The Fine Print
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Murphy Library University of Wisconsin - La Crosse N. 31 Spring 2003
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Sandy Sechrest Retires

Sandy Sechrest, Assistant Professor and Government Documents Librarian, will retire this May. When Sandy was first appointed, during the fall term of 1976, she came to a government documents depository that was much different than it is today. During her tenure at UW-L, government information has transformed from paper and microfiche to digital resources such as CD-ROMs, Internet documents, and DVDs. Government documents records have also been integrated with the online catalog, providing much wider and more convenient access. Sandy  worked with Randy Hoelzen to bring GIS (Geographic Information Systems) software to the library for mapping data sets. In the midst of these changes, the Government Printing Office (GPO) has consistently awarded the depository library very high marks.

Sandy SechrestBeyond managing the Government Documents department, Sandy was also the library liaison to students with disabilities. She was centrally involved in setting up the first adaptive workstation in the library. A respected teacher, Sandy also taught an extensive range of classes for the library’s information literacy program; many of these classes supported upper division and graduate level courses. Her extensive knowledge of federal and state documents and legal materials was invaluable to these students.

Sandy has an impressive service record spanning many campus and civic groups. She served on the Faculty Senate and a number of its committees, including the Scholarship Committee, and she held a number of leadership roles in the Organization for Campus Women. She was an active member of TAUWP, the UW-System advocacy group. Her community service record is extensive and includes the Bike-Ped Advisory Committee, League of Women Voters Board, the Friends of the La Crosse Public Library Board, and many years on the La Crosse Community Theatre Play Committee.

Sandy is well known by her peers in the Wisconsin Library Association where, among other things, she served as a long-term member of the Literary Awards Committee. Nationally, Sandy was active with GODORT (American Library Association Government Documents Round Table), and her articles on government document resources appeared in issues of Library Journal.

Sandy is a bibliophile extraordinaire. She has checked out thousands of books from the university and La Crosse public libraries. In her retirement, she will have more time to add to that number. As someone who has been very much connected to the community, Sandy will undoubtedly maintain her campus and civic involvement in the years ahead.

We invite you to a retirement reception for Sandy at the Cleary Center on May 8th from 2:30 – 4:00 p.m. (brief program at 3:00).

by Anita Evans, Library Director
Electronic Fine Print
Welcome to the first electronic issue of the Fine Print. In these times of tight budgets and cost-saving measures, an electronic newsletter makes sense for Murphy Library.

Paper and pensFor those people who prefer paper, a simple, printable copy is also available.

What do you think about this format? Please let us know.

""
The Fine Print is published fall and spring terms for UW-La Crosse faculty, staff, students, and friends of Murphy Library.  
Stefan Smith and Jenifer Holman, Editors

Cristine Prucha, Department Chair

Anita Evans, Library Director

Murphy Library
University of Wisconsin - La Crosse
1631 Pine Street
La Crosse, WI 54601
Farewell To Finnegan
Brian Finnegan, Electronic Resources Librarian, has accepted a position as Reference Librarian at the Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, Wisconsin. Brian came to Murphy Library in 2000, from the Gundersen Lutheran Health Sciences Library. His last day at UW-L will be May 16.

Brian's contributions to the library and to the campus will be missed. He was involved in many activities, including technology, web development, database development, reference, instruction, training, collection development, and many other library and campus-related endeavors.

We will all miss Brian's sense of humor and pleasant personality, and we wish him the best in his new position.

You can reach Brian to wish him well at Murphy Library 112, at 785-8738, or at finnegan.bria@uwlax.edu.
AskWisconsin Virtual Reference AskWisconsin Librarians

AskWisconsin is a virtual reference service provided by a consortium of 19 public and academic libraries from across the state of Wisconsin. Librarians from each of these libraries take turns answering reference questions via an interactive chat session. If the patron enters a valid email address, they will receive a transcript of their chat session.

AskWisconsin Chat is offered Monday through Thursday, 11:00 am to 9:00 pm, and Friday, 11 am to 5 pm. Murphy Library reference librarians staff the chat room at various times during the week including Mondays from 6:00 to 7:00 pm; Tuesdays from 12:00 to 1:00 pm; and Wednesdays from 12:00 to 1:00 pm, and 7:00 to 9:00 pm. This service is currently being offered on a trial basis until December of this year.

Please call Randy Hoelzen at 785-8398 to let us know how you like it or if you are experiencing any problems. Give it a try from your office or home. But don’t forget that reference librarians are still available to answer your questions via email, phone and in person at the library.

By Randy Hoelzen, ILL/Document Delivery Librarian
IlliadILLiad:
The Chronicle of Improved
Interlibrary Loan Services
This chronicle does not describe tragic Greek drama, but rather a quest for improved services. Launched at the beginning of spring term, a new interlibrary loan management system known as ILLiad is being used at Murphy Library. The Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery Department is very excited and optimistic about this new system, which offers additional functionality for the user, builds in automated efficiencies behind the scenes, and furthers the goal of working in a paperless environment. Library users are already benefiting from the feature that allows them to track the status of their requests online. ILLiad also allows users to amend and resubmit requests that may have been canceled because of missing information or other problems without having to fill out a new request.

Perhaps most importantly, ILLiad will eventually allow people to receive articles via desktop delivery. Once this desktop document delivery system is in place, electronic delivery will become the default delivery method. When a requested electronic document is available, users will receive an email notifying them that the item is available at a web site. They will follow a link to that site and download the article using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software. Several other enhancements are on the horizon, including a single click method of requesting articles from article databases.

ILLiad also brings additional functionality behind the scenes in the ILL office. It is much more “seamless” in its ability to transfer data from the patron request form to the ILL administrative module, and then to an electronic ordering system.

People who use the ILLiad system will need to check their UW-L email accounts on a regular basis. ILLiad automatically generates emails to users to let them know when their materials arrive. The Interlibrary Loan office also uses campus email to announce the arrival of books and articles and to request further information from library users. Therefore, we ask that users of this system check their campus email accounts on a regular basis.

The ILLiad system has been up for approximately three months at this time. We have seen an increase in utilization of ILL services and an improvement in speed of delivery. We are hopeful that these positive trends will continue.

By Randy Hoelzen, ILL/Document Delivery Librarian
 

Maintaining Quality while Sustaining Budget Cuts

Murphy Library has not escaped the challenges posed by the current budget situation. Projected base budget reductions are the worst seen in over a decade, and librarians at Murphy Library face the difficult task of maintaining quality services and collections while at the same time cutting budgets by large strokes.

All campus units, including the library, were asked to outline how they could accomplish budget cuts at levels ranging from 2.5% to 10%. Even at the 5% level, the library will have to bear losses in many areas. Library hours, which have been consistent at just over 97 hours/week since 1992, will need to be reduced in fall 2003. A half-time position in the Circulation Department will be lost, and student worker hours will be cut. Operations such as shelving and new book processing may be slowed. The budget for summer library faculty appointments will be reduced, and consequently some services including summer reference assistance will be reduced. Additionally, the modest continuing education/travel fund will be reduced. At the same time that the library is projecting cuts in services, costs for many library resources are increasing, and vital new technologies, all with costs, are emerging to replace or enhance older systems.
 		 For example, the AskWisconsin reference chat service and the greatly improved ILLiad interlibrary loan service have been funded initially at the UW System level. A significant portion of these costs will fall to the individual institutions next fiscal year, with full campus funding required in 2004-05. The library catalog was enhanced a few years ago with a service that adds searchable tables of contents to catalog records. With a significant cut in the supplies and equipment (S&E) budget, the library will need to weigh the value of such programs against what can be afforded in an austere budget environment.

Although some equipment ( such as public copiers, microfiche printers, and some public computers) was recently replaced, the library will now have to struggle to maintain aging equipment based on a slower replacement cycle. The current library budget has been sufficient only to purchase a few furniture items each year. As more time passes since the 1994/95 remodeling project, there will be an increasing need for furniture refurbishment and replacement. At the reduced budget level now projected, equipment and furniture deficits will be in much greater evidence a few years out. 		In addition to the unit-wide cuts described above, the library faculty and staff have been creative in devising cost saving measures that will lessen the impact of the budget cuts. The Circulation Department has implemented e-mail notices for fines, and more information produced by the library will be provided digitally—including the Fine Print. In addition to these measures, supplies expenditures are being scrutinized rigorously.

With the squeeze on library budgets, Murphy Library and other UW System libraries feel pressured to look for additional revenue streams. In the late 1980s the library had a minimal charge for interlibrary loan transactions. It is our hope that we will not need to revert to this type of fee to offset budget reductions.

The library will be challenged to maintain quality programs as we enter the next biennium. We will continue to respond to the budget reductions proactively in targeting cost savings; identifying sources of outside funding, including engaging in new fundraising endeavors for the Library Endowment; and exploring opportunities to recruit volunteers for library projects.
 

by Anita Evans, Library Director

Digitization Efforts Underway

Steamboat: Great Lakes Maritime History ProjectMurphy Library has begun digitizing library resources and making them available via the Murphy Library Web site. The library has provided digital journal articles and books for many years, and is now pleased to offer more local resources in a digital format. These digitization projects are intended to provide better access to important historical and local information resources.

The first two projects, the Great Lakes Maritime History Project and the Wisconsin Pioneer Experience: A Digital Collection of Original Sources Documenting 19th-Century Wisconsin History were collaborative. The Department of Public Instruction’s Division for Libraries, Technology and Community Learning coordinated and funded the Maritime Project, and University of Wisconsin - Madison provided technical support. Images were supplied from the library collections of Wisconsin Historical Society, University of Wisconsin - La Crosse; University of Wisconsin - Superior, Milwaukee Public Library/Wisconsin Marine Historical Society and Door County Maritime Historical Society. The Wisconsin Pioneer Experience is one of the early projects of the University of Wisconsin Digital Collection (UWDC) sponsored by Council of University of Wisconsin Libraries (CUWL) and supported through UW System funding. Both of these collections offer a wonderful view of life in Wisconsin and La Crosse through primary resources such as photographs, diaries, and oral histories.

The Murphy Library Endowment funded Murphy Library's first two independent projects. The Early Parade Film of La Crosse (1 minute, 39 seconds) shows a clip of a parade at the corner of Main St. and 5th Ave. in La Crosse Parade Filmdowntown La Crosse. In part four, the Majestic Theatre on the south side of Main St. is at the extreme left and the Boyer-Furber Furniture store is on the right. It was a hot summer day with many flags waving. One pennant carried by some boys reads “Retail Merchants Association.” Although the origin of the parade is not known, it may be a 4th of July parade. Judging by the cars, street signs, and streetlights, the parade probably dates between 1913 and 1918.

Wisconsin Labor AdvocateThe second independent project was to digitize the Wisconsin Labor Advocate. Murphy Library owns the only known original copy of the Wisconsin Labor Advocate, a newspaper published in La Crosse from 1886-1887. La Crosse was a hotbed of labor political party activity in the 1880s and the Labor Advocate was one of at least four La Crosse-area labor-related newspapers from that time. In addition to Murphy Library having the only original issues, the Labor Advocate is also most interesting because of its editor and owner: George Edwin Taylor. Taylor was born in Arkansas in 1857 and later made his home in La Crosse. As an African-American business owner, he was an anomaly in La Crosse in the 1880s. Taylor got his start in publishing, working at other La Crosse newspapers. He also became increasingly interested in politics as reflected in his editorship of the Wisconsin Labor Advocate.

The last existing edition of the paper dates from August 6, 1887, and George Edwin Taylor left La Crosse soon afterwards. He maintained a life-long interest in politics and by 1904 had become involved in an African-American political party called the National Liberty Party. Taylor accepted the nomination of that party in 1904 as its candidate for the office of the U.S. President. In doing so, Taylor was the first candidate of a national African-American party for the U.S. presidency. In addition to the digitized images, the complete text of the newspaper is available and keyword searchable. The library is looking for a volunteer to assist in correcting the text, which contains errors brought about by the image-to-text conversion process. Please contact Bill Doering at 785-8399 if you would like to volunteer.

Several other projects are also underway, including three outstanding grants for digitizing resources. A full list of Murphy Library's digitized resources is available at http://www.uwlax.edu/murphylibrary/digitization/digitizedcollections.html. We are actively soliciting ideas for future digitization projects.  Our criteria include: importance for UWL's curriculum; original item is rare or fragile; an electronic copy enhances the value and/or usability of the item.
 

by William Doering, Integrated Systems & Technology Librarian
Montgomery Receives Murphy Award
Dale Montgomery

Murphy Library is pleased to announce that Dr. Dale Montgomery is the recipient of the 2003 Murphy Library Award. The award has been given since 1986 to recognize those individuals or organizations that have made major contributions to the mission, program and purposes of Murphy Library.

Dr. Montgomery joined the university in 1977 as Director of the Library and Media Services. During his tenure he was instrumental in developing the Resource Center concept to consolidate the library, AV center, and other learning resources scattered around campus. The result was a $7.6 million building and remodeling project completed in 1995 after a decade of planning.

Even when he held other administrative positions on campus beginning in June 1966, he continued to be a tremendous advocate for the library until his retirement in 1999. His other contributions include supporting the Murphy Library Endowment Fund and highlighting library resources as part of the Chancellor’s Inaugural Committee in 2001-2002.

A program and reception to honor Dr. Montgomery was held on Wednesday, April 23, at 7 p.m. in Murphy Library’s Special Collection/Area Research Center.

By Michele Strange, Access Services Librarian
Distance Education and Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery Services

The Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery Department strives to give distance learners equal access to the same information resources that are available for on-campus learners. Over the last several years, demand for resources, both those resident in the library and those obtainable via interlibrary loan, has grown substantially. One large group of distance-based library users are the members of the ME-PD (Masters of Education-Professional Development) Learning Communities, who are located throughout the state. Stefan Smith, Outreach Librarian, developed a web site that brings together our policies and explains services available to distance learners. That site is located at http://www.uwlax.edu/murphylibrary/distance/ 

Distance Learning Links at Murphy Library
Distance Learning Resources

A Template for Research at a Distance

ME-PD Learning Communities Links

Our core service for distance learners is home delivery of needed materials. Mail delivery of library materials is available to any UW-La Crosse student, staff, or faculty member who lives outside of La Crosse County, has circulation privileges, and does not have physical access to the library. Examples of those who might be eligible include students taking distance education courses, students in study abroad programs, graduate students not currently registered but working on a UW-L thesis, faculty members on sabbatical or temporarily living outside the area, and students commuting from outside the county whose classes meet when the library is not open or when the library has severely restricted hours. The service includes delivery of materials Murphy Library owns, as well as those materials we borrow from other libraries.

We encourage distance learners to use all available local resources before using Murphy Library delivery services. When the same items are available in both Murphy Library and in the student’s local area, it is usually quicker and more convenient to use the local resource first. But for most distance learners, especially those living in more remote areas, our service has proven to be absolutely essential. We have been very pleased with the positive feedback we have received from our patrons. We look forward to future enhancements to these services. One such improvement to watch for will be the electronic delivery of articles scanned and placed at a web site for downloading. This enhancement will be available soon.

By Randy Hoelzen, ILL/Document Delivery Librarian

Goodbye Dow Jones, Hello Factiva

Factiva contains nearly 8,000 sources (including scholarly periodicals) in a variety of languages.

Murphy Library has held a subscription to the Dow Jones Interactive (DJI) database for many years. In 1999, the company that produces DJI, Dow Jones Reuters Business Interactive LLC, has rebranded this product as Factiva. As a result of this rebranding, Dow Jones Interactive is being replaced with a new, enhanced database that will be known as Factiva.

Factiva offers nearly 8,000 sources in a variety of languages focused on, but not limited to, business and financial information. These sources include: local and regional newspapers, trade publications, business newswires, press release wires, media transcripts, investment analyst reports, company profiles, market research reports, country and regional profiles, and historical market data. The variety of non-English sources offers a global perspective on many issues.

Factiva offers personalization options, such as: searching and displaying information in different languages, selecting the publication types most important to your research, and the ability to bring it all together on a personalized news page. Factiva offers a variety of industry and regional news pages in which you can quickly scan the front pages of the world’s top newspapers and magazines. English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish interfaces are available with Russian and Japanese interfaces coming soon.

According to Factiva, some of its features include:

  • Nearly 8,000 sources from 118 countries in 22 languages.
  • Group and individual functionality, such as email alerts and tracking sources.
  • An indexing system (Intelligent Indexing) that works for precise, accurate results

By Brian Finnegan, Electronic Resources Librarian
Did you know? The library now has laptop hookups at study tables. Three study tables on the first floor have been modified to include network jacks and electrical outlets. The tables are located in the wide center aisle between the stacks of bound periodicals.
Did you know? The library now provides access to MS Office programs.  Because students now often need to use PowerPoint, Word, and Excel to access their course materials, these programs have been installed on several computers in the reference area.
Did you know? Library fines and overdue notices are being sent via email only, using student, faculty, and staff UW-L email addresses. Notices that will be emailed include: overdues, billing (fines and fees), item available (holds), and cancellations. Paper notices will no longer be sent.
Support Murphy Library Support Murphy Library

La Crosse in Light & ShadowLa Crosse in Light & Shadow

Edited by Ed Hill and Douglas Connell

Available for $40.00 plus $3.00 shipping and handling.

Proceeds for the book go to the Murphy Library Endowment Fund.

For more information and purchase instructions, visit Murphy Library Special Collections at: www.uwlax.edu/murphylibrary/
Departments/archome.html

August Moon PaintingAugust Moon by Michael Blaser

This magnificent oil painting, commissioned for Murphy Library, hangs in the library’s Special Collections area.

Limited edition prints are available for sale.

More information is available through Murphy Library, (608)785-8511, and at the library's August Moon Website at www.uwlax.edu/ murphylibrary/blaser/
Support Murphy Library Support Murphy Library

Murphy Library Endowment Fund Makes a Difference!

Maintaining the level of excellence expected in our academic community creates challenges for today's university libraries.

In 1989, Murphy Library at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse established an endowment fund to support and enhance the special needs of the Library. Help make a difference in the 21st century!

For information and donation instructions, visit the library Endowment Fund website at www.uwlax.edu/murphylibrary/
endowment/endow.html

 

Fredricks Memorial Endowment Fund in Oral History

The Fredricks Memorial Endowment Fund was established in 1994 in honor of history professor and oral historian Howard Fredericks. The fund supports the university's oral history program, which is an active and useful primary resource for the region.

Contributions are greatly appreciated and may be sent to:

UW-L Foundation-Fredricks Fund
Murphy Library Resource Center
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
1631 Pine Street
La Crosse, WI 54601-3792

Library Hours
Regular Academic Year Hours
Monday - Thursday 7:40 a.m.– Midnight
Friday 7:40 a.m.– 7:00 p.m.
Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Sunday Noon - Midnight
Reference Desk (Regular Academic Year)
Monday-Thursday 9:00 a.m.- 9:00 p.m.
Friday 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Saturday 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Sunday 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Area Research Center (Regular Academic Year)
Monday - Friday 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Saturday 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Sunday Closed
Intersession hours as posted
Finals Weeks

Special hours are in effect. The library will be open until midnight except on Friday, May 16, when it is open until 7:00 p.m.

During Finals Week Reference Service will be available 10:00 – 3:00 p.m. Intersession hours as posted.

The Extended Hours Study Room will be open from Saturday, May 10 to Thursday, May 15 until 2:00 a.m.

For more detailed hours, visit the Hours link on the library home page.
Library Contacts
Acquisitions 785-8509 Hours 785-8808
Administrative Office 785-8520 Gov. Documents 785-8513
Automation 785-8399 Interlibrary Loan 785-8636
Cataloging 785-8638 Instruction 785-8637
Circulation &  Reserves 785-8507 Outreach 785-8396
Collection & Res. Dev. 785-8567 Periodicals 785-8510
Curriculum Center 785-8651 Reference Desk 785-8508
Electronic Resources 785-8738 Special Collections 785-8511