Welcome, new and returning students!

Fall semester at BSC begins September 1, and the library is open for business! If you're a new student and feeling quizzical, please take a look at the Top 10 library questions asked by new students. We'll be offering library orientation sessions for first-year and transfer students on Tuesday, August 31, at 3:30 and 4:30 p.m.

If you're an old-timer - welcome back! Please feel free to stop by and check out a new book, DVD or CD. We missed the energy that a full contingent of BSC students and faculty brings to the library. We're glad you're back - and hope to see you soon!

Student art in the library

Molly Fowler, a 2010 BSC graduate, exhibited a lovely series of untitled photographs in Birmingham-Southern's annual Juried Student Art Exhibition this past spring. The Library has acquired Ms. Fowler's creative work, which is now on display on the ground floor of the building. We hope to add at least one piece of excellent student artwork each year, drawing on proceeds from the library's ongoing used book sale.

Please stop by and check out Molly's prints - along with other eye-catching works of art by BSC students - on the lower level of the library!

New books on international cultures & customs

The library has been the indirect beneficiary of a grant from the Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation. The grant, secured by Anne Ledvina in BSC's Sklenar Center for International Programs, has helped fund several thousand dollars worth of books (both print and electronic) and videos. Among the books are titles from the Culture & Customs series and the CultureShock! series. Online books include a selection of NetLibrary books on international business (focusing on the cultural dimensions of business) and the Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures & Daily Life (available in the Gale Virtual Reference Library).

All of these books are listed in the BSC Library Catalog. You may also stop by the library to see a display of some of the titles in question!

Our Government's Documents

In his Farewell Address to the nation in 1796, President George Washington suggested that Americans should "Promote, then as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened."

The Birmingham-Southern College Library is happy to help in that diffusion of knowledge, specifically of the knowledge published by the U.S. government through its collection of government documents.

The Library is a Selective Government Depository Library, so we only receive part of the vast output of the government and federal agencies. Of course more and more documents are published online, so we have access to much more than would ever fit on our library shelves. Also, we can borrow documents from the Regional Depository in Tuscaloosa.

The government publishes material on almost every subject imaginable, from reports on the response to the current financial crisis to documents about specific events in American history.

So, how do I get all this information, you may wonder? You could start at the BSC Library catalog (recent documents will show up there, along with any available links to online versions.) You can also explore the guide to Internet access of government information at http://orgs.bsc.edu/libref/govdoc/govdoc.htm

Or, you could come talk to us at the Library!

4th of July Holiday: Library closed July 3-5

The Library will be closed July 3-5 (Saturday through Monday) for the 4th of July holiday. Library hours will also be shorter than normal on Friday, July 2: due to a scheduled campus power outage, the library will open at 9:30 am and close at 4:30 pm.

Have a happy 4th of July!

Summer Term has arrived!

Welcome to summer! Beginning June 9, the library will be open the following hours:

Monday - Thursday: 8:00am - 10:00pm
Friday: 8:00am - 5:00pm
Saturday: 1:00pm - 5:00pm
Sunday: 2:00pm - 10:00pm

We invite you to stop by and read a book, surf the web, or simply chill.

Here's to a fine summer session!

Faculty book order notices now to be e-mailed!

Starting June 1, the Library will begin sending notifications of "Books you ordered that are now available in the library" via email rather than paper. The email will be titled BSC Library. There will be one email per book. We might, on occasions when a large number of books you have ordered come in at one time, still send you paper notices so we do not overwhelm your email. Thanks. Steve Laughlin