You are now entering "The Quiet Zone"

A new Quiet Zone hits the fourth floor of Steen Library. Looking for a quiet study space away from the bustling crowds? Check out the entire fourth floor of the Steen Library which is now reserved for quiet study, free from the distractions of service desks, study groups, and cell phone conversations. Students can find a peaceful oasis with tables, study rooms, and study carrels throughout the floor. Last fall a library survey was conducted which revealed library users were unhappy with the ongoing noise levels in the library and other distracting activities that are counterproductive to individual study.

The Twilight Zone themed “Quiet Zone” was a design created by Ms. Devon Skinner a senior from Dallas, enrolled in the Illustration class taught by Aloma Marquis last fall. Quiet Zone signage will be placed on the fourth floor and furniture will be arranged in a manner conducive to individual study.

The second and third floors are available for group studying.

Success will be determined by the self-disciplined actions of library users, but any of the library service point, like the Circulation or InfoDesk, can be told about abuses. We are encouraging all library users to enjoy this new space especially during the stressful weeks ahead before finals.

Let us know what you think about the Quiet Floor or suggestions to make it better.

Susan Clarke Head of Research and Instructional Services sclarke@sfasu.edu rm. 202g (936) 468-1459

SFA Internet Books

Did you know that Steen Library subscribes to a collection of internet books called NetLibrary? There are almost 30,000 books in this collection. Compared to our general collection of almost half a million monographs, it's a small collection, but still large enough to add significant value. In doing a routine subject or keyword search in our catalog, it's not unusual for one or more of the retrieved titles to be part of the NetLibrary Collection. The oldest titles in the collection are about twelve years old, but most of the books in the collection were published in this decade. While some of the titles are duplicated in our print collection, many are not.

These electronic books are perfect for distance education students. I've never tried to read one of these books from cover to cover, but most books checked out from our general collection, excluding, children's books and novels, are not read cover to cover. One or two chapters in the book is probably all that the average student uses. In one sense, electronic books are more useful than print books. One can do keyword searching of the full text of the book. This allows the user to find the paragraphs in the book containing a particular word or phrase.

The user can print pages from the book, but each page requires a separate print command. In other words you cannot do a print all or print pages 1-50. Another drawback to the collection is that most of these books allow only one SFASU user at a time.

Faculty members who want to make assignments using these books should be aware of the limitations, ask the librarian to write specific instructions for the students, tell the students about the one user at a time limitation, and allow enough time for the assignment given the size of the class.

NetLibrary is listed on our Databases A-Z list linked from the library homepage. After getting into NetLibrary, select title or subject keyword search on your topic to see if there are books in the collection that may meet your needs. If you are off campus, be sure to begin by logging in to your mySFA account, click on myCourses, and then link to the library homepage.

The first time you use NetLibrary, you may want to set up a login for the collection. This will make it easier to use the collection off campus. For class use, you might want to set up a class login and password.

As I mentioned earlier, most of the NetLibrary books are included in the Steen Library catalog. You'll occasionally retrieve one of these titles in a routine search.

Bernice Wright bwright@sfasu.edu rm. 202j 936.468.1528 Subjects - Agriculture, Forestry, Human Sciences, Human Services, Speech/Communication

Is the Whole World Going Broke?

Over the past couple of weeks many of us have been growing more and more concerned about the fiscal crisis on Wall Street that is spreading to what the pundits call "main street" (in other words, all the rest of us who don't work on Wall Street). Over the last couple of days it has become apparent that there is now an international crisis. This morning everything sounds so bad that a worldwide depression is being talked about.

For sometime now our university faculty has added international studies to the curriculum in a growing number of disciplines. International business, hospitality, nutrition, political science, anthropology, communication, etc. I won't even attempt to name every program that includes international or intercultural components. All of us have become more aware of how internationally intertwined so many aspects of our lives have become.

Here in the library we often have questions from students looking for demographic, trade, and cultural aspects of other countries. This semester we are pleased to announce the addition of a database to our library that will help immensely with the cultural aspect of these assignments. The database is called CultureGrams Online. Aside from the population and government statistics that you can find in a number of country profile products, this database includes information on family, housing, diet, recreation, dating and marriage customs and several other aspects of lifestyle. Check it out when you have a chance. You'll find that it will not only be helpful academically, it will also be useful for Scout Troops, university and civic organizations, or planning your next vacation. Everything from recipes to common courtesies and greetings is covered. As Martha Stewart would say, "It's a good thing."

Bernice Wright bwright@sfasu.edu rm. 202j 936.468.1528 Subjects - Agriculture, Forestry, Human Sciences, Human Services, Speech/Communication

Ask Stupid Questions

"Ask Stupid Questions": A Collaborative and Solution-Driven Reference Service

Ask Stupid Questions (ASQTM) is a radically new reference enquiry methodology developed by the National Library Board (NLB) of Singapore.... ASQ has transformed the reference enquiry transaction ... where the librarian assumes the role of the host in a game show format which encourages with fun, spontaneity and creative expressions.

	R. Philip Reynolds preynolds@sfasu.edu rm. 202b 936.468.1453 Subjects - Computer Science, Military Science, Philosophy/Religion, Political Science/Geography