New look for Library website

Starting Mon.,  Jan. 17, University Libraries website will look a lot different.

Why?  Because out site is migrating to WMU's new content management system (CMS) . This means the Libraries webpages will have a similar look as the WMU main page and a few other departments that have already migrated.  An advantage of the new CMS is its "responsive design" feature -- the links and components of the website automatically rearrange to better fit the screen on which the website is being viewed.  Now our site will be more mobile device-friendly, as functional for someone viewing it on a smart phone as it is for someone viewing is on a 15 inch monitor.

Asides from that change, there should be little difference in functionality between the old and new website. The URLs for all of the pages will be the same, and users will have access to the same library resources through the website as before the migration. 

Questions or concerns?  Please feel free to let me know.

Five science-related databses down Sept 29-30

Five science-related article databases available to WMU faculty, staff, and students  will be unavailable from 10 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 22 Sept 29 until 10 a.m., Sunday, Sept. 23 Sept 30.

The five databases are: BioOne, Dissertations & Theses @ Western Michigan University, Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management, GeoRef, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I.  ProQuest will be performing maintenance on these and other databases on the ProQuest platform during this time.             

Changes to Borrowing Periods

The Libraries have changed some of its borrowing periods -- the length of time students, staff, and faculty can check out materials.  The changes were made to make the borrowing periods for various materials simpler and more consistent.  Take a look at the changes on the Libraries' Borrowing webpage.

New Government Docs related to Natural Sciences

GODORT of Michigan Wiki

Here is a link to new and notable government documents for January 2012, passed along to library faculty by the Government Documents Librarian at Waldo Library. From the 80+ titles in the list, here are the natural science-related documents:

• Deforestation and greenhouse gases. Washington, D.C.: Congress of the United States, Congressional Budget Office, 2012.
• Final Rule, Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revising the Listing of the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) in the Western Great Lakes (dated December 28, 2011).
• Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program Online Database.  Michigan DEQ.
• Responding to climate change in national forests: a guidebook for developing adaptation options. Portland, OR: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, 2011.
• Seismic-hazard maps for the conterminous United States, 2008. Reston, VA: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, 2011.
  

The links to and descriptions of these six government documents, and the dozens of others on the January 2012 list, were posted on the wiki of the Government Documents Round Table (GODORT) of Michigan.  The wiki, produced by the Reference, Documents & Maps Librarian at Northern Michigan University, is intended to be a resource for government documents and other types of librarians, although it is a helpful resource for other researchers.

It is also a reminder that natural-sciences information resources aren't limited to journal articles.  Reports, maps, and statistics sets are a few of the info sources produced by the U.S. Government, and can be a helpful source for a research project.  

To find a government document that meets your needs, contact Government Documents here in Waldo Library or contact me.