Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Celebrating our Seniors!


On Sunday, we said farewell to the Class of 2013.  During exam week, the library held a goodbye luncheon for 16 fantastic seniors who have have been working in all areas of the library.  In the words of director Kelly Jacobsma, "we truly couldn't run the library without you."

Our Seniors are heading off to many different exciting pursuits, from graduate programs in clinical psychology, physical therapy, musicology, and biochemistry, to job searches, to law school, to an internship in DC.  When asked what their favorite memories were from working in the library, here were some of their responses:
  • Discovering previously unreached music library patrons through the LP giveaway
  • Creative shelf-reading dances
  • Providing that extra level of customer service by staying late with a student in the TechLab
  • Carefully selecting the location of the new giant beanbag chairs, including test drives in the elevator and on staircases
  • Going the extra mile to protect patrons from the effects of a broken lamp, including a call to campus safety
  • Extra careful (and creative) packaging of ILL items
  • Most of all, the wonderful relationships that developed with other library student employees and staff
Thank you for all of your excellent work in the library over the last four years!

-- Jessica Hronchek, Research and Instruction Librarain

Monday, April 29, 2013

Digital Public Library of America Opens

Have you ever visited the Library of Congress online? Or what about Holland's own Joint Archives? What if you could find all the online holdings of these two very different institutions in one place?

That's where the Digital Public Library of America comes in.

On April 18, 2013, the Digital Public Library of America launched a beta version of their discovery portal. The portal provides access to millions of items from archives, libraries, museums, and cultural institutions around the country. DPLA serves as a platform for digital collections from places as small as local archives to as large as the federal government's holdings.

The aim of the DPLA is to make what's already openly available easier to access and discover.  In addition to general searches, users can explore by date, place, or exhibition.  Of the 2.4 million records available, you can find letters by George Washington from the National Archives, a French Book of Hours from the University of South Carolina, or historic photographs from the Nicollet County Historical Society in Minnesota.

Having all this information in one place makes primary source research easier and more accessible.  Browsing the collections can also trigger new research ideas, not limiting students to just the local archives. No need to travel to see some of the greatest collections in the country!

For now, the DPLA only includes items in the public domain; however, there is the possibility for expansion in the future. The main priority right now is to establish a platform that provides support for already digitized collections.

To find out more about DPLA, check out John Palfrey's article in Library Journal, or DPLA's FAQ page.

--Madalyn Muncy, Library Student Blogger

Friday, April 26, 2013

Remember to Return Your Library Materials!

With the end of the semester right around the corner, it's easy to forget all those library materials you've checked out. To avoid being charged any fines or fees, please return your books, DVDs, CDs, and other items by Wednesday, May 1. If you're not sure what you have checked out or how much money you owe, you can check your account online.

If you do have fines, you can pay them at the Van Wylen circulation desk.  All fines and fees that are not paid at the library will be assessed to your student account at Business Services by the end of May.  A list of fines can be found here.  If you have any questions, you can ask at the circulation desk, call the circulation desk at 395-7889, or email kaminski@hope.edu.

Return your materials on time to avoid the fine!

--Madalyn Muncy, Library Student Blogger

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Finals Week Hours

It's the last week of classes! Looking forward to Exam Week, please keep in mind Van Wylen's special hours:

Friday, April 26: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Saturday, April 27: 10 a.m. to midnight


Sunday, April 28: 10 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Monday, April 29: 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Tuesday, April 30: 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Wednesday, May 1: 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Thursday, May 2: 8 a.m. to midnight

Friday, May 3: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday, May 4 and Sunday, May 5: closed

Good luck with finals!

--Madalyn Muncy, Library Student Blogger

Monday, April 22, 2013

Van Wylen Celebrates 25th Anniversary with Reception

Van Wylen Library is celebrating 25 years of service this year. A reception honoring the library will take place on Monday, April 22 from 3 to 5 p.m. on the first floor. All are invited to enjoy cake, coffee, and tea while checking out the library history display, which includes artifacts like the ground-breaking shovel, photos, and Anchor articles that describe the library's history. The library's namesakes, Hope's 9th president and his wife Ds. Gordon and Margaret Van Wylen, will be on hand to cut the cake.

Opening in January 1988, the library celebrated its official dedication on April 21. An April 27, 1988 Anchor article describes the festivities, which included speeches by Dr. John Hope Franklin, a famous African American historian, President John Jacobson, who was in his first year of presidency, and Provost Jacob Nyenhuis.

Join us as we celebrate 25 years of serving students and faculty at Van Wylen Library!

--Madalyn Muncy, Library Student Blogger

Monday, April 15, 2013

Celebrating National Library Workers' Day with Student Workers!

This week is National Library Week! As part of the celebration, Tuesday, April 16 is National Library Workers' Day. Van Wylen would like to thank its many student employees for all the hard work they put in. Students work in several different departments at the library, including circulation, reserves, cataloging, interlibrary loan, and reference, and they are an integral part of making the library run smoothly!

To celebrate National Library Workers' Day, we're featuring three quick interviews with library student workers.


Name: Karina Winkelman
Year: Freshman
Years Worked at the Library: 1
Department: Media Services

What do you like best about working at the library?
I love being knowledgeable about the services we offer. Even when I'm not at work, I'm often able to help friends and classmates with information about services. A lot of people are unaware about what the library can do for them!

Name: Lindsay Timmerman
Year: Sophomore
Years Worked at the Library: 1
Department: Reference Desk

What do you like best about working at the library?
The librarians are really friendly and like to chat with you while you're working, especially at the reference desk. It's also a very low stress job!


Name: Daniel DeVinney
Year: Junior
Years Worked at the Library: 2 and a half
Department: Circulation

What do you like best about working at the library?
At the circulation desk, it's really social. Lots of different people come in and stop by to chat. It's also not very demanding, and a friendly place to work.

Take some time on Tuesday to thank your favorite library employees!

--Madalyn Muncy, Library Student Blogger

Thursday, April 11, 2013

The Anchor is Online!


Have you ever wondered what Hope was like one hundred years ago? Have you said to yourself, “Self, you should use more primary sources about the history of Hope College”?  Or, perhaps you imagined perusing the olden times of the college on those days when you have ample amounts of time, sitting in front of the fireplace in your smoking jacket, with the dog at your feet. Now it’s easier than ever to get your Hope history fix! The Anchor has been digitized and made publically available, free for download, on Digital Commons, Hope College’s institutional repository.

The Anchor began in 1887 and continues to this day. At first distributed monthly, it is now a weekly paper issued during the school year, with few interruptions. Students have worked diligently in the past to make sure the Hope community is up-to-date on the major happenings around campus. Here are some highlights from The Anchor-of-yore:

  • In January 1913, one writer asked, “Fellow student, are you doing right in wasting a whole evening in card playing to the utter neglect of your class work? What right have you to spend your college hours in such frivolous play?” 
  • The first issue of The Ranchor began in 1965, where students howled over the implementation of the new IBM computers on campus.
  • The Hope College Pull, a long-standing tradition, can be traced throughout the history of the Anchor. In 1910, for instance, it was written about the “Tug-of-War” that “The Sophs got the ducking and professed that the waters of Black River were not so uncongenial as they had imagined”. 

An index to the full collection can be found at the Joint Archives of Holland. For the most current issue, please visit The Anchor online.

- Brianne Hagen, Metadata Librarian

Monday, April 8, 2013

New from SpringerLink

SpringerLink, a scientific e-book and journal database, has a new website, with new functionality and features. The site is completely updated, with a browse-friendly interface.

A great new feature SpringerLink has introduced is adding information on subject collections to e-books. You can now see what specific collection an e-book falls into by looking at the information section at the bottom of the book or chapter page. Clicking the Topics links will show all books and articles in the collection that fit that subject.

One cool feature in SpringerLink is that it allows users to download full PDFs of e-books and articles without restriction. This can be helpful if you'd like to read offline or annotate the reading.

Van Wylen has access to over 30,000 e-books via SpringerLink, including 50 published in 2013. By using HopeCAT's advanced search, entering "Springer" for publisher, and selecting "Ebook" for format, you can check out the many books Springer has to offer. A quick subject search for "engineering" reveals over 1,300 books.

It is important to remember that Van Wylen does not have access to everything on SpringerLink, so it is best to search through HopeCAT or un-check "include preview only content" when searching directly in Springer, in order to get the best results.

--Madalyn Muncy, Library Student Blogger

Friday, April 5, 2013

Paper Waste on Display to Promote Sustainability

During the month of March, Van Wylen Library collected the waste paper left at the end of the day from the printers on the first and second floors of the library. The paper was then assembled into a display on the second floor of the library near Tech Services in order to raise awareness about sustainability and earth-friendly practices on campus during the month of April, when Earth Day is traditionally celebrated.


Reducing paper waste is a part of Hope's campus-wide sustainability campaign. Printers on campus are set to print double-sided on 30% post-consumer content recycled paper. However, Hope uses an incredible amount of paper. Since January, patrons in Van Wylen have printed over 405,000 pages.

To do your part to reduce paper waste at the library and around campus:

1. Only print when you need to! Save your document to PDF and read it on a computer or e-Reader. This also applies to making copies from printed materials. The library's multi-functional peripheral copiers allow users to email PDF versions of documents to themselves or to save to a USB.

2. Send your job once and be patient. Make sure you know what printer your job was sent to. If your job doesn't go through, ask for help before printing a second time.  Referencing CIT's library printing instructions can help.

3. Pick up your job and be sure not to accidentally take someone else's job!

4. Proof before you print. This eliminates the need to print twice.

5. Is it a busy time at the printer?  Control when your job is printed by using Job Storage: On your computer select Print Properties > Job Storage Tab > Private Job > Custom Name > PIN.  You can then release the job at the printer using the PIN.

6. When disposing of paper, make sure you recycle. All campus housing units have a recycling program.

If you are interested in learning more about sustainability practices, Van Wylen has great print resources on sustainability and waste and recycling, as well as GreenFile, a database devoted entirely to environmental science.

--Madalyn Muncy, Library Student Blogger

Monday, April 1, 2013

Hope Celebrates National Poetry Month

Hope is celebrating National Poetry Month with five special readings throughout the month of April.

Kicking off the celebration is Jean Valentine, who will read Monday, April 1 at 4 p.m. in Winants Auditorium of Graves Hall. Dream Barker, Valentine's first book, won the Yale Younger Poets Award. She has written eleven books of poetry including: Break the Glass, National Book Award for Poetry winner Door in the Mountain, and The Cradle of the Real Life. Also, be sure to check out her other books.

Following Valentine's reading is third-generation Korean American Gary Pak on Tuesday, April 2 at 4 p.m. in Fried-Hemenway Auditorium. His books include The Watcher of Waipuna and Other Stories, A Ricepaper Airplane, and Children of a Fireland

On Thursday, April 11, Mark Hillringhouse will read at 7 p.m. in Winants Auditorium of Graves Hall. Hillringhouse's writing and photography have appeared in "American Poetry Review," "The New York Times," and "View Camera." He is the recipient of several poetry fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and he recently published a series of portraits of the New York School poets. He also recently published a photo essay, "Passaic River Journal," in the "American Poetry Review."


Ed Hirsch will read through VWS on Thursday, April 18 at 7 p.m. in the Knickerbocker Theater. For the Sleepwalkers, Hirsch's first collection, was awarded the Lavcan Younger Poets Award from the Academy of American Poets. His other collections include: Wild Gratitude, Special Orders, On Love, and Lay Back the Darkness. He is also the author of the national bestseller How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry.

The month will wrap up with a reading by Hope senior creative writing majors on Friday, April 19 at 4 p.m. in Fried-Hemenway Auditorium. Students will read original work from their four years at Hope.

--Madalyn Muncy, Library Student Blogger
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