Unlike a general Google or online search, BASE targets academic sources, ensuring that the results are relevant and of high quality. With over 31 million documents and 2 thousand content providers, this website is a great resource for academic researchers in every field from biochemistry to dance. And, best news yet - it's free! So start your searching!
UMBC's Digital Collections will be added to BASE this fall - making it a one-stop-shop for locating digital resources from UMBC, UMD, and beyond.
Sample entry from the Australian Institute of Marine Science:
Written by Johanna Schein, Special Collections Graduate Assistant.
]]>The RLC provides:
Make the RLC your place for lively group study, scholarly discussion, collaboration, and academic coaching.
For more information, see http://my.umbc.edu/groups/rlc/news/8372.
]]>Even if you aren't (yet) an alum, you might still be interested in this collection. The citations within each program highlight the achievements of many notable scholars, artists, authors, journalists, and Marylanders. Filled with photographs and writings, the commencement programs also provide a great insight into the evolution of UMBC's campus, both in terms of its academic and physical growth. These programs reveal that although technology, fashion, academic majors, and UMBC's campus have all changed over the years, there is continuity in UMBC's traditions and values, which can be found in the rituals of each graduation.
Interested in testing your UMBC knowledge? Here is some trivia that can be answered by looking at the commencement programs.
1) In what year was UMBC's first commencement?
2) Which undergraduate major had the most graduates in UMBC's first graduation?
3) Which famous psychologist, who invented the operant conditioning chamber, spoke at UMBC Commencement in 1973?
4) In which UMBC commencement did the University grant is first doctorate?
5) Which UMBC Chancellor graduated Phi Beta Kappa from University of Maryland College in 1958 and was listed on the Who's Who in America?
6) Which 1979 Nobel Prize in Economics winner, known for his focus on the underdevelopment and poverty in third-world countries, gave the commencement address in 1983?
7) Which 1959 Nobel Prize in Medicine winner, who is known for his research on the biosynthesis of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), received an honorary degree from UMBC in 1991?
8) Which U.S. Senator, who is the longest serving woman in the Senate, gave the commencement address in 1993?
9) In which year does UMBC's mascot, True Grit, first appear in the commencement program?
Cover of the first UMBC commencement program.
Cover of the 1995 commencement program. Notice the 0s and 1s in the background, indicative of the 1990s technology boom. The introduction of the program declared the 1995 commencement exercises to be a "high-tech production."
Answers: 1) 1970; 2) History, followed closely by Psychology; 3) B.F. Skinner 4)1976 5) John W. Dorsey 6) Sir William Arthur Lewis 7)Arthur Kornberg 8) Barbara Mikulski 9) 1989
Written by Johanna Schein, Special Collections Graduate Assistant. These items were digitized in partnership with the Office of Institutional Advancement.
Highlights of Project MUSE Beta Site
The beta site will be available through the end of this year giving you an opportunity to become familiar with the new MUSE platform and particularly, with the new enhanced search.
You can access the sample e-books from off-campus with no authentication. To view UMBC subscriptions as well as the sample e-books from off-campus, please login via VPN first (http://vpn.umbc.edu). Click on the "UMBC Library Homepage" link, then follow the link under "News & Events" on the library homepage. For more info on remote access, see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/services/remoteaccess.php
]]>This workshop aims to provide students with the basic knowledge of a university library's resources and services for helping them succeed at UMBC.
Please contact Shu Qian (qian@umbc.edu) to register.
]]>July 21, 2011 marks the sesquicentennial of the First Battle of Bull Run, or First Manassas, and the Special Collections Department of the Albin O. Kuhn Library has information regarding this and many other Civil War topics. Whether you are a researcher, historian, or a Civil War enthusiast, Special Collections has many resources that can guide you through an historic event as if you were there yourself.
Battlefield from the Hill on the Road leading to Manassas Junction, Bull's Run click here for image
The first 3 months of The War Between the States saw only skirmishes between small units of the combatants' armies. However, on July 21, 1861, the two unproven and untried armies met in battle on a grand scale for the first time. The Union Army was ordered to march on the Confederate capitol of Richmond, VA, while the Confederate army took up defensive positions just 25 miles southwest of Washington, D.C. along the Bull Run Creek in the town of Manassas, VA. Manassas was an important railroad junction which the Union Army needed to capture to facilitate the successful invasion of the South.
In order to bypass the enemy's defenses, the Union commander, General Irvin McDowell, decided to attempt to cross the creek at an undefended spot to the north west of the Confederate positions. The ford near Sudley Springs provided access for the Union troops to breach the defenses and engage the enemy.
Sudley Springs, Bull Run click here for image
The battle contained some famous exploits, including those of Brigadier General Thomas J. Jackson, who earned his illustrious moniker because his brigade stood their ground like a “stonewall.” The man who allegedly gave him that nickname was Southern General Bernard Bee, who was mortally wounded not long after. His friend, Colonel Francis Bartow, was also killed nearby. Today there are monuments marking these spots.
First Bull's Run from spot where Bee & Barto[w] Fell click here for image
Jackson made his stand along a ridge not far from the Henry House, around which occurred much of the fighting. The house was very badly damaged and the tenant, 85 year old widow Judith Henry, was killed. Afterwards the Henry house was demolished and rebuilt. It is interesting to compare our photo of the house with the modern one. Click here to search for images of the house today.
Henry House, Bull Run click here for image
In 1865, a monument was erected by Union veterans to honor the dead of the First Battle at Bull Run, and Special Collections has the very moment captured on film. Today the monument stands just behind the Henry House, and it can be seen in our photo of the house, which means our photo must have been taken after 1865.
Dedication of monument on Bull Run battle-field click here for image
Special Collections has an extensive photograph collection for historians and researchers to utilize, with more being added every day. Check out our Civil War Digital Collection: http://contentdm.ad.umbc.edu/civil_war.php. In fact, all the resources used for this post came from Special Collections and the Albin O. Kuhn Library. Come to the Special Collections Department and let history be your guide!
by Robert Bennett, Intern, Special Collections
Bibliography
Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Volume I. Robert Underwood Johnson and Clarence Clough Buel, eds. Castle. Secaucus: 1982.
First Bull Run: An Overview. US Army Center of Military History. 30 June 2011. Retrieved on 19 July 2011 from http://www.history.army.mil/StaffRide/1st%20Bull%20Run/Overview.htm.
Risley, Ford. The Civil War: Primary Documents on Events from 1860 to 1865. Greenwood Press. Westport: 2004.
The Civil War Archive: The History of the Civil War in Documents. Henry Steele Commager, Ed. Revised and Expanded by Erik Bruun. Black Dog & Leventhal. New York: 2000.
No registration is required. Simply go to http://journals.cambridge.org
For more information, see http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displaySpecialPage?pageId=2964
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But Thor isn't limited to his own book. You might also know him as part of The Avengers, along with Captain America, The Hulk and Iron Man! Don't worry; we've got you covered there as well, with more than a hundred issues from the 60's, 70's and 80's. Catch up on the Avengers back story now, before their movie comes out next year! And before you ask, yes, we've got classic 60's and 70's issues of Captain America, the Incredible Hulk and Iron Man as well!
Special Collections will be open from 1 until 4 pm Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday all the way through Finals Week, and until 8pm on Thursdays. During the summer, we'll be open by appointment only. To find our superhero lair, enter the Library Gallery and walk straight back- you'll see our doors on the right. No secret decoder ring required!
To browse all of the comics available at Special Collections, enter comic books in the Collection field in the following search; or put in more specific search terms to find the exact comic you're looking for: http://umbc.pastperfect-online.com/37467cgi/mweb.exe?request=advform .
by Steve Ammidown, Special Collections Student Assistant
]]>You will then be asked to log in as before with your 14-digit barcode number and last name.
Note that this procedure will not work for current UMBC students, faculty, and staff.
Please contact the Circulation Department at 410-455-2354, e-mail circlib@lists.umbc.edu or the Reference Desk at 410-455-2346, e-mail ref@lists.umbc.edu if you have any problems with this new system.
]]>Don't worry - now you can use your campus card to purchase these items and more without leaving the Library!
Our new supplies vending machine, located in the Print & Copy room on the first floor of the library, includes:
* CD-Rs & DVD-Rs
* pens & pencils
* index cards
* post-it notes
* pencil sharpeners
* staples
* calculators
* batteries
* first aid supplies
* and much more!!
You will still renew books through your catalog account, but the log in process will be different. After clicking on the "My Library Account" link you will still be asked to select your campus. After selecting UMBC, you will be taken to a standard UMBC log-in screen where you will log in with your myUMBC username and password. This last step will be bypassed if you are already logged into myUMBC and you will be taken directly to your catalog account.
Special borrowers and alumni card holders are currently unable to access their library accounts. We are working on this problem and hope to have it resolved soon. In the meanwhile, please contact the Circulation Desk at 410-455-2354 or e-mail circlib@lists.umbc.edu if you need to check due dates or renew items.
There will be no change if you use the UMBC VPN for off-campus access.
If you access Library resources directly from the Library's website, or if you use Research Port for off-campus access, the log in process will be different. As noted above you will still need to select UMBC as your campus, but from there you will be taken to a standard UMBC log-in screen where you will log in with your myUMBC username and password. If you are already logged into myUMBC you will be taken directly to your selected resource once you select UMBC as your campus.
Some patrons have reported receiving a message stating that their account has expired when trying to access Research Port through single sign-on. If you receive this error message please send the following information to Janet Hack:
If you are not able to access Research Port through single sign-on, please try using the UMBC VPN for access. See our page at http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/services/remoteaccess.php for more information on using the VPN.
ILLiad is not part of the switch to single sign-on. You will still need to use your self-selected ILLiad username and password for all ILL requests.
Thank you for your assistance as we work our way through the unanticipated problems encountered during the switch to single sign-on. We hope that this change will ultimately make it easier to access Library resources. Please send any comments or concerns to Janet Hack, or contact the Reference Desk at 410-455-2346
]]>The end of the semester is typically a busy time for donations to the archives and Special Collections. Here are a few highlights that have come into the University Archives recently:
This small donation, only .25 linear feet, came from Karen Wensch just before her retirement this Fall. One gem from this donation is a resolution passed in 1992 by the City Council of Baltimore, "in recognition of [Dr. Freeman Hrabowski's] appointment as interim president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County." This demonstrates the relationship between the City of Baltimore and our county campus.
We have a small collection of plaques, honorary degrees, and certificates awarded to Dr. Hrabowski available in our President's Office records.
This beautiful image of the Albin O. Kuhn Library was taken by UMBC's own Tim Ford in the Fall of 2005. Tim is the Manager of Illustrative Services, located in the Biological Sciences building. He has longed served as UMBC's unofficial (and sometimes official) documentarian of campus life and has often worked with campus departments on capturing the events and people that pass through our halls. This image was prepared by Tim as a retirement gift to Pat Cronise, UMBC's former Slide Librarian. If you're looking for historic images of people and places at UMBC, you can contact Special Collections and we can work with you to locate an appropriate photograph within our holdings or from other photograph collections on campus.
While this accession, or group of photographs, is not new to Special Collections, it is being made more accessible because it is being processed. When you process an archival or photography collection, you rehouse, arrange, and describe the collection so that researchers can learn about the materials and locate the items within the collection much easier. Special Collections student assistant Paul Pierson has been rehousing these slides into archival polypropylene sheets and creating a folder listing. These sheets will not off gas or damage the chemical emulsion on the slides. Thanks Paul!
The title image above is from the 1968 Skipjack, UMBC's student yearbook. You can view all of the Skipjack volumes in Special Collections (UPUB S2-001) or browse this volume online.
ShipIndex.org lets you search for information about practically any ship, from famous ships such as the Titanic to less well-known vessels such as the Peter Iredale. ShipIndex.org tells you which books, magazines, and online resources mention the vessels you're researching.
The trial runs through January 25, 2011.
For off-campus access, please login via VPN first (http://vpn.umbc.edu). Then follow the link under "News & Events" on the library homepage. For more info on remote access, see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/services/remoteaccess.php
Feedback is encouraged. Use the form below or send directly to Drew Alfgren: alfgren@umbc.edu
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