Monthly Archives: August 2007

Library Hours for Labor Day Weekend

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To accommodate the library and research needs of the Temple University Community the Paley Library building will be open throughout the Labor Day Holiday. The hours are: Saturday, September 1: 9 am to 5 pm Sunday, September 2: noon to 8 pm Monday, September 3: noon to 9 pm Regular hours for the Paley Library building resume on Tuesday September 4. For the Labor Day schedules of specific libraries and operating units, as well as regular operating hours for the fall semester, please consult our library hours page.

LGBT History

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The Libraries have acquired on microfilm The Lesbian Herstory Archives, part 7 of the Gay Rights Movement. This collection consists of a full 150 reels of primary-source material along with a 73-page printed collection guide. Media types represented include “clippings, flyers, brochures, conference materials, reports, correspondence, and other printed ephemera”. The earliest documents date to the 1950s and the era of the Daughters of Bilitis organization. Additional information about the nature of the collection is available from the LHA website.

The Lesbian Herstory Archives complements existing primary-source printed and digital collections such as the Gerritsen Collection and Women and Social Movements. It also complements GenderWatch and the new-to-Temple LGBT Life, two databases that index journal articles and other secondary sources. LGBT Life in particular contains indexing and abstracts for more than 130 LGBT-specific core periodicals and over 290 LGBT-specific core books and reference works. It also includes comprehensive, full-text coverage of The Advocate (1996 to date) and other important LGBT publications.

—David C. Murray

Spotlight on CIA History

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Three new library books take a critical look at the 60-year history of the CIA:

Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA (c2007) by New York Times reporter Tim Wiener. Listen to the author discuss his book (Real Player required).

In Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic (c2006), Chalmers Johnsonargues for the disbandment of the CIA: “I believe we will never again know peace, nor in all probability survive very long as a nation, unless we abolish the CIA, restore intelligence collecting to the State Department, and remove all but purely military functions from the Pentagon” (21). Can the American Republic survive “clandestine operations” abroad; the creation of a “private army” answerable only to the president; or the secrecy engendered by “a government within a government”? Nemesis is the third book in a trilogy that also includesBlowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire (c2000) and The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic (c2004).

David Barrett, a political scientist at Villanova University, is the author of The CIA & Congress: The Untold Story From Truman To Kennedy (c2005). Barrett examined recently declassified CIA documents, the so-called 700-page “family jewels,” linking the agency to the attempted assassination of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and others. Listen to Barrett discuss his findings (Real Player required).

The Federation of American Scientists has made available online the CIA’s ownFactbook on Intelligence. Two Temple databases offer declassified CIA documents: Declassified Documents Reference System (DDRS) and Digital National Security Archive. More CIA history? Click United States. Central Intelligence Agency — History, or explore the Force & Diplomacy subject guide.

—David C. Murray

Introducing Classical Scores Library

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Temple University Libraries is pleased to announce the addition of Classical Scores Library, a new database containing the digitized printed music of hundreds of works. The current release of 1,075 scores includes works by 49 composers of in-copyright material from Boosey & Hawkes as well as material from the University Music Editions microfilm series. Examples of composers included in this first release are Copland, Britten, Stravinsky, and Rorem, and many others. Upon completion, the database will include the entire UME catalog, manuscript materials, complete works of major composers as well as lesser-known composers, and multiple editions of some works for comparison and analysis.

Access and use of the database are simple and practical. Users can search or browse by composer, genre, instrument, type of score, and time period. Scores can also be searched by duration, language, year of publication, and publisher. The scores are provided in pdf format and can be easily downloaded and/or printed.

An exciting feature of the database is cross-linking online scores to corresponding sound recordings with sister database Classical Music Library. Listeners can easily follow the score online in Classical Scores Library at the same time as listening to the music.

Please feel free to contact me, Anne Harlow aharlow@temple.edu, for further information regarding this new resource

New Database Trial: Illustrated Civil War Newspapers & Periodicals

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“Illustrated Civil War Newspapers and Periodicals is the definitive online resource for research and study about Lincoln’s presidency and the events leading up to and throughout the American Civil War years, as presented by the media of the period. The database contains 65,000 pages drawn from 49 periodicals, including 15 campaign newspapers, most of them illustrated—3,720 issues published from 1860 to 1865. Originally printed in 16 different cities, many of the publications are now rare and hard to find, with an item sometimes extant only in a single archive. Carefully sought out and compiled from 17 different museum, library, and private collections, and thanks to the generosity of institutions such as the American Antiquarian Society, the Chicago Historical Society, and a number of private collectors, these resources are now available to modern scholars in electronic form for the first time” (AlexanderStreetPress.com).

The trial will run through the remaining part of August and all of September. This is a username and password authenticated trial; use the information below to gain access to the database:

August Password:
Username: reviewer
Password: 67commencement7
(Valid until 8/31)

September Password:
Username: reviewer
Password: 5dictatorial92
(Valid until 9/30)

Please provide feedback in the comments or send me an email.

—David C. Murray

Good Advice For Better Research Papers

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While the librarians you’ll meet at the Temple University Libraries can offer valuable advice for producing better research results, some traditionally good ideas can be found in unexpected places. That’s why we wanted to share this article “Advice for Students: 10 Steps Toward Better Research” that we came across at the LifeHack.org website. Most of the advice may be somewhat familiar, but the way it is presented makes it a good candidate to be a resource for sharing with your friends, colleagues, and students. It would be well worth the time to review these ten steps before starting a research project.

Advice such as “take it one piece at a time” and “have a system” are, as mentioned above, time-tested ideas that can be used to avoid becoming overwhelmed by research. But we like two particular items on this list of ten. As you might have guessed, we like them because they emphasize the importance of two things that are essential for research success: know your sources and ask for help. Temple University librarians are available to help with both steps. First, we can tailor individual or group meetings, instruction sessions, or resource lists to any class or assignment. This can provide significant time savings researchers can get directly to the resources that will provide the most help. Second, we offer multiple ways to ask for help. We have our friendly reference desk, an instant messaging service (AskTULibrary), traditional phone service (215-204-8212), sophisticated virtual chat reference, and students can even e-mail us their requests for help (see all options at our Ask a Librarian page).

As the article indicates in boldface “most librarians will be happy to help you find relevant material”. Nowhere is that more true than at the Temple University Libraries. Please let your friends, colleagues, or students know that the librarians are here to help. The only piece of advice we would want to add to the list is: “if you don’t ask, librarians can’t help you.”

-Steven Bell

Sebastian Derry is new Media Services Librarian

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I am delighted to welcome Sebastian Derry, who is our new Media Services Librarian, effective August 6, 2007.

In this newly-created position, Sebastian will be responsible for creating and leading a media services unit in Paley Library. He wil be assessing the library’s media collections and resources, bringing them into a single operating unit, and leading the library’s planning for a media center that will offer a full range of services to students, faculty, and the Temple community.

Sebastian formerly served as the Fine Arts Librarian and Media Resources Coordinator at the University of Montana’s Mansfield Library. He has also worked at Hostos Community College Library in New York City. He has a Master of Library and Information Science degree from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Music from the University of Prince Edward Island, also in Canada.

Larry P. Alford
Vice Provost for Libraries

Eighteenth Century Journals Trial

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Yet another history database trial! This time around it’s Eighteenth Century Journals I from U.K. publisher Adam Matthew. “Eighteenth Century Journals I contains material from the Hope Collection at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, one of the finest surviving collections of eighteenth-century periodicals. In this resource we have drawn together 95 rare journals printed between 1693 and 1799, combining major publications with more ephemeral works to underline the broad variety of eighteenth century print journalism” (Adam Matthew). There is minimal overlap with the recently acquired ProQuest database British Periodicals I, EEBO or ECCO. Feedback welcomed in the comments or via email.

—David C. Murray

Mark Darby Appointed Head of Cataloging & Metadata

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I am pleased to announce that Mark Darby is the new head of our Cataloging and Metadata Services Department, effective August 1, 2007. This concludes a national search to fill the position.

Mark joined Temple Libraries in 1994 as a special collections cataloger, and since 2001 has led the department’s database management unit. Previously, he was a cataloger and archivist at Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study. He holds an M.S. degree in library science from Drexel University and an M.A. in Medieval Studies from Cornell University.

Larry P. Alford,
Vice Provost for Libraries and University Librarian