Vacation lending and resources blog update

For those VHL readers who are entitled to borrow from the library, please note that we do not offer vacation loans.  Any books you take out over the Christmas vacation (before 21st December) will still be due back after two days.  Please do not take books away from Oxford if you can't return them if someone else needs them!

Any books taken out after 21st December will be due back when the library reopens after the Christmas and New Year break on 4th January.

And in the spirit of taking with one hand but giving back with the other, the first post is now up on the new US Studies Resources blog.

New blog - US Studies Resources at Oxford

I've just set up a new blog which will focus on the collections and resources available to researchers at the VHL, elsewhere in Oxford, and online.  I'm aiming to post there a couple of times a month, covering both specific resources and more general topics, with the intention both of highlighting some of the resources we have and also helping students and researchers make the most of them.   Hopefully it will build up into a useful resource in its own right!  

The resources blog can be found at http://vhlresources.blogspot.com, and you'll be able to keep up with it via RSS, email (links to subscribe are on the blog sidebar), as well as the VHL's Facebook page and Twitter feed.   I'll also periodically post links across to it here.

I hope the new blog will prove useful to VHL readers - do let me know if so (or not) and if you have any ideas or suggestions for what you would like me to cover.  The first 'proper' post should be up next week.

Old Bodleian open, Radcliffe Camera still closed (reopens 12 noon)

Update from the Bodleian Libraries:


Following the eviction of protestors late Thursday afternoon from the Radcliffe Camera, the Library is working hard to resume normal service as soon as possible.
The Old Bodleian Library will be open to readers and visitors on Friday 26 November. We shall reopen the Radcliffe Camera as soon as possible but it is likely that it will remain closed all day to enable essential repairs to be made and cleaning undertaken as a result of the recent occupation.
Please keep checking the website for updates in case we are able to open the Camera sooner.

Update: The Radcliffe Camera will re-open from 12 noon.

Microfilm scanner/PC out of action

The PC that is linked to the microfilm scanner is broken and has been taken away to be fixed.  We hope to have it back in full working order in a few days, but while it is gone, it will not be possible to scan from microfilms or print via the PC.   You can still use the microfilm scanner as a reader, and if you do need to print, you can do so from the microfilm reader next to the cabinets, at a cost of 25p per page. 

Radcliffe Camera and Old Bodleian closed today

Due to the student protests, which occupied the Radcliffe Camera overnight, both the Camera and the Old Bodleian will be closed to readers until further notice.   Keep an eye on the Bodleian Libraries website for more information.

We are unaffected and open as usual, and book deliveries are being made to libraries other than the Central Bodleian.

Update: The Radcliffe Camera and Old Bodleian will be closed all day today. Further updates will follow tomorrow morning.

Trial: American Founding Era Collection

We now have trial access to the American Founding Era Collection from the University of Virginia Press.  This collection offers digital access to the published papers of several major figures of the Early Republic:

• The Papers of James Madison
• The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Consitution
• The Papers of Thomas Jefferson
• The Adams Papers
• The Papers of George Washington
• The Dolley Madison Digital Edition

The papers are fully searchable, both within each set and across the entire collection, and you can view and download page images as well as view the text.  As well as searching, the collections can be browsed in contents order (as in the published editions) or chronologically.  There are indexes available for the Adams, Jefferson, and Washington papers.

Access is available via OxLIP+ (single sign-on for remote access).  This is a trial until 3rd January 2011. Please send any feedback to jane.rawson@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

WISER coming up

Next week's WISER sessions include sessions on e-books and keeping up-to-date, as well as a repeat of the WISER Finding Stuff sessions.

Find digital images for History of Science
Wednesday 17 November, 10.00 - 12 noon, Radcliffe Science Library Training Room
We subscribe to two of the biggest image databases, ARTstor and Bridgeman Education. They contain a million high-quality images suitable for use in papers and presentations. Both comprehensively cover locations, subjects, periods and media, but their content can be vastly different. Navigation and tools (eg Print, Save, Send) also differ. Find out more about the science-related content, searching and using images, at a presentation open to all Oxford University students and staff. The second half is a chance to practice; if you are unable to stay for the full two hours, you are still very welcome to attend.
Find out more about this session at http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/services/training/wiser/more.
Please book your place with Juliet Ralph juliet.ralph@bodleian.ox.ac.uk .

WISER: Technology Tools - Keeping Up To Date with Research
Wednesday 17 November 1.00 - 2.30pm
This session will help you to keep up to date with developments in your research field using a range of tools
including personal research / interest profiles, email alerting services, RSS feeds and more.
Presenters: Angela Carritt and Linda Atkinson.

Book your place at http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/itlp/courses/detail/TZWD

WISER: E-Books
Wednesday 17 November 3.00 - 4.00pm
An overview of what is currently available and how to access them from the point of view of the student, the researcher and the academic considering using e-books to resource their courses.
Presenter: Hilla Wait.
Book your place at http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/itlp/courses/detail/TZC4

WISER: E-Book Readers
Wednesday 17 November 4.00 - 5.00pm
How useful are e-book readers in academic work? Can they be used for accessing library materials? What are the features to look out for when considering purchase? Can they be used with pdf's? These and similar
questions will be considered with particular reference to the Amazon Kindle, Sony Touch and iPad e-readers.
Presenters: Isabel McMann and Laura Wilkinson.
Book your place at http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/itlp/courses/detail/TZE11

WISER: Finding Stuff - Books etc on SOLO
Friday 19 November 9.15 - 10.15am
A general introduction to finding books and journal titles in Oxford libraries using SOLO. For detailed information about searching for journal articles, theses and conference papers please see other titles in the WISER Finding Stuff series.
Presenters: Angela Carritt, Kerry Webb and Isabel McMann
Book your place at http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/itlp/courses/detail/TZWA

WISER: Finding Stuff - Journal Articles
Friday 19 November 10.15 - 11.15am
This session will focus on finding journal articles for your research using a wide range of databases as well as developing effective search strategies. There will be plenty of time for participants to try out their own searches using databases for their subject.
Presenters: Angela Carritt, Kerry Webb and Isabel McMann
Book your place at http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/itlp/courses/detail/TZWA

WISER: Finding Stuff - Theses and Dissertations
Friday 19 November 11.30 - 12.30pm
This session offers guidance on finding theses, both those submitted to and held in Oxford, and those from other institutions in the UK and abroad. It will demonstrate how to exploit some of the main sources of information : SOLO, Index to Theses (UK and Ireland); and Dissertations and Theses (International) EThOS and ORA.
Presenter: Jayne Plant
Book your place at http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/itlp/courses/detail/TZW4

Keeping up with WISER

We're on Twitter - please follow us at http://twitter.com/oxwiser, or to receive WISER updates by RSS feed subscribe to http://rss.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ulib/usered-events-wiser/rss10.xml

Not a member of Oxford University? 
If you have a Bodleian Libraries readers card you are welcome to attend WISER sessions even if you are
not a member of the University. Please email usered@bodleian.ox.ac.uk to book your place. Members of Oxford University should book using the links above.

New sites saved on our delicious page

Hawaii War Records Depository Photos

The HWRD contains a wealth of photographs that document the impact of World War II in Hawaii, including 880 wartime photos taken by the U.S. Army Signal Corps and the U.S. Navy. Taken between 1941 and 1946, these photographs are an important resource depicting the military activities in Hawaii, as well as the military's relationship with Hawaii's civilian population during the war. Topics of the Army and Navy photographs include, but are not limited to: military training, personnel, facilities; leisure and recreation activities; civilian defense efforts; air raid drills; defense workers; women's participation in wartime activities; Japanese American soldiers; military and civilian parades, ceremonies, and memorials; returning American prisoners of war; and the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Washington State Library - Washington Rural Heritage

Washington Rural Heritage is a collection of historic materials documenting the early culture, industry, and community life of Washington State. The collection is an ongoing project of small, rural libraries and partnering cultural institutions, guided by an initiative of the Washington State Library (WSL). Washington Rural Heritage collections are made up of items of historical and cultural significance. These include: old photographs, historical texts, memorabilia & ephemera, scrapbooks, maps, artwork, objects & artifacts, etc. Video and audio files(e.g., oral histories, lectures, interviews) are also part of the online collection. Many of these collections include unique historical resources not previously available in digital format.

Calisphere - A World of Digital Resources

Calisphere is a free website that offers educators, students, and the public access to more than 200,000 primary sources such as photographs, documents, newspapers, political cartoons, works of art, diaries, transcribed oral histories, and other cultural artifacts. These materials reveal the diverse history and culture of California and its role in national and world history. The content in Calisphere is drawn from the digital content in the Online Archive of California (OAC). These two websites exist because they serve two very different user needs. For research-oriented users who want to go beyond what is available online and locate the actual, physical item, the OAC is the best starting point. For users whose primary interest is to view digitized images and documents, Calisphere is a place to explore online content.

Online Archive of California

The Online Archive of California (OAC) provides free public access to detailed descriptions of primary resource collections maintained by more than 150 contributing institutions including libraries, special collections, archives, historical societies, and museums throughout California and collections maintained by the 10 University of California (UC) campuses. As well as the finding aids, the OAC contains more than 170,000 digital images and documents.

Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Portraits (Library of Congress)

Close to 700 ambrotype and tintype photographs highlight both Union and Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War. The Liljenquist Family sought out high quality images to represent the impact of the war, especially the young enlisted men. The photographs often show hats, firearms, canteens, musical instruments, painted backdrops, and other details that enhance the research value of the collection Among the rarest images are African Americans in uniform, sailors, a Lincoln campaign button, and portraits of soldiers with their wives and children. A few personal stories survived in notes pinned to the photo cases, but most of the people and photographers are unidentified. Tom Liljenquist donated the entire collection to the Library in 2010.

DCRA Office of the Surveyor Map Collection - a set on Flickr [in progress]

DCRA's Office of the Surveyor have started uploading images of their historical maps of the District of Columbia to Flickr. They will be uploading a few images a week and hope to put all their archives online at some point in 2011.

Montana Memory Project

The "Montana Memory Project" is a collection of digital collections and items relating to Montana's cultural heritage. In part, these collections and items will document the Montana experience. Access is free and open through the Internet. Many of these items are digitized copies of historic material, some items are contemporary. Many Montana libraries, museums, archives, and cultural institutions have added and are in the process of adding materials to this collection. Over time, contents may include digital newspapers, maps, copies of photographs, rare books, historic documents, diaries, oral histories, audio and video clips, paintings, illustrations, art, etc.

http://delicious.com/vhllib

WISER coming up

Next week's WISER sessions, plus "Introduction to the Electronic Enlightenment Project"

Introduction to the Electronic Enlightenment project 
Wednesday 10 November, 10.00-11.00am, Radcliffe Science Library Training Room
With 58,555 letters and documents and 7,113 correspondents as of October 2010, EE (www.e-enlightenment.com) is the most wide-ranging online collection of edited correspondence of the early modern period, linking people across Europe, the Americas and Asia from the early 17th to the mid-19th century. Find out more at a presentation by Robert McNamee (Director, Electronic Enlightenment Project), open to all Oxford University students and staff.
To book a place please contact juliet.ralph@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

WISER: Technology Tools - Reference Management
Wednesday 10 November 2.00 - 3.30pm
Keeping track of your references and formatting them correctly for your thesis or publication is a chore. Reference management software makes it easy and is worth investigating. This introductory session gives an overview of how it works and the pros and cons of RefWorks, EndNote and other tools. 
Presenters: Gillian Pritchard and Ljilja Ristic
Book your place at http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/itlp/courses/detail/TZW6

WISER: Learning a Modern Language 
Wednesday 10 November 4.00 - 5.00pm
This session will help you find valuable resources for learning modern languages and make use of the language you are learning in your searches.  We will: find tools for non-latin writing systems, search non-English search engines, and use resources offered by Oxford and from referential sites
Presenter: Lucile Deslignères .   
Book your place at http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/itlp/courses/detail/TZD17

WISER: Getting Organised on the Web  
Friday 12 November 9.30 - 11.00am
This session will look at some tools that can help you organise yourself on the web, including social bookmarking services like delicious.com, bibliophile sites like LibraryThing and My WorldCat, RSS feeds and readers, and customised start pages.   
Presenters: Jane Rawson  and Penny Schenk. 
Book your place at http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/itlp/courses/detail/TZWT

WISER: Using the Internet to Find Quality Resources
Friday 12 November 11.15 - 12.45pm
Finding information on the Internet is fairly easy. Finding reliable information of academic quality is more difficult. In this course you will learn how to maximise your chances of finding reliable Internet information and how to be sure that what you find is of appropriate quality for your purposes.   
Presenter: Anne Manuel . 
Book your place at http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/itlp/courses/detail/TZD18

Not a member of Oxford University?
If you have a Bodleian Libraries readers card you are welcome to attend WISER sessions even if you are not a member of the University. Please email usered@bodleian.ox.ac.uk to book your place.  Members of Oxford University should book using the links above,

Keeping up with WISER
We're on Twitter - please follow us at http://twitter.com/oxwiser or to receive WISER updates by RSS feed subscribe to http://rss.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ulib/usered-events-wiser/rss10.xml

If you have any queries please contact usered@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Talks next week at the RSL: e-Enlightenment Project, and ARTStor/Bridgeman Education

Publicising the following on behalf of our colleagues at the Radcliffe Science Library.  The first one in particular may be of interest to American historians. 

Introduction to the Electronic Enlightenment project: Wednesday 10 November, 10-11am, Radcliffe Science Library (Training Room).

The e-Enlightenment Project is a research project of the Bodleian Libraries. With 58,000 letters and 7,000 correspondents, EE (www.e-enlightenment.com) is the most wide-ranging online collection of edited correspondence of the early modern period, linking people across Europe, the Americas and Asia from the early 17th to the mid-19th century.

It represents a real cross-section of early modern society:  the ideas and concerns not only of scholars, politicians and scientists, but also butchers and housewives, servants and shopkeepers. With a wealth of personal detail revealed, you can explore as never before the relationships and movement of ideas, the letters and lives of the early modern world.

Find out more at a presentation by Robert McNamee (Director, Electronic Enlightenment Project). Open to all Oxford University students and staff.

To book a place please contact juliet.ralph@bodleian.ox.ac.uk .

ARTstor & Bridgeman Education: images for History of Science & Medicine:  Wednesday 17th November, 10am - 12 noon, Radcliffe Science Library, Training Room.

We have access to two of the biggest image databases, ARTstor and Bridgeman Education. They contain a million high-quality images suitable for use in papers and presentations. Both comprehensively cover locations, subjects, periods and media, but their content can be vastly different. Navigation and tools (eg Print, Save, Send) also differ.

ARTstor (www.artstor.org)  and Bridgeman (www.bridgemaneducation.com) are not just for artists! They include images relevant to history of science and medicine, social sciences, as well as archaeology, art and architecture and the humanities.

Find out more about the science-related content, searching and using images, at a presentation by Clare Hills-Nova (History of Art Librarian) and Vicky Brown (Visual Resources Curator, History of Art Dept.).

The second half is a chance to practice; if you are unable to stay for the full two hours, you are still very welcome to attend. Open to all Oxford University students and staff. 

To book a place please contact juliet.ralph@bodleian.ox.ac.uk .

New books for October

The list of books received in the library in October (sample above) is now available on our website and LibraryThing page.