection of children’s material is more age appropriate for younger patrons.
    If you bring your children with you when you come to the Tech Library to do research, perhaps you might consider bringing books from the public library that they can read to occupy their time while you are focusing on your research.

    Q. Please turn on the heat, it is so cold in here that I have to wear three layers and I’m still really cold!
    Q. I would like to suggest that the temperature in the basement be increased in these cold winter times.  I would study upstairs but the lighting downstairs is better.
    A. One of the more difficult variables to control is the temperature of a large building such as the Tech Library.  We have put up thermometers around the building to monitor the temperature.  We have not noticed a marked drop in temperatures, and we try to keep the thermostats set to 70°F, which is a compromise between optimum temperature for books, computers and human beings.
    Temperature control is also a complex situation for the physical plant personnel, who are responsible for turning on the heat in the fall.  If they turn it on with the first cold snap, then the weather gets warm again, they are besieged with complaints from people who want the air conditioning turned back on.  Of course, there are times when wither the chiller plant or heating system malfunctions, and we do our best to rectify the situation as quickly as possible.
    We hope that the temperature is generally comfortable, and if you experience unusually cold or warm temperatures, let me know and I will call someone in to investigate.

    Q. Circulation Monkeys
    A. OK, this one was from one of my employees, but let me take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to all of the student workers in the library, especially those in circulation, who do such an excellent job, and wish they had monkeys to do their shelf reading for them.  You are all such a joy to work with!  Thank you for your dedication and perseverance.  It can be a thankless job at times, but you all put forth your best effort.
We could not keep the library running without you.

    Q. This return policy was effective for my hometown library (Clark County, Springfield, OH) – on the web and convenient for users. I recommend it.

    A. Actually, we have a more liberal checkout policy than this.  Our checkout period for undergraduates and special borrowers is 3 weeks, and we offer semester loans for graduate students, faculty and staff.
    We also allow 2 renewals, the first of which can be done over the phone.  (Note that semester loans can not be renewed, but must be brought into the library to be checked in, then back out.  It has been our experience that patrons forget what they have checked out over the course of several months, and this also gives us a chance to check the condition of books that have been checked out for a long time.)
    We have a two-week grace period for fines for books.  No charges are assessed until a book becomes two weeks overdue, and then we only charge $1.00 per book, with a $300 minimum.  On the other hand, two weeks later, we do bill you for a missing book if you have not renewed the overdue book.
    Video fines and course reserve fines have their own schedule.  Video fines are $1.00 per day per video.  Course reserve fines are $1.00 per hour.  We hope this will motivate you to return these items on time.
    We do limit the number of videos that can be checked out at one time to three, in part because we have a small video collection, and since the checkout period is three days, the likelihood of actually watching more than three videos in this time is minimal.  We do have a three-week checkout period for exercise videos, since three days with an exercise program won’t do anyone any good.

    Q. Would be nice if the check out clerks didn’t ignore me!! Even when I was talking to them!!!
    A. Customer service is our number one priority.  If you have any problems with service, please let me know.  We want to make your library experience a pleasant one.

    --Marty  Jonas
    NMT Library, Circulation

FAVORITE WEB SITES:

World Wide Words
http://www.worldwidewords.org/
What is an Internet hotel?  What do whopper-jawed and tub-thumping mean?  Do you know what econophysics is?  How about astrobleme?  Find the answers to these questions and much more at World Wide Words, a site that looks at international English from a British perspective.

Ultimate White Pages
http://www.theultimates.com/white/
Simultaneously search six of the best online white pages. The site also offers e-mail searches, maps and yellow pages.

Classmates.com
http://www.classmates.com
So what if it's been 20 years? Find that high school friend and give her a call.  On this site, you can search for your high school and see lists of classmates who have subscribed.  You have to join the service to email those listed, but just seeing their names can be a blast from the past.

Artcyclopedia
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/
Search for your favorite artist by name or movement. Artcyclopedia will show
you some of their best works and museums where they are displayed.

You Are Where You Live
http://www.dellvader.claritas.com/YAWYL/Default.wjsp
Do you live among Bohemians or Urban Achievers? Type your zip code into this
site and find the dominant characteristics of your neighborhood.

Harry Potter Mania
http://libraryspot.com/features/harrypotter.htm?news
Get the story behind the bestseller.

Christmas Around the World
http://www.christmas.com/
Features a clickable world map with national traditions, Christmas recipes, Christmas symbols, gift suggestions and a Christmas charity list.  You can also see how to say Merry Christmas in many different languages.

Santa Live from the North Pole
http://www.santalive.com/
Santa comes to you live from the North Pole via Real Video. Get what you really want for Christmas - have an interactive interview with Santa Clause.  You DO believe in Santa, don’t you?

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
http://www.the-north-pole.com/carols/rudolph.html
The classic 1949 song by Johnny Marks.

All About Angels
http://www.Circle-of-Light.com/Angels/about-angels.html
Alphabetic listing, with their status and what they represent from a New Age point of view

    -- Marty Jonas
     NMT Library, Circulation