Library Sustainable Collections Project is Underway

This summer the library is beginning a large-scale deselection project for monographs at the Van Wylen Library and the Music Library.  We will be making evidence-based decisions to carefully manage the deselection of low-use print monographs and also identify monograph titles for preservation.  This effort is part of a larger state-wide effort to cooperatively preserve low-use titles.

Purpose of the Project:


The Hope College Van Wylen Library is now nearly 25 years old.  It was built to accommodate 20 years of collection growth.  While the acquisition of e-books has slowed growth somewhat, our shelves are full.  In addition, we want to create new spaces for student collaboration, technology, and other support services, and make the remaining collections more attractive and usable for students.  The Sustainable Collections Project is a large-scale "weeding" project that will identify low or no use print monographs that could be removed from the collection.  The project will also identify monographs that need to be preserved because they are rare or not widely held by other academic libraries.

Monographs are candidates for withdrawal if they were published before 2000 and had 0 or 1 circulations in the past 23 years and are held by more than 50 academic libraries nationwide and more than 3 peer libraries in Michigan.  Peer libraries include 14 academic libraries (both state public and small liberal arts) that are MeL participants and have expressed an interest in cooperative preservation of low-use titles.

Preservation candidates are those titles that are held by fewer than 5 academic libraries nationwide, or we are the only library in Michigan holding that title.  Many of these titles will be moved to the rare book collection.

Some collections will be preserved automatically.  Anything that is marked Banninga Collection, Hope Collection, or Muste Collection will be preserved for historical reasons.  The Hope Collection is a collection of books written by Hope alumni.  These three collections are not a part of the withdrawal candidate lists and will be handled separately.

Collections that will be affected this summer:


The library will primarily be working this summer on the lower level of Van Wylen Library and in the Music Library.  We are beginning with the Z call number range and working upward (Z, V, U, T, S, R, Q, PR-PZ).  Books in the Z call number range are currently under review.

For more information about the project, see the Hope Sustainable Collections Page.

If you have questions about the project, please contact Kelly Jacobsma, David O'Brien or Brian Yost.

Library Congratulates its Graduating Senior Workers

Today we honored and celebrated our fantastic group of graduating Senior library workers with a luncheon at CityVu.  We had 28 Seniors this year, some of whom have been working at the library all four years of their study at Hope.  During this time these students built up some good memories from Van Wylen and the Music Library.  Heather Mills appreciated the interesting research questions she helped with, particularly in the summers.  Arax Mikaelyan remembered John Hoyer cooking her the tastiest omelette she had ever eaten.  Ashley Berber enjoyed the summer dessert "taste offs" at the media desk.  Elizabeth Higginbotham appreciated the great relationships she developed with fellow student workers, library staff and patrons over her four years in the library.

Our talented students are heading off to diverse post-Hope adventures.  These range from jobs in nursing and banking to journalism and marketing, graduate school programs in vocal performance, public health, and clinical psychology, and even some international travel.  Some are exploring possibilities with Americorps and Teach for America.

As a memento of their dedication and hard work in the library, each student has chosen an item to be added to the library collection in their name.  You can see what each student has selected here.

-- Jessica Hronchek, Research Librarian

Returning Materials

As the end of the semester approaches, don't forget to return your books to the library before you head home for the summer. If your items are not returned, you will be charged an overdue fine based on the type of material you checked out. If items are not returned within three weeks of their due date, a charge for the item will be placed on your student account. A complete list of fines can be found here. Returning items on time is the easiest way to avoid paying later!

-- Bethany Stripp, Library Student Blogger

Exam Week Hours

The library will have extended hours during exam week to provide you with ample time to study:

Friday, April 27: 8 a.m. - 10 p.m.;

Saturday, April 28: 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.;

Sunday, April 29: 11 a.m. - 2 a.m.;

Monday, April 30: 8 a.m. - 2 a.m.;

Tuesday, May 1: 8 a.m. - 2 a.m.;

Wednesday, May 2: 8 a.m. - 2 a.m.;

Thursday, May 3: 8 a.m. - 12 a.m.;

Friday, May 4: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

The library will be closed on Saturday, May 5 and Sunday, May 6.

-- Bethany Stripp, Library Student Blogger

1940s Census Data

On April 2, the National Archives released the complete set of data from the 1940 census. While some census information is made available every 10 years, a statutory 72-year restriction prevents the government from releasing full information until those 72 years have passed.

The 1940 census officially took place on April 1, 1940, though counting continued through the rest of the month. In the census, individuals were asked for basic information such as place of residence, age, level of education, occupation and citizenship. Five percent of the population was also asked supplemental questions about family history, social security and occupation.

Over 133 million people were counted during the 1940 census. The census is currently not indexed by name, which means that in order to find a specific person, you would need to know where that individual lived during 1940. The census information is organized by enumeration districts, which are geographic areas determined for the purpose of taking the census. The enumeration district in 1940 for Hope College and the immediate surrounding area bounded by 8th Street on the north, 13th Street on the south, Lincoln Ave. on the east and College Ave. on the west, for example, was 70-19A.

Many of the cottages currently owned by Hope were built prior to 1940 but not owned by the college at the time, so the census data makes it possible to find information on the families that once lived in these homes. Several cottages have been moved from their original location, however, so the current address of the house may not have been its address in 1940.

There is an amazing amount of demographic data available through the US Census, and now with the full 1940 census available online, it is a useful source for finding historical information on your family and on your residence.

-- Bethany Stripp, Library Student Blogger

Visiting Writers Series: Susanna Childress and Bich Minh Nguyen

On Tuesday, April 17, the 2011-2012 Jack Ridl Visiting Writers Series will welcome its last two writers of the school year, Susanna Childress and Bich Minh Nguyen.

Susanna Childress has released two books of poetry: Jagged with Love and Entering the House of Awe. Jagged with Love received the Brittingham Prize in Poetry and the Devil's Kitchen Reading Award from the University of Southern Illinois-Carbondale. A few of Childress's poems can also be found through Literature Online. Childress studied English literature and writing at Indiana Wesleyan University and holds a masters degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a PhD from Florida State University. She has taught at Valparaiso University and Hope.

Bich Minh Nguyen is a fiction and nonfiction writer. She won the American Book Award in fiction in 2009 for her novel Short Girls. In 2007, she released a memoir-in-essays entitled Stealing Buddha's Dinner, which received the PEN/Jerard Award and was named one of the best books of the year by the Chicago Tribune. Her works have appeared in several publications and she has also coedited three anthologies with her husband, novelist Porter Shreve. She currently teaches creative nonfiction, fiction and Asian American literature at Purdue University.

Childress and Nguyen will present a reading a 7 p.m. on the 17th at the Knickerbocker Theatre. There will also be a question-and-answer session with the writers at 3:30 p.m. that same day in the Herrick Room of the DeWitt Center.

-- Bethany Stripp, Library Student Blogger

Laptop Friendly Study Spaces

Several tables in Van Wylen were reconfigured a few weeks ago to include outlets on the table. These tabletop outlets allow you to plug in your electronic devices without having to stretch your cord across the floor, which is especially useful during high traffic times at the library such as the weeks leading up to the end of the semester. You can find these tables on the north side of the first floor, by the computers on the second floor, and near the stairs on the third floor. Not finding a large table open? All of the individual carrels have outlets as well.

-- Bethany Stripp, Library Student Blogger

Course Guides

LibGuides are online research guides for general subjects and specific courses taught at Hope, and now the library home page includes a tab that makes it easy to find all of these guides.

Each general guide contains the databases most useful for that subject as well as tips for finding books and reference sources. If you are taking a class that has its own LibGuide, a librarian has personally created this guide to fit with your course and assignments. You can browse to these by discipline or search by professor or course number.

There are also several general guides with resources on topics such as the Critical Issues Symposium, Library of Congress classification and undergraduate publishing opportunities.

-- Bethany Stripp, Library Student Blogger

Googling Tips

While the library's website provides access to many databases to help you with your research, sometimes it's easier to begin your research on an interface you're familiar with like Google. However, doing a standard Google search can bring back a lot of information you may not need. HackCollege.com recently published an infographic with tips on narrowing your Google searches to include just the information you're looking for.

The infographic also has suggestions for searching in Google Scholar, which searches just for published materials like scholarly articles and books. Keep in mind that you can use the "Full Text Options at Hope College" links on the right hand side to see which articles the library subscribes to, as most scholarly articles are not freely available on the open web.

As you're searching Google, don't forget about the "You Loop," which is going to limit what kinds of materials you see. As always, if you need help in your research, the librarians at the Research Help desk would be happy to talk with you.

-- Bethany Stripp, Library Student Blogger

Manifold Greatness Lecture Series Concludes

The monthlong lecture series that coincided with Van Wylen's hosting of the Manifold Greatness exhibit ended on March 29 when Dr. John Cox of the English department presented a lecture entitled "Manifold Greatness: Shakespeare and the Bible." In this lecture, Cox talked about the various ways the Bible appears in Shakespeare's writing. Shakespeare cites the Bible in every one of his plays for a total of 1200 separate Biblical references throughout his works. His characters also often demonstrate theological depth, which Cox argued reflects Shakespeare's understanding of the Bible. Though Shakespeare would have had limited familiarity with the King James Bible, the English versions of the Bible he would have known influenced translators of the King James Bible. This explains why some of Shakespeare's phrases sound similar to phrases found in the King James Bible.

Today is the last day to see the Manifold Greatness exhibit while it is at Hope. The exhibit is available for viewing during normal library hours, which are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

-- Bethany Stripp, Library Student Blogger