April 2010 Archives

One of the problems I face when working on my laptop in the library is printing. I have to put my file on a flash drive or on the Blackboard content system, wait for an open computer (which could take forever), open the file and print it on that computer (which DOES take forever), then print it at one of the print stations. Is there a way I can cut out the middle computer (the extremely slow one) from the process and not take up library computers just to print two pages? It would be helpful if there were a way to send print jobs directly to the library print stations through the VCU Libraries web site. That way I could print my documents from my personal laptop without waiting for a library computer to use.

From: an undergraduate student

Mary Ellen Spencer, Head of Research and Instructional Services, replies...

Good news: laptop users can send print jobs to the Pay4Print workstations in both the Cabell Library and the Tompkins-McCaw Library. Simply download the printer driver(s) you need from the Technology Services Web site. If you need help or have any questions, just contact the Help Desk at 8-2227. Thanks for sending the suggestion, and I hope the information is helpful to you.

I came across this online encyclopedia by wiley interscience - encyclopedia of reagents for organic synthesis. It is pretty helpful but I don't think it is available to us VCU students. Please see if you could make this available to us. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/mrwhome/104554785/HOME

From: a graduate student

Lynne Turman, Head of Collections at Tompkins-McCaw Library replies...

Thank you for the suggestion to subscribe to the online version of the Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis. A one-year subscription to this reference work is over $6,000 and the print copy can be purchased for $8,500. The present budget for new acquisitions is insufficient to fund a subscription or print copy at this time. However, we are always interested in hearing from you about items to consider in the future. For your convenience, materials in any format may be requested by submitting the Purchase Suggestion Form ( https://www.library.vcu.edu/phpapps/forms/purchase ) located on the VCU Libraries web site. Again, thank you for your interest in helping VCU Libraries build the best collection of resources to serve the University's research and academic communities.

Please purchase a subscription to Current Protocols in Cytometry. It contains information on a number of important techniques needed for both patient care and research at the VCU School of Medicine.

From: a faculty member

Lynne Turman, Head of Collections at Tompkins-McCaw Library replies...

Thank you for the suggestion. We welcome and actively solicit suggestions from VCU faculty and students for enhancements to our collections. Many factors go into the decision to subscribe to a particular journal, including reputation, journal impact factor, cost, relevance, etc. The cost for a subscription to Current Protocols in Cytometry is over $4900. We will place this title into consideration for new journals in the future, depending on budget allocations.

You may find two other resources useful for locating information on this topic: Nature Protocols and Cold Spring Harbor Protocols. Both are new subscriptions and contain numerous full-text protocols on research methods. VCU Libraries has a site license for access to these titles back to 2006.