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From the shelves of Freel Library

Mail Room relocating to library lower level temporarily

by Emily Alling on November 16th, 2023 in Library Resources | 0 Comments

Due to upcoming construction work on Venable Hall, the Mail Room is in the process of relocating to the lower level of Freel Library, where it will remain until the work in Venable has finished.

What does this mean for users of the library? So far, here's what we know:

  • The Lower Level Lounge and Media Nook will not be available as study space while the Mail Room is here, effective sometime this week.
  • The TV and DVD player have been moved from the Media Nook to the Children's Literature Room and are available for use there.
  • Some soft seating has been moved from the Lower Level Lounge to the Language & Literature Room.
  • The plants will be taken good care of and returned to the Lower Level when things return to normal.

Check your MCLA email for campuswide updates about Venable work. We'll share information about anything that would affect library users as events unfold. 

Open area on library lower level, soon to be temporary home of the Mail RoomTV & VCR relocated from Media Nook to Children's Literature Room


New this spring: Research Help 24/7! Chat online with a librarian at a time that works for YOU

by Emily Alling on February 22nd, 2022 in How-To, Library Resources, MCLA Community Resources | 0 Comments

A small owl watches a patron and librarian chat on a laptop computer at 2 a.m. MCLA's Freel Library has joined a 24/7 research help co-operative staffed by hundreds of librarians from participating colleges and universities as well as a team of dedicated co-op librarians.

MCLA's own librarians continue to be available for in-person, virtual, phone, email, chat, and SMS research assistance Sunday evenings, Monday-Thursday daytimes and evenings and Fridays during the day. MCLA librarians remain your best bet for getting help with research for your MCLA academic work.

But when an MCLA librarian is not available, MCLA students, faculty, and staff can now chat with a partner librarian from the co-op 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The partner librarian can answer many questions about using our library, help you get started with your research, and connect you with an MCLA librarian for follow-up as needed.

Please note that our 24/7 co-op partner librarians are only available via chat. You can still get help from MCLA librarians in person or via chat, email, phone, text, or Teams during our regularly staffed Research Desk hours (which you can always find listed on the library's Hours page).

To chat with a librarian 24/7, just visit the Freel Library homepage and look for the "Chat 24/7" button in the Get Help box.


Freel Library Author Talk Series: Artistic Development and Contextual (Hi)Stories by Armando Alleyne

by Pamela Contakos on January 27th, 2022 | 0 Comments

Date/time/Location:

Thursday, February 17th @7:00 PM - 8:00PM via Zoom register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_N-vi2qxVQZmDe9HF08CYJg

About the event:

Armando Alleyne is an artist and a poet who graduated from The City College of New York with a B.A. in Education and Fine Arts, in 1983. Alleyne will walk us through his recently published monograph, A Few of My Favorites, and speak on the contexts and (hi)stories that urged him to develop and create his painted and collaged renditions of jazz musicians, Afro-Latin singers, boxers, family members and friends. Alleyne’s lifetime of painting tells a story of how we are subject to our city and how in it we can search for the tools to heal.

author talk flyer


Renew Your New York Times Account

by Pamela Contakos on December 28th, 2021 in Communications & Mass Media, Library Resources, News | 0 Comments

Every year when the library's NYT subscription renews, you will need to update your account information in order to continue accessing the NYT. Follow the steps below to renew your account. If you don't already have an account, see our blog post on creating a new account.

1.    Navigate to accessnyt.com
2.    Search for and select Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. You will be redirected to the NYT registration page.
3.    Use your existing NYT account to login. You must use your @mcla.edu email address.
4.    Verify your account.
5.    If you are using the NYT app on your phone or other device, you may need to log out and log back in.


Help make Wikipedia better! November 2021 Edit-a-thon @ the library

by Emily Alling on November 4th, 2021 in Health & Medicine, Interdisciplinary Studies, Library Resources, Science & Technology | 0 Comments

Throughout the month of November, the library invites the community to join a Wikipedia Edit-a-thon. The goal is to improve the quality of articles on preventive health care and wellness-related topics by adding citations to reliable health information sources. Our local event is part of a larger campaign led by the Network of the National Library of Medicine (#citeNLM). We've put together some resources to enable interested would-be editors to jump in and start adding citations to articles:

This activity can be as individual and self-paced as participants would like, but stay tuned for more information about a virtual workshop and group editing opportunities in November. If you're interested in incorporating this activity into any of your classes, please let us know -- we'd be happy to assist!


Citation Week @ the Library: Virtual Workshops on November 2, 3, 4

by Emily Alling on October 28th, 2021 in English & Writing, How-To, Library Resources, Research | 0 Comments

The first week of November is Citation Week at the library, featuring three virtual workshops on managing and citing sources. Everyone is welcome to attend!

  • Tuesday, November 2, 7-8 p.m. via TeamsDon't Reinvent the (Citation) Wheel, with Pamela Contakos - You don't have to start from scratch when creating citations. In this workshop you'll learn where to find citation information in the library databases to streamline the citation process and we'll take a look at some good resources with examples of citations that cover all kinds of resources.
     
  • Wednesday, November 3, 7-8 p.m. via TeamsBetter Living through Citation Management, with Emily Alling. Learn about options for keeping track of your sources and formatting and generating notes and bibliographies. We'll look at Zotero, a free, open-source citation manager, as well as built-in features in Word and Google Docs, depending on interest.
     
  • Thursday, 11/4, 7-8 p.m, via Teams.: The Idiosyncrasies and Peculiarities of Chicago Style, with Kate Flower: Chicago Style can feel very intimidating, and you may not be sure where to start if you're required to use it. In this workshop we'll cover Author-Date vs. Notes-Bibliography, as well as how to cite unusual primary sources, and sources found within a source.

In addition to these workshops and our online guides, librarians are always happy to work with you one-on-one or or in a group setting to go over citation information (or any other research or information need!). Get in touch using our Ask Us tools, or, to request a workshop, use the Classroom Instruction Request Form.


Welcome to HELM, Worcester State University!

by Emily Alling on June 7th, 2021 in Library Resources, News, Research | 0 Comments

The Worcester State University Library is the newest member of the Higher Education Libraries of Massachusetts (HELM) consortium, joining MCLA and eleven Massachusetts community colleges who share an online catalog and lend directly to one another's borrowers.

MCLA patrons can now request print items from Worcester State's collection (along with items from the collections of the other HELM libraries) directly via the library catalog

While MCLA values all of our HELM partner institutions, we are especially excited to have another four-year institution on board. Welcome to HELM, Worcester State!

 


New databases and full-text journal access for 2021

by Emily Alling on February 10th, 2021 in Environmental Studies, Interdisciplinary Studies, Library Resources, News, Science & Technology, Sociology | 0 Comments

The library is pleased to offer new and enhanced databases, including thousands of full-text journals, from EBSCO starting this semester.  

Two of our most popular databases, Academic Search Premier and Business Source Premier, have been upgraded.   

In addition to those upgrades, MCLA now has access to two brand new databases.  

All library databases can be found on our website under Databases A-Z.  

Access to this new content was negotiated by MCCLPHEI, a statewide consortium of public higher education libraries, and comes at no additional cost to MCLA. We hope that you find these resources useful in your work. Questions? Feedback? Please contact the library


Changes to Library Database Login

by Pamela Contakos on January 4th, 2021 in Library Resources | 0 Comments

Starting on January 6th, when you do a search on the library databases and are asked to login, you may see a message about “Additional Information About Personal Data Collection and Usage.” The library has implemented a new authentication system to work with our existing MCLA authentication. This new system automatically creates an account for you, allowing you to save searches, articles, and download ebooks without using a separate login. The privacy screen will come up the first time you login to the new system. You may opt out of account creation but not all features will be available to you if you do, like ebook downloading. For more information on the privacy policy and how the information is being used, please see this site. If you have any questions about the new system, please contact us at library@mcla.edu.


Library services update, Fall 2020

by Emily Alling on November 20th, 2020 in Library Resources, MCLA Community Resources, News | 0 Comments

For the latest updates about MCLA campus operations, please visit the college's Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information page. 

Thanksgiving and beyond: With the move back to remote teaching, learning, and work this Thanksgiving, the library will once again move to virtual operations on Wednesday, November 25, with curbside pickup of library materials still available.

Visit Library to Go to get started using the library's virtual collections and services.

Questions? Please call 413-662-5321 or email library@mcla.edu


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