Twenty nine members of the Merrimack College Community will be honored at the Third Annual Tolle Lege Reception in McQuade Library. Twenty six faculty members and three alumni will formally add their published works to McQuade Library’s Tolle Lege special collection; eight books and thirty five journal articles will be added to the collection. Four authors will speak about their work and all will participate in the signing ceremony.

This is a special opportunity to recognize the academic endeavors of our community and to celebrate their success. Please join us for this celebration on Tuesday, Feb. 7th, 2006, from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. in the Perkins Periodicals Room, McQuade Library.

The McQuade Library web site has a new look for the New Year. This redesign helps make the library site more consistent with the “look and feel” of the main college site. While the library site looks quite different than it did, very few changes have been made to its organization, so you should still be able to find your favorite pages right where you expect them to be. However, if you have any trouble navigating the site, please ask a librarian for help!

We will be conducting usability testing with students, faculty and staff during the semester to make sure the site is as user-friendly as possible.

If you have any questions, comments, or you are interested in participating in the usability testing, please contact Bridget Rawding, Head of Public Services, at x4229. We want to hear from you!

Every member of the Merrimack Community will be receiving an email invitation to participate in a ten-minute online survey about library services. We need input from everyone and are offering great incentive prizes, including an iPod Nano, gift certificates to Panera Restaurant and China Blossom, Rogers Center Theater Tickets, manicure from Bella Vita Salon and Day Spa and Merrimack College items.

What is LibQUAL+?
LibQUAL+ is a comprehensive survey that measures users’ perceptions of library services – what they expect and what is actually delivered. The survey focuses on three areas of library service: 1) Affect of Service; 2) Information Control; and 3) Library as Place. Hundreds of universities and colleges participate in the survey every year. We will get our own results but also be able to compare ourselves to peer institutions. Click here to learn more about the survey.

How long is the survey?
The survey consists of 22 standard questions, 5 customized questions, and an additional comments box. It takes about 8 to 10 minutes to answer.

Are responses confidential?
Yes. Answers are all confidential. Email addresses are not saved with the responses. Once the responses are saved there is no way to link an individual’s responses to an email address – assuring confidentiality when entering the incentive drawing. After the draw, the email addresses are discarded.

The LibQUAL survey is federally funded with LSTA funds through the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

Welcome back! The library is starting 2006 with some new databases to make everyone's research faster, easier, and more comprehensive. We also have some trials running, and we hope you'll give us your feedback!

** Click on a logo to search the database from on campus.

New Databases

Know.
Access.
Evaluate.
Use.
(And do so ethically and legally.)

That’s information literacy in a nutshell – and the librarians at McQuade are here to help.

To be successful, ask yourself the following questions:

Know:
What is it I want to know?
What information do I need?
How much information do I need?

Access:
What is the best way to gather the information I need?
Am I using the best terms for this search?
Which database or other source will get me this information?

Evaluate:
Is this a credible source of information?
Is there another interpretation or point of view?
How does this information change what I know?

Use:
What is the best method for presenting this information?
Will this image convey the message I want?
Are these quotes supportive of my ideas?

The Librarians at McQuade are there for you every step of the way, whether to help you define what information you need, suggest strategies to help you gather the best information from the highest quality sources, assist you to critically evaluate what you do find and advise you in planning as you create a product of your work.

We can help you to make it all happen, right here @ your library. Throughout this semester, you can stop by the reference desk, email us or call us. We want to help you succeed.

~ Donna Maturi, Reference/Instruction Librarian