SAIS Library News

2016 Update: How to get news from and about the SAIS Library

noreply@blogger.com (Mason Library) — Tue, 16 Aug 2016 15:48:00 +0000

The SAIS Library News blog is no longer being updated.

Instead, you can find information on our website, our Twitter account and our Facebook page. Thank you... we'll see you on social media or, even better, in person at the Library!

Intersession 2015 - 2016 Hours

noreply@blogger.com (Mason Library) — Fri, 11 Dec 2015 13:53:00 +0000

The SAIS Library staff congratulates everyone on finishing the semester. Have a great vacation and we'll see you in January!

SAIS Library's hours for the Intersession are:

Week of December 21

Monday - Wednesday 8:30 am – 5:00 pm
Thursday - Sunday CLOSED

Week of December 28

Monday - Tuesday 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Wednesday - Sunday CLOSED

Weeks of January 4 and 11

Monday – Thursday 8:30 am - 8:00 pm
Friday 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
Saturday 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sunday CLOSED

Week of January 18

Monday CLOSED (MLK Jr. Birthday)
Tuesday – Friday 8:30 am - 8:00 pm
Saturday 10:00 am - 9:00 pm
Sunday 11:00 am – 11:00 pm

Regular hours resume Saturday, January 23
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In the event of bad winter weather, SAIS will post closing information to the SAIS Home Page, SAIS Insider Portal and SAIS’s Facebook and Twitter feeds

Photo: Dupont Circle fountain in winter, by P_R_

Fall Break / Thanksgiving Hours 2015

noreply@blogger.com (Mason Library) — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 20:33:00 +0000

Extended Midterm Hours in October

noreply@blogger.com (Mason Library) — Wed, 07 Oct 2015 21:01:00 +0000

Beginning Friday, October 16 through the morning of Wednesday, October 21, the SAIS Library will have extended hours for Midterms:

10/16:    Friday    8:30am    11:00pm
10/17:    Saturday    9:30am    11:00pm
10/18:    Sunday    9:30am   open all night

10/19:    Monday    open 24 hours
10/20:    Tuesday    open 24 hours
10/21:    Wednesday    close at 11pm

Normal hours resume Thursday, October 22.

New Virtual Shelf Browse Feature in Catalyst

noreply@blogger.com (Mason Library) — Mon, 21 Sep 2015 20:24:00 +0000

Some patrons, especially in certain areas of study, enjoy physically visiting the library stacks to browse the collection. The JH Libraries largely use the Library of Congress Classification system - aka the "call numbers" - to order the books on our shelves. It's intended to place books on the same or similar topics near one another to facilitate this kind of browsing.

Because so many users enjoy browsing the physical shelves, we've introduced a new Virtual Shelf Browse feature in Catalyst to supplement, but hopefully never replace, an in-person visit to the shelves.

Access the Virtual Shelf Browse by finding a book or other item in Catalyst and clicking on the item's title to get to the detail page for that book. If the book does appear in the Virtual Shelf Browse, it will have a button in the right-hand sidebar to view that book in the virtual stacks along with other books placed nearby.

There are some things Virtual Shelf Browse can do that aren't possible in-person:

• You can access it from home or anywhere you have an Internet-connected device. It works pretty well on a tablet and even on your phone.

• It includes books from various JH Libraries shelving locations in one single virtual stack, such as MSEL, Welch, and our off-site storage (Libraries Service Center).

• Books that are currently checked out by another patron still appear in the Virtual Shelf Browse. Even some (but not all) ebooks from our extensive ebook collection appear.

Note that not every book at Hopkins has a Library of Congress Classification number. While Virtual Shelf Browse includes more of our collection than any single physical location, you can't assume that you're seeing everything -- just as when you're looking at physical shelves too.

We hope the Virtual Shelf Browse provides another way to find material from the Hopkins Libraries collections. Please let us know what you think!

________________________________________________________________________

This post was originally composed by Jonathan Rochkind, a JH Libraries developer, for the Sheridan Libraries Blog. The user interface that we used for Virtual Shelf Browse was originally developed by the Harvard Library Innovation Lab, and shared with other interested parties, including Jonathan, under an open source license. Many thanks to Harvard for sharing their software!

BorrowDirect now in Catalyst and WorldCat

noreply@blogger.com (Mason Library) — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 15:51:00 +0000

To get you the materials you need faster, last fall we debuted a service called BorrowDirect. This 11-school consortium offers direct access to the more than 50 million volumes from the Ivies plus Chicago and MIT, providing a great alternative to recall wars and waiting for interlibrary loans. Material requested through BorrowDirect is delivered to SAIS in just 5-6 business days!

Now we’ve taken steps to integrate this popular service into the places you already search, namely Catalyst and WorldCat. In the library catalog, the BorrowDirect option will appear when an item is checked out or on reserve. You’ll also have the opportunity to request a physical copy if our only format is electronic. In WorldCat, BorrowDirect will show under these same conditions and also when you seek an item that’s not in our collection.

So for example, if you searched the library catalog for Foucault’s Discipline and Punish, you’ll now get the option to request a copy through BorrowDirect since all our copies are currently on reserve.

The same would be true if you used WorldCat—when you click the Find It button, you’ll see the BorrowDirect option. The link to check BorrowDirect will automatically run a search for the item you’re seeking.

The integration will remain in beta for the next two weeks while we make sure it’s working as expected. We’ll roll out additional enhancements as they become available. Let us know what you think of the integration in the comments below.

Thanks to the Sheridan Libraries for this post.

UPDATE: March 6, 2015: SAIS Library Closed

noreply@blogger.com (Mason Library) — Fri, 06 Mar 2015 12:49:00 +0000

Due to snow and ice, SAIS will be CLOSED today, March 6. We will reopen at 8am on Saturday, March 7.

Remember you can access JHU resources using your JHED login from off-campus. You may also contact the Library staff via email. Our research guides are a good place to start your work.

Follow SAIS Library on Twitter and Facebook...

DC snow photo by Steve Sears

A wintry mix.... SAIS Library and snow

noreply@blogger.com (Mason Library) — Thu, 22 Jan 2015 17:25:00 +0000

SAIS Library, like the School, makes every effort to stay open on snow days. The latest information will always be available to you in two places: The Johns Hopkins emergency hotline at 1-800-548-9004 or JHU's Emergency Alert page.

If the Library does need to make a change in hours of operation, usually due to difficulties with staffing during a storm, we will try to post a notice via this blog and Twitter. Please also remember that you can access most library resources from off-campus with your JHED ID and password.

SAIS will post closing information to the SAIS Home Page, SAIS Insider Portal and SAIS’s Facebook and Twitter feeds

Photo by Kyle Taylor via Flickr CC

Welcome New Students! 9 Facts about SAIS Library

noreply@blogger.com (Mason Library) — Thu, 22 Jan 2015 16:01:00 +0000

Welcome to all new (and returning) SAIS students! Here are 9 things you should know about SAIS Library:

SAIS Library (aka Mason Library) is on the top 3 floors of the Nitze building (1740 Mass), with the entrance on floor 6.
Our hours are near the left bottom of our hompage.
Join us for a 30-45 minute introductory orientation to the Library. Details here.
To learn about printing and wireless at SAIS, see the Tech Page of our About SAIS Library guide.
Your course readings are available via a link on the left side of each Blackboard Course Site.
Your Hopkins ID is your library card. You should always know your JHED login ID ("lid") and password. They have multiple uses.
You can do research from home. Just use Library links and login with your JHED. It's easy!
If you're thinking ahead about research and want a quick look at our electronic resources, we have a concise guide to Key Databases that's a good starting point.
SAIS Research Librarians are here to help. We're available Mon - Fri, 9-5, but feel free to call us at 202-663-5901 or email us saislibrary@jhu.edu

We hope to see you in the Library!

Classes: Doing Research at SAIS Library

noreply@blogger.com (Mason Library) — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 17:26:00 +0000

Want to make your research more productive - and faster? We're offering one-hour overviews of the Library's online resources.

Introduction to Effective Scholarly Research: February 6 and 13 (Fridays, each 2-3pm)
Learn how to make the time you spend on research more effective. A SAIS Librarian will demonstrate how to use JHU/ SAIS resources to find scholarly materials, focusing primarily on articles.

RSVP now

RefWorks Workshop

noreply@blogger.com (Mason Library) — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 21:28:00 +0000

Learn how to use RefWorks to import, organize, and store references to books, articles, documents, and websites... anything you need for a paper or project. The session will also touch upon the Write N Cite feature, used to automate the process of creating a bibliography or footnotes.

When: Friday, February 20, 2:30-3:30 pm
Where: TBD
Instructor: SAIS librarians Jenny Gelman and Steve Sears

RSVP: Sign up online now or at the Reference Desk in the Library

If you are interested, but not able to attend, see our RefWorks Guide - which has a great "Basics" PDF - or speak to a SAIS librarian.

The Collections of the Ivies+ Now at Your Fingertips

noreply@blogger.com (Mason Library) — Thu, 01 Jan 2015 15:34:00 +0000

How would you like to be able to search and borrow books from the eight libraries of the Ivy League (Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, and Yale) as well as the libraries of the University of Chicago and MIT?

You can with a new service called Borrow Direct.

The JHU libraries have joined a consortium which allows our patrons to request books directly from their collections. You can request any book that is not owned by Hopkins, or is checked out or on reserve. The books will be delivered to SAIS within 5 business days and you can keep them for 12 weeks.

You can find the Borrow Direct link via the Library’s homepage. Give it a try, and let us know what you think at saislibrary@jhu.edu.

Open Access Happens More Than One Week Per Year

noreply@blogger.com (Mason Library) — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 14:35:00 +0000

Open Access Week is back again, though Open Access (or OA) is actually available all the time. And the JHU Libraries provide services and resources to help you with your OA-related needs. So instead of focusing on OA Week, here's a round-up of OA services and resources that the JHU Libraries provide.

Information Sources - Do you have questions about authors' rights, the Digital Humanities, or Open Access itself? Then check out our Scholarly Communications guide. It offers an overview of OA and other new trends in scholarly publishing.

Open Access Promotion Fund - Perhaps our most popular service, this fund helps young JHU researchers (students and untenured faculty) with the article processing charges some OA journals require. To be eligible for reimbursement, the article must be published in a journal listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals. If the article processing charges are not covered by a grant, researchers can be reimbursed up to $1500 per article from the OAPF. A researcher can receive a maximum of $1500 per year from the fund. See the OAPF page for more details and a link to the submission form.

Data Management Services - The JHUDMS helps JHU researchers in managing, sharing and archiving their research data. We serve the Homewood campus, School of Medicine, and Bloomberg School of Public Health by providing the following services.

We assist with the organization and preparation of Data Management Plans for grant proposals.
We provide consulting and training services on the best practices of data management for researchers and graduate students.
We provide a data sharing and archiving solution here at JHU through the JHU Data Archive. This is an archiving option that includes assigning of permanent identifiers to data collections and organization of the data for public access and sharing.

Electronic Publishing Services - Want to start your own OA journal? We can help! Our User Interface Applications Group provides OA journal hosting, including initial setup, configuration, training, registration with search engines, acquisition of ISSN, registration with bibliographic indexes, creation of library catalog record, record uploaded to WorldCat, etc. If you're interested in OA books, we can help with e-book consultation and creation. We can discuss e-book format options, e-book generation using open-source software tools, custom e-book design and programming with you. Contact Mark Cyzyk, mcyzyk@jhu.edu.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations - Starting last year, all doctoral dissertations and most masters theses must now be submitted electronically. These documents will be made freely available to the public in a library repository, although students may place an embargo of up to four years in order to delay publication. Questions may be directed to David Reynolds at 410-516-7220 or etd-support@jhu.edu.

JScholarship - This is our institutional repository that lets faculty deposit born-digital or digitized research and instructional materials such as scholarly articles, working papers, and technical papers. Make your research reach a wider audience by making it freely available here. For more information, contact David Reynolds at 410-516-7220 or davidr@jhu.edu.
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Thanks to Robin Sinn at JHU's Sheridan Libraries for this post.

Welcome New Students! 9 Facts about SAIS Library...

noreply@blogger.com (Mason Library) — Wed, 27 Aug 2014 19:18:00 +0000

Welcome to all new (and returning) SAIS students! Here are 9 things you should know about SAIS Library:

SAIS Library (aka Mason Library) is on the top 3 floors of the Nitze building (1740 Mass), with the entrance on floor 6.
Our hours are near the left bottom of our hompage.
Join us for a 30-45 minute introductory orientation to the Library. Details here.
To learn about printing and wireless at SAIS, see the Tech Page of our About SAIS Library guide.
Your course readings are available via a link on the left side of each Blackboard Course Site.
Your Hopkins ID is your library card. You should always know your JHED login ID ("lid") and password. They have multiple uses.
You can do research from home. Just use Library links and login with your JHED. It's easy!
If you're thinking ahead about research and want a quick look at our electronic resources, we have a concise guide to Key Databases that's a good starting point.
SAIS Research Librarians are here to help. We're available Mon - Fri, 9-5, but feel free to call us at 202-663-5901 or email us saislibrary@jhu.edu

We hope to see you in the Library!

Throwback Thursday: The 80's at SAIS Library

noreply@blogger.com (Mason Library) — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 20:26:00 +0000

SAIS Library in the early 1980's. The area shown in this image is now part of the large 8th floor study space, with the staircase to floor 7 long gone. The students in the foreground are using the old reserve card catalog, with the Circulation Desk in the background.

Follow SAIS Library on Facebook and Twitter

Congratulations, Class of 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Mason Library) — Thu, 15 May 2014 15:27:00 +0000

The SAIS Library staff send you best wishes!

The Johns Hopkins University Libraries offer a number of resources to SAIS alumni, ranging from free access to the SAIS Library to fee-based electronic resources.

Access to SAIS Library
SAIS alumni are welcome to use the Mason Library. There is no fee for in-house use of the Library's resources, although you will need an alumni visitor’s pass. You may request a pass at the Reference Desk or email Steve Sears.

Borrowing Materials from SAIS and other JHU Libraries
For alumni who would like borrowing privileges, there are three levels of service:

Borrowing privileges through August to SAIS Library collection (for new graduates only) - $25 refundable deposit
Borrowing privileges to the SAIS Library collection only - $100 fee per year
Borrowing privileges to the JHU Libraries collection - $200 fee per year

Note that borrowing privileges do not include interlibrary loan or certain ebook collections.

RefWorks
All JHU Alumni are entitled to a free RefWorks account after graduation. For information on how to set up an account, or transfer records from your current student account to an alumni account, speak to a SAIS librarian or email saislibrary@jhu.edu

KnowledgeNET
SAIS alumni are welcome to use JHU databases in the Library, but due to licensing restrictions, off-campus access to the full range of databases ceases after graduation. However, the JHU Alumni Association provides free access to Hopkins KnowledgeNET, which offers alumni access to some full-text academic journals and other online resources.

Any questions? Speak to a librarian at 202-662-5900 or email saislibrary@jhu.edu.

Library Hours for the end of term, 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Mason Library) — Mon, 05 May 2014 16:30:00 +0000

SAIS, circa 2005, with some extra courtyard trees

Regular Library hours are in effect through Thursday, May 15, 2014. End of term hours are as follows:

Friday, May 16: 8:30 am - 6:00 pm
Saturday - Sunday, May 17 - 18: 11:00 am - 6:00 pm

Monday, May 19: 8:30 am - 8:00 pm
Tuesday, May 20: 8:30 am - 8:00 pm
Wednesday, May 21: 8:30 am - 8:00 pm
Thursday, May 22: Graduation 8:30 am - 6:00 pm
Friday, May 23: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
Saturday - Monday, May 24 - 26: CLOSED

Tuesday, May 27: 8:30 am - 8:00 pm
Wednesday, May 28: 8:30 am - 8:00 pm
Thursday, May 29: 8:30 am - 8:00 pm

Friday, May 30: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
Saturday, May 31 - Sunday, June 1 - 2: CLOSED

Summer Session hours begin Monday, June 2
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Library records of all graduating students will expire on Friday, May 16. Students on the list of graduates must return all library books and pay all library fines by Friday, May 16. The School will not permit students with outstanding debts to graduate, or receive grades or transcripts.

If you are interested in continuing to borrow from SAIS Library as an alum, see our Alumni Resources Guide for more information. If you have any questions, email saislibrary@jhu.edu

Writing term papers? We're here to help!

noreply@blogger.com (Mason Library) — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 16:10:00 +0000

If you need any help working on a research paper - at any point in the process - the SAIS Librarians are here to help.

We're at the Reference Desk from Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm. You can visit us unannounced or make an appointment by emailing us at saislibrary@jhu.edu. Use the same email address to ask us a research question online.

Remember that licensed JHU resources - the databases we pay for that have scholarly content - are available off campus. Just click on a database link via our site and login with your JHED. It's that easy.

Which database to use? Our research guides are a good place to start. Key Databases is the most popular, but we have a full list of specialized guides.

Are you on Twitter? We are too!

noreply@blogger.com (Mason Library) — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 14:52:00 +0000

Stay informed!

Follow us @SAISlibrary

Q: How can I reserve a group study room?

noreply@blogger.com (Mason Library) — Mon, 16 Sep 2013 13:22:00 +0000

SAIS Library has four group study rooms: two on the 7th floor and two on the 8th floor [see floorplan]. All rooms have computers with keyboards and large monitors students may use to project from their laptops.

To reserve a SAIS Library study room:

Go to the SAIS Library website and click on Study Room Reservations
or
Use the touch screen on the 7th floor near Study Room 7B or the workstation on the 8th floor near Study Room 8B

SAIS Library’s group study rooms are for:

Groups of two or more students only
SAIS students and SAIS Library staff only
Maximum of two hours per day per group
If a room is not occupied within the first 15 minutes of the reservation block, the reservation will be cancelled.
Academic use only. All other meetings/events should be scheduled through the SAIS Office of Student Life or by contacting the Director for Student Life (202-663-5705 or saisstudentlife@jhu.edu).

Note to non-SAIS JHU students: Due to high demand, Group Study Rooms are restricted for use by SAIS students and Library staff only.
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The Johns Hopkins D.C. Learning Commons located on the 3rd floor of the Bernstein-Offit Building (1717 Massachusetts Ave.) has 10 group study rooms open to all JHU students. The Learning Commons is open Monday – Friday from 8:00 am – 10:30 pm, Saturday 8:30 am – 4:30 pm, and Sunday 2:00 pm-10:30 pm).

Reserve a room in the D.C. Learning Commons

D.C. Learning Commons group study rooms are for:

Group use therefore groups of two or more patrons get priority over a single person.
Users are limited to three hours of reservations.
If a room is not occupied within the first 10 minutes of the reservation block, the reservation is considered cancelled.
The reservation system cannot accommodate the transfer of a reservation to another user.
The staff is not responsible for informing patrons when a reservation period is over.
Only covered drinks are allowed in group study rooms. No food is allowed.

What You Need to Know About SAIS LIbrary

noreply@blogger.com (Mason Library) — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 15:27:00 +0000

Here are eight things you should know about SAIS Library:

Mason Library is on the top 3 floors of the Nitze building (1740 Mass), with the entrance on floor 6. We're happy to orient you when you visit.
If you're thinking ahead about papers / research and want to know which electronic resources to use, we have a concise list of Key Databases that might be a good starting point. Reference Librarians are glad to help too... (see #8!)
Your course readings are available via a link on the left side of each Blackboard Course Site.
You can do research from home. Just use Library links and login with your JHED. It's easy!
Use these instructions to set up printing in the Library from your laptop.
Access the "hopkins" wireless network when you're on campus.
Your blue "J-card" (JHU ID card) will serve as your library card. You should always know your JHED login ID ("lid") and password. They have multiple uses.
SAIS Librarians are ready to help. We're available Mon - Fri, 9-5, but feel free to call us at 202-663-5901 or use Ask A Librarian.

Fall 2013 Library hours (as of Sept. 3):

Sunday 11 am - Friday 9 pm: open 24 hours
Saturday: 10 am – 9 pm

Circulation Desk hours:

Monday – Thursday: 8:30 am – 11 pm
Friday: 8:30 am – 9 pm
Saturday: 10 am – 9 pm
Sunday: 11 am – 11 pm

Congratulations SAIS Class of 2013 Grads!

noreply@blogger.com (Mason Library) — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:51:00 +0000

The SAIS Library staff send you best wishes!

Please take a look at the JHU Libraries' alumni privileges. Any questions? Call us at 202-662-5900 or email saislibrary@jhu.edu.

BIG NEWS: SAIS Library Open 24 Hours Starting April 1st

noreply@blogger.com (Mason Library) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:13:00 +0000

JHU Funding for Open Access

noreply@blogger.com (Mason Library) — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 19:58:00 +0000

If you're not familiar with the term "Open Access," it refers to faculty and researchers making their journal articles and/or data freely available to the public. The Johns Hopkins Open Access Promotion Fund (OAPF) promotes Open Access publishing by Hopkins researchers through reimbursing the author fees often required by Open Access publishers. Open to all JHU researchers (faculty, students, staff), the fund consists of a set amount of monies that will, on a yearly basis, be disbursed until depleted.

If you're interested in the concept of "open access," check out JHU's Scholarly Communications Guide, which has information about OA at JHU, data, Digital Humanities, author's rights and more.

If you'd like to apply for funding from the OAPF, details and the online application form are available here.

For more information, please contact SAIS Library's Josh McDonald or Steve Sears.

Catalyst: Now with Articles!

noreply@blogger.com (Mason Library) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 19:52:00 +0000

If you go to Catalyst today, you may notice something new. In addition to receiving your regular book results from the catalog, you will now also receive article results as well!*

Like this:

click to enlarge

Think of it as a JHU-specific Google Scholar. In many cases, clicking the title of the article will take you directly to the article itself. For those instances where we do not have access to an electronic copy, you will be taken to a screen where you can request one via Interlibrary Loan. Easy!

Looking for articles and databases that are more finely tuned to your research area? Not a problem. You can view a complete list of the 900+ databases licensed for your use at the Directory of Licensed Databases. For suggestions based on your subject area, consult our Research Guides.

So, where did all of this come from? You! Last year we heard from Catalyst users who wanted a simpler way to find relevant articles and journals. This is the result. Your opinions help us focus our efforts. Let us know what you think of this new feature with the red Feedback link in Catalyst.

* Because of license agreements, lawyers, and litigation, if you are off-campus you will be prompted to log in with your JHED in order to see article results. Sorry about that.