Milligan Library Life

by the staff of P.H. Welshimer Memorial Library & Seminary Library

Annual February Madness Library Pen Tournament

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On February 1, 2016 the annual February Madness Library Pen Tournament commenced once again. Now in its 5th year, the tournament draws participation and engagement from across the Milligan College community. Participants compete in a friendly 32 player single elimination bracket competition via Milligan Library’s social media accounts. The color scheme that wins the championship round of  February Madness becomes the library promotional pen in the next academic year.

penshistoryIn the past, the pen color was chosen by library staff and  then distributed throughout the year during library orientations and other campus events. The first pen distributed in 2009 was eco-friendly with a cardboard barrel and a wooden pocket clip. Unfortunately, it proved unable to hold up to the rigors of academic use and was discontinued in  favor of a more durable, brightly colored, plastic model in subsequent years. In 2011 ideas were exchanged on ways to engage students and the Milligan community to connect via the library’s new Twitter and Facebook accounts. Jeff Harbin, User Services Librarian at the time, came up with the idea of having a tournament that would mimic the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament but would occur toward the beginning of the spring semester and involve choosing the annual library pen color from 32 various color combinations. Anyone who wanted to participate in February Madness would “like” the Milligan College Library Facebook page and “vote” for their favorites during a 2 week period in early February. New pens arrive in March. The tagline “It’s Your Library!” was added along with the library’s website address in 2015.

This year, after much campaigning and record breaking voting that increased the library’s following on Facebook to well over 550, the 2016-17 pen is Burgundy/Silver. The new pens have arrived and are in distribution at both the  P.H. Welshimer Library and the Seminary Library.

penhorizontal2016All wJacksonLenoirPendrawing2016ho participated in the tournament were entered to win a Target or Dunkin’ Donuts gift cards. The lucky recipients this year were Mitchell Hancock, Shae Judge, and Jackson Lenoir (pictured). Congratulations!

Thanks to the Milligan community of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends for making this a fun way to get through the February snow and cold.

New Books and Media Received (January 2016)

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The following Books (3 items) were received into the Library collection for the Seminary Library from the Seminary’s acquisitions account during January 2016.

Seminary Library

Church History

Boersma, Hans. Heavenly Participation: the Weaving of a Sacramental Tapestry. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2011. Print.

Louth, Andrew. Greek East and Latin West: the Church, AD 681-1071. Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimirs Seminary Press, 2007. Print.

Solovyov, Vladimir. Lectures on Godmanhood. Translated by Peter Zouboff. San Rafael: Semantron Press, 2007. Print.

 

 

Welshimer and Seminary Library Catalogs are now combined!

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Change Note (01.25.2016): I originally reported that we had set the initial search to limit results to “Milligan College Libraries.” We discovered that this impedes catalog functionality when our website search widget is used. Consequently, we have changed the default search to “Libraries Worldwide.” As I indicate below, even when “Libraries Worldwide” is selected any relevant holdings in the Milligan College Libraries will rise to the top of your search results. You can also apply the Welshimer and/or Seminary Library limiter in the left-hand column to refine your search results to show only local holdings.

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In a process that formally began back in May 2015, the book, media, and periodicals holdings of the Emmanuel Christian Seminary Library have now been added to the P.H. Welshimer Memorial Library’s online catalog. (The Welshimer Library migrated to the WorldCat catalog platform on September 2, 2014.) As of today, January 13, 2016, the Milligan College Libraries “goes live” with a combined online library catalog!

Our catalog is operating within the WorldCat Discovery Services platform. You can easily access the catalog from the Milligan College Libraries website. On the homepage click/tap the “Catalog” tab in the MCSearch widget. (Alternatively, you can click/tap on the “Catalog” dropdown menu and select “Milligan & Libraries Worldwide”.)

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Research & Instruction Librarian Mary Jackson has created a live demo tutorial introducing some of the basic features of the catalog, so I won’t go into detail here except to highlight a few things:

  • The initial search in the catalog is defaulted to Milligan College Libraries, which will return results for both Welshimer AND Seminary Libraries. However, you can narrow your search results to either Welshimer OR Seminary Library by checking the desired Library limiter facet in the left-hand column. Conversely, you can broaden your search results to Libraries Worldwide by checking that facet. It is from the results of a Libraries Worldwide search that you can initiate an interlibrary loan request. (Note that even when Libraries Worldwide is selected any relevant holdings in the Milligan College Libraries will rise to the top of your search results.)

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  • Library holdings records for both Welshimer and Seminary Libraries are now being pushed to MCSearch so you can see potentially relevant print book and media items while you also search our electronic information resource databases. (Note, however, that you cannot search Libraries Worldwide from within MCSearch. This must be done directly from the catalog.)
  • Just like the Milligan College Libraries website, the catalog is fully mobile responsive! This means you can easily use the catalog from your smartphone or tablet. Here is a screenshot of the catalog interface on my smartphone:

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We hope you will enjoy using the combined Milligan College Libraries online catalog. Please feel free to consult any library staff person for assistance with specific issues or questions.

Checkout EBSCO eBooks to your computer for offline reading

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EbscoHosticonInstructions updated 06.10.2020

Milligan Libraries owns and subscribes to thousands of academic ebooks from EBSCO Publishing. These ebooks are accessible to authorized users from our EBSCOhost eBooks Collections database (select it from the “Resources” dropdown > Databases > “General & Multidisciplinary” on the Library website). They are also indexed for access in the Milligan Library Catalog, and will surface among other search results in Milligan OneSearch.

The EBSCOhost platform includes a built-in viewer for reading ebooks online using any modern web browser. However, most of EBSCO’s ebooks can also be checked out and downloaded to your computer to be read at leisure offline. Downloadable titles are indicated wherever you see a “Download” button at the top right side of the online viewer:

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The following instructions will guide you through the process of checking out and downloading EBSCOhost ebooks to your computer. The procedure is a little challenging at first because it requires that you create two authorization accounts and download a piece of software. However, you shouldn’t have too much trouble if you follow these instructions closely. The first 3 steps only have to be done one time. Feel free to contact a librarian if you need assistance.

Step 1: Get an Adobe ID

EBSCOhost ebooks are copy-protected using Adobe Digital Rights Management (DRM). Consequently, you will need an Adobe ID to authorize your access to the ebooks you download from EBSCOhost. You only have to do this step once.

  • Go to http://www.adobe.com/.
  • Click the “Sign in” link on the top right side of the page.
  • Click the “Get an Adobe ID” link.
  • Fill out the Sign up form then click the “Sign Up” button to complete the registration. The email address you supply will become your Adobe ID. Use this, and the password you create to access content in the Adobe Digital Editions application. Write down your Adobe ID and Password.

Step 2: Download Adobe Digital Editions

Download the Adobe Digital Editions reader application from Adobe’s website (Mac OS or Windows versions available). You will need this (free) application to view the ebooks you checkout and download from EBSCO. The process will be smoother if you already have this software on your computer before you attempt the first ebook download. You only have to do this step once.

Launch the Installer and follow the instruction prompts to complete the installation. Once the installation is complete launch Adobe Digital Editions. You will be prompted to enter your Adobe ID and password to authorize your computer. This will also prepare your computer to recognize Adobe Digital Editions as the default application for opening EBSCO ebooks. Here is a screenshot of the open application.

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Step 3: Create a My EBSCOhost account

As indicated above, if you are a currently registered Milligan University student, faculty, or staff member you do not need to create an account to view an EBSCOhost ebook online. Simply click the “PDF Full Text” link to launch the ebook viewer in your web browser.

However, if you want to checkout and download an EBSCOhost ebook to your computer for later offline reading in Adobe Digital Editions you will need to create a “My EBSCOhost” account. You only have to do this step once.

  • From any EBSCOhost database (including Milligan OneSearch) click the “Sign In” link at the top right side of the page.
  • Click the “Create a new Account” link.
  • Fill out the form then click the “Save Changes” button to complete the registration. The user name and password you supply will enable you to login to your My EBSCOhost account and download ebooks to your computer. Write down your User Name and Password.

You now have everything you need to download and read EBSCOhost ebooks on your computer. Let’s download an ebook now!

Step 4: Checkout and download an EBSCOhost ebook

NOTE: These instructions apply only to ebooks in EBSCOhost eBook Collections (Milligan Libraries also provides ebooks from other publishers. Those ebooks cannot be downloaded to your computer using these instructions).

a) Launch EBSCOhost eBook Collection from the “Resources” dropdown > Databases > “General & Multidisciplinary” on the Library website and search for a book. As noted above, EBSCOhost ebooks are also included in relevant catalog and Milligan OneSearch search results. I am searching for a book on Alexander the Great. Here’s one that looks interesting:

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b) Launch the online ebook viewer by clicking on the “PDF Full Text” link. If the book is downloadable for offline viewing you will see a “Download” button at the top right side of the online viewer in your browser window:

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c) When you click the “Download” link you will be prompted to sign-in using your My EBSCOhost account.

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d) Enter your User Name and Password from your My EBSCOhost account (see Step 3) and click the “Login” button. (If you are using a personal computer you may choose to have your web browser “remember” your credentials so you don’t have to re-type this information in the future.)

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e) Once you are logged into My EBSCOhost, a “Download This eBook” dialog box for the ebook you have selected will pop up. If the ebook is available for checkout, select the Checkout Period (this particular title can only be checked out for a maximum of 7 days, although most can be checked out for as long as 30 days) and click the “Checkout & Download” button. Notice the download dialog box informs you that you need to have Adobe Digital Editions on your computer in order to view the downloaded book (see Step 2).

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f)  If the download is successful you will see this screen:

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At the same time you should see a prompt to save an ACSM (Adobe Content Server Message) file to your computer. For convenience, save the file to your desktop.

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g) Double click the URLLink.acsm file. This will initiate the downloading of the ebook file to the Adobe Digital Editions reader application. Once the download is complete the ebook will open automatically in Adobe Digital Editions (assuming you previously downloaded the application as instructed in Step 2).

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h) Clicking on the “Library” link takes you to the screen showing all currently downloaded titles:

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i) The title will cease to be accessible for reading once the checkout period expires. However, titles can be “returned” or removed from your Adobe Digital Editions library anytime (by right-clicking on the title icon to bring up the contextual menu).

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Art piece by Milligan alumna graces the Library

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The P.H. Welshimer Memorial Library has received a wonderful gift in the form of an art piece by Milligan College alumna Krista Knudtsen (2014). The multi-part three dimensional piece is called “A Life of Its Own.” Krista, who currently works as Multimedia Specialist in the Public Relations and Marketing Office, created the piece for her senior show as a Milligan College Fine Arts major. The piece was purchased by retired professors Lee and Pat Magness, who graciously donated it to the College as an on-going source of inspiration. “When Lee and I saw this work in Krista’s senior show, we were struck with how vividly it expressed the power of books. We immediately thought, ‘This work needs to be in the Milligan Library where it can speak to students and invite them to enter the world of books and then take flight themselves.'” The piece has been installed for indefinite display in the Reference area on the Library’s main floor.

Library Director, Gary Daught asked Krista about her inspiration, the message she was wanting to communicate (including her choice of title), and a bit about the construction and materials she used in the piece. “I love books, and I love hands. I love how we use these things to tell stories. I have often heard authors say that during their creative process, their stories adjust as their characters develop. This reminds me that the creative process is organic and produces new and even unexpected life, which I think is indicative of the spiritual element of creativity. I titled the piece ‘A Life of Its Own’ to indicate the energy, animation, and humanity found in both the absorption of a story and in the process of creating art.”

Krista mentioned being inspired by the Freedom Sculpture, a public monument in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania created by Zenos Frudakis. “I like the way the sculpture relays a powerful concept through a simple sequence of actions captured in the piece. My piece also sought to tell a story by using a sequence to visually communicate a story.”

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“The books are volumes of an old encyclopedia from around 1900 that I found in a used book store. Using them in this piece was like using an existing information resource to tell a story in a new way. The hands are resin casts of my own hands that I made using a casting medium called Alginate. The hands are folding pages from the books into origami birds that then fly away freely.” Krista’s piece was masterfully installed by Maintenance Mechanic, Bruce Cakebread.

The subject of Krista’s piece is certainly apropos for the Library–both in terms of its medium and its message. Gary Daught said, “Krista’s piece reminded the Library staff of our annual Book+Art Homecoming event, which encourages the re-imagination of books as the inspiration and medium for art. Of course, the bigger message is that books empower the creation of new knowledge, which has the ultimate goal of setting people free. This is why libraries exist. I am so pleased her art is here in the Milligan College Library so it can continue to tell the story to everyone who uses this space.”

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