RefWorks Training

On Tuesday, March 31, 2009, Chris Lenney and Steve Kuehler will offer basic training in RefWorks, the online citation management tool. The session will take place 4:00-4:50pm in Room 310, on the third floor of Lamont Library. Sign up by contacting Steve (kuehler@fas.harvard.edu) or Chris (lenney@fas.harvard.edu).

Faculty and staff are also welcome to attend this training. Future training sessions will be posted on the Citation Tools iSite.

At your service,
Cheryl

Name the New Discovery System!

The Harvard University Libraries will be implementing a new search and discovery system soon, and we need a name for it. HOLLIS has been used already, so what should this new system be called?

[Want an idea of what the new system will do? Take a look at this installation at the University of Chicago.]

We urge Harvard researchers to give us naming ideas for the new Harvard online system. Just ask at any library public service desk to “take the naming survey” (only 4 questions) to get your ideas to us (BTW, we have a tiny window of opportunity to name the system, so we want your ideas as quickly as you can get them to us).

Many thanks for your ideas, so we can make the system “at your service,”
Cheryl

The Harvard Iranian Oral History Project

The Harvard Iranian Oral History Project was launched by Habib Ladjevardi, MBA ’63, following the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran (Ladjevardi was working as a research associate at Harvard’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the time). The project’s goal was to preserve eyewitness accounts of the revolution before they were lost, which was done using cassette tapes and paper, both of which became increasingly fragile over time. But as of this writing, 118 of the 134 interviews conducted as part of the project have been digitized, and so are available to scholars worldwide on the Iranian Oral History Project site, where you can read background on the project and search or browse the interviews.

At your service,
Cheryl

Consult Judaica Division

For some materials in the HOLLIS catalog you’ll find the location listed as, "Harvard Depository…Consult Judaica Division" or "Consult Judaica Division." These items include non-circulating material located at the Harvard Depository as well as in-process materials located in the Judaica Division in Widener Library.

To gain access to these materials, use the “Consult Judaica Division Request Form,” located on the HCL web site. The completed form goes directly to the Judaica Division, and staff there will e-mail you as soon as the item you requested is available.

It’s all about getting the material into your hands.
At your service,
Cheryl

The Harvard Semitic Museum Photographic Archives

The Harvard Semitic Museum Photographic Archives was developed at the Semitic Museum between 1891 and 1992. It is an important set of Middle Eastern photographic collections, with over 38,500 images in a wide variety of formats, including albumen silver prints, multiple-image panoramic views, stereographs, snapshots, picture postcards, photogravures, autochromes, lantern slides, color slides, films, and audiotapes.

For further information about the Archives, please check the web link, above, or get in touch with Jeff Spurr, Islamic and Middle Eastern Specialist, Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, by phone at 617-495-3372, by fax at 617-496-4889, or via e-mail at spurr@fas.harvard.edu.

At your service,

Cheryl

Botanical and Cultural Images of Eastern Asia, 1907-1927

In the spring, our fancy in Cambridge lightly turns to thoughts of GREENERY, and whether we'll ever see any again (*deep sigh!*). If you are experiencing a frantic need for a renewal of the great outdoors, right now might be the optimal time for you to explore the Arnold Arnoretum's Botanical and Cultural Images of Eastern Asia, 1907-1927 online.

This is a collection of eastern Asian photographs that represents the work of plant explorers who traveled to Asia in the early years of the twentieth century and brought back to the Arboretum live plants, seeds, dried specimens, and the amazing images of Asian botany and culture you can see here. It's a quick and easy getaway online, an immersion in another time, other places, and very little snow or ice in evidence (the above picture notwithstanding).

At your service,
Cheryl

Cambridge Histories Online

Harvard scholars now have full access 24/7/365 to the Cambridge Histories Online, over 250 volumes published by Cambridge University Press since 1960, covering over 15 different academic subjects. You can search and browse the full-text content, save searches, bookmark sources, and export citations from within the system. Volumes in this online series include: Arabic Literature in the Post-Classical Period, The Cambridge Economic History of India, The Cambridge History of Ancient China, The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature, The Cambridge History of China, The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia, The Cambridge History of Egypt, The Cambridge History of Islam, The Cambridge History of Japan, The Cambridge History of Judaism, The Cambridge History of Russia, The Cambridge History of Russian Literature, The Cambridge History of South-east Asia, The Cambridge History of the Bible, The Cambridge History of Turkey, The New Cambridge History of India, and The New Cambridge Medieval History. New volumes from the print series will be added each year (averaging about 5 titles per year).

Information at your service,
Cheryl

Ask Us Live!

If you have a research problem or question away from the library you can IM a Harvard College librarian for help. The "Ask Us Live!" instant messaging program lets you go online (at: http://hcl.harvard.edu/askuslive/) during the hours 3-9 PM on Sunday through Thursday to ask for research assistance.

My colleagues and I answer research questions online, refer you to other colleagues, and schedule individual research consultations as needed, so please do "ask us live" via this service -- we're here to help.

At your service,

Cheryl

GSAS Student Reception Today

A reminder and invite for GSAS students: please join research and collections librarians from across Harvard’s libraries for an informal gathering on Wednesday, March 4th, from 4:30 to 6:30 PM in the Edison and Newman Room at Houghton Library. Hors d'oeuvres, wine, beer, and other beverages will be served. I hope very much to see you there!

At your service,

Cheryl

The Harvard/Radcliffe Online Historical Reference Shelf

Annual reports of Presidents and Treasurers of Harvard (1826-1995) and Radcliffe (1879-1988). Lists of Harvard graduates, 1642-1857. Dorm History Search (search by any combination of room number, class, and name). Harvard University Buildings. List of Harvard Presidents. The Harvard Fact Book with current statistics about Harvard and Radcliffe. Harvard songs sung at football games and other ceremonial occasions. Newspapers and Magazines about Harvard, 1873-present.

All this and more is available to you online via the Harvard/Radcliffe Online Historical Reference Shelf, a joint project of the Harvard University Archives and Radcliffe Archives that consists of over 100,000 full-text searchable pages of frequently consulted sources on the history of Harvard and Radcliffe. If you’re looking for facts and figures and the histories of Harvard and Radcliffe, this is a good place to start.

At your service,
Cheryl