The librarian is: BLOGGING | Journalism Library, Columbia University

Please be advised that the Journalism Library in its current incarnation in 203 Journalism will close at 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 10. The library will reopen within the newly constructed student center this Fall.

Answers to questions you may have:

Q: How can I return books that I have checked out from Journalism?

A: Items that have circulated from our regular collection may be returned to any other campus library (Butler Library being the closest one). Journalism Reserves items will circulate from the Lehman Library and should be returned there.

Q: Where will the library’s contents be housed during construction?

A: The Journalism Library collection will be relocated in its entirety to Lehman Library, which is located on the 3rd floor of the International Affairs (SIPA) building on Amsterdam Ave. and 118th St.

The circulating Journalism collection and books from the reference shelf will be shelved separately from Lehman’s collection, in the Lehman sorting area. Journalism Master’s projects and theses will be kept at Lehman’s reserve desk, as will the Journalism reserves collection, periodicals and newspapers received by the Journalism Library.

Q: I want to request books from Health Sciences or Offsite. Where can I have them sent?

A: You may have them sent to any other library location that is convenient to you. Journalism will not be listed as a delivery option during the construction period.

Q: I have a research question. How can I get help?

A: The Journalism Librarian, Deborah Wassertzug, will be working in a different library during the summer (location TBD). The easiest way to reach her will be via email, dw242@columbia.edu. She will send out shortly an office phone number and a Google Talk screen name for use during the summer months.

Q: Where and when will the library re-open?

A: The new Journalism Library will be part of the new student center, opening this Fall. Please visit the Journalism School’s homepage for construction updates.

Perhaps you have already been assigned a beat neighborhood, or a community district to cover, and are not sure exactly what a community district is, or where your beat is located? Here are some ways to start discovering your new beat.

Scoping Out Your Beat is a guide with links to some crucial resources, including the Department of City Planning website (which includes Community District Profiles), and the Gotham Gazette’s Community Gazettes section (note that Gotham Gazette uses council district, rather than community district, to organize its site.

Your professor may have mentioned some books available in the Journalism Library, called Community District Needs. These books are published annually by the Dept of City Planning, and there is one volume per borough. We have two sets of the most recent (FY 2007) books at the library.

Please note that the community district profiles posted on the Dept of City Planning website include almost all of the information in the books. What’s missing from the website? The detailed memo from each community board, which spells out what each district needs from the City in terms of improvements and funding. So, if you are going to take a look at the Community District Needs books at the library, no need to photocopy the entire section. Just photocopy the memo, and you can get the rest online!

The Duke University Center for the Study of the Public Domain has produced a comic book that explains how copyright restrictions and the principle of fair use apply to documentary filmmakers. The information is presented in an entertaining format, with clear and easy to follow examples. You can view the comic book online, download it, order hard copies on Amazon. Academic users can also order in bulk at a reduced price (see website for details).

Sometimes, you’re writing a trend story and want some quick facts to plug in. Sometimes, you’re casting around for a story idea.

In both cases, Research Alert, a publication searchable via Factiva, provides quick and convenient access to useful stats taken from market research reports (which are generally not available for free on the web).

To search Research Alert, connect to Factiva (access restricted to current Columbia affiliates) and plug in the following publication code in the search box:

rst=RSAL

After this, type and, then include keywords related to your topic, e.g.:

rst=RSAL and clothing

Here is an excerpt from a search result:

Big and tall men find best fit online.(notices)(Brief Article)
6 January 2006
Research Alert
10
ISSN: 0739-358X; Volume 24; Issue 1
English
Copyright 2006 Gale Group Inc. All rights reserved.

Frustrated by not being able to find clothes that fit them in stores, many big and tall men are turning to the Internet (33%) and catalogs (17%) for clothes that fit them, according to The NPD Group. Major complaints about the shirts available in stores include length too short (54%), sleeves too short (42%), tight necks and shoulders (38% each) and tightness across the chest (33%). Pants are often too tight in the waist (35%) and thighs (30%). [Clothing/Accessories]

The Basics: phone numbers & addresses
I wish I could tell you we had some super-duper special people-finder tools. But we don’t. Here are some decent free sites instead.

New Yorkers and where to find them
Looking for interesting New Yorkers to profile? Here are a few tips.

Finding experts
Preparing a Roundtable discussion? New York City is full of experts, but how to find them?

Consumer Watch

Bonus resources we talked about during the session:
AP Photo Archive
Archive.org - online archive of multimedia content

Effective Tuesday, 1/17/06, the new hours for the Journalism Library will be:
Monday - Thursday, 1-8 pm
Friday, 1-6 pm
Saturday, 10 am-6 pm
Sunday 2-8 pm

For more info on library hours, during the holidays and at other times, see this page.

Due to the transit strike, some Columbia libraries may have different hours of operation this week. See this page for further information.

During the holidays and winter intersession, the Journalism Library hours will change. Visit our hours page for all the details. For hours at other Columbia libraries, you can look here.

Please note that the Journalism Library will be CLOSED the entire week, December 26-30.

During this time, blog posts may still occur, so watch this space…

Happy New Year!

Can’t keep away from the library? Then you’re in luck. The Journalism Library will be open on Saturday and Sunday of this week (we will be closed Thursday and Friday for the holiday, however). Need hours for a different library? Check here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Looking for online NYC elections coverage and results? Try the Gotham Gazette Campaign 2005 site. It offers the transcripts of mayoral debates, a last-minute voter guide, spotlights on council races, and news from the campaign trail, and great links to government resources, organization websites, as well as political blogs. Starting at 9 p.m. on Tuesday 11/8, they’ll be posting results, too.

Some quick links to New York City election resources (also listed on Gotham Gazette) are:

• NYC Board of Elections
• NYC Campaign Finance Board (click “public disclosure” for a searchable database of contributions)