Library Newsletter - September 2007 (rev.)
Vol. 12, No. 1
- Word from the Director
- Access Services (Circulation, Course Reserve, E-Reserve, & Media Services)
- Reference Services – Just the Facts!
- Government Documents & Maps
- Acquisitions/Serials
- Dr. Ralph R. Chase West Texas Collection
- University Archive
- Cataloging
- Friends of the Porter Henderson Library and West Texas Collection
- Library Hours – Fall/Spring
- Porter Henderson Library Calendar, 2007-2008
Word from the Director
Maurice G. Fortin, Library Director
Welcome back to another year of change at ASU. Let's see…new president, new system, some new furniture, renovations in many buildings, buildings going up, buildings coming down…like I said, another year of change at ASU.
The Newsletter's first issue of each year is the annual guide to services offered by and operations in the Library, and a means to bring you up to date with some of the changes made during the previous academic year and plans for the coming year. If you have any comments or suggestions, please send them to me (Maurice.Fortin@angelo.edu) or stop by the Library for a chat and a free cup of coffee.
Over the course of this academic year, the Library plans to explore options to change the format of the Library Newsletter. As has been the case in previous years, this first issue of the Newsletter is the only printed issue for the year. In previous years, it would have been one of three issues in the fall semester and three issues in the spring semester. This year the Library will only have three issues of the Newsletter (this printed issue, one electronic issue in late fall, and another electronic issue in late spring). Please watch for announcements about the options for changing the format of the Newsletter. Some of the options being explored include a RSS feed or making more use of the Library Tab on RamPort. I hope you will comment on the most useful options for you to receive this information from the Library.
During FY 07, the Library worked with students, faculty members, and the University Library Committee to make the best use of the Library Fee revenues to increase access to online information and improve services within the Library. The Library used the increased revenues from the Library Fee to pick up the cost of all online services paid from academic department allocations from the Materials Budget. Many of the departments used this unencumbered allocation to acquire new online services or additional monographic and serial resources. This fulfilled a library goal to increase the available online and print resources on campus.
Information Technology and the Library continued to plan and develop designs for the Information Commons on the Library's First Floor and a general remodeling throughout the Library. Because of the change to the Texas Tech University System, the Information Commons planning process is awaiting the expertise of the Tech System's office staff. Hopefully, the final design and bid specifications will be completed in the coming year.
Because of this delay in the planning process for the Information Commons, the Library had to find more space for the circulating collection on the Library's Second Floor. Planning also had to include space for a majority of the Reference Collection materials that will move to the Second Floor upon the creation of the Information Commons. As a result, I decided to create a "Remote Circulating Collection" (RCC) by utilizing the old archives room (from when the West Texas Collection was on the Second Floor). Long runs of proceedings, collected papers, symposia collections, society yearbooks, association annuals, and other similar materials will be moved into the RCC. All materials in the RCC will continue to circulate and be easily retrieved for any user or researcher.
Please come over to the Library and try out the new Quiet Study Room on the east side of the Second Floor. During the summer, the Library converted part of the old reading room space of the former West Texas Collection area into a quiet study area with comfortable furniture and a few study carrels. The Library is working with the Art and Music Department to use this area to showcase student art work. The plan is to have three shows a year. The first showing should begin in late October or early November. The former quiet study space in the southwest corner of the Second Floor was converted into group study space. The new space is large enough for three groups to study together, work on a project, or review presentation materials.
The remaining sections in the Newsletter provide more details on other significant improvements and new services. Again let me welcome you back to another great year at Angelo State University.
Access Services (Circulation, Course Reserve, E-Reserve, & Media Services)
Angela Skaggs, Head of Access Services
Circulation
Some Important Points
- On August 27, the first day of class, the Library will resume opening at 7:30 a.m., Monday through Friday, and the Library will remain open until 2:00 a.m.! Normal operating hours during the Fall and Spring semesters will be Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Sunday from 1:00 p.m. until midnight.
- Your activated ASU OneCard is your library card.
- When you check material out, the Library will give you a printed receipt that indicates when the item is due. If you lose your receipt, just log onto RamCat (click on the red "Login" box at the top of the screen and follow the directions) and check online to see what you have checked out and when it is due. From the same screen, you can even do online renewals of materials that are eligible for renewal.
- Please note: So that staff may conduct closing procedures, the Circulation Desk closes 15 minutes before the doors of the Library are locked. You will need to conclude your Circulation business prior to this time. Bells are sounded approximately 30 minutes and 15 minutes prior to closing to alert users that closing time is approaching.
Borrowing Periods and Privileges
Regular circulating books borrowed from the Porter Henderson Library have the following loan periods:
- Undergraduate Students: 21-day loan period, 3 renewals, no limit on number of items; maximum of 5 overdue items before blocking;
- Graduate Students: 42-day loan period, 1 renewal, no limit on number of items; maximum of 5 overdue items before blocking;
- ASU Faculty: semester loan period, 5 renewals, no limit on number of items; maximum of 5 overdue items before blocking;
- ASU Staff: 42-day loan period, 1 renewal, no limit on number of items; maximum of 5 overdue items before blocking;
- Family Members of ASU Faculty/Staff: 21-day loan period, 1 renewal, limited to 10 items; maximum of 5 overdue items before blocking;
- ASU Faculty/Staff Retirees and Their Spouses: 21-day loan period, 1 renewal, limited to 10 items; maximum of 5 overdue items before blocking.
Juvenile books circulate for a 7-day loan period to all borrowers except ASU faculty, who receive a semester loan period, subject to recall after the initial 21 days.
Audio-visual materials from the Media Collection circulate for a 7-day loan period to ASU faculty. Other borrowers are limiited to a 3-day loan.
A Word of Caution: You are responsible for all library materials checked out on your OneCard. ASU Faculty/Staff and Retirees are also responsible for all items checked out to their dependents. Changes in family status should be reported to the Circulation Desk so that the database files can be kept current. Treat your ASU OneCard as you would a credit card. If your card is lost or stolen, report it immediately to the Circulation Desk so that your old card can be blocked. A new OneCard can be obtained at the ASU OneCard Office (Room 209, Hardeman Bldg.).
Remember to let the Library's Circulation Desk know about changes in your current address and telephone number. This will enable the Library to send you:
- courtesy reminders about overdue books;
- notices concerning the availability of items on which you may have placed "holds" or "recalls";
- recall notices alerting you that an item you have checked out has been recalled and now has a new due date;
- notices that an item you wanted, which was "in processing", is now ready and waiting for you.
TexShare Library Card Program
TexShare is a state-wide cooperative program designed to improve library service to all Texans. The TexShare Library Card Program allows registered users of
participating TexShare institutions to have direct, personal access to library materials that are not available at the home institution. Many Texas public and academic
libraries participate in the Card Program. For ASU students, faculty, and staff to participate, a person must:
- obtain a TexShare Card at the Porter Henderson Library's Circulation Desk;
- present identification as required;
- observe the policies of the lending library;
- return the materials in person or by first-class mail to the lending library;
- pay assessed charges for lost materials, or materials returned late or damaged;
- surrender the TexShare card if requested by TexShare library staff.
Policies of TexShare libraries can be found under "TexShare Library Information" on the TexShare web site.
Circulation Desk personnel issue TexShare Library Cards. Library staff can also assist you in identifying participating libraries.
Course Reserve
Faculty should make requests for placing materials on reserve at least ONE working week prior to the date on which the materials are needed. The time required to process reserve requests varies with the workload of the Circulation/Reserves unit, the availability of materials, and the accuracy of the information supplied with the request. All requests are processed in the order received.
Course Reserve materials circulate for one of the following loan periods, as designated by the requesting faculty member:
- Closed Reserve must be used in-house, must be returned within 2 hours, and cannot be renewed.
- 24-Hour Reserve can be checked out whenever the Circulation Desk is open, and must be returned before the library closes the next day.
- 3-Day Reserve can be checked out whenever the Circulation Desk is open, and must be returned any time prior to closing three days later.
To facilitate maximum access to these materials for all students, no renewals are permitted for the items placed on Course Reserve, and students are asked to limit themselves to only 2 Reserve items at a time.
E-Reserve
The Library now offers E-Reserve services (E-Res). This service gives any ASU faculty member the option of placing articles, personal items, and chapters from books and reference materials on reserve in electronic format, rather than in paper format. The Library requests that you choose either electronic or paper format for each item on reserve. The same item cannot be placed on reserve in both formats. If the item placed on E-Reserve is copyrighted, the Library will work with the faculty member to assign a password for use by members of the class. In order to view materials placed on E-Reserve, students must go to the E-Reserve web site, select the specific document they wish to access, and enter the E-Reserve password for that item.
What Are the Advantages?
- E-Reserves are available to students 24/7 from anywhere on- or off-campus.
- ASU faculty members will be able to place materials on E-Reserve without leaving their offices or homes.
- ASU faculty members can more easily comply with copyright law by restricting access to reserve materials only to students in their courses.
- Regardless of the size of the class, only one electronic copy is needed to allow all students in the class to access the item.
- The ASU Library E-Reserve service is fully compatible with Blackboard.
How Do ASU Faculty Members Get Started?
- All Course Reserve requests (including E-Res) will be processed in the order received.
- Course Reserve requests (including E-Res) should be submitted to the Circulation Unit at least one working week prior to the date when items will be needed in order to permit adequate time for necessary processing.
- Go to http://ereserve.angelo.edu/eres/. From this page, you may select from either of two kinds of forms – choose the one that best meets your needs:
Microsoft Word document: Simply download the file to your own computer, complete it off-line and save it for your
records. When ready, you can print the form and bring/send the printout along with a clean, single-sided, unstapled copy of the item listed to the Library Circulation desk, for scanning; or email the form as an attachment to Angela Skaggs. If you assign many of the same readings from year to year, you can keep your Word file to send again in the future, saving yourself retyping your bibliography.
Adobe PDF file: Fill out the form online and click the "Submit" button to have the information emailed directly to the
Library Circulation staff member in charge of E-Reserve, or print it and bring/send the printout along with a clean, single-sided, unstapled copy of the item listed to the Library Circulation desk, for scanning.
[Acrobat Reader 6.0 or higher is required to view and fill out this form; Acrobat Standard or Professional is required to save the data, once the form has been filled out.]
If you have any questions regarding E-reserve policies and procedures, please contact Angela Skaggs (Angela.Skaggs@angelo.edu / (325) 942-2051) or Antonella Ward (Antonella.Ward@angelo.edu / (325) 942-2051).
Media Services
Staff
Although the Media Collection is not staffed during all Library hours, the Collection can be accessed at all times by asking at the Circulation Desk for assistance. Media Collection staff members also provide assistance to users of the Library's microform collections.
Collection
The Media Collection contains the Library's non-print materials – VHS tapes, laserdiscs (LDs), DVDs, CDs, audiocassettes, and LPs. Viewing and listening equipment is available for everyone's in-library use. Faculty and staff can check out some of the equipment for classroom use.
Major Services
- The regular checkout period for faculty is one week; students and other library users have a 3-day checkout period.
- Faculty may place 1-day or 2-hours "In Room Use" reserves on Media materials. Additionally, you may bring in personal materials for student use. All personal materials are limited to "In Room Use."
- The Media Collection has a small Viewing Room that can accommodate approximately 20 people. Please call ahead for reservations if you would like to use the Viewing Room for a class.
Other Services
- For a small fee, overhead transparencies and laminations (less than 50 pages) can be made for ASU students, faculty, and staff.
- Three coin-operated microform reader/printers are located outside of the Media Collection for patron use. We also provide custom printing service upon request.
- For information about requesting a video purchase, please contact Antonella Ward at 942-2051.
Should you have any questions or requests concerning the Media Collection, please contact Antonella Ward, Media Services Librarian, at 942-2051, or Irma Haney, Library Assistant, at 942-2313.
Note: Information Technology's Multimedia Production provides access to satellite teleconferences and channels such as the PBS Adult Learning Satellite Service. Contact Purnell Curtis, Multimedia Support Specialist, or Elaine Beach, Customer Support Manager, (942-2911) for more information.
Reference Services – Just the Facts!
Mark Allan, Head Reference Librarian
Functions
Fact: RamPort is the primary online access point to the Library for students, faculty, and staff.
The Reference Unit at ASU's Porter Henderson Library is responsible for a variety of functions including:
- educating University students, faculty, and staff in the use of information resources,
- facilitating the University population's access to information resources,
- providing assistance to Library users – in particular, the University population – with regard to the use of these resources, and
- helping to identify information resources relevant to the University's curriculum and population.
In addition, the Reference Unit encompasses Government Documents and Interlibrary Loan. Janetta Paschal, the Government Documents Librarian, addresses Government Documents on page 8 of the Newsletter.
Education – Information Literacy
Fact: Most students THINK they are more competent at doing research than they actually are.
The Reference Unit encourages faculty whose students are going to be performing research to schedule library instruction sessions. These sessions afford students the opportunity to learn about general or topic-specific resources available in the Library, research techniques applicable to these resources, as well as the evaluation and utilization of information. To schedule either a general lower-division session or a more specific, advanced session for upper-division or graduate students, please contact Mark Allan at (325) 942-2511 or Mark.Allan@angelo.edu.
Alternatively, the Library is increasingly making use of online tutorials in order to better meet the needs of ASU faculty, as well as both on and off-campus ASU students. Online library tutorials meeting the needs of several large populations of ASU students have been developed for subjects including English 1302, Biology 1480, and Nursing (Undergraduate and Graduate). If your Department has a large student population that you feel may be benefited by a general or specialized online tutorial, please contact the Library Director, Maurice Fortin, at Maurice.Fortin@angelo.edu or (325) 942-2222.
Student and Faculty Assistance - Reference Desk
Fact: The Reference Desk is staffed 69 hours per week.
Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to make use of the Reference Desk when "ready reference" services are needed. The Librarians who provide reference assistance consider the development of information literacy skills a priority for our students. To help inculcate these skills, the Librarians staffing the Desk are happy to instruct and assist patrons in the use of the Library's wide range of electronic and print services, as well as in the searching techniques required to utilize these resources effectively. Patrons are encouraged to ask for assistance at the Reference Desk, by sending e-mail to Reference@angelo.edu, or by calling (325) 942-2141.
Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery
Fact: Most Interlibrary Loan article requests are fulfilled electronically, with the pertinent articles currently being made available to the requestor in a digital format from an online ASU computer.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL) services are available to Angelo State University students, faculty and staff for books, articles, and other resources that are not owned by the Library. These items can often be obtained from another library, subject to copyright restrictions. Usually there is no charge for ILL; a fee will be passed on only if the lending institution charges one.
All books requested through ILL must be checked out at the Circulation Desk. Alternatively, faculty can designate a proxy to pick up their items. Complete the "Faculty Checkout Request Form" and present it to the Circulation Desk staff, AS WELL AS the proxy's activated ASU OneCard AND the Faculty member's activated OneCard. Every one of these elements is required in order to protect against fraud and preserve the privacy and integrity of the Faculty member's Library account. All patrons (including faculty) with overdue ILL books will be assessed a one dollar per day overdue fee.
Most Interlibrary Loan article requests are fulfilled electronically, with the pertinent articles being made available to the requestor in a digital format from an online ASU computer. The requestor is e-mailed a web link and a PIN number, and the requestor can then access the digitized item online, to be printed or saved. The library hopes to implement e-mailing articles directly to the requestor's official ASU e-mail account later this year.
ILL requests can be submitted three ways:
- through links in the various online bibliographic databases;
- through the Library's online catalog, RamCat;
- web forms on the Library's web site.
For more information contact Sharon Weber at (325) 942-2154, or Sharon.Weber@angelo.edu.
Collection Development
Fact: The Reference Unit assists with collection development in both the Library's Reference and Circulating collections.
The Library Reference Unit makes purchasing recommendations based upon Angelo State University's curriculum and user base regarding both print and online resources.
Government Documents & Maps
Janetta Paschal, Government Documents/ Reference Librarian
Government Documents
Government Documents are part of the Reference Unit of the Porter Henderson Library. The Library has been a member of the Texas State Publications Depository Program since 1963, and a selective depository for the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) since 1964.
Paper and microfiche publications from Texas and United States are located at the back of the Reference Room. Electronic documents on CD/DVDs are filed in the CD-ROM cabinets in the Reference Room near the US Documents microfiche cabinets. These two collections have their own classification schemes (call numbers) and are shelved separately from the rest of the materials in the room. However, some federal documents appearing in series, such as the U.S. Geological Survey water-supply papers, the Smithsonian contributions to zoology, or the Foreign relations of the United States, have been assigned Library of Congress classification numbers and are shelved on the Second Floor of the Library. Some standard documents reference titles, such as the Occupational outlook handbook and the Statistical abstract of the United States, are shelved in the Reference Collection. Government publications received on video are housed in the Media Collection.
Since government publications are useful for all types of research and personal information needs, how do you locate these items, no matter what format, in the Library's collections? All current physical government publications received by the Library are fully cataloged and appear in RamCat. If an online version of such a document is also available, there is a link included in the bibliographic information section in RamCat. You can access the titles via these links, 24/7, from anywhere on- or off-campus. Even though the Library will not have physical copies of these titles, the records in RamCat will show a location of either "Texas Document Online Resource" or "U.S. Document Online Resource." The majority of these electronic documents are in HTML, ASCII text, or PDF formats. Links to these digital government publications can also be used in bibliographies of course readings in Blackboard.
The Government Printing Office (GPO) makes about 225,000 titles available via GPO Access. GPO staff members assign persistent uniform resource locations (PURLs) to those items located on other governmental web sites and archive other publications on its permanent access servers. As GPO is making strides to fulfill the Congressional mandate to transition the FDLP to an all-electronic program, it is distributing fewer and fewer titles in a physical format. (For example, in July 2007, GPO cataloged 1,885 titles, yet only distributed 581 of those to depository libraries as paper, microfiche, maps, video, or CD/DVDs. In fiscal year 2005, 12,888 titles were distributed. In 2006 that number had dropped to 10,748. Through July 2007, only 7,213 titles had been distributed.)
To assist users in locating and accessing these online-only publications, the Library subscribed to MARCIVE's GPO Services in spring 2007. This service provides monthly files of bibliographic records for those online-only publications that the Library has "selected." These records are loaded into RamCat where they can be retrieved in the usual manner (by title, author, subject, or keyword searches). From March through August, the Library loaded nearly 1,600 records for these online titles. Some examples include country studies (the "area handbook series" from the Army) and country profiles (from the Library of Congress); alcohol, drug, and tobacco awareness titles; reports and studies from the Government Accountability Office, the Congressional Budget Office, the Strategic Studies Institute, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and the Economic Research Service (Dept. of Agriculture); and consumer health information publications. Web sites and databases with records in RamCat include DailyMed, TOXNET, Health Care Consumer Initiative, Genetics Home Reference, Kidz Privacy, and FTC's Identity Theft Site.
The Government Documents unit also provides web pages that list various online resources for Texas and United States government information, including web sites for departments, agencies, and other related organizations. (See the main "Government Documents & Maps" web page.)
There are several online indexes available to help locate government publications. WorldCat in FirstSeach includes government publications since depository libraries and GPO use this service for cataloging purposes. GPO Monthly Catalog, also in FirstSearch, covers 1976 to the present. GPO completed the implementation of their new integrated library system (an "online catalog"). This retains the title Catalog of U.S. Government Publications, the name of the older online index it replaces, and covers 1976 to the present. The Catalog, containing over 500,000 historical and current bibliographic records from July 1976, can be accessed directly at http://catalog.gpo.gov/F, from the main "Government Documents & Maps" web page, and through a link in GPO Access. Links to electronic documents appear in all of these online indexes.
Unfortunately, there are no comparable online indexes or catalogs for Texas publications. Information on state publications received by the Library can be located in RamCat. Texas publications also appear in WorldCat and some can be located via TRAIL (Texas Records and Information Locator); you can access TRAIL at
http:// www2.tsl.state.tx.us/trail/. The link can be found on the main "Government Documents & Maps" web page and the three "Texas Government Information" web pages. Increasingly, state agencies are including copies of their publications on their web sites.
Please contact the Government Documents Librarian for assistance if you need help locating state or federal publications, whether or not they are present in our collections.
If you have any questions about government information or government documents and how they can provide additional resources for your classes and/or research, contact Janetta Paschal, Government Documents Librarian, at Janetta.Paschal@angelo.edu or (325) 942-2300.
Maps
The majority of the Porter Henderson Library's map collection in the Reference Room consists of 4,800 maps of the USGS 7.5 minute and 15 minute series Texas topographic maps.
The forty topographic maps covering Tom Green County and many of the maps for the surrounding counties have been cataloged. Search RamCat for the subject "Texas–Maps, Topographic" to retrieve a list of those quadrangles that have been cataloged at this time. Finding lists for both the 7.5 minute series and the 15 minute series are available online at the "Topographic Maps and Resources" page.
Maps published by both governments can also be found elsewhere in the Reference Room. Users can find the Geologic atlas of Texas sheets and the Geologic quadrangle maps of Texas in the Texas Documents Collection. Soil survey maps of Texas counties are located with the Soil surveys in the United States Documents Collection under the general call number of "A 57.38:"; these surveys are then filed alphabetically by county name.
Just as other types of publications are appearing on the Internet, many maps are now available online as well. The "Maps, Aerial Photographs, and Satellite Images" web page, organized by subject, includes links to a wealth of online information on maps, aerial photographs, and satellite images.
Check Them Out
Government documents housed in the United States and Texas Documents Collections can be checked out. The borrowing periods and privileges differ from those for circulating items elsewhere in the Library. For more detailed information please see "Policy & Procedure Memorandum #4: Circulation" on the Library's web site at http://www.angelo.edu/services/library/policies/ppm4.html.
Borrowing Periods and Privileges for Government Documents
Regular circulating documents (Texas and United States) borrowed from the Porter Henderson Library have the following loan periods:
- Undergraduate and Graduate Students, and ASU Staff: 21-day loan period, 2 renewals, no limit on the number of items.
- ASU Faculty: 21-day loan period, 5 renewals, and no limit on number of items. For the term of their appointments, graduate students serving as Teaching Assistants will have the same borrowing privileges as ASU faculty.
Maps and CD-ROMs from the government documents collections may also be checked out for use at home or in offices on campus. These items have the following loan periods:
- Undergraduate and Graduate Students, and ASU Staff: 3 days, 1 renewal.
- ASU Faculty: 1 week, 2 renewals.
Government documents, in many instances, are paperback in nature, and easily damaged when returned in the book drops. Therefore, users must return government documents to the Circulation Desk. The borrower will be responsible for any damage to said items.
Acquisitions/Serials
Javad Maher, Acquisitions Librarian
The primary responsibilities of the Acquisitions Unit are to coordinate collection development activities, purchase library materials, and license access to electronic information resources. Members of the faculty have been assisting the Library in the selection of materials to satisfy their and their students' research needs and to build the collection for future scholars. Funds covering the purchase of library materials and access charges are allocated annually to academic departments, based on a formula devised by the University Library Committee.
Ordering Library Materials
Faculty requests to purchase new resources for the Library are generally made through the head of each academic department. Orders must be approved by the head of the department or by an appointed representative/liaison before materials can be ordered. Library resources may be ordered through the "Library Materials Purchase Request Form" at http://www.angelo.edu/services/library/acq/acquisitions1.html or by using printed order request cards or other methods (e.g., marking trade catalogs, bibliographies, or Choice cards). Order request cards are available from this Unit and at the Circulation or Reference Desks.
Rush orders may be submitted via e-mail to Acquisitions@angelo.edu, by filling out the online order form, or by faxing to the Library (942-2198). Rush orders must be clearly marked "RUSH" to be processed as such.
All order requests need to be submitted before April 15th of each year so that the Library is able to meet its deadline for the commitment of its budget. After April 15th, any remaining funds in academic accounts will be placed in the "Excellence Fund." Each academic department may submit requests for expensive library materials that normal allocations cannot cover. A subcommittee from the University Library Committee will then approve expenditures from the Excellence Fund.
Every other month, reports of the academic departments' library budget status are sent to heads of departments and library liaison officers. Academics deans receive a monthly report.
The latest departmental library fund balances are also available in RamPort on the Library tab. This announcement is only available for viewing by faculty members. Look
for "Library Materials Budget for Academic Departments" in the Library Announcements section below Online Resources. (See the example to the left.)
Please do not hesitate to inquire about your budgetary situation at any time. Members of the faculty or requesting departments are notified by the Library of any canceled orders and the reason for the cancellation. Turnaround time varies according to the format of the materials ordered, and ranges from two to twelve weeks. The arrival time can also vary due to the date of publication/production. Last year the average turnaround time was 16 days.
Acquisitions' Sections
The Monographs Section is responsible for ordering and processing monographs. As orders are placed, a record is entered into Voyager (RamCat) so that patrons will be aware that the item is "on order." Upon receipt, the status will change to "received" as the material is sent to Cataloging for processing for the collection.
The Serials Section is responsible for ordering, receiving, claiming and preserving print serial titles and online databases. There are presently 1,440 current print subscriptions, over 400 standing order titles, and 20,060 online full-text journals available to the ASU community.
The Financial Section is responsible for accounting and record keeping of the Materials Budget. It also handles standing orders/continuations.
General questions and specific inquiries about the status of orders should be directed to the main number (942-2312). For additional information and many useful links to the publishing world, please visit Acquisitions' web page at http://www.angelo.edu/services/library/acq/index.html on the Library's web site.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Javad Maher, Acquisitions Librarian, at Javad.Maher@angelo.edu or (325) 942-2312.
Dr. Ralph R. Chase West Texas Collection
Suzanne Campbell, Head of the West Texas Collection
The Dr. Ralph R. Chase West Texas Collection (WTC), located on the second floor of the Houston Harte University Center, collects, stores, preserves, and makes accessible selected historical and genealogical manuscripts, records, books, pictorial, and other related materials for scholarly research. The WTC also serves as the primary depository for documents and records related to the history, development, and operations of Angelo State University.
Subjects covered by materials in the Collection include genealogy, Texas history, folklore, Mexico and the Revolution, and farming and ranching. Manuscript holdings include personal and family papers, courthouse records, and records of organizations.
The WTC houses photographs and negatives in various collections, including a large number of photographs from the San Angelo Standard-Times which detail the evolution of San Angelo and the surrounding areas. The microform holdings include census records (complete for Texas), tax rolls, death indexes, and many area newspapers.
In addition, the WTC hosts displays pertaining to collections, interests, and events. Currently, a display featuring the Battle of Ojinaga during the Mexican Revolution is on exhibit. New history faculty member, John Klingemann, will speak about the battle at the Friends Annual Meeting at 6:30 on September 13. The next display will feature World War II, in particular the war's impact on San Angelo College. In the Spring 2008 semester, the WTC hopes to have an exhibit on early spurs.
University Archive
Shannon Sturm, University Archivist
The University Archive (UA) is located in the West Texas Collection on the second floor of the Houston Harte University Center. Materials within the archive cover a wide range of topics and sources relating to the history of Angelo State University. Some documents date back to 1928 and the founding of San Angelo Junior College. Included among the holdings are yearbooks, student newspapers, catalogs, course schedules, photographs, reports, and administrative files. These resources are stored in a temperature- and humidity-controlled environment.
The staff welcomes the addition of new materials to the Archive. In particular, the UA aims to collect copies of all faculty publications; copies or bibliographic information can be sent via departmental mail (attention Shannon Sturm) or e-mail (Shannon Sturm@angelo.edu). A guide is available upon request to help departments decide if their files are suitable for transfer. The University Archive is available to students, faculty, staff, and the general public. Patrons can view documents in the reading room of the Dr. Ralph R. Chase West Texas Collection. For further information please contact Suzanne Campbell or Shannon Sturm at (325) 942-2164.
Cataloging
Shirley Richardson, Catalog Librarian
The Cataloging Unit receives new materials from the Acquisitions Unit and prepares them for use by the Library's patrons. The materials, which may include books, serials, media, or computer software, are cataloged using the Library of Congress classification system and national standards for descriptive and subject cataloging. Most of the cataloging records are obtained from an international cooperative network of libraries, OCLC. They are downloaded from the OCLC database into RamCat and revised as necessary. Some materials for which no cataloging record exists require original cataloging by our staff. These original records are added to the OCLC database for other libraries around the world to use. After cataloging, the materials are processed and sent to the shelves for patron use.
Friends of the Porter Henderson Library and West Texas Collection
The Friends organization helps promote the Library and the West Texas Collection in the community. Since their organization in 1998, the Friends have purchased furniture and equipment, furnished coffee for the students during finals, helped with displays, conducted an annual book sale, sponsored workshops, and established the Joe Bill Lee Scholarship for a student assistant in either the Library or WTC. During the 2005-2006 academic year, they established another scholarship, the Dr. Henry Ricci Memorial Scholarship, in the Nursing Department. This award honors the life and work of the late Friends Board Member and ASU supporter, Dr. Henry Ricci.
Faculty and staff are encouraged to support this worthwhile organization. Contact Suzanne Campbell at Suzanne.Campbell@angelo.edu or (325) 942-2164 if you are interested in becoming a Friend.
Library Hours – Fall/Spring (when school is in session) and
Porter Henderson Library Calendar, 2007-2008*
[Connect to the "Library and WTC Hours of Operation (and Calendar)" web page.]