During the Fall semester we completed a library services survey. One of the most frequent requests we received from our students was an earlier opening throughout the week and a later closing on Fridays. Starting this semester we’re trialing new hours by opening at 7:30 Monday - Friday and staying open until 7pm on Fridays.

We are excited to be able to offer these hours to better accommodate the needs of our community!

Our Light Therapy Lamps are some of the newest additions to our collection.

Therapy lamps are one tool used to mitigate symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder, seasonal depression that is caused by the change in seasons.

If you are experiencing symptoms of seasonal depression, including changes in mood, negative thinking, lack of enjoyment, low energy, changes in sleep, changes in eating, and trouble concentrating, we encourage you to reach out to our Health and Wellness center at 608-363-2331.

To borrow a Light Therapy Lamp, visit the library’s InfoDesk.

A student reading a book while using a new light therapy lamp.

This semester, we have added a selection of DIY/Craft books covering subjects from crochet, knitting, weaving, and embroidery to drawing, watercolors, papercraft, hand lettering, and everything in between to support the extracurricular needs of Beloiters. These books can be checked out or used at the activity table in the library.

A cart featuring new books from our DIY/Craft books collection.

In late December, LITS updated our off-campus access to library resources from EzProxy to OpenAthens. This does not affect how you use library materials on-campus, but, when working from off-campus you now encounter the same login screen you see for the Portal, email, and Moodle.

If you encounter any links that appear broken, try searching for the resource in our catalog or via a database in our A-Z Database list, as the link structure may have been changed. If you still have issues accessing the resource, report the link as broken using the ‘Report a Broken Link’ feature in our catalog.

The Beloit College Archives continues to add unique materials to its collections by transfer from college offices, purchase, or donation. Below are a sample of recent acquisitions:

• A collection of 21 dance cards (1929-1932) belonging to Eugene Boardman ’32, class photographs, and theater cast portrait (circa 1900) featuring Charles W. Boardman, class of 1907, gifted by Ben Boardman.
• Professor Donald A. Murray’s scrapbook (1970) documenting a seminar trip to Costa Rica he taught and visits with members of the indigenous Boruca tribe. Along with the scrapbook, a 1903 Phi Beta Kappa pendant was also gifted by Cameron Murray ’80. 
• Betty Russell Showers and Denzil Showers World War II correspondence, circa 1944-46, gifted by the Denzil C. Showers, Class of 2010.
• Robert J. Salzer papers, comprised of photographs, student notebooks, research and committee papers, coorespondence, publications, and other materials. Gift of John Broihahn and K. Salzer.

Dance Card from 1932 depicting a clock with a man and woman dancing A selection of dance cards, circa 1930s. Prominent cards shaped like a clover, a barrel, and a rectangle depicting a woman in a dress outdoors.

This semester, both the Learning Studio and Innovation Space located in the library are open. The Adobe Creative Cloud suite is available on all Macs and Logic Pro is available on the Mac Mini located in the Innovation Space. Please direct students to the InfoDesk with questions about accessing these resources.

We would also like to announce that several other public and lab spaces have been upgraded with brand new Mac Mini computers featuring the latest Apple processor, which provides a significant performance boost and better energy efficiency. The Science Center room 401 computer lab, Pearson’s lab, Smith building art lab, and Library public area Mac Minis have all been upgraded with new equipment. Additionally, Kemper Lab has had new monitor stations installed for students to connect to their laptops or checked out Chromebooks.

LITS is busy collecting both qualitative and quantitative data on our services, building, and collections using both mini surveys and a building headcount in an effort to realign our offerings to the current needs of our community.

Surveys

Each survey consists of a maximum of 3 demographic questions and 5 in-depth questions relevant to a specific facet of our work in LITS. Each survey has a different distribution methodology so we can solicit feedback from a variety of library users and non-users.

Past surveys include:

• Services
• Spaces

Future surveys include:

• Collections
• Technology
• Website

Headcount

In order to make future decisions about building hours, events, and more, we need quantitative data to tell us how many people are in each part of the building at any given time. In order to gather this data, student employees are walking the building and recording the number of patrons in each type of space at specific times of day.

We expect to conclude this formal assessment at the end of the Spring 2022 semester.

All We Can TikTok About: Misinformation on Social Media

February 24, 2022 & March 10, 2022
11:55 - 12:50