October 2010 Archives

VCU's Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) has posted a podcast about Open Access publishing, featuring an interview with Dan Ream of VCU Libraries. Dan and Jeff Nugent of the CTE discuss issues driving the practice of open access publishing and retention of author copyright in higher education, look at some examples of successful university projects, and briefly discuss what VCU is doing in the field of open access publishing. Links to the mp3 file and nine open access-related Web sites are provided at the CTE "What's New" blog.

This fall VCU acquired access to PsycINFO via the American Psychological Association's (APA) PsycNet. The new interface permits searching across five databases simultaneously to locate scholarly literature, book chapters, gray literature, and other valuable sources in the fields of behavioral sciences and mental health.

On Wednesday, November 10th, VCU Libraries is offering two identical forty minute workshops for anyone interested in learning how to navigate the new interface and gaining hands-on experience searching PsycINFO.

Participants will learn to:

• create a complex search using a variety of fields
• limit results to a specific age group, population, publication type, research methodology
• create a MY PsycNET account to save successful searches and set up email alerts when new records are added to this search

Both workshops will be held on the third floor of Cabell Library in room 319. No advance registration is necessary.

Date: Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Time: 12:00 PM - 12:40 p.m.
Time: 03:00 PM - 03:40 p.m.

Address questions to Nita Bryant, Library Liaison for the Social and Behavioral Sciences, or call 828-6651 for more information.

Join Tompkins-McCaw Library's Jodi Koste for a lecture on Grave Robbing, Goblins, and Ghouls: Anatomical Education in 19th Century Richmond on Thursday, October 28 from 4 to 5 p.m. in Sanger Hall, Room 4-026. Anatomical instruction has been integral to medical education for centuries. Discover how anatomy was taught in Richmond during the 19th century and why students and faculty were involved in procuring cadavers for this important educational experience. A brief walking tour of the MCV Campus highlighting stories about grave robbing, goblins, and ghouls will follow the presentation. Seating is limited; advanced registration is encouraged.

Register online for the lecture
Register online for the tour

The VCU Libraries, Technology Services, and the Center for Clinical and Translational Research present the 2010 Research Services Day on Thursday, October 28 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Tompkins-McCaw Library. This event will highlight the vast array of resources available at VCU to support your research.

Seating limited; advance registration encouraged. Register online, via e-mail, or by calling 828-0017.

For more information, please visit the Research Services Day Website.

The VCU Medical Center is proud to host the 2010 Cybersecurity Fair in recognition of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month on Wednesday, October 27 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Tompkins-McCaw Library. Join us as VCU's security experts, along with corporate partners, present demos and share their experiences that range from Social Networking and Anytime, Anywhere Secure Connectivity for Healthcare Professionals to data breaches and Computer Forensics in Healthcare. Don't miss this opportunity to enjoy a light lunch, view exciting presentations, and enter a chance to win a smart device of your own! Seating limited; advance registration encouraged. Register online, via e-mail, or by calling 828-0017. Attendees must attend at least one session to be eligible for lunch and the raffle.

For more information, please visit the Cybersecurity Fair website.

Research Guides covering a wide variety of subjects are now available for most hand-held devices through a streamlined, easy-to-use mobile interface. Use these guides on your device, or bookmark VCU Libraries Mobile to quickly access all of VCU Libraries' mobile-enabled services, including building hours, library events, and databases.

VCU Cabell First Novelist Festival
Thursday November 4, 2010
7:00 p.m.
Sonia Vlahcevic Concert Hall
W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts
922 Park Avenue

Writing a novel is tough; finding an agent who believes in it and an editor willing to launch it--harder still. Virginia Commonwealth University welcomes 2010 VCU Cabell First Novelist Award winner Victor Lodato; his agent, David McCormick; and his editor at Farrar, Straus Giroux, Courtney Hodell, as they trace the journey of Lodato's masterful Mathilda Savitch from first draft to literary attention-getter.

The reading and book discussion are free and open to the public, as are the book signing and reception immediately following. Parking is available for a fee in the West Main Street and West Cary Street parking decks. If special accommodations are needed, please call Antonia FD Vassar at (804) 827-1165 prior to October 31, 2010.

The VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, presented by the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program, is sponsored by the VCU Department of English, James Branch Cabell Library Associates, the VCU Friends of the Library, VCU Libraries, the VCU Honors College,and the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences.

The annual Friends of the Library Book Sale runs October 25 through October 29, 2010.

Most items are $2 or less, and we now accept payment by RamBucks, as well as credit card, cash, and check. All proceeds from the Friends of the Library Book Sale help to fund VCU Libraries' programs, collections, and lectures.

2010 Sale Hours

• Monday, October 25: Noon - 8 p.m.
• Tuesday, October 26: 9 a.m. - 8 p.m.
• Wednesday, October 27: 9 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Special Half-Price Sale

• Thursday, October 28: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Friday, October 29: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Preview Sale for Friends of the Library Donors

• Monday, October 25: 9 am - Noon
• (Please present your Friends donor card for admission to the preview sale.)

For more information about the Friends of the Library Book Sale, please contact Antonia FD Vassar (804-827-1165).

Is your scholarly research only for those wealthy enough to afford the journal you publish in? Or would you rather have your work freely accessible to all without charge, while still published in a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal?

On Friday, October 15th, from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m., VCU Libraries will present a new workshop for faculty (but open to all) entitled "Open Access Scholarly Publishing for Faculty." The workshop will be conducted by Dan Ream, VCU librarian and past president of the VCU Faculty Senate.

As journal subscription costs have increased dramatically, fewer and fewer libraries can afford every journal that is needed, including some that are considered prestigious and essential. Faculty worldwide, especially in the sciences but also increasingly in the social sciences and humanities, have responded by creating and publishing their research in open access, peer-reviewed journals that charge no fee to their readers. Faculty Senates from Harvard to Berkeley to the University of Virginia have endorsed open access publishing for their faculty. Perhaps VCU's Faculty Senate may some day do so as well.

This one-hour session will introduce faculty to this revolution in publishing of open access, peer-reviewed journals and demonstrate how to locate them in almost any discipline, as well as discuss the potential benefits of worldwide free access to faculty research. Options for faculty retention of copyright will also be discussed.

This workshop will be held in library classroom/lab 319 on the third floor of Cabell Library. No advance registration is necessary. Address questions to Dan Ream, or call 828-6545 for more information.

Film Screening: Catch Shorts on a Big Screen
Thursday, October 14, 2010
12:30 - 1:45 p.m.
Cabell Library, Multipurpose Room, second floor
Monroe Park Campus

View award-winning, short films, documentaries, and animation from the VCU Libraries collections (about 72 minutes).

• Le Revolution de Crabes (The Revolution of the Crabs), France, 5:04
• Birds, UK, 10:00
• The Commoners (Starlings in the U.S.), USA, 12:30
• The Discipline of De (William Borroughs), USA, 9:00
• Bad Head Day, Mexico, 1:17
• La Vie dun Chien (The Life of a Dog), USA, 13:00
• The Boy with No Name, UK, 6:00
• Death to Tinman, USA, 9:00
• Video 300, Germany, 5:00

Co-sponsored by VCU Libraries and Student Affairs & Enrollment Services: University Student Commons & Activities (USC&A Programs). Visit VCU Libraries events page for more information on other upcoming events and workshops.

Walk-In Research& Writing Clinics
James Branch Cabell Library
Multipurpose Room, room 250, Second Floor
Co-sponsored by VCU Libraries and the Writing Center

• Tues, Oct 12, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.
• Wed, Oct 13, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
• Tues, Oct 19, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
• Wed, Oct 20, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.
• Tues, Oct 26, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.
• Wed, Oct 27, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
• Tues, Nov 2, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
• Wed, Nov 3, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.
• Tues, Nov 9, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.
• Wed, Nov 10, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
• Tues, Nov 16, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
• Wed, Nov 17, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.
• Tues, Nov 30, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
• Wed, Dec 1, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.
• Tues, Dec 7, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.
• Wed, Dec 8, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Researchers and writers are encouraged to stop by anytime the clinics are open and are encouraged to bring laptops. For more information, visit the Clinic Website.

For a list of library instruction classes and events on both campuses, visit the VCU Libraries Events page.

For a list of writing oriented workshops, visit the Writing Center Workshops page.