Faculty & Staff News

November 2024 Edition

The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th edition is now available in print and digital formats at the library. The digital version can be accessed via the Databases A-Z list.

The companies that design our library systems (primarily our catalog and databases) are working on designing and integrating generative AI tools into their search processes. Our catalog now has such a tool available, titled “Research Assistant.” This tool enables the user to ask a question and receive an overview of academic sources in paragraph form, with citations. This video provides a short overview of how this tool works (FYI: Primo/Alma is the name of our catalog/discovery service).

Our final faculty learning session of the semester focused on the use of generative AI in research and writing will be held on Thursday, November 21st at 2:00 p.m. During this session we will explore the new AI “research assistants” in our library systems and Research Rabbit, an AI tool that is helpful for identifying sources for literature reviews. Bring a laptop or tablet to try out these tools.

Please join us in welcoming AU alumna Kira Barnett as our evening Library Assistant!

Thank you for your patience as we continue to work through changes in library staffing. We’re working as quickly as possible to fulfill your requests, but there will likely be delays as we hire and train new personnel throughout the next few months.

October 2024 Edition

Recordings of September’s faculty learning sessions focused on the use of generative AI in research and writing are posted on the Working with AI in Research and Writing Assignments guide. Our next session is scheduled for Thursday, October 24th at 2:00 p.m.

It’s election season - check out our Informed Voter Guide and digital book display on the Thrift Library home page.

We are excited to welcome our new Education Librarian, Kasey Swords! She will oversee the Curriculum Lab collection and work primarily with COED students and faculty.

Thank you for your patience as we continue to work through changes in library staffing. We’re working as quickly as possible to fulfill your requests, but there will likely be delays as we hire and train new personnel throughout the next few months.

September 2024 Edition

We’re happy to see so many students, faculty, and staff using Thrift Library as we begin the fall semester!

Proctorio is now installed on the desktop computers in the study carrels located on the second floor of the library. Cameras can be accessed by pressing down on the top center of each monitor.

Thrift Library is hosting a CEP event on Monday, September 9th at 11:30 a.m. in Chapman Multimedia room. Staff from the Anderson County Library System will be here to help students sign up for a library card and set up mobile apps on their iPads to connect to ebook, audiobook, and streaming media resources such as Libby, Hoopla, and Kanopy. Faculty and staff are welcome to attend!

Thank you for your patience as we work through changes in library staffing. We’re working as quickly as possible to fulfill your requests, but there will likely be delays as we hire and train new personnel throughout the next month or two.

This month there are four faculty learning opportunities in AI and OER available for you to attend (or view the recording). We hope you can join us!

August 2024 Edition

Greetings to you as we begin the new academic year with a new library website! https://library.andersonuniversity.edu/ We hope you will find it easy to navigate and meet your information needs. The new library site will be linked to the AU website. Please update links to Thrift Library you have posted in Canvas.

We invite you to visit and bookmark the Faculty & Staff Support page.

Over the course of this academic year, we will transition all content from the LibGuides platform to the new website. Please bear with us as we make these changes. We will do our best to keep you informed as content is moved.

We have had several changes in library personnel since spring semester concluded. Please note that some subject specialists have been temporarily reassigned while we seek to fill two open librarian positions.

Please submit a Course Reserves Request Form if you would like to place physical materials on reserve for the fall semester.

We will continue to offer faculty learning sessions focused on Working with AI in Research and Writing this fall. Information is available on our events page (register if you would like to receive reminders) and will be shared via CLTE.

There are a few changes to our database subscriptions:

  1. Artstor has merged with Jstor. All Artstor content is now accessible only via Jstor.
  2. Databases provided via Discus (via South Carolina State Library; these will be available soon):
    1. New addition: Hobbies & Crafts Source
    2. New addition: Chilton Library
    3. New addition: Britannica ImageQuest Jr
    4. New addition: PebbleGo Social Studies (added to PebbleGo)
    5. Discontinued: Auto Repair Source

Note: The A-Z database list hosted on the LibGuides platform will be discontinued shortly. All databases are now available via the new library website.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us for assistance throughout the year!