VOTE! 2004 Presidential Election
Do Disappearing Footnotes Threaten Your Research?
Interview with Jim Caviezel of The Passion of the Christ
What DO They Do?: Acquisitions
Reader's Corner * Library Gets New Book Return * Did You Know?

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SPECIAL SPRING BREAK HOURS LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES: Navigating National Journal & Help! I Have to Start a Research Project!

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VOTE! 2004 Presidential Election
by Marta Lee, Library Liaison to the School of Government and Washington Campus

Do you need help keeping up with the 2004 presidential election? General information regarding the presidential race may be found by searching two Regent University Library databases: National Journal and LexisNexis Academic. National Journal provides timely articles and polling information; whereas LexisNexis Academic provides access to general news articles.

The library provides print access to the Virginian Pilot, the Washington Post, USA Today and many other newspapers. These newspapers may also be accessed electronically through LexisNexis Academic, Factiva, or Electric Library.

Individual candidates are also reaching the public through electronic means.
Listed below are the current candidates and their respective web sites:

The Democratic National Committee (www.democrats.org) and Republican National Committee (http://www.rnc.org) also provide access to candidate information. Information on other political parties may be found at: http://www.regent.edu/general/library/subjects/government/parties.cfm.

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Do Disappearing Footnotes Threaten Your Research?
by Harold Henkel, Assistant Circulation Supervisor

 

Did you know:
1. That the average life span of a Web page is 100 days?
2. That a recent study of Web citations in Science, Nature, and The New England Journal of Medicine found that 10 percent were inactive after fifteen months?
3. Twenty-five percent of British Government URLs change every year?¹

The increasing dependence on Web documents among students and researchers has become a serious problem for scholarship. As one librarian has recently written, "without citations that pass the test of time, we have no way to proceed forward because we can no longer see the past."²

The University Library subscribes to an outstanding collection of electronic research tools that help counter this problem. Because databases such as EBSCO and LexisNexis Academic are indexed, even when a URL changes a properly formed citation will allow a reader to access the cited source. Making citations that can "pass the test of time" has become much easier for Regent faculty, staff, and students with the acquisition of RefWorks, an online resource that allows users to manage their research and generate citations.

The Library also offers a variety of ways to become a more proficient scholar in the digital world. The Information Research and Resources course offers an excellent introduction to the Library’s databases (www.regent.edu/general/library/services/instruction).

The inherent volatility of digital information is likely to remain a problem for scholarship. Regent’s librarians will continue to find solutions to this dilemma so that faculty and student research is not marred by the disappearing footnotes phenomenon.

¹R. Weiss, “Researchers Discover Web’s Ephemeral Nature,” The Virginian-Pilot, 27 Nov. 2003, p. A47.
²Philip M. Davis, “Effect of the Web on Undergraduate Citation Behavior: Guiding Student Scholarship in a Networked Age,” portal: Libraries and the Academy, vol. 3, no. 1 (January 2003): p. 41-51. Database on-line. Available from Project Muse, portal: Libraries and the Academy. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/portal_libraries_and_the_academy/v003/3.1davis.htm [16 Feb. 2004]

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Interview with Jim Caviezel of Mel Gibson's Passion
by Bob Sivigny, Library Liaison to the School of Divinity

The library has recently received a donation of two copies of a videotaped interview with Jim Caviezel, the actor who plays Jesus in Mel Gibson's upcoming The Passion of the Christ. Raymond Arroyo hosted the forty-minute interview as part of the April 25, 2003 broadcast of The World Over on EWTN (Eternal Word Television). Caviezel describes what it was like to portray Jesus during His Passion events, the scourging, and the crucifixion. The two videotapes are located in the general collection.

 

The Passion of the Christ opens in theatres February 25th. For trailers and further information on the film, please see the official web site: www.thepassionofthechrist.com.

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What DO They Do?: Acquisitions
by Angela Masden, Acquisitions Supervisor

With boxes of new books arriving daily, every day is like Christmas for our Acquisitions Department. Staff members Angela Masden and Rebecca Lucas receive all new materials coming in to the Library. The process leading to the addition of resources to our collections begins with patron suggestions. The Librarians approve the suggestions and send them, along with their own requests, to Acquisitions for purchase. Angela and Rebecca gather the necessary information on the titles and order them from our vendors.

Both the materials and ordering have changed over the years. There are now increasing numbers of audio books, CD books, e-books, and electronic databases, as well as audiovisual materials like audiocassettes, VHS tapes and DVDs. In conjunction with this growing diversity of material types is the use of electronic ordering, which has greatly increased the speed of acquisition from our principal vendors. But more than that, the Internet has connected the University Library to enormous numbers of out-of-print dealers, enabling the procurement of older materials which were previously almost inaccessible.

Angela and Rebecca greatly enjoy being the first people to peruse the new materials, but state there are just too many titles to stop and enjoy each one. We suggest you drop in and check out the new books to see what Angela and Rebecca have been up to. Upon entering the Library, our local patrons can see the shelves of new materials on either side of the main staircase. Featured lists of new titles (as well as complete VHS and DVD listings) are also available through the Library Catalog. Patrons may also make title suggestions through the Library Catalog by clicking "Book Suggestions."

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In January we asked our readers to write in to tell us about their favorite books. This month features titles that are of interest to the young (and the young-at-heart). Home schoolers may want to “listen in” as well.

A reader named Matthew told us: "One of my favorite books is The Old Man and the Sea [by Ernest Hemingway]. Why? Well, what I remember best about it was reading it on the subway while going home from school many years ago. In the middle of this literal sea of people, I felt like I was right there on that little boat with that old man. And before I knew it, my one hour train ride home was complete." The Old Man and the Sea is available in the University Library.

Angela shared, "Here's one for the younger set. My favorite book as a kid was Snow Treasure [by Marie McSwigan]. A true story of how the children of Norway helped save their national treasure from the Nazis. This is a cool book now in reissue by Scholastic. Also, my favorite book as a teenager was The Trail of the Lonesome Pine by John Fox. It's another true story about the development of the Cumberland Gap. They now have an outdoor theater production during warmer months similar to 'The Lost Colony in North Carolina.'" As a result of Angela's recommendation, these titles are currently being added to the library collection.

Become a Reader's Corner contributor and share your favorite books by sending an email to Sandy Yaegle (sandyae@regent.edu).

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Library Gets New Book Return!
by Ellen Cox, Facility Coordinator/Bookkeeper

Virginia Beach patrons may have noticed that our book return was missing from the middle of November until the first week of February. While the roll-out book bin emerged unscathed, the outer housing was damaged for the second time by a vehicle collision. Both times our patrons have been forthcoming and have reimbursed the replacement cost for the housing ($1,000). The new book return housing, along with the existing roll-out bin, has been installed in a safer spot.

Use of the book return slot on the front of the building has been permanently discontinued, as it is considered a security hazard. As always, patrons may return items to the Circulation Desk during normal operating hours.

In related news, other materials sometimes come back to us damaged. Mildly disfigured print resources can be sent to the bindery for repair. However, in more serious cases, books may need to be replaced and replacement copies may be either unavailable or too costly. To research and replace a copy takes time from the normal searching and ordering done by our Acquisitions department and pulls funds that would otherwise be available for the purchase of new titles.

Please take care of our valuable resources and drive safely!

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Did You Know...

...there are four ways to contact a Reference Librarian? You can obtain reference assistance by phone, by email, in person, or online through 24/7 Reference. For more information go to the Reference home page (http://www.regent.edu/general/library/services/reference/).

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