Monday, November 15, 2010
Frequent Questions
Can I renew my own library materials?
4. If an item is overdue, you may renew it. You are, however, still responsible for fines accrued up until the point of renewal.
Yes, you are allowed to renew library materials one time.
4. If an item is overdue, you may renew it. You are, however, still responsible for fines accrued up until the point of renewal.
Should I tape torn materials myself?
NO!!! This will further damage library material.
Standard tape glue will corrode the pages of library items. Also, when you put tape on items, we can’t get it off again. The Allen Library uses specific adhesives and methods to restore damaged paper and bindings. Please bring torn or damaged library items to the circulation desk.
The Binding Blues - Do not tape pages into a score for the sake of an easier page turn. These pages are difficult to remove without damaging the original library item.
- You tore the pages of my library item just like you tore my heart
Friday, November 5, 2010
We Need Your Feedback!
Want to provide feedback to the University of Hartford Libraries to let us know how we're doing? We're running a survey right now to give you that opportunity. We're looking for information on what we're doing right, what we're doing wrong, and what services you would like to see us offer. If you are a student or faculty member at the University of Hartford, please consider taking this 10-15 minute survey to help us in our quest to continue meeting your needs.
Students Survey
Faculty Survey
Students Survey
Faculty Survey
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Your New Best Friend: Playlists
So, you have a listening exam coming up and you want an easy way to make sure you study all your listening examples. What do you do?
One answer is to make a playlist. University Libraries provides access to three streaming audio databases: Naxos, Classical Music Library (CML henceforth), and DRAM. In both Naxos and CML, it is possible to make your own playlists and to see those of others. (In some cases, your instructor may have even already put together a playlist for your class.) In CML it is even possible to make playlists that include links to other sources outside of CML-- so you can put all your listening links in one place, even if they're not in the same database. You can even add links to other things, like webpages and scores in IMSLP.
Here's how it works:
1. Go to the Listen Online links on the Allen Library webpage.
2. Click on the database you want. We're going to use Classical Music Library, since you can put all the links in one place, but the process is similar for Naxos if you prefer to use that database.
3. On the CML webpage in the upper right hand corner there is a link to sign in. Click on the link to sign in. If you haven't created an account, there is a link there to create one.
4. Once you are logged in, there will be more links in the upper right hand corner. Click on the one that says "My Playlists".
5. Click on the blue link that says "Create playlist" on the right side of the page.
From there you will get a page that asks you to give the playlist a name. In the box that says "annotation" you can put additional information about the playlist, or you can leave it blank. You can also choose who is allowed to see the list. Right now the option "just my class or group" is not working, but you can allow everyone who uses CML to see it, everyone at this institution, or you can keep it private by choosing "just me". If you are working with a study group, one person can create the playlist and everyone could use the same playlist, if you choose. After you've filled in the fields, click on the "Create" button.
6. At this point you can click on the link that says "Add items to Playlist" and begin adding items. To add an item from outside CML, paste the URL in the field that asks for the URL. If you are linking to a score on IMSLP, you will need to link to the page that the score link is on, not the score PDF. You can also link to items in Blackboard, on Naxos, DRAM, or from anywhere on the web.
7. To add an item from CML, simply search within CML and click on the blue circle with the white plus sign in it, and then choose the playlist you'd like to add it to, or at this point you can also choose to create a new playlist and then add the item to that playlist instead.
8. Once you have added items to the playlist, you can go back and edit or remove items, or change who can see your playlist. To use the playlist, simply select the playlist from the My Playlists tab (or institutional playlists if you want a playlist someone else has created and made public). Then you can click on Play all items, or click on the individual titles shown in blue to play individual tracks or access individual pages. That's it! When you're done using CML be sure to remember to log out so someone else can use it, we have a limitation on the number of people who can be using it at one time.
For more help creating playlists or any other assistance with library resources, feel free to drop in to see us, call or email us, or use the handy chat window on the homepage. Remember, we're here to help you make the most of what we have to offer, and we like to help!
One answer is to make a playlist. University Libraries provides access to three streaming audio databases: Naxos, Classical Music Library (CML henceforth), and DRAM. In both Naxos and CML, it is possible to make your own playlists and to see those of others. (In some cases, your instructor may have even already put together a playlist for your class.) In CML it is even possible to make playlists that include links to other sources outside of CML-- so you can put all your listening links in one place, even if they're not in the same database. You can even add links to other things, like webpages and scores in IMSLP.
Here's how it works:
1. Go to the Listen Online links on the Allen Library webpage.
2. Click on the database you want. We're going to use Classical Music Library, since you can put all the links in one place, but the process is similar for Naxos if you prefer to use that database.
3. On the CML webpage in the upper right hand corner there is a link to sign in. Click on the link to sign in. If you haven't created an account, there is a link there to create one.
4. Once you are logged in, there will be more links in the upper right hand corner. Click on the one that says "My Playlists".
5. Click on the blue link that says "Create playlist" on the right side of the page.
From there you will get a page that asks you to give the playlist a name. In the box that says "annotation" you can put additional information about the playlist, or you can leave it blank. You can also choose who is allowed to see the list. Right now the option "just my class or group" is not working, but you can allow everyone who uses CML to see it, everyone at this institution, or you can keep it private by choosing "just me". If you are working with a study group, one person can create the playlist and everyone could use the same playlist, if you choose. After you've filled in the fields, click on the "Create" button.6. At this point you can click on the link that says "Add items to Playlist" and begin adding items. To add an item from outside CML, paste the URL in the field that asks for the URL. If you are linking to a score on IMSLP, you will need to link to the page that the score link is on, not the score PDF. You can also link to items in Blackboard, on Naxos, DRAM, or from anywhere on the web.
7. To add an item from CML, simply search within CML and click on the blue circle with the white plus sign in it, and then choose the playlist you'd like to add it to, or at this point you can also choose to create a new playlist and then add the item to that playlist instead.
8. Once you have added items to the playlist, you can go back and edit or remove items, or change who can see your playlist. To use the playlist, simply select the playlist from the My Playlists tab (or institutional playlists if you want a playlist someone else has created and made public). Then you can click on Play all items, or click on the individual titles shown in blue to play individual tracks or access individual pages. That's it! When you're done using CML be sure to remember to log out so someone else can use it, we have a limitation on the number of people who can be using it at one time.
For more help creating playlists or any other assistance with library resources, feel free to drop in to see us, call or email us, or use the handy chat window on the homepage. Remember, we're here to help you make the most of what we have to offer, and we like to help!
Friday, October 8, 2010
Frequent Questions
If the Allen Library does not have an item that I think should be in its collection, can I request that it be purchased?
Yes, the Allen Library welcomes suggestions for purchase from patrons. Please stop by the circulation desk and ask for an acquisition request form. An online version of the form can be found at: http://library.hartford.edu/services/suggtitle.asp. You are also encouraged to bring suggestions to Tracey Rudnick, Allen Library Head Librarian. We try to fill requests that fall within curricular objectives whenever possible. If the item you suggest is not immediately on hand, we can assist you in borrowing it from another library through interlibrary loan.
Can I receive notification that my library items are coming due?
Yes, you may set a variety of message and notification settings by logging into the online library catalog (http://hartford.waldo.kohalibrary.com/). The library catalog log in can be found at the top of the catalog homepage. Enter your 8-digit ID as the login. Enter your surname (with capitalized first letter) as the password if you are logging in for the first time.
Before making any notification changes, please make sure you have an email listed that you check regularly in the contact information box found under the tab “My Personal Details” found on the left side of the page.
Under the tab “My Messaging,” you may set an advanced notice for upcoming due items. Select the number of days prior to an item’s due date, on which you would like to receive a notification from the drop-down menu to the right of “Advance Notice.” Next, check the box in the “Email” column. Finally, click on “Submit Changes” to activate this notification change.
In Summary the four steps:
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
What We Did This Summer
With the Fall semester underway, it's time to get the Allen Library blog back in gear. We took the summer off from blogging, holding onto all of our juicy information until everybody was back and ready to read it. Although it was fairly quiet in here this summer (except for when the summers-only music ed students were here), we were definitely not just sitting idly, waiting for the new semester to start. So here's just a tidbit of what we were up to this Summer:
- We went live with the Hartt Composers Database, a discovery tool for learning about scores we own of works by Hartt faculty composers. It's aimed at chamber works and is easily searchable by instrumentation, so it is very useful if you're looking for something to play. More on this in a future post.
- If you're an undergraduate student, you might remember taking HLM 020, the class that introduces you to the library and its resources. A good chunk of my summer was spent redesigning that from the ground up. My goal was to make it more user-friendly, more interactive, and, most importantly, more useful. We're halfway through the first assignment out of twelve, and it seems to be going smoothly, so it's been a success so far. Later in the year, I'll be working on working the new tutorials into the regular website.
- We reached the one year anniversary of Koha, our library catalog. In honor of this, we (Allen and Mortensen Libraries together) completely redesigned the look of the catalog. What used to be plain and generic is now much more visually appealing and unique. You won't find any other library catalog that looks like this!
- Both seminar rooms now have new whiteboards, both of which have music staves on them! They are much whiter than the old one, and we'll be working hard to keep them that way. We have a huge TV that is going in the large seminar room, so that will be going up sometime this semester. We also have a faster computer in the small seminar room now.
- In the "good for them, bad for us" category, both Jenny Crum (Public Services Coordinator) and Andrew King (Cataloging Coordinator) decided to leave the Allen Library in order to pursue more performing and teaching. Although it will be difficult to find replacements, we are in the process of doing that right now. I'll let you know when we have some good news.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Graduation Time! What you need to know about graduating and the library
Hello all! The sun is out, the flowers are blooming, finals are looming, it's that time of year.........graduation! But before you walk, receive your diploma, attend the requisite parties, and get on with the rest of your life, there are a few things you need to know about your library account in order for this process to go as smoothly as possible.
First, do you know if you have items that are checked out, overdue, or of you have fines? If not, you can find this information by logging into your account from our website. You can accomplish this by clicking on either 'My Account' or 'Go to Catalogue' and entering your ID Number as your login and your capitalized last name as your password (or whatever you've set it to if you've changed it). As long as you have given us a current e-mail address, you should also receive e-mails letting you know that you have library business to take care of. If you notice any problems, or things that don't look right, please come talk to us so we can resolve any issues!
Next, any fines you may have, or items you have checked out must be paid or returned on or before May 14th in order for you to receive your diploma. Please be aware that we are only open until 4:30pm on the 14th and will be closed the Saturday and Sunday of graduation weekend (the 15th and 16th), so you will need to take care of everything library related prior to this time.
Last, your library privileges don't end with graduation! All you will need is an alumni ID card, which you can obtain by a quick visit to the Office of Alumni Relations. With this card you will have many of the same borrowing privileges you had as a student. If you have any questions about how to obtain the alumni card, or about its associated benefits, you can call 888.UH.ALUMS or email alumni@hartford.edu.
Good luck on finals, and we wish you the very best in your post-University of Hartford adventures!
First, do you know if you have items that are checked out, overdue, or of you have fines? If not, you can find this information by logging into your account from our website. You can accomplish this by clicking on either 'My Account' or 'Go to Catalogue' and entering your ID Number as your login and your capitalized last name as your password (or whatever you've set it to if you've changed it). As long as you have given us a current e-mail address, you should also receive e-mails letting you know that you have library business to take care of. If you notice any problems, or things that don't look right, please come talk to us so we can resolve any issues!
Next, any fines you may have, or items you have checked out must be paid or returned on or before May 14th in order for you to receive your diploma. Please be aware that we are only open until 4:30pm on the 14th and will be closed the Saturday and Sunday of graduation weekend (the 15th and 16th), so you will need to take care of everything library related prior to this time.
Last, your library privileges don't end with graduation! All you will need is an alumni ID card, which you can obtain by a quick visit to the Office of Alumni Relations. With this card you will have many of the same borrowing privileges you had as a student. If you have any questions about how to obtain the alumni card, or about its associated benefits, you can call 888.UH.ALUMS or email alumni@hartford.edu.
Good luck on finals, and we wish you the very best in your post-University of Hartford adventures!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Things to Check Out--The "Is it Musical Theater or Musical Theatre?" edition
Greetings!
This edition of Stuff to Check Out is mostly for the Musical Theater majors, but really for anyone who likes musicals.
We have some shiny new goodies for you. Our fearless leader, Tracey, has heard from the music theater faculty that we were missing a lot of material you need. To correct this, there has been a steady stream of compact discs, librettos and vocal scores for new (or newish) musicals flowing through the back room. We have Spamalot; Light in the Piazza; The Producers; Wicked; Legally Blonde; Jersey Boys; Spring Awakening; Thoroughly Modern Millie; In the Heights; Next to Normal; Avenue Q; Caroline, or Change; Hairspray; Billy Elliot; The Wedding Singer and The Wild Party. I'm probably missing some, but you get the idea.
Your best bet for finding musicals is to search the catalog for the item(s) you want. (If you need help, ask at the desk, that's why we're here.) The vocal scores (piano/vocal sheet music) for these will be housed in Closed Stacks because there has been a history here of theft and vandalism (i.e. people tearing out pages instead of checking out scores or photocopying portions they need). You'll still be able to check them out, but you'll need someone to retrieve them and check them out to you like we do for reserves and CDs. The libretti (texts/librettos/whatever you'd prefer to call them) are housed with the opera libretti in the ML50's. These you can browse by yourself. And the compact discs are behind the desk, as always.
So, come on in and see us. All the world may be a stage, but we're a music library, so that's pretty cool too.
This edition of Stuff to Check Out is mostly for the Musical Theater majors, but really for anyone who likes musicals.
We have some shiny new goodies for you. Our fearless leader, Tracey, has heard from the music theater faculty that we were missing a lot of material you need. To correct this, there has been a steady stream of compact discs, librettos and vocal scores for new (or newish) musicals flowing through the back room. We have Spamalot; Light in the Piazza; The Producers; Wicked; Legally Blonde; Jersey Boys; Spring Awakening; Thoroughly Modern Millie; In the Heights; Next to Normal; Avenue Q; Caroline, or Change; Hairspray; Billy Elliot; The Wedding Singer and The Wild Party. I'm probably missing some, but you get the idea.
Your best bet for finding musicals is to search the catalog for the item(s) you want. (If you need help, ask at the desk, that's why we're here.) The vocal scores (piano/vocal sheet music) for these will be housed in Closed Stacks because there has been a history here of theft and vandalism (i.e. people tearing out pages instead of checking out scores or photocopying portions they need). You'll still be able to check them out, but you'll need someone to retrieve them and check them out to you like we do for reserves and CDs. The libretti (texts/librettos/whatever you'd prefer to call them) are housed with the opera libretti in the ML50's. These you can browse by yourself. And the compact discs are behind the desk, as always.
So, come on in and see us. All the world may be a stage, but we're a music library, so that's pretty cool too.
Things to Check Out--The Music Ed. edition
Hello once more from the back room.
Just a short post today, as I was not a music education major (I've never been good with kids) and thus do not have a lot to say on the subject. I do, however, want to highlight what I'm told are some pretty sweet books on Music Education that we've just made available to you.
We have just obtained several volumes in the Teaching Music Through Performance In... series. We have multiple volumes and some recordings for the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band set, as well as select volumes for Teaching Music Through Performance in Beginning Band, Teaching Music Through Performance in Choir and Teaching Music Through Performance in Jazz. So there we are, something for everyone, at least everyone who happens to be a Music Education major.
To find the books, you can type the phrase Teaching Music Through Performance into our catalog to see the whole series or go directly to the following areas:
Band: MT733 T43
Beginning Band:MT733 T433 (note the subtle difference in numbers)
Choir: MT875 T43
Jazz: MT733.7 T43 (again, note the subtle difference in numbers from the band and beginning band volumes)
Up next: Musical Theater majors, boy do we have some fun for you!
Just a short post today, as I was not a music education major (I've never been good with kids) and thus do not have a lot to say on the subject. I do, however, want to highlight what I'm told are some pretty sweet books on Music Education that we've just made available to you.
We have just obtained several volumes in the Teaching Music Through Performance In... series. We have multiple volumes and some recordings for the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band set, as well as select volumes for Teaching Music Through Performance in Beginning Band, Teaching Music Through Performance in Choir and Teaching Music Through Performance in Jazz. So there we are, something for everyone, at least everyone who happens to be a Music Education major.
To find the books, you can type the phrase Teaching Music Through Performance into our catalog to see the whole series or go directly to the following areas:
Band: MT733 T43
Beginning Band:MT733 T433 (note the subtle difference in numbers)
Choir: MT875 T43
Jazz: MT733.7 T43 (again, note the subtle difference in numbers from the band and beginning band volumes)
Up next: Musical Theater majors, boy do we have some fun for you!
Friday, March 12, 2010
Allen Library's First Video Tutorial
We are always looking for new ways to help you find information, and today marks our first foray into video tutorials. Instead of just writing down instructions and adding in some screenshots, these video tutorials (okay, there's only one right now) actually show you the whole process and explain what is happening. Make sure you have your speakers on so you can hear the explanation. The first video tutorial is a quick one-minute presentation on how to find books in our catalog. I'll probably be adding some more complex ones, but this one should be a good start. You can find it here: http://library.hartford.edu/allenlibrary/findbook_video.asp. Please let me know what you think about it and feel free to send some suggestions as to what tutorials you would like to see in the future!
Friday, March 5, 2010
Things to check out: The Henry Brant and fun with facsimiles edition.
Greetings once again from the back room of the Allen Library.
This week's main obsession is the new (to us, at least) orchestration book by the late Henry Brant*. If you're unfamiliar with his work, do at least check out his orchestration of Ives' Concord Sonata.* It's worth a listen. One of Brant's strengths as a composer was definitely his command of orchestration, and it shows in this book, published posthumously in 2009. Brant had an interest in spatial groupings of instruments as well as standard orchestration. What makes this book unique is that instead of simply showing you ranges and fingerings like some orchestration books, it focuses on creating textures and combining timbres for effect. He also discusses the particular sonorities of specific instruments and what is unique about them, and how to use them to their best advantage. The focus is on combinations of instruments and how to make them work together in interesting ways.
There's an interesting chapter on the Piano as an orchestral instrument, which is something many composers seem unable to use to full effect. There are also multiple chapters on writing for different types of percussion instruments. But what stands out most is that this is a true guide for the orchestrator, discussing all aspects of the craft in methodical detail, including how to make orchestration decisions. You can check out more of Brant's work on DRAM *and Naxos* as well as in the library.
Another fun book that came in to the library this week was received as a gift from a kind patron. Heinrich Schutz to Henry Miller is technically an exhibition catalog for the 2001 exhibition of the Frederick R. Koch Collection, currently housed at Yale University, but we have classed it with the manuscript facsimiles, as it contains examples of many composers' manuscripts. In it you can see the remarkably elegant scores of Maurice Ravel and Jean Sibelius, the artfully crossed-out section of Faure's op. 37, the Nocturne in B-flat major, and, perhaps most surprisingly, a lovely pencil-sketched landscape by Mendelssohn from his tour of Scotland in 1847.
While most of these are only single page examples of the full item, they are interesting examples, and may spark an idea for further musicological research. More images from this collection can be found online at the Beinecke Rare Books Library website.
Well, that's all for now. The next installment of Things to Check Out will focus on some new music education resources we're excited about. More about that when they have all arrived.
*sorry, the Grove Music, Naxos and DRAM links will require you to login to use those resources unless you're on campus. If you're unfamiliar with how to use them, feel free to contact us for help!
This week's main obsession is the new (to us, at least) orchestration book by the late Henry Brant*. If you're unfamiliar with his work, do at least check out his orchestration of Ives' Concord Sonata.* It's worth a listen. One of Brant's strengths as a composer was definitely his command of orchestration, and it shows in this book, published posthumously in 2009. Brant had an interest in spatial groupings of instruments as well as standard orchestration. What makes this book unique is that instead of simply showing you ranges and fingerings like some orchestration books, it focuses on creating textures and combining timbres for effect. He also discusses the particular sonorities of specific instruments and what is unique about them, and how to use them to their best advantage. The focus is on combinations of instruments and how to make them work together in interesting ways.
There's an interesting chapter on the Piano as an orchestral instrument, which is something many composers seem unable to use to full effect. There are also multiple chapters on writing for different types of percussion instruments. But what stands out most is that this is a true guide for the orchestrator, discussing all aspects of the craft in methodical detail, including how to make orchestration decisions. You can check out more of Brant's work on DRAM *and Naxos* as well as in the library.
Another fun book that came in to the library this week was received as a gift from a kind patron. Heinrich Schutz to Henry Miller is technically an exhibition catalog for the 2001 exhibition of the Frederick R. Koch Collection, currently housed at Yale University, but we have classed it with the manuscript facsimiles, as it contains examples of many composers' manuscripts. In it you can see the remarkably elegant scores of Maurice Ravel and Jean Sibelius, the artfully crossed-out section of Faure's op. 37, the Nocturne in B-flat major, and, perhaps most surprisingly, a lovely pencil-sketched landscape by Mendelssohn from his tour of Scotland in 1847.
While most of these are only single page examples of the full item, they are interesting examples, and may spark an idea for further musicological research. More images from this collection can be found online at the Beinecke Rare Books Library website.
Well, that's all for now. The next installment of Things to Check Out will focus on some new music education resources we're excited about. More about that when they have all arrived.
*sorry, the Grove Music, Naxos and DRAM links will require you to login to use those resources unless you're on campus. If you're unfamiliar with how to use them, feel free to contact us for help!
Friday, February 26, 2010
The Small Seminar Room Becomes Useful
Until recently, the Allen Library Small Seminar Room was just a room with a table. We've done quite a bit of work in there over the past few months, and I'm happy to report that it is much more useful now. There is now a very nice TV in this room that is connected to a computer, a DVD player (which can also play CDs), and a VCR. Instead of just being useful for sitting around a table and talking, the Small Seminar Room can now be used for most of your standard A/V needs. We even have a very easy to use wireless keyboard and mouse that you can check out from the circulation desk. This will make collaborative work much easier. As long as there is not a previously scheduled class or meeting taking place, anybody is free to use this room; you just need to check out the key from the circulation desk.
One small word of warning: The computer in the Small Seminar Room is not the best, so you may have difficulty using some programs or websites (Naxos Music Library doesn't seem to play well with this computer). We are working on upgrading to a faster computer, so I'm hoping that this won't be an issue for long. If you can think of anything else that would help improve the room, please let us know!
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