Travel Back in Time with the UVU Library

1871 Illustration of Wagon Train Members Camping

This week is the 170th anniversary of the first major wagon trail heading out on the Oregon Trail. According to some estimates, over 400,000 people would follow the trail during the next few decades. In addition to sharing our collection of materials about the Oregon Trail in our weekly book display, we're also spotlighting the George Sutherland Archives collection of historic books and our American history research materials.

George Sutherland Archives

The mission of the Archives is to "[collect] and [make] available materials that document and reflect the history and development of Utah Valley University and the surrounding communities." The Archives has been collecting local history materials for decades and their collection includes overland diaries, historic photographs, and more. The Archives is located on the third floor of the Library.

America History & Life

This database offers access to many full text articles and indexes many more articles on American history, from Precolumbian times to the early nineteenth century. It currently searches through 1,700 unique journals to cover all topics in American history including social history, military history, minority history, and more.

Mountain West Digital Library

The UVU Library and the George Sutherland Archives have been a partner of the Mountain West Digital Library for years. The MWDL digitizes newspaper articles, historic photographs, and documents and makes them available through their portal. They currently offer digital access to more than 700,000 items.

For questions about researching American history, please contact the Reference Desk at (801) 863-8840. For questions about local history or using the George Sutherland Archives, contact Catherine McIntyre at (801) 863-8821.

Visit Strange New Worlds at the UVU Library!

This week the Library is highlighting its science fiction collection. We have hundreds of new and classic titles ready and waiting to take you on voyages of discovery. We've got everything from Jules Verne and H.G. Wells to last year's Nebula and Hugo award winning novel, Jo Walton's Among Others. If you're looking for a great science fiction read, head for the first floor display where more than 30 staff-picked titles are ready to be checked out.

Science fiction provides an excellent lens for analyzing our culture and literature. To help understand and explore that lens, we've collected a number of reference and critical titles on the genre, including these recent works:

• Astounding Wonder: Imaging Science and Science Fiction in Interwar America (Regular Collection: PS 374. S 35 C 484 2012)
• In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination (Regular Collection: PR 9199.3 A 8 Z 545 2011)
• Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction (available online)
• Twentieth Century American Science Fiction Writers (available online)

Many more are available in our Browsing Collection (first floor) and Regular Collection (fourth floor). Book are organized by author and authors are arranged by nationality, so if you need help locating a title please stop by the Reference Desk or ask Annie Smith (subject librarian for literature). We're always happy to hook readers up with great reads.

Wireless Printing

Can't find an open computer in the Library? Not even using the online Information Commons map? You can still print in the Library using the wireless printing network! Here's how it works:

1. Log in to http://print.uvu.edu. 
2. Check your print balance in the upper right corner. (If you need to add more, visit the Reference Desk on the first floor.)
3. Upload your Word, Excel, or PDF document and wait for the upload to finish processing.
4. Select a printer. The printers on the first floor of the Library all have names that start with INFOCOM.
5. Print.

If you have any problems printing, come to the Reference Desk on the first floor or call (801) 863-6932.

The End (of the Semester) is Nigh!

With the end of the semester rapidly approaching, the Library is doing a couple of things to make life easier on our students:

First Book & Fines

Every April, the Library and the UVU Bookstore partner with First Book to send books to underprivileged children. The Library offers an extra incentive to participate by letting students use their donations to pay down their fines. Here's how it works:

1. Buy a children's book at the UVU Bookstore and donate it to First Book.
2. Bring the receipt to the Library's first floor Circulation Desk.
3. The amount of the book will be used to pay off any library fines.

Book donation receipts will be accepted through the end of the semester. If you're not sure if you have fines, call the Library at (801) 863-8886.

Extended Hours

The Library will be open extended hours this weekend, so that students can come in and get a little more studying and a little more writing done. We will be open:

• Saturday, April 20: 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM
• Sunday, April 21: 2:00 PM to 10:00 PM

Reference librarians will be available at the Reference Desk to help with research questions. Tech aides will also be on hand at the Reference Desk to answer questions about MS Office, printing, and other tech questions. 

Online Art Research Tools

The Old Guitarist, by Pablo Picasso (1903).
Picasso passed away 40 years ago today.

This week, the Library is featuring its online art research tools. Here's a quick rundown of what we have available:

Art Full Text

Art Full Text is a premier database for art research. It contains not only scholarly and popular articles, but also articles from trade publications in the visual arts, a highly important source of information about contemporary art. This database can be found on our Visual and Performing Arts research page.

Art Research Guide

In addition to pointing out useful reference books and journal databases, our Art Research Guide lists vetted websites that can help you decipher art jargon, find museums and exhibitions, and keep up on the latest in the visual arts.

Grove Art Online

This online reference tool consists of several major works: the Grove Dictionary of Art and Artists, Benezit Dictionary of Artists, the Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, the Oxford Companion to Western Art, and the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms. Searching Grove Art Online lets you search across all of these titles for important background information on terminology, artist lives and works, and much more.

As always, you can ask any research questions at the Reference DeskbBut for in-depth art research, contact our art subject librarian, Keith Rowley.

Health Sciences Research Tools at the UVU Library

Are you up to date? Find the latest
research in our databases.

The Library's health sciences research databases are among the most used by students and faculty here at UVU. That's why we strive to have the best we can get! Here are some of the resources you can use for your research:

EBrary

EBrary is a collection of ebooks in health sciences and related topics. It includes dozens of books from the World Health Organization, Springer, Elsevier, and other big names in health sciences publishing. Because we purchased this collection as a subscription, older, outdated content is frequently replaced with new editions. You can begin to use the collection here.

MEDLINE and PubMed

MEDLINE and PubMed are two broad spectrum databases that cover all areas in medicine and allied health. Both contain peer-reviewed articles and are updated with new content daily. To access these and other health sciences article databases, visit our Health Sciences Research page.

Online Reference Books

The Library has been collecting online reference books in a number of topics for several years now, and we have a great collection of general reference ebooks in medicine. Our collection includes the Dictionary of Public Health, the Oxford Companion to Medicine, the SAGE Handbook of Healthcare, and many more. To explore these books, visit our Online Encyclopedias and Dictionaries page.

We also have many standard health sciences and medical reference books in print in our reference collection on the first floor of the library.

ScienceDirect

ScienceDirect is another great resource for finding articles in medicine, nutrition, physiology, and related topics. The journals in this database specialize in cutting edge research

Debbie Short is our health sciences subject librarian. If you have any questions about research in this area, please contact her.

News from the Sutherland Archives

By Catherine McIntyre, Archivist

We have added two brand new collections to our digital collections and oral histories: the Edison Cylinder Project and the Vietnam Oral History Collection.

The Edison Cylinder Project is the brainchild of Professor Mike Wisland of the Digital Media Technology Department. He and several of his students have built a machine that electronically transcribes the sound from the original Edison cylinders, the precursors to records. While many external recordings have been made of the music from Edison cylinders, it is rare to actually digitize the sound directly from the cylinder, thus eliminating much of the crackle and hiss that one might pick up with an external recording. We currently have four jaunty tunes from 1916-1919 in this collection, including the number one hit of its time, “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary,” and saucy little numbers such as “Naughty! Naughty! Naughty!” This collection will continue to grow as we digitize more of Professor Wisland’s Edison cylinders.

Dr. William Cobb interviews Ray Hill

The second of our new digital collections is the Vietnam Era Oral History Collection. UVU history professor Dr. William Cobb has been contacting and interviewing area Vietnam era veterans since 2010. We currently have several transcripts available online, but we will soon be adding the audio of the interviews, as well as maps, photographs, and digitized images of other items that are important to the interviewees such as their helmets, jackets, and other objects. This collection will also continue to grow in size, depth, and importance as a research resource.

We will soon receive a donation of several hundred historical photographs, slides, and negatives from Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo. UVRMC will soon be celebrating their 75th anniversary. We plan to digitize some of the collection in time for their celebration. The collection includes images of older area hospital buildings, personnel, promotional photos, and more that will be useful for research on hospitals, medicine, and the medical profession in Provo. We’re looking forward to making this collection available.

Visit the George Sutherland Archives online.

Who Else is in the Library?

Did you know that the library building is home to more that just the Library? We share space with a number of departments:

Accessibility Services Assistive Technology Lab (1st Floor)

The Assistive Technology Lab helps students with documented disabilities by providing software and other technologies. A full list of their services, hours, and contact information can be found on their department page.

Bytes & Brews Cafe (1st Floor)

The cafe is one of the most popular places in the Library and provides students, staff, and faculty with the fuel to keep going. Their menu is constantly updated with new items, and they frequently offer special deals.

Visual Arts Lab (2nd Floor)

Run by UVU's Printing Services Department, the Visual Arts Lab offers faxing, large scale printing, matte cutting, and much more. They can also print large jobs for you on your department's account.

Writing Center (2nd Floor)

The Writing Center is another popular destination in the Library. The Writing Center offers help to students with questions about citations, writing skills, grammar and spelling, and much more. Additional writing help is also available on the Online Writing Lab (OWL) site.

Deaf Studies Lab (2nd Floor)

The Deaf Studies Lab has the technology to help hearing, hearing impaired, and deaf students communicate. The space is also used to teach classes on (and in) American Sign Language.

Innovation Center (2nd Floor)

The Innovation Center was recently created to help UVU faculty incorporate technology into their classes. They can help with questions about Canvas, Prezi, Google Tools, and many more. The Innovation Center works closely with the Distance Education Department to help faculty learn and share best practices for online education.

Media Services (3rd Floor)

Media Services help us keep the podiums, projectors, and digital signs running. If you're using one of the Library's classrooms and something goes wrong, call them at x1111 and they'll be on their way.

Data Center (3rd Floor)

The Data Center also helps keep the university's technology running, but from behind the scenes. The folks at the Data Center keep the servers running, which keeps UVU's web sites up and running. They also rent virtual server space.

Center for Constitutional Studies Center (3rd Floor)

The Constitutional Studies Center is the most recent department to move in to the Library. They are a nonpartisan group that promotes education and discussion about the US Constitution, Constitutional Law, and other related issues. They frequently host guest speakers and exhibits.

Faculty Center for Teaching Excellence (4th Floor)

The FCTE's mission is to help UVU's faculty improve their teaching skills. They offer teaching circles, where faculty can share ideas and best practices. They also arrange mentorships.

Department of Integrated Studies (5th Floor)

This is an academic department that supports education in cinema studies, American studies, peace and justice studies, and many other emphases.

Who Would Win: Tournament of Geniuses

The fourth annual Who Would Win contest begins next Monday, March 18. This year's contest features some of the greatest geniuses that ever wielded a paintbrush, pen, or microscope. Starting Monday, we will post the matches of the day and you can follow along on our bracket.

In the past, Who Would Win has featured superheroes, bands, and movie characters. All of the people and characters in Who Would Win are represented in the Library's collections.

Need help with research? Find us online!

Did you know that the Library offers several ways to get help with research online? Here are some of the ways you can have your questions answered without leaving your computer:


LiveHelp

LiveHelp is a chat service available directly from the Library's homepage. Just click on the green LiveHelp button in the lower right corner of the page to start chatting with a librarian. (If LiveHelp is closed, you can send us an email by clicking on the envelope icon in the lower right corner of our homepage.)

Online Tutorials

The Library offers text-based and video tutorials on basic and advanced research skills on our tutorials page. The video tutorials are one to two minutes long, while the text tutorials cover research in more depth.

FAQs

Do you have questions about Library policies or procedures? Check our FAQ for questions about library services.

Of course, we're always happy to answer questions in person or over the phone. Don't hesitate to ask!