Month: March 2010

2010-03-29

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library now offers a beta mobile Web site at http://m.library.illinois.edu .  The site provides access to a core set of basic library services customized for successful use on mobile devices, including the ability to search the Library’s catalog, find Library locations and hours, access additional databases with mobile interfaces, and text librarians.

The University Library established a working group that was charged with planning, developing, and maintaining an information access environment for Library users who have mobile devices, including iPhone and BlackBerry phones.  If the beta mobile site is well-received by the public, it can serve as the platform for delivering a growing array of mobile services in the future.

The mobile Web site includes access to the Text a Librarian service, also a new pilot initiative of the Library.  University Library users may text a librarian with questions through the mobile site or SMS text 217-686-4361 from any mobile phone that supports text messaging.  Standard charges apply, based on the user’s mobile phone plan with the account provider, for both messages sent and received.  The Text a Librarian service uses Google Voice and is available during the same hours as other Ask a Librarian services ( www.library.illinois.edu/services/hours.php ).

Library users without a mobile device on hand can view the mobile site at http://m.library.illinois.edu on a desktop or laptop computer.  Alternatively, the Library’s non-mobile Web site is located at www.library.illinois.edu .

Do you have a story you’d like added to the Library News & Events? If so, please contact Heather Murphy ( hmurphy@illinois.edu ).

2010-03-26

The Undergraduate Library (UGL) will host a Gaming Career Night on Thursday, April 8, 2010.  Those interested in how traditional art skills can be applied to a career in the interactive concept art industry should attend this popular event in Room 291 of the UGL. Artist representatives from Volition, Inc. will be on site to answer questions.

Don’t miss out on:

• Portfolio Review
• Job Seeking Suggestions
• Networking Tips
• Academic Advice
• Software Requirements

For more information, contact David Ward at dh-ward@illinois.edu .

Do you have a story you’d like added to the Library News & Events? If so, please contact Heather Murphy ( hmurphy@illinois.edu ).

2010-03-23

Cherie’ L. Weible, head of the interlibrary loan and document delivery at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, has been named the winner of the 2010 Virginia Boucher/OCLC Distinguished ILL (Interlibrary Loan) Librarian award administered by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) .  The award recognizes an individual for outstanding professional achievement, leadership, and significant contributions to the fields of interlibrary loan and document delivery.

Weible will receive her award, a citation, and a cash prize on June 28, 2010, at the American Library Association’s Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.

To read the ALA news release, visit www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2010/march2010/boucher_rusa.cfm .

Do you have a story you’d like added to the Library News & Events? If so, please contact Heather Murphy ( hmurphy@illinois.edu ).

2010-03-19

The 5th Annual Edible Book Festival will be held on April 6, 2010, at the University YMCA (1001 South Wright Street, Champaign).  The campus and local community are invited to experience this unique intersection of the book arts and cuisine.

Public viewing begins at 11:30 a.m., a welcome and the local celebrity judges’ commentary takes place at 12:15 p.m., and consumption of entries starts at 12:45 p.m.   Admission is free, but cash donations to the Eastern Illinois Food Bank will be appreciated.

Edible art entries have a connection to books as shapes or content.  Past entries have included Catsup in the Rye, Harry (Flower) Potter and the Order of the Cupcakes, The Malted Falcon, Thyme Machine, and The House of Seven Bagels.  Prizes are awarded for the best culinary creations—which are displayed, judged, and consumed.  UI Librarian Sue Searing, who coordinates the Festival, said, “We literally eat our words!”

Judges will include Larry Kanfer, fine art landscape photographer and owner of the Larry Kanfer Gallery , Champaign; Ronnie Kann, anthropologist and assistant director, La Casa Cultural Latina , University of Illinois; and Buffy Vance, sugar artist and owner of Madeline’s Confectionary Arts Studio & Gallery , Urbana.

The festival is hosted by the University YMCA and the Know Your University Committee.  The University Library is sponsoring the event with additional support from its Strategic Communications and Marketing Committee.

The year’s festival is supporting the Big Read program , which features the book Sun, Stone, and Shadows: 20 Great Mexican Short Stories , by adding a “taste of Mexico” prize category.

A separate Edible Book event for children will take place at the Urbana Free Library (210 West Green Street, Urbana) on April 11, 2010, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The 5th Annual Edible Books Festival at Illinois pays homage to the International Edible Books Festival .  This ephemeral global banquet annually celebrates the birthday of French gastronome Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), famous for his book Physiologie du goût —a witty meditation on food.

For more information about the 5th Annual Edible Book Festival, visit www.library.illinois.edu/ediblebooks /.

Do you have a story you’d like added to the Library News & Events? If so, please contact Heather Murphy ( hmurphy@illinois.edu ).

2010-03-17

Due to the University’s unprecedented budget situation, the University Library and the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) must reduce the number of state-funded graduate assistantships for GSLIS students in 2010-11.  The Library and GSLIS are exploring options to offset these assistantship reductions.

Read more on the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) Web site .

Do you have a story you’d like added to the Library News & Events? If so, please contact Heather Murphy ( hmurphy@illinois.edu ).

2010-03-16

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library will launch its Big Read program in celebration of “ Sun, Stone, and Shadows: 20 Great Mexican Short Stories ” with a CU Big Read Kick Off on Thursday, April 1, 2010, at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center at U of I.  Festivities begin at 6:00 p.m. The free kick off event will feature music, art, reading, and hors d’oerves.  The “Life in a Border Town” exhibit, showcasing photographs taken by 5th grade school children from Reynosa, Mexico’s Felipe Carillo Puerto Primary School illustrating their daily lives in a border town, will be on display.  The exhibit’s Texas curators Jonathon Searfoss and David Freeman will be in attendance.  In addition, U.S. Representative Naomi Jakobsson will help to inaugurate April 2010 as Champaign-Urbana’s Big Read month.  A limited number of copies of the featured book, “Sun, Stone, and Shadows,” will also be distributed at this kick off event. Champaign-Urbana is one of 268 communities nationwide participating in The Big Read, designed to restore reading to the center of American culture.  From April 1st to May 5th, the Champaign-Urbana community will celebrate “Sun, Stone, and Shadows” with a full calendar of free events, including film screenings, story times, musical performances, a keynote lecture, and edible book contests.  For a complete listing of all of the local events, please visit www.library.illinois.edu/bigread/ . “The University Library is proud to be a part of the Big Read endeavor—the largest literature program in the history of the U.S. government,” said Emily Love, outreach librarian for Multicultural Studies at Illinois and coordinator of The Big Read programming in Champaign-Urbana. The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).  The NEA presents The Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences and in cooperation with Arts Midwest.  Support for The Big Read is provided by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.  Transportation for The Big Read is provided by Ford.  Local support has been provided by Homewood Suites , the University of Illinois Alumni Association , and the Virginia Theatre . For more information about The Big Read, visit www.neabigread.org .  Visit www.library.illinois.edu/bigread/ , or contact Emily Love at elove@illinois.edu or (217) 333-3285, for information about the local Big Read initiative.

Do you have a story you’d like added to the Library News & Events? If so, please contact Heather Murphy ( hmurphy@illinois.edu ).

2010-03-09

Library hours  for Spring Break 2010 are available:

• Spring Break 2010 Library hours in html format
• Spring Break 2010 Library hours in pdf format

Do you have a story you’d like added to the Library News & Events? If so, please contact Heather Murphy ( hmurphy@illinois.edu ).