Ohrstrom Blog » Literature

eReference @ Ohrstrom

Lura Sanborn — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:00:31 +0000

Teacher says no Wikipedia allowed? Concerned about author credibility? Try searching Ohrstrom Library’s digital reference collections, available from the library’s eReference page.

These eReference collections will quickly provide essential background information, written by known experts and backed by an academic publishing house.

The Credo Reference product provides access to 500+ digital reference titles, all searchable simultaneously.

The Gale Reference product is being built title-by-title, and includes such classics as The Encyclopedia of Religion.

Please feel free to contact Ms. Sanborn (lsanborn at sps dot edu) to discuss or review the library’s eReference products.

Ave, avis obscura! – A Horae Halloween

Lisa Laughy — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:00:39 +0000

In the spirit of All Hallows’ Evening, the following excerpt from the October 31, 1925 edition of the Horae Scholasticae, called The Horae Owl, is reprinted below :

Ave, avis obscura! Hail, bird of darkness! Once more, high upon the cabinet, perches an owl and looks down at us with unblinking stare. By day he gleans the pages of past and future Horae and is acquainted far in advance with the guarded secrets of each issue. And when all the editors are deep in slumber he shrugs his shoulders, stiff from holding the same position all day, and coming into life and motion flies with powerful beats through the window, to float about on noiseless wings until morning, when he returns to his perch and folds his pinions about him and settles into his pose. Then to some editor seeking inspiration he whispers the tale of mystery he gathered in the night.

But fortunate bird, never hungry, never the “mousing owl,” for under thy feathers are no vitals, but merely stuffings. It was fated that the taxidermist should leave the brain, and under its guidance may the wisest path be chosen, and under the baleful glare of thy yellow eyes may the foolish one be avoided.

The Horae Owl refers to the taxidermy owl that appeared for many years in School pictures of the Horae board. The board from the 1925 Horae, when this anonymous selection of prose was published, is shown below with their mascot. The owl is the bird of Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom, and serves as a symbol for the literary pursuits of the Horae as well as the general spookiness associated with Halloween.

First row: Clarence Burley Boutell ’26, John Clarkson Potter ’26, Kenneth Whittemore Pendar ’26, Grayson Mallet-Prevost Murphy ’26, Robert Gwynne Stout ’26.

Second row: Francis Augustus Drake ’25, Horae Owl, Calvin Pardee Foulke ’25.

Third row: William Wayne Neff ’25, Nelson Wright MacKie ’25, Rodney Stewart Young ’25, Winthrop Gilman Brown ’25, Howard Radclyffe Roberts Jr. ’25, Thomas David Mumford ’25, Lawrence Heyworth Mills II ’25.

Accessing eBooks at Ohrstrom

Lura Sanborn — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 12:00:12 +0000

Ohrstrom Library provides access to an ever-growing collection of eBooks. The library currently has 86,000+ eBooks available, all with unlimited simultaneous user access.

There are two methods of locating eBooks: using the online catalog or by visiting any of the library’s individual eBook collections available on the library’s eBook page.

Library eBook collections are viewable on most versions of the following: PCs, tablets and hand-held devices.

This short video tutorial describes accessing the libraries eBooks and demonstrates two of the library’s current collections:

As always, when accessing the library’s digital collections when off the grounds, please log in with your SPS user credentials to: vpn.sps.edu

Please feel free to contact Lura Sanborn (lsanborn at sps dot edu) with your question(s) about the library’s eBook collections.

eBook Collection Highlight: Study Guides & College Admissions

Lura Sanborn — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 12:00:37 +0000

Read Ohrstrom’s eBook collections while away for the summer! Simply visit vpn.sps.edu & log in using your SPS user name and password.

Next, click on the library link and search the library catalog.

To retrieve only eBooks, use the advanced search feature to limit by item type ‘eBook.’

Preparing for college admission? Consider a subject search for “Universities and Colleges, Admission.”

Studying for entrance exams? Consider a subject search for “SAT, Study Guides.”

All of Ohrstrom’s eBooks can be read on a personal computer. No special e-reader is required. Happy e-reading!

New Research Guide: Humanities V

Lura Sanborn — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 22:21:48 +0000

A new Humanities V research guide is available for those writing the Humanities V research paper. Use this guide to identify useful reference sources, recommended library catalog searches, newspaper, magazine and journal articles, as well as online primary source collections. Also included: Research Flow Chart, Noodlebib tutorials and an xtranormal animated intro to the library’s new e-journal finder.

Please feel free to contact Ms. Sanborn (lsanborn at sps dot edu) for a research consultation and/or to discuss any of the items in this guide.

Curious About Kindles?

Lisa Laughy — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 12:00:50 +0000

by Sandra Chauvin – Circulation Librarian

Come on down to Ohrstrom Library to check out our Kindle 2. Click HERE to access the online catalog entry, and then click on the “Catalog Record” link to see a complete list of current titles available on the Kindle.

If it is already checked out, log onto My Account and place a hold on it.

If you are interested in the Kindle and would like to recommend that a specific title be added to its contents, you can place an online acquisitions request by clicking HERE and select Other for Item Type and specify that it is for the Kindle. If approved, the title will be added to our Kindle.

The Kindle can be checked out for one week and renewed if there are no holds on it. See the Circulation Desk for more detailed information and policies.

3,000 Plus (More!) eBooks: NetLibrary

Lura Sanborn — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 12:00:52 +0000

Ohrstrom Library recently purchased 3,000+ eBooks from Netlibrary.

To search the full-text of these eBooks, simply visit Netlibrary HERE.

Records for all of Ohrstrom’s eBooks are included in the library’s online catalog, located HERE.

Tip: Searching the catalog will search the author, title, and subject(s) of any book (print or e) owned by the library. To search within the full-text of an eBook, please search via the eBook collection available at the library’s website.

Please note: If you are off the SPS grounds please log in at vpn.sps.edu to access the library’s eBooks.

Project Muse @ Ohrstrom Library

Lura Sanborn — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 12:00:48 +0000

Ohrstrom Library is pleased to announce the addition of 400 new journals to our digital holdings.

Project Muse contains the full-text of 400 journals covering research in the Humanities, Arts, Sciences, International Studies and Social Sciences.

A complete title list is available by clicking HERE, or browse a list of journals by discipline located HERE.

In most cases, articles are added to the Project Muse database before the corresponding print issue is even mailed.

To access Project Muse, please visit Ohrstrom’s website HERE and select Project Muse from the database menu:

Contact Ohrstrom Library with questions about Project Muse or any of the Library’s other digital research collections by clicking HERE.

eBooks @ Ohrstrom

Lura Sanborn — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 12:00:45 +0000

Ohrstrom Library is pleased to announce our inaugural collection of eBooks.

To utilize these digital texts, please visit the Library’s website: library.sps.edu

Using the eBooks link, pictured above, one may then exclusively search the eBook collection. The eBooks have also been integrated into the Library catalog and are searchable and accessible alongside the print collection.

This eBook collection is from the American Council of Learned Societies and contains 2,800 scholarly texts with a focus on the Humanities including the following areas: History, Art, Religion, Folklore, Musicology, Literature and Science history.

As you try this new eBook collection the library encourages you to share your experience with us. Your feedback would be particularly helpful as the Library is investigating and evaluating additional eBook packages.

New Reference Book: The Eloquent Shakespeare

Lura Sanborn — Tue, 25 May 2010 12:00:42 +0000

The Eloquent Shakespeare by Gary Logan, University of Chicago Press, 2008.

Find it in Ohrstrom at: REF 822.3 zL82E

A pronouncing dictionary to Shakespeare’s complete dramatic works, with notes. Written by the director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting this unique reference book seeks to standardize pronunciation for the stage.

Learn to pronounce:
•    Alphonso
•    cap-a-pe
•    eyas-musket
•    Oxfordshire
•    wolt

Helpful for: Humanities III, Humanities V, Shakespeare, Theater, Fiske Cup