Here are previous Library news and events from 2006:

12/14/06 - Lewis J. Ort Library Authors Series, 2007

We are pleased to announce the Lewis J. Ort Library Authors Series, 2007.  The series begins with Kerry Neville Bakken, author of the intricately-crafted short story collection, Necessary Lies, on Tues. Feb. 6, 7 PM, on the Ort Library 5th Floor.  The collection is the winner of the USABooks 2006 National Book Award for Short Fiction.  You can read an excerpt from the book at Necessary Lies and read the BkMK Press interview (PDF) with the author. at the BkMk press homepage. .

Upcoming Readings

• Mon., March 12. 7 PM - Brian Gilmore (poetry and prose)
  Lane Center Room 201.
  
  
• April - National Library Week Event - Susan Tichy (exact time and location to be announced)

11/12/06 - Maryland Coal Mine Mapping Project Online

The Lewis J. Ort Library, in partnership with the Maryland Bureau of Mines and the Maryland Power Plant Research Program, offers the Maryland Coal Mine Mapping Project, a large collection of maps of historic Western Maryland Coal Mines, which have been digitized and cataloged as a searchable online database.

Five hundred mine maps and more than one thousand mining-related maps have been collected, interpreted and scanned, and approximately 455 are presently listed in Catalog USMAI.  These are searchable by the name of the mine or mining company, or by keyword, and can be enlarged and explored by scrolling. 

Former Acquisitions Librarian and Archivist Nat DeBruin served as Project Manager; Josh Shreve was the Mapping Specialist, and Virginia Williams, Head Cataloger, made the maps searchable.

9/28/06 - Constitution Day Event and Library Display

In honor of Constitution Day, a national initiative to increase awareness of the U.S. Constitution among federal government employees and students, FSU will present a talk at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 28, in the Lane Center Alice R. Manicur Assembly Hall.

The keynote speaker will be Judge J. Frederick Sharer of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. This event is sponsored by the Beall Institute for Public Affairs and the FSU Department of Political Science.

As part of the Constitution Celebration, please come to the Lewis J. Ort Library to see the display on exhibit Sept. 17-29. Events of 1787 are highlighted and include:

• a DVD presentation on the Maryland delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787
• the survey map of the 1787 land grants given to Revolutionary War soldiers in present Garrett County
• biographical information on Daniel Carroll, James McHenry, and Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, the three Marylanders who signed the Constitution
• depiction of the original 13-Star United States Flag
• facts about Western Maryland in 1787

Garrett and Allegany Counties of today were still a part of Washington County which, in 1787, was the westernmost County.  The area west of Washington County was known as “Westward of Fort Cumberland.” 

Colonel Francis Deakins surveyed the area in 1787 and found 343 families on 636 of the lots he had surveyed.  The Maryland Assembly made the decision to let these families remain on the land.

7/17/06 - Ort Library E-Resource Update

The Library would like to announce the following electronic resource changes to the Research Port database system for the 2006-07 Academic Year:

New Databases

• GeoRef (Geography) - Produced by the American Geological Institute, this database is a comprehensive geoscience database containing over 2.6 million bibliographic records from more than 3,000 journals and other sources (replaces the GEOBASE database).
  
  
• Humanities International Complete - Humanities International Complete is a comprehensive database of humanities content, providing full text of hundreds of journals, books and other published sources from around the world (replaces the Humanities Abstracts database).
  
  
• Mergent Asia & Europe Industry Reports (Business) – As an add-on to the Mergent Online statistical database, we now have access to these international reports in additional to previously subscribed to North American Reports.

Cancelled Database Subscriptions

• ABI/Inform (Business) – The content of this database overlapped with Business Source Premier.  Since Business Source Premier was the larger of the two databases, this database remains in Research Port while ABI/Inform was cancelled.
  
  
• GEOBASE (Geography) – Replaced by GeoRef.
  
  
• Humanities Abstracts  - Replaced by Humanities International Complete.
  
  
• MLA International Bibliography – Statistics continue to show very low usage of this expensive database resource in the FSU Community, and thus its subscription was regrettably cancelled.  Its subject area is covered well by Humanities International Complete, Academic Search Premier, and Project Muse
  
  
• Centrally-Funded Reference Databases – Due to a change in the formula for support of databases shared by all of the USM campus libraries, the following reference databases are being cancelled to a lack of funds:
  • Chronicle of Higher Education
  • Britannica
  • OED Online (Oxford English Dictionary)
  • Access Science Encyclopedia 

If you have any questions regarding the Research Port system or the Library’s databases, please call the Reference Desk at 301-687-4424.  If you have suggestions for future electronic resource subscriptions please feel free to contact Randy Lowe at rlowe@Frostburg.edu  or your academic department’s library liaison. 

2/7/06 - Ort Library Unveils "New Arrivals" Kiosk in Lobby

The Ort Library has revived its practice of putting the latest arrivals on display in the main lobby. Not all the titles are hot off the New York Times best-sellers list, but they are current and are new to the Library.

The titles include a mix of fiction and non-fiction works. All are available to be borrowed by any registered library user. Stop in and check out the latest the Library has to offer. If you have any questions, stop at the Circulation Desk in the lobby, or call x4395. 

2/1/06 - USGS Exhibit in the Library

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is currently showcasing a unique collection of historical hydrologic equipment in the Library until Spring break (week of March 20th).

The exhibit highlights Real-time Streamflow Data for the Nation since the campus USGS office part of the USGS Water Resources Division. Visitors will see historic gage height recording equipment, stream measuring equipment, photographs, and much more.

The exhibit also has a publications table for those who are interested in picking up selected USGS publications, all free of charge.

Special thanks to:

• Mary Jo Price, Special Collections Librarian, Lewis J. Ort Library
• Judy Salvo, Congressional Liaison, Eastern Region Office of Communications, USGS Headquarters, Reston, VA 
• Allan Montgomery, Museum Property Program Coordinator, Federal Preservation Officer, USGS Headquarters, Reston, VA
• Sara Darby, Student Contractor, USGS field office at FSU

Questions about the exhibit may be directed to Jim Jeffries, Frostburg USGS Field Office Chief, at 301-687-0919 x12 or via email at jeffries@usgs.gov.

1/31/06 - Federal and State Income Tax Forms Online

Visit our new Tax Forms page for links to federal income tax forms and instructions, as well as forms for Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Library no longer receives paper copies of federal tax forms and instructions due to the IRS discontinuing this practice.