Did you have a gap of four years or more in your formal education? Researchers at the Portland State University Library are looking for students like you during Winter and Spring terms to better understand the research needs of returning students. As we develop a better understanding of the research habits and challenges of students like you, the library will be better equipped to support returning students in their research.

If you are a student who had a gap of at least four years in your formal education, please consider participating in one of the following activities:

Focus Group – talk about research with other students for one hour. You will receive a free lunch during the focus group and may even get some ideas from your fellow students!
Filmed Research Process – show how you approach a research assignment by doing research on a computer for 20 minutes and participating in a 20-minute interview. You will receive a $20 Amazon.com gift card for your time.
Research Journal – keep a diary of your research for a specific assignment you have this term and then participate in a brief interview. You will receive a $75 Amazon gift card for your time.
Photo Diary Study – take pictures of the environments in which you do research and participate in a brief interview. You will receive a $30 Amazon gift card for your time.

Your participation in this study will remain confidential and you can withdraw from the study at any time.

If you'd like to participate in the study, please click this link and fill out the volunteer form (http://bitly.com/VkxpAo). If you have any questions, please contact Meredith Farkas, Principal Investigator, at mfarkas@pdx.edu.

Photo of King's College Library at Cambridge University courtesy of Cornell University Library via Flickr Commons.

Cambridge University Press has long published a renowned series of histories on a range of historical topics. Now these authoritative histories are available in electronic format to Portland State University students, faculty, and staff through Cambridge Histories Online. This database includes over 300 volumes published since 1960 covering a range of time periods, topics, and regions. Countries covered include the United State, United Kingdom, China, Egypt, Japan, Iran, Russia, Turkey, South Africa, and India; regions and continents include Scandinavia, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Pacific Islands. Topics covered include religion, economics, theater and performing arts, warfare, the history of science, language, music, philosophy, and political and social theory.

A global event now entering its sixth year, Open Access Week (October 22 to 28) is an opportunity for the academic and research community to learn about the potential benefits of Open Access (OA), to share ideas with colleagues, and to inspire wider participation in establishing Open Access as a new norm in scholarship and research. Enjoy a wide range of activities at PSU Library and virtually with colleagues around the world.

Learn more about PSU Library's events here: http://library.pdx.edu/oaweek12.html

Library Assistant Professor Jill Emery and Graham Stone, Information Resources Manager in Computing and Library Services at the University of Huddersfield in the United Kingdom, are collaborating on a project for electronic resources librarians. TERMS: Techniques for Electronic Resource Management focuses on best practices for management of electronic resources in libraries. Originally a tumblr blog, Emery and Stone are turning TERM into a wiki to encourage even more input from the library community. The response to the wiki has already been favorable from Brazil to India. They invite librarians and library staff to contribute to the wiki here: http://library.hud.ac.uk/wikiterms/Main_Page

The University Library is partnering with PSU’s Queer Resource Center to present a display of books and films in honor of National Coming Out Day (October 11). The materials will be on display October 8-14, 2012, in the “New Books” area just to the right of the entrance to Millar Library.

About the Display

Too often the voices of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer People of Color are left out of coming out narratives. The Queer Resource Center selected these materials to illuminate the wide spectrum of ways in which racial and cultural identities are experienced in a white, heteronormative, cisgender society. While these books and films cannot define the entirety of the experiences of LGBTQ People of Color, they do provide a beginning for all people to learn more and bring front and center the stories of LGBTQ People of Color.

The new compact shelving has been installed and the Library has finished moving the books and journals around. The Basement is open and now houses books and journals with call numbers A through HN. The 3rd floor now houses books and journals with call numbers of HS through NX.

Learn more about the project here: http://library.pdx.edu/ml_3rdfloor.html

The Library is happy to serve as a host site for this year's Archives Crawl. Check out our schedule of programs and on-site film screenings "from the vault" to see what's happening at the Library this Saturday.

3rd Annual Oregon Archives Crawl
Saturday, October 6th
10am-3pm
Free and Open to the Public

Participate with over 25 archives and heritage organizations in getting in touch with history and having fun doing it! Start your journey through Oregon’s past by visiting the four host locations: Portland Archives and Records Center, Portland State University Millar Library, Multnomah County Central Library, and the Oregon Historical Society. At each site you’ll encounter archivists, historians and other representatives from organizations that devote their time to preserving the past so that it will be available for you and future generations to use. Not only will you get to visit the archives of the four host locations, but the other organizations will be bringing some of their “stuff” for you to see!

Learn more at http://library.pdx.edu/events.html.

The Portland State University Library is excited to offer a new, convenient service to our students and faculty. This new feature allows you to place a request on any available book in the library and we will get it for you and place it on hold. You will receive an email when the item is ready and you may pick up your books at the Circulation Desk on the first floor. You may place holds on as many items as you like. Requests will be processed and ready for pick up within 24 hours. Books will be held for 7 days.

The Portland State University Library now offers an online booking system for students to reserve study space. Rooms may be reserved in three hour blocks of time, up to a week in advance. There are 27 rooms for students to use, including two Practice Presentation Rooms and a Family Friendly Study Room. The rooms vary in size from small, individual rooms to large rooms that hold up to 15 people. Study rooms are dedicated for individuals needing a quiet space to study and reflect or for groups working together on projects. To book a room, go to library.pdx.edu/studyrooms. When you are ready to check out the key, come to the Circulation Desk on the first floor. Walk in reservations will be accepted, if rooms are available.

“Public opinion in this country is everything.” Abraham Lincoln. September 16, 1859

And what would President Lincoln think of public opinion now? Whether opinion is related to personal technology use or presidential approval ratings, the media, academicians, and think tanks study and analyze this uniquely democratic beast: public opinion. For Portland State students and faculty, finding historic and current public opinion has just gotten easier by using Roper Center for Public Opinion’s iPoll database.

iPoll provides researchers with up-to-date public opinion survey results from academic, commercial and media opinion surveys. Would you like to know what surveys revealed regarding Americans' views of Michelle Obama just last month? iPoll can tell you. Would you like to know if American supported the creation of uniform traffic laws for all states in 1935? iPoll has that, too.

As we enter into the full-swing of election season, Roper Center for Public Opinion’s iPoll database is your resource for exploring historical and current public opinion. See what gems you can find in this new resource!