Click on the Hours link located in the lower left hand side of the Auburn University Libraries homepage to see library hours of operation during Intersession (May 8 - 20).

The Special Collections and Archives Department was recently presented with the donation of an Auburn University keepsake quilt originally given to Polly Philpott, wife of A.U. President Harry Philpott, in 1980 by the Auburn University Campus Club.

The quilt features 49 muslin squares appliqued or embroidered featuring numerous Auburn scenes including campus buildings including the Draughon Library, War Eagle, a map to Toomer’s Corner, the Tiger, the University Seal, and more.

The quilt was originally presented to Polly Philpott at a luncheon held in her honor and a “Goodbye, Polly” musical review in 1980.  The late Harry Philpott served as Auburn University’s president during the period 1965-1980.  The quilt will be put on display later this year.

Located in the five flat glass exhibit cases on the east side (facing the A.U. Hotel and Dixon Conference Center) of the Special Collections and Archives Department, located on the Ground Floor of the Ralph Brown Draughon Library, is an exhibit featuring the art of Laquita Thomson.

Thomson, an assistant professor at the Freed Hardeman University Art Department in Henderson, Tennessee, received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Painting and Printmaking from Auburn University in 1991.  She has worked on a project recording oral histories of living Southern artists.

The exhibit features numerous woodcuts by Laquita Thomason featuring such subjects as flowers, kudzu, cotton, birds, dogs, cats, and electrical powerlines.

Currently on display in the Special Collections and Archives Department, located on the Ground Floor of the Ralph Brown Draughon Library is an exhibit featuring books, photographs, sheet music, and phonograph records on Gospel Music and early Rock ‘n’ Roll (mostly the 1950’s with some coverage into the 1970’s).  The exhibit is located in the three tall glass display cases immediately on the left hand side upon entering the Special Collections and Archives Department.

The Wireless Laptop Lab, also known as the “Lobby Lab,” has recently been opened on the Second Floor of the Ralph Brown Draughon Library.  As you enter the library from the Mell Street entrance you will see the Information Desk in front of you; the Wireless Laptop Lab is located immediately to your right across from the Information Desk.

The lab contains power outlets at each workstation.  There are 30 workstations.  Patrons can bring in their own laptop computers or check out one of the library’s machines available at the Circulation Desk on the First Floor.

The Wireless Laptop Lab serves two purposes:  as a bibliographic instruction lab for the Reference Department and as a wireless laptop lab available for patrons’ use.  Hours of operation will vary according to the need for instructional use of the facility but as a general guideline, the Wireless Laptop Lab is available for public use after 5 p.m. weekdays and on weekends.

Encyclopedia of Women in the Renaissance:  Italy, France, and England.  Edited by Diana Robin and others and published by ABC-CLIO in 2007, this work is located on the Third Floor of the Ralph Brown Draughon Library under call number HQ 1148 .W67 2007.

Edited by Gabrielle H. Cody and Evert Sprinchorn and published by Columbia University Press in2007, this two-volume set is located in the Reference Collection on the Second Floor of the Ralph Brown Draughon Library under call number PN 1861 .C65 2007.

The ICPSR (Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research) database now includes multiple versions of the TIGER/Line Files.  TIGER (Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing) data files, formerly made available by the U. S. Census Bureau provide users with appropriate data to prepare maps through geographic information system (GIS) software packages.  The TIGER/Line file versions available via ICPSR include those covering 1990-2006.

The cartographic information supplied by the TIGER/Line files covers all counties and equivalent entities in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Island Areas.  Researchers use these data to create shapefiles that contain geographic attributes for points, lines, or polygons.  Once these files are load into GIS software, researchers can input subject matter data, such as Census population and housing information, as overlays on the maps.

The ICPSR (Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research) web page provides search and browsing access to abstracts and data sets in the world’s largest archive of computerized social science data.  Search or browse title of study, principal investigator, words in abstract, or study number.  Browse major research categories.

Please contact Barbara Bishop of the Auburn University Libraries Reference Department for more information at bishoba@auburn.edu or (334) 844-1690.

The JSTOR database has recently been upgraded.  Changes include the following:

a)  Basic Search:  this type of search searches the full-text of all journals and can be entered directly from the home page by authorized users.  Basic searches can be limited by discipline.

b)  Advanced Search:  these searches can be limited by selecting discipline(s) or specific journal titles, or by directly entering a specific title into the form.

c)  Proximity Search is now available in the Advanced Search form, using NEAR 5, NEAR 10, NEAR 25 operators in the Boolean pull-down menus.

d)  Basic and Advanced Searches:  searches from an individual session are saved, and they can be rurun from a drop-down menu at the bottom of each of these search forms.  Users are able to search for both the singular and plural versions of a word by adding an ampersand (&) to the end of the singular form of the word.  Plurals now identify both regular (cat/cats) and irregular (knife/knives) plural forms.

e)  Article Page Viewing:  thumbnail images of articles make it easier to see articles at a glance and to select pages within articles.

f)  Simplified Print and Viewing of Article FDF Files:  JSTOR now offers articles in a single, improved format of PDF for printing.  The PDF versions of articles provide bookmarks for easier navigation, both throughout the article as well as the entire issue.

JSTOR provides access to several collections of backfiles of scholarly publications covering the social sciences, humanities, and sciences.  JSTOR includes the full runs of each journal, generally up to 1 - 7 years from the present.  Note:  Auburn University subscribes to the Arts & Science I & II Collections and the Health & General Science Collection.

The Microforms and Government Documents Unit, located on the First Floor of the Ralph Brown Draughon Library, is requesting your participation in a BRIEF online survey regarding the services and resources they provide.

Please click on this link to take the brief survey.  Thank you!