You may have noticed a small difference on individual posts lately. If you look at the bottom you will either see a comment link or a comment form. Please, let us know what you think about the stories we post, and the library in general. We love feedback and will respond to any questions you might have.

While the comment form requires an email address, we will not make it public. This is just one way to combat spam. We will also review comments before they appear on the site to make sure nothing inappropriate gets posted.

Please communicate with us! We want to know what you think. Other ways to converse include our Facebook page, group and the suggestion box in the Mullen lobby. There are also a number of ways to contact a librarian directly.

We look forward to hearing from you!

We have finally gotten our site on the 1919 Bishops’ Program of Social Reconstruction site up.  The site has dozens of documents and photos, background information on the topic, readings lists, document-based questions, and suggestions for exercises.  For history teachers, there is a section on fitting the site into the curriculum in ways that fit with national history standards.  A complementary site on the Bishops’ Program is this one out of the Office of Social Justice in St. Paul Minneapolis:

http://www.osjspm.org/majordoc_us_bishops_statements_program_of_social_reconstruction.aspx

This Social Justice site offers great teaching resources that can be used in tandem with the primary document .pdfs and images on our own.

Clearly, getting the site up this late in the school year isn’t ideal for attracting educators and their students to use it, but this particular site will also be useful for researchers, since so many of the documents are unavailable elsewhere on the Web.  I’ll direct you to a real gem: here is a scrapbook depicting the National Catholic Welfare Conference’s founding years, (when it was still called the National Catholic War Council).  The album is a chronicle of the earliest organized activities of the War Council and offers a window on organized American Catholic life ca. 1919.  Sorry there are no captions, we know little about the activities depicted in most of the images. 

http://libraries.cua.edu/achrcua/bishops/slideshow.html

Your comments on the images, the new site, how it might be used in the classroom or conducting research, as well as on any of our American Catholic History Classroom sites are welcome! 

The first floor of Mullen Library will remain open until 2:00 am from Saturday, May 3rd to Thursday, May 8th.

Mullen Library hours May 3 - 10

Mullen Library and the campus libraries will be closed Wednesday, April 16 and Thursday, April 17 in honor of the visit of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. Libraries will resume their regular hours on Friday.

Please see the Mullen Library hours or the campus libraries hours for more information.

After the long Easter break, it’s time to start seriously working on that research paper. The librarians are here to help you - not only in the Library buildings (don’t forget there are libraries in Gowan, Pangborn and Ward as well as Mullen) but in other buildings on campus.

Here’s the schedule for the Roaming Librarians for the next couple of weeks:

• Tues., March 25  1:30 to 3:30 in Aquinas
• Wed., March 26   2 to 4 in Leahy (look for us in the computer lab)
• Mon., March 31    2 to 4 in Flather
• Wed., April 2         1:30 to 3:30 in Caldwell
• Thurs., April 3       2:30 to 4:30 in Marist (Information Commons on the 1st floor)

Ask us!

The Roving Librarian program was featured in a story in the March edition of Inside CUA. We’re really pleased to get the attention!

Our schedule is set for the next couple of weeks.

• Tuesday, March 11, 10 to noon in the Pryz
• Wednesday, March 12 from 3 to 4:30 in Pangborn lobby
• Thursday, March 13 in O’Boyle from 2 to 4
• Tuesday, March 18 in Millennium from 10 to 12

Because of the Easter break, we won’t be out much the week of March 17, but we’ll be back after the break.

Ask us!

Here’s the schedule for the Roving Librarians for the next couple of weeks:

• Tuesday, Feb. 19 Crough 10 to noon
• Thursday, Feb. 21 Caldwell 1:30 to 3:30
• Tuesday, Feb. 26 Aquinas 1:30 to 3:30
• Thursday, Feb. 28 Leahy 2 to 4

After Spring Break, Librarians will be out three times a week. Watch this space!

Having trouble finding material in the WRLC catalog? Getting help is now easier than ever! When you are in a search results page in ALADIN, look at the blue bar at the top of the screen. You’ll see a link to Ask a Librarian. Clicking will open a Meebo “widget” that allows you to choose your school and then send an instant message directly to a reference librarian. No downloads or IM account needed. It’s like having your own personal librarian in the online catalog!

If you have questions about using this new service, contact the reference desk at 202-319-5548, send an IM message or just stop by the reference desk on the main floor of Mullen.

Need help with that final research paper? In addition to being available to you in the Libraries, on the phone, via email and even IM, Librarians are taking their expertise “on the road.” Watch for them the following times and places:

November 27 from 2:30 to 4:30 in Spellman Hall

November 28 between 2 and 4 in the Leahy Hall computer lab

November 29, 2:30 to 4:30, Conaty Hall
December 4 in Millennium North from 2:30 to 4:30

From 11:30 to 1:00 on December 5 in the Pryz (look for our table as you head for lunch)

and on December 6 from 2:30 to 4:30 in Flather.

Ask us!

Starting the week of November 5, look for Librarians to visit the dorms to provide “on the spot” help with that research assignment. Tentative plans include Flather on Nov. 8 and Millenium on the 13th. South campus will be visited right after Thanksgiving.

Librarians will be in other campus buildings, too - wherever wireless connections are available.

Of course Librarians are always available in the libraries or via phone, email, or IM.

Ask us!