Memorial Day Hours

The library will be open regular hours this Saturday and Sunday. We will be closed Monday, May 30 in honor of Memorial Day. See you bright and early when we reopen at 7:30am Tuesday!

Photo by eddiecoyote. Licensed under Creative Commons.

More than you wanted to know about cicadas

If you're feeling a little crazy because of the cicada swarms, you probably won't take pleasure in knowing that Tennessee is one of the few areas where both 13-year and 17-year cicadas are common. Or that scientists have identified fifteen different annual broods for the two varieties, thus assuring some cicada action almost every year. For this and more about the weird cicada lifecycle see this website from UT-Knoxville.

On the other hand, if you want to take advantage of this phenomenon, you'll be thrilled to learn that cicadas are eaten in many cultures and have been considered a delicacy for centuries. Apparently it's best to catch the newly hatched cicadas, which are then boiled briefly to "solidify their insides." Yum! See more edible bug recipes at this site from the University of Maryland.

Welcome to the Walker Library

At the James E. Walker Library, you are sure to find exactly what you need.

The Library can assist you with:
· Finding information
· Starting your research
· Navigating our website
· Locating books, articles, and other sources

For Quick Help you can:
· IM / Chat with a Librarian
· EMAIL us
· Text us at 265010
· Call 898-2817
· Visit the Reference Desk (1st flr)
Go to: library.mtsu.edu/help or click on the anywhere on the website to get help from a Librarian.

Quick Facts about the Walker Library
· Over 300 computers & dozens of scanners
· Free printing
· Nearly a million books/magazines
· Check out 20 books for up to 4 wks
· University Writing Center
· Digital Media Studio w/ macs & crazy software
· Group study rooms (some reserveable)
· Wireless internet
· Express Printing Stations
· Laptops for checkout
· Quiet Zones on 3rd & 4th floors
· Starbucks

Additional Library information:
Library Hours
Library Jobs
Get started finding information for your project or paper.
Common Questions for students.
Ways you can support the Library
Other Libraries and Archives on campus.

Be sure to follow us on:

Writing Center closed until June 6

The University Writing Center, located in room 362 of the library, will be closed until June 6, 2011.

From June 6 to August 12, the hours are 9 a.m - 3 p.m.

See the Writing Center website for helpful online writing and grammar handouts. For citation guides and generators, see this library page.

Summer Hours Start May 16

The Library will be closed Saturday and Sunday, May 14 and 15.

Summer hours begin when we reopen Monday, May 16, at 7:30 am. Will you be here to join us?

Saturday Power Outage

A campus-wide power outage on Saturday, May 14 means that library online resources, including Infosearch, will be unavailable from 4:30pm on Friday until sometime Saturday afternoon when power is restored. Thanks for your patience.

May Break Hours

Congratulations to all of our graduates! A well-deserved break is (almost) here for all students.

The library will be closed the next two weekends and on a shortened schedule through May 16, but we will be here for you. See all summer hours here.

Photo by Dave Herholz. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Sidelines and Midlander preserved

Old issues of Sidelines and Midlanders have been preserved for years to come.

The Special Collections department of Walker Library has been retaining issues of Sidelines, the MTSU student newspaper, covering 1938 to present. Because of the fragile nature of newsprint paper, the earliest issues were in a brittle, poor condition and were literally falling apart.

Copies were held in a climate controlled area and access was restricted because handling further damaged the issues. A project to have the newspapers microfilmed began last year and has now been completed. Preservation-quality microfilm is predicted to last 500 years. Over 34,000 pages of Sidelines are now available in microfilm in Walker Library’s 2nd floor Digital Media Studio area. The next step is to have the issues digitized and made available online.

Midlander yearbooks (1938—2004) have already been digitized and can be accessed through the MTSU Memory Collection. Also take a look at other library digital collections.

Copyright and Faculty Rights Webinar

The Walker Library along with Instructional Media Resources is sponsoring a webinar for faculty to help them apply copyright laws appropriately in the classroom, research, and scholarship.

Copyright and Faculty Rights
May 12, 2011
12:00 – 1:30 p.m.
Library Conference Room 475

It is not always clear how copyright and fair use laws apply to teaching. The increasing ease of copying and distribution of digital materials raises the stakes even more. Faculty often do not have access to the resources and support they need to sort those challenges out. Join us online to understand the challenges and solutions of applying copyright law in your classrooms, research, and scholarship.

The webinar will cover:

• Ownership of copyrighted works
  



• Copyright in your own works and publications



• Steps to protect and manage your copyright
  



• Publication agreements
  



• Open content requirements
  



• Institutional requirements and open access
  



• Fair use – using and being used (including Google Books)
  

For more information call the Library at 615-898-2772.

photo credit: pryere at flickr.com