Monthly Archives: August 2012

New Year, New Look

Posted on by

Friendly research librarians and GAs await you at the relocated research desk.

“This is a new year. A new beginning. And things will change.”

While this quote may be attributed to the prolific Taylor Swift, it’s actually pretty true–and the Undergraduate Library is no exception. Classes just started, but if you’ve already made your way to the UGL (or if you’re planning on doing it soon–which you totally should!), you may notice that a few things are a little different.

For starters, our Research Desk has moved! Now, it’s directly in front of you as you walk in on the upper level (just next to the printers). The librarians and graduate assistants who staff it are no longer sitting behind a tall desk with a bulky computer–instead, we’ve got a mobile iPad so we can better help out anywhere in the library. However, our knowledge and services are still the same–so please stop by with any questions you have about using the library, finding a book, doing research for a homework assignment or how to get to Room 66 (or anything else you can think of).

Our Circulation & Reserves Desk is in the same place, and our wonderful staff and student assistants are also here to help you check out books and movies, find course reserves and use our loanable technology items (among many, many other things). They can also help you activate your I-Card if you are a new student or have a new card this year.

We also updated our printing procedures last spring, so here’s a refresher on how to print in the UGL (we’ve got black & white and color, and you can pay cash or charge it to your student account).

We’re pretty stoked about the new look and the new year, and we hope you are, too! If you’ve got any suggestions, let us know here or in the comments!

 

Twitter Linkedin Digg Delicious Email Tumblr Reddit

Come to the UGL (Quad Day Edition)

Posted on by

Library at Quad Day had informational displays.

The fall semester officially starts on Monday! We know, we know… Where did this summer go? But whether you’re a freshman or a senior (or grad student, faculty, staff, community member, etc.), the UGL is happy to welcome you back to campus–or welcome you back from interim, if you were one of the lucky ones who took summer classes and hung out with us this summer, anyway.

We’ve got lots of exciting things in store for the upcoming school year–some changes big and small that we’ll be chatting about as the school year unfolds. For now, make sure to swing by our table at Quad Day on Sunday, Aug. 26. We’ll be handing out library Frisbees, hour info sheets and other good stuff to know about the campus libraries and how we are here to help you have the best year yet!

In the mean time, make sure you check out our fancy new UGL homepage–we think we’ve made some improvements you’ll appreciate. Don’t forget to “like” us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, too! We post lots of good tips, tricks, service updates and fun facts. (We promise it’s not all about homework and research!) And if you’re already starting to plan out Club UGL meetings in anticipation of said homework, peep our fall hours.

If you want to come in and say hello before the semester starts (yeah!), we’re open this week Monday – Friday from 8:30am to 5pm, and Saturday, Aug. 25 and Sunday, Aug. 26 from 1pm-5pm. (Just a lil’ hint if you need an A/C break during Quad Day…)

Hope to see you soon!

 

Twitter Linkedin Digg Delicious Email Tumblr Reddit

Olympic Glory, Illini Style

Posted on by
Avery Brundage

Avery Brundage at the Opening Ceremony at the 1972 Olympics in Sapporo

The 2012 Summer Olympics are well underway, and true to form, there have been several upsets, surprises and record-breaking performances.

While you’re kicking back on your couch watching the games, pontificating over just how much time these athletes must dedicate to working out (uh, way more than the average college student, we’re guessing), do you ever stop to wonder just how the Olympics get put together year in and year out? A massive amount of planning and coordination is needed, and at the helm is the International Olympic Committee. Only one American has ever served as the president of the IOC–University of Illinois alum and former Illini track and basketball star, Avery Brundage. (There’s even a scholarship named after him!)

Serving as IOC president from 1952-1972, Brundage witnessed many changes to the Olympics, and his decision  to continue the ’72 Munich Games after 11 Israeli athletes were killed by terrorists is still-controversial today. Intrigued to learn more about Mr. Brundage? Us, too! Luckily, the University Archives houses a vast collection of Mr. Brundage’s personal papers, photographs and paraphernalia, along with loads of other Olympic-related goodies.

To search for Olympic-related items (and anything else you might want to research) within the University’s archival collection, here are a few search tips to get started:

The Archives database can be searched via keyword or by record series. We searched for the term Olympics in the search box on the front page of the Archives web site. From there, we got a list of different types of materials, including:

  • Records and Manuscripts
  • Digital Images and Records
  • Unprocessed Materials
  • Subject Headings

We clicked on “Records and Manuscripts,” which brings up a list of collections that are related to our search for Olympics. Scrolling through the list, we found a link to the Avery Brundage Collection. If you click on the link into the collection, you’ll be greeted with a page that looks like this:

screenshot: "service location" means which Archives location has the records you need.

The series number, location of the folders/boxes and description of the collection are all highlighted. If you scroll further down the page, you’ll see a link to the PDF finding aid, which will generally give you a folder listing of everything in the collection. Those finding aids can be keyword searched in adobe as well.

screenshot: the PDF lists and describes the items in the collection.

After a little bit of searching, here are a couple more Olympics-related collections worth checking out:

You can also contact the Archives or visit in person if you would like further help (they’re located in Room 19–in the tunnel between the UGL and the Main Library)!


 

 

Twitter Linkedin Digg Delicious Email Tumblr Reddit