New Early American Databases

By Robert Flatley

Coordinator of Electronic Resources, Interlibrary Loan and Periodicals

The Rohrbach Library is pleased to announce the addition of Early American Newspapers Series 6 & 7 to our e-resources collection.

Early American Newspapers, Series 6 & 7 includes more than 320 significant 18th-, 19th- and 20th-century newspapers, including titles of unique historical significance, regional weeklies and big-city dailies.

Series 6 includes many new titles of singular importance, including the Detroit Plaindealer, Detroit’s first successful black newspaper; The Colored American, which provided detailed coverage of the Amistad revolt; Argus of Western America, an early Kentucky paper and a strong supporter of Andrew Jackson; and the Arkansas Gazette, one of the first papers west of the Mississippi. Other significant titles include the Kalamazoo Gazette, Kansas City Times, Northern Standard, Oregon State Journal and many more.

Series 7 includes many new titles of singular importance, including New Orleans’ Times-Picayune, established in 1837 and one of the South’s most prominent newspapers, and The Oregonian, founded in 1850 in Portland and still the state’s largest daily.

This marks a major addition of primary source materials to the library’s collection.

You can access all the library’s e-resources at: http://www.kutztown.edu/library/er.

Politician Hype vs. Political Facts

For anyone looking for the real facts in the 2008 election, consider going to FactCheck.org (http://www.factcheck.org/).

This site is a “nonpartisan, nonprofit, ‘consumer advocate’ for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics.” They look at everything from TV/radio ads to speeches and interviews to see what the candidates are saying and what is actually true. Officially called the Annenberg Political Fact Check, the project comes from the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania and “accepts NO funding from business corporations, labor unions, political parties, lobbying organizations or individuals.” (quotations are from the site)

Anniversary of the Appointment of the First Woman Supreme Court Justice

On September 25th, 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor was appointed as the Supreme Court’s 102nd justice and its first female member. Today we celebrate this important moment in history, for women and for the world! Visit just one of our great databases, the Biography Resource Center, to learn more about O’Connor and other important women in history!

Naxos Music Library

The Rohrbach Library is pleased to announce the addition of the Naxos Music Library to our collection of e-resources.

Naxos Music Library is the world’s largest online classical music library.  Currently, it offers streaming access to more than 24,450 CDs with more than 348,700 tracks.  On average, 500 new CDs are added to the library every month.

Library Card Sign-Up Month

September is Library Card Sign-Up Month!

To access the Rohrbach Library’s materials, if you have received a Kutztown University Student Identification card, you can stop by the Main Circulation Desk to activate it for library use.

Gold Library Cards are issued to students who do not have time to get a KU ID card, but require off-campus access to the library’s resources. In order to obtain a Gold Library Card, you must come to the Circulation Desk and present a Photo ID.

For more information, contact the Circulation Desk at: 610-683-4480

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If you do not have a library card for a public library system in your area, we encourage you to sign up today!

Visit the Pennsylvania Public Libary website to find a library near you!  Happy reading!

Free (or at least really cheap!) Textbooks

I’ve got to be honest and say that a “free textbook” sounds a little too good to be true, but these web tools, as described in the New York Times article, “Don’t Buy That Textbook, Download it Free” seem pretty interesting.

The article cites several websites that have jumped on this bandwagon, including an open source website called Connexions, which allows professionals, scholars and students to share and edit scholarly content on the web.

Publishers have caught on to this web-share phenomenon, particularly with the creation of CourseSmart, an online textbook resource endorsed by five major education textbook publishers. E-books are available across a wide range of courses and subjects, and the website advertises that students can save up to 50% off their semester textbook cost by signing up for the service.

On their website, CourseSmart provides student testimonials about the service. One student says,

“By purchasing the eTextbook I got the book instantly and was able to complete my assignments. I enjoy using the CourseSmart eTextbook, because I don’t have to carry the entire book around, I just print the chapters that are going to be covered during that semester; the cost of the eTextbook was in my budget, it was less expensive than going to the college bookstore and standing in the long lines. I recommend the Course Smart eTextbook.”

It sounds like these services have great potential to serve students in numerous ways. Check out their websites for more information and save some money on textbooks today!

7 years…

Today is the seventh anniversary of the attacks that took place in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and in the skies above Pennsylvania.  Today we remember not only those whose lives were cut short, but those whose lives were changed forever at the loss of loved ones, and the men and women who selflessly gave their lives and their time in aid of the suffering.

Take the time today to reflect.  We as Americans are in the middle of a Presidential election, and it is often easy to get caught up in things that we disagree on, rather than to focus on the strengths that we all possess as American people.  Today let us remember the heroism, courage and the passion for freedom that lies within each American.  Let us celebrate, but never forget the meaning of this day in history.

Photo courtesy of this website.

Swap Ideas Day

Today is Swap Ideas Day! In celebration, do your part to encourage creative flow by sharing ideas with friends, colleagues and family! Any ideas you’d like to pass on to us here at the library? Our job is to serve all of your information needs. Visit our Contact page to email us!

Today’s Highlighted Library Service: Article Request

The Rohrbach Library offers a myriad of print and electronic resources its students, faculty, staff and other patrons. However, if there is something that we don’t have within our collections, we will do everything we can to attain it for you! That is why our Article Request form is such a powerful tool, that enables us to retrieve periodical articles that you need from outside sources. If you are in need, fill out the form and allow us to help you in your research process!

Election 2008 Videos

Stay informed by watching coverage of election events, candidate speeches, and other related materials.  Go to CNN’s video site, and click the “By Section” button in the middle of the page.  Click on the “Politics” link on the left side of your screen to view election-related coverage.  For more information check out CNN’s Election Center 2008, one of the most comprehensive election resources on the web.