Starting Thursday, November 1, all students, faculty, and staff will need a valid DragonCard to enter Hagerty Library. In this case, "valid" means that the prox chip in one's card can be read by Hagerty's new security gate.

Many students, faculty, and staff on the Center City and Queen Lane campuses may find that their prox chip information is not included in the University City prox chip database. (A prox chip is a computer chip embedded in your Dragon Card that allows you to enter buildings on the University City campus by waving your card over a sensor rather than swiping it through a slot.)

In order to avoid any inconvenience, please check at any DragonCard office and ask staff to add your information to the database, if needed.

Center City DragonCard Office
1608 New College Building
245 N. 15th Street
T. 215.762.6680
F. 215.762.1150
Office Hours: Monday-Friday 9am-5pm

Queen Lane DragonCard Office
Room 101
2900 Queen Lane
T. 215.991.8105
F. 215.991.8138
Office Hours: Monday-Friday 9am-5pm

University City DragonCard Office
124 Creese Student Center
3210 Chestnut Street
T. 215.895.6095
F. 215.895.1567
Office Hours: Monday-Thursday 8am-7pm
Friday 8am-5pm

Posted by Web Editor (Kathleen Turner) at 08:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

At orientation sessions this summer, we gave you a quiz about the libraries (and entry form for our free printing raffle). How did you do?

1. I can get help from the library in person, by phone, by email and by IM. True or False?

True, of course! Visit the Reference Desk at the Libraries, call us, email or IM us -- we'd answer questions by carrier pigeon if that worked best for you!

2. I can use most of the libraries' resources and services without ever walking through the library door. True or False?

True! With more than 500 databases for doing research, 21,000+ online journals and more than 80,000 electronic books (all available both on and off-campus when you sign in with your University email ID and password) and -- of course -- email and IM reference, you can be a 4-star library user from anywhere.

3. If the library doesn't have the book I need, they can help me borrow it from one of thousands of other libraries. True or False?

True! Using our E-Z Borrow service, you can search the catalogs of dozens of nearby academic libraries and request a book yourself; you'll be notified by email when the book arrives. If you can't find the book you need through E-Z Borrow, our Interlibrary Loan service can get it for you -- just place your request through ILLiad; they'll send it on to a network of thousands of libraries.

4. When I want to take some time off from studying, the library has new release DVDs and current bestelling books that I can borrow. True or False?

True again! (Do you see a pattern here?) Hagerty Library has several hundred DVDs, classic and recent movies from 12 Angry Men to Snakes on a Plane, popular TV series, and a selection of Bollywood titles. Leisure reading collections at Hagerty and Hahnemann Libraries include both fiction and non-fiction bestsellers, even some current graphic novels.

5. Shhhhh! It's a library -- you're not allowed to talk here! True or False?

False! (Gotcha on that one, didn't we?) Students need to work together in groups, to study together -- they need to talk to each other! But they also need quiet study space. So we have areas of the libraries that are good for quiet, solitary study, and areas that are a bit more lively; we just ask you to be respectful of your fellow library patrons. And speaking of lively spaces, watch for announcements about Hagerty Library's new 24-hour lounge area, designed for comfort and collaborative work!

P.S. Winners of the drawing for free printing in the libraries are being notified by email.

Posted by Web Editor (Kathleen Turner) at 04:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Watch the Democratic presidential candidates debate live on widescreen in the Mary Hagerty Learning Lab, lower level of Hagerty Library (L33), 9 pm - 11 pm on Tuesday, October 30th. Refreshments will be served.

Posted by Web Editor (Kathleen Turner) at 03:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hagerty Library invited the Drexel Community to a "Second Life" Pre- Halloween Party the Evening of October 23rd, with participants meeting online & in person.

Drexel's Hagerty Library invited members of the University community to join us for a special "Two Worlds Pre-Halloween Party" last Tuesday, October 23rd from 6-7:00 P.M. The name of the event refers to the fact that participants met both in real time and online. Participants had a short introductory session on creating Second Life characters known as "avatars." Then it got creative - with an open period to explore options for creating avatar Halloween costumes. Guests toured "Drexel Island," (a site that was created jointly by the University's College of Arts and Sciences and the Drexel Library) and got tips on finding other Second Life sites. A number of prizes were given away for the best SL costume devised and the event concluded with refreshments.

The party was held in the Classroom L-13 in the lower level of the Library, that now hosts the Second Life software on every desktop.

Contact siftar@drexel.edu about future events or about hosting an introductory event for your class or student organization.

The idea for this event was conceived by Information Services Librarian and Second Life enthusiast Tim Siftar. Asked to explain the appeal of Second Life, Siftar said;

"Second Life is a complex alternative world where participants fly through the air, assume new identities and ultimately are limited only by the scope of their imaginations. It also has enormous potential as a tool for learning and education, which makes it particularly interesting to University professors and librarians. I urge all interested members of the Drexel community to join us for this event on October 23rd."

Posted by Web Editor (Kathleen Turner) at 08:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tutors from the Drexel Writing Center are available in Room 134 in Hagerty Library Monday - Thursday, 5:30 - 8:30 pm to help with writing assignments. Appointments can be made via sign-up sheets posted on the door.

For more about Writing Center hours and services, see http://www.drexel.edu/writingcenter/.

Posted by Web Editor (Kathleen Turner) at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The Libraries are following the lead of IRT in continuing to use Office 2003 applications on library computers for the present time. We have, however, loaded converters that will allow you to "downconvert" a document saved in the 2007 format to the 2003 format. You may, however, want to consider saving your document on your own system in the 2003 format. Most University faculty are not yet using Office 2007 and may not be able to read an electronically-submitted document in that format.

We have recently upgraded the libraries' networked printing system to work with the Vista operating system; if you have set-up DragonFly Wireless access on your laptop (assistance available in Korman Center) you can print directly to the library printers from your laptop.

Posted by Web Editor (Kathleen Turner) at 03:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Careers Collection remains closed while it is moved from Hagerty Library to the Steinbright Career Development Center suite at 3201 Arch Street. The move will allow better integration of the collection, and the services of Careers Librarian Jenny Roberts, with the services and resources of the Steinbright Career Development Center.

Watch for announcements of the grand re-opening of the Careers Collection!

Posted by Web Editor (Kathleen Turner) at 03:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hagerty Library is very pleased to announce the addition of major electronic journal backfiles, which significantly expand the retrospective coverage of our online journal collection. The Wiley Interscience and Elsevier backfiles collections include 575 journals, primarily in the sciences, computer and engineering disciplines, with coverage of some titles extending back as far as the 1930's. While 145 of these titles replace titles currently in our print journal holdings, the remaining 430 titles are new to our collections.

Use studies and surveys have shown that our faculty and students, particularly those in the science and technical fields, have a strong preference for journals in electronic format. The purchase of these backfile collections with special funds provided by the Provost will allow us to remove underutilized print volumes to clear space on the third floor of Hagerty Library for use by the College of Law Library.

A list of the journal titles and coverage provided in the Wiley and Elsevier backfiles is available at http://www.library.drexel.edu/resources/backfiles-oct2007.html. The titles have already been added to the library catalog and electronic journal lists. Watch for announcements of additional titles as we continue to enhance the electronic collections.

Posted by Web Editor (Kathleen Turner) at 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)