News from Mardigian Library: Young Authors' Festival and MeLCat service interruption

October 19, 2015

The latest from the Mardigian Library

Young Authors' Festival

Save the Date! Young Authors’ Festival

On Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015, University of Michigan-Dearborn is hosting the third annual Young Authors’ Festival. Our theme this year is “Celebrating Our Differences.” Mardigian Library staff partner with faculty and students from the College of Education, Health, and Human Services to create this event focused on encouraging children to read and write.

Children in grades three through five participated in a writing contest this fall. A winner will be selected from each grade along with one grand prize winner. Prizes will be awarded, and winners will be invited to read their compositions at the event.

We are excited to have Gary Schmidt as our guest speaker at the Young Authors’ Festival! Schmidt is a Michigan author, two-time Newbery Honor recipient and a National Book Award Finalist. He writes mainly for children and young adults in the primary and middle school grades, and his most recent book, Orbiting Jupiter, was just published on Oct. 6. More information about Schmidt and his books can be found at his website http://www.hmhbooks.com/schmidt/.

The festival also features breakout sessions focused on writing. Children will practice their writing techniques while adults learn tips for supporting children’s writing development. At the end of the morning, there will be a book signing with Schmidt. A selection of his books will be available for sale or attendees can bring their own copies for signing.

The festival begins at 8:30 a.m. with registration and speakers at 9 a.m. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is encouraged to help us plan seating, sessions, giveaways and refreshments.

Check out the festival’s website to register or for more details about the contest and event: http://library.umd.umich.edu/events/YAF/.

Anyone requiring accommodations under the provisions of the ADA should contact Sue Flannery at 313-593-5236 or [email protected] prior to Oct. 30, 2015, to allow time for arrangements to be made.

We hope you will join us!

MeLCat Service Interruption

During the end of the fall semester, there will be a 3- to 4-week disruption to some services offered by the Michigan eLibrary (MeL). On Nov. 18, 2015, MeL will begin transitioning its servers. This transition will lead to faster updates, fewer service interruptions, and will contribute to the long-term stability of MeLCat and the MeL Databases.

The server transition will take place between Nov. 18 and Dec. 11, 2015.

  • 17 – No new MeLCat requests will be accepted.
  • 17 – Dec 2 – Items checked out can be renewed.
  • 2 – Searching multiple databases through Search MeL will be disabled. Individual MeL databases will only be available to IP addresses originating from within Michigan. Normal MeL service should resume.
  • 11 – Normal MeL service should resume.

University of Michigan-Dearborn students, faculty and staff have several options for obtaining library materials from other libraries. Items requested through interlibrary loan can be delivered to the Mardigian Library for pickup at the main service desk. You may visit several area libraries that have reciprocal agreements with the Mardigian Library. InfoPass is an option for those who wish to visit an area library that participates in the InfoPass program. If you need materials from an InfoPass participating library, call the User Services department at 313-593-5559 or the Library Research Center at 313-593-5563 and ask to speak with a librarian.

We recognize that this time frame is a busy period for faculty, students and staff. The Mardigian Library is committed to supporting the teaching and research needs of the UM-Dearborn community. We will make every effort to provide options for those needing materials from other libraries, and look forward to continuing to provide MeL service once the system is back online.

More information about the server migration can be found on the Michigan eLibrary website.

Database updates

Apartheid South Africa 1948-1980
“Apartheid South Africa” makes available British government files from the Foreign, Colonial, Dominion, and Foreign and Commonwealth Offices spanning the period 1948 to 1980.

Latin America in Video
“Latin America in Video” gives a comprehensive and unique perspective on the region. It includes approximately 400 original-language documentaries—over 300 hours in all—from some of the most important producers and independent filmmakers in Latin America. Issues include human rights, violence, immigration, illiteracy, popular culture, and political history.

Sage Stats
“Sage Stats” includes two collections: State and Local, and Local Stats. State and Local is a collection of data measures that spans all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Local Stats is a collection of data measures that spans all counties, cities, and metropolitan statistical areas. Dating back more than 20 years, each data series is displayed in a clear and consistent format with detailed source information. Topics covered include the economy, education, crime, government finance, health, population, religion, social welfare, and transportation.

Film Industry Data
“Film Industry Data” provides rankings, box office sales, and unit sales in all formats (VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray). Search by keyword (the contributor list includes director, stars, producer, composer, camera, and lighting for each film) or date.

Nielsen data is the core data set at present. U.K. data from the Official Chart Company will be added next, with further data sets following thereafter.