The librarian is: BLOGGING | Journalism Library, Columbia University

There are a number of new selections available in the Journalism Library! Come check out the following:

* Burden, Peter. (2008). News of the World? Fake Sheikhs and Royal Trappings. London: Eye Books Ltd.

* Rubino, Anna. (2008). Queen of the Oil Club: The Intrepid Wanda Jablonski and the Power of Information. Boston: Beacon Press.

* Scharnhorst, Gary. (2008). Kate Field – The Many Lives of a Nineteenth-Century Journalist. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.

* Stout, Glenn. (2008). Everything They Had – Sports Writing From David Halberstam. New York: Hyperion.

* Sunstein, Cass R. (2008). Republic.com 2.0. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Or find them first in CLIO!

Library catalogs:

“Hybrid” databases (bibliographic information, plus full text):

Full text journal collections:

National libraries:

Welcome to the Graduate School of Journalism, and to Columbia University Libraries. Here are some links for exploring the resources that will help you in RWI.

The Columbia Libraries’ website is your portal to information about the many libraries available at Columbia, as well as your link into thousands of electronic sources of information (newspapers, magazines, scholarly journals, photographs, and more) - information which you won’t necessarily find on Google. The Libraries’ catalog, CLIO, helps you to locate both print and online materials at Columbia.

In terms of getting started on your beat reporting, searching for past news stories on your beat can be accomplished using either LexisNexis or Factiva (access restricted to current Columbia affiliates). If you’d like to dig deeper, ProQuest Historical Newspapers (access restricted to current Columbia affiliates) contains the full text of the New York Times back to 1851! This means you can find out what was happening in your beat neighborhood back then. Or, you can type in a street address and see what interesting events may have taken place there.

For other info on New York City and its neighborhoods, check out the guide, Scoping Out Your Beat. It includes links to a number of important websites with in-depth coverage of relevant social and cultural issues.

Graduating in May, 2006? Congratulations!

You may be wondering what will become of your access to Columbia’s excellent electronic resources once you are no longer a student. This blog post will give you the definitive answers on the topic - accept no conflicting information!

Part I: Good News and Bad News

The Good News: Upon graduation, there is a “grace period” of approximately three months during which you continue to have access to the databases you know and love (Factiva, LexisNexis, etc.) via the same channels as before - you connect via the library’s link to them, type in your Columbia UNI and password, and you’re in. During this grace period, you may also continue to check books out of Columbia libraries.

The Bad News: You will NOT receive a warning at the end of the grace period - your access simply expires. Library staff are not notified of the exact date on which the grace period ends, so you need to remain aware that, come August or September, you can no longer count on access to these resources.

How to tell when you have been cut off? Simple! Once the grace period ends, your UNI and password will no longer work to log you in to the databases you had been using.

Part II: Alumni Access to Columbia Libraries

Once you have graduated from Columbia, you enjoy alumni library privileges. You are eligible for an alumni ID card, which is good for lifetime access to all of Columbia’s libraries (remember, when you’re on campus, you have access to databases!), and you have electronic access to a selection of databases that Columbia licenses specifically for alumni use. Find out about all this on the Alumni & Friends Portal of the Libraries’ website.

Part III: Can I Still Ask Questions?

Yes, I am always happy to answer research questions from alumni (you may want to identify yourself as such when you send me an email), and will be happy to suggest whatever sources I can to which you have access (since, as I mentioned above, after the grace period ends, you will not be able to access databases). But: I cannot do research for you, or email you materials from Columbia’s licensed databases.

Welcome to the Journalism Library blog. I hope you will use this blog as a resource throughout your time at the J-school. Here are some crucial links to get you started:

The J-school Student Resources page is a good jumping-off point for starting your research. The Libraries section of the page has a number of useful links (including one to this very blog) and the Research Tools section has shortcuts to a number of databases that are likely to be of use to you very soon.

In order to make the most of this blog, check back in frequently, and remember to use the subject categories on the side of the page to navigate to the posts that interest you!

Just announced: the spring schedule of training sessions at the Business & Economics Library:

Introduction to Databases and Online Tools

This session will demonstrate web access to business and economics information as available from the Watson Business Library’s webpage.
Wednesday, January 18, 5pm – 6pm Wednesday, January 25, 5pm – 6pm
Friday, January 20, 11am – 12pm Friday, January 27, 11am – 12pm

The class is held in the study space on the west side of the 1st mezzanine of the Business & Economics Library.

Reservations are required: send email to business@libraries.cul.columbia.edu

An Introduction to Bloomberg

This session will teach the basic navigation and searching skills necessary to begin using Bloomberg.
Friday, January 20, 2006, 10am – 11am Friday, March 31, 2006, 10am – 11am
Friday, February 3, 2006, 10am – 11am Friday, April 14, 2006, 10am – 11am
Friday, February 17, 2006, 10am – 11am Friday, April 28, 2006, 10am – 11am

Friday, March 17, 2006, 10am – 11am

The class is held in the study space on the west side of the 1st mezzanine of the Business & Economics Library.

Reservations are required: send email to business@libraries.cul.columbia.edu

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!

An indispensable part of getting to know your beat neighborhood is exploring its public library branch. Public libraries across the US draw local residents for events and group meetings, and in New York, branch libraries of the New York Public Library system (serving Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island), as well as branches of the Queens Borough Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library, often have collections which highlight the unique characteristics of the neighborhoods they serve. If you’re having trouble finding neighborhood newspapers, the local branch library is a good place to start your search.

Before setting out, use the links above to locate your beat’s branch library and most importantly, check its hours of operation! To explore the branch library catalogs, here are some useful links:

LEOPAC is the catalog of the New York Public Library’s branch library system, which is not to be confused with the separate CATNYP catalog, which shows the holdings of NYPL’s Research Libraries. Keep in mind that to check out materials from the branch libraries, you will need a NYPL library card. Apply for one today! It’s a great benefit to take advantage of while you are living in New York City, and it even offers you access to online research databases which you’ll be able to use after graduating, when you no longer have access to Columbia’s resources.

Queens Library’s catalog can be searched from its main website, and Brooklyn Public Library’s catalog can be found here.