Alkek Library News

Extended Hours Start Sunday, September 13

Alkek Library extended hours start this Sunday, September 13, 2009. Extended hours are the result of the pilot project that took place last spring.

In Fall 2008, the Associated Student Government passed a proposal, "Albert's Hours" asking the library to conduct a pilot program to study the feasibility of extending library hours. For six weeks beginning February 1, the library was open continuously from 1:00 p.m. Sunday through midnight Thursday. Library users were counted each hour overnight, and the use of study areas and computers was noted. Comments and other data were collected from a sample of patrons who used the library during the extended hours and from staff who worked those hours.

Analysis of the data and comments led to the following changes:

• Open one half hour earlier Monday through Friday mornings (7:00 a.m.)

• Beginning the third full week of the fall and spring semesters, remain open an additional two hours Sunday through Wednesday nights (close 3:00 a.m.)

• During the fall and spring “midterm” weeks, 24-hour study hall hours will be offered, similar to hours during finals.

Below are the extended hours excluding Mid-terms, Finals and Holidays.  Please see the library hours page for complete hours.

Week Days	Starting 4th Sunday of Fall/Spring
Monday	7:00am - 3:00am
Tuesday	7:00am - 3:00am
Wednesday	7:00am - 3:00am
Thursday	7:00am - 12:00am
Friday	7:00am - 10:00pm
Saturday	9:00am - 6:00pm
Sunday	1:00pm - 3:00am

Leslie Fatout

Reorganization of the 3rd and 4th Floors

Some of you may have noticed the changes taking place on the 3rd floor recently.  The removal of the study carrels is to prepare for the bigger changes over the next few months.

Construction and reorganization will soon begin for the merger between the Periodicals/Microforms and Reserves/Media units. During this time, there will be a great deal of movement of furniture, shelving, and collections on the microform area of the 3rd floor.  Eventually, room will be made in this area to house the Audio/Video and Reserves Collections currently located on the 4th floor. 

This merger will better utilize the space on the 3rd floor and free up space on the 4th floor for future use. The media collection has grown over the years and is reaching the limit in the current location on 4th.

Expected completion of the reorganization is July 2009. Please excuse the commotion. It is our hope this will streamline services offered by both units and increase accessibility to the media and reserves collections.

6-Week Extended Hours Pilot Began February 1st

If you find yourself needing extra time to finish an assignment you'll be glad to know the library will *not* be closing at the usual 1:00 a.m. Sunday-Wednesdays because of the 6-week pilot project in which the library will extend the regular hours. Each Sunday when the library opens, and continuing until Thursdays at midnight, the library will be open 24-hours continuously.

From 1:00 a.m. each night until 7:30 a.m. access will be limited to floors 1-4 only.  The computer lab on the 4th floor will remain open, in addition to service desks on floors 2, 3, & 4. Access to computers on the second floor will remain, but with limited access. Students will also be able to checkout laptops and use the Public lounge on the 1st floor.

For more information about the pilot project see the Extended Hours Pilot Project webpage.   

Become a Fan of Alkek on Facebook....

Alkek Library now has a dedicated page on Facebook.  If you are already a member of Facebook, you can easily become a fan of the library.  The library Facebook page will be a resource for you to get research tips, watch videos about how to use the library website and databases, and more news. You might even make a few new friends.

Click here to check it out, become a fan, and spread the word...

Ever feel lost in the library?

Take the  Alkek Library Walking Audio Tour for MP3 player or iPod and start at the entrance to get a full tour of the library.

Library News Blog has a new Host

Alkek Library reference/news blog is changing its look to follow the design of the main library website and in order to do so, it is moving to a new host. The blog will have a new URL...http://alkeklibrarynews.typepad.com/alkek/

Please update your bookmarks and if you subscribe via RSS, you will need to resubscribe.

We hope you enjoy the new look....

Library Hours for the Rest of Finals: May 1-6

In case you didn't know, the library began staying open 24 hours starting last Sunday and will continue to remain open through Friday night, May 2 at 10:00pm.

Other hours are:

Saturday, May 3, 2008:  9:00am - 8:00pm.

Sunday, May 4, 2008 :  1:00pm & the library remains open until Tuesday, May 6 at 5:00pm.

On Tuesday, the library will close at 5:00pm and will begin interim hours for the rest of the week. Interim hours are 8am-5pm.

Good luck on your finals and happy studies....

Have You Downloaded the Library Tool Bar Yet?

With the release of the library's new website, we also have available a tool bar that you can download into either Internet Explorer or Firefox web browsers.  The tool bar has all the important library links added to it such as, the home page, library catalog, databases link, e-Books, eCommons, Periodical List, Hours and more.

You can also monitor RSS feeds, search directly from the browser and even listen to the radio.

To download the library tool bar, all you need to do is click here and then follow the directions depending on the web browser you use.

Library Hours During Spring Break March 9-16

Alkek Library will be open during spring break, although some service areas will be closed or open under limited hours.

Library Hours for all service areas except the Wittliff Collections and SLAC:

Sunday, March 9:         CLOSED
Monday, March 10-Friday, March 14:  8:00am-5:00pm
Saturday, March 15:   CLOSED
Sunday, March 16:      1:00pm-1:00am (Regular Hours)

The Wittliff Collections, including the Southwestern Writers Collection and the Southwestern and Mexican Photography collections will be open for exhibits 9:00am - 4:00pm next week, and on Sunday, March 17 the exhibits will be open 2:00pm-6pm.

The Student Learning Assistance Center (SLAC) will reopen on Monday, March 17 at 9:00am.

You can still search the library's online resources 24/7. These resources include many online books (also available via the library catalog by limiting your search to e-books)  and even more electronic journals, magazines, and newspapers available through our database and online periodical subscriptions.

Enjoy your spring break!

We Have a New Look!

Welcome to the new library website. We hope you find the new design easy to navigate. The Start Your Research box is intended to help you search the library catalog, databases, and other information resources quickly. Through the headlline links we will be providing news about research tools, new databases and other information of interest to students, faculty and other library users.

So let us know what you think. Use the "How are we doing" link on the home page near the bottom of the left navigation bar, or send a message to: library@txstate.edu.