New York Times Reports on Google's Impact on Libraries

The June 21, 2004 issue of the New York Times reports on the three year study by Electronic Publishing Initiative at Columbia University that concluded that electronic resources have become the main tool for information gathering, particularly among undergraduates. Not only has the web become popular with students, but with faculty as well. In the Columbia survey, 90 percent of the faculty members who responded said they used electronic resources in their research several times a week or more.In response, librarians at Carnegie Melon, the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) and other organizations are trying to bring material that search engines like Google have missed from the deep Web to the surface. In recent months, dozens of research libraries began working with Google and other search engines to help put their collections within reach of a broader public.

New University ID Cards

Effective June 28, 2004, the university will begin to use new, randomly generated ID numbers on university ID cards. Library users should be aware that beginning June 28, one must have a new University ID card to: 1) Renew books online and view your library account information using the My Account feature on the UR Library Catalog 2) Check out books using the Self-Check and 3) Quickly check out books at the library’s main service desk. As of September 30, old ID cards will be turned off and will no longer grant access to campus buildings or services. ID Card pickup Schedule is scheduled for June 28 – July 9, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the One Card Office, Room 300 of Tyler Hanes Commons Building.

World War II Documents from the Boatwright Library Federal Depository Collection
Government-published pamphlets explaining why America went to war, the U.S. relationship to Allied and Axis countries, and how soldiers could adjust to post-war life are now offered for permanent public view in a University of Richmond library online collection, "America at War 1941-45," beginning Memorial Day (May 31). The 60 documents are part of a larger collection of about 250, which Richmond's Boatwright Memorial Library eventually will digitize and make accessible via the Internet.