The University Libraries has continued its partnership with the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) by absorbing several years of back issues from the ATCC Reading Room journal collection into the Prince William Campus Library (PWL) journal collection. At the same time, staff members have created an Excel database to aid in tracking current journals as they arrive at the ATCC Reading Room. These changes will lower the rate of journal loss from the ATCC Reading Room and make journals more easily accessible  to PWL researchers. All ATCC journals that have been added to the PWL collection are listed in the Libraries’ Online Catalog. To see a list of ATCC/PWL journals that includes current journals in the ATCC Reading Room, go to:
http:mason.gmu.edu/~jedelman/atccjrnl.html

Jennifer Edelman

Integrating Libraries into the Curriculum

During the past three years, the Johnson Center Library has been working closely with the UNIV Transition Course Series program to incorporate library concepts into its UNIV 100 student workbook. The workbook contains chapters on topics such as health, leadership, healthy relationships and diversity, and academic success skills. Each chapter now contains a bibliography of related materials found in the University Libraries. This is significant because it shows students that the library has resources to help them with all aspects of their college career, not just for their papers.
These bibliographies are used in conjunction with a library exercise that gives students practice using bibliographies, discerning book citations from article citations, using the library catalog, and finding articles in the University Libraries. Amy Hirvonen, the new Liaison Librarian to the UNIV Transition Course program, is currently working on a separate chapter to be included in the 2000/2001 UNIV 100 student workbook.

Amy K. Hirvonen 

Individual Impact Awards

Seven staff members, two at the Arlington Campus Library and five at Fenwick Library, through their hard work and dedicated service, have been awarded Individual Impact Awards.
The recipients at the Arlington Campus were Chris Frick and Robert Harvey, who are deserving of this award for their outstanding contribution to the recent renovation of the Arlington Campus Library. This renovation involved not just moving shelves, furniture and books back and forth on several occasions, but also showing ingenuity in reassembling the different looking shelves in such a way that they provided a more esthetically appealing look to the library. They also reconfigured the library set-up with a view to improving layout, accessibility of resources and general public service. Additionally, they devised a system for moving over 25,000 volumes of books at least three times. They also coordinated the work of the 8-10 students who worked on the project, including the logistics of scheduling university transportation, driving the students back and forth to Fairfax, and devising a system for loading and unloading book carts. Overall, the project went smoothly, and much of this was due to Robert’s and Chris’ enthusiastic attitude, planning, foresight and hard work. 
The five recipients from Fenwick Library were Sylvia Gortner, Mai Ngo, Jib Vititpongs, Linda Swann, and Friedgard Cowan, who were granted this award for their exceptionally hard work and dedicated service in eliminating the cataloging backlog resulting from the conversion  to the Voyager System and the renovation of the technical services office area with its attendant disruption of the work area. The cataloging backlog accumulated during the migration (and attendant cleaning up) to the new system. The fact that the staff needed to move out of and then back into their offices in the summer of 1998 did not improve the situation and the backlog continued to increase. By dint of hard work and putting all their efforts into reducing the ten month backlog of books, Sylvia, Jib, Mai, Linda, and Friedgard cataloged approximately 44,260 volumes in the past twelve months, reducing the backlog of items on the shelf to only one month. Due to their combined efforts, the users of the University Libraries now have access to the most recent titles in the collection, and staff at public services desks have fewer requests for items showing “received status.”

Joan O’Hair

Librarians Participate in Smithsonian Lecture Series

In Summer 2000, six Mason librarians participated in an educational program offered by the Smithsonian Associates, a membership-based continuing education program offered in classrooms on “the Mall” in Washington, DC. The  University Libraries developed and offered the series in partnership with DOIIIT’s Instructional Resource Center (IRC), the faculty support center for technology integration at Mason.
The series offered by the library and the IRC was “The World Wide Web: Come On In—the Surfing’s Fine!” The series of presentations focused on the history and basic facets of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Special topics included web-based instruction, e-commerce, consumer health information on the Web, searching on the Web and evaluating web-based information; and web site planning and design.
Librarians who participated were Scott Brievold, Lara Bushallow, Craig Gibson, Heather Groves Hannan, Thys Van Schaik, and Kevin Simmons. Instructional Resource Center staff in the series were Cindy McCourt and Sharon Windmayer. The very positive response of the Smithsonian Associates members attending has resulted in another invitation to offer the series in spring 2001.

Craig Gibson

Pre-1980 Journal Document Delivery A Success!

Since the pre-1980 journals were moved from Fenwick Library to the Arlington Campus Library, the University Libraries staff has worked hard to insure the timely delivery of articles to George Mason faculty, staff, and students throughout the distributed university. Procedures were established to make sure that requests for pre-1980 journal articles housed at Arlington were filled within 24-48 hours (with the exception of Campus/U.S. Mail delivery). The Arlington Campus Library staff has been able to fill requests within 15-60 minutes from the time Arlington receives the requests to the time the requests are sent to Fairfax and Prince William by Ariel, a system which transmits documents electronically using Internet software.
Requests via the Inter-Library Loan Department are usually sent to Arlington by noon. Email requests sent directly to the Arlington Campus Library are processed three times per day. With the Arlington Campus Library now open seven days a week, the staff is able to respond to requests daily. Requests for items not located at Arlington are immediately sent to the ILL Department for processing. Any requests with incorrect/incomplete citation information are immediately returned to the patron to obtain full information. 
Thanks to all the hard work of the Arlington Campus Library staff, the ILL Department, and the Circulation staff at Fenwick and Prince William, the project has been handled successfully.

Laura Burns

Library Tutorial To Be Launched On The Web

A group of reference instruction librarians in the University Libraries are working on a new way to introduce students to the basics of library research– via the World Wide Web.
The Library Web Tutorial (or Web Tut for short) is a web site that guides novice users through the library research process. It includes an interactive testing component (developed by Mason’s Hyperlearning Center), which can be used to assess students’ knowledge of Web Tut’s content when it’s used for course-integrated library instruction. A “public” version will also be featured on the library’ web site for anyone who wishes to view it. 
Several pilot tests of Web Tut have been conducted in English Composition classes. The students were asked to provide feedback on the content, design, and usefulness of the site. One student from an English 302 class had this to say: “The web tutorial is a great source for learning how to do research. It’s easy to use and understand.” 
The four modules help by dividing the information into useful categories. Module 1 describes the basics of searching through databases. There are a lot of helpful hints on how and where to search. Module 2 contains information on the library catalog. The step-by-step visual guides are very helpful. Module 3 provides information on how to find articles using an article database. There is a “research zone” and visuals that explain how to use electronic resources. Module 4 provides tips on searching the web effectively. Another student added, “I had no clue what to do or where to go in the library and this helped me out a lot. Thanks.” 

Scott Brievold 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

New Library Web Page

The University Libraries has streamlined its web site, http://library.gmu.edu. The web site now provides quicker and easier access to the most frequently used resources and information. The revisions were done with the research and information needs of users in mind. Changes were needed to accommodate the growing amount of information and resources, in addition to feedback gathered from the library survey conducted during the Spring 2000 semester and from comments received via the web site over the past few months. 
The web site features a new navigation system arranged for ease of use. The main focus of the page is the categories on the left side: Library Catalogs; Databases; Reference; Help with Research; and Web Guides and Tools. These categories, previously listed under the “Electronic Resources” section on the old library web site, are now accessible in one click. Visitors are easily able to access University Libraries’ Catalog in addition to several other online catalogs and the online databases from the main page. 
Second level page formats remain the same throughout much of the site, with the exception  of a new navigation  bar at the bottom of these pages. The right side of the page provides information about the libraries, including: hours, news, and information about the libraries’ services and collections.
This new design is more user friendly and allows visitors, whether or not they have visited the site previously, to access quickly the wealth of information instantly. Highlights include: 

• Events & News—Spotlight on library news, events and new library acquisitions.
• Databases—Lists over 300 databases to search for journal articles, newspaper articles, statistics, and bibliographical information. Includes access to web-based resources instantly. (Note: Because of licensing restrictions, Web access is primarily restricted by IP address. If not using the Mason network, off-campus users must use the proxy service at http://magik.gmu.edu/lso/proxy.html)
• Help with Research—Need assistance with research? Here’s the place to go. You may email your question, take a library class, or use the online Research Guide to get you started.
• E-journals—A selective list of full-text electronic journals arranged alphabetically. Check to see if the particular issue you need is online. (Note: Because of licensing restrictions, Web access is primarily restricted by IP address. If not using the Mason network, off-campus users must use the proxy service at http://magik.gmu.edu/lso/proxy.html)

As technology advances, the Web becomes a more important tool and method of communication. Because the Web evolves and changes occur dynamically in this type of environment, so does the libraries’ web site to better serve its visitors.
Special thanks goes to the members of the Library Web Task Force, S. Brievold, H. Hannan, W. Grotophorst, C. McCourt, E. Pirrung, A. Taylor, B. Vay and M. Velez, for all their efforts and hard work as well as to the many people who have sent in comments about the Libraries’ Web site over the past eighteen months.
Please send your feedback on our new design and any suggestions that you may have. We would appreciate hearing from you at lbushall@gmu.edu

Lara Bushallow

Welcome and Congratulations to New and Promoted Staff

Matthew Adcock:  Circulation Assistant fenwick)
Sandgria Banks:  Serials Coordinator (ACL)
Rebecca Barker:  Reserves Coordinator (ACL)
Jennifer Bradshaw:  Reading Room Supervisor,    Special Collections & Archives (Fenwick)
Benjamin Brown:  Stacks Manager/Student            Supervisor (JCL)
Chris Cave:  Evening/Student Supervisor (PWCL)
Chan Chet:  Holds/Recalls (JCL)
Paul Coley:  Library Assistant, Periodicals and       Microforms (Fenwick)
Johnathan Fiencke: Support Staff, Document         Acquisitions and Delivery (Fenwick)
Edward Fishwick:  Humanities Reference Librarian (Fenwick)
Jeremy Garritano: Science Reference Liaison      Librarian (Fenwick)
Candy Guerrero:  Evening Supervisor, Media and  Reserves, Circulation (JCL)
Anne Hakes:  University Records Manger, Special  Collections & Archives (Fenwick)
Amy Hirvonen:  Reference & Instructional Librarian (Fenwick)
Shannon Hogya:  Serials Coordinator (Fenwick)
B. Karen Jacobs: Fiscal Technician, Acquisitions (Fenwick)
Polly Khater:  Head of Bibliographic Services (Fenwick)
Heather Leadingham:  Library Assistant,           Government Documents (Fenwick)
Andrew Lee:  Reference & Instructional/Social      Sciences Librarian (ACL)
Mary McCan:  Library Assistant, Reference           Department (Fenwick)
Andrew McNeil:  Series Coordinator, Collection  Management (Fenwick)
Eve Mercer:  Library Assistant, Periodicals and     Microforms (Fenwick)
Jonathan Pryts:  Circulation Assistant (Fenwick)
Susan Stockwell:  Head of Administrative Services
Jennifer Stone:  Assistant to the University Librarian
Bob Vay:  University Dissertation, Thesis and      Electronic Text Coordinator, Special Collections & Archives (Fenwick)
Angela Weaver:  Performing and Fine Arts          Reference Liaison Librarian (Fenwick)
Aimee Wells:  Circulation and Consortium Loan     Assistant (Fenwick)
Alicia Yates:  Library Assistant, Reference     Department (Fenwick)

SC&A Participates in Virginia Heritage Project

Special Collections and Archives (SC&A) is participating in a statewide initiative to make archival materials pertaining to the history of Virginia available through the World Wide Web. Researchers interested in Virginia’s history will have access to finding aids to archival collections from around the state, thanks to the Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA) Virginia Heritage Project (VHP). The project was made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The VHP has two primary goals. The first is the creation of a large union database of Encoded Archival Description (EAD) tagged finding aids (approximately 17,500 pages) to archival collections in Virginia. The second is the development and implementation of a model for statewide dissemination of and training in newly emerging library standards and technologies. SC&A is currently utilizing EAD to tag Virginia-history related finding aids in its collections in support of the project.

Bob Vay

George Mason University Oral History Project of SC&A

For the past two years, Special Collections and Archives (SC&A) has been recording the oral histories of University personnel. The project has been made possible by graduate student assistantships. In 1998-1999 an inventory and preservation assessment of pre-existing tapes was made. During the current academic year, SC&A began recording oral histories of individuals who have been members of the George Mason community for a long period of time, usually thirty years or more. These interviews gather primary source information on how the University developed physically and academically. They also record information on individuals’ contributions to Mason's history as well as how the University shaped the individuals’ careers. There have been several positive results from the projects. For example, unique information has been obtained helping to complete the rich and varied history of the University. Also, the contributions of many important Mason individuals are celebrated and archived for posterity. Ultimately, a broad, animated history of the University will emerge, providing a deeper understanding and experience of the University community.

R.D. Laws